章節 64: 64
April 14, 1940
New Fuhrer's Residence in Berlin, Germany
"Kyaat, heavy rain!"
After receiving Leather's message, I couldn't control my emotions and jumped up from my seat.
One Royal Navy battleship, one battlecruiser, one aircraft carrier, and four destroyers were sunk.
In contrast, our forces' damage ended with 16 aircraft being shot down, two destroyers being damaged, and Bismarck's radar being hit.
It is truly a complete victory worthy of being called a great victory.
What makes this victory even more valuable is that not only did our troops suffer minor losses, but the Crixmarine, which was considered to be one step below the British Navy, dealt a blow to the British Navy.
Since the battle took place in a situation where the friendly forces had a much greater advantage, it may be considered a natural result.
But think about what actually happened in history.
The German Navy invaded Norway to establish a North Atlantic outpost and keep the British Navy in check, but was instead destroyed.
Unlike the U-boats that paid their bills until the end of the war, the large ships of the Kryx Marine were humiliated in the Battle of the Barents Sea after struggling against the Allied Navy, and Hitler, who was enraged by this, ordered all large ships to be dismantled and used for the Atlantic Wall. did.
The order to dismantle the large ship was canceled thanks to the earnest persuasion of Doenitz, who replaced the resigned Reder as admiral, but the Kriegsmarine remained under the control of the British Navy until the end of the war.
Those guys got the exact opposite result here, so of course I can't help but be happy.
In particular, HMS Warspite and HMS Renown, which were sunk this time, were named warships that served throughout World War II and survived until the end of the war.
Warspite made a remarkable performance throughout Norway, destroying nearly half of the ships of the Kryxmarine's surface fleet, and was later sent to the Mediterranean theater, where it destroyed the Italian Navy and also participated in the Normandy landings.
In the case of Renown, thanks to its beautiful and luxurious appearance, it was mobilized for the British royal family's overseas tours, and gained fame by participating in major battles such as the Norwegian Campaign and the chase for Bismarck.
Both ships are legendary warships of the British Navy, but they were unable to function properly in this world and became a pile of scrap metal, sinking to the bottom of the sea. The British people will shed bloody tears.
I informed Leder that I would award Lütjens and Lindemann the Knight's Cross and promote them to captain and brigadier general, respectively.
Also, since this level of criminal history was enough, they were instructed not to go wild for a while and stick to the Norwegian coast.
It's good to celebrate victory, but you shouldn't become so intoxicated with victory that you become complacent.
There are many cases in history where people were doing well but got overconfident and made a mistake.
In the future, I don't want to see an entry titled 'Cryxmarine's victory, but subsequent mistakes' appearing in history books or Wikipedia.
"Mr. President, Minister Ribbentrop is here."
"Let me inside."
A moment after Krause left, Ribbentrop entered the room.
"Mr. President, I have received a call from the Danish government. "The King of Denmark wants to meet His Excellency the President in person and hold talks."
***
On the day when the German Navy achieved a victory greater than anyone could have imagined, another sad news came to the Danes.
It was news that Danish Iceland and Greenland had been attacked by British and Canadian troops.
After the Danish mainland was attacked by British air raids, the Danish troops stationed in Iceland and Greenland were put on high alert, but with a small number of troops and only a few patrol boats and rifles, they had no chance of victory.
Gottthof, which served as the capital of Greenland, was declared a defenseless city when Canadian troops landed.
The Danish army decided to abandon the city, retreat inland, and launch a guerrilla war. The Danish military stationed in Iceland made the same decision.
It was suicidal to fight head-on against the British and Canadian troops who had brought their destroyers with rifles and grenades.
It was a wise choice to fight the enemy with guerrilla warfare, which could operate with only poor armament and a small number of personnel.
To make up for the worsening public opinion caused by turning the three Scandinavian countries into enemies, the British government heavily promoted the occupation of Iceland and Greenland.
Media outlets that received instructions from the government all published articles explaining how big an island Greenland is and how much strategic value Iceland has, and printed them in newspapers, enlarging the size of the 'bloodless occupation' emphasized by the government.
The Jujeon faction, which had been daunted for a while by the world's criticism, was happy that the government had achieved a long-awaited victory, but was shocked by the news of the crushing defeat of its own navy.
The news that the British Navy, which prided itself on being the best in the world, was annihilated in an engagement with the German Navy without even being able to fight properly, shocked even hardliners who actively supported the war.
"Warmonger Chamberlain, step down! "Go away!"
"We want peace! "Don't drag your people into war anymore!"
"We are desperately opposed to a war of aggression!"
BUF party members came out at this moment and joined the anti-war demonstrators, shouting slogans against the war.
Whenever a protest was held, the police were deployed to forcibly disperse the demonstrators, but anti-war public opinion did not die down, but rather grew more and more vibrant.
