British civil servant

"People who don't know think that the Prime Minister has come?" Eifel whispered weakly.

"It's more important than the prime minister. Mr. Edward is more senior than us." Alan Wilson looked ahead, maintaining the quality of a young diplomat, watching the military plane slowly stop.

The permanent undersecretary of the cabinet, also known as the current cabinet secretary, Edward Bridges, got off the military plane with ease.

Chapter 76 Last day

"Oh, Alexander, there is no need for this kind of welcome ceremony, you know, I don't like it!" With a well-deserved expression, Edward Bridges said in a calm tone after getting off the military plane, " For officers like us, what we can do is to defend the civilization of the British Empire, which is our duty."

"Mr. Edward, in fact, these young and vigorous reserve forces want to learn from you very much. It's not that I have to do this, but these outstanding children have to think this way in order to express their respect for you."

Alexander Cadogan, the permanent undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, patted the horse in front of Edward Bridges, expressing that everything is based on public opinion and does not contain any biased facts.

"Where is our respected Marshal Montgomery?" Edward Bridges didn't expect the other party to come to greet him, but just asked.

"Well, Marshal Montgomery will be back soon, and Paris is not far away." Alexander Cadogan whispered.

Montgomery went to Paris to host the opening ceremony of the British military exhibition, and Paris was sent out to welcome him.General de Gaulle held a colorful military parade for Montgomery at the Invalides in Paris and awarded him the Medal of Honor, First Class.

As for yesterday, I flew to Antwerp to celebrate the city's freedom.At the ceremony, Montgomery was awarded the title of honorary citizen of Antwerp and the Antwerp golden dagger.After the celebration ceremony, there was another sumptuous lunch.

Edward Bridges nodded. This time he brought the Grand Cross of the Knights of Bath, and planned to have Marshal Zhukov awarded by Marshal Montgomery at the beginning of the joint military parade, which is equivalent to the previous Victory Medal.

"Well, I won't dwell on these details. The Marshal's welcome also shows the influence of the British Empire in Europe." Edward Bridges gave the other party a look of approval, walked in front of these diplomats, and Alan Wilson paused in front of him for a moment and said, "Oh, I have read your file. Are you still used to coming to Europe from British India? I hope your work experience in Asia will be helpful to your current work."

"Dear Sir Edward, I have a lot to learn, and I gain something new every day." Alan Wilson bowed his head slightly, showing respect to the current British cabinet secretary.

"It seems that Barron is still good at spotting talents." Edward Bridges nodded slightly, walked out of the crowd, left the runway, and soon arrived at the headquarters of the British Foreign Office in Berlin.

Edward Bridges, who had just arrived in Berlin, did not have time to speak to the descendants of the British Empire who respected him. Instead, he quickly contacted the British Army stationed in Berlin and asked about the protection forces of the Potsdam Conference.

Edward Bridges, dressed in a suit, was not stage frightened in front of General Rhine, the commander of the British Army stationed in Berlin, talking and laughing happily, and also brought the latest situation in London.

After communicating with the military, Edward Bridges replaced Alexander Cadogan and said in an expectant tone, "Although the specific situation is not yet clear, I believe that our smart reserve forces can probably guess it. That’s right, Britain, the United States and the Soviet Union, the three major powers with decisive influence in the world today, want to discuss some things that will determine the future of the world, at least Prime Minister Churchill thinks so.”

After a pause, Edward Bridges let out a long breath and said, "Now let me see how the backbone of the British Empire is preparing for the future. I believe Alexander has already told you."

As soon as the words fell, the diplomats in the conference room took out a thick stack of documents one after another, and placed them in front of them with a loud voice.

Edward Bridges pushed his black-rimmed glasses, sighed in his heart and said calmly on the surface, "Idiot version."

Alan Wilson took out two pages directly from a document as thick as his palm. Compared with the response method piled up with boring words, this is what the cabinet secretary needs.

