Perhaps the most important thing for Hitler was that Britain and France still refused to move a hair to stop him. On March 14, Chamberlain spoke in the House of Commons about Hitler's fait accompli in Austria and said, "The unshakable fact is that nothing can stop what is actually happening - unless our country and other countries are prepared to use force." Hitler knew It can be clearly seen that the British Prime Minister is not only unwilling to use force, but is even unwilling to cooperate with other major powers to stop Germany's future actions.
The day after the results of the referendum came out, several European countries, including Britain and France, issued communiqués recognizing the Anschluss. They considered the union of Germany and Austria to be Germany's internal affair. Other countries should not interfere. The United States quietly changed the name of the U.S. Embassy in Vienna to the Consulate in Vienna. Of course, the only major country that opposed it was the Soviet Union. In his view, everything capitalism did was despicable. But because they were beyond their reach, there was nothing more to say except protests and expressions of regret. This also means that several powerful countries in the world have expressed approval for the German-Austrian merger, at least they have not opposed it.
Lin Wei returned to Berlin after the annexation of Austria. In his opinion, the annexation of Austria was a foregone conclusion. He was no longer useful in Austria. Hitler would return to the city in a few days. Lin Wei temporarily handed over Hitler's security work to his adjutant Heinz while he returned to Berlin. A few relaxing days. Although Lin Wei became a workaholic in order not to be slaughtered and hanged in Nuremberg in the future. But necessary breaks are necessary, and war is getting closer. His time is getting tighter and tighter, and he doesn't know if he will have free time in the future.
In Berlin in May, the temperature is 15 to 18 degrees Celsius, which is a rare good month for traveling throughout the year. Taking advantage of the rare free time, Lin Wei took Linda to visit places that were rarely visited. The National Theater, the Ancient Museum, the National Gallery, the Brandenburg Gate, and the Linden Street all left their footprints. Although Linda still pays attention to her behavior from time to time, Lin Wei can tell that he is very happy.
Just when Lin Wei was not thinking about his studies, his second adjutant Robert C. Crawford notified Lin Wei of the news. It turned out that a group of students from the Army University in Berlin were about to graduate. Lin Wei had already made up his mind. Don't let official business delay this hard-earned free time. However, after hearing what Robert C. Crawford said about the Berlin Army University, Lin Wei changed his mind and asked Robert C. Crawford to tell the president of the Berlin Army University that he would be there when the time came.
This is mainly because of the SS in Lin Wei's hands. The SS expanded much faster in Lin Wei's hands than in the hands of Himmler in history. This makes Lin Wei even if he has all the talents of the SS in history. Even if everything is put to good use, it will not be able to meet the needs of the future SS. In Lin Wei's heart, the SS army in future wars will never be the 17% size it was in history. What Lin Wei wants is a quarter or even a third.
If Lin Wei's idea is fulfilled, the SS's already very rare command talents will definitely be even more stretched. This is not what Lin Wei wants to see.
The next day, Lin Wei wore an SS uniform and took Linda to the Army University in Berlin. attend graduation ceremony. General Ludwig, the veteran of the Wehrmacht, is the honorary president of the Army University in Berlin. Lin Wei and his wife sat in the VIP seat and attended the ceremony on behalf of the National Socialist Party. Lin Wei, who was wearing a crisp black SS uniform, and Linda, who was wearing a long white dress, became popular stars as soon as they appeared. The education that Lin and Wei received since childhood made them no strangers to this kind of scene. Their friendly smiles and greetings made everyone present have a higher opinion of the two of them.
After everyone was seated, Honorary Principal General Ludwig stood up and scanned the four square formations below. He saw the graduating students standing in neat formation and meticulously. He smiled slightly and said, "Today you will graduate from this school. What awaits you will be a military career of varying lengths, and you will be Germany's future colonels, generals, and even marshals." At this point, Ludwig paused slightly, but when he saw these students, he remained motionless and listened. , said happily, "I am very happy to see so many elites walking out of this school. Your future is limitless. You are the future of the German Army. Long live Germany..."
"Long live Germany..." shouted more than a thousand students on the playground.
