Chapter 8: Preparing for Battle

  In any country, no matter what industry you are in, it is impossible to quickly rise without interpersonal relationships. With a good background and actions that make people recognize, the rapid promotion of soldiers has become a natural thing.

  The Berlin High Command is worried about what military rank to give Xu Yang. The First Class Iron Cross, of course, can be awarded, that little guy has been doing well recently, and it's worth the High Command giving him a First Class Iron Cross medal.

  Levbe was promoted to General and transferred to Kassel to prepare the 2nd Army Group, where he was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the 2nd Army Group. He needed to be mentally prepared to command the Western Front during wartime. In his personal opinion, it was necessary to defend against France's military actions for a considerable period. Levbe's talent in defense was tapped, and he ordered the garrison to build fortresses and artillery emplacements, believing that the sacred mission of field commanders was to prevent enemy attacks.

  Brauchitsch was promoted to Colonel General and recalled to Berlin. He would spend the next long period building up an army group headquarters, which in future might be needed to control military operations from Berlin in the south.

  Guderian's armoured corps performed well in this military action, but it did not prove the role of armoured forces on the battlefield. Undoubtedly, armoured forces had high mobility and were very suitable for blitzkrieg warfare. The High Command considered that they would inevitably go to war with France in the future, so Guderian's 1st Armoured Corps was stationed in Essen, ready to attack France at any time.

  Germany has won, the Wehrmacht has won. The will of the whole nation is unprecedentedly united, and they feel that it is time to expand their military power. Many generals have been put into use. The Wehrmacht not only dispatched the 11th Infantry Division to K?nigsberg in East Prussia but also transferred the newly established 26th Air Force there. They think it's time to teach Poland a lesson for its arrogance.

  A talent was reused; Rundstedt was appointed commander of the 3rd Division and Commander of the Berlin Military District, and six months later he became Commander of the 1st Group Command in Berlin, with four infantry divisions and two cavalry divisions under his command. The Reichswehr Ministry, after consultation with the government, decided to transfer Rundstedt and his troops to Stettin, where they would join the 12th Infantry Division, awaiting orders, possibly as part of the first armed force to be sent to Danzig.

  Just as a series of orders were being issued from the heart of Germany, Berlin, Xu Yang returned, bringing only two people with him; Barbarossa-Rick and Weist-Joseph.

  At this time, Xu Yang was in the headquarters, where he would meet his new superior Erich von Manstein and get to know each other. From then on, the two men would work together to form a new armored division, with the original plan cancelled and the number of the 2nd Armored Division taken by Rommel, Xu Yang would build an armored division mainly composed of medium tanks with a stranger.

  In recent years, Germany's industry has revived, and the technology of weapons has developed to a very high level. History has always been driven by war, and for military-industrial enterprises, corresponding scientific and technological developments have accelerated, first being used in the military and ultimately benefiting civil life.

  Civilization has been advancing with killings and perishing with killings.

  The victory of the Rhine stimulated the government and the national defense army, and also greatly enhanced the people's self-esteem and confidence. Under a deliberate propaganda, the people began to prepare for war under the leadership of the government. This preparation was not about shouting loudly, but putting enthusiasm into work, as if everyone knew that Germany would inevitably have a war in the future, and if they didn't prepare now, nothing could be done in the future.

  The government, in order to finance its armaments, issued a "Metallurgische Gesellschaft" security on Helfferich's suggestion. The Metallurgische Gesellschaft was a purely fictitious institution whose capital was provided by the major munitions manufacturers. The German government used this security to pay for the purchase of munitions, and under guarantee from the Deutsche Bank, these securities were not cashed when they reached the munitions manufacturers, or the cashing-in period was delayed as much as possible; interest was paid by the government. This was equivalent to the Deutsche Bank providing a huge credit to the government.

  This measure was extremely successful, the government's military spending was not obtained through taxation from the bottom of society, but by exchanging future benefits with major arms manufacturers. Germany's military strength has been strengthened without increasing the burden on the people, and instead, the construction of civil life has brought infinite benefits to the people, and Germany's unemployment rate has also dropped to an acceptable percentage.