"Out of respect for the negotiating opponents, it is foreseeable that this meeting will be long. The Foreign Secretary is a politician I respect very much, but we cannot make him too tired. After all, the opponent is known for being cunning and fickle!" Edward Brie Keith flipped through the documents, and suddenly asked, "Alan, Oriental College majors in the Far East, India, and Arabia, and even includes courses in Eastern European countries. You have no problem, and you may have constructive opinions on Eastern European affairs. "

"Sir Edward, there is no doubt that our opponents and countries that are considered allies for the time being are not easy to deal with. Wrangling and compromise, try our best to protect the interests of the British Empire..."

Because Alan Wilson considered the success rate at the beginning, of course he chose the Chinese major at Oriental College.After all, the original foundation is there, which can reduce many boring courses and make it easier to get results.

Edward Bridges asked about Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, which did not bother him, as his former homeland was similar.

Edward Bridges didn't expect that he would ask casually. He did ask a diplomat who analyzed the Soviet Union and seemed to be comprehensive. Take it easy and bring out your wit in [-]."

Edward Bridges has read Alan Wilson's files, the events before and after Pearl Harbor in the Way of Nature, and he also knows that Alan Wilson is also an MI[-] informant, but the scope of his activities is overseas.

Alan Wilson, who was hit by the pie from the sky, was stunned for a moment, and immediately held back the ecstasy and said that he would definitely devote his life to the British Empire, be able to directly participate in the talks, and leave a strong mark in his resume.Although he still prefers the free environment of British India!

At noon the next day, Marshal Montgomery returned to Berlin after completing his special performances in European cities.The difference from history is that this joint military parade, according to the current news, General Patton will not come. The representative of the United States is General Eisenhower, who has agreed to come to Berlin. It can be said that he has taken care of the mood of the Soviets.

Although Berlin is still in ruins, the venue for the military parade has been cleared and is waiting for the good show to begin.

During the daytime on June 23, in the huge refugee camp on the Austrian border, Mikhailovich called over the assistants of the Yugoslav Fatherland Army and expressed his worries about the future.

"Tito will not be merciful to us. He is a Croatian." He may not understand what doctrines he said to his subordinates, but Mikhailovich mentioned the Croats, and these Mikhailovich's subordinates They understood, and they all expressed that they should not pin their hopes on Tito's kindness.

Chapter 77 Woman and Child in Front

Compared with Tito's troops, Mikhailovich's Homeland Army is the same as many old armies and new armies. The biggest disadvantage is the gap in organizational level.

For the armed forces within the Motherland Army, many local leaders led troops to join voluntarily. Mikhailovich did not have strong leadership power. Many local generals did not listen to him very much, and many of these generals cooperated with the German army.

This is also one of the reasons why the British concluded that the fighting power of the Fatherland Army was not as good as that of Tito after the investigation, and finally turned to support Tito. However, in terms of numbers, the Yugoslav Fatherland Army is no different from the original Tito.

The same is true for the Yugoslav Fatherland Army on the Austrian border. Because they were chased by Tito's troops and had nowhere to go, Mikhailovich's authority has increased, and he has a certain degree of restraint on the entire Yugoslav Fatherland Army. He is still not the authority to keep his promises, he can only persuade other commanders as much as possible when things come to an end.

For so many days, Mikhailovich has been silent, and he has withstood the huge psychological pressure. He is already worthy of the psychological quality of leading the Fatherland Army for many years. Full of fear, Mikhailovich actually knew it well.

I can't believe the Croats. Although the Croatian Ustasha is now armed, Tito should not chase him to the Austrian border, but this proves that Tito is so ruthless to his own people, and to them, the Serbian-dominated homeland army Armed, there is no reason to let go.

"Colonel, what do you think we should do?" All the commanders who came to Mikhailovich felt that the situation was serious.Once they return to Yugoslavia and face Tito, the fate of these people is doomed to be miserable.

