Chapter 394: Just Waiting is Enough

Akado frowned after hearing this but did not say much more. However, at this very moment, the feeling of pride that had just welled up in hi

Akado frowned after hearing this but did not say much more. However, at this very moment, the feeling of pride that had just welled up in his heart had already vanished. He propped his chin with his hand and suddenly sighed.

Akado, who had been silent for a long while, only seemed to come back to his senses when he noticed that Raeder had also not eaten. He pointed to the things on the table and said with some embarrassment, “Hurry up and eat. Why have you stopped eating?”

Who would dare to wolf down their food when their leader was lost in thought? Raeder forced a smile. “I’m full. You seemed to be considering a problem just now, Führer. Was it about Britain?”

Akado did not shy away and nodded, admitting Raeder’s guess. “Regarding how to make the British compromise, everyone has put forward their own opinions, but in my view, none of these opinions can effectively solve the problem.”

He smiled and pointed to the French baked snails that had been deliberately added to the table, as if giving an example. “The army has suggested organizing a large-scale landing to wipe out Britain in one fell swoop. But this plan cannot ensure victory. General Student is not optimistic about the paratroopers’ combat operations in Britain. You have also only promised to transport one panzer corps across the channel in a limited time, but the army’s war game results show that more than two panzer corps are needed to ensure victory.”

“Kesselring on his side has drawn up a plan to bomb and force the British to submit, but London is now almost a ruin, and the British have not shown the slightest intention of surrendering… I am not optimistic about the matter of Britain surrendering under pressure, or rather, I think it is fundamentally impossible,” Akado said, pointing to the steak in front of him.

Raeder’s heart skipped a beat. This was the first time the Führer had expressed his opinion on the military plans for Britain proposed by the three services. It seemed that the Führer was not satisfied with the suggestions put forward by the army and the air force, but from Akado’s expression, he could see that he was not very keen on the navy’s plan either.

“The navy’s plan also makes me very dissatisfied. The plan to use submarines and aircraft carriers to cut off the British transport lines is too slow. You estimate that it will take five months to make the British submit, but do you know if we ourselves have five months’ time?” Akado asked with a frown.

“My Führer, although I know that the accuracy of your premonitions and analysis is beyond question, we cannot, when drawing up a plan, foresee the outcome as you can,” Raeder said slowly after a moment of silence, having thought of his words. “You are not optimistic about a landing operation, nor do you look favorably on an air raid bombing, nor do you support the navy’s plan… Führer, I can’t think of any other means to make the British submit.”

Akado was also at a loss for words now, so he had no choice but to sigh and poke at his steak with his knife.

Only he in this world knew that the current string of victories that Germany had won was all built on the instantaneous defeat caused by Britain’s underestimation of them and America’s slow reaction. Once Britain had adjusted to the rhythm of the war and had also received a large amount of blood transfusions from the United States, then Germany’s current situation would be nothing more than a flower in a mirror, the moon in the water—an illusion.

If Germany were to wait for three months like this, let alone whether the British Isles would really starve to death, just the United States, having reacted, would be able to cooperate with Britain to snipe at Germany’s expansion all over the world. The United States could not possibly watch Germany unify Europe. At that time, it would be the United States supporting the Soviet Union to stab Germany in the back.

The German Navy had sunk almost all of Britain’s aircraft carriers and seven of its capital ships, but Britain still had a full thirteen battleships and battlecruisers. Perhaps in half a year, Britain would be able to tighten its belt and launch more aircraft carriers and battleships.

Of course, Akado knew that there were many, many other reasons why they could not wait. For example, Akado did not want to see Britain’s reserve of technology and its powerful industrial capacity transformed into a terrifying war potential. Akado was not sure when Britain’s radar would appear, nor could he be sure when Britain’s engine technology, which was not at all inferior to Germany’s, would be transformed on a large scale into the combat effectiveness of the British Air Force.

Now Germany’s fighters and bombers, by virtue of their advanced entry into the war, their absolute numerical advantage, and their suppression tactics that prevented the advanced British fighters from participating in the war on a large scale, had achieved an overwhelming advantage. But once Britain’s Spitfire fighter was mass-produced in Canada and was coordinated with Britain’s radar technology, the German Air Force’s advantage would be beaten back to its original state, and the defeat of the Battle of Britain might be repeated.

Once Britain’s overseas colonies were given a chance to catch their breath, it was possible for Britain to drag Germany into a protracted war that Akado was unwilling to bear. The United States and the Soviet Union, on the side, would become the beneficiaries of this war of attrition, stepping on the ruins and corpses of Britain and Germany to become the two polar giants after the Second World War.

