"Marshal, you are the most amazing soldier, comparable to Marshal Moltke!"

Berlin, Charlottenburg Royal Palace, Ludwig. Feng. Heinsberg-Hersmann was now field marshal, awarded the rank by Kaiser Wilhelm himself, and was awarded a new "Grand Knight Iron Cross" - the highest military merit medal in the German Empire, higher than the "Blue Marx Medal", awarded to those who had made outstanding contributions to the national defense strategy, and Hersmann was the first to receive it.

As soon as Kaiser Wilhelm's words were finished, applause rang out in the palatial audience hall. Hersmann saluted Emperor Wilhelm, and then said: "Your Majesty, I will defeat France like Marshal Moltke!" Next year, you will be the master of Versailles! ”

This is not the first time Hersmann has said such things to Kaiser Wilhelm, but it is the first time that Kaiser Wilhelm has taken it seriously, after all, it took Hersmann only 12 days to defeat Poland, the "second army power in the world".

"Very well," said Kaiser Wilhelm, "I look forward to this day, Chief of the General Staff!" ”

At the same time as he was promoted, Hersmann was promoted to the post of Chief of the General Staff of the Wehrmacht! This position is actually parallel to that of the Minister of Defense, and in wartime "has full command, and the orders given by the Chief of the General Staff and the Minister of War have the same effect."

And the battle plan for attacking France was naturally formulated by Hersmann. Don't look at what he's talking about now, in fact, he doesn't have a bottom in his heart. The history of this plane has changed, and it is difficult to say whether the Manstein Project, which sneaked up on the Ardennes Forest, will work.

And now Britain and France are also desperately trying to pull Belgium - if they succeed and the army is stationed in the fortress of Liège, it will be difficult for the Germans to break through from the front.

……

"My Marshal, my Marquis, you have really done it, I am so blessed, I now have a perfect life."

Coming out of Charlottenburg Palace, as soon as she got into the Mercedes-Benz 770K car, Chloe gave Hersman a hot kiss. For a girl who wanted to marry a great German soldier in her teenage years, today is undoubtedly the happiest day of her life.

"Honey, your happiness has just begun," Hersman reached out and put his hand around his wife's waist, which was not slender but not too thick compared to her big breasts, and kissed her on the cheek. "This time next year, I will conquer Paris for Germany, and then all of Europe!"

Actually, it's the same thing for Hersmann!

Historically, Germany did not take full advantage of the victory in the Battle of France. Hitler always kept his hand on Britain and put too much faith in Italy - there was no reason for Italy to lose in North Africa just by looking at the power on paper. If Italy successfully took Egypt and blocked the Suez Canal, then British power would be forced to withdraw from the Middle East, and Turkey would have to fall to the Axis powers. In this way, the Axis powers could easily conquer the Middle East and no longer have to worry about oil and non-ferrous metals.

However, in this plane, Hersmann believes that he will not repeat Hitler's mistakes, nor will he let Chloe end up in a bleak evening.

"Really?" Chloe looked at her husband affectionately, "Then I must reward you well, why don't I give you another little Hesman." ”

"Still having to live?" Hersman touched his wife's waist, "You're in your forties. ”

Chloe is not young anymore, although she is well maintained, she is still very attractive - her skin is naturally saggy, but she is very fond of sports, and her figure is still very good. And Hersman is still very fond of her body.

Chloe smiled sweetly, "So what? My body is very healthy, like a mare. ”

"Really?" Hersman half-jokingly said, "Then I'm going to ride." ”

Chloe glanced in the direction of the driver's seat as if she were a little shy - the front and back of the 770K sedan were separated by plexiglass, but Chloe kept her voice to a minimum: "Just ride it......"

With that, Chloe gave Hersman another long kiss.

That night, however, Field Marshal Hersmann did not "ride" Chloe. As they had just returned to their villa in Charlottenburg, a call from the Chancellery's office came.

"Your Excellency Marshal," said Friedrich. Colonel Hossbach, who was Hitler's military adjutant. "The leader will return from Italy in the afternoon, and it is hoped that a meeting of the high command can be convened immediately."

The "High Command" was established after the start of the Polish campaign, although Kaiser Wilhelm, the Supreme Commander of the German Armed Forces, was not directly involved in the activities of the High Command. Rather, according to the Constitution, the Chancellor, the Minister of Defense, and the Chief of the General Staff were granted the "right to speak face-to-face," which in fact meant that these three men were to act as commander-in-chief -- the current German commander-in-chief actually belonged to a "three-man committee," and Hersmann was one of the three.