"There is no way, but we have no choice." Mikhailovich took out the speech he had prepared, and said in a sad tone, "We can't sit still, we will lose the ability to resist when we return to Yugoslavia , there is only one person who can save us now."

who?Everyone looked at each other. They didn't know that Mikhailovich disappeared for a few days, but no one knew where Mikhailovich went. They thought Mikhailovich had found a way to go into exile. .

Later, Mikhailovich reappeared, and everyone didn't think much about it. They were kept in the dark about the whole matter, and naturally they didn't know what the so-called method was talking about now.

And the most important thing is that all the weapons in their hands have been confiscated by the British. Where can they go without weapons?

"Even if we have weapons, we can't defeat the British and American troops. Now we are pure refugees without weapons. With such a large number of refugees, no army can shoot without scruples. We let children and women walk in front, for us Open the way and bet whether the British soldiers and the American soldiers will shoot."

If Alan Wilson was here, he would definitely call out experts when he heard Mikhailovich say this. The refugees who flooded into Europe in later generations like to let women and children take the lead, arouse the sympathy of Europeans, break through the border and then lay down. Don't leave.

Now that Mikhailovich let women and children cover his troops in front, he has initially mastered the essence of shamelessness, and he is worthy of being the leader of the Homeland Army who has led it for many years.

Hearing Mikhailovich's words, the surrounding commanders were obviously moved. In fact, even if Alan Wilson was here, he felt that it might succeed.

There are no sympathetic groups in Europe in this era. European countries have gone through years of war and have become numb to all kinds of tragedies. How can there be extra sympathy, but the U.S. military group is not necessarily so.

First of all, the United States has not been affected by the war. In terms of the general environment, the US military has not fought any tough battles, and now the United States is still trying to establish its image and gain a firm foothold in Europe.

Shooting at a large number of unarmed refugees, once causing a large number of deaths, although various reasons can be used to evade at that time, but now all kinds of sickles and hammers in European countries are on the sidelines. Once the US military shoots and causes a large number of deaths, the Soviet Union may directly They forgot that these people were opponents of Tito, and said that the refugees made the US military responsible.

Or take a step back, this is an organized and premeditated subversion of Yugoslavia by the imperialist countries.Start the propaganda machine and attack the image of the United States.

There are pro-Soviet political parties in various European countries to cater to, which may really embarrass the Americans.Even if all of the above scenarios do not come to pass, there is one last factor. General Patton did not go to Berlin as in history. Eisenhower went to Berlin himself, and General Patton was in Bavaria.

All kinds of internal and external factors were added together, and after arriving in Europe, it was discovered that Austria was divided into four countries in name, but in fact it was tantamount to the Soviet Union’s monopoly. After the British-occupied area had only two battalions of soldiers, Alan Wilson saw the loophole, and then entered the Inadvertently, Mikhailovich pointed out a clear path.

"That's it!" Mikhailovich on this side has already made up his mind, "According to my information, General Patton is extremely dissatisfied with the Soviet Union. We are running towards freedom this time. His attitude is very important. Maybe there will be a third explosion." World War I, when the time comes, we can still follow the U.S. military, fight back to Yugoslavia and regain everything we lost, and then we will solve the problem with the Croats, but now, facing Tito, we are in the same situation as the nearby Croats, Don't get angry just yet."

Alan Wilson is here, maybe he will exclaim that Mikhailovich still has the potential of Chang Gong, complaining about the sky, complaining about the air, complaining about the Soviet revisionism and complaining about the US emperor's temperament, they are all so similar. Three world wars?

However, Mikhailovich's words are indeed a shot in the arm for the commanders of the Homeland Army who have lost their homes and are like bereaved dogs.

In the camp of the Homeland Army group, the commanders of the Homeland Army who had returned from Mikhailovich issued unexplained orders to their subordinates one after another.It seems to be very clear, but it is not clear if you think about it carefully.

In the peaceful camp, there was a slight ripple on June 23. No one knows what kind of influence this ripple will cause. Mikhailovich’s gaze almost followed the sun. He hoped that the time to act It could come soon, but I hope it never comes.