***
April 15, 1940
10 Downing Street, London, England
"The news is that the number of people joining the anti-war protests is increasing. "Fascist bastards like the BUF also started creeping out."
Chamberlain paused and stared at Churchill.
Churchill spoke, trying to avoid Chamberlain's gaze.
"There are still more people who support the government, so there is no need to worry too much."
"Let us get our word straight. The whole world is criticizing us for the attack on Norway that you claimed. Even the people began to question the legitimacy of the war. "Is there anything else you want to say?"
"The attack on Norway was inevitable. Still, since we were able to block Germany's supply of iron ore, the goal itself can be seen as achieved."
Churchill, a seasoned politician, decided that if he admitted his mistake, the situation would only get worse.
Admitting a mistake was tantamount to giving the other party a reason to attack you.
In essence, politics is like a fight on a single-wood bridge, and the fight does not end unless one side falls off the bridge. The moment you admit your mistake, that's it.
If you don't want to give up the hilt to your opponent, you have to keep holding on to it. In times like these, I have no choice but to go out shamelessly.
"Anyway, even if a weak country like Norway or Denmark ran amok, they would not be a match for the British Empire. We have the best navy in the world, and we are allied with France, which has the most powerful army in the world! So what have you to fear?"
"······her!"
Chamberlain asked Churchill, who was acting shamelessly, in a colder voice than before.
"Don't you know that the navy, said to be the world's strongest, suffered a crushing defeat from the German navy, which was considered several numbers lower? "I'm asking because I'm genuinely curious."
"Well, that is..."
Churchill was speechless for a moment due to the question that caught him off guard, but he soon came out as shameless as usual.
"It was like a disaster that happened by chance! Our navy fought valiantly and inflicted damage on the enemy. And that question sounds like it disparages the struggles and sacrifices of our soldiers."
This time Chamberlain was speechless.
It was Churchill's fault for dispersing his forces to completely take control of Narvik, but strictly speaking, Prime Minister Chamberlain could not be said to be completely free from responsibility.
"What has already happened cannot be undone! "It's important to think about what to do next, regretting is useless!"
Churchill gathered momentum and brought out his specialty, a long speech.
Even the cabinet members, who had just looked at Churchill with cold eyes, fell into a trance at Churchill's speech.
"Although there was unexpected damage, the war situation was not that bad. We captured Narvik and Bergen, successfully cutting off Germany's intended supply of iron ore.
Italy's Mussolini has also promised to cooperate with us and attack Austria soon. No matter how much the German army flies and crawls, it would be difficult to fight in the south and north at the same time. "If our and French troops take advantage of the enemy's dispersed forces to cross the border and march toward Berlin, even Hitler will be left holding up a white flag!"
Seeing Churchill confident of victory, Chamberlain felt an unknown sense of anxiety.
As Churchill said, the war situation is not all that bad.
Mussolini also promised to attack Austria soon, and France's 1 million-strong army also remains intact.
Although it was humiliated this time, the fact that the British Navy was superior to the German Navy did not change.
But... why do I have such an uneasy feeling?
why?
***
April 19, 1940
Amalienborg Palace, Copenhagen, Denmark
Maybe it was because my eyes had grown too high while living in the new Presidential Residence, which boasts an incredibly large size, but when I entered Amalienborg Palace, I couldn't help but feel that it was small and cozy.
As expected from being the residence of members of the Danish royal family, the interior was full of luxurious and colorful decorations.
I was somewhat surprised to see the armor worn by medieval knights displayed in a corner of the hallway, perhaps because it was the king or queen's taste.
"Nice to meet you, Fuhrer Hitler. "Welcome to Denmark."
King Christian X of Denmark held out his hand to me with a faint smile.
"It is an honor to meet you, Your Majesty."
Considering the actions of Christian X in actual history, it was a truly ironic moment.
"I heard that my granddaughter was born three days ago. Congratulations."
"Hehe, thank you."
Three days earlier, on April 16, Margrethe II, who would later become Queen of Denmark, was born.
When the subject of his granddaughter was mentioned, a smile spread across Christian X's face.
For people of this age, there is nothing more enjoyable to talk about than talking about grandchildren.
"After hearing the news, I quickly brought you a gift, but I'm not sure if you'll like it."
The gifts I prepared were handmade clothes and handkerchiefs made by a craftsman who has specialized in making baby clothes for 40 years, and high-quality chocolate for new mothers.
This may be common in the Danish royal family, but what is more important is the act of giving a gift rather than the gift itself.
It was a gift prepared by the president of a country for the granddaughter of his country's royal family, so anyone would be amazed by a painting of this size.
As expected, the king's mouth was on edge.
"There is no need to prepare a gift... but thank you very much. "I'm sure my son and daughter-in-law will be happy."
"It would be perfect if that were the case."
