章 305: 305
305
January 3, 1945
New Fuhrer's Residence in Berlin, Germany
The new year has arrived, but the pile of documents on the office desk still shows no signs of abating.
After numerous meetings and deliberations, it was decided that the Navy, which had become bloated, would be reorganized to suit the upcoming battlefield of the Cold War.
It was decided to sell the battleships owned by the German Navy. Raeder was opposed to the end, but even he was unable to properly refute Schacht's cost estimate for maintaining the battleships.
To put it bluntly, battleships, which require thousands of personnel and astronomical maintenance costs, are a threat to the coming 'modern war'.
Of course, the firepower of the battleship itself was powerful enough until the 1960s, so it cannot be said to be completely useless, but the development of upcoming technologies will replace the role of the battleship.
However, there was no intention to dismantle the battleships.
After World War II, the United States and Britain were unable to cover the maintenance costs of battleships, so they dismantled even the named class warships that had performed various feats in the war - Enterprise, Warspite, Furious, etc. - and later regretted not saving them.
Having learned a lesson here, I ordered the decommissioned battleships to remain as a maritime museum, despite Schacht's opposition that it would cost a lot of money.
"It may cost a little money now, but future generations will feel proud when they see the battleships that were active in the war. And tourists will come from all over the world, not just Europe, to see these, so wouldn't this be a pretty good source of revenue?"
"Hmm."
"Minister. We must be able to look into the distant future, not just tomorrow. "When have I ever been wrong?"
"If the President says so... … I understand."
Gneisenau and Scharnhorst remained as maritime museums.
"Mr. President! Not as good as these! "If you take these away from the Navy, I will resign!"
"Calm down, Marshal. "What kind of resignation letter-"
"This is the old man's last request. So please! please!"
Bismarck, Tirpitz, and Friedrich der Grosse were able to remain in active service because of Raeder's vigorous opposition.
In fact, the Iowa-class battleships were in active service until the 1990s and were completely retired in the early 21st century, so it was decided to keep about three of these ships.
It's not like we can be sure that battleships will have no use at all for the time being.
Battleship Hindenburg, formerly known as Dunkirk, was sold to the new Royal Navy.
Originally, the French had their eyes on it, and since they offered a fairly reasonable price, they considered selling it back to France, but it is unacceptable for a ship named after Hindenburg to return the spoils it received from winning the battle against France back to France. The entire Navy opposed it.
Army figures such as Keitel and Brauchitsch, and even Göring.
"Mr. President. This is a matter of German pride. Just think what propaganda the French will make when they take those ships."
"That too."
It was England that came out at that time.
As you know, the British Navy fled to Canada, and the newly established British Navy in Britain was a navy in words, but in reality it was nothing but empty chaff.
Of course, there are no battleships or aircraft carriers, let alone cruisers, and at most there are only a few armed merchant ships and patrol boats.
We contacted them just as they heard that we were worried about the disposition of these oil-guzzling hippopotamuses.
Just sell me one battleship, no less.
"I guess the British government can barely afford to eat? "Is there any money left to buy a battleship?"
"It is difficult to pay the entire amount, and they say they will pay it back over 15 years."
"no. Even if that were the case, there wouldn't be one or two places to put money right now. "Why are you trying to buy a battleship when you don't have any?"
"Isn't that because it's England?"
Goering's point.
Yes, it is possible because it is the UK.
As an island country, Britain is famous for its navy. The navy is a symbol of Britain, but it is useless if you are broke and have nothing.
That is why, despite their poor means, they went to the extent of incurring debt to us to purchase warships.
Not only Mosley, but even King Edward VIII came forward and earnestly asked me to sell the battleship, and the Hindenburg's fate was decided to go to England.
I was just surprised that the British were going to buy battleships, but in fact, I wanted to rejoice.
Still, it costs too much to use it as a museum like Scharnhorst and Gneisenau - and we barely managed to persuade Schacht of his opposition to the previous two - but it was a waste to dismantle it, so we were wondering what to do, but people showed up willing to buy them at full price. I couldn't be happier.
Schacht was also very satisfied because it was like blowing his nose without touching him.
"It takes a little bit because they said it would be repaid over 15 years rather than in a lump sum."
"Anyway, isn't it good that we don't have to spend money? Let's think positively."
In addition to battleships, some of our navy's destroyers and cruisers were also sold to Britain. All the ships we sold were outdated, but Britain did not seem to care much.
