Chapter 59: Even More Handsome

“Germany needs to revise the Treaty of Versailles once more! Just as Britain’s maritime interests are inviolable, Germany’s borders on both sides also need security guarantees. We need to expand the Reichswehr with proper justification, to defend against the threat from Poland and the Soviet Union. Recently, the French have shown their aggressiveness more and more, so Germany needs the strength to protect itself from aggression,” Akado finished, then looked at the somewhat troubled Smith.

Smith fell silent. He very much wanted Germany and Britain to reach a naval agreement, to alleviate the pressure on Britain’s naval construction. The First World War had already left Britain’s finances stretched thin, and maintaining the strategic goal of having the world’s largest navy was no easy task. But if the German Navy withdrew from the competition, even by building a few fewer warships, the British Navy could free up a large number of warships to deal with the ever-expanding Italian and American navies.

After thinking for a long time, Smith finally spoke. “Are you sure this Reichswehr force will be deployed on the border between Germany and Poland? And that its scale will not be enormous?”

“Our neighbor, Poland, has a regular army of 600,000 and over 1,000 aircraft. Do you think our modest request is excessive? As long as the British government understands our actions, Germany will expand its forces by 100,000 men to defend against the threat from the east. Not a single one of these soldiers will be sent to the Franco-German border. However, we request to be equipped with at least one armored unit, and a small number of aircraft,” Akado said, taking out a document and handing it to Smith, gesturing for him to take a look.

Smith was stunned the moment he saw the cover, because the title of this document was actually Operation Pluto. He excitedly grabbed the document and carefully read through its articles.

It clearly stated that Germany planned to secretly arm 250,000 soldiers to deal with the growing eastern threat and France’s aggressiveness. The whole plan only expanded the Reichswehr to a limited extent, giving it a certain defensive capability. What made Smith incredibly happy was that in the German naval expansion plan within Operation Pluto, most of the ships were destroyers for port defense, and their cannon calibers were mostly small 150mm toys.

What gratified Smith even more was that the Germans were even planning to abandon the 150mm cannons. Those 88mm caliber cannons were no threat to British warships at all—as for weapons like torpedoes, their range of a few thousand meters was practically scrap metal compared to the British cannons, which could easily fire over 20 kilometers.

“I need to report to London before I can give you an answer!” Colonel Smith said, closing the document and standing up.

Akado pointed to the Operation Pluto document in Smith’s hand and said, “You don’t mind if I take it back, do you? For the German Reichswehr, this is still a classified document. If it weren’t for this messy situation, I wouldn’t be willing to show it to a foreign military officer.”

“Since you were able to show it to me, you might as well just give it to me. I still need it to convince our officials back home,” Smith said, waving the document in his hand. “Is that alright?”

“Alright! I hope this document can be exchanged for peace,” Akado said with a sigh, feigning helplessness.

“Peace. Oh! Peace,” Smith said, walking over to his liquor cabinet. He took out two glasses, poured whiskey, handed one glass to Akado, and then raised his own. “To peace.”

“To peace!” Akado also raised his glass with a smile.

…

The French were completely dumbfounded. In Germany, they were faced with an overwhelming tide of condemnation. Everyone seemed to be making an issue of the Treaty of Versailles. Demonstrations protesting the disaster France had forced upon Germany were everywhere. Germans wouldn’t buy French goods, wouldn’t eat French food, and some even went so far as to attack French people on the street.

If it were only Germany being so resistant to France, it would have been easier to handle, because after all, France had used thunderous means to deal with the German Reichswehr this time. But first, the Netherlands sided with the Germans, making the French suffer a small loss. Subsequently, the British expressed their understanding of Germany’s situation, and some members of parliament even proposed revising the Treaty of Versailles. The German Foreign Ministry, after a series of diplomatic mediations, described Germany’s plight as a victim so tragically that it aroused widespread international sympathy. For a time, France became the isolated one.

The Netherlands was unwilling to give up its own interests and helped the Germans destroy the evidence, leaving France without the means to attack for a time. Subsequently, the Dutch statement was a direct and resounding slap in the face to the French.

The German Reichswehr then came forward to clarify the matter, declaring that it had absolutely no intention of violating the Treaty of Versailles. Immediately after, it began to pour out its grievances to the media, pointing to a map and saying that one of its soldiers needed to patrol 4 kilometers just to maintain the entire German border, that its defense forces were stretched thin. Its reasoning was so sound that reporters from all over the world sided with the Reichswehr.

And the shot in the back from the British made it even harder for the French to speak. Germany’s unilateral compromise with Britain left Britain completely satisfied, and the act of trading naval strength for land strength was also very much in line with British interests—what Britain had always hoped for was for Germany and France to check each other while being too preoccupied to pay attention to the sea.

