The Third Reich in Desperation

As the real hope of all people in Romania, he must find a way out for his country, a direction worthy of future efforts!

"We all know the note from the Soviets." Antonescu raised his head, looked around, and said in a forceful voice: "They not only want to take away our Bessarabia, but also want us to hand over North Bukovina. From any point of view, this behavior of the Soviets is indistinguishable from robbery."

"They've already used this in Finland..." Antonescu's voice spoke deeply to everyone's heart: "Finland! A Nordic country with a population of only 300 million A small country can still fight back under the threat of the Soviets, defend its freedom with war, defend its independence with blood, and protect its glory with sacrifice..."

"And our Romania has a population more than five times that of Finland, why can't we bravely stand up and resist?" Antonescu narrowed his eyes slightly, reminding everyone present: "Besides, Finland had a choice back then. But today we... ...no choice!"

Before the Soviet-Finnish war last year, the Soviet Union proposed to Finland a request for territorial adjustment, that is, it required Finland to move the border between the two countries on the Karelian Isthmus to the north by 40 kilometers, and to move several islands in the Gulf of Finland and Rybach The Finnish territory on the peninsula was ceded to the Soviet Union; the Hanko Peninsula was leased to the Soviet Union at the cost of 800 million Finnmarks per year for a period of 30 years.

In order to compensate for the loss of Finland's territory, the Soviet Union is also willing to hand over to Finland the land northwest of Lake Onega twice the area ceded by Finland.

Although the territories that the Soviet Union compensated were barren lands, what they asked for was the essence of Finland.However, this is a transaction after all, and it is polite on the surface.

But when it was Romania's turn, it was pure territorial occupation.There is no compensation for the land, and there is no rent for rent.......

How dare Romania's rulers agree to such a robber's request of humiliating power and humiliating the country?

They have no choice, because the other party didn't give an option at all!

Chapter 374 Romania's Choice ([-])

"We must prepare early!" Antonescu waved his fist vigorously, and said earnestly: "Everyone here knows that with the strength of our Kingdom of Romania, it is almost impossible to win alone. .”

Antonescu's words caused Dumitescu, Carol II and others to be silent for a while.Even if you are unwilling, even if you are angry, Romania's national strength is not easy to resist the Soviet Union? !

"What we are about to face is a country with the largest land area and the largest population in the world. If this country dares to attack Poland or Finland, it must also dare to point the finger of war at Romania." Antones Ku's voice trembled a little: "Our countries that have been attacked all have one thing in common, that is, there is absolutely no chance of winning."

"The current Kingdom of Romania, in the final analysis, is less than one-tenth of the Soviet Union's combat power. Whether it is military strength, financial resources, or industrial strength, our country is one of the best in the Balkan Peninsula, but in front of the behemoth of the Soviet Union... .” Antonescu paused, then said in a deep voice, “Insignificant!”

This is the tragedy of small countries, and this is the cruelty of international norms.Sometimes, no matter how you look at it, how you say it, or how you imagine it, when a small country confronts a powerful country whose national strength far exceeds its own, even the most optimistic people think that it has no chance of winning.

Lowering his head to avoid everyone's disappointed gaze, Antonescu was silent for a full minute before finally rearranging his emotions and thoughts, and raised his head: "But we still have to make preparations! In order for Bessarabia and Every morning, the Romanian flag can be raised in the sky above Northern Bukovina as usual, so we have to prepare, prepare to resist!"

"Information shows that the two famous Soviet generals, Timoshenko and Zhukov, have been transferred to the border between our Bessarabia province and North Bukovina province. It may not be long before these two conquered the A famous Soviet general who has passed through Poland and defeated the Japanese army will command two Soviet front armies to launch a large-scale attack on Sarabia and North Bukovina at the same time."

"In our Romanian army, most of the troops are still under-staffed, and even if they are full, the total strength is less than 50. This level of preparation is far from enough."

"Action must be taken immediately!" Antonescu's tone was extremely firm: "Arms expansion and preparations for war are urgent, and preparations must start today. At the same time, we must try our best to stabilize the Soviet Union and buy time for the expansion of the army."