For them, a navy without ships was more intolerable.
The fact that the battleship they had built was taken over by the British must have hurt their pride, so the French worked hard to get back the battleship Ludendorff, or Strasbourg, as the French call it, but this time too they had to suffer bitter hardships.
A competitor has appeared offering to buy battleships at a better price.
The competitor was not a European country. It was a country on the other side of the Atlantic called Argentina.
It may be unthinkable in the 21st century, but until then, Argentina was one of the richest countries in the world.
Many citizens of poor Southern European countries such as Italy and Spain, which only had a high status but did not have a good standard of living, left for South America in search of a better life, and among them, the largest number settled in Argentina.
The Argentine Navy also has battleships, but both of them are old ships built before World War I and were about to be retired. Argentina, which was looking for new battleships to replace the old ships, happened to find battleships that were barely used and were practically new. The panda heard the news and immediately came running.
The Dunkirk-class battleship Ludendorff and the Italian-made Littorio-class battleship Siegfried were sold to Argentina.
There was an opinion within the Navy that it would be a good idea to retire Bismarck and keep Littorio, and I sympathized with this, but because of Leder's opposition, citing Bismarck's symbolism, and various problems with Siegfried, the sale was ultimately decided.
Vittorio Veneto-Nibelungen was sold to the Russian Navy.
Free Russia also had a poor life, but it made no sense for the navy to not have a single large ship, so they made a strong request and sold it. They decided to receive the money slowly like Britain.
The money earned from selling battleships and obsolete ships will be used to reorganize the navy to fit the future battlefield.
"What the German Navy needs from now on is aircraft carriers and submarines, not battleships. Our scientists and engineers have worked together to develop a U-boat equipped with a Nebelwerfer, and we are modifying the V2 so that it can be launched from a U-boat as well. We are also developing a nuclear submarine that can be powered by nuclear energy. "I guarantee you that in the future these things will serve as today's battleships."
"You are right, Mr. President! "As times change, the Navy must change along with it."
Dönitz, a believer in submarines, enthusiastically agreed with my words, but Leder, who had not been able to let go of his attachment to the idea of big ships, still had a sullen expression on his face.
Anyway, a man who is old enough to act like a child.
The naval issue has been roughly resolved, but this is only the beginning.
Bigger problems still abound.
One of them was India. The place that Britain cherished the most and still holds on to in its hands.
Egypt, Iraq, and Palestine were liberated at the end of the war. Britain, which judged that it was impossible to protect these places, withdrew from the Middle East with tears in its eyes.
Egypt's monarchy was abolished, and Palestine achieved the independence it had dreamed of. Iraq was completely liberated from the clutches of Britain, which had bound it for so long, and was able to become a truly independent country, not just an independent country in name.
The problem is India. British troops withdrew from the Middle East were redeployed to India.
Even though they had given up on their homeland and moved to Canada, Britain seemed unable to give up on India, suppressing Indians demanding independence with guns and swords.
"Mr. President! Please! India, please save our country! "Those barbarians are determined to keep our people in slavery forever!"
My boss, who was staying in Berlin, came to visit me every day and complained in tears. Each time, I had to calm him down and send him away, saying I would do my best.
I don't know what the United States' intentions are, but judging from how it has remained quiet so far, it seems like it is letting Britain do as it pleases for the time being.
Otherwise, it would have been enough to put a stop to Britain's reckless actions.
Even though Wallace has a lot of communist tendencies, I thought he wouldn't be able to tolerate something like this, but I was surprised.
They may be unmotivated because they are scheduled to leave office in two months, but under the watchful eye of the United States, Britain is running around in India to its heart's content.
Gandhi and Nehru were also arrested by the British and imprisoned while protesting against British atrocities. When Gandhi, who was the spiritual leader of the Indian people, was imprisoned, the public sentiment of the Indian people boiled over.
Britain wouldn't have known that either. To that extent, England was just going out.
"You are out of your mind. "Are they saying they can't give up on India even though they are living in someone else's house?"
In reality, if they had any idea, the right thing to do was to liberate all the colonies they had and use the remaining money and troops to prepare for the Cold War.
But Britain was racing in exactly the opposite direction.
"What are you going to do with the President?"
"Of course we should help Indians, right?"
"But if we move our military, America will also move."
Ribbentrop was right. If the United States declared participation in the war in the name of liberating India, it was obvious that the United States would immediately join the war. It is unlikely that World War III would break out less than a year after the end of World War II. It is.
