Chapter 893 European Community Joint Armaments Conference

Now the adjustment of Germany's armament construction plan is no longer something that can be decided by the German Empire's Supreme Command in a meeting. Because before the surrender of the British mainland, the armament of the European Community had embarked on the route of joint development and cooperative production. At the beginning, it was a joint armament construction with Germany and France as the core. From the second quarter of 1943, Britain (mainland) also officially joined the European Community's joint armament plan, and in April 1943, a European Community Joint Armament Committee was officially established to study and formulate armament plans.

Of course, the German Empire still occupies an absolute dominant position in this armament committee!

On June 26, after the German High Command passed the resolution to re-formulate the armament plan, Imperial Marshal Hessmann temporarily handed over a large number of things in the General Staff to Guderian, and he went to Europa Castle, the capital of the European Community, with the directors of the German Navy, Army and Air Force Armament Bureau, and Albert Speer, the director of the German Armament Bureau, to meet with representatives of France, Britain, Hungary-Croatia, Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Spain, Ireland, Bulgaria, Romania, Greece, and of course the Russian Empire, which was ready to fully participate in the process of European integration.

Europa Castle is located in Strasbourg, the former capital of Alsace, on the west bank of the Rhine, across the river from the German state of Baden-Württemberg. The main residents of this city are Germans. They belonged to the German Empire in the decades between the Franco-Prussian War and the First World War, and were ceded to France after the First World War. After France was defeated again in 1940, the entire Alsace, including Strasbourg, and the neighboring Lorraine region were taken away from France again.

However, Alsace and Lorraine were not formally incorporated into the German Empire, but became the "European Capital Region" and were named the Central State. Strasbourg was renamed Europa Castle and became the capital of the European Community.

Of course, the Central State and Europa Castle have been under the protection of the German Imperial Government since June 1940, and men of appropriate age must serve in the German army. It is actually German territory!

Because it has become the capital of Europe, the Central State and Europa Castle have been under construction for nearly three years. When Hessmann arrived here, Europa Castle seemed like a large construction site. However, the city under construction is still very clean and tidy, and appears to be in order.

The person in charge of the construction of this European Community capital is not a Nazi politician, but a politician in the Alsace-Lorraine region named Robert Schumann, the father of the European Community in history!

He was a German before World War I and served in the German army. After World War I, he became a Frenchman (it was not his fault, Germany agreed to cede land), and became the leader of the Lorraine Republican Union, a small local party in France, and became a member of the French Parliament.

After Alsace-Lorraine became a central state of the European Community, he became one of the first European citizens. At the end of 1940, he joined the European Unity Party, an overseas branch of the Fatherland People's Party (Germany), and won the election for the first mayor of Europa Castle.

However, when he arrived at Hessman by plane, he did not see the "Father of the European Community" in Europa Castle - welcoming and seeing off is not popular in Germany, and there is not much "entertainment expenses" in Schuman's city government, and there is no gray area to use.

Hessman's "soul" was not used to the rigidity of the Germans at first. Most of the people here are stubborn. As long as it is a prescribed matter, they basically do it, and they are not compromised. So as long as the rules and regulations are still there, it is difficult to break through.

It is said that someone in later generations made fun of the Germans by putting "Men" and "Women" signs on public telephone booths, and arranged for a person to stay in the men's booth. As a result, German men who wanted to make calls lined up outside the men's booth, and no one went to the empty women's booth... Oh, it seems that a man went to the women's booth later, but he was a Frenchman in Germany.

So in Germany, not only is the system very strict, but most people will abide by it consciously, so the administrative cost is very low and the efficiency is relatively high. However, for those in power, this strictness and efficiency are also inconvenient... Mainly, it is not convenient to make money!

For a person as powerful as Hersman, who has been in power for so many years, he has never accepted any bribes or embezzled a mark. And those who got promotions and large contracts from him were not conscious at all, and no one secretly gave gifts to his family... Even if there were, they would definitely be kicked out by the rigorous and cute Chloe.

However, the incorruptible Hessmann was actually considered very rich among the Junker nobles (Junker officers who were ennobled), after all, he married Chloe, the heir of the ancient earl family.

