Chapter 233 The Longest Day 1
A floor-standing self-ringing clock placed in the corner of Stalin's office issued 12 clear and loud bells, announcing the arrival of September 1, 1939 to the Soviet dictator.
The great leader of the Soviet Union raised his head from the pile of documents, looked at the dark night sky of Moscow, and then lowered his head to continue reading the long telegram sent by Mrs. Kollontai, the ambassador to Geneva.
Unlike another time and space, the current Soviet Union, Germany, Italy and Japan have not withdrawn from the League of Nations. These four countries constitute the majority of the permanent members of the League of Nations Council! Therefore, Ribbentrop, the foreign minister of Adolf Hitler's government, has been active in Geneva these days, striving to pass a resolution to abolish the Treaty of Versailles - this is not a unilateral tearing up by Germany, but a resolution by the League of Nations to abolish it, which has a different meaning.
The abolition of the Treaty of Versailles is a fatal blow to Poland in the field of international law! Because the Polish government had signed a border agreement with Germany in 1918, recognizing the German-Polish (Russian Poland) border before the World War as the border between the two countries. But the later Treaty of Versailles abolished the German-Polish Border Agreement.
If the Treaty of Versailles was abolished by the League of Nations, it would mean that the German-Polish Border Agreement would continue to be valid. Then from the perspective of international law, the large tracts of territory in western Poland that were acquired from the German Empire must be returned to Germany.
It would be justified for Germany to retake it by force.
(To explain, the borders between Germany, France and Belgium were confirmed by the Rhine Security Treaty and the Locarno Treaty signed in the 1920s. The border issue between Poland and Germany is still unresolved.)
However, it is not easy for such a resolution to pass the League of Nations, because Britain and France will definitely try their best to stop it.
Stalin thought: It seems that the Germans still want to break through the League of Nations. Even if they fail, they have shown their position that they have no intention of destroying Poland... Hitler's pseudo-socialist government is not determined to fight Britain and France to the end. The Soviet Union must be prepared to deal with the peace talks between Britain, France and Germany-the Soviet Union should make peace with Britain and France before Germany.
…
An hour after Stalin heard the midnight bell, the three Polish giants who gathered in the Belvedere Palace in Warsaw also heard the bell, and Poland also entered the early morning of September 1 (there is a time difference between Poland and the Soviet Union).
The atmosphere in the meeting room was a little heavy-the Germans submitted an ultimatum to Poland through the UK at 11:00 noon on the 31st (London time), demanding the entire coastal area (Danze Corridor) and merging the Free City of Danze, and only gave Poland 12 hours to reply.
Now 12 hours have passed, and the war may break out at any time!
"12 hours have passed," the Polish marshal, who looked a little tired, took a sip of coffee and smiled a little, "Maybe the German soldiers are preparing to attack, these poor guys, they will soon be killed by our soldiers."
"Marshal, will there really be no problem?" Polish President Ignacy Mościcki seemed a little worried. "We are likely to be caught in a two-front war."
"No problem," Rydz-Smigwi smiled, "The Germans and Russians made a fatal mistake. They gave us too much time to prepare. Poland has now mobilized 3 million troops, and 1 million of them have completed training and equipment. Most of them have reached the border with Germany and built fortifications. It will take at least a few months for the Germans to break through there, and then we can build a new line of defense in the Greater Poland region. By then, our British and French allies will surely launch an offensive on the Western Front, and the Germans will fall into the predicament of 1914 again. As for the Soviet Union...all they want is Ukraine. Let the Ukrainians resist. We have given them enough weapons and ammunition, and they should be able to hold out for more than a year."
...
When the midnight bell rang, Hessmann was not sleepy at all. He was talking with Admiral Kesselring, who was also the commander of the Eastern Front Air Force, Lieutenant General Manstein, Chief of Staff of the Eastern Front Headquarters, Lieutenant Colonel Model, Chief of Operations of the Eastern Front, and Colonel Helmut Heyer, the representative of the Baltic Fleet.
Because Heyer had formulated the first phase of the "Z" plan, which focused on building submarines, he was a German naval officer that Hessmann admired. Now, Colonel Heyer, on behalf of the British Naval Command, complained that the Eastern Front Command was recklessly using Germany's limited naval power.
It turned out that the "White Plan" led by Hessmann required the formation of the Baltic Fleet to attack the port of Danze from the sea.
According to Hessmann's request, all the main battleships of the German Navy, including two "Scharnhorst" class battleships, three "Germany" class armored ships, the "Admiral Hipper" heavy cruiser and the "Seidlitz" aircraft carrier were included in the Baltic Fleet.
