33

Chang's era (4)

"yes? No, why?"

Rabe was visibly embarrassed. He must have never dreamed that after listening intently to his story, he would suddenly say it was unreasonable.

"Now engineers sent from Japan are helping rebuild our navy. However, if we criticize indiscriminately, Japan will definitely withdraw its engineers. The rebuilding of the Navy will also be delayed.

It is truly shameful that the German Fuhrer would say something like this, but there is a distance between ideals and reality. Therefore, it seems difficult for the German government to criticize Japan."

"Is that so...?"

Rabe could not hide his disappointment.

He must have believed that I would fully support him, but he must have felt betrayed.

"Are you disappointed?"

"yes? Ah, no... Well, that is..."

"I know how you feel, teacher. You must have been disappointed. It sounds like it might be a bit difficult to do it with such high expectations. But don't get me wrong. "I, too, have no intention of quietly burying in history the actions committed by those with short legs."

"······yes?!"

"You have to roll your head. Let's think about it. The German government will not show much interest in this incident. However, how can we prevent the 'minor deviations' of individual German citizens?"

"What do you mean?"

I faced Rabe and smiled.

"I have a plan."

***

The first day of March 1938,

The following articles were written in large letters on the front pages of newspapers around the world.

'Japan rapes Nanjing!'

'The bloody festival held by the Japanese army in Nanjing'

'Destroy and rape whatever you can... official order from the Japanese military'

'Rape and massacre regardless of gender or age! Japan's barbarism has been unmasked!'

Rabe, who went to the neutral country of Switzerland, informed people of the massacre committed by the Japanese army in Nanjing with photos he had taken in Nanjing.

Newspaper companies, eager to find material that would grab people's attention, immediately published John Rabe's photo and testimony on the front page of the newspaper.

The news of the Nanjing Massacre, first reported by Swiss newspapers, soon crossed borders and spread to countries around the world.

From renowned media outlets such as the New York Times and The Times to small media outlets in small local cities whose existence is barely known to the world, everyone was busy publishing Nanjing news in their newspapers.

The news of the large-scale massacre committed by the Japanese army in Nanjing had a great shock around the world.

Until now, the details of what happened in Nanjing were unknown due to Japan's thorough concealment, but now everyone in the world has heard the news that a massacre took place in Nanjing.

In addition, racist newspapers that viewed Japan's rapid growth with yellow eyes with disapproval further fueled this controversy.

Japanese embassies located in capitals around the world, such as London, Paris, Warsaw, and Washington DC, were attacked, protests denouncing Japan's invasion continued, and calls for a boycott of Japanese products gained strength.

The Japanese government immediately issued a statement refuting the whole thing, saying it was a fabrication, but it had no effect.

Japan's claims were completely buried as not only Yon Rabe but also foreigners who returned alive from Nanjing gave testimony one after another.

"'The disgusting and ugly face of Japan, which prides itself on being a civilized country'... The title was chosen artistically."

As with the provocative title, the content of the article itself was also provocative.

Somehow, I felt more disdain for the yellow race than criticism of the Japanese military, but I couldn't help it.

In Europe in 1938, the perception of the yellow race was something between monkeys and humans.

In any case, the original plan to shame the Japanese government was a huge success.

You're going to be in a lot of trouble with this, you short-legged bastards.

"Mr. President, Ambassador Togo of Japan has arrived."

"already? "You came so quickly."

As expected, Japan has strongly protested this incident.

Shigenori Togo was originally an opponent of war, so he spoke very politely, but since he was a diplomat, he did not hide how angry his country was and spoke directly.

"I am truly sorry to have to say this, but now some in the headquarters are even saying that Germany may have betrayed Japan."

"Huh, that's too much to say. "How could we have ever expected something like this to happen?"

I deliberately raised my voice as if I was greatly disappointed by Dogo's words.

"How was I supposed to know that John Lave would go to Switzerland and not inside Germany to do such a thing? And even if he knew, he did it in Switzerland, so what can I do? "He wants to invade Switzerland?"

When I came out strong, even Dogo, a seasoned diplomat, was taken aback.

"Ah, that's just what they say, the Japanese government's official position is-"

"Shall I tell you now? At your request, I also withdrew our military advisory group from China. Do you know how much China protested about that? I heard that they would no longer export minerals to Germany, and even that they would risk severing diplomatic ties. Does Japan know how busy I was trying to explain it?