Moreover, in the past twenty years, Hessmann and Chloe had done some business. Before the economic crisis in the 1920s, they held a large amount of gold, and took advantage of the crisis to buy a large amount of assets at low prices (mainly land, real estate, artworks and stocks of large companies). According to the market value in 1943, there were still 70 to 80 million European marks in property.

In the military and political circles of Germany, this net worth can also be regarded as a rich man. But compared with the ruling class in most countries in the world, his net worth can only be regarded as a poor man.

However, the Juncker military group's ability to dominate Europe for so many years is inseparable from "poverty". If it were easy to make a profit, Juncker would have become synonymous with a playboy. How could there be famous generals from generation to generation?

…

The rigor and efficiency of the German Empire were now brought to EC affairs. There was not much prior communication or off-stage dealings, and the formal meeting took place the day after Hersman arrived at Fort Europa.

The meeting was held in the newly completed building of the Commission of the European Communities - the Commission of the European Communities is not the Senate of the Community, but the prototype of a common European government. The Commission Building is a very impressive building, which looks a bit like the German Chancellery.

In a small conference room that had just been renovated and still exuded the aroma of wood, Hersman met with military or government representatives from Britain, France, Russia, Hungary, Belgium, Norway, Finland, Spain, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece and other countries. Got the noodles.

There were no representatives from the New Roman Empire, the Netherlands and Sweden, two "quasi-European Community countries", and no representatives from Japan. They are all representatives of the members of the European Community. Only Russia is a little special, but it is also a country that is determined to join the European Community.

"His Royal Highness Prince Yusupov," Hersman greeted Russia's chief representative, Chief of General Staff Yusupov, at the beginning of the meeting. “Let me first tell you about the principles of the European Community’s armaments. Our European Community countries adopt common defense and common armaments.

In principle, all weapons and equipment are developed and used jointly by all countries in the European Community. This can maximize the resource and industrial advantages of the European Community and reduce the cost of weapon development and production.

But at present, this is only a principle that has just begun to be implemented, because there are still many old-fashioned equipment being produced and improved in the countries of the European Community. "

"We in Russia have no objection to this." Prince Yusupov replied, "We have received many arsenals in Petrograd, including production lines for the production of T-34 and KV tanks, as well as many designers and technical workers It also serves us. Therefore, we also hope to participate in the European Community’s weapons program and believe that we can also contribute to the design and production of European Community weapons and equipment.”

"This couldn't be better." Hersman smiled and nodded.

He has no disdain for Soviet tanks, although Soviet tanks may not be suitable for Germany's national conditions - Soviet tanks follow the path of caliber being king, while the Germans like small cannons and large vehicles, seeking stability. Accurate, the same idea as their battleships. Hessmann is not particularly fond of it, but the new generation of tanks from Germany and the European Community still have to continue to develop along the original German lines.

Then, Hersman continued: “Since the Russian Empire has returned to the European family and will become an important member of the European Community and a driving force for European integration, the European Community’s war policy and armament plans must Make adjustments accordingly.”

The Russian Empire became a preliminary member of the European Community and participated in European Community affairs. These two matters were unanimously supported by the three powers of the European Community (Germany, Britain and France) - because France wanted to unite with Russia, Germany wanted to integrate Russia, and the United Kingdom because of India The lifeblood was violated by the Soviet Union, so it supported replacing the Soviet Union with Russia, so the European Community Senate quickly passed the relevant resolution to accept Russia.

"Helping the Russian Empire replace the Soviet Union will be the European Community's top priority in the war, more important than defeating the United States." Hersman continued, "Therefore, in terms of armament work, the Army will also be more important than the Navy. The Air Force will be more important than defeating the United States." and naval aviation will maintain their original priority status.”

Hersman glanced at the representatives from various countries present and found no objection, so he continued: "In terms of the Army, the E-50 tank project and the further upgrade and improvement of the Tiger tank will be in the most important position. E- The prototype of the 50 project has been completed. The first mass-produced model will be completed within this year and is expected to be put into production in 2014. It is hoped that production will begin in Germany, France and the United Kingdom at the same time, and will also be produced in Russia in the future. "