Chapter 160: The Multiple-Choice Question

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If you have a map of Europe, you will notice that Germany under the leadership of Führer Akado is already like a giant with its bloody maw wide open, having surrounded its pitiful neighbor, Poland, on more than two sides. On the other side, however, Germany has four neighbors—the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France—staring covetously at its back.

So, now for the question—about excavator… alright, let’s stop joking. Let’s get down to business.

There is now a problem facing the German military high command. War is coming. They have used their efforts to gain an advantage and time. They have struck down the Junker aristocrats and the monopoly conglomerates, and have raised industrial output to an inspiring level… But in the end, they must make a difficult choice: which side to strike first.

Due to its geographical problem, Germany has always faced the tragic situation of a two-front war. To its east is Poland, which has just been propped up by Britain and France, and to its west is France, which claims to have the number one army in Europe. Coincidentally, France is also allied with Poland. If you hit one, the other will immediately jump out to help. Nothing infuriates the Germans more than this.

This situation has led to a split in opinion within the German Wehrmacht. They are divided into two factions, endlessly arguing, which is also a source of considerable annoyance for Akado.

Many generals, including Manstein, von Rundstedt, and others, advocate for attacking France first. They propose concentrating their superior forces, crossing the Franco-German border in one go to finish off their French neighbor, and then directing their armored forces to rampage through France to achieve victory. This plan could be considered quite perfect. Moreover, for the Germans, defeating France to avenge their previous shame holds a great allure.

However, this would undoubtedly trigger a world war. Poland is France’s ally and would inevitably declare war on Germany, which would immediately plunge Germany into the awkward predicament of a two-front war. Moreover, a direct attack on France would put pressure on the German Navy. If a world war were to break out in 1935, the unprepared German Navy’s High Seas Fleet would very likely be annihilated in the North Sea.

Therefore, the navy recommended that the Führer launch the war in 1937. This way, the navy could build up a massive fleet of at least five aircraft carriers. This would give them a better chance in a decisive battle with the British Royal Navy in the North Sea, and the number of submarines would also be sufficient to strangle Britain’s vulnerable sea transport lines. Of course, all of this was a pipe dream the navy had drawn up for itself.

The reality was that the Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force, General Kesselring, was not optimistic about the navy’s estimates. It was clear that Britain was already on guard against Germany’s naval expansion plan. If the German Navy showed signs of getting out of control, the British Navy would certainly strike first. At that time, the German Navy, trapped in its ports by the Royal Navy, would certainly face only one outcome: complete annihilation.

Therefore, Kesselring was more supportive of the plan by Manstein, von Rundstedt, and others to use all their strength to defeat France before the British could react. He gave the army generals his guarantee: the air force was sufficient to deal with the French air force. Within 72 hours of the start of the war, he was confident he could crush the French frontline air force and seize air superiority. Moreover, he promised that if the war started in 1936, he could provide the army with 300 Do-217 bombers and 670 Stuka dive bombers as support. From this perspective, the French army was no match at all.

The temptation of knocking out France right at the start was immense. This would link the three countries of the Steel Axis—Germany, Italy, and Spain—together. Control over the Mediterranean could also be strengthened. With the French fleet as a rival gone, the Italian navy could blockade the Strait of Gibraltar, which would also be beneficial in suppressing Britain.

Unfortunately, Poland would certainly not remain idle while Germany invaded France. It would definitely stab Germany viciously in the back. The outcome would be very tragic: the heavy industrial areas Germany had just taken control of, like Czechoslovakia, would be destroyed by the war, the oil route from Romania would be affected, and Germany’s war-making ability would collapse within a few months. Therefore, this plan required the Wehrmacht to defeat France within two to three months and force Britain to withdraw from the war. This added a hint of a gamble to the plan.

Therefore, this plan did not have the support of another group of people. Generals including the Army Commander-in-Chief von Brauchitsch, Chief of Staff von Bock, Lutz, Guderian, and Rommel believed that Germany should concentrate its troops to attack Poland and end the fighting on the Eastern Front before Britain and France could react.

This plan had two great advantages over attacking France. One was that Germany had a fake Siegfried Line on the Franco-German border. It would take time for the French to probe this line, which would buy time for the German forces attacking Poland. The other advantage was that Britain and France had been inducing Germany to push east. A German attack on Poland could be said to be a result that Britain and France would be happy to see, so it was highly likely that France would not immediately launch an attack on Germany.

