Chapter 368: All Here for Comic Relief

Yes, Italy had impatiently joined the war. Mussolini had declared war on Britain and France in one go and had directly concentrated 35 divis

Yes, Italy had impatiently joined the war. Mussolini had declared war on Britain and France in one go and had directly concentrated 35 divisions of troops, crossing the French border with crushing force.

A long time ago, Italy’s Mussolini had begged Akado to postpone the start of the war until 1940 or even 1942. This way, his Italy could be truly prepared for war and could help Germany to tie down the British Navy and the French Army.

But Akado had not heeded this Italian leader’s well-intentioned reminder and had stubbornly provoked a war at the end of 1937. And in January of 1938, he had created a great situation of certain victory.

In October of 1937, Germany had carved up the number one power in Eastern Europe, Poland, with the Soviet Union, and had completely destroyed this country in just over twenty days. Subsequently, they had launched a blitzkrieg against the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, and Norway, swallowing all of these countries in one go.

Now the German armored forces were approaching Paris with great momentum. It seemed that France was about to withdraw from the war and would never be able to recover. Hundreds of thousands of French troops and hundreds of thousands of British troops had been routed and completely annihilated—Mussolini, seeing this, naturally had his own ideas and considerations.

It seems the combat effectiveness of the army of Europe’s number one land power, France, is not that great after all! This was the conclusion that Mussolini had come to. So he had repeatedly urged his generals to send troops quickly and, before the Germans had scraped up all the benefits, to take the advantages that Italy deserved.

Just after the end of the Battle of the English Channel, Italy could wait no longer. The British Navy had completely collapsed. As long as the Italian Navy could take out the weak British Navy’s Mediterranean Fleet, it could dominate the beautiful region of the Mediterranean. This temptation had made Mussolini forget that his own war preparations were even worse than those of Britain and France.

He couldn’t afford not to be in a hurry, because after all, the British Navy had already lost, and now it seemed that France was also about to be defeated. If he didn’t make a move, then he would never be able to hold his head up in front of the German Führer, Akado, and the so-called Pact of Steel would become a complete and utter joke.

You’ve already formed an alliance, signed a pact, and agreed to fight together and divide the spoils. But in the end, you didn’t contribute… this is a bit dishonorable, right? Besides, if the other side doesn’t want to share the spoils with you, you don’t dare to snatch them. That’s a fierce person who can fight several at once. You can’t beat them, can you? Now Italy was facing such a situation.

And so Italy had declared war in a muddle-headed way, without even going through war mobilization and other preparations. It had declared war on France and Britain in such a farcical manner. It had seized a British oil tanker and had sunk a British destroyer that was cruising in the Mediterranean, which could be considered as having presented its credentials and offered a welcoming gift.

Mussolini had personally flown to Berlin and had met with the German Führer, Akado, explaining to him Italy’s previous difficulties and its current expectations. He was willing to give up a portion of his Balkan interests in exchange for Germany winning over Turkey and had requested that Germany give Italy a share of the spoils in France.

At first, Akado was not interested in Italy’s participation in the war. First, because his experience from his previous life had shown that even if Italy declared war on France, it would not have much effect. Second, Akado’s current strength was already more than enough to defeat France on his own, and he did not need any help from Italy.

Akado, who was familiar with the original history of World War II, knew that although Germany in his previous life had started the war early and had screwed Italy over once, this ally of Italy’s had a good geographical location and could also provide Germany with all sorts of resources it needed most at many times. But when it came to fighting, this Italy could be completely described as being like noodles.

It was completely the type that couldn’t help, often held you back, and from time to time did something to create chaos or betray its friends. So now, the Führer of the Reich, Akado, who was turning his hand to clouds and covering his hand to rain in Germany, really looked down on the bit of “sincerity” that Italy had shown.

In the end, it was the shrewd old Prime Minister, Mr. August, and Merkel who had pulled the self-satisfied Führer, Akado Rudolph, from his endless fantasies back to reality. They had suggested that Akado agree to Italy’s request to carve up France. This way, they could both appease Italy and also have enough bargaining chips to bring Turkey into the fold.

“My Führer, Germany needs allies. Even if we don’t need Italy’s help, we can’t swallow France whole and push Italy to Britain’s side.” These were August’s original words to Akado.

The German Foreign Minister, Merkel, had said something similar. “My Führer, Germany needs to use the Balkans as a bargaining chip to win over Turkey. Since Italy is willing to give up most of its interests in the Balkans, this matter will be easier to handle.”

“The army is not yet certain of completely defeating France. The foundation of this land power has not yet been brought into play. I think it is very necessary and reasonable to have Italy disperse French forces in the north,” the Chief of the Army General Staff, von Brauchitsch, had also suggested that Akado consider Mussolini’s request.

