In Europe, Hitler took advantage of the fact that Britain and France were involved in the Far East War and annexed Austria without bloodshed.
The Austrians, who also belong to the Germanic nation, were once the leaders of the Germanic nation during the Greater Germany period. However, after the Austro-Prussian War in 1866, the Prussians became the leaders of the German Empire. Bismarck excluded South Germany where the Austrians were from.
Outside the German Empire.
But the mustached German Chancellor who was born in Vienna has never forgotten to incorporate his "motherland" into the Greater German Empire.
Although Austrian President Milaquez is trying his best to maintain Austria's democratic status, the poor economic situation has pushed most people to the side of the "National Socialist Party". The Austrian "Nazi Party" followers who believe in Hitler as their leader have taken over Austria.
The majority of people.
In February 1938, Hitler held talks with Austrian Chancellor Schuschnigg in Berchtesgaden on the issue of Austria's status. At the beginning of the meeting, Hitler gave Schuschnigg a slap in the face and accused him sternly.
The Austrians have been dragging the entire German nation back, and have placed the responsibility for Germany's defeat in World War I on the Austrians. They have also cursed the Austrian government for acting as a lackey for the British and the French.
Military fortifications were built on the Austrian border to prepare against Germany, claiming that the Austrian government was the scum of the entire German nation.
The Austrian corporal's domineering gesture and speech that incited national sentiment left the Austrian chancellor speechless. Schuschnigg did not want to be accused by Hitler of being a "national scum", so he had to succumb to the will of the Nazis and agree to hold a referendum in Austria.
to decide Austria's future.
On February 13, the German army "peacefully marched" into Vienna, and Nazi Germany achieved the annexation of Austria.
Tensions are rising in Europe, while the war in the Far East continues.
The Russians also seemed unable to follow up after capturing Bukhara. The distance from Brasnovovsk Port and Aktau on the Caspian Sea to Bukhara was more than 2,000 kilometers. The Soviet frontline of 350,000 troops
All logistical supplies relied on transportation from these two ports, and the only railway line for transporting supplies was often bombed by the Republican aviation force, which had an air force advantage.
In the north, the 300,000-strong Soviet Ural Front army led by Timoshenko besieged the Orenburg Fortress guarded by 100,000 Siberian White troops for several months, but still failed to open the fortress guarding the Red Army's westward advance route.
After receiving reinforcements from two Republican armies, it seems that the hope of conquering this fortress will become even slimmer.
The Republican Army and the Soviet Army came to a stalemate on the Syr Darya River. Due to logistical constraints, both sides were unable to launch large-scale military operations.
In Indochina, the Republican Army's offensive gradually slowed down after entering western Myanmar.
After the British sent troops to annex Upper Burma in 1897, they annexed it to India and immigrated more than 1 million people from India to this area to consolidate their rule in Burma. This met with fierce resistance from the Burmese people.
In 1930, a massive anti-British uprising broke out in Myanmar. The British mobilized a large number of troops from Malaya, India, and it took two years to suppress the uprising.
From a historical perspective, Burmese people, especially those in Upper Burma, have a strong sense of identification with China. Many of Burmese’s upper-class intellectuals are accustomed to writing articles and poems in Chinese.
After the Republican Army entered Myanmar, it was very popular with the local people in Upper Myanmar. The local people actively led the way for the Republican Army and provided intelligence about the British army. In Lower Myanmar, which is dominated by Yangon, it has been under British control since 1857.
The local people were indifferent to the arrival of the Republican Army under human colonial rule, and the Deqin Party members in Myanmar were actively engaged in fighting for independence.
However, in Lower Burma, there are about 500,000 Chinese living in this area. They provide active assistance to the Republican Army in its operations, and many Chinese young people are even actively requesting to join the Republican Army.
Li Hanming, commander of the Republican Army's Southwest Theater Command, personally rushed to the Hukang Valley to supervise the progress of the engineering troops' road construction.
The Hukham Valley in northwest Myanmar has complex terrain, with intertwined valleys, criss-crossing river networks, and dense primeval forests everywhere. It is sparsely populated, and a few tribes are even in primitive society.
The combat plan formulated by the General Staff of the Republican Army was very simple: build roads, extend them, keep them open, and use strength to overwhelm the British troops stationed in India.