However, no one was optimistic that Britain and France would sit idly by while Germany attacked Poland, because Poland had alliance agreements with both Britain and France, which clearly stipulated mutual assistance in the event of an attack. The German Foreign Ministry reminded the Führer not to be overconfident that Britain and France would stand by if Germany attacked Poland.

But this plan was supported by the German Navy, because the navy hoped to avoid the Royal Navy at the beginning of the war. Therefore, Raeder and Dönitz both preferred a combat plan that did not strongly provoke Britain. The air force also had little interest in attacking Poland, because compared to France, the Polish air force was inferior in both quantity and quality. Dealing with such an enemy was clearly not as exciting as defeating their old rival, France. But the air force did not oppose attacking Poland—because the highly mobile air force could be thrown into the battlefield on either side at any time.

Germany had prepared a large amount of oil and munitions for this war. IG Farben and the Krupp company had quietly increased their production of military goods. The White Orchid Group’s subsidiaries, Mercedes-Benz and BMW, had even carried out a partial war mobilization and had begun to produce planes and cars day and night.

The naval shipyards were also working overtime, hoping to rush out another two aircraft carriers before the war began to bolster the German Navy’s High Seas Fleet, to avenge the scuttling of the German High Seas Fleet over a decade ago.

The German General Staff, after careful discussion, came up with a relatively moderate timetable for the operational plan. Akado looked at it but made no comment. In the plan drawn up by the German General Staff, it was determined that Germany would start the war at the beginning of 1937. Akado, however, was filled with fear about this date.

It seemed the Second World War was going to start early. Now, Akado’s judgment about what would happen after the war began was no longer accurate. The various historical turning points from the memory of his past life could no longer help him. He was not even sure if Britain and France would still stand by and watch when Germany attacked Poland. So now he could only objectively analyze the pros and cons of the two plans.

That stubborn old British man named Winston Churchill was still struggling in a corner of the British political scene. The peak implementer of the appeasement policy that preceded Churchill, Mr. Chamberlain, had not yet come to power. Only God knew what choice Britain’s King George would make at this time.

If the operation to attack Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg failed to lure the French and British armies into that famous historical encirclement, Germany’s operational plan would completely fail, and his time as Führer would be over…

Of course, theoretically, Akado was more in favor of the plan to take out Poland first, because he hoped more that the war to attack Poland would draw in the British and French armies, so that he could complete his grand plan of encirclement and annihilation. And doing so would also win some time for the German Navy. A more important reason, which no one else knew, was that historically, Germany had marched step by step toward victory after invading Poland.

However, attacking France also held a great temptation. As long as Poland could be prevented from stabbing them in the back, taking out France first and then invading Poland before the Soviet Union could recover seemed more worthwhile. First Poland, then France, then the Soviet Union, versus first France, then Poland, then the Soviet Union—the latter plan clearly saved a step of redeploying the army.

Another thing that made it difficult for Akado to choose was the timing of the war. Some generals hoped to start the war immediately after preparations were complete, that is, in 1936. Other generals hoped to set the start of the war in 1937, which would allow them to expand the navy and air force more sufficiently. Some generals even suggested that Akado launch the war in 1938, but many believed that starting the war too late would be disadvantageous to the country that had prepared first.

Akado had no choice but to give up the idea of launching a world war first and instead had the intelligence and diplomatic departments begin to manipulate the situation in Hungary. A non-cooperation movement supported by the Greater German Party broke out in Hungary, throwing the entire country into chaos.

Subsequently, Akado announced his support for the will of the Hungarian people and for them to vote for their country’s future. The Hungarian government was forced to recognize the legitimacy of the vote, and then an international farce began. The people’s vote was in favor of Hungary remaining independent, so the vote was canceled. The result of the next vote was the same, so the vote was canceled again. The third time, Hungary decided to merge with German rule, and only then was the vote passed. Hungary thus became another of Germany’s provinces.

Immediately after, German troops entered Hungary, and Germany’s territory expanded once again. Amidst a chorus of condemnation from Britain, the United States, and France, the German Führer, Akado Rudolph, continued to emphasize that Germany was a peace-loving nation. He himself would get married on March 1, 1936, and would continue to contribute to world peace after his marriage. As for whether to attack France first or Poland first, and in which year to start the war, he decided to talk about it after he was married.