The opening ceremony of the 1936 Berlin Olympics was undoubtedly the most spectacular ever, with a capacity of 110,000 spectators. When Ludendorff and Hitler appeared on the rostrum, everyone stood up and saluted, chanting the slogan "Long live the German Empire".

Italian leader Benito Mussolini and his son-in-law, the new Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Italy, Ciano, were also on the rostrum of the Imperial Stadium, feeling the resurgence of Germany, a barbaric country that had long been "riding" on the neck of Italy.

Although Italy's fascist leaders were reluctant to admit it, Germany was a powerful industrialized country that Italy could not reach. The country is outstanding in industry, science and technology, and education is outstanding in the world, and as early as the second half of the last century, the German Empire took the opportunity of the second industrial revolution to become the first industrial country in Europe and the second in the world. Despite the crushing defeat of a world war, the Germans' industry is still growing rapidly, and they are always closely following the industrial giant America across the ocean.

No matter how hard Italy tries, it will eventually rank at the bottom of the list of industrialized countries. In Mussolini's view, Italy's industrial weakness is not due to the lack of technology, the Italians are able to produce the best cars and airplanes in the world - although Italy's air-cooled engine technology is much worse than Germany's, Italy's liquid-cooled engines are not lagging behind, and in the field of military aircraft design and manufacturing, Italy is at the world's leading level.

But seeing Germany, which was already ahead of the developed world, advance by leaps and bounds from 1931, Mussolini felt some unfair fate. He worked hard for Italy for more than ten years, but what he achieved was far less than one-tenth of what Hitler had given Germany in just a few years.

Moreover, due to the rise of Germany, Britain, France, and the United States also began to expand their arms war. The era of naval holidays is over, and countries are brewing new battleships and aircraft carriers. All kinds of new aircraft and new tanks and armored vehicles are also emerging one after another. The theory of a mechanized army also began to gain popularity in Britain, France, and Germany.

Judging by current trends, the funds needed to arm a powerful future mechanized army. It will be an astronomical sum!

And such a mechanized army would also need to be backed by a strong industrial power, which the Germans possessed - in terms of steel alone, they produced 23 million tons in 1935! Italy, on the other hand, has only 2.3 million tons, a tenth of the former. Only slightly more than the 1.7 million tons of the Bohemian Commonwealth, which had just come under German control, and the 1.5 million tons of Poland. And because Italy desperately lacks the resources needed to develop heavy industry, it is already very difficult to develop further.

Therefore, the fascist leaders of Italy believed that if the major European powers began to expand their armaments. Then, with their strong industrial superiority, they would soon be able to catch up with Italy - as was the case after the war when Germany began to build up its armaments.

In a few years, Italy's military superiority could be wiped out!

Therefore, it is necessary to expand the sphere of influence in and around the Mediterranean as much as possible, while Italy still has military superiority.

Now that Abenicia has been trampled under the feet of Italy, if the Spanish Civil War can be used to turn Spain into a vassal of Italy, then the revival of the Roman Empire will probably be half the battle......

With a full stomach, the Italian fascist leader did not pay attention to the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games at all, and I don't know how long it took before he heard the voice of his son-in-law Ziano: "Leader." Chancellor Hitler will meet you in the VIP lounge. ”

Mussolini then realized that the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games had ended, that Ludendorff and Hitler had left the rostrum, and that the Germans in the stadium stands were leaving the stadium in an orderly manner – not at all the same style as the Italians who like to scatter!

Mussolini stood up, looked around, and saw his "old friend" General Hersmann standing in the aisle, smiling and waving to him, and beside him was a plump blonde beauty, his wife Chloe.

"Okay. Let's go to the VIP lounge with Count Hersman. Mussolini straightened his uniform, "I think the 1st Quartermaster General (Hersman was the deputy chief of the General Staff. But his current power is almost comparable to that of Ludendorff, the First Quartermaster of World War I) will definitely attend the talks. ”

……

"Leader, the General Staff of the Wehrmacht told me that Spain's Defence Ruling Council (referring to the rebels) has suffered a big setback in the last ten days."

After exchanging a few words with visiting Mussolini in a well-decorated lounge, Adolf Murphy Murphy Hitler spoke German with a strong Austrian accent and told him everything he knew about the Spanish Civil War.

