Chapter 118: The Sudetenland Dispute

“Long live the Führer!” Two Wehrmacht generals raised their arms in salute to Akado as he walked into the conference room. A meeting on Germany’s military plans against Czechoslovakia was underway, and the atmosphere in the room was somewhat tense.

“Long live the Great Germany,” Akado said, returning the salute with a wave of his hand. He then walked straight to the map and watched the small wooden blocks that were being constantly moved by secretaries with long poles.

He watched for about two minutes, then looked up at his Minister of Defense, Schleicher, and the new Army Commander-in-Chief, General von Brauchitsch, who was beside him. “Tell me, how is everything deployed?”

“My Führer, the army has mobilized seven divisions, concentrated along the line of Cheb, Karlovy Vary, Most, Ústí nad Labem, and Děčín,” General von Brauchitsch said, pointing to the border region between Germany and Czechoslovakia on the map.

He then used his long pointer to indicate Germany’s new territory, the “Eastern Province” of Austria. “Additionally, we have deployed two infantry divisions in Austria, as well as the 26th Cavalry Division under the command of Major General Rommel.”

“If Czechoslovakia counter-attacks our forces, Major General Rommel’s 26th Cavalry Division will thrust directly into the city of České Budějovice, attack the city of Strakonice, and threaten the rear of the Little Maginot Line on the Czechoslovakian border, forcing their border guards to retreat.” As Brauchitsch spoke, a secretary used a push pole to move the small wooden blocks on the map, demonstrating the change in troop positions for Akado.

“Once we are past the border defenses, our armored forces can leverage their speed to annihilate the retreating Czechoslovakian army on the road,” Schleicher explained. “This operational plan allows us to avoid getting bogged down in a battle of position on the Czechoslovakian border.”

“It’s a pity, though, that it severely delays the time for our troops to enter Czechoslovakia!” Akado said, propping his chin with his hand, clearly somewhat dissatisfied with the plan. “We went to great lengths to scheme for the Sudetenland region. For what? For the factories there and the hundreds of thousands of workers! Once war breaks out, do you think that as time goes on, this equipment and these workers will still be waiting in place for us to arrive?”

He pointed to the map as he spoke. “Once the frontal battle erupts for more than twenty-four hours, the advance speed of our armored forces will become known to the whole world. Our only real secret weapon will be exposed. Isn’t that price too high?”

“This is unavoidable, my Führer,” Brauchitsch said helplessly. “This is the only viable offensive plan we have. If we launch a frontal assault on the Little Maginot Line, we will lose a division within the first two days of the war. That is not a loss the Wehrmacht can afford.”

Kesselring, who was standing to the side, also stepped forward to report to Akado. “My Führer, the air force is only equipped with 37 of the newest ME-109 fighters. These planes cannot guarantee air superiority over the entire war zone. Our air force’s plan is to temporarily abandon the main front and focus on ensuring the security of the skies above General Rommel’s attack group.”

“The General Staff’s war games predict that within three to five days after the battle begins, French forces will attack our western defensive line. The Siegfried Line there cannot withstand a French attack,” General von Bock added, trying to persuade him. “My Führer, in fact, our capture of Austria has already put us in a very good position. There is no need to take such a risk for Czechoslovakia.”

Akado knew this wasn’t a risk; he was in a situation where he was riding a tiger and couldn’t get off. If he were to stop his actions in Czechoslovakia, how would he explain his slogan of liberating all Germanic people to the world? Those Germanic people who had already taken action would be ruthlessly suppressed by their home countries, and Akado would forever lose their support and understanding. Even more terrifying, the French and British would see that Germany was bluffing, which would directly affect the implementation of Germany’s entire grand strategy.

“We must maintain this posture!” Akado said sternly. “Show the world our intention to attack Czechoslovakia! Leave the other matters to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs! Time will be on our side! Believe me, the British and French will not choose to defend Czechoslovakia to the death. They would rather give it to us, so that we can stop the Soviets’ westward push.”

By the time Akado finally persuaded his generals to continue preparations for military action against Czechoslovakia and assured them that Germany would not be drawn into a quagmire of war in the short term, it was already noon.

When he walked out of the operations room and took the overcoat Anna handed him, he realized his shirt was soaked through with sweat. He gave an embarrassed smile, then walked out of the familiar main gate of the Wehrmacht High Command, got into his car, and headed directly to the German Reichstag. He had an important speech to give that afternoon.

Sitting in the back of the car with his arm around Anna’s charmingly contoured waist, Akado let out a heavy sigh. The Germany of today was still not strong enough, not strong enough to make everyone believe that victory was certain.