Forging iron still needs to be hard, and if you want to be more confident, you must have a stronger army than it is now.However, the Soviet Union may not be kind enough to give Romania time to expand its military with peace of mind.

"About this issue..." Mihai, the Romanian foreign minister who was present, said with some embarrassment: "The Soviet Union's urging is very urgent, and I'm afraid we won't have too much time left."

Romania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated in a reply to the Soviet Union: “Romania will be ready to conduct friendly discussions immediately on the basis of mutual agreement on all proposals made by the Soviet government in the broadest sense.” This statement does not clearly indicate that Romania Will it hand over the two provinces to the Soviet Union, and whether it has explicitly rejected the request of the Soviet government is a typical diplomatic rhetoric.

Therefore, its effect will naturally not be very good.After all, Molotov, the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union, was not stupid. He could tell at a glance that Romania was delaying time and was confused.

"How about contacting Germany? Hasn't our relationship with Germany always been very good?" Carol II interjected in a low voice: "Didn't the German head of state named Reinhardt solve our old enemy Hungary? I have heard that Horthy, the regent of Hungary, is still in prison in the German Labor Construction Corps."

Just as Romania hates Hungary, Hungary also hates Romania very much.The two countries have always had strong differences and disputes on the territorial issue, and neither is willing to make concessions.

As a result, Reinhardt not only set up a trick to kill the Hungarian dictator Horthy, but also annexed the whole of Hungary into the southern province of Germany.This directly made Romania's biggest enemy country disappear out of thin air!

In addition, Reinhardt made it clear that all the previously disputed territories between Hungary and Romania were not included in the scope of the German-Hungarian merger, and announced that those territories were clearly classified as Romania's inherent territories since then.

This move has won the favor of many people from all walks of life in Romania.

Therefore, after encountering a new enemy, Carol II's first thought was whether Germany could help deal with this enemy.

"This is impossible!" General Dumitescu gave the half-baked king a contemptuous look, and said impatiently: "Germany is now fighting fiercely with the British and French allied forces, and the main force is on the western front. Where does the energy come from to help us?" Against the Soviet Union!"

Dumitescu has never had a good impression of Carol II, a king who wants beauty but not country.In his eyes, except for what Minister Antonescu said made sense, what other people, especially Carol II, said was nonsense and had no reference value.

"That's not necessarily true," Antonescu patted the shoulder of the general who admired him: "Although Germany has transferred its main force to the Western Front, they still maintain a fairly strong military force on the Eastern Front. In their southern provinces, according to the information we have received, there are no less than 20 SS troops stationed there. These are all expanded from the original Hungarian army plus locally recruited SS recruits."

"That's right, I've also heard that the German army shined brilliantly in the Polish campaign and wiped out the Southern Army Group, the main force of Poland's counterattack. It is now renamed the German Eastern Army Group and is stationed on Polish territory. If the Germans are willing to help, we It will definitely reduce a lot of pressure." Seeing that it was his own spiritual leader who was speaking, Dumitescu also followed suit, saying the completely opposite conclusion from when he refuted Carol II just now.

"Yes, even if the German government is willing to help mediate, our situation will be much better." Foreign Minister Mihai immediately echoed.

Unknowingly, it seems that Romania's greatest hope for the future has gradually been pinned on the neighboring Third Reich.

But before everyone followed this line of thought and discussed in detail how to contact Germany in the next step, an official knocked on the door outside the conference room interrupted the meeting: "Your Majesty! The Soviet ambassador has an urgent call and requests to be received by you immediately! "

Standing beside Carol II, Antonescu, who also heard the official report, couldn't help but frowned.

Ask the majestic King of Romania to receive him according to his wishes?Isn't this uninvited Soviet ambassador too arrogant!

Chapter 375 Romania's Choice ([-])

The moment when Karol II met with the Soviet ambassador was lively.

This interview with the Soviet ambassador was attended not only by Carol II himself, but also by Romanian Minister Antonescu, who actually made the decision, and by German Ambassador Leon who had nothing to do with the matter.