The first meeting with Christian X was successful.
The reason he invited me was to conclude a German-Danish military alliance and request various support.
Since they already had a common enemy, Britain, the issue of concluding a military alliance was resolved in 5 minutes, but what happened next was a little more complicated.
Christian X most wanted new German weapons to arm the Danish army, especially tanks and aircraft.
"It's not something I would say as the king of this country, but the state of our military's armament is extremely poor. "Compared to the armies of powerful countries such as Germany, England, and France, they are nothing more than toy soldiers."
As King Christian X said, the condition of the Danish army was truly miserable.
Even considering that it was a country that had no need to go to war, the state of armament was not very reasonable.
The only armored vehicles it has are the Italian-made Fiat 3000 light tank based on the French Renault FT-17 and the Swedish-made light armored vehicle, and most of the aircraft are outdated biplanes.
Among the fighter planes owned by the Danish military, the Fokker D.21, which was the only decent fighter, was far inferior to the Bf109 in performance and was still in short supply.
Of course, since they could not properly fight the British army with these things, it was natural to turn their attention to German-made weapons that had proven their performance in actual combat.
"All right. First, let's discuss armored vehicles. What do you want specifically?"
"First of all, I want Panzer 4. "Approximately 50 years old."
This old man, you've been on the brink from the beginning.
Isn't 50 Panzer 4 too much?
If Germany had as much money and superior industrial power as the United States, it would have willingly provided about 50 tanks, but unfortunately, Germany is not the United States.
Even though the situation is better than in actual history, the number of tanks is not sufficient. There is just enough for the Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS.
But giving 50 tanks to a country that has just become an ally without even asking?
Not tank 1 or 2, but tank 4? Not this.
And give Denmark 50 tanks. What will Norway and Sweden think?
Little Denmark received 50 tanks, so they would probably like to receive more.
"Of course, I won't ask for it for free. "Even if it's not all, I plan to pay as much as my finances allow."
Still, perhaps out of conscience, King Christian X did not ask me to provide weapons for free. The problem is that they said they would only pay for 10 of the 50 cars.
I was looking at it favorably because of its actual actions in history, but it looks like my inner evaluation may be changing a bit.
"That might be a bit difficult. As your Majesty knows, we, Germany, are facing a decisive battle with Britain and France. Therefore, you will have to work hard to gather up all the tanks in the rear. "It is very difficult to sell 50 tanks in such a situation."
"Hmm..."
I told him the truth because I thought it would be better to honestly explain the situation and refuse rather than making excuses and making excuses.
We are in dire need of tanks to use right now, and the generals will desperately oppose it, etc.
And unlike rifles, tanks are not weapons that can be used right away.
It requires at least a few months of education and training to be able to use it.
Above all, due to Denmark's location, ground battles rarely occur. Especially tanks.
It would be a different story if the Anglo-French army landed in Denmark, but in actual history, the Allied forces did not even come close to Denmark until the end of the war.
So there is no reason or need to hand over 50 precious Panzer IVs to Denmark.
King Christian
I have a reasonable suspicion that this seems like something you just said.
"I understand the situation in Germany. But our Danish army also needs change. "We don't know when the English army will land in Denmark, and even then, we can't just ask them to fight with those old-fashioned weapons, right?"
I can understand Christian X's feelings. Anyone can see that the equipment currently being used by the Danish army is outdated equipment that would only be used in Germany's second- and third-tier units.
Since you can't just roll with things like that forever, you might want to take this opportunity to bring in the latest weapons.
After an hour of negotiations, I came up with a compromise that was satisfactory to Christian X.
"Your Majesty's will is so firm that there is nothing we can do. First, we will give you 20 Tanks 1, 20 Tanks 2, 10 Tanks 4, and 20 Sd.Kfz 221 light reconnaissance armored vehicles used by our German army. You will only receive the price for Panzer 2 and Panzer 4, and the rest will be given free of charge for Denmark. Are you satisfied with this?"
"Very good. Thank you, President."
Only then did Christian X regain his smile. Even this amount is enough for the Danish military to be satisfied.
In addition to the tanks used for training, police, and base security purposes, there are a triple-digit number of tanks stored in the warehouse as spares, so it is okay to hand over about 20 tanks. The same goes for Sd.Kfz 221.
In addition to tanks and armored vehicles, the issue of vehicles essential to the military - especially trucks - was surprisingly not mentioned.
Is it because the performance and quantity of what the Danish military is currently using is sufficient? Vehicles are already as tight as tanks, so it was fortunate that there was no mention of this issue.
"Now that the tank issue has been resolved, let's move on to the aircraft issue."
"great. First of all, our poison-"
"It's urgent!"
Our conversation was interrupted by Krause's urgent shout.
When I received the telegram in Krause's hand, I was at a loss for words.
It's coming.
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