Chapter 635: 20,000-Kilometer Expedition (End)

"This flag is Argentina's shame, and I believe it is also the eternal pain in the hearts of the Argentine people..." Machar pointed to the British flag on the top of the flagpole and said to Peron, "I keep it specially until you can lower it with your own hands. Come down and raise the Argentinian flag! The Malvinas Islands will always be Argentina’s sacred and indivisible land!”

"Thank you!" Peron was so excited that he couldn't contain himself. On the one hand, he came here today to seek support from Germany, and on the other hand, he also wanted to negotiate with the Germans on the return of the Falklands - he was already prepared for the price that the other party would ask for. I didn’t expect that Machar would be so unambiguous when he came up.

As the military band sang "March of the Fatherland" (Argentina's national anthem), Peron's supporters and German officers and soldiers watched as Peron raised the blue and white Argentine flag. There was applause at the scene, and the German military reporters not only took a lot of photos , and also left behind very precious film footage.

Machar initially did not understand why the Führer specifically asked Minister Goebbels to explain what he did before departure, but looking at Peron and his supporters who were crying at the scene, he deeply understood the Führer's intention-why he wanted to do so in Return the Falklands to the Argentines on the first day. Politicians must of course talk about interests, but national sentiment is the biggest and most fundamental interest.

“Today, we would like to thank the brave German and Italian soldiers, the German heads of state and the Italian leaders for their extended hands of friendship. They selflessly helped the Argentine people realize their long-cherished wish to regain their homeland... I firmly believe that the Argentine people will always be the people of the two countries. Close partner!”

This is a very special scene in the history of diplomacy: the Axis coalition forces that occupied the Falklands returned the sovereignty of the Falklands to Juan Peron, who was neither the head of state, the minister of foreign affairs, nor the minister of defense at the time (the Axis gained the right to station troops), but everyone It is believed that Peron represented Argentina in regaining its homeland, and the symbol was the moment when Peron personally raised the Argentine flag on the Falkland Islands.

On September 15, Peron's supporters returned home on the main force of the German-Italian naval fleet. In Buenos Aires, Peron had been labeled a "traitor" by his political opponents and a wanted order was issued. However, as soon as pictures and leaflets about Peron raising the Argentine flag over the Falkland Islands spread, he was especially When the square began to play the movie footage of Peron raising the flag on the Falkland Islands, the whole city was excited, and everyone cheered: "Peron! Peron! Malvinas! Malvinas!"

When an Argentinian politician is associated with Malvinas, he gains eternal motivation. The poor people took to the streets to support Peron, and the army turned against him. Without a single shot from Peron, he wiped out all his political opponents - some of them fled in disguise, some hid in the British and American embassies in a hurry, and some were escorted by his subordinates. Surrendering to Peron, Peron took advantage of the situation and became Argentina's unique leader. On September 17, the Argentine Congress decided by a standing ovation to appoint Juan Peron as the supreme leader of Argentina.

Film footage of just a few minutes of the flag-raising ceremony was shown continuously across the country, and the Argentine people watched it again and again. At this time, Hull had just reached an agreement with the reluctant British-if Argentina agreed to join the Allies, Fokker The Islands will be returned after the war. But it is obvious that the Americans cannot use this condition at all, and Donovan has nothing to do.

Peron has climbed to the pinnacle of power, but he knows that his power is not yet stable. Taking back the Malvinas Islands is just a temporary shock. This pleasure comes and goes quickly. He wants to bring continuous happiness to the Argentine people. Since he plans to unite with Germany and fight against Britain and the United States, he also needs to gain more and greater support. He is ready to follow the path of the head of state and be the savior of the Argentine people, using the power in his hands to fulfill the promises he made one by one, granting favors to the people and returning their support.

On September 18, the day after his official inauguration, Perón issued a decree. His approach was very direct, using political power to redistribute social assets: on the one hand, he gave mandatory salary increases to the "shirtless men" (generally referring to ordinary Argentine people at the time), and on the other hand, he "nationalized" foreign industries. Theoretically, Argentina's nationalization policy is global, and it also includes German and Italian property. However, Germany and Italy's little property is insignificant, and they have communicated and understood it beforehand. Both the German and Italian ambassadors agreed and generously stated that no compensation was needed—— In the future, they will have many opportunities to make a fortune in Argentina, as long as Argentina exports agricultural products and metal resources to Europe. Most of them were British and American industries, especially the capital of the United States and the Jewish consortium, which suffered heavy losses in the nationalization.