In fact, when the Soviet ambassador met the German ambassador, he was really surprised for a while.After all, he couldn't think of the reason why the German ambassador was here, and he couldn't guess whether there would be some kind of change because of it.

As for the German ambassador, Leon, when he met the Soviet ambassador... he didn't feel anything.He even knew from the head of state what the Soviet ambassador was going to do next. Didn't he just want to embezzle Romanian land? What's so surprising, it's not about occupying German territory.

Speaking of it, the current actions of the Soviets have actually been discussed with the German government in advance.Long before the Polish battle, the two countries had already ventilated and greeted each other about their respective future development plans.As for the two provinces in Romania, the Soviet Union has long been coveted.

Thinking of this, Leon felt a little lucky.Fortunately, Germany is not a small country like Romania. Fortunately, Germany is strong enough. Even if it is as tyrannical as the Soviet Union, it would not dare to point fingers at German land like they did to Romania.They even had to seek advice from Germany, and they had to discuss everything with Germany.

"Dear Mr. Leon, why are you here?" After all, he is a foreign ambassador who is also working in Romania, and the Soviet ambassador has heard of Leon, the German ambassador.When I saw Leon at this time, the first thing I wanted to understand was why the Germans appeared in this meeting.

Regarding the secret Soviet-German transaction, Reinhardt disclosed it to Leon, the German ambassador to Romania, but Stalin did not disclose it to the Soviet ambassador to Romania.This caused the Soviet ambassador to worry more than necessary, worrying that the German ambassador would spoil his affairs.

Because in Romania, the common language that both parties can communicate with is Romanian.

"I'm here for some cooperation projects between Germany and Romania, which you should know." Leon also replied in Romanian.

However, when Leon said this, Antonescu, who was standing on the other side, raised his eyebrows slightly.Obviously, he has some understanding of the real reason why Leon is here.

"That's good." Hearing that Leon didn't seem to know about the Soviet Union's encroachment on Romanian territory during this trip, the Soviet ambassador was relieved, and even smiled at Leon: "I have something to deal with here, wait for me After we're done, Mr. Leon and I may have a meal together when we're free."

After all, the relationship between the Soviet Union and Germany is not bad at the moment, especially since the "Peter the Great Incident", almost everyone in the Soviet Union knows that the battleship jointly developed by Germany and the Soviet Union has allowed the Soviet Navy to shine in front of the British and other powers. It is also full of goodwill towards Germany.Smiling and inviting to have a meal together, it is because the Soviet ambassador treats such a friendly country too much.

However, turning around, the Soviet ambassador was not so polite to the Romanian leaders.

"Mr. Leon happened to be present, and I'm here today to announce something in advance to you and the world." The Soviet ambassador said to Carol II and Antonescu with a dark face: "The Soviet government is very concerned about Romania. The government is very dissatisfied with the ambiguous attitude, and now officially issued an ultimatum to the Romanian government, limiting your country to withdraw all Romanian troops from Bessarabia and North Bukovina within four days from June 6st. Hand over these two provinces to the Soviet occupation. At the same time, the Romanian government must also protect the railways, factories and other facilities in the withdrawn area, and there must be no shortage or damage...."

No one spoke, but the result was obvious from the sneer of the Soviet ambassador.

It is true that the request made by the Soviet ambassador was very excessive. It is not an exaggeration to say that people will not even spit out the bones after eating.However, behind him is the huge Soviet Union, and Romania can't afford to mess with the Soviet Union!

"Why?" In the silence, the Soviet ambassador smiled contemptuously: "If there is no objection, I think King Carol can prepare related matters. After all, your withdrawal time is only four days, which is not too much."

"The Soviet ambassador is a little too arrogant? Such a big matter, he insisted on doing it right away, and even ordered our Romanian king to come." Antonescu, who had been silent all this time, finally couldn't bear it. Zhu said coldly: "You know, you are now on Romanian land. For our king, you'd better show a little more respect."

Although Antonescu didn't like Carol II very much, His Majesty the King, he was the King of Romania after all.He hates it personally, but in front of outsiders, it is absolutely impossible to get used to being insulted by the nominal supreme leader of his motherland!