German Red Prince

To maintain secrecy, Thorne always referred to the tank as an "agricultural tractor," so the engineers who built it were all puzzled, wondering if this thing was really an agricultural tractor.

The tank was a great success. Thanks to the blueprints and various historical materials, the first tank, the Panzer I, took less than a year to go from blueprints to completion.

The blueprints provided by Thorne were for the Panzer I Ausf. B tank, which was to be jointly produced and assembled by companies such as Rheinmetall, Rheinmetall, and Daimler-Benz.

As the tank slowly started moving, the engineers clapped and celebrated; the baby was born naturally and was healthy.

Chapter 120 The Flying Red and Black Flag

"Let the people's anger punish them!" the man on horseback shouted, drawing his long sword.

"Ula!"

Soldiers with red bandages tied around their arms raised their weapons and rode their horses toward the train.

The German officers on the train were unaware of the seriousness of the situation; some were even dozing off until they noticed the train's speed was gradually decreasing.

"wrong!"

The leading German officer became alert. Why was the train slowing down?

"Everyone on alert! You all come with me to check the front!"

He beckoned to two soldiers, drew his pistol, and walked forward. The contents of the train couldn't be allowed to be lost in the slightest.

Besides the food and gifts, there were also two chests of gold from the landlords and capitalists. These were all meant to be given to the Kaiser. If they were lost, the Kaiser would be severely punished, if not killed.

Logically speaking, there shouldn't be any problems. No one would know about the gold. To avoid attracting attention, they deliberately didn't increase security for this trip. Besides, would any bandits dare to rob a train so openly?

Believe it or not, the train is actually going to be hijacked this time, and it's being targeted by two groups of people.

"Dad, look, why is the train in front slowing down?"

One person pointed forward and then handed over the binoculars.

Makhno took the binoculars. The train ahead was indeed slowing down, but they didn't know what was going on and couldn't just get on it.

"Let's observe and see what happens."

The German officer on the train walked to the front of the carriage and found that several soldiers in that carriage were already lying on the ground.

"not good!"

He was startled and was about to back out when he heard gunshots outside. A group of soldiers on horseback were already rushing towards the train.

"Get out now!"

The officer retreated while firing out the window, but it was too late. Soldiers hiding in the shadows were already attacking them, and the two soldiers he was with were shot down before they could dodge.

The train stopped, and chaos erupted inside the carriages. Guerrilla soldiers, who had been lying in ambush, were fighting with the people inside, while cavalrymen outside were firing at the train.

"Dad, look at that red flag, isn't that a Bolshevik?" a soldier with good eyesight said, spotting a red flag being carried by someone in the distance.

"Interesting, let's go join in the fun."

Seeing his men eager to try, Mahno stopped them. His Black Army, impatient, rode their horses toward the battlefield.

It was originally an attack from only one side, which was easy to deal with. The guerrillas couldn't get very close for a while. As long as we could hold out until reinforcements arrived, everything would be fine.

But unexpectedly, another group of people rushed out from the other side. At this point, no matter how well they planned, it was useless. They couldn't possibly stop the attack of two forces.

The sudden appearance of a group of people startled the Red Army soldiers. They had been watching this train for more than a day or two, so how could there be someone who had the same idea as them?

Without power, the train could only stand there and take the beating. Faced with an overwhelming numerical advantage and attacks from two positions, even if the people inside had superhuman abilities, it was useless. Some died, some were injured, and after holding out for a while, they stopped resisting and raised the white flag.

Next came the cleanup of the battlefield, but the situation was rather awkward, with the troops carrying the red flag and the troops holding the black flag locked in a stalemate.

"I am Makhno, may I ask which unit you belong to?"

"We are the Ukrainian Red Army. Are you also interested in this train?"

"Of course, it's free money if we don't take what these landlords have."

A Black soldier answered first, saying that he never had a good impression of the Bolshevik army. During the Russian Civil War, they used them as tools and were always trying to wipe them out. Now he actually ran into this group of people.

"Where are your Trotsky and Bukharin? I thought you Bolsheviks were all dead! How come you're still trying to steal from us?"

"Can you say that again!"

One of the Red Army soldiers, who had a short temper, got angry when he heard this, drew his gun, and walked forward, trying to shut him up.

The leading Red Army officer reached out to stop his men's impulsive actions; the opposing side clearly outnumbered them, and the Ukrainian Black Army was far stronger than the Red Army.

