The Third Reich in Desperation

It was not until 1699-1721 that Sweden was defeated in the Northern War with the Triple Alliance formed by Poland, Denmark, and Russia, and Sweden's national power gradually declined, and then it fell from the hegemony of the Baltic Sea.

However, with Sweden's population base, daring to challenge the huge Russia is itself a proof of its strength.

Furthermore, although Sweden's land population density is not high, its land area is not small.Its territory is vast, covering an area of ​​45000 square kilometers, which is almost the same area as a major continental country like France, and even a bit larger than Mussolini's Kingdom of Italy. It can be called the fifth largest country in Europe!

Coupled with the cooperation with Germany in recent years, Sweden has a large amount of foreign exchange, and based on this, it has established an air force with considerable strength.And its navy has always been the strongest among Navian countries.In addition, Sweden's relatively developed military industry also provides a considerable degree of protection for its own army, giving it the capital to fight any enemy.

Therefore, while the Norwegian government was struggling with the unreasonable demands of the British army to "excuse", the generals in the Swedish conference room were calm and calm.

"The Germans want us to do our part as a neutral country and continue to sell them fairly. The British want us to do our part as a founding member of the League of Nations and give their troops a pass for the peace of Finland. We promised the Germans Wouldn’t it be less neutral to buy and sell, but reject the British’s demands?”

The speaker was the Commander-in-Chief of the Swedish Army, General Grandval.After all, he has 15 times the strength of the Norwegian Army under his command. The Swedish Army general just needs to be more confident, and he is still in the mood to make such small jokes when he speaks.

"You can't say that. The Germans' request is just to do business, which is easy to handle. But the British request requires us to let go of our defense and allow foreign troops to set foot on our land, which is not easy to handle. Furthermore, Compared with a superpower that has always been domineering like Britain, I personally tend to deal with emerging powers like Germany. Even if it is an excuse, I think it is safer to agree with the German army than to agree with the British army.” The king. The staff followed Grandval's words and analyzed.

This analysis by the staff does not mean that Germany is more trustworthy than Britain.It is because Germany is a close neighbor and Britain is not a distant relative.

Germany is in a hurry, and it only takes one landing for the German army to go ashore.Britain is in a hurry. If we want to clean up Sweden, we have to win Norway first.

As for taking Norway, of course there is no problem with the strength of the British Empire.But although Norway is weak, the coastal defense force is still quite capable.If the British army really fights against Norway, it should be a heartache after the fight.

At this time, if a traumatized expeditionary force wants to defeat the 15 Swedish elite troops fighting in the homeland, even the British Empire will have difficulty guaranteeing a winning rate.

"That's right." The king nodded, appreciating this rather clever staff member: "What you said just now is in line with my thoughts. The consequence of offending Britain is nothing more than a few dispensable orders. Germany is not only a business issue, but also a national security issue!"

Obviously, His Majesty the King had considered the consequences a long time ago, and after weighing it, he chose the option of leaning towards Germany.

"So, how do we explain to the UK? They and France are permanent members of the League of Nations, and we in the League of Nations are obliged to obey the arrangements unanimously decided by the permanent members of the League of Nations." The foreign minister jumped out in a hurry, for his own sake Discuss the future work.

He wants to deal with the world, if he is so blatantly rejecting Britain and pro-Germany, how will he develop his future work!

"This is easy!" Admiral Grandval waved his hand, and boldly proposed an idea for the foreign minister: "Isn't the reason for the British to support Finland? They asked Norway and Sweden to 'lend' the British army to run through the country." Wasn’t the nominal purpose of the territory’s transit route to send an expeditionary force to Finland against the Soviet Union?”

Asked by Grandval, the Minister of Foreign Affairs nodded in confusion: "Yes, I know all of this. Because of this, this matter is not easy to handle."

