Chapter 140 Chapter 23 "The whole world will hold its breath" (5)

Although Hitler shifted the responsibility for the postponement of the "Barbarossa" plan to the Yugoslav campaign, the huge shortage of army equipment - his responsibility - was the more important reason.In any case, Hitler did not regard the delay of the plan as a disaster, despite his fear: "I am afraid that the Russians will take the initiative and launch an attack." However, when he summoned the generals of the main army to the Chancellery and announced the attack to them He did not seem to be impressed by the exact date of the meeting and - which is even more important - when he lectured them on the "struggle between two opposing ideologies". At 11 o'clock in the morning on March 30, several senior generals who implemented the "Barbarossa" plan, together with their staff officers, gathered in the cabinet room-a podium had been placed there.The more than 200 people attending the meeting sat in several long lines according to the level of military rank and position.Hitler came in from behind.After a while of chairs moving, the participants stood up solemnly, and they sat down after Hitler walked up to the podium.He looked serious and spoke of the military and political situation.It is impossible for the United States to reach peak production and military power in four years.So now is a great time to do some spring cleaning in Europe.War with Russia was inevitable, he said, and waiting would be disastrous.The offensive will begin on June 22.

A delay, he said, was out of the question.The reason is that no successor has sufficient authority to take responsibility for waging this war.He, and only he, can stop the rolling of the Bolshevik steamroller before Europe capitulates.He called on everyone to rise up and destroy the Bolshevik country in one fell swoop, and eliminate the Red Army.He also assured them that they would soon be victorious, brilliantly victorious.The only question was what to do with the conquered Russians, prisoners of war and non-combatants. The military chiefs sat stiffly, motionless, wondering if they would be sent to carry out the plan.These were professional soldiers who were disgusted with Hitler's brutal measures against Polish Jews, intellectuals, priests and aristocrats after the conquest of Poland.Their fear was intensified by another loud threat from Hitler: "There must be no morality in the war against Russia! This war is a war of ideology and racial differences, and it must be fought with unprecedented determination. There must be no mercy." , resolutely show no mercy!" There was no objection at the meeting, just like during the invasion of Poland, not even an unintentional objection was heard.

That morning Hitler put his generals to the test of humiliation for the last time by compromising the honor of the soldiers.Like many who, like Hitler, hated and feared Jews and Slavs, they were reluctant to join his crusade.Today, what they thought was merely compensation for the living space of Russian territory lost at Versailles in the war has receded into the background, and Hitler's real reason for the invasion has become clear: the destruction of Bolshevism—that is, the destruction of the Jews. Meanwhile, preparations for the invasion of Yugoslavia and Greece were completed.On the streets of Belgrade, demonstrations take place every day.Some of these were instigated by the local Communist Party for the implementation of the Soviet Balkan policy.In fact, Russia was eager to support Yugoslavia against the German invasion, since it signed a treaty with the new Yugoslav government on April 5.But this did not discourage Hitler.At dawn the next day, the Germans crossed the Yugoslav border in overwhelming numbers.The German planes began to bomb Belgrade in a planned way-interestingly, Hitler's code name for this operation was "punishment".The ink on the treaty signed between the leaders of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia was still wet, and the reaction to this matter was blatantly "nothing to do with themselves". The destructive round-the-clock bombing of Belgrade by planes is only mentioned in passing.

Hitler warned Goebbels that the entire campaign would take two months.Goebbels also relayed the news to everyone.This conclusion is based on a rough estimate of the enemy's strength.Within a week, German and Hungarian troops had entered Belgrade, which was little different from the ruins.During the "punishment" process, 17,000 civilians died unexpectedly. On the 17th, the remnants of Yugoslavia surrendered. Ten days later, German tanks rolled into Athens, and the Greek campaign came to an end.At the cost of high energy, fuel and time, the German army drove 29 divisions into the theater of war along primitive railways and roads.In this huge army, only 10 divisions participated in the battle, and they only fought once in more than 6 days.Germany hit mosquitoes with a sledgehammer. The astonishing failure of German intelligence was more to blame for the delay of "Barbarossa" than to Mussolini.

Hitler was dumbfounded by the cost of invading the Balkans.However, the astonishing development of the situation in North Africa has greatly reduced the surprise of the head of state.With only three divisions, General Erwin Rommel broke through Cyrenaica, just a few miles from Egypt.The victory surprised Hitler and his enemies alike.It compensated for the British occupation of the eastern Mediterranean, undermined British prestige, and persuaded Stalin to maintain good relations with Germany, although it was also provoked.In addition to turning a blind eye to the invasion in the Balkans, Soviet leaders turned a deaf ear to rumors that Hitler was planning to invade his country.He has been warned by numerous sources, including the U.S. State Department, that diplomats in Moscow have spoken openly of an impending conflict. "So, says the (Jewish) wife of American Ambassador Steinhardt," a German diplomat reported to Berlin, "she wants to get out of Moscow before the troops move in."

