Chapter 166: Smith’s Escape

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Under the cover of night, a small car sped through the silent streets of Berlin. The owner of the car seemed to be in a hurry to get somewhere, so the car was driving very fast. It whizzed past, kicking up a scattering of leaves from the road.

At a police checkpoint on the outskirts of Berlin, two policemen saw the speeding car approaching and held up their hands to signal it to stop. However, the car clearly had no intention of slowing down. The two frightened policemen hurriedly dodged to the side of the road, watching helplessly as the car roared past.

“Colonel Smith! As the military attaché of the British Empire in Germany, you have actually kidnapped the ambassador and are fleeing without authorization! Are you not afraid of a court-martial for doing this?” In the back seat of the car, the British Ambassador stared angrily at Smith.

Smith snorted coldly. “Only an idiot like you can’t see that Germany is about to go to war with Poland! If we don’t leave now, are we supposed to wait to be captured by the Germans? If it were just you, that Führer of Germany would probably let you leave. But I’ve dealt with him so many times, he would absolutely never let me leave so easily! I applied for a transfer document from you, and it was you, you fool, who wouldn’t approve it!”

“You really are mad! How could I possibly approve a transfer document submitted by someone who wants to desert their post?” the Ambassador also snorted, clearly still furious. “You’ve made me flee in such a disgraceful manner. How are we supposed to explain this when we get back to Britain? The British Empire hasn’t even declared war on Germany!”

“You bunch of fools. You ignored Colonel Grewdo’s reports, and my reminders were also shelved. Now the Germans are as strong as they were in 1914… no, even stronger than they were then! If we don’t run now, what are we waiting for?” Smith said with a sigh. “Tonight, just a few hours ago, Akado gave a speech in the Reichstag, claiming that no one can stop the rise of the Third Reich! His wings are fully fledged now. He no longer needs to play both sides to seek development space for Germany! But our British Empire is once again facing an all-out war!”

“Things are not as bad as you think! The Americans are on our side!” the British Ambassador argued with a frown.

“The Americans? The Americans have never been on our side! The Americans are only ever on the winning side!” Smith said dejectedly. “Whether they will help Britain all depends on how we fight the war from here on out.”

“My God! Poland has an army of two million, and the French army is at least two million strong. It’s impossible for the Germans to win. If they lose their minds and start another war, we can easily defeat them just like in the last war,” the British Ambassador said contemptuously. “The Germans only kicked out the Allied Military Control Commission a year ago. That’s when they started to arm themselves. They lack cannons and fighter planes. It’s impossible for them to win a war.”

“Only you would think the Germans lack cannons and fighter planes, Mr. Ambassador! Anyone with anything in their head knows that the Germans have been preparing for the next war since 1920! And in contrast, it was only us—the British Empire—yesterday! We only started preparing for this coming war yesterday,” Smith said bitterly.

The car suddenly slowed down. Smith’s face slammed into the back of the front seat, and he was momentarily dazed. The British Ambassador beside him, due to his age, passed out completely. In the chaos, Smith eventually shook his head and came to his senses.

In the middle of the road, a German four-wheeled armored reconnaissance vehicle was blocking their path. The 20mm cannon on the vehicle was aimed menacingly at Smith’s car. Directly behind the armored car, a military truck was parked. And on both sides of the armored car was a group of Wehrmacht soldiers, armed to the teeth.

On both sides of the road were two Mercedes-Benz off-road vehicles. Their canvas tops were an open-top design adopted by the Mercedes company to save steel. Their sharp angles made it clear they were for military use. On the front engine hood was a painting of the newest German swastika flag, likely to remind the air force not to attack them by mistake.

“Colonel Smith! Glad to see you here!” the leading Wehrmacht officer said with a smile. “The Führer misses you, so he ordered us to bring you back to see him, no matter what.”

Smith took a crumpled document from his coat pocket, stuffed it into the pocket of the still-dazed British Ambassador, then glanced at his own adjutant and said softly, “Have the Ambassador give this document to Mr. Churchill. Tell him there is nothing more I can do to help him.”

The adjutant looked at the German soldiers gradually closing in and gave a slight nod to Smith. Soon, in the light of the car’s headlights, they could clearly see the tactical vests worn by the German soldiers, with grenades that looked like small pineapples hanging from them. In their hands, they held a strange type of rifle with a magazine that they had never seen before.