Sighing, the foreign minister hurriedly took the opportunity to complain to the high-ranking Swedish people present: "We, Sweden, are the founding country of the League of Nations, and the United Kingdom is a permanent member of the League of Nations. Now they use the name of aiding Finland to stand on the moral high ground." The government requires us to fulfill our obligations for the capitalist world, and to allow the British army to pass through our country to fight alongside the Finnish army. Although this is detrimental to our national rights, there is a lofty reason, so it is difficult to refuse."

At the bottom, the Foreign Minister delivered a heavy piece of bad news: "At least, within the League of Nations, the vast majority of member states believe that the request made by the United Kingdom is justifiable and agree with the proposal to open our borders with Norway."

"Hmph! Of course those selfish foreign politicians don't care how much we will pay, they are only interested in what their country can get!" The king snorted coldly and cursed angrily.

"Your Majesty, after listening, I think my plan should be able to solve the current problem." Grandval smiled and got up and turned to the direction of the king. Lizhenghui reported: "I suggest that the army form a downsizing division to show off. Go to the Finnish battlefield and participate in the war to aid Finland for the British army. In this way, we have fulfilled our obligations as members of the League of Nations."

As soon as Grandval's proposal was finished, it immediately caused an uproar.

Everyone understood that his advice was on point.If the League of Nations wants to "open the border to the British army" as an obligation, then sending troops directly to Finland is of course a more direct fulfillment of the obligation.

After all, the moral high ground given by the United Kingdom is that they sent troops.If Sweden can also send troops, what reason do they have to condemn Sweden for evading its obligations as a member of the League of Nations!

"But..." The king's staff looked at the king worriedly.

"Don't worry about it, I'll tell you for you!" Seeing that the staff hesitated to speak, the foreign minister cut in and said, "In this way, we will offend the Soviet Union, a behemoth. If the Soviet Union wins Finland in the end, of course, they will surely There is no suspense that we can win, so when the Finnish army is defeated, it will be the moment when we border the Soviet Union."

Shaking his head regretfully, the Foreign Minister sighed: "General, do you think that by then, the Soviet Union will let go of Sweden, which is against them? I think no one will believe it."

Comparing Finland's national strength and military strength with the huge war power of the Soviet Union, normal people with good brains can guess the result.It is true that miracles do often occur in the military world, and sometimes a gamble may lead to a hearty victory.But as far as Finland is concerned, it doesn't even have the capital to create miracles!

Granval gritted his teeth and insisted: "If it's not possible, let our people call themselves volunteers and withdraw from the Swedish military. Anyway, it's just for the League of Nations, so there's no need to make it so formal. Otherwise, this won't work, that won't work." Can't, can't we do nothing?!"

Main Text Chapter 41 White Chapter [-] Survival of a Small Country

"I think it's feasible!" Grandval's speech was finally approved by the commander-in-chief of the Swedish Air Force: "Without our military registration, they are not considered the Swedish national army, but a civilian armed force."

Seeing that his ideas were supported by his colleagues, Grandval clenched his fists excitedly, and immediately added: "For the League of Nations, we can promote it to the permanent members of the League of Nations like Britain and even France. A strong volunteer division formed."

"To the Soviet Union, or to the public statement, we can declare that Sweden is strictly neutral and has not sent any regular troops abroad. The Swedish Volunteer Division to Finland is a civilian armed force, and all its actions have nothing to do with the Swedish government."

"In this way, we did not openly offend the Soviet Union, but also fulfilled our responsibility as the founding country of the League of Nations. While killing two birds with one stone, we can also gain the friendship of the Finnish government, and subtly be regarded as leaders by the Nordic countries, increasing regional influence."

Knocking on the table, Grandval looked around at everyone with fiery eyes: "Think about it carefully, everyone. To get all of this, what we paid was only a downsized division with about two reinforced infantry battalions as the main force and hundreds of logistics personnel. .This is simply a super bargain deal given to the Kingdom of Sweden by God!"

When Grandval came to the critical point, he became emotional and frothed, instantly infecting everyone around him.