  Before the Nazi Party came to power, that is during the Weimar Republic period, there were shortages of raw materials for armaments and agricultural products, and the army's gasoline reserves were almost depleted. This scarcity was due to the harsh conditions faced by Germany in its foreign trade. After the Nazi Party came to power, the government had to take care of military expenditures while also satisfying civilian economic demands, which was actually impossible to do. It wasn't until early 1934 that Germany set a maximum wage limit, allowing the state to withdraw more money from national income and thus repay the increasingly large public debt.

  The mess left by the Weimar Republic could not be solved in a short time, which had a great impact on the strategy of the early Third Reich. If the empire did not have a good Minister of Finance, it is hard to say whether Germany would sink or not.

  Hilter solved Germany's massive unemployment problem by constantly expanding military equipment needs, stimulating the prosperity and development of the military industry and related industries. Skilled workers entered the armory, unskilled workers built highways, and these unemployed armies entered the labor market, although the average salary was very low, but the overall purchasing power of society increased, and people no longer hovered on the hunger line.

  They praise their Minister of Finance, thank God from the heart and thank everyone who can be thanked. They finally have a job and can make a living on their own. The solution to unemployment has also eliminated Germany's public security problem. With a job, no one wants to cause trouble anymore. They cherish this hard-won job.

  Of course, the scarcity of basic consumer goods at home meant that increased purchasing power existed only on paper. As one solution, the government encouraged a simple, peasant-style life for the masses, seeking warmth and full bellies rather than luxury. People were called upon to use fish instead of meat, black bread instead of white bread, and ersatz butter instead of real butter. High-end foods such as game, seafood, caviar, foie gras, and imported high-end liquor were sold only in large restaurants and specialty food stores; enjoying these delicacies was promoted as un-German, sinful, and decadent behavior. Ordinary middle-class treats like tropical fruit, imported meat, coffee, white bread, and fresh butter were also not commonly seen on the German market.

  Generally speaking, poor Germany cannot afford too much consumption, the government has to prepare for too many things. The people also understand this advocacy, they have been destitute and hungry before. Luxury? Nobody wants it. They now prefer big guns over butter!

  The raw materials were Germany's greatest worry, and the lack of raw materials made it necessary for a large part of Germany to purchase from international society. This led to the "war preparation plan" advocated by Hjalmar Schacht, in which Germany exchanged large quantities of agricultural products and raw materials with China, Denmark, the Soviet Union, and Eastern European countries, paying with advanced industrial products.

  When it comes to China, Haru feels a great deal of headache. This distant country has enviable resources, but its industry is extremely backward, and the word "factory" is very depressing there. It has vast resources but lacks the ability to develop them. Influenced by Xuyang, Haru had a good impression of China, but... he's now in a dilemma.

  Haar is a man who separates public and private matters clearly, he would not sacrifice the interests of Germany to help countries that have good feelings in his heart. He carefully observed and found a very puzzling situation: that country does not want Germany's help in building its industry, it would rather use large amounts of resources to exchange for finished military equipment than spend several years building its own military-industrial complex.

  The more he came into contact with it, the more speechless he became. Haru understood what consequences this would bring, and he had already seen that this country would... inevitably suffer hardships in the future!

  The war plan even mentioned how to utilize the resources of the occupied territories. The industrial investment structure will be adjusted as the burden on the economic system increases, so that the imbalance between various departments can be corrected. Although some unexpected situations will inevitably arise economically, people cannot reason that because military spending is so high, the German people generally believe that war is inevitable.

  A strong sense of crisis has led to extreme tension in production conditions, and the change in the national economic structure has gradually increased social pressure, which has also increased the temptation of war. Similarly, the kind of economic recovery and construction based on preparation for war has extremely dangerous limitations.

  Fortunately, public opinion supports this war mobilization of the economy, and major financiers, capitalists, and bankers also see future benefits. They believe that to gain benefits, they must continuously participate in construction. Moreover, during the implementation of the war preparation plan, they can also gain practical benefits, such as national armament orders and various preferential policies, which make them smile even in their dreams.

  The international situation is changing day by day. In order to take back what belongs to Germany, everyone knows that war will come inevitably. If we don't make preparations, we can only wait for our own destruction.

  One victory (the retaking of the Rhine) gave all German people a glimpse of hope, they firmly believed that the international community was treating Germany unfairly, with renewed confidence, the people began to march towards war step by step under government guidance.

  Get ready! Glory belongs to Germany!