Chapter 859 The War Is Coming
The war officially broke out at 2:30 a.m. on April 8, 1936.
At about 3 a.m., a large number of bombers took off from Germany and roared towards Austria.
These bombers had only one mission, which was to concentrate on attacking the Austrian army on the border and try to open a hole in the Austrian army's defense line.
At the same time, the German army, as if well prepared, assembled thousands of artillery pieces and launched an indiscriminate bombing of the Austrian army.
The shells poured down on the Austrian positions like a rainstorm, causing a shock no less than an earthquake.
After layers of reports, the news of the border conflict and the German declaration of war was delivered to the desk of Austrian Emperor Karl I.
"Damn it, how dare the Germans declare war on us?" Karl I looked at his prime minister in disbelief: "Also, what about the Germans' claim that we launched an attack on them?"
Half an hour ago, Karl I was still in a sweet dream.
But with the prime minister's urgent request for an audience, Karl I's dream was shattered, and the nightmare followed.
From this aspect, it can also be seen that the control of Austrian Emperor Karl I over the country has indeed reached the freezing point.
Karl I was not aware of the news of the outbreak of conflict in the army, and he had no channel to issue orders to the front-line army.
"It was the provocation of those damn Germans." The Austrian Prime Minister said with a gloomy face: "The Germans took the lead in sending soldiers to provoke, which caused the conflict."
"Fuck! You mean, the Germans deliberately lured us into the trap just to find a reasonable reason to declare war on us?" Karl I instantly understood that all conflicts were fake, and the Germans wanted to find a reason to declare war.
"Aren't they afraid of the French army?" Karl I was a little incredible: "Do they really want to provoke a large-scale war?"
"Judging from the Germans' movements, I'm afraid so, Your Majesty." The Austrian Prime Minister replied.
"Then what should we do? Mr. Prime Minister." Karl I asked hurriedly.
Although Karl I had the ambition to win the war, his control over the Austrian army was almost zero. Even bluntly speaking, Karl I didn't know the size of the Austrian army.
All he had was the ambition to win the war.
"The most important thing now is to contact our French allies." The Austrian Prime Minister said slowly: "Since the Germans feel they are ready for war, let the war come more fiercely.
What we have to do now is to ask our allies to fulfill their covenant and join this war.
In addition, the army should also start a national mobilization. Your Majesty, this is an order for national mobilization, please sign it. There is also a declaration of war against Germany. From today on, Austria will be at war with Germany.
We will protect Austria's security at all costs and stop the Germans outside the border."
Unlike Karl I, the Austrian Prime Minister is still quite capable. Born in the military, the Austrian Prime Minister is still quite decisive and quickly came up with two solutions.
"Great, Mr. Prime Minister." Karl I nodded, signed the national mobilization order and declaration of war without any hesitation, then looked at the Austrian Prime Minister and said with hope: "The hope of defeating the Germans is up to you, Mr. Prime Minister.
I will do my best to support you until we defeat the damn Germans."
On the other hand, Germany notified Italy of the war and asked Italy to fulfill its ally's duties and declare war on Austria.
Italy has long become a one-man show for Mussolini. Mussolini's attitude is to ally with the Germans, and naturally he will not betray the alliance at this time.
On April 9, Italy announced a national mobilization. The Italian government issued a notice to the outside world, asking European countries to remain calm. The current war is only a war between Germany and the Austrian Empire and should not involve other countries.
This is also what Germany and Italy agreed to do. After the war broke out, the French were prevented from joining the war as much as possible.
If the attitude of the French peace faction can be used to avoid France's participation in the war, it would naturally be the best thing.
Germany and Italy, who jointly divide and annex Austria, will become more powerful. At that time, they will free up their hands to slowly deal with France, and their chances of winning will be greater.
Italy's statement put all the pressure on the French.
If France intervenes in the war, it will face attacks from Germany and Italy. But if it remains neutral, France will lose its only ally in Europe and will not be able to remain immune in the future.
At this time, the French government has been arguing for a long time about whether it should fulfill its ally's duties and declare war on Germany.
