The Rise Of Australasia

Chapter 1060: Chapter 791: German-Italian Secret Talks

While other nations were responding to the agreement between Germany and Italy, internally, there was a sense of peace in both countries.

After the signing of the German-Italian agreement, Hitler did not hurry back to Germany but accepted Mussolini’s invitation and began a high-level meeting between the heads of state in Venice.

This was, in fact, the second official private meeting between the leaders of Germany and Italy.

Even when the two countries had signed the agreement before, it was only their Foreign Ministers who appeared. Neither head of state had personally taken action.

Hitler’s acceptance to personally visit Italy had already proved that he had abandoned his previous prejudices against Italy and Mussolini.

Yes, even though Mussolini was Hitler’s predecessor in the struggle for power and dictatorial rule, after their first meeting, Hitler actually had quite a few prejudices against Mussolini.

The reason stemmed from Hitler’s first official visit to Italy, which he had been very much looking forward to at the beginning.

Hitler even called his meeting with Mussolini the “great encounter” in private conversations with his subordinates.

But when the time came to meet, Hitler was surprised by Mussolini’s exaggerated ceremony. To demonstrate his own grandeur, Mussolini had mobilized a large number of honor guards and civilians to welcome Hitler.

It should be noted that their meeting took place during the worst period of the economic crisis. It wasn’t just Italy; even those countries relatively less affected by the crisis could not possibly allow such a spontaneous gathering of civilians to welcome someone.

Yet Mussolini managed to do it. Regardless of how he achieved it, during the following days meeting with Hitler, he maintained quite an extravagant presence, astonishing Hitler, who had already seized control of the German government.

But as astonishing as it was, Hitler was not going to indulge in such grandiosity. Instead, he held great contempt for Mussolini, who was fond of pomp and vain glory.

Beyond that, the three nations of the United Kingdom, France, and Austria each have their weaknesses. The British excel solely in their navy, and if Europe’s continent were to be dominated, the British wouldn’t have any recourse besides blockading Europe.

Although the French army is strong, from their past actions, it is clear that the Frenchmen evidently dread war.

To falter before fighting equates to losing half the battle on the military level. Not to mention, in the history of World War I, had France not had so many allies, Germany would have defeated France and reached the gates of Paris long ago.

Now without American and Australasian intervention, even if the German-Italian alliance were to challenge the British-French-Australian triad, Hitler was very confident.

Moreover, the present-day Germany was definitely not the same as it was during World War I. In the midst of World War I, William II’s power had been nearly usurped, and the military and government were almost entirely controlled by the Junker nobility.

But now, Hitler, relying on the SS which far outnumbered the military, firmly held control of Germany’s political and military power, something that William II had never managed to achieve.

A united Germany, completely cohesive, would undoubtedly unleash a combat potential far greater than that seen during the first World War.

Together with an Italian military believed by Mussolini to have improved a lot since the first War (at least that was his belief), achieving Hitler’s envisioned plan of dominating the whole of Europe was not impossible.

“General Hitler, the news of our accord once announced will probably arouse the suspicion of Britain and France.

If possible, your country needs to make swift preparations for war and expand the army’s numbers as much as possible,” said Mussolini, speaking more frequently as the satisfaction from their discussions grew.

Clearly, Mussolini was quite concerned that the size of the German Army might impact the execution of the German-Italian plan.

Even if the German Army was once lauded as the world’s premier army, the current troop strength stood only at 150,000 men.

Even if the army were expanded to one million following the outbreak of war, it would still be composed of nothing but new recruits, and its combat strength could not be guaranteed.

Only by expanding the army to a normal size before the war and subjecting it to strict training could one ensure that the army would demonstrate excellent combat effectiveness when war broke out, and swiftly achieve the strategic objectives agreed upon by both parties.

“We will need Italy’s support in this,” said Hitler. “If we want to expand our army, Britain and France will definitely not approve.

But from the attitude of Britain and France, they clearly do not desire a war with us. Therefore, we must be resolute in expanding our army, even if it means risking war with Britain and France.

I believe that upon understanding our determination, Britain and France will back down, and our army can then expand to a reasonable number.”

The reason for Germany’s armed forces not having expanded is due to the constraints imposed on Germany by the United Kingdom and France.

However, it can be seen from Italy’s expansion into the Abyssinian Empire that Britain and France are very likely to compromise on this matter.