……

The meeting of the High Command was held at the Department of Defense building at 73 William Street. After the start of the World War, this "three-member meeting" (attended by more than three people, of course, but all decisions must be made by the consent of at least two of them) became the highest authority in Germany.

"I discussed with the Italian leaders in Rome for two whole days, and this morning it was agreed that Italy would come forward to guarantee the neutrality of the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Switzerland, Spain and Portugal. So, can we now confirm their neutral status? "Adolf. Hitler asked.

Unable to control the Wehrmacht, the Polish campaign was primarily enhanced by the prestige of Field Marshal Hersmann. Even Hitler himself now thought that Hersmann had to be consulted militarily - after all, Hitler did not know much about the methods of the Wehrmacht today, and the 12-day conquest of Poland seemed to him incredible.

"It should be confirmed!" "The neutrality of these eight countries is good for us," Hersman said. ”

These eight countries, with the exception of Switzerland and Portugal, are all relatively pro-German countries. If they remained neutral, Germany would have received from them many of the supplies needed to sustain the war effort, and they would also have obtained the raw materials needed to sustain their economies from overseas trade.

Hersmann paused, "So has Italy taken a neutral stance?" ”

Hitler glanced at Hersmann, then shook his head, "No! Italy will not remain neutral forever. "Actually, in Rome, I discussed with the Italian leader the question of bringing Italy into the war, and I think it is possible that he will take our side in the war." ”

The Wehrmacht fought too well in Poland, and Mussolini inevitably felt a little itchy in his heart.

Hersmann nodded, exchanged glances with Schleicher, and said, "We will need the Italians in the end, because the Mediterranean theater is decisive and we have no springboard into the Mediterranean." But until France is defeated, we don't need to win Italy in. And after the defeat of France, I am sure that the Italians will definitely join on their own. It's just that...... Their war readiness is very bad! We have information on this. Their navy does not have enough fuel to power the fleet; The army did not have enough trucks and useful tanks, and the training was poor; The situation of the Air Force is not good, although there are 2,300 aircraft on the books, but only about 1,000 can really fight. If the Italians really want anything to gain in the war, I think they should use the little time they have left to stock up on some supplies as much as possible. ”

"Is it really that bad?" Hitler thought for a moment, "Italy gives the impression of being a military power!" ”

Hersman said in his heart: In another time and space, you are always trapped by this impression.

"They ......," Hirschman shook his head, "that Italy's military power would not be stronger than Poland's if the Italian Navy were not taken into account." ”

In other words, it is only a matter of ten days and half a month to defeat Italy! If it weren't for the fact that he was not sure of capturing the Italian naval fleet, Hersmann would have pushed Italy over to the side of Britain and France, and then sent troops to defeat it.

"But Mussolini didn't have an accurate understanding of this," Hirschman sighed softly, "and it was a nuisance. ”

"We still need him," Hitler exhaled, "and now he is the arbiter of Europe." ”

Now that Britain, France and Germany seem to be "evenly matched", Italy's attitude as a "military power" is crucial.

"He should use this 'arbiter status' to speed up oil reserves!" Hersman pondered and said, "We can give him planes and tanks, but we can't give him oil." Now that he is vouching for neutrality for eight countries, should he ask them for something in return? Especially the Netherlands...... Their Dutch East Indies have a lot of oil! ”

Britain is now stuck in Germany's oil import channels, and the Netherlands is not allowed to transport too much oil to its own country. But Italy was in a special position, and was now the object of both Germany, Britain and France. If Mussolini took advantage of the opportunity to guarantee neutrality for the Netherlands and demanded 1 million tons of East India oil as a payment, Britain and France would have no choice but to say anything.

"That's a solution," Hitler nodded, "Hess is going to Rome next week, and I'll let him and Mussolini talk about it." ”

"I'm going with Hess to Italy to meet Mussolini!" Hersmann thought for a moment and said, "And we should also ask Mussolini to mediate relations with Belgium and Luxembourg." ”

Belgium and Luxembourg also demanded neutrality, but Mussolini did not dare to vouch for them.

"Belgium and Luxembourg?" Hitler was stunned, "Aren't we going to pass from where?" (To be continued.) )