Chapter 1691 Adolf, Provoked

Poland happens to be such a country, which is not surprising in this world. There are always some countries that cannot see the situation clearly, and Poland is relatively normal among them.

Furthermore, Poland possesses a unique resilience; otherwise, it would have been swallowed up by Tsarist Russia long ago, leaving not even a trace.

At this point, Sosnkovsky said, "In fact, Your Excellency, we don't have to put all our eggs in one basket with Germany or the Soviet Union."

"Or rather, we shouldn't limit our focus to Europe. Europe is indeed the most important region for Polish diplomacy, but there are other countries in the world that can influence Europe."

“We always focus on Europe, but we neglect the world powers outside Europe, such as East Africa and the United States. Poland may be able to find a way out by contacting them.”

This suggestion caught President Piłsudski's attention, and he asked, "Do you think East Africa and the United States can influence German decision-making?"

Sosnkowski said, "It would be difficult if Germany went its own way, but I think the United States and East Africa would also not want to see a strong leader emerge in Europe."

"In fact, I think the United States and East Africa, these two countries outside the region, may be the biggest variables in the future development of the European situation. They may participate in a new round of war in Europe, and at that time, it will be completely difficult to predict how the European war will develop!"

"Mr. President and gentlemen, do you remember how the last World War ended?"

After a brief recollection, President Piłsudski immediately understood his meaning: the reason why World War I ended so hastily was due to the United States and East Africa.

At the time, the Central Powers held a certain advantage over the Allied Powers in Europe, but the United States' entry into the war caused Germany's morale to collapse. Ultimately, East Africa intervened and led to a reconciliation or truce between the two sides. However, everyone knew that war would eventually return.

"Are you saying that the United States and East Africa will once again be the final arbiters in this European war?" President Piłsudski asked.

Sosnkovsky nodded and said, "That is indeed my personal opinion."

"The Earth is round, so the world is only so big. And now, the United States and East Africa, as the most powerful countries in the world, can be said to have reached a bottleneck in their development."

"Their appetite is definitely not small either. Both the United States and East Africa are countries with populations of over 100 million, and East Africa's population is close to 200 million."

"Therefore, if these two super-large countries want to maintain their hegemony, they must further expand their spheres of influence."

This is why the entire developed world was hostile to the rise of the Far Eastern Empire in the previous life. After all, the emergence of a developed country with 1.4 billion people was a disaster for them.

There are only so many resources in the world, and developed countries are those that enjoy more favorable resource treatment. For example, the United States, after deindustrialization, hardly engages in production, but its per capita consumption of various resources can be said to be the highest in the world.

The world's superpower is the allocator of the world's resources.

Sosnkovsky said, "The size of East Africa and the United States dictates that both countries must further expand their power and influence abroad."

"Europe is actually a huge market that both countries covet, so East Africa and the United States should not see the emergence of a powerful hegemon in Europe in the same way."

"This is not good for major powers like Germany, the Soviet Union, and Britain, but for us, if we can take advantage of it, we might not be unable to profit from it."

"Therefore, Your Excellency, we should now strengthen diplomatic relations with the United States and East Africa to leave a way out for Poland in the future."

President Piłsudski also finds it difficult to judge the future impact of East Africa and the United States on Europe, but he also knows that Poland has no better options at the moment.

Therefore, President Piłsudski immediately stated, "Strengthening our relations with East Africa and the United States should be on our most important diplomatic agenda."

"But what should we do about Germany's current request for joint military exercises?"

Besides discussing relations between Poland and Germany, the main purpose of the meeting convened by Piłsudski was to discuss joint military exercises.

Sosnkovsky said, "Regarding the joint military exercises, we obviously cannot refuse; we can only cooperate with Germany."

"I wonder if this joint military exercise with Germany is a military rehearsal for a future war with the Soviet Union."

President Piłsudski said: "That is most likely the case. The arms race between Germany and the Soviet Union has completely spiraled out of control, and both countries have amassed massive armies of millions."