"The uprising failed in most of the densely populated and industrially developed provinces, and the National Defense Council lost its leader, General San Huljo. The republicans also formed a large militia.

Other than that. Spain's navy and air force were also mostly on the side of the republicans. Without strong external intervention, the defeat of the ruling Council of National Defense is inevitable. ”

Hitler spoke in a very cold tone, as if he had little interest in interfering. However, this attitude reassured Mussolini, who had long regarded the Mediterranean coast as the territory of the "Roman Empire".

"So Italy is ready to intervene!" Mussolini replied in clear, standard German, "Before coming to Berlin, I had agreed with General Franco (after San Hurho fell to his death in a plane. Franco became the leader of the Spanish rebels). ”

More than 10 billion lira is gone! Sitting alone on a leather couch, Hersmann contemplated how much Italy would spend in the war, first the Second Abynesian War, then the Spanish War. Before World War II, Italy fought two costly wars and spent too much money on colonization of Abynesia. So much so that by 1940, the national treasury was empty, and the strategic reserves were seriously insufficient, and during World War II, it could only be used as a drag oil bottle for Germany.

But Hersmann did not intend to dissuade Mussolini - this could not be done, and Germany did need a battlefield to test weapons.

In addition, a weak Italy would help Germany establish itself as the leader of the Axis powers.

"Actually, we and the Portuguese have already begun to intervene in the war." Mussolini added, "Our planes have transported 14,000 Spanish soldiers from Morocco to Spanish proper." The Salazar government in Portugal is also on our side, allowing us to transport weapons and troops through Portuguese ports...... With our support and that of Portugal, I am confident that the Spanish Defense Governing Council will soon reverse the unfavorable situation. ”

The Italian leader cleared his throat, clasped his hands, leaned forward and said, "If Germany had been willing to stand with us, victory would have come sooner." ”

"Do England and France know about your actions in Spain? Are they in favor? "Adolf. Hitler asked.

"Of course they do, Mr. Prime Minister." Mussolini smiled contemptuously, "You should know the system of these two countries...... What democracy, freedom, peace, this useless idea has turned their people and government into soft bones. They clearly hated the Spanish Bolsheviks, but they did not dare to send troops. So we can only rely on Italy!

Moreover, the Ecumenical Church is on our side! ”

The revolutionary action of burning churches and killing priests in Spain was certainly progressive, but it also turned the powerful Roman Catholic Church into a sworn enemy. And the Church of Rome had an influence on the politics of many countries in Europe and the United States at this time - many devout Catholics would listen to the opinion of the Church and vote!

"Mr. Prime Minister, Great Britain, France and the Soviet Union are preparing a non-interference commission." German Foreign Minister Niu Wright, who was present, told Hitler. "Apparently their attitude is hands-off."

"Hmm," Hitler nodded, and looked at Hersmann again. Hersman smiled slightly and said, "Mr. Chancellor, the Soviet side hopes that we will not interfere as well. On the condition that they recognize our union with the Baltics, Bohemia, and Austria, and restore the monarchy! ”

Mussolini, as if he had anticipated these problems, immediately smiled and said: "We, the Kingdom of Italy, can support the restoration of the German monarchy, which is the internal affair of Germany." As for the Baltic, Bohemian and Austrian questions...... South Tyrol has always been an obstacle. ”

"It is possible to move the Germans there to Germany," Hitler said, "and after the merger of Bohemia, Austria and the Baltic, Germany will be a large European country with 750,000 square kilometers, and we will have a lot of empty places." So don't care about a few hundred square kilometers of South Tyrol. ”

"There are also German- and Slovenian-speaking populations in Trieste...... "Mussolini saw that Hitler was very talkative, so he played on the spot again.

"It's all ours!" Hitler waved his hand and said, "But...... We need to sign a treaty with Italy. Our two countries should establish a special relationship, which will be the political basis for our participation in the Italian-led intervention in the Spanish war! ”

Hersman added: "We will send to Spain a volunteer army of no more than 10,000 people, including the air force and army armored units and artillery." ”

This figure is just right, it will not steal the limelight from Mussolini, and it is enough to test the effectiveness of Germany's new weapons and tactics, and it can also allow up to 100,000 key members of the German army to go to Spain to smell the smoke of gunpowder before the start of the world war. (To be continued.) )