Chapter 258: Fainted

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Akado sat by the window, watching Mercedes lean lazily against the sofa, reading the monthly production report of the entire White Orchid Group. He felt as if many of his worries had drifted far away. You have to admit that there is a kind of woman in this world who, just by sitting there quietly, can be a feast for the eyes, making one linger and forget to leave.

It had to be admitted that Akado’s mind was wandering. A moment ago, he was thinking about his two not-so-powerful main fleets on the distant, cold surface of the Atlantic Ocean. He didn’t know how these two fleets were doing now. He didn’t know if Raeder and Lütjens had won or suffered a disastrous defeat—radio silence was truly nerve-wracking.

And just a moment ago, he was still thinking about the new Volkswagen automobile company’s production plant established in Munich, and how long it would take to achieve the expected annual production capacity of 10,000 cars. With this subsidiary plant, Germany could integrate its resources and double its current total tank production.

Earlier today, the Commander-in-Chief of the Army, Field Marshal von Brauchitsch, had had lunch with the Führer and had then reported to him on a series of recent combat situations in the army. Akado had listened somewhat distractedly, because in terms of the German army, navy, and air force, he was quite satisfied and at ease with the performance of the air force and the army.

The Army Group B commanded by Keitel was sweeping through the Netherlands. His troops had already encircled several important Dutch cities, and all the main forces had begun to move south. The 1st and 5th Infantry Divisions of the German 1st Infantry Corps had surrounded Rotterdam. And the 17th and 18th Infantry Divisions had already reached the coastline, completing the divisional encirclement of the whole of the Netherlands. At the same time, the 19th, 24th, and 25th Infantry Divisions of this corps were beginning to advance south. The entire situation was excellent.

They had taken over a large number of defensive positions from the German 1st and 2nd Parachute Divisions. These fortresses and bridges were originally important defensive barriers used by the Dutch defenders to block the German army, but now most of these areas had been occupied by the German paratroopers and had become express lanes for the rapid passage of German troops.

In the Netherlands region alone, Army Group B and the German paratrooper units had captured 47 Dutch and Belgian locomotives. Moreover, the entire railway transport network had been almost undamaged. The whole of the Netherlands seemed to have been disarmed without any resistance. Now, only a few surrounded cities were considering the question of when to surrender.

The 6th Light Panzer Corps of Army Group B, accompanied by the 7th Infantry Corps, was engaged in a fierce battle with the main forces of the Anglo-French coalition on the southern border of the Netherlands. The 6th Light Panzer Corps had routed the British 1st Infantry Corps head-on, forcing the Anglo-French coalition to continue to commit its large number of reserves to the defense of northern Belgium.

To lose the entire Netherlands at the very beginning of the war had caught the Anglo-French coalition somewhat off guard. The coalition commander, Gamelin, immediately ordered the 7th and 9th Armies to continue to move north. This move played right into the German commanders’ hands. Soon, the battle in the south of the Netherlands had turned into a war of attrition due to the Allied reinforcements and the German army’s lack of follow-up forces.

But on the other end of the front, at the same time, Army Group A, under the command of General von Rundstedt, was passing through Luxembourg in full force and entering Belgian territory. The forests of the Ardennes mountains provided very good cover for the advance of the entire Army Group A. The number of troops deployed by Belgium here was so small that even the Germans found it a little hard to believe.

The German 2nd Panzer Corps, which was part of Army Group A’s order of battle, had raced through Belgium. And on the flank of the 2nd Panzer Corps, the German 1st Panzer Corps, under the command of Guderian, was advancing as if through no man’s land. In another direction, Rommel, leading the German 7th Panzer Corps, had swept through the whole of Luxembourg, so fast that Luxembourg had been occupied before it had time to surrender. These three armored units, like the trident of the sea god Poseidon, had left a deep impression on their enemies.

These three panzer corps had gathered almost all of Germany’s elite armored forces. Army Group A’s original 2nd Panzer Corps was composed of the Wehrmacht’s 1st Panzer Division, the 1st SS Panzer Division, and the 3rd Motorized Infantry Division. And the world-famous 1st Panzer Corps, commanded by Guderian, was composed of the 3rd SS Panzer Division, the 1st Panzer Division, and the 9th Motorized Infantry Division. The 7th Panzer Division was equally well-known; under Rommel’s command were the 2nd SS Panzer Division, the 7th Panzer Division, and the 7th Motorized Infantry Division.

A full six panzer divisions had gathered more than 1,700 tanks. Under the cover of 300 planes, accompanied by Army Group A’s 1st Mechanized Infantry Corps and 1st Cavalry Corps, they had plunged into the weakest section of the Allied defenses at the fastest offensive speed in human history.