Mikhailovich was in high tension, his eyes were bloodshot but he was not tired. Whether he was dead or alive depended on the action at midnight. With the darkness falling, it seemed that today was another ordinary day.

It was approaching twelve o'clock, and the camp of the Yugoslav Homeland Army was full of restlessness like the surface of a calm lake boiling.The men, women and children who were called up by the soldiers of the Fatherland Army looked at the lit torches and did not understand what to do at midnight.

"Women and children, come out and follow us!" Some soldiers shouted, pushing women and children to the front and putting them into action.

Chapter 78 Joint Military Parade

At midnight on June 23, the Austrian border, which had been silent for a long time, boiled like a volcano. Soldiers of the Yugoslav Fatherland Army and their families rushed to the road to freedom under the shady curtain of being invisible.

The future is uncertain, and I feel anxious. Amidst the yelling of the men, the women and children got on the cart, or walked northward directly. The British did not know such a big movement, but the Croats who were close to the Serb camp, Slovenia It is impossible for people not to know.

Soon the news spread, and the Croats and Slovenians were moved after hearing the news. Although they didn't know the specific situation, their instincts drove them to follow the actions of the Serbs.

This has to mention the history of Yugoslavia. The modern history of Yugoslavia can be summarized as the history that Serbia established Greater Yugoslavia to annex and integrate other nations but failed.

In Yugoslavia, the Serbian population is only a majority among individual ethnic groups, but it is far from reaching half.The name "Serbian-Croatian-Slovenian Kingdom" when the first Yugoslavia was established shows the attributes of this country. It is a country formed by different Yugoslav nations. In addition to the population of Serbia, the number of ethnic groups in other districts is far greater than that of Serbia.

Although the Serbs are not the main ethnic group, in the short history of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, the Serbs did occupy a dominant position and have the ability to influence other ethnic groups. This ability is subtle.

Regardless of whether it is a Croatian or a Slovenian, although they are hostile to the Serbs, they subconsciously act according to the Serbs. At midnight on this day, this psychological expression was vividly displayed.

There was such a big movement in the Serbian camp, and it was known to the neighboring Croats. Although they didn't know what the Serbs' purpose was, under Tito's high pressure, the Croats and the Serb-dominated Homeland Army were at odds. Report a group to keep warm in an environment.

As for this kind of psychology, seeing the Serbs heading north, the Croats instinctively followed, and then the Slovenians, and the domino effect appeared.

At midnight, the Austrian border was bustling, as noisy as a downtown, with torches and people intertwined, moving towards the north.

If someone can open the perspective of God and notice the details of this movement, they will be very surprised to find that the movement involving 20 people has perfectly avoided the camp where the occupying army is located.

Of course, this is also reasonable. After all, the situation in Austria is special now. The British army has only two battalions in the British-occupied area of ​​Austria. The occupied areas of the United States and France are similar. Austria is actually under the control of the Soviet army. In the overall situation, the Soviet Red Army was in the Soviet-occupied area, giving courtesy to the United States, Britain and France.

This loophole, which even the parties involved would not notice, has become a fatal negligence at this time, and it has become a footnote to this escape that shocked the world.

The fugitives who moved north were full of strength, the way of life was ahead, and all the fatigue and anxiety disappeared.Going north and north and then north is their only purpose now.

At this time, there are no Serbs, no Croats, no Slovenians, they are all one kind of people, people who avoid being deported back to Tito to liquidate.

Under the night, a long army of people composed of torches awakened Austria from its tranquility, but for Europe, which has gone through many years of war, this little noise is actually nothing.

Berlin, hundreds of kilometers away, is holding a victory celebration. Unlike history, this time the victory parade was three months earlier, and the friendship that just defeated Germany is still there, and the expected Potsdam Conference is a few days away It will also be held, and the United States, the Soviet Union, Britain and France are all trying their best to create an atmosphere of unity.