Soon, the atmosphere reached climax. The graduating students, holding traditional German Mauser rifles and wearing gray Wehrmacht uniforms, marched forward in front of the ceremony platform, one by one. General Ludwig and others greeted them. The graduates of these schools saluted. Seeing the general's salute on the podium, the students below the podium seemed to be more energetic.
Lin Wei also aligned with General Ludwig and saluted these students. Suddenly, he saw a figure in the ninth row of the third phalanx. There was nothing special about this figure, except that he had the characteristics of a yellow race. Lin Wei's eyes immediately shrank unnaturally, because he concluded at a glance that this person must be a Chinese. There is no reason, just a feeling. He is also a yellow race. In Germany, Lin Wei can tell at a glance whether he is Chinese, Korean or Japanese.
After going through all the soldiers who had studied in Germany in his mind, a person's name suddenly flashed in his mind, the murderous devil-Qiu Qingquan. Qiu Qingquan, a native of Yongjia, Zhejiang, graduated from the second phase of the Engineering Department of Huangpu Military Academy. He has a maverick personality, is irritable and arrogant, and is desperate for his life in battles. He is known as "Crazy Qiu".
Qiu Qingquan has a profound cultural background and is fond of military academic research and poetry creation. He can be described as a talented military scholar. He also has a strong anti-Japanese patriotism. During the Anti-Japanese War, he was brave and adept at fighting and repeatedly performed extraordinary feats. He can be described as a famous anti-Japanese general who has contributed to the nation. Although he was very hostile to his colleagues Rude and rude, but caring for his subordinates, he is also famous among the Huangpu generals for his good military management. The 5th Army is known as one of the five ace main forces of the Kuomintang army and the 2nd Army, an ace corps that was expanded based on the 5th Army. It was trained by him himself.
In 1934, the Communist Party of China, which had always admired German military thought, decided to send Huangpu's young officers to study in Germany. Qiu Qingquan was ranked first among Huangpu generals and was sent to the Army University in Berlin, Germany, for further study.
While studying abroad, Qiu Qingquan eagerly studied German military theory. Clausewitz's military thought of "using unlimited violence to annihilate the enemy's combat effectiveness", Guderian's theory of armored forces, and Ludendorff's theory of "all people's war" all had an impact on him. profound influence. Since the military academy discriminates against foreign students and often withholds the latest lecture notes, Qiu Qingquan resorted to any means, stealing or cheating, typing and transcribing them overnight, keeping them secret, and preparing to take them back to China for further study. Domestic Kuomintang military publications often publish masterpieces sent back by Qiu Qingquan. Qiu Qingquan also accurately predicted: "If the Second World War breaks out, it will be an era when mechanized troops will take the spotlight."
He is one of the only Kuomintang generals in China who has accepted the German blitzkrieg theory. Maybe this is an opportunity
"Lampard, what's wrong with you?" Linda naturally noticed Lin Wei's abnormality and said worriedly.
"It's nothing, Linda" Lin Wei said with a relieved smile.
After the ceremony, Lin Wei immediately called Robert C. Crawford over and asked him to check whether any Chinese practitioners had returned to China in the recent period and to find a person named Qiu Qingquan.
"Yes, leader" Robert C. Crawford went down immediately, his vigorous and resolute attitude made Lin Wei feel uncomfortable. "It's the opposite of Heinz," Lin Wei said with a helpless smile.
Just when Lin Wei was about to meet the Chinese general, the German head of state, Hitler, was coming back. It seems that he is tired of staying in Austria and is ready to return to Germany to start thinking about his next move.
After Hitler invaded Austria, he trumpeted his "bold leadership" and emphasized that only he could make military and foreign policy decisions, and that the role of the army was only to provide force or the threat of force. And without a single blow he enabled the Army to gain the strategic position that put Czechoslovakia in a militarily indefensible position. On May 21, seven days after the Nazis held a referendum in Austria, Hitler summoned General Keitel, the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, to discuss the invasion of Czechoslovakia.
