Rise of Australia

Chapter 978: Chaos in Germany
boom! boom!
Two consecutive explosions resounded throughout the venue, causing heavy casualties among the generals participating in the gathering.

In order to ensure the success of the assassination, Colonel Klaus specifically asked Admiral Ludwig to use his connections to get two small bombs that were powerful and easy to carry.

From the sound of the explosion at the scene, it can be heard that the power of the two small bombs is definitely much greater than that of the grenade.

Because it is a small venue, the distance between each table is only one or two meters.

For hand grenades, these are within the killing range, not to mention the two bombs which are more powerful than hand grenades.

"Your Excellency, Prime Minister!"

"Protect Your Excellency!"

The Prime Minister's guards outside the venue were the first to react and rushed into the venue to look for the Prime Minister.

But the thick smoke from the explosion had not yet dissipated, and with the mess on the ground and numerous injured people after the explosion, it was not easy to find the Prime Minister quickly.

Fortunately, the entire conference venue was not large, and about a minute after the explosion, the guards finally found the Prime Minister.

But the German Chancellor was not in a very good condition at this time.

Because the distance to the explosion point was very close, although the heavy wooden table blocked most of the explosion damage, the iron pieces and other hard objects in the explosives still hit the Prime Minister's body.

The worst part was that because the explosions happened twice in quick succession, there wasn't much protection from the second explosion.

The current German Prime Minister’s upper body is covered in blood and he has lost consciousness.

"Damn it, call a doctor!" the captain of the guard shouted hurriedly.

The safety of the Prime Minister is the most important matter in all of Germany. If the Prime Minister died in this assassination, the captain of the guard could not imagine what kind of end he would face.

"Arrange another car and notify the hospital to be prepared." The captain of the guard continued to order.

Although the Prime Minister will be accompanied by a doctor, the situation cannot be saved by just one doctor.

The Prime Minister must be sent to the hospital as soon as possible, perhaps his life can be saved.

Although there was some panic at first, the soldiers of the Prime Minister's Guard quickly carried out the order.

The accompanying doctor simply performed bleeding and rescue work, and the group hurriedly escorted the Prime Minister to the hospital.

As for the senior generals in the conference hall who are also in serious conditions, other vehicles will take them to the hospital, and that will not be the concern of the Prime Minister's Guard.

The fact that the German Chancellor was attacked in the conference hall and was rushed to the hospital was quickly detected by intelligence organizations of various countries.

In fact, this is a very normal thing. While the wars between countries are fierce, the intelligence gathering work in secret is no less intense.

Australasia alone has hundreds of intelligence agents stationed in Germany, disguising themselves in various industries and living under various identities in Germany.

Although many intelligence personnel were discovered along the way, there are still hundreds of people whose identities have not been exposed so far.

The attack at the conference venue was a secret that the German government could not cover up at all, and it was easy to obtain such information.

"What? The German Prime Minister was attacked and his life or death is currently unknown?" Arthur was shocked in the conference room. Opposite him sat Batty, the director of the Royal Intelligence Agency.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Director Batty replied, "According to our intelligence, the German Chancellor was attacked by a bomb while attending a party and was seriously injured when he was taken to the hospital."

Arthur nodded, but the shock in his heart did not dissipate at all.

For Germany at present, the life and death of the German Chancellor is of vital importance. After all, the German Chancellor is the only one who is truly determined to advocate war, and most of the others are just obeying the orders of the Chancellor.

For example, the chancellor's confidant, Luftwaffe Commander Goering, etc. If the German chancellor ordered a peace, would these people stop him? Of course not.

This also means that if the German Chancellor died in the assassination, Germany would most likely change from a staunch war advocate to a peace-seeking faction, and the war might end quickly.

But based on historical experience, it seems that this assassination attempt was not successful.

Historically, Germany persisted until the end of the war, but after suffering heavy casualties and its capital Berlin was captured, it had no choice but to surrender.

The German Chancellor who stubbornly launched the war eventually chose to end his life by suicide.

If the famous German general Rommel had not also participated in the assassination, Arthur would not even have any impression of this not-so-famous action in history.

But no matter what, this assassination is completely different from historical events.

Arthur still had to be prepared. Whether the German Chancellor was alive or dead, it would not affect Australasia's next combat plan.

Of course, if the German Chancellor died in this assassination attempt, that would definitely be the best news.

First, the war can end faster and will have little impact on the distribution of benefits in Australasia after the war.

After all, at this time, Australasia was already one of the world's top two military and industrial powers and the world's number one economic power (locally). Except for Germany, which had annexed several industrial countries, Australasia was far ahead of the major powers in terms of local industry and economy.

Such industrial and economic scale is enough to make Australasia qualified to become the world hegemon today, and it is also enough to give Australasia the initiative and voice at the negotiation table for the distribution of interests after the war.

In this war, changes in the strength of various countries occurred rapidly.

At this time, except for the navy, whose total tonnage still ranked among the top in the world, Britain was crushed by Australasia in both the army and the air force.

After the only population gap was eliminated, Australasia has actually surpassed China in comprehensive national strength and military power.

Even in the case of the Royal Fleet, which the British were so proud of, the British Navy could not gain the upper hand even if the Australasian Navy tried its best.

After all, the advantages brought by aircraft are enormous, and coupled with the restraint of missiles on warships, the Royal Fleet, nominally the world's number one navy, is controversial.

It is only because Australasia is too low-key in missiles and does not publicize the role of missiles that the Royal Fleet continues to be the world's number one navy. This also proves the promotion of science and technology to the military. Australasia is currently the world's number one power in terms of sea, land and air, all of which is based on leading technology.

Back to the current situation in Germany, Arthur has only one attitude towards the assassination of the German Prime Minister, which is to kill him while he is ill.