Belgium, that fence-sitter, was even more direct. Seeing Britain’s stance, it sided with Germany that same afternoon and even, to curry favor, proactively convened the British and French ambassadors and proposed a motion to revise the Treaty of Versailles with Germany.

Subsequently, German President Hindenburg gave a speech at the presidential palace, encouraging the German people to break free from their shackles and graciously accepting the proposal put forward by the Belgian special envoy to revise the Treaty of Versailles again, lavishly praising the unparalleled friendship between Germany, Belgium, and Britain. And at the end of his speech, he finally mentioned a personnel appointment: Major General Akado Rudolph, for his outstanding meritorious service, was appointed as the Chief of the General Staff of the German Reichswehr, with full authority to handle the negotiations with the representatives of Britain, France, and Belgium this time.

Under Britain’s advocacy and direction, with Japan stirring things up on the side with false sincerity, and after haggling and wrangling with France on multiple fronts, after more than 5 months of arduous negotiations, the “New Treaty of Versailles” was finally passed and began to be implemented by the Allied Military Control Commission in December 1925.

The German Army became the biggest beneficiary. Almost all the articles were changed, making the army officers feel as if they had been reborn.

The new treaty stipulated that the German Army would maintain a size of 250,000 men, could use light machine guns and submachine guns and other automatic weapons without restriction, and allowed the German Reichswehr to be equipped with 200 tanks weighing less than 20 tons, while the number of armored cars and motor vehicles would not be explicitly limited.

Another relaxed condition was that Germany was allowed to establish an Army Aviation Corps. This unit would be responsible for reconnaissance on the German border and the transport of important military personnel and materials. It was allowed to be equipped with 40 speed-restricted biplanes and 10 transport aircraft.

As a result of the arguments with France, the “New Treaty of Versailles,” to accommodate French national sentiment, added the following few articles.

Germany was still not allowed to deploy armed forces in the Rhineland demilitarized zone, and the troops deployed on the Franco-German border could not exceed 2 divisions and 30,000 men. At the same time, the newly added 100,000-plus regular German troops would be deployed dispersedly on the German border and were not allowed to approach the French border.

Even though this treaty was still a shackle limiting Germany’s armed forces, Akado had already turned this unfavorable situation into an effective counter-attack. He had broken the Treaty of Versailles and opened the door for another expansion of the Reichswehr.

First was the size of the Reichswehr. A force of 250,000 was recognized. Over 100,000 troops could emerge into the light, which effectively eased the already fragile secret funding system of the Reichswehr. At least the salaries and equipment costs for 100,000 men could be requested from the government instead of relying on private fundraising.

Moreover, Germany was allowed to upgrade its light weapons and automatic weapons. This was a great leap forward for the modernization of the German Reichswehr’s infantry. At least old and clumsy weapons like the Maxim heavy machine gun could finally be retired.

Secondly, the German army was allowed to use aircraft. Although it was a pitiful 50 planes, it was a leap from zero to one. This allowed the German Reichswehr system to openly train and recruit its own pilots, without having to hide and tuck away.

What was most exhilarating was that Germany was allowed to establish its own armored force. Although the number was less than one-fifth of Poland’s, the Reichswehr could openly purchase its own tanks and combat vehicles and begin its own armored troop training. This was more than twice as good as secretly doing it in the mountainous region of southern Bavaria.

After the negotiations ended and the news reached home, Major General Akado Rudolph immediately became a household hero in Germany. A photo of him standing alone with his back to the camera, facing a group of British, French, and Belgian diplomats, was published on the front page of all major German newspapers.

The headline in the Greater Germany Gazette was the most inspiring. It named this photo “Who is Willing to Follow This Man,” and it immediately became the best-selling newspaper. It was reprinted 10 times and was still in short supply. Almost everyone in Germany had a copy of this issue.

People took to the streets, shouting Akado’s name, gathering at the gate of the Allied Military Control Commission building and refusing to leave for a long time. This time, no one threw things at the building. Instead, they raised their right hands, pointing to the sky at a forty-five-degree angle.

“To shape him into a god admired by ten thousand people? A leader who drives everyone crazy? To have these fanatical people follow him through fire and water,” Jaeger Hugo looked at the crowd of protesters outside the window shouting Akado’s name and asked Fanny, who was also looking down at the crowd beside him, “Is this what you wanted?”

“No! It’s not enough! This is far from enough!” Fanny was so excited she was breathing rapidly. She gripped the window frame and said, “Next time, you have to make him look even more handsome.”