Since the defeat in the Russian Civil War, the Red Army forces in Ukraine have been besieged by a coalition of forces, but fortunately with the help of Makhno, they were not completely wiped out.

Makhno's anarchist army was more influential in Ukraine than the Bolshevik Red Army, and with the defeat of Soviet Russia, those who believed in Bolsheviks were not in the majority from the perspective of world revolution.

Even the French Revolution incorporated some elements of syndicalism; the proletariat was still searching for a path with a higher probability of success.

In impoverished regions of Ukraine, the Black Army was seen as a savior of the poor. This country, with its vast black soil, had countless impoverished farmers, and only Makhno could save them. Wherever he went, he suppressed the local reactionary landlords and distributed their land to the peasants.

Ukraine is now considered a giant breadbasket by the German government, so farmers still make up the majority of the country. This makes it very difficult for the Bolsheviks, who rely mainly on laborers, to develop. The biggest headache for the German government in all of Ukraine is Makhno's Black Army, because they can't seem to be killed off.

To the German government, these people are like a virus, attacking German-built farms and burning down German factories.

These people constitute the largest left-wing force in all of Ukraine, controlling rural areas where government control is weak. Conservative estimates put their numbers at over 40,000, while the entire Red Army force in Ukraine numbers only around 10,000.

“My name is Kaganovich, and I’m the commander of this unit. Since you’re also interested in these things on the train, how about we split them equally?”

Kaganovich quickly offered his opinion: the Black Army also wanted a share of the pie, so this was the only option for now. The other side was much stronger than them, and their enemies were the Kingdom of Ukraine and Germany. It would be a loss to break off relations over a train.

"Why should we give them half? We've been watching this train for so long, why should we give them half?"

Khrushchev couldn't take it anymore. They had planned for this train for a long time, and now that they had it, they had to give away half of it. This was too unfair.

"Commissar Khrushchev!"

Kaganovich called out to Khrushchev, "This is not the time to argue. Who knows if enemies will come this way? If they keep lingering here, no one will get anything."

"There's so much stuff on the train, we can't carry it all if we divide it up now. Why don't you come back with us and we can divide the supplies equally when we get there?"

Kaganovich then suggested that, according to their original plan, they should hijack the train, deal with the soldiers on board, and then drive the train to the previously planned location where someone would meet them, and then move everything back once they arrived.

Makhno thought for a moment and nodded. After all, they definitely couldn't move all this stuff with just their small group of people. Besides, it originally belonged to someone else, and they just happened to be passing by and took advantage of the situation.

The train slowly started moving again, and everyone arrived at the pre-arranged location. They began to unload the goods in a hurry, and Mahno also arranged for his men to prepare to receive the supplies and take them back.

Starting from 1919, he had been engaged in revolution on this black soil for almost ten years. During this time, Makhno encountered many opponents, including the National Army, the White Army, and even the Red Army.

He was born into a poor peasant family and had to work for nobles and landlords from a young age. These experiences left an indelible mark on his heart.

These experiences instilled in Makhno a deep hatred for authority, leading him to believe that all oppression originated from authority. Therefore, in the subsequent revolutionary wave, he chose anarchism, determined to personally break down the old order and create a free and autonomous society.

Ideals are always good, but reality is very cruel. In order to successfully establish that new order, he fought against one enemy after another. Although he could win every battle, he was never able to build that ideal society.

Moreover, he discovered that although he opposed all authority, he was becoming that kind of person. In the places he controlled, people would respectfully call him "Old Man," and almost every soldier in the Black Army worshipped him. Gradually, Mahno found himself becoming an authority figure.

His soldiers obeyed his orders unconditionally, and his words had more influence than the law. He introduced people to his anarchist theories, but these theories were far less important to ordinary people than a single word from him. Ultimately, most people followed Makhno because of his personal charisma, not because of his theories.

The Black Army did not have a strict organizational structure, because the concentration of power would inevitably lead to the emergence of authority. However, the lack of centralized power to guide the army also made the internal forces of the Black Army very chaotic. There were farmers, workers, and bandits. These people were not disciplined and some could come and go as they pleased.

Compared to themselves, although the Bolsheviks were not popular, their army was indeed stronger in combat. This was also the reason why the Red Army, with only more than 10,000 men, was not wiped out. The quality of their army was much higher than that of their own, at least their soldiers were bound by regulations.

Although the Red Army in Ukraine was small in number, it still adopted a system of armed forces that combined regular army and militia, thus maintaining and building a well-trained Red Army of considerable size.

