Chapter 223: The Letter

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“Respected Mr. Churchill,”

“If you are able to read this letter, it means that I have likely been left in Germany forever. However, although I am far from home, I still love the beautiful land of Britain. I have always stood in a position closest to the heart of Germany, and I hope to give you some valuable advice.”

“Perhaps you do not know me, but I have long heard of you. I would like to tell you the truth about some of the things I have learned in Berlin, Germany. Although most of it is my personal analysis, and there is no evidence for many things, I feel it is necessary to entrust these matters to someone I can trust—and you are the person I trust.”

“You should know that Germany’s rearmament has always been foreseeable and, for a considerable period of time, was also secretly supported by us. As early as 1920, we knew that Germany was secretly preparing its own Wehrmacht, but because it was only some circumstantial evidence, it was selectively ignored by us.”

“I will only speak of some of the information I have been able to find: at least around 1920, the German army was systematically training elite troops. Because they were constrained by the Treaty of Versailles, they could only conduct such elite training to strengthen their national defense. However, having lost their numerical advantage, such an elite army was clearly unable to pose a threat to us.”

“But as time went on, by 1925, we had a great deal of evidence to prove that the German armed forces exceeded 200,000 men, more than twice the number stipulated by the Treaty of Versailles. Although this still could not threaten Britain’s fundamental interests on the European continent, it had already revealed the Germans’ sinister ambition to violate the treaty.”

“Following that, the Germans, under the leadership of a soldier named Akado Rudolph, revised the Treaty of Versailles and expanded their army in one go to a number sufficient to threaten France. And yet we, under the instigation of some fools and idiots, still deluded ourselves into thinking we could use the Germans to check the French. Although this wish was very fine, there was no indication that Germany would be willing to become Britain’s bargaining chip to check France.”

“What put our minds most at ease was the German navy’s shipbuilding plan. This massive plan allowed the German army to rearm with destroyers and light cruisers after the war. Although the tonnage and caliber of these warships could not compare with ours, it is worth noting that these warships all emphasized anti-aircraft and anti-submarine capabilities. From this perspective, this German Führer of theirs is very certain that the future means of naval attack will be centered on aircraft carriers and submarines.”

“I do not know why he thinks so, nor can I imagine the practice of gambling the future of a country’s navy on a prediction. But it is clear that the German Navy has not, as we imagined, given up the struggle for sea power, but has instead pinned this struggle on a change in the model of future naval warfare. On this point, at least, I must ask you to be careful.”

“Moreover, the cunning Germans have used the navy’s apparent concession to exchange for our British Empire’s compromise on land forces. The total number of the German army at this time has broken through 300,000. The advantage of the elite troop model pursued in the previous years has begun to show. After two large-scale military expansions, the training level of the German army is still second to none.”

“There is a lot of evidence to show that Germany is constantly designing and exploring tanks. They have put in ten times more effort and hardship than we have. We have all seen the light tanks equipped by the German army, but I still feel that they have at least one new type of tank weighing around 20 tons. This tank is the secret weapon of their army. Our intelligence personnel once suffered heavy losses for information in this area, but it is clear that the Germans are currently producing a tank called the ‘Number 3’ and are experimenting with another vehicle called the ‘Panther’.”

“The Panzer III has already appeared in Spain, and its power can be considered world-class. Therefore, I am very worried about what kind of trouble that Panther tank will bring to us or the French once it appears on the battlefield. Therefore, I suggest that we immediately begin to develop a new generation of tanks to counter the Germans’ advantage in tanks.”

“I must focus on the issue of fighter planes. I always feel that the Germans had a premeditated plan for the revival of their air force. First, Germany has been training and expanding its own pilot force. A conservative estimate is that in 1930, Germany had a reserve of 11,000 pilots. Most of these people were registered in German aviation clubs and had flown more than two types of gliders.”

“Now we all know that in the Spanish Civil War, the German army had a fighter plane that could be said to be ahead of its time. The designation of this fighter is ME-109A. This fighter is at least ten years ahead of us. What we need now is to catch up. If we lose air superiority in the future, then at the very least, the German Air Force will have the ability to bomb the British mainland again.”

