Chapter 17: The Devil's Right Hand

The next day, Seeckt rushed back to the Reichswehr High Command. After all, it wasn’t a good look for a commander-in-chief to be spending all his time at an exercise area. Although the whole world knew that the current German Reichswehr only had a handful of men and guns, and that its commander-in-chief was responsible for about as many people as a corps commander in other countries, Seeckt was still unwilling to admit this helpless fact.

Therefore, staying in his office and fantasizing that he commanded a dozen army groups was something that brought Seeckt great pleasure.

“Second Lieutenant Grace!” In his moment of comfort, Seeckt called for his loyal female secretary. “Akado’s procurement report should have been submitted today, right? Is there any mention of funds for purchasing motor vehicles?”

This question plunged Grace back into her conversation with Akado from the previous day:

Grace had asked Akado with concern, “But if the General asks, I won’t dare to conceal it! If the truth comes out, the General will no longer trust me, and your deception will have failed!”

Akado had laughed. “My trusted aides have used a sum of money to buy a company in Munich. The company’s name is very interesting, it’s called Bayerische Motoren Werke, the Bavarian Motor Works. My pet name for this company is ‘BMW’.”

Akado had pointed to the plan and said to Grace with a smile, “From now on, all my purchases of motor vehicles and armored cars will be noted with the word ‘BMW’. If you report the purchase of ‘Precious Horses’ (Bao-ma), Seeckt won’t say anything. If he finds out, you can push all the responsibility directly onto me.”

“You mean?” Grace had asked with a frown.

“In future expense reports for the Reichswehr’s procurement, ‘BMW’ so-and-so many, will actually mean so-and-so many BMW motorcycles and cars. Not real horses, understand?” After saying this, Akado had ended the conversation.

Remembering this, Grace smiled and reported to the questioning General von Seeckt, “Lieutenant Colonel Akado’s report submitted this time includes the procurement of 300 ‘Precious Horses’ (Baoma). It seems he is still quite fond of horses.”

“That Akado. He was so stubborn with me yesterday, but in the end, didn’t he secretly correct his radical mistake? That young man! Hmph.” Seeckt smiled, picked up the report, and flipped through it roughly. When he saw that the motor vehicle procurement section still listed 200 vehicles, he snorted unhappily, closed the report, and tossed it aside.

“You may leave,” Seeckt said, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose. He waved his hand at Grace. “I’m tired. I need to rest for a bit.”

While Seeckt was being deceived by Akado’s “Precious Horse” ruse in the High Command, Akado himself was on the exercise grounds, personally training his armored commanders.

Pointing at a forest opposite them, Akado patiently lectured the group of young soldiers and officers gathered around him.

“You should order your troops to stop here, send out armored reconnaissance vehicles to scout here, here, and there! Confirm the enemy’s position, then plan your attack. You are all important assets to the Reichswehr. I do not want to lose any of you because of a careless attack made without preparation!” Akado sternly explained his principles of warfare.

He held up four fingers, bending one down with each sentence. “Find the enemy, identify their weakness, strike like lightning, then rest and resupply! These are the basic principles of combat! Understood!”

“You must regularly maintain your most reliable comrades—the tanks! Clean the gun barrels, service the engines, ensure all hatches can be opened and closed freely,” Akado would tirelessly remind these young tankers during every exercise, because he knew that each and every one of them was a most precious asset.

“Sir.” A German officer, about thirty-five years old, was taking notes on Akado’s words. He raised the hand holding his fountain pen, requesting to speak. When Akado looked at him, he asked nervously, “What do we do if we lose air superiority?”

Akado looked at the questioning officer with great interest. His face was incredibly familiar to Akado. To meet this legendary figure from history here made Akado extremely excited. After looking at him for a few seconds, Akado finally asked, “Captain, what is your name?”

“Sir! My name is Heinz Wilhelm Guderian! I am a company commander in the 10th Light Cavalry Battalion,” Guderian said, straightening his back, saluting, and introducing himself loudly.

Akado didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. The famous blitzkrieg tactics expert of the Second World War, the world’s foremost founder of armored warfare theory, the man known as the “Father of the Panzer Corps,” General Guderian, was now serving under him as a company commander. The world was truly a strange place.

“How to make the sky ours, that is my problem. Your problem is how to achieve the most glorious victory with the smallest cost!” Akado answered Guderian’s question with a smile. He then pointed at him and continued, “Alright! That’s all for today. You, come with me.”