"The acting needs to be enough! In this case, our air force might as well join one. It happens that the air force still has 12 outdated fighter jets and 5 old-fashioned bombers. I will transfer 8 more logistics planes to make up 25 planes. Send the military registration to Finland." The commander-in-chief of the Air Force was the first to stand up and express his opinion: "We have sent a division, plus so many planes. We have done our best. Let's see how dare the remaining villains of the League of Nations What did we say?!"

Grandval looked at him, nodded, reached out and patted him on the shoulder, then turned to face the king again and said:

"Your Majesty, if we don't do anything, if we accept the British request, then the German army should attack us!"

"As the commander-in-chief of the Swedish Army, I have to explain," Grandval said in a serious voice, "Our army is not afraid of the old British soldiers, so we can be confident. But if the opponent is replaced by the German army, we may only consider surrendering. "

Although Grandval's words were harsh, they made sense.

How powerful was Poland at the time?They are sitting on 20 cavalry and 80 infantry. Both economically and military have reached their peaks with the support of Britain and France.

But what happened in the end?After a mere month of fighting with the German army, the army was defeated like a mountain.Poland, the "cavalry kingdom" that defeated the Soviet Union, was powerless to fight back under the blitz of the German army!The only large-scale counterattack was also planned by the German Chief of Staff Manstein, which constituted a textbook defeat!

Compared with Sweden, Poland has a territory of 388000 square kilometers, ranking sixth in Europe. That is to say, in Europe, Poland's territory is second only to Sweden, which is fifth.

Poland, with a population of about 3500 million, far exceeds Sweden's population of more than 900 million, ranking sixth in Europe, second only to the Soviet Union, Germany, Britain, France, and Italy!

In terms of territory and population, Poland is far more like a standard European power than Sweden.

In terms of military strength, Poland even ranked fifth in Europe.Its allies Britain and France are also known as the first and second in Europe respectively.

But such a powerful combination was swept away in one month by the German army, which was recognized as no better than Italy and only the fourth in Europe!

Now, Sweden's military strength is definitely not as good as that of Poland.And its only quasi-ally is worthy of Norway.With the military strength of Norway, there are only 10 troops in Europe. Self-defense is difficult, so how can we talk about mutual aid?

Admiral Grandval's divergent thinking caused the meeting held in response to the British request to be dragged into relations with Germany.And the atmosphere of the meeting, from the previous complacency, became a little heavy.

Everyone is not afraid of the British Empire far away in the sky, but they are quite afraid of the Third Reich of Germany that is close at hand.

The king pondered for a while, and whispered to Grandval: "If we start to expand our army now, we can at least double our troops. In that way, is it possible to greatly strengthen our military confidence?"

"It's meaningless!" Grandval shook his head, and said in a deep voice: "If it's the British Expeditionary Force from the west, then we only need 10 people to stop them on the continuous mountains at the border with Norway. But if the German army in the south attacks, even if we expand the army to 30, the chance of holding it is less than [-]%!"

"That's right," the Swedish air force commander-in-chief also explained from his own field: "Our southern port is completely exposed to the bombing range of the Luftwaffe. And our air force and air defense forces absolutely cannot stop it." Germany's mighty air force."

Hearing this, the king looked at his commander-in-chief seriously, but the other party responded with a wry smile.

"Don't look at me, I didn't say a word from the beginning." The commander-in-chief of the navy replied, dumbfounded: "Our navy can only be called the boss in Norway, Denmark or Finland, the Nordic brother countries. The British Royal Navy and The Imperial German Navy is not something we can handle."

The king frowned, clasped his hands together, dragged his chin and said slowly: "So, I understand. Once we fight against Germany, our navy, land and air forces will not be able to guarantee national security. Therefore, everything we do now All actions must be based on the premise that Germany cannot be offended."

Everyone nodded silently without saying a word.

"Okay, I understand!" In the end, His Majesty the King made the decision: "In short, Britain's request must be rejected, so as to ensure that Germany will not become stalemate. As for the matter of sending troops to Finland..."