After being persuaded by so many people, if Akado still didn’t know what to do, then he wouldn’t be worthy of being the German Führer. So the great Führer of the Third Reich had changed his cold attitude at the banquet the next day, had brought up the “Pact of Steel,” which was almost a “Greater European Co-Prosperity Sphere,” and had reaffirmed the firm friendship between Germany and Italy.

Mussolini, of course, had taken this opportunity to step down. He had readily acknowledged the leadership of the German Führer, Akado, in the German-Italian alliance and had declared that the great “Holy Greater German Third Reich” would forever be a friend of the “New Roman Empire.” With this good foundation of cooperation, the subsequent matters seemed to be even simpler.

At the banquet, Akado, with Merkel and Mussolini, had met with the Turkish ambassador to Germany. The three countries had held a friendly consultation on the situation in the Balkan Peninsula and had, without changing their expression or their heartbeat, divided up the several major countries of the Balkans among themselves.

But Turkey had not been in a hurry to join the “Pact of Steel.” The reason was also very simple. In the First World War, Germany and Turkey had been accomplices once. Later, Turkey had done its best but had received almost no benefits. So this time, Turkey had made up its mind to see which way the wind was blowing. So the two sides had reached a verbal agreement, which was that if Germany could take out France and wear down Britain, then Turkey would join Germany’s subsequent plans.

Of course, as compensation, once Turkey joined the “Pact of Steel,” it would immediately provide Germany with 1.1 million troops, as well as military bases and air force airfields that could threaten the Middle East. With this guarantee, Akado had roughly calculated that in the future, if he really needed to face the Soviet Union, the chips in his hand would be almost a full 2 million more than Hitler’s back then.

“Mussolini has really lost the lady and forfeited the army this time,” Akado said proudly to Merkel beside him. “He thought he was sure of victory, that a sneak attack on France was a matter of course. But it’s a pity that he is going to miscalculate again this time!”

“Miscalculate?” Merkel was taken aback for a moment, then looked down and asked, “My Führer, you are certain that the Italians cannot defeat the remnants of the French army?”

“Just you wait and see. As long as the French can scrape together a few divisions from the Maginot Line and find another 15 reserve divisions, that’s enough to beat Mussolini’s 35 divisions into a pulp,” Akado said with a smile, predicting to Merkel. “As long as the French can scrape together 15 divisions, it is a foregone conclusion that Italy will lose.”

“Then what is Mussolini doing here? Hasn’t he just lost his last interests in the Balkan Peninsula?” Merkel, who never doubted Akado’s Midas touch, asked with a frown.

“How should I know? Maybe… he’s here for comic relief…” Akado said with a shrug and a smile.

“Führer, I am actually more interested in your phrase ‘lost the lady and forfeited the army.’ Is it some kind of allusion?” August, who was leaning on his cane, suddenly asked. “Where is it from?”

“Oh, this is an allusion from a Chinese novel, Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The story is roughly like this…” Akado had no choice but to satisfy August’s curiosity and told the story of how Zhuge Liang had angered Zhou Yu three times.

“The Führer is really well-read, to have even read a novel from the Far East,” August said, the smile in his eyes even greater. “It seems the Führer is very interested in the ancient Republic of China and has also laid out a grand chess game for Japan in the Far East.”

“Of course. The reason I became the German Führer is because I understood a Chinese book called The Art of War,” Akado explained to August with a smile. “This book is profound and extensive, so I also developed a good impression of China.”

“I really admire your erudition and wisdom more and more,” August said with a nod. “I have also read The Art of War, but I didn’t see any part in it that could guide modern warfare.”

“Mr. August, you are too modest,” Akado laughed out loud, and the look in his eyes as he looked at August was also tinged with pride. Trying to figure out my background? How can I let you know my true worth? I said I rely on The Art of War, so I rely on The Art of War? What you can see in The Art of War, I knew before I even finished high school!

“The phrase ‘the skilled attacker moves in the ninth heaven.’ Isn’t that talking about our Imperial Air Force?” Akado said with a dry laugh. “And our armored forces are precisely because of that phrase, ‘swift as fire, immovable as a mountain.'”

After speaking, he looked at August. You little… my research on The Art of War was second to none in my university. Even that old professor who loved to play chess in the shade of the trees praised my research on The Art of War as having achieved some success. You, a foreigner, can you bullshit your way through this book better than me?

August’s eyebrows twitched, as if he had had an epiphany. He then nodded with sincere admiration. “The Führer is truly a heaven-sent genius. There really are people in this world who can understand a hundred things with one enlightenment. I suppose the wise men who could know the rise and fall of a hundred years after their death were just like the Führer…”

Akado couldn’t help but blush and then said with self-deprecation, “So it turns out I’m here for comic relief too!”

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