The Rise Of Australasia

The scenario the Germans least wanted to see had unfolded. Having lost the Battle of Britain, the German Air Force was no longer able to organize a large-scale attack on the United Kingdom.

This also meant that the first phase of Operation Sea Lion had already failed, as without being able to effectively destroy the military airstrips and radar in the south of England, the prospect of concealing their movements from the Royal British Navy and successfully landing was extremely difficult.

Moreover, since the outbreak of the Battle of Britain, the British had also strengthened their patrols over the English Channel. In such a situation, a large-scale landing on the British mainland was undoubtedly sending the German military to their doom.

Helplessly, the German Chancellor was forced to announce an indefinite postponement of Operation Sea Lion, shifting the focus of the German military back to the European Continent.

Regarding the war on the European Continent, there were quite intense debates within the German General Staff.

The Nordic Trio had been basically wiped out, and although the regions near the Arctic Circle had not yet been occupied by the German Army, they no longer posed any threat to Germany.

This meant that Germany's primary battlefields were now reduced to two, namely the French Battlefield and the Balkan Battlefield.

In both of these battlefields, Germany had already achieved considerable advantages. The Frenchmen, who had been beaten by the Germans, could only flee in despair. Despite establishing defensive positions in Tours, the loss of their capital city, Paris, was an undeniable fact.

Looking at the Balkan Battlefield, the German Army had even secured an advantage by deploying just one Army Group.

For Romania, Bulgaria, and Italy, fighting against South Slavia, Greece, and Albania, gaining an upper hand was not difficult.

After all, the population of these three countries combined was not even as much as Italy alone; moreover, two of these countries, Albania and Greece, had small populations, not making them formidable enemies.

The headache was that, although some advantages had been gained in these two battlefields, it seemed very difficult to achieve a complete victory in a short period.

With the support of the British, France was still pursuing a strategy of resolute resistance, and their defense lines were temporary but solid, leaving the German Army no choice but to engage with the French Army in a war of attrition.

On the Balkan Battlefield, although the enemy nations had small populations, the military capabilities of these Balkan States were notably strong.

Especially, the army of South Slavia, led by Serbia, was comparable in combat strength to that of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire, significantly stronger than that of the Italian Army.

This had resulted in Italy, despite having deployed more than 500,000 troops on the Balkan Battlefield, achieving minimal effects and even somewhat adding to the chaos.

The performances of Romania and Bulgaria, the two Balkan States, in this war were also not so commendable.

With the help of the British, South Slavia could hold out for a long time. Germany would either have to commit more troops to the Balkan front or wait for Romania and Bulgaria to contribute to the war effort.

But as it stood, the time needed to resolve these two wars was going to be at least six months, and if a stalemate ensued, dragging it out for one or two years would not be a problem.

The Germans had already suffered from stagnating warfare during World War I, and within the upper echelons of Germany, some military officers believed that it was time for the German military to find a solution from another direction.

On the 11th of March, 1937, the German General Staff headquarters.

A top-secret military conference was taking place here, attended not only by numerous military upper echelons of the General Staff but also by the highest commanders of the two battlefields, the German Chancellor, the commanders-in-chief of each Army Group, and so on.

It's an exaggeration to say that if you didn't have at least the rank of major general, you had no right to attend this conference. If you weren't of general rank, you had no right to speak at it.

Even several Field Marshals were arguing so fiercely at this military conference that it nearly escalated into disarray among the high-ranking officers.

If not for the high prestige of the German Chancellor, this top-secret military conference might have turned into a contest among the high-ranking officers, or even a free-for-all among the marshals.

Sitting at the head with a somber expression, the German Chancellor calmly surveyed all the senior officers and then turned his gaze to Field Marshal Brauchitsch, who had been the most fervent just moments before, and asked, "Field Marshal Brauchitsch, please share your views."

"Yes, Your Excellency, the Chancellor," Brauchitsch nodded respectfully and then stood up to express his opinions to all the high-ranking officers present: "

"I believe we should suspend our offensive in the Balkans for now, and instead turn our attention to this vast country to our East.

Russia possesses minerals and petroleum resources we desperately need, which could greatly alleviate our demands for resources."

At the same time, Russia's vast population can also become our workforce, and if we split Russia into two or three countries, we could have an army of tens of millions of vassal states. Then we would not fear any war of attrition,"

"It's easy to say." The Commander-in-Chief of the German Army Group A stood up with a sneer, giving no face to Brauchitsch and directly retorted, "Where do we have so many troops to attack Russia?