And in the sky, the report card that Kesselring had handed to Akado was even more satisfactory. The entire German Air Force had an absolute advantage at the beginning of 1938. They did as they pleased in the blue sky and white clouds, dominating the entire sky over Europe.

The Stuka dive bombers and the Do-217 medium bombers had achieved the stunning combat record of destroying 1,100 Allied aircraft on the ground on the first day of the war. These attack operations were completed at the same time, without any sloppiness—so simple and clear that it was frightening. The subsequent ground attacks had helped the German Air Force to complete the tasks they had missed: the German army had captured a full 70 aircraft of the Luxembourg and Dutch air forces.

Compared to the bombing units, the performance of the German Air Force’s fighter units was no less impressive. In three days, they had shot down 517 Allied aircraft, including 351 fighters, 136 bombers, and 30 transport planes. The frequent air battles had produced 29 ace pilots in the German Air Force, and another 118 had successfully achieved their first combat victory over the skies of the Netherlands and Belgium.

The German Fw-190D fighter had become a demon in the minds of the Allied pilots. These super fighters, with their spines painted grey-green and their bellies painted white, performed almost impeccably in the sky. With greater speed and a more perfect roll rate, this fighter could easily destroy any aircraft in the hands of the Allies.

Many Allied pilots were most afraid of the weapon configuration of the German planes. The 13mm machine guns and 30mm cannons equipped on the German planes had left a deep impression on them. They reported that German pilots often used their high speed to get close and then only made very short, precise aiming shots—and it was these short attacks that could shatter any Allied plane.

Of course, if you were to interview the Allied ground forces at this time, they would tell you that the even more terrifying thing was actually an ugly plane called the Stuka. This ugly-looking, slow-flying plane looked unremarkable, but it was this plane that had left an indelible shadow on the minds of the Allied frontline soldiers.

When Field Marshal von Brauchitsch was reporting on the frontline situation, he had even mentioned a story about a French prisoner to Akado. A prisoner from the French army had been captured by a German search party in southern Holland. When he was being interrogated, he mentioned something very interesting. This French prisoner had said to the officer interrogating him, “A plane that made a piercing, strange cry charged at our unit, as if it were going to take us all down with it… I thought I was dead for sure, but that plane killed everyone except me. I really don’t know whether to love it or to hate it.”

But these illustrious combat records could not make Akado happy at all. He was still worried about the performance of the navy. If his navy were to suffer losses, then he would have to face the same problem that Hitler had faced: how to deal with Britain. This problem was clearly very tricky, and he had to solve it a full two years earlier than Hitler had.

In addition, if the navy were to fail, the myth of German military invincibility that he had worked so hard to create would be shattered. The blow to morale would also be very great, which was a situation that the German military group was unwilling to face. So from the official start of the war to this moment, Akado had been waiting for news from the navy. He longed for the news of his carrier fleet’s victory, longed for it more than anyone else.

“Report!” Just as Akado’s mind was wandering, staring at Mercedes’s enchanting figure, Anna, with her beautiful curly hair, stood smiling at the door, knocking and breaking the peace in the room.

Akado took his eyes off her, stood up, and walked toward his desk. As he walked, he said, “Speak. What is the news?”

Mercedes put down the report in her hand. She saw that her husband’s right hand was trembling slightly. The news from the navy seemed to have put too much pressure on him, making even the usually calm Führer of the Reich nervous.

Anna opened the telegram and then read it out excitedly. “A coded telegram received by the Felsennest’s main radio station five minutes ago. The content is as follows: The Second Fleet of the High Seas Fleet has heavily damaged the British fleet off the coast of the Netherlands, sinking one battleship, one aircraft carrier, one cruiser… Commander Lütjens.”

The trembling hand clenched into a fist. Akado’s thin face shone with a brilliance that had not been seen for a long time. He had finally waited for this moment. He had finally waited for the moment when the German Navy would overcome its fear and march toward victory.

“Send a telegram to Lütjens! Return to Wilhelmshaven at once! Have him take my special plane to the Felsennest to see me! I will personally award him the Iron Cross! The Iron Cross with Oak Leaves! I will promote him to Vice Admiral! I will personally sign his promotion certificate!”

“Send a telegram to Admiral Raeder! Quick! Tell him the operational objective has been achieved! Order him to return to base at once! Ensure there are no mistakes! Do not take any unnecessary risks! Go send it, quick!” Akado shouted excitedly.

After he had shouted these commands, he fainted in the horrified gazes of Anna and Mercedes. His whole body went limp, as if he had lost his soul. He collapsed in his chair, and then his upper body slammed onto the solid wood desk. Blood gushed out.

“Akado!” Mercedes and Anna screamed in unison. The two of them threw aside the documents in their hands and scrambled to surround him.