Everyone knows that the war is not over yet, Japan is still dying, and the frontline British and American troops in the Pacific are still fighting fiercely with the Japanese army. At this time, it is very important to persuade the Soviet Union to join the war against Japan.

Before the meeting started, in fact, everything can only be regarded as unknown. As far as Alan Wilson knew, there were already some signs of emergency medical treatment on the eve of Japan's defeat, and even put hope on the Soviet Union.

Counting on the mediation of the Soviet Union, the United States, which is pressing on every step of the way, withdraws from the war conditionally.This is not incomprehensible. In fact, just like the Germans hoped to surrender to the Western Front, the Germans knew very well what immoral things they had done on the Eastern Front, so they avoided falling into the hands of the Soviets.

The psychology of the Japanese is just the opposite. When choosing between the Soviet Union and the Americans, it is very normal for the Japanese to pin their hopes on the Soviet Union and avoid being dealt with by the Americans.

At [-] o'clock in the morning, at the parade site in Berlin, soldiers from the United States, the Soviet Union, Britain and France had already prepared for the parade. At the same time, the Soviet victory parade followed the same steps on the Red Square in Moscow.Marshal Rokossovsky served as the commander-in-chief of the Red Square parade, while Marshal Zhukov served as the commander-in-chief of the Berlin Union Grand Parade.

Rokossovsky appeared on Red Square with the bell of the Kremlin bell tower. After the command "Stand at attention, the military parade begins", the bell rang ten times, and the military band played Glinka's famous song "Glory-Russia People", Marshal Rokossovsky rode a white horse through the Spassky Gate into Red Square, the commander-in-chief of the military parade Marshal Rokossovsky reported to Stalin: "Comrade Stalin, active troops, naval forces and Moscow garrison The team to participate in the military parade has been formed, please review!"

"Ulla..." Alan Wilson naturally couldn't hear Moscow's angry cheers, but at the joint military parade in Berlin, Soviet soldiers shouted Ulla to Marshal Zhukov, which also made participants from other countries look sideways.

Even Eisenhower and Marshal Montgomery recognized the mental state displayed by the Soviet soldiers under review.

"What I see are the brave faces of the soldiers who have been honed by the fire of war and the joyful eyes; it is the newly-made military uniforms worn by the soldiers, and the medals and medals are shining on the military uniforms." Marshal Zhukov said to the soldiers who were reviewed. In his speech, "People who cherish peace all over the world are grateful for the contributions of brave soldiers. This gratitude includes the Soviet Union, as well as its great allies, the United States, Britain, France and other allies. Today, in this grand celebration On the celebration day, we would like to express our great and lofty respect to them, and the glory belongs to all the heroes who died for this war."

"Ulla!" Zhukov's speech finished, and the Soviet soldiers at the joint military parade shouted again.

General Eisenhower glanced at Marshal Montgomery with inexplicable eyes, and he felt that he should talk to the British.

Chapter 79 Emergencies

The troops of the four countries that were reviewed, the 80th Infantry Division of the Red Banner, the 2nd Infantry Division of the French Army, the [-]th Infantry Brigade of the British Army, and the No. The grand parade from the building to the Brandenburg Gate begins.

The order of the parade of the infantry phalanx was first started by Soviet soldiers. On the rostrum, Marshal Zhukov of the Soviet Union, Marshal Montgomery of the United Kingdom, General Eisenhower of the United States and General Delater De Tasini of France represented the high standards of the Allied forces. The commanders stood shoulder to shoulder.

Accompanied by the majestic military music, Soviet soldiers walked past the rostrum one by one on goose steps. On the wall not far away were giant portraits of Churchill, Truman and Stalin, the three giants of the Allied Powers.Reporters from various countries held cameras and took pictures of the queue. Although Alan Wilson did not have a camera in his hand, his eyes did not leave the queue.Whether you admit it or not, when it comes to military parades, compared with socialist countries, the Anglo-American and French sides are indeed almost meaningless.

If there is no military parade for the soldiers of the Soviet Red Army, the little commissioner would not bother to come, it is better to watch the mass parade.