You're right, Russia has a vast territory and a population of hundreds of millions. But that also means we are up against a country that can mobilize tens of millions of soldiers at any time.

Given that we have already mobilized millions of troops to open up battlefields in Western Europe and the Balkans, I think it is unwise to open a new battlefield in Eastern Europe.

Moreover, even if we could defeat the Russian troops in Eastern Europe, what about Siberia? And the Far East?

If Russia cannot be annihilated, it is bound to make a comeback. I believe you all understand the dread of Russian ideology; under the premise that we are already fighting a two-front war, if we further offend such a formidable country, will it be a blessing or a disaster for Germany?"

Hearing the retort of the Commander-in-Chief of Army Group A, Brauchitsch didn't rush to explain but sneered disdainfully, "Is Marshal Gregory truly worried about the pressure of fighting a three-front war, or is he worried that opening a new battlefield will take away troops from the Westline Battlefield?

The Western European battlefield has clearly shown that it cannot achieve quick success; should we continue wasting millions of troops and give up on Russia, which is almost within our grasp?"

"You! Damn it, are you questioning my loyalty to the Empire?" Marshal Gregory of Army Group A was taken aback, as if some hidden agenda had been exposed, and he said angrily.

"Loyalty?" Marshal Brauchitsch seemed to hear something amusing, and continued to question, "If you were truly loyal to the Empire and His Excellency the Chancellor, you would now be considering the feasibility of the Eastern European battlefield, rather than unwisely worrying about whether your soldiers will be redeployed.

If you are not even aware of this, perhaps I can also understand why Army Group A has not been able to capture Tours in France for such a long time."

"Alright, Brauchitsch, continue with your thoughts on the Eastern European battlefield," the German Chancellor intervened to end the topic and gestured to Brauchitsch.

"Yes, Your Excellency," Marshal Brauchitsch nodded, understanding that the Chancellor would not replace the position of the Commander-in-Chief of Army Group A over such matters.

How large is an Army Group? A normal army group has a strength of 200,000 to 300,000 troops, whereas an Army Group can have up to 800,000 to 1,500,000 troops.

As Germany's earliest established Army Group, Army Group A has made numerous contributions during the war, including the blitz against Poland and the swift destruction of Belgium and the Netherlands, all featuring the presence of Army Group A.

Even the blitzkrieg against France and the capture of Paris owe much to Army Group A. Without sufficient evidence, the Chancellor would not consider replacing the Commander-in-Chief of Army Group A, no matter how poor his performance.

"Regarding considerations for a new Eastern European battlefield, I have three opinions.

First, temporarily suspend the offensive in the Balkan campaign.

For us, the most important thing about the Balkans is actually the petroleum resources of Romania. We only need to ensure the national security of Romania and smoothly obtain Romanian petroleum to achieve our goals for the Balkans.

This could save us about 300,000 troops, and together with the savings from switching from offense to defense, we could save at least 600,000 troops from the Balkan battlefield for the war against Russia.

Second, switch from offense to defense on the Western European battlefield.

Since we cannot quickly capture France in a short time, it would be better to rely on our existing borders, switch from offense to defense, and launch a comprehensive defense within French territory.

By doing so, we would only need to leave a small number of troops to ensure that the current borders do not change. Once we have completed the offensive on the Eastern European battlefield, we will have an endless supply of personnel that can be used on the Western European battlefield, and we can then resume the offensive.

In my estimation, we could strike Russia as swiftly as we did Poland. Although Russia's territory is more extensive, their military's combat effectiveness and the modernity of their weapons and equipment may not surpass that of Poland.

Under the ideal scenario, we might need only six months to complete the offensive. More conservatively, we could occupy the entire Eastern Europe before the arrival of winter and completely annihilate Russia with the advent of a new spring.

Third, although we do not have many allies to help us on the Eastern European battlefield, our ally from the island nation in the Far East can assist us.

While the Pacific coast of the island nation is blockaded by Australasia, the coastline of the Sea of Japan is still safe. This means that the island nation's millions of troops can be mobilized to the Far East and begin an offensive against Russian territories there.

In this way, Russia would also be at a disadvantage, fighting a two-front war. They would have to traverse the entirety of Russia to conduct warfare. Just as long as we can quickly break through Moscow, the Russians will have no choice but to surrender," Marshal Brauchitsch stated his plan calmly.