Chapter 958 D-Day (19)
On June 27, 1944, the Armistice Agreement between the Axis and the Soviet Union was officially signed in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. The package of treaties was collectively referred to as the "Treaty of Sofia". One party signing the treaty was the foreign ministers of the Axis countries who declared war on the Soviet Union, and the other party was the Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov.
After Operation Barbarossa, many countries declared war on the Soviet Union. In addition to Germany and Italy, there were also Romania, Hungary, Finland, Slovakia, the three Baltic countries, Turkey, Iran, etc., and even Slovenia, Croatia, Iraq, etc. that were out of reach. country.
This is not all the armed forces that fought against the Soviet Union: the French Volunteer Army, the Spanish Phalange Army, the Belgian Dutch SS, the American SS, etc. were all fighting on the Eastern Front. At most, a total of 21 countries were fighting against the Soviet Union in various names. Combat. Only Bulgaria, which has always been the younger brother of the Axis, has always used the Slavs not to fight Slavs as an excuse, never declared war on the Soviet Union, maintained neutrality, and has been mediating between the Soviet Union and Germany.
Marshal Holt has the most outstanding performance among the generals on the Eastern Front. His army group commands the troops of 14 countries. He is known as the commander-in-chief of the 14-nation coalition. He can not only win the war with German troops, but also with the troops of Italy, Romania, Slovakia and other countries. He won the battle and won high praise.
Naturally, the country that made the most contributions and sacrificed the most in the war against the Soviet Union was Germany. Germany maintained about 5 million troops on the Eastern Front for three years, and concentrated 75% of the country's main army and 65% of the main air force in combat. The cumulative casualties were nearly 2 million, and the number of casualties alone exceeded 700,000, which is equivalent to 200,000 people in Germany. The population of male births is the place where the greatest sacrifices are made on all fronts.
Other battles: Regardless of the Western European campaign, the Polish campaign, the African campaign, or even various other battles with Britain and the United States, the sum total was less than half of the losses on the Eastern Front.
Germany also gained the most. Not only did it successfully dismantle the Soviet Union's huge system of union republics and establish a series of new countries, it also divided Russia into two parts: Eastern Russia and Western Russia. The Western Russian regime was supported by Germany, and the organizational form of the regime was , ideology, etc. are all projections of the German system, creating valuable strategic depth and barriers for Germany.
The Soviets paid a heavy price for this bitter peace, with cumulative losses of more than 14 million troops and more than 35 million people. Germany lost two years of male births, and the Soviet Union lost almost 20 years of births. The economy plummeted, and the overall national strength regressed to the 1917 period.
Compared with the political gains, Germany's economic gains are not much, but they are also considerable. In addition to receiving 300 million tons of oil compensation and a quarter of Baku's production, it also accounts for 10% of the major mining areas and industrial bodies in Western Russia. Shares - This was not a robbery of Vlasov, but because Germany repaired these mining areas or industrial areas destroyed by the Red Army, the repair costs were offset by the shares, otherwise Western Russia would never be able to repay this debt.
Only the gains in territory were minimal: before the war (1939), the Memel region where Germans gathered was obtained from Lithuania, and then East Poland, which Stalin swallowed up - but Hoffman did not intend to annex East Poland. He announced that he would move all Poles in West Poland to East Poland and then establish a Polish protectorate with a population of about 15 million.
Before the war, Poland had a total population of 34 million, but there were only 22 million pure Poles. The rest included Germans, Jews, Ukrainians, etc. During the war, millions of Poles were lost, and then part of the territory was divided. Currently, the remaining pure Poland There are about 15 million people left.
Germany had good reasons for establishing the Polish Protectorate: West Poland was established using the territory of German East Prussia. During World War I, Germany took pity on the Poles and agreed to their restoration in East Poland. Unexpectedly, Piłsudski later colluded with Britain and France to annex Prussia. They tried their best to build a Greater Poland, repeatedly opposed Germany, and occupied the Danzig area for a long time to separate German territory. This was the beginning of the Polish War.
After this territorial change, Germany's northeastern border basically returned to the level of 1918 (some areas were slightly advanced than 1918), bordering Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, Romania and the Polish Protectorate.
Germany's Eastern policy of not occupying Eastern countries, but also supporting their independence, restoring their economies, and helping to transform collective farms, was admired by all countries. Although there was considerable resistance within Germany, Hoffman suppressed it. From a practical point of view, The effect was very good. Countries in the East were determined to follow Germany, and the originally active guerrillas gradually disappeared. As for the farmers and military families who were allocated the land, they were even more grateful. Especially in places like Ukraine, every household hung a portrait of the head of state. Provided valuable grain and other agricultural products to Germany.
Only people like Mussolini muttered "idiot" because Germany did not occupy territory or seek compensation, and he could not make any demands. This made him very unhappy and felt that it was a mistake to send troops to fight in Russia. In the end, Ciano repeatedly mediated, and Vlasov made concessions and promised to provide Italy with 20 million tons of coal in the next 10 years (now Italy has Libyan oil fields and feels that it is not short of oil, but it is still short of coal). Expressing his gratitude, Mussori Only then did Ni agree to sign.
