Chapter 106: Chapter 184 Bestowal of Ranks
Berlin Imperial Palace.
In a spacious and brightly lit banquet hall, the military band is nervously rehearsing the pieces they are about to play. Well-dressed waiters move back and forth, each person wearing a smile, meticulously serving the guests present.
High-ranking military officials gather together, and Rundstedt, dressed in a magnificent military uniform, is surrounded by countless people, amidst a continuous stream of congratulations.
For the military, today is a day worthy of celebration. The humiliation brought about by the end of the last great war left these soldiers stifled to the extreme. The taste of being treated as slaves without actually being defeated tormented each and every one of them. If given a choice, they would rather die on the battlefield than endure such disgrace.
However, a turning point occurred in 1928 when a sudden car accident took the life of the Crown Prince, who was supposed to be the heir to the throne, and severely injured the three grand princes. The seemingly useless and extravagant Crown Prince became the heir to the throne in the eyes of others.
Contrary to everyone's expectations, this Crown Prince used astonishing means to improve the economy, reform the military, and step by step, led everyone in regaining Germany's dignity.
The Crown Prince personally led forces into the Rhineland, and for the first time after the war, Germany reclaimed its own territory. Subsequently, without shedding blood, Germany annexed Austria and Czechoslovakia, obtaining these two crucial regions, providing significant compensation to the battered German economy, both industrially and economically.
The Crown Prince seemed to possess an amazing talent in various fields, as if guided by divine intervention. In the military, he assisted the bewildered German forces in formulating directions for advancement. The army, based on mechanized infantry and tanks, established plans for blitzkrieg and deep operations. The navy, to achieve strategic goals surpassing England, abandoned all-round development of battleships and adopted carrier tactics. The air force, starting from scratch, rapidly advanced to become a world-class force.
A "Central European military powerhouse" with a population of 35.1 million and an army of over 1.5 million collapsed within a short 18 days. The Polish army suffered more than 66,000 casualties, with over 100,000 wounded and approximately 1 million captured or surrendered. In contrast, the German army achieved a miraculous outcome with only around 5,000 casualties and 30,000 wounded.
Triumph is achieved by raising one's eyebrows and exhaling!
This battle not only made Europe, but the entire world take notice of Germany. It turned blitzkrieg into a hot topic in military circles worldwide. Countries like France, England, the Soviet Union, and the United States, possessing large-scale mechanized forces, began in-depth research on armored warfare. However, how much each of them comprehended from the Polish campaign depended on their own insight.
At this moment, Wilhelm, dressed in formal attire in his room, suddenly burst into laughter. Sylvia, who was helping him tidy up his clothes, looked curious. "What's so funny, Wilhelm?"
The Spanish princess who had come a few years ago seemed to have settled in permanently, and the Italian royal family seemed to have forgotten about her—no inquiries or concerns after all this time.
As they say, familiarity breeds affection, and the two of them naturally evolved into a "cohabitation" relationship.
Wilhelm smiled and said, "It's nothing. I suddenly remembered a saying, 'A country that belittles others while being small, fears strength while having little power, lacks manners and disrespects neighbors, is greedy and arrogant, and has poor diplomacy, is destined to perish.'"
"I don't understand." Looking at Sylvia's bewildered face, Wilhelm affectionately stroked her hair. "It's an allusion from ancient China. It's normal if you don't understand."
This sentence is from the Warring States period, "Han Feizi, Chapter 15: The Collapse through Neglect." It means a country, if small but not subservient, weak but not fearing the strong, lacking in etiquette and insulting to neighboring great nations, greedy, stubborn, and ignorant of diplomacy, is likely to perish.
This phrase is a true reflection of the demise of Poland, making all your struggles result in your own demise, right?
Fully dressed, Wilhelm headed to the banquet hall. When he was about to arrive, he saw Admiral Rader, the Chief of Naval Staff, hastily approaching. "Your Highness, the High Seas Fleet is on its way back to port."
Wilhelm frowned slightly. "So soon? Encountering the British fleet again?"
The Chief of Naval Staff lowered his head somewhat shamefully. "Yes."
Wilhelm's expression turned unpleasant; this was the second time! The High Seas Fleet had once again scurried back with its tail between its legs!
The navy still lacked the courage to engage the British navy!
If they couldn't deal with the British navy, landing on the British Isles would remain a pipe dream. Without landing on the British mainland, the German forces would be trapped in a two-front war. Eventually, Britain would become a springboard for the Allied counterattack on the European continent, and his fate would be hiding in a dark basement, drinking bullets and ending his life!
Wilhelm was ready to curse!
The German navy was much stronger than in the original timeline. Just looking at the scale of the High Seas Fleet's current deployment, there was an Essex-class aircraft carrier, the battleship cruiser Schanhorst, the battleship cruiser Gneisenau, Admiral Hipper heavy cruiser, and several cruisers and destroyers.
However, this Essex-class aircraft carrier, although it completely copied the data of the American carriers, could only accommodate 75 aircraft, whereas the American version had a maximum capacity of 100-103 aircraft.
The navy engineers explained that, although they designed the blueprints based on Wilhelm's data and verified them several times, they were still building a large aircraft carrier of this displacement for the first time. For safety reasons, they added some additional watertight compartments to ensure everything went smoothly.
Since the first ship was successful, subsequent constructions would not require these additional watertight compartments, and the aircraft capacity would increase to 100.
Considering the takeoff and landing issues of the Bf 109, Wilhelm specifically ordered the production of 30 FW 190t models to be allocated to the aircraft carrier.
Even with this formidable formation, Wilhelm was infuriated that the British navy had scared them off again!
Suppressing his annoyance, Wilhelm said, "Today is a festive day; let's not talk about these matters. Come, let's go and congratulate our esteemed marshal."
"Your Highness has arrived!" A rough shout came from outside the door, instantly silencing the bustling hall. All the officers sitting here stood up, raised their chins high, and straightened their spines.
Everyone faced the door, raised their right hands, and shouted, "Long live Germany!"
Wilhelm entered with a faint smile on his face, gently raised his forearm to signal the end of the salute, and everyone dispensed with the formality, the sound of arms dropping down in unison.
Wilhelm picked up a glass of wine from the side, slowly spoke, "Twenty years of enduring humiliation and carrying heavy burdens, in this battle, we have finally regained the dignity of Germany.
Today, on this memorable day, I pour a cup of wine to toast to those heroes who have passed away and those who are still alive; may the fallen heroes rest in peace, and may the living heroes be well. Germany will remember you, and the people will also remember you; you are the national heroes of Germany, the national spirit of Germany, the strongest backbone of Germany! With you, Germany will forever stand at the pinnacle of the world!"
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