Iron Cross

"Having solved the problem of whether to continue fighting, the second step is for me to talk about the current severe situation and our way out. You are all seniors in the military for many years. Logically speaking, it is not my turn to comment on strategic issues, but you may not be clear about many situations. , I think it’s better to report. First, let’s talk about the navy. How many aircraft carriers does your navy have now?”

Faced with this problem, no one said anything. Midway had just been defeated, and the Navy had not yet overcome the trauma.

"I don't know how many ships there are. Let's count them as 10 in service and under construction. We in Germany only have one ship and it's not fully built yet, and Italy only has one unfinished ship. But how many does the United States have? Apart from the 3 it already has. This year, there are 37 ships on the dock of the U.S. shipbuilding plan.”

"What?" The audience was shocked.

"This is impossible!" someone shouted.

"It doesn't matter what I say." Cole pointed in the direction of Yamamoto Isoroku, "His Excellency Admiral Yamamoto served as the naval attache stationed in the United States. Can we listen to him talk about how powerful the United States is?"

Yamamoto stood up expressionlessly: "The total number of large shipyards in the United States is close to 50. If they are willing, they can build 50 large and small aircraft carriers at the same time." Everyone was speechless after hearing this.

"The second thing I want to ask is how many tanks can your country produce in a month?"

Still no one said a word in the audience. Hirohito became unhappy and directly called out his name: "Please tell the new prime minister to the special envoy."

"Big... probably less than 300." Shun Tada did not have any mental preparation, so he had to go through a "free bonus" on the data he originally had. After sitting down, wiping cold sweat, he asked Ishihara Wanji quietly, "What is the difference in numbers?" Not big, right?”

"You just overreported it by nearly double."

Tada Jun immediately became nervous again: He won't be exposed, right?

Unexpectedly, Cole said nonchalantly: "Your country has 300, Italy has about 300, our Germany has close to 2,000 a month (an increase of more than 20%)... the United States has about 2,500."

If the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom were added to it... no one dared to think about it, and there was a deathly silence in the audience.

"There are also aircraft, steel production, crude oil...these figures in the United States are 5-10 times that of Japan, and more than the entire Three Kingdoms Alliance combined." Cole changed the subject and said, "The numbers are listed here, and it stands to reason that they are not needed. We fight again, but why can we still fight and even have some advantages? Because we also have unique advantages. This advantage comes from the fact that our citizens have been discriminated against, oppressed, and bullied for a long time. They fight for the nation. The ultimate goal of rising and becoming a strong country is to be willing to endure more pain and pay more costs, and to sacrifice the happiness of the current generation for the happiness of future generations. This spirit of self-sacrifice and dedicating everything to the interests of the country is our most precious and precious. The most long-lasting and effective weapon. I summarize this spiritual weapon as the German spirit and Yamato soul!

The war continues to this day, and Japan's cumulative casualties are not 1.5 million but 1 million, right? Our German casualties also exceeded 1 million. But how many casualties were there in the United States? Do you have 150,000? "

Several generals calculated: the United States entered the war late, and the combined losses in the two battles of the Philippines and Pearl Harbor and other battlefields were probably less than 150,000.

"If we can persist, continue to kill the enemy's effective forces, and let one million or two million Americans die, what will happen? Is there any general who understands the United States? How much reduction in American troops can we surrender?"

Someone in the audience said expressionlessly: "More than 20%, if there are no reinforcements, we can surrender."

"What will happen if we can kill 2 million American soldiers? Do Americans dare to continue fighting with us? Do their people want to rise up and overthrow their government? Even if they take 10,000 steps back, the U.S. government must continue to fight. With such heavy casualties, how many more lives are they prepared to lose to achieve our goal of complete surrender? If it requires 3 to 5 million or even more casualties, can their people agree to that? Then the two sides can sit down and negotiate calmly," Cole emphasized, "Please remember that population is the smallest difference between us and Britain and the United States. The combined population of Germany, Italy and Japan is close to 230 million. Even if the population of Britain and the United States is added to the Soviet Union, the population will be the smallest. That's more than 300 million, less than 350 million. We must prepare for a long and continuous war. The head of state has asserted that it is impossible to force the other country to surrender if we capture one or two important cities or even the capital. For example, if we capture Moscow. Will they surrender? No! Another example is China. It has been almost five years since your country captured Nanjing. Has the Chinese government surrendered? On the contrary, their will to resist the war has become increasingly firm. Therefore, we must adjust our overall strategic direction and thinking. "

"First of all, there is no benefit in a war between Japan and China. China has a large population and a weak economy. Even some resources are difficult to exploit. But how much does it cost to obtain these resources? Maybe the gain is not as much as the pay. Especially since China has a large population, if he Japan cannot afford to consume as many people as Japan, and Southeast Asia is far more ideal than China. If we must choose a mainland country, British India is also a better and easier target to conquer than China - the indigenous peoples of India are weak and have always been conquered. Conquered by outsiders, the most recent one was ruled by the British for nearly 200 years. If the Japanese army was withdrawn from China to attack India, the situation would suddenly become clearer. The head of state knew that there was a neutrality agreement between Japan and the Soviet Union and would not force Japan to attack the Soviet Union. , but British India was the common enemy of both parties. Is this a more ideal goal?