Meanwhile, during their private talks, an excited and eager Hitler couldn’t wait to share his thoughts with who he considered to be a close “comrade-in-arms.”

With his good eloquence and excellent speaking skills, Hitler presented his grand plans to Mussolini.

However, the problem was that, in his eloquent speech, Hitler paid absolutely no heed to Mussolini’s thoughts.

Mussolini, who could not get a word in edgewise, was quite dissatisfied with his junior Hitler’s actions and naturally did not take Hitler’s plans to heart.

Two heads of state with such major differences in their actions naturally had an unpleasant first meeting.

This was the reason for Hitler’s bias against Mussolini. If Germany were not currently under such severe constraints, it likely would have been a long time before Hitler and Mussolini could have made peace with a handshake.

Venice, the second meeting between Mussolini and Hitler.

Benefiting from the lessons of the first meeting, both men were visibly more sincere the second time. Hitler was also more considerate of Mussolini’s feelings when speaking, so at least this meeting became a genuine bilateral discussion rather than a unilateral discourse by Hitler.

Still, Mussolini was shocked by the bold ideas raised by Hitler.

Let alone Germany, whose entire military forces amounted to only 150,000 men, even Italy, which had undergone several waves of military expansion, would not dare to entertain such wild thoughts at this point.

According to Hitler’s daring concept, Germany and Italy would divide the Austrian Empire, Hungary, and Poland, becoming the two most powerful nations in Central Europe.

After completely dominating all of Central Europe, Germany and Italy would then advance westward to eliminate France, the strongest enemy on the European Continent, which would nearly achieve German-Italian hegemony in Europe.

Afterward would be the insane idea of crossing the ocean to destroy the United Kingdom, and jointly dividing the entire Europe with Italy.

Such a wild idea directly shocked Mussolini, causing him to exclaim rudely that Hitler was a madman.

In the face of Mussolini’s somewhat impolite exclamation, Hitler did not get angry. After all, he understood how crazy the plans he had put forward were, almost representing Germany and Italy becoming enemies of the whole world.

“Your Excellency Hitler, don’t you think your ideas are a bit too crazy?” Mussolini asked incredulously after adjusting his state of mind, “Annexing Austria and Poland seems superb, but it means we will have to make enemies of Britain and France.

Excuse my frankness, but judging by the current military strength of both our countries, it is clear that we are no match for Britain.

Moreover, Australasia is also closely watching the situation in Europe. Once Europe turns into a battlefield, Australasia will benefit as a massive supplier of goods and become the final victor of the conflict.

I don’t think we can win a war against the combined forces of Britain, France, and Australia unless you can find us a new powerful ally.”

Hearing Mussolini say this, Hitler was not in a hurry, but instead confidently indicated, “The problems you worry about have already been taken into consideration. If a war truly breaks out in Europe, there will be countries to hold Australasia back for us.

Even if its initial preparations go well, Australasia won’t join in throughout the entire war.”

Hitler’s response was brimming with confidence; he showed no concern for the disruptor that was Australasia.

“Are you referring to the Islanders?” Mussolini was no fool and quickly grasped which country Hitler meant.

In fact, aside from the United Kingdom and France, the only nation with the capability to pose a threat to Australasia’s native land is the Island Nation.

The Island Nation may not be amongst the top powers in overall strength, but it has a military focus and indeed possesses military strength on par with the top powers.

From this perspective, the Island Nation truly is the only one in the Pacific region capable of threatening Australasia, and even achieving a balance of power.

As for the early plans of the Island Nation that Hitler spoke of, they are actually the current wars that the Island Nation is engaged in.

If their wars prove victorious, the Island Nation’s overall strength would indeed take a significant leap forward.

By then, the Island Nation would indeed be a formidable opponent, capable of engaging Australasia and preventing any interference with the war in Europe without any doubt.

With Australasia tied down and the United States already destroyed, a war with the United Kingdom and France would merely be an internal European conflict.

In light of this, Mussolini felt somewhat reassured. If it were only a war within Europe, victory was not impossible for Germany and Italy.

After all, there aren’t many powers within Europe, and the only truly strong adversaries are the British, French and Austrian triad.

Even if Soviet Russia were victorious in war, they would need a lengthy period to recuperate. Moreover, the combat effectiveness of the Russian army has always been lackluster, and Mussolini did not take the Russian army seriously.

The United Kingdom and France do not wish to see a war break out; therefore, they will have to agree to the expansion of Germany’s military.