"These armies are easy to grow, and it would be very difficult to reduce them without a large-scale war."

The size of the German and Soviet armies had reached an extreme threshold, especially the German army. It was clear that Adolf could not simply disband this massive army without doing anything, and the outbreak of war was only a matter of time.

...

Berlin, Germany.

Since 1938, Adolf's desire for war has grown stronger and stronger. In the Prime Minister's residence, there are now two of the latest maps on Adolf's desk.

On the left is a map showing the current distribution of European countries and powers, dividing the whole of Europe into two worlds, red and white. On the right is a new map of the Far East war.

Adolf, looking somewhat excited, said to the German high command, "Take a look at this map of the war situation in the Far East!"

“Our allies in Asia have achieved such brilliant results in less than a year. Just recently, they have captured Jiangcheng, an important industrial city in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River in the Far Eastern Empire. This means that most of the Far Eastern Empire’s prime areas and vast lands have now become Japan’s prey.”

"We have to admit that we underestimated the strength of Japan, this small East Asian country. By the end of this year, the three major plains of the Far East Empire should be controlled and occupied by Japan."

"In 1938, the total area of ​​land occupied by Japan exceeded two million square kilometers, which is larger than the current area of ​​Germany."

"While Japan is expanding aggressively in Asia, we have not yet taken any action. We have fallen far behind Japan. Therefore, by the beginning of next year at the latest, we must launch our war machine and do a better job than Japan in Asia!"

Japan's war and its victories in the Far East undoubtedly greatly provoked Germany, especially Adolf himself.

At least in Adolf's view now, the Far Eastern Empire had no chance of fighting back or turning the tide against Japan.

Adolf arrogantly declared, "Japan's success in Asia undoubtedly proves one thing: this corrupt world has reached the point where it needs a reshuffling."

"Especially those old-line imperialist countries, their own decay and sluggishness have rendered them completely powerless to stop our actions."

"The world is being re-divided, and those who act quickly will reap huge benefits, just like Japan, which was the first to launch a war and reaped enormous success."

Japan's war against the Far Eastern Empire, which resulted in the occupation of so much land, population, and resources in less than a year, certainly greatly stimulated Adolf's already insatiable ambition.

However, this war also exposed Adolf to the "weakness and incompetence" of other imperialist powers. The unwillingness or inability of countries like Britain, France, and the Soviet Union to intervene in this major act of aggression in the Far East further encouraged Germany's opportunistic mentality.

At this point, Göring also said, "Your Excellency, Japan's astonishing military strength proves its reliability as our ally."

"In 1905, Japan defeated Russia in the Far East, and in the decades since, their development has not been slow, especially in the military field. We have to admit that Japan has made considerable achievements."

"The Far East War further proved that Japan's military strength as a major power was not just data on paper, which also meant that Japan could help us contain the Soviets in the Far East."

"Therefore, while we are at war in Europe, Japan should also send forces north to cooperate with us in launching a pincer attack on the Soviet Union. At that time, we will be able to defeat this behemoth of a Soviet Union more easily."

Germany no longer takes the Soviet Union seriously, but it must also admit that the Soviet Union is a tough nut to crack.

Therefore, Germany wanted to take down the Soviet Union at the lowest possible cost and control Europe, and Japan became a highly valuable pawn in Germany's eyes.

Adolf said, "Japan has demonstrated its worth through war, and they also have a naval force that is no less powerful than ours, which can also allow Japan to attract the attention of countries such as East Africa and the United States in the Pacific region."

Before the Far East War, most countries, including Germany, perceived Japan as a "maritime power," given that Japan is an island nation.

However, as the Far East War has progressed to this point, the performance of the Japanese Army has been surprisingly good. If the Japanese Army is performing so well, shouldn't the Japanese Navy, which is already one of the world's top forces, play an even greater role?

It's no wonder the Germans thought that way, after all, the Japanese army did indeed seem rather "shabby." If the equipment level of the Japanese army were in Europe, even Italy would probably look down on it.