As the de facto dictator of Germany and the person who issues orders for the German High Command, the German Prime Minister is extremely important to the current German military and government.

Even if the German Chancellor survived, Germany would still fall into chaos during the period without a Chancellor. After all, Germany was not a monolithic country. Although the pro-war faction controlled and supported by the Chancellor occupied the majority of the government and the army, there were also officials and generals who advocated peace.

In addition, most important political and military orders require the approval of the prime minister. During the period without the German prime minister, the execution capability of the German army is bound to drop to a lower level.

The Australasian Army would not miss such a good opportunity. Arthur's previously planned attack on Poland and airborne operations in the Ruhr area could begin.

It was not just Australasia that was alarmed by the news, but every country in the world that was at war with Germany.

Britain and France were quite pleased. This accident would make Germany's situation worse, and the next attack by Britain and France would be smoother.

But there are also countries that are not very happy, such as Russia, which just lost 150 million troops in the Kiev area.

If the German Chancellor hadn't died, the assassination would not have had such a significant impact on the war.

But if the German Chancellor died in this assassination, Russia would be the party that suffered the greatest loss.

After all, without the German Prime Minister, a pro-war figure, the German government will most likely turn to a pro-peace stance in the coming period.

This also means that the war is almost over, and the distribution of benefits to each country after the war is basically related to the territory currently occupied and the contribution to the war.

On this point, Britain, France and Australia definitely have the advantage.

The French have basically recovered their homeland, and their next offensive will be very smooth. The British have protected their homeland very well and participated in the division of interests in Spain and Italy.

Needless to say, Australasia was the only great power among all the participating countries that had no influence on its own territory. Australasia also recovered the three Nordic and Mediterranean countries and divided up the industrial assets of Spain and Italy. It was already the country that gained the most from this war.

On the other hand, Russia had just lost 150 million troops, needless to say. So far, Russia has not yet completely recovered its territory.

If this war ends suddenly, it is hard to say whether Russia's occupied territories can return to Russia safely.

Even if Russia could recover all the territory, it would be doomed to gain no advantage in the subsequent division of interests with Germany.

But Russia is the country that suffered the greatest sacrifice. If the tens of millions of military and civilian casualties were exchanged for only the recovery of all its homeland, then Russia would definitely be the country that suffered the most in this war.

Following an order from Russian President Sudalin, a large number of Russian intelligence agents began to take action, desperately trying to find out information about the German Chancellor.

The Russians even began to pray that the German Chancellor would not die in the assassination and that the war would continue so that Russia would have more opportunities to seek more benefits.

Germany is not clear about the sentiments of other countries in the world, nor does it want to know.

At present, the attention of the German government and military is all focused on the safety of the prime minister. The safety of the prime minister also represents the future direction of Germany.

The opposition group headed by Ludwig Beck, who planned the assassination, was also praying at this time. However, they prayed that the warmongerer would die in the assassination, so that Germany could avoid the losses caused by continuing the war.

General Ludwig Beck was also unaware of the Prime Minister's situation at this time. But as the leader of the rebel group that planned the assassination, General Ludwig knew that he could not sit still and wait for death.

First of all, Rommel. Because the transfer order had not yet been issued, Rommel was still the commander of Army Group B.

Army Group B still has a certain scale of armored forces and excellent artillery units, so there is no problem in mobilizing some troops on the grounds of retreat and rest.

However, the front line where Army Group B is located is too far away from Berlin. At present, the only thing they can really rely on is an infantry division commanded by General Hans and some of General Ludwig's former confidants, including the Junker nobles who oppose the German Prime Minister's pro-war policy.

The important thing now is to occupy Berlin and all communication equipment as quickly as possible before anyone reacts, so as to achieve the goal of controlling the government.

As long as Berlin could be defended, it didn't matter if the Prime Minister didn't die in the assassination attempt.

Another thing is to try to find out the news about the German Prime Minister. At present, the generals of the rebel group have not been exposed. Relying on the relationship between several people in high positions, it is not a problem to find out some news about the Prime Minister.

Apart from Himmler and Goering, his two absolute confidants, the most likely person to know the situation of the German Chancellor is the current German Defense Minister Wilhelm Keitel.

After Wilhelm Keitel's opposition to attacking Russia was ignored by the German Chancellor, he completely changed his attitude and tried to please the Chancellor in every way.

Although doing so does seem a bit dishonorable, who can deny that only those who know how to flatter can be appreciated by their leaders?

Wilhelm Keitel's position as Minister of Defense was very solid, and Wilhelm himself was deeply trusted by the German Chancellor.

One of the participants in the plan, General Friedrich Fromm, attempted to call Minister Wilhelm Keitel to get the latest news about the Chancellor.

But Minister William Keitel did not respond to this and even said that he himself was not clear about the Prime Minister's current situation.

This answer aroused the suspicion of General Ludwig Beck. If the Prime Minister's life was not in danger, Minister Keitel should not be so ambiguous at this time.

After careful consideration, General Ludwig Beck resolutely launched a rebellion and required all those involved in the plan, including General Fromm and Field Marshal Rommel, to lead the existing troops to join the rebellion.

The date came to June 1939, 6, when a large-scale rebellion broke out in Berlin, Germany.

The rebels soon attacked Berlin's television and radio stations and took over the city government.

But the rebel army also encountered stubborn resistance from the Berlin defenders, and the area near the hospital where the prime minister was located was still under the control of the German government.

However, in the current situation, Admiral Ludwig Beck is not panicked.

Because 24 hours had passed since the assassination, but the Berlin government still had no news about the Prime Minister.

This also means that even if the Prime Minister survived the assassination, he should be in a state of severe coma at this time. It is even possible that he is still being rescued at this time, which is why there is no news about the Prime Minister.

(End of this chapter)