“Let’s not mince words. My fleeing late at night was simply to seek a way to survive. We are not carrying any contraband! And we are diplomatic officials of the British Empire. You wouldn’t violate international law, would you?” Smith opened the car door, got out, took the pistol from his waist, and obediently threw it on the ground.

The German officer looked at Smith and laughed. “In fact, Germany is very willing to abide by international law. The Führer only wants to reminisce with you, Mr. Smith. As for the other British diplomatic officials, we will not interfere with their freedom in any way.”

“Thank you,” Smith said, taking a step aside and closing the car door. He then pointed to the car beside him. “Can they go now?”

“They can,” the officer said, waving his hand to signal his men to make way. Several German soldiers with G43 rifles cleared a path. The German army’s rifles were now roughly divided into three types: one was the Mauser 98K precision rifle for long-range fire support; one was the various models of the G43 semi-automatic rifle used by paratroopers and ordinary soldiers; and the third was the MP-44 assault rifle, which had just been issued to the troops and was only equipped to squad leaders and above.

Of course, depending on the eliteness of the unit, the equipment ratio of these rifles varied greatly. The most elite German infantry divisions often had four Mauser 98K rifles, four G43 semi-automatic rifles, two MP-44 assault rifles, and one light machine gun per squad. But most units did not have this configuration. Many units didn’t even have the MP-44, making do with eight Mauser rifles, two G43 automatic rifles, and one light machine gun.

The car drove slowly through the narrow passage cleared by the German soldiers, continued along the road into the distant night, and disappeared over the horizon. Smith let out a long breath, then looked at the German officer. “Let’s go. It seems the Führer can’t wait to see me.”

“Please forgive me, but before we go, we need to do a security check. Although Mr. Smith is a smart man, everyone knows that smart men sometimes do foolish things, don’t they?” the officer said with a smile.

Smith gave a bitter smile and raised his hands. Two German soldiers stepped forward and searched him from head to toe. They even made him take off his shoes and inspected them carefully. Then, the soldiers began to return to the truck behind the armored car. Two soldiers, one on each side, accompanied Smith into an open-top off-road vehicle. The officer sat in the front passenger seat. Several other soldiers got into the other car. The two cars left the main force and, one after the other, drove toward the city of Berlin.

When he saw Akado again, it was the next morning. The Führer had just woken up and was still in his pajamas when he saw the disheveled Smith standing in his living room.

“Good morning, Mr. Smith. I hear you wanted to leave Germany last night. Why didn’t you say hello to an old friend like me? Is there some misunderstanding between us?” Akado said with a smile.

Smith sighed. “I have said my hellos now. Can you let me leave? My ship ticket is for noon today. It seems I can still make it if I go now.”

“Colonel Smith, you are still so humorous,” Akado laughed. “You are more astute than your colleagues! You know that Germany’s preparations for military expansion are almost complete, so you are in a hurry to leave,” Akado said with a smile. “How could I possibly let such a dangerous enemy go?”

“So here I am, Akado. To be honest, if I could choose again, I would have risked my own old life to put a bullet through your head the first time I met you,” Smith said helplessly.

“You didn’t, so you won’t get the chance again,” Akado said with a smile, pointing to the red wine on the coffee table. “Care for a drink before you go?”

“Of course,” Smith said with a smile, walking over. He picked up the glass and drained it in one gulp, then walked out of Akado’s living room without looking back. His steps were somewhat heavy, but they were exceptionally firm.

On September 12, 1937, Colonel Smith, the military attaché of the British Embassy in Germany, was sent to a concentration camp on the outskirts of Berlin and was never heard from again. On the same day, the British Ambassador and his entourage disappeared in Berlin, neither seen alive nor found dead. There were witnesses who confirmed they had crossed the Franco-German border, but the French side had no record of their entry.

For some unknown reason, the German army had maintained due restraint when the Soviet army attacked Poland. It was not until the morning of September 13, 1937, that Germany formally expelled the Polish ambassador and, on the afternoon of the same day, formally declared war on Poland. Akado gave a speech condemning the Polish government for disregarding the German people’s desire for peaceful unification and for occupying the ancient German land of the Danzig Corridor. He, on behalf of all his German compatriots, was launching a crusade against the evil Polish rulers.

On the afternoon of the same day that Germany declared war on Poland, France declared war on Germany. A few minutes later, Germany declared war on France. Three days later, Britain declared war on Germany, condemning Germany for detaining its embassy staff. Subsequently, Germany declared war on Britain. The Second World War had fully erupted.