So what Akado hoped for was a quick battle and a quick decision, to complete the victory in the war against Britain before the United States and the Soviet Union were ready for war, and then to consolidate Europe and turn it into his own war backyard, while at the same time using Italy and Turkey to stir up trouble in the Middle East, to reach into Africa, and to prepare for the challenge from the United States and the Soviet Union.

Even if everything went according to his design, he still felt that he was short of time. He should use all kinds of means to postpone the start of the war between the United States and the Soviet Union against Germany, preferably until after Germany had controlled the whole of Europe for about two years, preferably in three years, that is, to start the war against the Soviet Union around 1941 according to the original history.

But no matter how he deduced the trend of the international situation, he felt that the United States and the Soviet Union would join the war in 1939. He would definitely not have two or even three years’ time to prepare for a leisurely war with the United States and the Soviet Union.

In fact, the most suitable plan for Germany now was to go all out and land on the British mainland, to fight a bloody and costly urban battle near London. But this plan made Akado very disgusted, because this operational plan would obviously trap Germany’s elite troops. A large number of soldiers would be bogged down in the quagmire of urban warfare and would be unable to extricate themselves. The outcome of the war would also be unpredictable. All of these reasons made Akado unwilling to take the risk.

It seemed that landing in Iceland would be a little less risky, but its effect would not be obvious. The air transport route through Iceland had not yet been used on a large scale by the United States. The goal of cutting off the British transport lines, which could not be completed by submarine warfare, had also become easy with the addition of aircraft carriers. There was no need for Germany to take an extra risk in Iceland.

But in Akado’s mind, whether it was bombing Britain or cutting off the British supply lines, both were ways of losing the advantage of time. Once Britain was given two months’ time, Akado really could not predict what would happen. So compared to bombing and cutting off supply lines, Akado himself was more inclined to a desperate but faster landing operation.

Akado finally ended the conversation and saw off his Naval Field Marshal, Raeder. Because Akado really did not want to discuss his inner conflicted thoughts with Raeder—Raeder’s tactical training was not as good as Lütjens’s. For him to complain to Raeder would be no different from playing a harp to a cow.

In the end, Akado rushed back to Berlin overnight, found his Chancellor, August, and threw the conflicted problem in his heart to this wise and calm old man. As a result, after August had listened, he just smiled and then said, “My Führer, this is not a problem at all. We just need to give each branch of the military a chance, and we can complete a grand operational plan.”

“What do I need to do?” Akado asked, puzzled.

“My Führer, we just need to gather our own and our allies’ strength and then carve up Britain’s colonies after the war!” August said with a smile. “The navy’s carrier fleet and submarine force will cooperate to strangle Britain’s transport fleet. At the same time, the air force will ensure absolute air superiority over the coastline and help the army to establish a beachhead for the landing in Britain. Subsequently, the army will land and take care of the British resistance…”

“But this is no different from the original few plans,” Akado said, puzzled. “It’s too slow and too inefficient.”

“My Führer, we have fought several wars that were perfectly prepared for, and this is all thanks to your wisdom,” August said with a smile. “God has been good to us! You must know that in a real war, very few people can predict the victory or defeat. It depends on the efforts of the frontline commanders, and it is governed by the arrangements of heaven and many accidental results.”

“You have done enough for Germany. Leave the rest to us,” August said with a smile. “You know, the enemy will not wait because you are not ready, will they?”

“The enemy will not wait because you are not ready,” Akado lamented, finally making up his mind. “If we really can’t come up with a viable operational plan, then we can only prepare to lose 500,000 men and fight a war of unknown outcome on the British mainland.”

“My Führer, we only need to bleed this one time, and we can make the Atlantic our courtyard wall,” August said, grinning like a cunning fox. “For the complete security of Europe, for the strategic victory of kicking America out, 500,000 men? Even a million men is a profitable business.”

“Mr. August… as soon as I think of having to send millions of people to the battlefield for my own command, and that thousands upon thousands will have to be sacrificed and die, I feel that there must be a better plan, a better strategy…” Akado said with a grave expression.

“My Führer, I have recently been studying Chinese military culture… there is an old Chinese saying, ‘The merciful do not command troops.’ So you are not suitable to be a military leader, but you are very suitable to be a head of state,” August said to Akado with a smile. “Leave these dirty and tiring jobs to Brauchitsch. I think he will have the awareness. And you, my Führer—you just need to wait for the news of victory.”

You can support the translator and get advanced chapter by join patreon at https://www.patreon.com/c/caleredhair