Leading Guderian under a large tree and seeing that there was no one else around, Akado turned back to him and said, “You have a very thorough understanding of the armored warfare theory I’ve spoken of! Who explained it to you?”

“Sir! I participated in an observation exercise once. The British Royal Tank Corps demonstrated the power of a tank assault. I even wrote a very detailed report when I returned! Fortunately, the British didn’t think much of that exercise. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the energy to explore these ideas either,” Guderian said sadly. “My report received no response whatsoever, so I could only rely on my imagination to develop my concepts.”

As he spoke, he looked at Akado with great eagerness. “But, one day, my cavalry unit began to be trained as a virtual tank force. This suddenly gave me hope. I never expected an officer with such vision as you to appear in Germany. I believe you will surely lead us to victory in the next war!”

“To completely master everything about armored warfare, even I cannot do it! Captain Guderian! There are too many things that I must do personally. My time as one person is limited, so I need people who understand me and support me,” Akado said, stroking the thick trunk of the large tree with his palm, his tone a little lonely and sentimental.

“Lieutenant Colonel! I am willing to become your supporter! I believe I can understand you! From the day I first heard of you, I have been your fanatical follower!” Guderian’s face flushed with excitement. Akado even suspected that in the next second, Guderian might push him down and have his way with him.

Unfortunately, no such drama unfolded. Guderian stood there, speaking with great emotion, “Lieutenant Colonel Akado! Let me be your loyal follower! I am willing to give my life to prove your theory of armored warfare!”

“To establish a theory, especially a practical one, is very tedious. It requires an immense amount of data to support it! So I plan to have you help me obtain the first set of detailed data to verify our armored warfare theory! Are you willing?” Akado asked, looking at Guderian. He planned to cultivate the young man before him into a future super-commander.

“With the greatest pleasure!” Guderian snapped to attention and saluted.

“This year, in the autumn of 1921, I will transfer you to the Inspectorate of Motorized Troops at the Ministry of Defense! There, you will gain a comprehensive understanding of the logistical support for motorized armored units! Then, I will immediately arrange for you to go to Munich for an internship at a motorized transport battalion there. Any problems?” Akado asked.

Guderian’s face was filled with excitement. “I would be delighted, sir! Heinz Wilhelm Guderian assures you! I will dedicate my everything to the German panzer corps!”

After sending off his number one fan and future legendary general, Guderian, Akado sat down on the grass, leaned against the large tree, and sighed. He wasn’t just talking casually with Guderian; he was truly exhausted.

In fact, for more than a year, Akado had been working tirelessly for the future of the German Air Force. Although General von Seeckt’s preference for cavalry and bicycles seemed somewhat out of step with the times, he had the foresight to predict that the air force would become an independent branch of the armed forces. On this point, he and Akado were in complete agreement.

So, with Seeckt’s approval, Akado established a department called the Special Aviation Office within the revamped General Staff. This department reserved 180 positions within the small officer corps to absorb some old pilots from the First World War. Akado assigned these “special mission advisors” to the main army units to instill an awareness of air power in the soldiers and officers.

The purpose of this was to ensure that even without aircraft, infantry and virtual armored officers could consider the possible actions of friendly and enemy aircraft when formulating tactics during exercises.

During this period, the work of dismantling the production capacity of German arms factories like Krupp was not thoroughly carried out by the Allied Military Control Commission due to the multitude of countries involved.

Under Akado’s direction, the German Reichswehr secretly hid 1,500 brand-new cannons produced by the Krupp factory in a secret base in the mountains. This operation was carried out by the Reichswehr at night, and the timing was perfect, just before the officers of the Control Commission arrived at the Krupp factory.

The Krupp factory itself also secretly transported another 1,500 cannons to a shell company in the Netherlands to be hidden.

During the inspection, an Allied inspector still discovered that the number of cannons handed over by Krupp was a full 3,000 short of the French intelligence estimate. A dispute then ensued.

The Krupp representatives argued that the French intelligence estimate was an exaggeration. Ultimately, the inspectors of the Allied Military Control Commission made a compromise to break the stalemate. In front of these inspectors, the Krupp factory resumed production and manufactured a full 3,000 cannons. These brand-new cannons were then transported away and destroyed, after which the factory’s jigs and presses were also dismantled.

From this incident, it is not difficult to see that the Allied Military Control Commission’s monitoring of Germany’s rearmament was riddled with loopholes.