On the German side, the German Army High Command made careful arrangements. The total force deployed on the Western Front was 136 divisions (including 15 armored divisions and 4 motorized divisions), 2,439 tanks, 3,700 aircraft, and 600 transport aircraft. The force configuration is divided into three armies A, B, and C:
1. The 64 divisions of Army Group A in the center (including 12 armored divisions and 3 motorized divisions), commanded by General Gert von Rundstedt, serve as the center to break through the Ardennes area and go straight to the English Channel. Task;
2. The 28 divisions of Army Group B on the right wing (including 3 armored divisions and 1 motorized division), commanded by General Fedor von Bock, serve as assisting tasks. The purpose is to attack the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg in order to Attracting the main force of the British and French forces;
3. The 17 divisions of Army Group C on the left, commanded by General Wilhelm Ritter von Loeb, were tasked with feigning an attack on the Maginot Line to contain the French army and prevent it from moving north for reinforcements;
When preparations for the Western Front were in full swing, Lin Wei issued orders one after another, asking the Northern Mountain Division to seize King Haakon VII of Norway as soon as possible and not allow him to escape from Norway. Lin Wei had done his best to pave the way for his subordinates. Well, if Michel Gebermeier still can't catch the King of Norway, it would be a shame for Lin Wei's painstaking arrangements.
Hit? After discussing with Marshal von Blomberg and Marshal von Brauchitsch of the Wehrmacht, Lehr decided to set the start time of the war as May 10, 1940. By then, an attack force consisting of one hundred divisions would A thunderous blow would be made to the British and French forces.
At this most critical moment, now Hit? Le urgently needed the support of his ally Mussolini of Italy. But now this matter is not so easy. The reason is that Germany and Italy disagree with each other. The anti-German forces in the Italian government are quite strong. Like Italy, in addition to prominent figures in the German government, there is also great resistance to Italy among ordinary government officials.
On some disagreement issues, officials at all levels from both sides blamed each other. One side accused the Germans of not fulfilling the agreement in June of the previous year to withdraw "Germans" from South Tyrol, Italy; the Germans failed to supply Italy with 1 million tons of coal per month. The other side accused the Italians of failing to break through the British blockade and supply raw materials to Germany; Italy did a lot of business with Britain and France and took advantage of the opportunity to make a fortune, including selling war materials to them; especially Ciano, who had great power in the Italian government Anti-German sentiment grew stronger.
His father, Costanzo Ciano, Count of Capri, was a close friend of Mussolini and a fascist senator. He was the main member who jointly planned the March on Rome with Mussolini and was later appointed as Mussolini's counselor. The heir apparent, who served for many years as Transport Secretary and Fascist Speaker of the House of Representatives.
October 21, 1936. Ciano and German Foreign Minister Neureiter signed a secret protocol, the purpose of which was to stipulate the common policy of Germany and Italy in foreign affairs. The Berlin-Rome "axis" was thus formed. But deep down, Ciano opposed signing a military alliance with Germany. Seeing no reason to live or die with the fate of Nazi Germany. To this end, he planned to delay the request to conclude a military alliance with Germany for a year. But Mussolini was stubborn, and Ciano finally signed the German-Italian "Steel Covenant" with Ribbentrop on May 22, 1939.
In the final analysis, Ciano's thoughts have a lot to do with Mussolini. Mussolini was originally the founder of fascism and successfully established the fascist state in Italy. However, the latecomer Hitt? The great success achieved by Le was unmatched by Mussolini. Unlike Mussolini’s invasion of Albania and Abyssinia (Ethiopia), Hit? After he came to power, every action he led, including marching into the Rhineland, annexing Austria, dismembering Czechoslovakia, and attacking Poland, brought great success. In just a few years, Germany annexed Austria, disintegrated Czechoslovakia, known as the seventh most powerful country in Europe, and attacked Poland, which had millions of troops.
In comparison, what Mussolini has achieved now, and Hitt? Compared to Le, it pales in comparison. When Mussolini thought of Hit? Is Lew going to war, especially when he thinks about Hit? When I won, I felt unbearable.