"But don't we have nuclear weapons? Even the United States will not be able to intervene if it threatens to use nuclear weapons if necessary."
Göring spoke in a confident tone, as if asking what he was so worried about.
Okay, I was wondering when that sound would come out.
"Goering. As I tell you, nuclear weapons should always be reserved as a last resort. You seem to think that nuclear weapons are some sort of panacea, but if you're going to solve everything with nuclear weapons, what's the point of diplomacy? "It's enough to threaten with nuclear weapons."
I'm not an elementary school teacher, so I wonder how long I have to explain everything to them.
As Goering said, if we take out nuclear weapons, the United States without nuclear weapons will be unable to move.
However, if Germany gets the taste of this, it will threaten with nuclear weapons at any time and will only instill a strong perception in the United States that dialogue with Germany is impossible.
And right now we don't have nuclear weapons, but the United States will develop nuclear weapons someday, so what will we do then? Although it started late, the United States has the funds and manpower to cover it. Its technological prowess is by no means inferior to that of Germany.
Expectedly, the United States will create nuclear weapons before 1950. Once the United States has nuclear weapons, threats using nuclear weapons will not work.
Even then, what if you don't know what to do and threaten with nuclear weapons and it doesn't work? Internationally, only dogs are being punished?
Of course, due to the nature of Germany, which lives on pride, there will be no option of only being humiliated and resigning, and in the end, the only option left is to use nuclear weapons.
If Germany uses nuclear weapons, the United States will also use nuclear weapons, and humanity will be exterminated peacefully.
"Before that happens, couldn't we use nuclear weapons to conquer America?"
This time, Goebbels stepped forward. The logic was that if we destroy the United States by breaking it up before the United States develops nuclear weapons, then what is there to worry about? Oh my, my head.
"There is a flaw in your logic. Germany pours all its nuclear weapons into the United States, but what if the United States does not surrender? What will you do if you fight against even more evil?"
It will take some more time for the V3, which is being developed as an ultra-long-range bomber and ICBM (Intercontinental Ballistic Missile) to bomb the American continent, to be released to the world.
The Me264, which has the longest range, lacks the explosive charge to carry a nuclear bomb.
Of course, it is not impossible to drop a nuclear bomb on the U.S. mainland by modifying the aircraft or giving up on returning and launching it from the Azores using an Fw 200 or He 177.
However, even if such a method is used, only the eastern part of the United States is within range, and the U.S. air defense network must also be taken into consideration.
Anyway, let's say we overcome all of this and drop a nuclear weapon on Washington or New York.
What if the United States evacuates to the West, establishes a temporary capital, and launches a resistance war? In the end, we have no choice but to land in the United States, but to do that, we have to cross the Atlantic Ocean.
In order to cross the Atlantic, the U.S. Navy must be annihilated first. Both the Atlantic Fleet and the Pacific Fleet.
Of course, it is difficult to dream with the German Navy alone, and it would be difficult even if all the navies of the Axis countries were mobilized. Since there are nuclear weapons, wouldn't it be okay to destroy the U.S. Navy with them?
To annihilate the U.S. Navy with nuclear weapons, all U.S. Navy ships must be gathered together.
Of course, the United States knows that we have nuclear weapons, so it will take this into account and disperse and operate its navy.
To annihilate the entire U.S. Navy with nuclear weapons, at least dozens of nukes are needed. Considering not only the U.S. Navy but also the Canadian Allied Navy, more are needed.
Moreover, Canada cannot stand still while the United States resists, so Canada must also be occupied.
United States + Canada = How many troops would be needed to virtually occupy all of North America? Not to mention those in their 20s and 30s, we would have to conscript every single man in Germany, excluding newborns and the elderly over 70.
Unless they all pack up and return to Germany once the war is over, at least a few hundred thousand people will have to remain in North America for a while and be managed.
Until the puppet government we established takes root.
Of course, until then, we must continue to fight against resistance forces hostile to Germany.
"Do you understand now?"
"uh… … ."
I am not a civilian who is ignorant of the military, and I have received education at a military academy and gained experience in actual combat, but I wish my head would not turn around like this.
There will never be a nuclear war while I'm alive - probably - but I'm really worried about what will happen after I die.
I think the Prussians, who only know this war, will try to solve things that can be solved through diplomacy through war.
Because you guys are like this, I can't retire comfortably. Shit.
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