For months, the Soviet Union's own intelligence agencies had been predicting that Germany would attack the Soviet Union.But Stalin did not trust his own intelligence officers.As reports mount, so does his paranoia.He believed that Germany would not dare to attack the Soviet Union without first negotiating a peace with Britain.He didn't think Germany would be so stupid, and these rumors were purely fabricated by Western capitalist countries, which wanted to make a profit between him and Hitler.In an astonishing report sent by Czech secret agents, Stalin wrote in red pen: "This intelligence is a British provocation. It is necessary to find out its source and punish the non-culprits."

Marshal Yeremenko also confirmed Stalin's unreasonable suspicions in his memoirs. "That is why he has not been able to take urgent or decisive defensive measures on the whole front. He is afraid that by believing these rumours, he will give the Hitlerites a pretext for his own hope of mutual destruction of capitalism and Nazism. Whatever Anyway, he didn't want to provoke Hitler to attack until the Red Army was fully armed." He was equally eager to appease Japan.To Matsuoka, the Japanese foreign minister who had just arrived from Berlin, he treated him like a guest of honor.After signing the neutrality treaty, he publicly expressed his delight.At a celebratory banquet in the Kremlin—on the day Belgrade fell—Stalin himself brought food to several Japanese emissaries on trays, hugged them, kissed them, and ran around them.The treaty was a triumph of his diplomacy, convincing proof that he could ignore rumors that Germany was about to attack Russia.If Germany had the idea of ​​attacking the Soviet Union, it would certainly not allow Japan to sign such a treaty with the Soviet Union.

In high spirits, Stalin personally sent the Japanese delegation to the platform and bid farewell to the Japanese drunkenly.He hugged General Najib, wrapped the diminutive Matsuoka in his arms, and gave him a few kisses. "There is nothing to fear in Europe," he said, "because Japan and the Soviet Union have signed a neutrality treaty!" A few minutes later, after the Japanese train pulled out of the platform, he put his arm around the German ambassador von der Schulenburg and said: "We must continue to be friends. All your work now is to achieve this goal !” He turned and saw a colonel who, knowing he was also a German, bellowed: “We will continue to be your friends—no matter what happens!” Here, he may be referring to the number of German planes flying over Russian airspace .Because in the past two weeks, there have been 50 such incidents.However, just two days after embracing Schulenburg, Stalin acted when a German plane made an emergency landing almost 100 miles deep into Soviet airspace (a camera, unexposure rolls of film and a A battered topographic map of the Soviet Union).The Soviet Union formally protested to Berlin, saying that since the end of March, there had been 80 incidents of German aircraft intruding into Soviet airspace.Even so, the tone of the protest was moderate.The intel continues to pour in—the latest being that of the British ambassador, Cripps, who predicts that Hitler will attack on June 22 (the “super” secrets of British intelligence have long sought to transfer vital intelligence to the Soviet Union without disclosing its source). "For this," recalls Hugh Trevor-Roopa, "we had a liaison officer in Moscow. But he couldn't get in touch with anyone in Russia because he didn't have the confidence of the Soviets. I remember, He once told me that his most successful approach to the Soviets was when a Russian general waved to him in a theater."

"We were lucky with the Russians in London," says Asher Lee, "and we gave them the 'super' secret key information." Military officer, Air Force attaché, pilot of an aircraft test pilot, a member of the Supreme Soviet with the rank of colonel.However, these people are also suspicious.According to Lee, they practically ignored 'super' classified intelligence, at least before Stalingrad. "—Still falling on deaf ears. At the German Foreign Office, Hitler did not tell Ribbentrop about "Barbarossa" until now, although everyone suspected that an attack on the Soviet Union was imminent.The disgruntled Foreign Minister "asked for another diplomatic move to Moscow, but Hitler would not allow another change in course." Ambassador Lunburg assured: "I do not want to go to war with Russia." Two days later, Hitler again fixed the date of the offensive, which was June 22 mentioned by Cripps.

At this point, there is no need to doubt that Germany will be wrestling with the most powerful armed forces in the world.But she doesn't have a single capable ally.Japan is far away; Italy has shortcomings; Spain is uncompromising; Vichy's France is unreliable. The victory instead weakened Hitler's coalition.His easy conquests disturbed all his friends, including the little ones in Yugoslavia, Hungary, and Romania.His only strength is his army, and to a conqueror relying solely on force is fatal.Wars are won by politics, not by weapons.Napoleon learned this painful lesson from the British—the British have this tradition: It is better to lose a few battles than to win a war.On the European continent, Britain lost the war against Germany, but won the support of the Commonwealth of Nations and the assistance of the United States.

Hitler's only hope of victory in the East was to form an alliance with the millions of people who opposed Stalin in the Soviet Union.But unless he heeds the Rosenberg Group's advice to deal with them softly, he will not only lose his last chance to form a real "grand alliance" but will turn would-be allies into ruthless enemies.