They are now wandering outside the Danze Bay, waiting for the outbreak of war to bombard the port and artillery of Danze with cannons...
"Admiral, your plan completely disrupted the Navy Command's plan to disrupt trade." Colonel Heyer said, "Although submarines can also attack enemy merchant ships, they cannot attract the main force of the British home fleet."
"I know," Hersman glanced at Colonel Haye, "because the General Staff and the Naval Aviation Command have formulated a plan to attack Scapa Flow immediately after the war with Britain... We are preparing to use 120 aircraft Junkers Ju.88s, 120 He111s, 100 shore-based He115s and 60 latest Zero fighters went to bomb Scapa Flow.”
"What?" Colonel Haye opened his mouth wide and was speechless for a long time. The General Staff actually went beyond the Naval Command and jointly planned the air attack on Scapa Flow with the Naval Aviation - although the Naval Aviation was "professional" from the Air Force and had never been able to get along with the Naval Command.
But that is the Naval Aviation after all, not the Air Force Marine Corps!
"Colonel, such a major operation should be approved by the Navy Command. It is indeed improper for us to prepare for the air strike without telling the Navy. We must apologize. After I finish beating the Poles, I will personally apologize to Marshal Redl."
Hersman gently turned the coffee cup in his hand and said in gentle words: "But the General Staff and the Naval Aviation Command have been preparing for a long time, and the operation must be carried out no matter what.
Moreover, once this operation is successful, it will completely change the comparison of British and German naval strength. According to reconnaissance by the intelligence department, the British Home Fleet currently has 7 battleships, 2 battlecruisers, 4 aircraft carriers and 15 cruisers. Most of them are now anchored in Scapa Flow, awaiting the outbreak of war. In order to prevent them from leaving the harbor to search for our destroyers, the main force of the German Navy should make an appearance in Danze Bay. "
…
"Prime Minister, a Polish naval reconnaissance plane discovered 2 battleships, 1 aircraft carrier, and 4 heavy cruisers in the waters outside Danze Bay... They are the German fleet!"
When London, England ushered in September 1, 1939, Winston Churchill was already Lord of the Admiralty. He was reporting to British Prime Minister Chamberlain on the movements of the German navy in the conference room of the Admiralty on Whitehall Street.
Britain was founded on a navy, so the Admiralty has a very high status in the British government. The Admiralty is also the place where the British cabinet often gathers for meetings.
After Germany issued the ultimatum, the British government knew that war was inevitable, so it held an all-night meeting at the Admiralty to discuss countermeasures.
"Four heavy cruisers?" Chamberlain did not remember that Germany had four heavy cruisers.
"Prime Minister, the Poles may regard the three 'Deutschland' class pocket battleships as heavy cruisers." First Sea Lord (equivalent to Chief of Naval Staff) Sir Pound explained, "This shows that the German capital ships will not be used for the time being. Breaking into the North Sea to break diplomatic ties is reassuring news.”
"This is great," Chamberlain thought for a while and frowned again, "But the main force of the German navy appears outside Danze Bay. Does it mean that the Germans will soon start a war?"
"I think so," Foreign Minister Viscount Halifax looked a little angry. "The Germans were not sincere and only gave the Poles 12 hours. They also refused to recognize the status of the Polish envoy just because the Polish envoy did not cede Permissions of Danze Corridor.”
"The Germans just want to fight!" Churchill took a puff of his cigar, and then said in a contemptuous tone, "They were unconvinced after losing last time, and now they want to fight again. But how can they win? We have such a world The most powerful navy, the French have the most powerful army in the world, and the Poles have also mobilized and armed 3 million people... This is more than the current total strength of the German army! "
"But the Soviet Union is very likely to side with Germany!" Viscount Halifax said.
"So what?" Churchill waved his hand nonchalantly, "Aren't we ready to bomb Baku? As long as the oil in Baku is blown up, the mechanized armies of the Soviet Union and Germany will soon be unable to move because there is no oil. He looked at the Foreign Secretary and said, "Viscount, do the Turks agree to our use of their airport?"
"No," Viscount Halifax said with a smile, "President Ismet Inonu is a very cunning guy. How could he easily let Turkey fall into a war? But he said that Turkey's air force Weak and without radar, it was impossible to detect bombers from Iraq and French Syria flying over their airspace."
Churchill burst out laughing, "Isn't this enough? We will definitely win... This time, we must not spare Germany lightly!"