"His Majesty the Emperor finally agreed to our request, but he also made a compromise with the Austro-Hungarian Empire. ↗ Dingfeng novel, although the price may be higher, it is still acceptable." The conference room of the German General Staff, with Hindenburg As the Chief of the General Staff, he introduced the final partition of Italy to everyone present, and expressed his respect for Marshal Richthofen who personally stood up to ask for help from Germany. Richthofen was the one who dared to confront the Kaiser head-on. The very important reason is to get the support of other high-level military officials. Even so, it took a lot of twists and turns. But everything is over. Now, the elites of the German Empire must discuss the future situation. The situation is not like They were so optimistic.

"This time the performance of the Allied Powers disappointed us. The Kaiser underestimated his opponents, but what about our allies? The Austro-Hungarian Empire was completely defeated even when faced with a small number of British and Chinese armies. The Turkish Navy used several It took weeks to defeat the Italian raiding fleet, and finally let it run to India. And what about Spain? I even suspected that it had joined the Allies and did not take any effective action throughout the entire operation! In France and Spain The 200,000 French troops on the border scared Spain so much that it did not dare to move! The Allies passed through the Strait of Gibraltar and entered the Mediterranean Sea without any hindrance." Ludendorff's words were full of anger.

"The key lies in France! Since the time of Prime Minister Bismarck, Germany's biggest enemy has been France. Europe is too small to accommodate two powerful land-power countries. And the French can suppress Spain with one hand. If another war breaks out If so, I have doubts about Spain's ability to fulfill its obligations under the treaty. Unless we can effectively guarantee Spain's land security, the other party can be on our side, and only Spain is willing to cooperate with us. Can we gain a foothold in the Atlantic and Lock down the Mediterranean Sea." Count Spey's words were full of worry. After all, the German Navy plans to use the Mediterranean Sea as its backyard!

"Furthermore, France can also serve as a base for the Royal Air Force and the United States Air Force. Especially the former, as long as you cross the English Channel, you can enter France. In just a few hours, the British Air Force can launch an attack on our country, which will have a great impact on our country's economy and The industrially vital Rhine-Ruhr area is under the opponent's gun. The Air Force has calculated that the overall strength and potential of the German Air Force is slightly weaker than the combined strength and potential of the British and French air forces. If war breaks out again, the opponent will make full use of France. If we launch air strikes against Germany from our bases, our air force will not have to do anything else." Richthofen also supported the former opinion.

"But before that, in the simulation we did, even if the empire concentrated all its efforts to launch a war against France, it would be difficult to win. We can only hope to overwhelm the opponent before the US Army intervenes on a large scale. We only have about a 40% chance. , and this time, after re-evaluating the Allied air force and electronic capabilities, I think our chances of winning will further decline. In terms of balance of power, our situation may be worse than that of World War I. Because Germany could stabilize the pressure in World War I. Britain and France, as well as Italy, Austria-Hungary and Spain, are our friends. But this time, due to the intervention of the third branch, our advantage has been greatly reduced. I am afraid it will be difficult to win France." Hindenburg's words is full of pessimism.

"The other side has a superior air force, and has built a defense line called Maginot on the eastern border of France. Its defensive power is beyond our imagination. There are millions of French troops and British Expeditionary Force behind the defense line.

In this case, it is difficult for us to break through. More importantly, when

Times have changed, and our army can block the opponent's attack on the ground. But the opponent can still fly over our heads and attack our cities and industrial bases. If we cannot solve this problem, we will not have the power to develop in the direction of South Asia."

Dendorff continued.

"Actually, my personal feeling is that the French people's will to fight is weaker than in World War I, and they tend to be more conservative. It can be seen from this war that France is closest to Italy, but their investment in the air force is the least.

In terms of the number of squadrons dispatched by the Allied Powers, Britain and the United States were the largest.

Then there is China. Although China does not have many troops directly participating in the war, it has always provided a large number of aircraft to the Italian Air Force, while the French Air Force has almost pitifully few participating troops. The British are in charge of the north, and the United States and Italy are in charge of the south. France

The air power is insignificant," Kesselring said.

"The same is true for the army. Although the French army has a larger number, it feels that its fighting will is weaker than in the first battle. They rely heavily on bunkers. The tactics also tend to consume the opponent through defense rather than taking the initiative to attack. Maybe in the first battle

The French have shed too much blood, making them fearful of war. This seems to be good news for us." General Bock agreed with Kesselring's words and immediately made an excuse.