I did my best to advance Japan-Germany relations. Any request you made to return home was granted. But to show such disrespect due to a personal deviation committed by one of our citizens! "Is this really something friendly countries would do?"

Dogo must have never expected me to be this angry, so he took out a handkerchief and was busy wiping away the sweat.

"I'm sorry if you felt uncomfortable. I have nothing to say. I also know very well that this is not the German government's official position. However, my job is to convey Japan's opinion to the President as it is. "Please be generous and understand."

"Tell this to your home country. We will make efforts to resolve this situation, but Japan should also refrain from making irresponsible speculations and criticism. "If you consider Germany a friendly country."

"I will do that."

"And let me ask you something. The military advisory group has been withdrawn as requested by Japan, but when will the promised additional dispatch of engineers and ship blueprints arrive? "You're not going to just take it and then wash your mouth, are you?"

"W-what are you saying! "Japan is not a country that carelessly betrays trust with others!"

Is that so? So what was the attack on Pearl Harbor? Please explain.

"It's just that there are reports that Germany's General Falkenhausen is still in China. "Is that true?"

Dogo's expression, who had been busy making excuses just a few seconds ago, changed. This is the beginning of a counterattack, is this it?

They probably want to say that it is false to say that they withdrew the military advisory group citing Falkenhausen as the reason. It's a clever move.

It's laughable. Maybe I didn't expect all this?

"It's true."

"Why? "You said you withdrew the advisory group, but isn't the most important person still in China?"

"You say that you suddenly got sick and that it is difficult for you to go to Germany. What should I do? I ordered Falkenhausen to be summoned again, but he just kept repeating the same thing. I have now instructed you to check whether what he said is true or not, so you will find out soon.

If he lied to me, he will have to pay the price. Because I will do whatever it takes to make it happen. Are you satisfied now?"

"Hehehe, I understand."

Dogo returned home with little more than a sweat, let alone any income.

Dogo's back to the embassy looked smaller and more shabby than ever.

The next morning, Togo's radio message to Japan was deciphered by our code team and delivered to my desk.

PURPLE, the encryption system used by Japan, was famous for its extremely lax security system.

-As a result of the meeting with Führer Hitler, it appeared that the Führer was truly unaware of this situation. He also promised to resolve the Falkenhausen issue as soon as possible.

Stupid guys.

Even after all this, you keep talking nonsense about the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere and all that. You dream too.

"What is your schedule today?"

"You have a meeting scheduled with officials from the Propaganda Department in the morning, and you decided to attend a demonstration of a new submachine gun in the afternoon and meet with officials."

"That's right, indeed. "I'm already looking forward to it."

***

The MP38 submachine gun developed by Nazi Germany in 1938 is a luxury submachine gun with excellent appearance and performance.

However, since it is manufactured by cutting from whole steel, it has the disadvantage of being time-consuming and expensive.

Therefore, the Nazis began improving this machine to produce it more cheaply and quickly, and the MP40 was born.

From the beginning, I instructed that this thing be made by press processing, which is cheaper and faster than cutting processing.

In other words, the MP38 released now is the original MP40.

As the MP38 was introduced, the organization of the German army was also overhauled.

During World War II, the German army had one machine gun in each squad in charge of the squad's firepower, and the rest were bolt-action rifles such as the Kar98k. It was a structure that had no choice but to be pushed back by firepower from the armed U.S. and Soviet troops.

It was not until the end of the war that the German military realized that the existing method of organization was problematic and attempted to strengthen the firepower of the squad by providing large numbers of automatic weapons such as the MP40 and StG44, which had more firepower than bolt-action rifles, but this did not have much effect as the war situation was already tense.

I planned to produce as many of these MP38s as possible and distribute them to the entire army.

It will be difficult to replace all of the existing Kar98k and Gew98 in a short period of time, but replacing them now will help prevent future disasters.

"How is the development of the new rifle going? How is it going?"

"Yes, Mr. President. Development is progressing as scheduled. "You don't have to worry."

Hugo Schmeiser, who developed the first submachine gun, the MP18, answered.

The new rifle he is currently developing is the StG44, recorded as the first assault rifle in history, and was scheduled to become the German military's service rifle to replace the existing Kar98k.

"I will only trust the doctor. "I hope to see good results quickly."

"Please just leave it to me."