Although Hitler's so-called bold leadership skills made the officers of the Wehrmacht very cold, they still did not directly conflict with Hitler. They now also know that as long as they are still in the army, the Wehrmacht can only listen to them. Anyone can replace the officer corps in the hearts of the Wehrmacht, but conversely, they cannot use the army to force Hitler, because this is not in line with Germany's traditional military personnel who do not care about politics.
In other words, the officer corps can order the National Defense Forces to do whatever they want, except for one thing: they cannot use the National Defense Forces to deal with the government.
When Germany annexed Austria, it repeatedly threatened to improve relations between Germany and the Czech Republic. In fact, Hitler had been planning to invade this country for a long time. Lin Wei knew that Germany's long-term goal was the Soviet Union, but before that, the threat from France must be resolved. The existence of Czechoslovakia will definitely make Germany a wary enemy, not to mention that he still has an alliance with France.
Some people may be confused by Germany's offensive line in World War II. First, Germany started the war from the east and annexed Poland. Czechoslovakia, Austria, then fought fiercely with Britain and France on the Western Front, and finally had a decisive battle with the Soviet Union. In fact, this was where Germany had no choice. Before the war, Germany was not strong enough to pose a threat to the above countries, not to mention that they still existed with each other. alliance, so Germany must pick the weakest player, which is not related to the core interests of Britain and France. In a word, the weakest player must be picked.
In fact, as the spring of 1937 grew warmer, the British and French governments began to exert pressure on the Czech government to grant wide-ranging concessions to the Sudeten Germans. On May 3, the new German Ambassador to London, Herbert von Dixon, reported to Berlin that Lord Halifax had told him that the British Government would soon take a step in Prague with the aim of persuading Benet Sri Lanka expressed maximum conciliation to the Sudeten Germans. Four days later, the German minister reported to Berlin that the British and French ministers in Prague took this diplomatic step on May 7, urging the Czech government to "do its utmost" to meet the Sudeten people's demands. Hitler and Deputy Foreign Minister Ribbentrop were very happy to see that the British and French governments were so eager to help.
Just when Lin Wei and the others were discussing the invasion of Czechoslovakia in full swing at the Prime Minister's Office, a middle-aged man wearing the brown uniform of the original stormtrooper came here. Seeing him coming, Hitler nodded slightly and introduced "the leader of the Czechoslovak German Workers' Party, Mr. Konrad Hanlein."
Although no one knew this person, Lin Wei and others still applauded warmly in order to give Hitler face. The Nazi leader of Czechoslovakia was flattered. Although the fascist movement is now known as peace, democracy, and communism are also known as the three major movements in the world, it is naturally somewhat weak compared to the communist Soviet Union and democratic countries such as the United States, Britain, and France.
Although Konrad Hanlein is new here, he has no stage fright at all. Although he is not as talented as Hitler, Mr. Konrad Hanlein is also an expert in speeches and can speak various languages. Come on, say it as sensationally as you want, "The great head of state, and all the distinguished generals and ministers of the Third Reich. Our Germans in the Czech Republic have been treated inhumanely in the Czech Republic. And the reason why those Czechs mistreated us It’s because we oppressed them politically when we were in the original Austro-Hungarian Empire. So we have to resist. We Germans who live in a foreign land deeply feel how miserable our life is without our great motherland. "A few years ago, when the great Germany re-emerged from the abyss of defeat, those of us in a foreign land wished our motherland from the bottom of our hearts. We believe that the great Germany will definitely come to save us." Finished After speaking, Conrad Hanlein looked at the people present with a look full of hope. Several generals couldn't help but clenched their fists when they saw Conrad Hanlein eloquently accusing the Czech Republic of its crimes.
Lin Wei saw the reactions of several Wehrmacht generals and Hitler's imperceptible smile, and suddenly understood. Hitler's political skills were getting better and better now, and he actually managed to impress these generals with the help of this insignificant leader of the German Workers' Party.
Seeing that his goal had been achieved, Hitler said passionately, "A powerful country should be ashamed of being unable to protect its own nation. Traveling around the world, is there any country like us that has millions of Germans in other countries?" "Our country has been humiliated. Maybe we have achieved some results in recent years, but judging from the fact that millions of people have been oppressed, we still have a lot to do."