Secondly, now the Three Kingdoms Alliance is subject to the naval superiority of Britain and the United States and is forced to separate and fight alone, but if we look further ahead. 4,000-5,000 nautical miles west from the Strait of Malacca will enter the western Indian Ocean and the Arabian Peninsula. There is no strong armed force of the British and American coalition forces there, and the little force of British India is not enough to fight against your country. The naval bases of the United States and the United Kingdom are far further away from this location than Japan's journey from Malacca. If both sides start from the mainland, Japan will not suffer. Now Germany is fighting in North Africa and your country is fighting in the eastern Indian Ocean. As long as we open up this passage, we can fully leverage the advantages of sea and land to bring the forces of both sides together - this will be the focus of the axis. Apart from anything else, the ships, steel and other materials your country needs can be continuously transported through the Suez Canal, instead of being as painful as it is now. By then, Germany's army power and your country's naval power will be enough to change the balance of power between the two camps. Even if the British and American camps still have a slight advantage over us, they will not be able to overwhelm us in the focus area of ​​the axis. And I doubt that Britain would have much will to continue fighting after British India was occupied.

Finally, I would like to express my views on your country's current war in the Pacific. Judging from the current combat situation, "invitation to attack" and "gradual reduction strategies" are no longer in line with battlefield logic. The battle between Japan and the United States will no longer be like the Battle of Tsushima through 1-2 decisive battles and then the final decision. Victory or defeat will only be accompanied by a series of long-term and continuous battles. At present, the United States has not yet gained sufficient support in Southeast Asia, so it can unscrupulously use its superiority in troops and equipment to attack any island in Southeast Asia from Australia. Japan will definitely not be able to defend them all, and can only struggle to cope with enemy attacks. On the contrary, there will be The risk of being defeated individually. If the opponent is properly allowed to occupy part of the country and Japanese military forces retreat to key hubs, the American forces will be dispersed accordingly. At this time, the Indian Ocean Strategy will become very valuable: If the United States continues to concentrate its forces in Southeast Asia, the Indian Ocean Strategy will It can be completed quickly; if the United States turns its power to the Indian Ocean, the difficult situation in Southeast Asia will be reversed immediately, and Japan can immediately deal with the US-occupied islands whose forces have been dispersed - as long as the two throats of the Suez Canal and the Strait of Malacca are in the hands of the Axis, the Three Kingdoms Alliance As long as you always have the advantage of fighting on the inside, you can deal with it calmly. "

“Based on the above goals and the same logic, Germany’s strategic goals in the next stage are very clear: on the western front we are integrating and coordinating the forces of various countries, giving full play to production and technological advantages, and enhancing long-term combat capabilities; on the eastern front we are stabilizing the situation and supporting all parties. Independent nation-states fight against the Soviet Union; the southern line is to attack the British forces in North Africa and the Middle East, opening up direct contact between Japan and Germany, and obtaining the precious oil resources in the Middle East - if Japan needs oil, it can also be shipped from the Middle East until Germany completes it. After unifying European forces and establishing the European Union and making the whole of Europe 'speak with one voice', we will not be inferior to the British-American coalition in terms of population, resources or industrial power. That will be the time for final negotiations, of course. I hope you will keep this strategic direction strictly confidential.”

Cole finally emphasized: "If Japan is willing to undertake the task of marching into the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Peninsula from the east, the European allies can pay the corresponding price to ensure Japan's interests and returns."

"I am very grateful to the special envoy for his wonderful speech. I hope that you will keep the opinions expressed by the special envoy strictly confidential today - Japan cannot afford to leak the secrets again." Hirohito told the special envoy, "Our country will soon hold a national policy seminar to discuss and analyze We will convey the relevant strategic opinions put forward by your country to your country through the special envoy after the relevant opinions are formed.”

Cole bowed again and left the venue after thanking him. He knew that the bomb had been dropped and the Japanese would definitely conduct in-depth research and discussion. What he said just now were all the leading opinions given by Hoffman before leaving. He didn't know how well he performed. But there is one thing he is confident about. At least his speaking ability around the head of state has improved a lot.

I just don’t know what the outcome of the discussion in Japan will be. Will it move forward in accordance with the vision of the head of state? He felt both curious and responsible.