The war in Myanmar has long since subsided, and even the railways between Lashio, Ruili and Myitkyina have been built. However, the railway in northern Myanmar from Myitkyina through the Gongmeng Valley, Yeren Mountain, and Hukang Valley to the Naga hilly areas has to be prepared for war.
The progress of the highway is still slow, which makes Li Hanming, the supreme commander of the theater, anxious.
Intelligence shows that Wavell, the new commander-in-chief of the British Army in India, has concentrated more than 200,000 British and Indian troops in the Imphal area, and 60,000 expeditionary troops mobilized from the British mainland and North Africa have also begun to land in India.
The British defenses in this area are getting stronger and stronger, which makes Li Hanming feel that his hands and troops are somewhat weak. The Republican Army's troops in Myanmar include the 7th, 15th, and 16th Group Armies, and later the 35th Group Army was transferred from Sichuan.
Burma's total military strength reached nearly 350,000, but the British concentrated 270,000 British-Indian troops in the Imphal area, in addition to 100,000 expeditionary troops transferred from the mainland and North Africa.
The Republican Army is building roads here, but the British are overhauling fortifications in Imphal. They seem to be preparing for a decisive battle with the Republican Army and are unwilling to take another step back.
Lin Shuo was worried about whether the Republican Army troops entering Myanmar could adapt to the local climate. In another time and space, he did not want the tragedy of the Chinese Expeditionary Force to be repeated again, so he directly vetoed it before Myanmar's transportation and logistics could not be adequately guaranteed.
The war plan for entering India formulated by the General Staff Headquarters.
In Singapore, Wei Zihao stood on the sunny side of the heavy cruiser "Zheng He" docked in Changi Naval Port, looking at the very busy naval dock with some disappointment. Most of the British and French warships captured by the Republican Army in the port suffered varying degrees of severity.
Due to the damage, scaffoldings of more than ten stories high were erected in ten shipyards, and there were densely packed shipyard workers everywhere.
After the Nanyang Campaign, Wei Zihao was promoted to the commander of the newly formed Indian Ocean Fleet. However, all the battleships participating in the Nanyang Campaign were transferred back to China, leaving him with only the "Jiangxi" and "Anhui" aircraft ships and a 3rd cruiser detachment.
.In the harbor, the injured and capsized battleship "Warrior" looked like a big spider spinning a web. The hull was covered with reset cables and was being righted using a winch on the mountain.
These "rags" will be the main force of the future Indian Ocean Fleet.
"When will these warships be repaired?" He turned to ask Chief of Staff Chang Lin who was standing next to him.
"Due to the need to replace the power system, even the Warrior and Provence, which are not seriously injured, will still need two months, sir." Chang Lin said expressionlessly. To be honest, he did not think that these ships were built in the same year.
How useful can old war-era battleships be after being restored?
Even the two Queen Elizabeth-class battleships with the best performance among them only have a speed of 25 knots. Such a speed will definitely slow down the entire aviation fleet.
Changi Naval Port can only accommodate three battleships undergoing large-scale modernization modifications in the dock. The President dubiously approved the modification plan reported by the Ministry of Navy after the Naval Design Department vowed that the modified battleships could reach a speed of 27 knots.
The less seriously injured "Malaya", "Ramillis", "Cubert", "Provence" and "Ocean" were returned to the domestic shipyard for overhaul after simple repairs.
The "Warrior", "Royal Oak" and "Brittany" whose hulls were damaged remained at the Star Island shipyard.
The design speed of the Revenge-class battleship built during World War I was only 21.5 knots. How to modify such an old battleship with a displacement of 30,000 tons so that it can reach a speed of more than 27 knots and be capable of modern naval warfare requires shipyard engineers.
The most troublesome place.
Replacing the power system is the most time-consuming part of modifying a warship. Generally, the power cabin of a warship is at the bottom of the hull. When replacing the power system, the upper deck of the power cabin must be completely removed before the new power system can be installed. This is equivalent to giving
The entire warship was gutted and underwent major surgery.
This basically takes 7 to 9 months.
The other aspect is armament. All battleships will have their torpedo launchers and secondary guns removed and installed with 127mm high-level dual-purpose guns. At the same time, more anti-aircraft weapons will be installed.
This means that throughout 1938, Wei Zihao's Indian Ocean Fleet did not have much combat capability at all.