Chapter 231 Return to the Empire

Austria and Germany have a complicated relationship in history. They have long belonged to the Greater Germany region and were ruled by the Habsburg dynasty of Austria.

Later Germany was unified by the Hohenzollern dynasty of Prussia, who excluded Austria, which formed the loose Austro-Hungarian Empire with Hungary. After the First World War, Austria and Hungary also went their separate ways.

The division of European territory, which is known to later generations, is that Austria is a separate country, which was mainly determined at the meeting of the victorious countries after World War II.

The end of World War I brought a lot of changes. For example, the division of European countries was a huge problem. At the same time, a famous unsolved equation appeared: "Whether a country is a piece of land or a group of people of the same species If it is a homogenous people, which common factor should take precedence, race, religion or language?"

Europe after the First World War has always been in turmoil, and the merger of Germany and Austria has long been premeditated.

In 1918, just after the end of the First World War, Ludendorff, the German quartermaster general, wrote to the Foreign Office asking them to consider a German-Austrian merger as compensation for Germany's "losses in other areas of the war".

The failure of Germany has caused great losses to Germany. Each colony has been divided up by other countries. Germany must win over Austria.

At that time, the Austrian Provisional National Assembly took into account the impact of the defeat and the disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian Empire on Austria, and passed a resolution within the party to merge with Germany. In other words, both countries have the injustice of merging.

It is a pity that the Allies who won Germany will not watch Germany become stronger. In the Treaty of Versailles, they did their best to weaken Germany, and they strictly prohibited the merger of Germany and Austria.

In this way, it was until Hitler came to power. For Hitler, how to reintegrate Austria into Germany was the first part of his imperial strategy.

History has proved that when a piece of land has been divided for too long, it will become more and more difficult to merge it, because on the divided land, those who have gained power will not be willing to hand over the power. , I would rather be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix. When the head of a country, power will make them lose their minds.

Moreover, after a few decades, when a new generation of people grows up, the era in which they grew up is divided, and they are even more reluctant to merge.

This is the problem that Hitler faced. When Hitler seized power in Germany, it was already a bit tricky when he wanted to deal with the Austrian problem.

Those in power do not want to surrender power.

As a result, Hitler began to subvert the Austrian regime, and his plan was to support the Austrian Workers' Party.

A few years ago, they carried out a subversive campaign, breaking into the Chancellery in Vienna, shooting Chancellor Dolfis, taking over the radio station, and proclaiming Lindrun as chancellor.

Unfortunately, Italy at that time was quite dissatisfied with this, and sent four divisions to the Brenner Pass, ready to intervene at any time to maintain Austria's independence.

Over the years, Hitler has been tentative, including advancing into the Rhineland, and if Britain and France opposed it at the time, he would immediately withdraw.

As a result, Mussolini quit, and Hitler immediately stopped the project.

In Hitler's eyes, Mussolini, the revolutionary mentor, was quite respected. When Hitler saw Mussolini's disapproval, he immediately abandoned the plan.

In the past few years, the relationship between Germany and Italy has been greatly eased. Now, Germany and Italy are working together to help Spain.

Moreover, in the Spanish Civil War, the combat effectiveness of the German army far surpassed that of Italy! In this era, strength is used to speak, so Hitler is completely convinced that he has won the respect of Mussolini, and he will no longer interfere in Austria's affairs!

This idea has long been brewing in Hitler's mind, but it has not been spoken.

Now, after hearing Cyric's words, Hitler was very happy. This Cyric is the person who knows his heart the most!

Hitler was about to express his appreciation when he heard a different voice.

"General Cyric, you have always been in Spain, not in Germany, and you lack an analysis of the surrounding situation. I think this view of yours is quite inappropriate." Blomberg, Germany's defense minister, publicly objected. .

Born in the orthodox Prussian officer corps, Blomburg has a considerable influence in the army, and it is precisely because of his support that Hitler can successfully obtain the support of the army.

Although Blomburg and Cyric had a good relationship on the surface, the officer corps had a bad temper and couldn't stand such a civilian origin. In particular, Cyric also won the battle in Spain!

The officers' corps had discussed that the concentrated use of tanks was extremely wrong, and Blomburg, in particular, had personally refuted this tactic. However, Cyric used the Spanish battlefield to demonstrate that this tactic is correct, which is simply a slap in the face of Blomburg!

In their bones, there is a kind of arrogance, and at the same time, Blomberg still has his own theory.

Although Britain and France did not speak when they advanced into the Rhineland, it was because it was their own territory, and they justified the loss, but Austria is different!

Britain and France will not watch Germany merge with Austria and thus have greater war potential, so they will definitely oppose it!

And as long as there is opposition from Britain and France, it will be difficult for them to proceed smoothly. Therefore, Blomburg firmly opposes it.

Private affairs are private affairs, and public affairs are public affairs. Although Cyric congratulated him on marrying his wife just now, Blomburg was quite opposed to this aspect.

"Yes, at this time, if we annex Austria, it will definitely trigger joint sanctions by the foreign powers. We have violated the Treaty of Versailles in many places. They may be vigilant about our rise and use this incident to jointly suppress. "After Blomberg finished speaking, Army Commander-in-Chief Fritsch also expressed his views.

The two military generals expressed their opposition to Cyric's proposal. Hitler's face softened and said, "Since both of them are against it, we will talk about this later."

The tone was not bad, and it did not spoil the atmosphere of the banquet, but Cyric saw the cold light in Hitler's eyes, and now Hitler was angry.

Blomburg and Fritsch are the stumbling blocks for Hitler to launch foreign wars! Hitler had to overthrow these two men before he could take the step of his aggression!

And these two stumbling blocks have to be solved by Cyric!