The Germans' ambitions that cannot be satisfied at all have awakened some of the less determined peace advocates. They clearly realize that there is no so-called peace between Germany and France.
In order to have peace between Germany and France, either Germany annexed France or France annexed Germany.
It is absolutely impossible for two neighboring countries with similar strength to maintain peace, and they are also competitors of the European hegemon.
But whether to declare war directly on Germany, these officials who have changed from peace advocates to war advocates have their own ideas.
"Your Excellency." President Albert's confidant, French Deputy Defense Minister Romain Barras stood up and said: "At this point, we have no choice.
If today we abandon our ally Austria, tomorrow we will be abandoned by others. Neither we nor Austria have a chance of winning when facing Germany alone.
Only by uniting and resisting the German invasion with a firm attitude can we win the war. "
"Damn it, you are pushing France into the abyss." After hearing what Roman said, a French peacemaker couldn't sit still. He stood up and said angrily: "We have to pay hard to win this war. At what cost?
A conservative estimate is that we must mobilize more than 5 million troops to win this war.
If we cannot stop the war beyond the border, in addition to the heavy casualties to the military, our people will also have to bear a large number of casualties, as well as huge losses of state-owned property and public property.
If there is another super war comparable to the scale of the last European war, our economy and industry will be set back for decades.
If so, what can we gain? It is impossible for a broken France to compete with the British for European hegemony.
In this way, the British stayed out of the matter and gained all the benefits. "
"That's right." Roman Barras didn't panic at all, and even nodded to the Lord Peace Party's statement.
"Damn it, since you understand this, why do you still support the President in launching a war? No matter whether this war is won, France cannot become stronger." The peacemaker member was a little confused and asked with an angry look.
"But if we don't stand up to resist, France may not exist." Romain Barras looked calm, but what he said made other members of the Peace Faction change their expressions.
"Everyone, we should think carefully, can we and the Germans live peacefully in Europe?" Roman Barras said with a sincere face: "Maybe, but only if one party is particularly strong, or one party becomes weak.
As far as the terrifying potential shown by the Germans is concerned, I don't think we can surpass the Germans in a short time. This also means that the prerequisite for France to peacefully coexist with Germany may be that France becomes weaker and cannot threaten the status of the Germans at all.
But the question is, since France is much weaker than Germany, will Germany be indifferent to French land?
Referring to the various behaviors of the Germans, I think such a situation does not exist. Once France weakens, Germany will unscrupulously launch a war against France, and France may even be in danger of national collapse.
Only if we stand up to resist and completely repel the German attack can we ensure the continuation of France. "
"Then how do you solve the problem of British people staying out of it?" Someone stood up and asked.
Hearing this question, Romain Barras smiled slightly and said a plan that made everyone present change their minds: "It's very simple, that is to use our participation in the war in exchange for the entry of the British.
We can tell the British plainly that they must help us. Otherwise, France will give up its resistance to Germany, let Germany become the European hegemon, and then challenge the British position.
A war is going to break out anyway, and if the British are unwilling to pay, then let the Germans and British fight it. At worst, if we give up the fight for European hegemony, we might still be able to watch a good show. "
The plan proposed by Romain Barras is very bold. If the British did not end, the French would give up their resistance to Germany.
What does this mean? Isn't that just surrendering to Germany? From this point of view, Roman Barras's ideas are more pro-peaceful than pro-peace, and even more extreme.
After all, the goal of the peace faction is to exchange certain concessions for peace, not to surrender directly to the Germans.
"Damn it, are the British unwilling to help us? Are we going to surrender to the Germans?" The war faction couldn't sit still at this time. A senior official of the war faction stood up and looked at Romain Barras's face. His eyes were full of distrust.
Good guy, he originally thought that everyone was an ally of the main war faction. Unexpectedly, Roman Barras, the Deputy Minister of Defense, actually proposed a plan that was more pro-peace than pro-peace.
"Then what else can we do?" Roman Barras asked without any panic: "Whether it is war or peace, as Germany's neighbor, we cannot be immune to it alone.
In this case, it is better to use all methods to drag the British down. As long as the British were involved in this war, there would be no victors in the war. "
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