The main reason for the friction between the two countries is Germany's pro-Russian policy. On November 30, 1939, the Soviet Red Army attacked Finland, causing Hit? Le was in a very humiliating situation. He had been driven out of the Baltic region, hastily removed the Germanic families who had settled there for centuries in order to sign a treaty with Stalin, and now he had to formally agree to Russia's unprovoked attack on a small country. This small country with close relations with Germany mainly relied on the intervention of the German regular army in 1918 to win its independence from the Soviet Union as a non-communist country. Is this called Hit? Le Yaba tried to eat Coptis chinensis, but he swallowed it bravely. German missions abroad and German newspapers and radio stations were under strict instructions to support Russia's aggressive actions and not to express the slightest sympathy for the Finns. Fortunately, Lin Wei suggested Hit? Le and asked to send volunteers in the name of the SS, so that the Wehrmacht officers who had always had a good impression of Finland did not make a fuss.
It was probably this incident that made Mussolini unable to bear it, because he was overwhelmed by the anti-German demonstrations that broke out across Italy. All in all, on January 3, 1940, just after the New Year, he gave Hit? Le wrote a long letter expressing what was weighing on his heart. Was this Mussolini’s first and last time against Hit? Le gave sharp and harsh advice so frankly and bluntly.
He said he was convinced that Germany, even with Italy's help, could never "bring Britain and France to their knees or even break them up. It would be deceiving itself to think that this was possible. The United States will never allow a democratic country to fail completely." So since Hit? Now that Germany's eastern frontier has been consolidated, is it still necessary to "take desperate risks, disregarding the country's political power, and sacrificing the best of German generations" in order to defeat Britain and France
Mussolini said peace would be achieved if Germany allowed "the existence of a purely Polish, disciplined and disarmed Poland." He added: "Unless you have made an irreversible determination to carry out the war to the end, I think the establishment of the Polish state... will be a factor in solving the war and a sufficient condition for establishing peace."
"But what Mussolini was most concerned about was the deal between Germany and Russia. Russia reaped the benefits of the war in Poland and the Baltic Sea without firing a shot. But I, as a born revolutionary, want to tell you, you can't do it for The temporary necessity of a certain political strategy and the permanent sacrifice of your revolutionary principles... It is also my duty to inform you that any further steps in your relations with Moscow will cause extremely negative repercussions in Italy...
Mussolini’s letter not only warned Hitler? Le, Italian-German relations have deteriorated, and a key point has been hit: the honeymoon between the Führer and Soviet Russia has begun to make both sides feel uneasy. Hit? Le's collusion with Soviet Russia allowed him to launch a war and destroy Poland. In addition, he also received some other benefits. For example, the seized documents revealed a closely guarded wartime secret: the Soviet Union provided ports in the Arctic Ocean, Black Sea, and Pacific Ocean, allowing Germany to import urgently needed raw materials that would otherwise be blocked by the British blockade. And cannot be imported.
Britain's power on the sea is so great that as long as it wants to blockade the raw materials Germany needs, it can do it. Therefore, Germany must find a country that is not blockaded, and this country must dare to To challenge the authority of the British, no country in Europe was more suitable than the Soviet Union.
So when Germany has not completely solved Britain and France, it must have a good relationship with the Soviet Union, even if it is Hitler? If it were strangled to death, Lin Wei would definitely do the same thing. So Mussolini’s advice to Hit? Le has no effect at all, because Germany is now too dependent on the Soviet Union, and the Soviet Union obviously has much more initiative in negotiations between the two parties than Germany.
Under Stalin's instruction, Molotov even agreed on November 10, 1939 that the transit freight for all these goods on Russian railways would be borne by the Soviet government. The Soviet government allowed German ships (including submarines) to repair and refuel at the Arctic Ocean port of Teriberka, east of Murmansk - Molotov considered Murmansk "not remote enough" and Teriberka The card is "more appropriate because it is more remote and there are no foreign ships coming or going."
Throughout the autumn and early winter of 1939, Moscow and Berlin had been negotiating to increase trade between the two countries. By the end of October, the Soviet Nikkei had provided Germany with a considerable amount of raw materials, especially grain and oil, but Germany wanted more. raw material. However, the Germans gradually discovered that the Soviet Union was a shrewd and powerful opponent not only in politics but also in economics. On November 1, Marshal Göring, Marshal Raeder and Admiral Keitel "separately" lodged protests with the German Foreign Ministry, saying that Russia's demands for German war supplies were too much. A month later, Keitel complained to Weizsacker that Russia's demand for German products, especially for machinery and equipment for manufacturing arms, was "increasing in quantity and becoming more and more unreasonable."