In addition, Perón also labeled a large number of political opponents as traitors and confiscated their property. These people included the landlord class, church personnel, capitalists, celebrities and senior bureaucrats with extensive ties to Britain and the United States. These dignitaries who were alienated by the new government tried to use the media they had in their hands to launch an attack, but they were easily defeated by Peron, who was in the ascendant. He had the support of the army, the support of millions of shirtless men, and the powerful German and Italian fleets outside. This formed a solid foundation for his rule. As time went by, newspapers were seized and taken over, prominent figures were arrested and imprisoned, the landlord class that controlled the lifeblood of the country was completely defeated, and the power of the church was temporarily suppressed.

This turbulent change was dazzling, but for Machar who accompanied him, this scene seemed familiar, and it all happened vividly in Germany. Peron simply replicated the policies implemented by the Führer in Germany: nationalist sentiments were exaggerated, the interests of the majority were safeguarded, and the people saw a reliable goal to strive for.

Marshall said to Krank: "I am still slow. I should have expected all this..."

"The head of state knows it right. No one is more experienced in this kind of thing than him!"

Perón imitated the Führer in every aspect, and of course he had historically followed these policies as well, with the only significant difference being the compensation in the nationalization process. In real history, Peron finally gave high compensation to Britain and the United States, which caused a relatively heavy burden on Argentina. Now that he has the support of the Axis, of course he is unwilling to spend this unjust money, but he cannot confiscate other countries' industries without reason, so Peron made a high claim against the United Kingdom - asking Great Britain to pay for the occupation of the Falklands, and at the same time Treat this fee in advance as a nationalization compensation fund, and the amount of the fund is exactly $100 million more than the nationalization compensation. The new Argentine government claims that all compensation will be disbursed after the compensation fund is in place - or the creditor countries can directly approach the UK to request subrogation.

All Argentines applauded it—that’s what populism does, of course.

On September 21, Peron's new official took the second step in taking office: Argentina signed the "Treaty of Friendship and Mutual Assistance" with Germany and Italy, agreeing that the two sides would help each other, coordinate with each other, and jointly develop a comprehensive partnership, and invited Germany and Italy to Troops were stationed on Malvinas Island, but they made no mention of joining the Axis, let alone the idea of ​​declaring war on Britain and the United States. This quickly relieved the mood of the Argentine people. This is also in line with Hoffman's requirements. He only needs Argentina to maintain a relatively close relationship with Germany and play the role of a "non-belligerent" similar to Spain.

In return for the "Treaty of Friendship and Mutual Assistance", Germany donated a batch of land and air force equipment to Argentina - including a battalion of No. 4 tanks and three groups of German active combat aircraft. Italy donated a batch of naval equipment to Argentina - in fact They were the old British cruisers, frigates and merchant ships captured by the two countries; Argentina began to export agricultural products to Germany and Italy - just using the return ship Will to be sent to Madagascar. The United States is a major agricultural country, so the prices of corn, wheat, soybeans, grains, and beef and mutton that constitute Argentina's main exports are kept very low, while the prices of industrial products exported to Argentina are raised very high. But Germany is different. The price of exported agricultural products is relatively high, and the price of exported products (mainly surplus arms at this stage) is much cheaper than American products.

After nationalization, the Argentine government had a large sum of money on hand. On the one hand, it directly distributed money to encourage the poor people. On the other hand, it also made large-scale purchases, benefiting farmers, farmers, and small and medium-sized capitalists, allowing them to personally feel the benefits of the new government.

On the afternoon of the next day, Argentina also held a grand troop dispatching ceremony. Two brigades and pilots selected by Peron announced their landing on Malvinas Island and accepted defense. At the same time, a large number of construction personnel, cement, and steel were allocated to the island. Infrastructure construction on the island is actually a euphemism for the expansion of military facilities. This part of the Argentine troops will receive German training and training on the island, including newly donated military equipment from Germany. Its important mission is to help defend the Falklands. .

In addition to the public terms, Germany and Argentina also signed a secret treaty: it was agreed that Germany would send more military instructors, technicians and engineers to help Argentina establish a modern industrial and defense system and support Argentina's partial territorial claims to Brazil; Argentina promised to follow All Argentine agricultural products will be imported into the axis at preferential market prices, and in essence, a diplomatic strategy and economic policy will be adopted that focuses on the axis. The two sides even agreed to follow Argentina's example to launch similar revolutions in various South American countries and form a National Socialist International. Machar bluntly hinted: Argentina can take the lead in exporting and assume the role of the leading brother. Peron should be their spiritual leader. .

Now Argentina is almost equivalent to a "quasi-ally" to Germany that does not declare war on Britain and the United States. Not only are its interests consistent with the axis, but it is also highly similar in ideology and political organization, and it also plans to promote it to surrounding countries - Huo Huo Fuman is ready to go wild in South America, the American back garden, and undermine Roosevelt's global strategy.

After settling the defense system of the Marine Brigade and Naval Aviation Tsushima Island, the huge Axis Fleet can be freed up to perform other tasks...