“And several of our very important aircraft designers disappeared in a mysterious shipwreck and have not yet been found. I will make a bold assumption: the Germans were deploying their aviation expansion plan a long time ago. They attacked our ship in an organized manner and made our aircraft designers shut their mouths forever.”

“You see, things are now relatively clear. Germany’s military strength in the army, navy, and air force are all growing, but we are still deceiving ourselves, unwilling to wake up from a beautiful dream that Germany has declined.”

“After much thought, I have decided to leave this letter, to leave it to those who truly love the British Empire, in the hope that it can add a bargaining chip for victory to the future of the British Empire. God is on our side! The British Empire will be victorious!”

“I will make a bold prediction here. After annexing Austria, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary, the German Wehrmacht now has at least 1 million troops, and is equipped with over a thousand advanced tanks and fighter planes. A force like this is enough to threaten the French army’s position on the European continent. Because I feel that France is no longer safe, if necessary, we should increase the number of our expeditionary forces in Belgium to guard against a possible German invasion.”

“Of course, if possible, I hope that now that I am dead, the Royal Navy of the British Empire still has the ability to defeat the German Navy. At this time, we should firmly blockade the German ports, destroy Germany’s war potential, and defeat Germany in one fell swoop before the German army is fully prepared for war.”

“Mr. Churchill, you are the true Englishman I have been looking for for a long time. I hope my analysis can be of some help to you. Because the German intelligence agencies are everywhere, I really can’t get any useful evidence. But I believe you will believe me, because I have read your reports. We are the same kind of people.”

“I hope you can stop Germany’s expansion. You are also one of the few officials in Britain who advocates for suppressing Germany. I hope you can unite your supporters and be loyal to His Majesty the King.”

“Colonel Smith.”

This letter had been in Churchill’s hands for two days, and he had read it countless times. The Colonel Smith who had written this letter had likely been dead for a long time, but his letter forced Churchill to take it seriously. After all, this was the last testament of a British diplomat and deserved the attention of everyone.

At the final moment, this Colonel Smith had not mentioned his own private affairs at all in the entire letter, but had done his best to write down the intelligence he knew about Germany’s military expansion. In fact, Britain already had records of most of this information, but it had not received the corresponding attention. Now, this diplomat was trying to use his own death to awaken the entire of Britain to the danger of Germany.

Churchill had just been appointed as the new First Lord of the Admiralty of the British Empire because of his tough stance on Germany. And because of Germany’s continuous expansion, the hardliners within Britain had gained more say. This was reflected in the practical situation by the British Royal Navy’s decision to intercept the rendezvous of the German High Seas Fleet and to give the German Navy a limited lesson.

The British intelligence department had obtained a piece of intelligence that the German Navy had launched four aircraft carriers in a short period of time. Paired with their advanced fighter planes, their combat capability had already surpassed that of the Royal Navy’s carriers. Germany was using these carriers as the core to form its own main fleet.

From Smith’s analysis, the German Navy had indeed carried out a deceptive initial development. Those anti-aircraft and anti-submarine destroyers and cruisers were actually escort ships prepared for these carriers. The main core of the German army’s future naval battles was not the submarine, but the aircraft carrier.

At this very moment, the German Second High Seas Fleet, which had set out from Kiel, was rounding Denmark, and the German First High Seas Fleet, which had set out from Wilhelmshaven, had also left port. According to the analysis of intelligence personnel, the German Navy wanted to rendezvous on the high seas and then enter the central part of the high seas for training and integration.

Once the German Navy had completed its formation training and combat integration, such a massive fleet would cause incalculable trouble for the British Navy. So the best solution was to prevent the German Navy from rendezvousing, and it would be best if they could weaken the German fleet in one battle.

So Churchill tried every means and made up his mind. He ordered the Royal Navy to leave port and assemble a large force, wanting to block the German High Seas Fleet, which was preparing to rendezvous, on the high seas and to resolve the threat facing the British Navy in one fell swoop. For this, he had prepared super-warships including the HMS Hood, and had also prepared all the aircraft carriers he could spare, all to ensure that this operation would be foolproof.

And at this very moment, presumably on the distant high seas, the warships of the British Royal Navy might have already encountered the German Navy. In Churchill’s view, a naval battle that would decide the future of the two nations was about to begin.