In comparison, the quality and performance of the Japanese Navy's various ships and weapons are among the best in the world.

Moreover, from the late 19th to the early 20th century, the Japanese navy was undoubtedly the main player in the two most important foreign wars for Japan.

In the late 19th century, Japan's war against the Far Eastern Empire defeated the Beiyang Fleet, which was one of the most powerful fleets in the world at that time.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the focus of all countries was the Russo-Japanese War, and the naval battles between Japan and Russia were more important than the land battles in Northeast Asia. Moreover, Russia's performance on land at that time was not too bad, especially compared to the complete annihilation of its ocean-going fleet.

Of course, Germany clearly valued the Japanese army more, since it needed Japan to contain the Soviet Union.

Of course, the strength of the Japanese navy still has some use in Germany's eyes today. After all, if the Japanese navy were not strong enough, how could Japan have developed in the Pacific region?

Without a strong navy, Japan posed no threat whatsoever to East Africa and the United States, and could only passively endure attacks. A strong navy is the foundation of Japan's independence and autonomy.

Otherwise, even Britain would likely continue to control Japan, and Japan would naturally be unable to be used by Germany now.

Adolf said, "The war in the Far East is now very clear. The Far Eastern Empire has basically no ability to resist the Japanese offensive. This way, when we go to war against the Soviet Union, we can bring Japan along to fight against the Soviet Union. Of course, according to our previous plan, we should let the Soviet Union survive for a while first."

"Our primary concerns are France and the United Kingdom."

The Soviet Union was a tough nut to crack in Adolf's eyes, while France was a soft target. As for Britain, Adolf did not intend to be its enemy at the moment.

Adolf said: France is our German sworn enemy, so this time we will not let France off the hook again, and also to prevent France from stabbing us in the back when we attack the Soviet Union in the future.

"Britain, I intend to negotiate with Britain after I have dealt with the Soviet Union. I hope the British will not be ungrateful."

Besides his own favorable feelings towards Britain, a major reason why Adolf did not want to be an enemy of Britain was that he did not want other countries to take advantage of the situation, especially East Africa and the United States.

He said, "Germany's future colonies are basically controlled by Britain, so Britain cannot fall before we solve the European problem."

"If Britain were to disintegrate, it would only benefit East Africa and the United States, especially the most valuable colonies in the world that Britain controlled."

Practical interests were a significant factor influencing Germany's attitude toward Britain. It is conceivable that if Germany had confronted Britain at the outset of the war in Europe...

Britain would inevitably suffer a severe blow. Adolf and the German leadership were clearly very arrogant; they did not believe that Britain was a match for Germany at that time.

Therefore, when Germany and Britain went to war, they believed that Britain could not hold out for long. However, if Britain was severely damaged by the war, it would be difficult for Britain to subdue its many overseas colonies.

If these colonies were to break free from British control, they would most likely fall under the control of the United States and East African countries, which was clearly not what Germany wanted.

Adolf said, "If this happens, not to mention other aspects, East Africa alone will probably benefit as much as it did during the last world war."

He said through gritted teeth that East Africa was arguably the biggest beneficiary of the last World War, not only "tricking" Germany into handing over almost all of its overseas territories, but also opening up many new colonies in the South Pacific and the Indian Ocean.

Therefore, Adolf needed to be left to deal with Britain last in order to maintain the existence of this vast colonial empire until Adolf completely resolved all the hidden dangers on the European continent.

Adolf said, "Right now, our joint military exercises in Eastern Europe are also a good opportunity for us to test Britain's attitude."

"We will invite countries including Britain to personally witness this large-scale military exercise with the Soviet Union as the hypothetical enemy. In addition to deterring European countries from having any ill intentions, this exercise is also an opportunity to lower the guard of other countries."

To some extent, Adolf wanted to intimidate Britain, thereby preventing Britain from becoming an enemy of Germany. In addition, he wanted to use this exercise to test Britain's attitude. Adolf was obviously very satisfied with Britain's appeasement policy and hoped that Britain would continue to maintain it.

(End of this chapter)