Sure enough, after the Soviet soldiers strutted past the rostrum, the French phalanx that was being reviewed appeared, which looked quite inferior.

"The French parade phalanx doesn't seem too serious!" Eiffel, the vanguard of insulting the law, whispered.

"We are allies!" Alan Wilson reminded softly, but who maliciously arranged the order of the Soviet Union followed by France. Such a comparison really shows that French soldiers are not good at it.

Of course, this is only the one-sided understanding of the two diplomats. Any national phalanx that appeared has murdered a lot of films, and there is no lack of applause. You cannot hold prejudice just because it is a French phalanx.

After the walking phalanx, the heavy weapon phalanx started from the UK, and the Soviet Union made its finale.The British troops attending the military parade came from the [-]th Armored Division of Field Marshal Montgomery. This is the ace unit of the British army that has been famous since the North African campaign. It greeted the cheers of all the British present just after it came out.

The finale weapon pulled out by the [-]th Armored Division to participate in the military parade was the Comet cruiser tank. On the North African battlefield, British tanks had no artillery that could destroy German tanks.This is also one of the reasons why the British army suffered consecutive defeats.For this reason, the British Ministry of Defense decided to develop a more powerful cruiser tank based on the Cromwell cruiser tank, which is the origin of the Comet tank.

The main gun of the Comet cruise tank is the [-]-pound gun known as the strongest tank gun of the Allied forces on the Western Front. Although Alan Wilson, the commissioner of Hyderabad, has been trying to sell this tank to the Indians, but since It is my own child, so it is naturally full of advantages, and Alan Wilson also joined in the cheers.

Of course he has reason to cheer. The Sherman tanks of the U.S. military are not better than the Comet cruiser tanks at all. Some indicators are not as good as the Comet tanks. The army is not inferior at all. If it can't be better, it can't be worse. This is a world that is worse.

As the heavy weapons phalanxes of France and the United States were reviewed, the finale of the heavy weapons phalanx was the heavy tank regiment of the Second Tank Army of the Soviet Guards.

"What is that?" General Eisenhower stared at the Soviet tank that appeared. This was a Soviet tank that had never been seen by the US military. However, from its terrifying appearance, it could already be seen that this Soviet tank was a British and American tank. The tanks in active service are by no means opponents, and the huge main guns seem to have the power to destroy everything.

Compared with Marshal Montgomery, who was simply curious about the performance of weapons, General Eisenhower obviously paid more attention to deeper issues. Did the Soviet Union show its military power to deter the United States, Britain and France through this military parade?

Generals and military officers from various countries present were talking about it.It was a new type of tank they had never seen before.Its circular turret and unique body shape left a deep impression on the generals of the Allied Powers.

Two rows of IS-3 heavy tanks slowly passed in front of the rostrum, which aroused a lot of discussion. Marshal Zhukov looked smug, in stark contrast to military officers from other countries.

Eisenhower also discovered this, and just about to silence his voice, so as not to be laughed at by the Soviets, a staff officer quickly came to Eisenhower's side, whispering something at a very fast speed.

"What?" General Eisenhower lost his voice. Obviously, this incident made him lose his composure even more than the Soviet heavy tank just now.

Eisenhower's gaffe caused a lot of sideways glances, because the Soviet tank had just passed by, and many people thought it was a new Soviet weapon, which frightened the commander-in-chief of the US military.

Eisenhower didn't have time to think about these things. The news just came was more important than the Soviet tanks in front of him. He directly ordered to the staff officer in a low voice, "Have they poured into Austria now? Why don't we stop them?"

"Austria is only able to hold the border with the Soviet army, and we have no army in the occupied area." The staff officer said with a wry smile, "The armies of the United States, Britain, and France have not yet officially stationed in Austria, and they only have nominal forces. Discuss this at the meeting."

Eisenhower's head was buzzing. From this point of view, it was indeed an oversight, but it led to such serious consequences.