The entire motorcade stopped in front of a restaurant. Anna got out to buy Akado a “work meal combo”: a hamburger, a Coke, and French fries. This fast-food restaurant belonged to the White Orchid Group’s catering division. Akado had named it the “McDonald’s Fast Food Chain.” This type of fast food became popular with the public as soon as it was introduced, becoming a favorite of workers and office employees for being quick and cheap.

But probably no one would have guessed that the de facto ruler of a country would be so busy that he had to buy such cheap food to stave off hunger while rushing between appointments. In the swaying car, Akado took large bites of the hamburger with its meat patty and lettuce, while having Anna help him note down that he needed to discuss matters with Merkel after the speech.

“If the King of England were as busy as I am, Austria would probably still be a country,” Akado said with a smile to Anna beside him after swallowing the last bite of his hamburger and rinsing his mouth with Coke. “When all of this is over, I’m going to take a vacation for myself and tour all the famous mountains and great rivers of Germany.”

Anna smiled, then nodded, and finally rested her head on Akado’s shoulder, murmuring in reply, “I’ll go with you…”

In his speech at the Reichstag that afternoon, Akado used the famous speech that originally belonged to Hitler. It was a piece of rousing rhetoric that Gu Changge from another world had greatly admired, but now Akado was preparing to plagiarize it to stir up his audience. “The Germanic nation has reached its most dangerous moment. Countries like Britain and France are eyeing us predatorily, while our government is weak and incompetent.”

“They have forgotten the pride of the Germanic nation, abandoned the dignity of the Germanic nation. They want to retreat on the path of saving our fellow Germanic people. They want to abandon the Czech Germanic people who have been waiting for us with all their hearts! They are a disgrace to the Germanic nation!”

Akado raised his arm high, clenching his fist in the air. “Are we going to watch these ill-intentioned countries and powers bully the great Germanic nation? Are we going to retreat as well? Watch as our compatriots’ homes are lost? Watch as our sons create capital for them, watch as our daughters and wives become their playthings?”

“Friends, we are the descendants of the great Germanic nation, we have noble blood. Are we going to let those inferior races rule our friends, relatives, or even ourselves?”

He waved his hand as if to wipe everything away. “No! We are the descendants of the noble Germanic nation! We do not want those inferior races to rule us! We want to rule those inferior races and make them submit at our feet!”

“We must advance! We must restore the glory of the Germanic nation!”

At this point, the entire Reichstag, led by Speaker Leuek-Carter, erupted in fervent applause.

When the applause gradually subsided, Akado once again gave the German salute and ended his speech in the loudest voice he could muster. “Friends, advance! Let those inferior races tremble at our feet! Advance!”

This speech indeed achieved the effect Akado had hoped for. The members of the Reichstag were stirred into a thunderous ovation. A collective vote easily passed the resolution on “German Armed Intervention in the Enslavement of the Germanic Nation in the Sudetenland Region.” The use of German military force was now legalized, and the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs became even more assertive on the issue of the Sudetenland’s ownership.

That evening, Akado met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Merkel, who had been summoned by him. The two analyzed and summarized the current diplomatic situation. Akado gave Merkel a strict deadline, demanding that he must handle the British and French attitudes toward the Sudetenland within five days.

Subsequently, Akado rushed to the airport, where he took a plane to Vienna to attend the German Music and Film Arts Festival being held there. After all, the film company under his control had produced a dozen outstanding films that had shocked the world. As a famous screenwriter in the industry, and as the German Führer who had achieved extraordinary success in politics, arts, and business, he was invited by the organizers to attend the festival’s opening ceremony.

In contrast to Germany’s prosperity, Czechoslovakia was now extremely depressed due to riots and unrest. Production in this top-ten industrial country in the world had come to a halt, its economy had completely collapsed, and countless civilians were flooding the streets, holding up banners in the hope that the German Führer would come and save their country.

On January 2, 1934, just after the New Year, under Germany’s final ultimatum, the British government was the first to state its position, recognizing German ownership of the Sudetenland and de facto control over Czechoslovakia. The Czechoslovakian special envoy who had rushed to Britain didn’t even get to see the British king.

The next day, German armed forces crossed the Czechoslovakian border. A dozen minutes later, the Czechoslovakian border forces gave up resistance. The Little Maginot Line was declared lost within hours. German armored forces drove straight in, quickly entering Prague, the largest city in Czechoslovakia.

On January 4, 1934, the United States and Japan successively recognized the incorporation of Czechoslovakia into Germany. On January 5, France announced it would make no comment on the matter.

Although sporadic resistance in Czechoslovakia continued, the Germans had already achieved their desired strategic objective: they had seized control of Czechoslovakia’s complete industrial system and had hundreds of thousands of skilled workers in their grasp.