Romania took the biggest advantage in terms of territory. Not only did it successfully recover Bessarabia, which was forcibly taken away by Stalin, it also obtained more than 7,000 square kilometers of land from Ukraine. Ukraine also had unspeakable hardships, because this land was not related to Bessarabia. There are Ukrainians, Magyars and even Slavs on the land at the border of Asia. The Magyar population accounts for more than 45%. The Romanians occupied this place as soon as the war started. They also tried every means to move away the non-Magyars and move the population from other places. Come on, now three years have passed, and the Magyar population accounts for nearly 55%. Even if there is a referendum, we are not afraid. The final decision is to forget it.
The territory of Ukraine in this time and space is smaller than that of the Ukraine in Hoffman's time and space. Western Carpathian Ukraine (now Zakarpattia Oblast in Ukraine) belonged to Czechoslovakia after World War I and declared independence during the disintegration of the Czech Republic. , but was immediately annexed by Hungary and supported by Germany - this is why Hungary is determined to follow Germany. Also different from later generations, the Crimean Peninsula clearly belonged to Western Russia at this time. Presumably Vlasov would not have just waved his hand and transferred it to Ukraine like Khrushchev did.
In addition, Romania and Hungary both obtained part of their territory from the above two countries during the Polish and Yugoslavian Wars (part of the Polish population also flowed into the two countries). This was recognized by Germany, so both countries readily followed Germany into the war. The Italians pride themselves on doing more, but their actual contribution on the Eastern Front battlefield is not as good as that of Romania and Hungary. Romania's army, navy, and air force were all involved in fighting the Soviet Union, and they also provided food and other logistical support for the southern flank. Hungary did not have a navy. Almost all of the most elite army and air force were also deployed to join the battle on the Eastern Front.
The two countries were very self-aware and believed that it was a great deal. Since Germany did not receive much land or compensation, they stopped asking for this and that and readily signed the treaty. As a reward, Hoffman asked the High Command to give them some preferential treatment: Romania will receive heavy equipment capable of equipping 150,000 troops, and Hungary will receive 100,000 troops. When the Eastern Front is completely safe, the German Navy will receive light equipment on the Eastern Front. and auxiliary ships, including 7-8 submarines, are all assigned to Romania; Hungary can get more than 200 aircraft stationed by the German Air Force. In addition, Hoffman is also preparing to give two production lines such as T-34 and Stalker to the Hungarians. , the Romanian aviation industry has some strength and is ready to give them the Ju-88 production line. Both countries are grateful for this.
As for small countries such as Slovakia, Slovenia, and Croatia, they also received a batch of arms. As a thank you for sending troops to fight against the Soviet Union, Germany gave the remaining armored trains and train guns selected by Japan to these countries. In addition, it also sent A batch of aircraft. Under the pretext of suppressing the Serbian guerrillas, Ciano quickly obtained 5 armored trains for Italy. Together with Western Russia, Ukraine, and the Baltic countries, the original total on the Eastern Front was nearly a hundred, including captured Polish and Soviet train guns, The armored train was immediately divided into pieces.
Lieutenant General Schment, the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Front, was not concerned about this. It would be troublesome to bring these things back to Germany. Besides, Germany still has a batch of train guns and armored trains made in China and France, some of which will be sent to the Middle East in the future. If you want to show off your prestige and wait for export, Japan and other countries in South America have expressed a certain desire.
The country that still has territorial gains is Iran. Not only did Pahlavi successfully get rid of the control of the two major powers, Britain and the Soviet Union, he also succeeded in carving off territory from Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and even Pakistan. Now he is like a hegemon in the Middle East. Of course, there are reasons for ceding the territory of Pakistan: firstly, the religious customs and ethnic similarities; secondly, when the British were struggling in northwest India, Iran did not embarrass the British according to German instructions, and secretly sold a batch of grain and gasoline, and even The British equipment that they eliminated and more than 2,000 British prisoners held in Iran were returned to the British.
In order to maintain a tacit understanding with Iran, the British not only tolerated Iran's seizure of more than 5,000 square kilometers of land, but also returned Reza Khan, who was detained in India, to Pahlavi. The old king's body had collapsed long ago, but he finally returned to Iran during his lifetime. He was very pleased to see Pahlavi win independence and expand the land.
The most lost country is undoubtedly Turkey. When Turkey sent troops, it was so aggressive that it swept the entire Transcaucasus and occupied Baku. It even wanted to seize Iranian territory. In the end, Chernyakhovsky, who was caught in the opportunity, gave him a lesson. , losing nearly 200,000 people, and also lost the Transcaucasus and Baku that had been acquired. In the end, Germany gave a part of Armenia’s territory (less than 1,000 square kilometers) and a quarter of Baku’s shares as reward, but no country I sympathize with Turkey. Even Bulgaria says Turkey is too greedy - Germany has not even occupied any land. How dare you, Turkey, swallow up Transcaucasus?