"But so what? Expect the French to withdraw from the Allied Powers? Or bet that France will do nothing in the war like Spain? France is a big country, and the contradiction between us and France is irreconcilable. How can we win the war?

What hope is pinned on the other side's cowardice? When we concentrate our forces thousands of kilometers away in the Middle East, who can guarantee that France will not come out from behind the defense line to launch an attack on the empire? The area of ​​​​the empire is too small.

, lacks sufficient depth, and under the attack of the air force and mechanical forces, a slight mistake may ruin the entire empire! The French problem must be solved! Before this problem is solved, I think that whether we are discussing plan K or the plan to conquer South Asia

It's all unrealistic!" Hindenburg did not deny what Kesselring and Bock said, but he was very angry at the chance mentality. In his opinion, what the two said and what they wanted to express was simply ridiculous.

War is a child's play!

"In fact, it can be seen from this war that before the showdown between the two sides, both we and the Allied Powers were deliberately avoiding the expansion of the war. For example, this time, the fighting between the two sides was almost limited to the Italian mainland, and we did not attack the Allied Powers' colonies.

launched an attack, and except for Italy, the Allies did not attack

Launch an attack in the Balkans and our sea lines of communication. This is an objective fact and needs to be taken into account when making plans. I am not sure about anything else, but if we attack Iran, the French will definitely not have too many

reaction." Hindenburg waved his hand and signaled Ludendorff to listen first.

"If nothing else happens, our opponents in Iran may only be the British and China at first, and China is worried about its oil fields in the Middle East and will not go all out. As time goes by, the Americans may join in.

.But because of the distance problem, the United States needs a longer time to prepare.

The Chinese will never invest too much force in Iran. The British army is limited in size, so in order to make up for the lack of combat power, it must use the air force and navy to supplement it. In this case, the Royal Air Force, which poses the greatest direct threat to us, will use a large amount of military equipment.

Adjustment, our pressure will be relieved a lot." Hindenburg continued.

"Yes, it is not a big problem for us to take down Iran, but at that time, this problem did not seem to have much to do with us solving the threat from the west?" Ludendorff was a little confused.

"We cannot win France with the full support of Britain and the United States, but if Britain and France concentrate their power on the Middle East thousands of kilometers away, then who can come to save France?" Hindenburg asked with a smile.

.

"This is impossible. We will attack Iran about three years later. But by that time, we are only ready to fight a limited war in the Middle East and do not have the ability to go to full-scale war with the Allies and China. And attack

France will definitely provoke an all-out war

It’s a fight! And even if the attention of Britain and the United States is focused on the Middle East, if we want to break through the Maginot Line, it will not be a matter of time. If the Western Front cannot be broken and the Eastern Front cannot be defended, then

It's all over." Ludendorff retorted loudly.

"Listen to me, we can do this. When launching Plan K, we will leave a bridgehead for Britain and the United States in Iran, and we can even give them more benefits during post-war negotiations. So what will the United Kingdom and the United States do next?

?They strengthened this bridgehead and moved elite troops to South Asia. The British deployed the same size of troops in South Asia

The cost is much higher than that of deploying in France. But India is impossible to give up. We can completely use the advantage of distance to weaken the power of the Allies in disguise. When the final battle comes, our first target is France

Not India! After clearing the European continent, we will turn around to deal with Britain, the United States and China!" Hindenburg said seriously.

"This plan seems feasible, but it still does not solve the original problem. How can we quickly capture France at a relatively small cost? And even if the British transfer a considerable part of their air force to the Middle East, we still do not have an advantage in terms of total air force.

, even if we temporarily abandon the Eastern Front or even parts of the Mesopotamia, our advantage will still be small." Ludendorff was still not optimistic about Hindenburg's plan.

"If our navy and air force can guarantee that the army will be sent across the Maginot Line, will the army be confident that it can quickly defeat France in a relatively flat area?" Just when the two field marshals were arguing, Spey, who represented the navy at the meeting,

count

Interjected. As soon as his words came out, the army generals present were shocked! This situation is what the German Army dreams of. In a decisive battle in the wilderness, the German Army is not afraid of any country! Whether it is the United States and Britain in Western Europe, or

Or China!
Chapter completed!