Romanian Eagle

Latest website: After entering 1936, the world was immediately concerned by a major event, that is, the German army once again entered the Rhine Demilitarized Zone.

In the early morning of February 29, a German army (about 30,000 in total) consisting of 19 infantry battalions and 12 artillery companies entered the Rhine Demilitarized Zone. Three of the battalions crossed the Rhine and advanced towards Aachen, Trier, and Saarbrücken on the borders of Germany, Belgium and France.

At 10 o'clock in the morning, the German Foreign Minister summoned the ambassadors of France, Britain and Italy to Wilhelm Street (the seat of the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and handed them a note for the abolition of the Locarno Convention and a notice of the German troops stationing in the Rhine Demilitarized Zone. There is also a new "peace" plan proposed by Germany.

French ambassador François-Ponce, who participated in the summoning, later recalled this way: "Hitler slapped his opponent, and when he did so, he would say:'I proposed to you for peace. !"

And two hours after the German army entered the Rhineland, Hitler once again demonstrated his provocative speech genius on the parliament forum. The famous American journalist William Shayler who attended the Congress speech described the scene at that time. After Hitler talked about the disadvantages of the Versailles Treaty and the threat of Bolshevism, he calmly declared: Since the French-Soviet Mutual Assistance Treaty has entered into force, Germany is no longer bound by the Locarno Convention; It re-established Germany's absolute sovereignty without any restrictions in the demilitarized zone!"

Although Hitler dressed very calmly in the Congress speech, his heart was very guilty and nervous.

He later admitted: "48 hours after entering the Rhineland, it was the most nervous moment of my life. If the French also entered the Rhineland at that time, we would have to retreat with our tails in our hands, because we had the money to use. That bit of military power, even if it is used for a little resistance, is completely inadequate."

When the German General Staff Headquarters received the initial information from Paris that France had ordered 13 divisions to be sent to the Maginot Line on the French-German border, the German Army Chief of Staff General Baker requested the withdrawal of the 3 German battalions that had crossed the Rhine. These high-ranking German generals believed that the French would not fail to take action this time on major issues related to the safety of their country.

However, Hitler, with his gambler's psychology and special political sense, continued to bet on the estimation that Britain and France would not take actual sanctions, and rejected the generals' proposal to withdraw troops. Although if Britain and France really intervene in military affairs, not only will the German forces “have to retreat with their tails clamped”, but it may also mean the downfall of Hitler himself and the Communist regime.

But I have to admit that Hitler was indeed very visionary, and he seized the best opportunity.

Italy has begun to change its attitude, even if it does not support Germany, it will not oppose it.

Before, Italy and Germany had sharp contradictions on the Austrian issue, and they have been opposing Germany's arms expansion and war preparations together with Britain and France. However, when Italy invaded Ethiopia, Britain advocated the League of Nations to impose sanctions on Italy, while Germany adopted neutrality and also provided substantial assistance to Italy during the war. Therefore, in 1 privately, Italy assured Germany that it would not interfere in future German advances.

However, Britain recently obtained satisfactory results from the Germans on the issue of naval arms control, and will not take military actions against Germany on this issue. We must know that the United Kingdom has always adopted a continental balance of power in Europe, and France originally had a dominant suspicion in Europe. It is also good to have a German team that can contain France's strength.

In addition, the British economy was also a mess. In the second half of 1931, the gold standard system that had been implemented for several centuries was abandoned. The British economy has not yet recovered.

As for France, which has the greatest relationship, the French political arena has been extremely chaotic for many years. The left and right parties pointed at each other and have seriously dragged down the development of the French economy. Moreover, the French-Soviet Mutual Assistance Treaty just passed by the French House of Representatives gave Hitler an excuse.

He attacked the French-Soviet Mutual Assistance Treaty as "introducing communism to the European stage" and was incompatible with the obligations set out in the Locarno Convention, claiming that it "brought a factor of legal insecurity."

The treaty stipulates that when either party of France and the Soviet Union becomes a target of aggression by a European country, the two countries promise to provide immediate support and assistance to each other.

The French-Soviet Mutual Assistance Treaty does violate the agreement in the Locarno Convention regarding the peaceful settlement of disputes between Germany and France.

However, Hitler deliberately ignored the fact that France chose to be close to the Soviet Union because of concerns about Germany's return to the conscript system in 1935. Germany, which resumed its compulsory military system, quickly expanded its force to 350,000. It was because of the rapid recovery of German military power that France chose to approach the Soviet Union.

Therefore, in the face of the entry of German troops into the Rhine Demilitarized Zone, France did not give a strong counterattack, but only transferred 12 divisions to the French-German border to strengthen defense.

In fact, France also has its own difficulties, in addition to the above reasons. France had too many casualties in the First World War, and the general war-weariness among the people was very serious. The politicians did not dare to do things that dissatisfied the people, so they could only watch the German army occupy the Rhine Demilitarized Zone.

As for Poland's neighbor to the east of Germany, the mood is even more complicated. Despite the German-Polish non-aggression treaty of 1934, the Poles are still very wary of Germany. As a long-term ally of France, Poland believes that France will never tolerate Germany's invasion of the Rhineland, so on March 9 it proposed to France that "the military alliance of the two countries shall take effect."

When it was discovered that France did not intend to take action, the Polish government was embarrassed by its own sentimentality and had to explain to Berlin (Hitler said he knew the difficulties of the Polish government very well~www.readwn.com~British and French The other allies in Europe (especially France) felt chilled by this and began to adjust their policies to adapt themselves to the new pattern of power balance in Europe. Even Belgium and the Netherlands, which have always been allied with Britain and France, have successively declared neutrality.

Facing Germany's invasion of the Rhine Demilitarized Zone, what does Romania, as an important member of Europe, think?

Edel said, take a bench and sit and watch. At present, Germany and Romania have good relations, and the military cooperation between the two countries has satisfied each other. As an outstanding politician, Hitler would certainly not forget Romania. Before the march began, Hitler had tested Romania’s attitude through the ambassador.

To this end, Edel said that Romania believes that Germany should have the right to station troops in its own territory. Overjoyed Hitler said publicly to others, "Romania is a true friend of Germany."

Yes, Edel would like to see Germany rearming. Without Germany breaking the Versailles system, how could Romania be allowed to fish in troubled waters?

To this end, Edel also needs a magic weapon to ensure Romania's interests.