Through the efforts of Minister of Munitions Fritz Todt and Minister of Construction Albert Speer, Germany's logistics system was also reorganized to be significantly more efficient than before.

Although there are still many areas that need to be fixed, thanks to their efforts, inefficient operation and production, which were chronic problems in the German military system, were greatly improved, and the production of military supplies increased, which was a notable achievement.

"I have very high expectations for my two ministers. In war, the factory is like the heart. Just as you can't live if your heart stops, you can't go to war if the factory stops. "Please do not forget that the future of Germany rests on your shoulders."

"Thank you, Mr. President. Thanks to His Excellency's delegation of full authority, we were able to obtain cooperation from companies. Minister Speer also gave me great help."

"Hehehe, no. Didn't Minister Tot plan it all? "I just gave instructions."

Todt and Speer showed a heart-warming performance by giving the ball to each other.

I only see Göring, Goebbels, and Himmler, who are busy criticizing and fighting each other all the time, but seeing these two makes me feel like my eyes are being purified.

When Todt died in a plane crash in East Prussia on February 8, 1942, Speer, who had been Minister of Construction, became Minister of Munitions at Hitler's recommendation and overhauled the German industrial system, which was at the peak of inefficiency, from head to toe.

Thanks to Speer's efforts, Germany's military production increased even as the war situation worsened, reaching its peak in 1944.

What's worse, is it even said that Germany's defeat was postponed by a year thanks to Speer?

Conversely, it also meant that the production of military supplies had been carried out in a shoddy manner until then.

However, this does not mean that Tot is an incompetent friend, so please do not misunderstand. Many of Speer's plans were planned by his predecessor, Todt, and Todt devoted himself to work passionately, even reducing his sleeping hours.

There are many scholars who argue that without Todt, Speer's reforms would not have had much effect.

To put it simply, it can be said that Tot laid out the framework and Speer added the flesh.

"And the production of heavy artillery, as emphasized by His Excellency the President, has entered an upward trend. "The development of the 15cm flat sand gun is also nearing completion."

"That's great. "I'm not a fagot, but I feel like proposing to the minister."

"I decline."

The problem with the German army that people are not aware of is that its artillery firepower is weaker than that of the Soviet army.

Not only was the Soviet Union so deceptive, but the German army lacked heavy artillery as well as tanks and trucks, so they had to actively utilize captured French and Soviet-made heavy artillery.

However, since the quantity was insufficient, increasing the production of heavy artillery was a very important issue.

In addition, because there were very few plain artillery guns that had a longer range than howitzers, when the Soviet army bombarded them with plain artillery, German artillerymen had to struggle to fire large artillery fire with howitzers that had a short range.

How sad this is.

"And, as the President mentioned last time, the work to modify the chassis of Panzer No. 2 and turn it into a self-propelled artillery is progressing without a hitch. "The body design has already been completed, and only the fighting compartment design needs to be completed."

"Good, very good! "I think I can go to bed in a good mood today."

With the advent of the 4th Panzer, there were many opinions that it would be a waste to retire the 2nd Panzer, which was scheduled to be retired.

Since I also had the same thought, I gave instructions to the Ordnance Bureau to develop self-propelled artillery based on the chassis of Tank No. 2.

The newly developed self-propelled howitzer was scheduled to be equipped with a 10,5cm leFH 18 light howitzer.

There was also an idea to add a 15cm heavy gun, but it was rejected because it was obvious that it would put a strain on the hull.

In addition, the development of self-propelled artillery, rescue, anti-aircraft, and bridge tanks that are modified versions of the Panzer 4 is also gradually underway.

In the case of anti-tank guns, a prototype of the PaK 38 was just about to be shipped.

Ah, it's so good.

I was about to go to bed, proud of having had a worthwhile day, when someone knocked on my bedroom door.

"Mr. President? "This is Krause."

"Krause? "What are you doing at this hour?"

The owner of the knock was my personal bodyguard, Karl Wilhelm Krause.

Krause was originally a naval cadet, but was selected as my bodyguard and now wore the rank of SS second lieutenant.

He's tall, strong, handsome, and quick-witted, making him the perfect bodyguard.

I was going to tell him to report anything serious the next morning, but Krause struck first.

"It's urgent. "I have to tell you now-"

"Say it. "What on earth is going on?"

"They say Minister Blomberg and General Fritsch were in a car accident."

what?