The Red Army also had a unified organizational structure. They established a strict system for replenishing troops in their base areas, conscripting soldiers every year, and updating the command personnel at all levels.

To ensure purity, more than two-thirds of the commanding cadres came from worker and peasant backgrounds, and nearly half of them were Communist Party members and Communist Youth League members.

In contrast to the lax discipline of the Black Army, the Red Army implemented a political education system, strengthened political organs, and improved the efficiency of the Party's political work.

They fully learned from the lessons of the Russian-Soviet war, improved technical equipment, enhanced the firepower and assault capabilities of the troops, implemented a single-command system within the army to strengthen the sense of responsibility of commanders, and improved the troop training system to strictly enforce regulations and instructions.

It would be really difficult for the Black Army to produce these things. There are many things that Makhno admires, such as the Red Army's internal discipline, which is more effective than orders. When can their army consciously obey discipline rather than his orders?

"Ivan, be gentle, why is this box so heavy?"

"Who knows? These two boxes take up an entire carriage, and who knows what's inside?" Ivan scratched his head, wondering what was inside the tightly sealed boxes.

The loading did not slow down because of this little incident. The Red Army quickly loaded up and left. This place was so remote that by the time the enemy reinforcements arrived, they would probably be far away.

Although the two sides did not get along, they were still on the same side. Makhno was not the kind of person to stab someone in the back. When they arrived at Kaganovich's camp, they began to take stock of the supplies. They had plundered quite a lot this time, and the food alone was enough to last them for several months.

There wasn't much that could really interest them. Apart from food, the rest were handicrafts and bottles and jars, many of which had already been broken on the way.

Everyone turned their attention to the two large boxes. These boxes were so heavy and sealed so well; no one knew what was inside.

Ivan found some tools and pried open a box with force. The moment he saw what was inside, he was so frightened that he dropped the crowbar.

This box is filled with gold!

Everyone swallowed hard as they looked at the box of gold. If this box contained gold, then the other box must have been too...

The air seemed to freeze, the atmosphere was extremely tense. The two sides just stared at each other, some of them already reaching for their waists. With so much gold, they had to carefully calculate who would get it.

Makhno looked at the gold, then at Kaganovich. He knew they were on someone else's turf, and if a fight broke out, the other side wouldn't suffer any losses. And was it really worth fighting to the death over a few pieces of gold?

"Comrade Makhno, how much of this gold do you want?"

Kaganovich threw the question directly at Makhno. There was no need to drag things out now; it was a matter of a single sentence. However, his bottom line was halfway; if it exceeded halfway, then he would probably have no choice but to take action.

"We only want one-third of this gold, after all, you're the ones who hijacked the train."

Unexpectedly, Makhno did not make an exorbitant demand, nor did he pay attention to his restless subordinates. "However, I have another condition: your Red Army must send us the necessary personnel to assist us in managing this gold."

Mahno knew his team wasn't as professional as others, and most of his men were just farmers. Even if the money was transported back, he probably wouldn't know why it would be spent in the end.

He needs a professional team to manage things, and the Red Army happens to be quite professional, so it's better to trouble them and save himself the trouble of making the trip.

He made some further requests, such as borrowing some officers and political commissars from the army. Makhno was a pragmatist, and if the Black Army wanted to develop in the long term, it needed to be disciplined and have its own ideas, rather than just listening to him.

The current army may seem powerful, but it's all show and no substance. The gold has been stolen, and the Ukrainian government will definitely send a large-scale army to encircle and suppress them. Right now, the priority is to ensure survival; otherwise, no matter how lofty the ideals are, it's all in vain.

His request was reasonable, and Kaganovich did not refuse. Although some of Makhno's men were not happy about it, they had no choice but to take these things back with them.

Much later, the patrol team discovered the abandoned train, which, along with the naked corpses, bore a message.

"The red and black flag will forever fly over the land of Ukraine."

Chapter 121 The First Meeting

"France rearming its military? Maginot Line? Rearmament? Germany remaining silent?"

Thorne stared in shock at the news in the newspaper. Whose script was this? Was this commune following De San's script? What goes around comes around. Who can escape the wrath of Heaven? I never thought De San would have his day.

"France is re-arming and rebuilding Maginot Line?"

This puzzled Thorne. Why spend so much money repairing the Maginot Line when they've already announced rearmament? Wouldn't it be better to use billions of francs to build more armored divisions?

He thought of the Third German Empire, which began a massive military expansion and a frenzied increase in troops after abolishing the Treaty of Versailles. Shouldn't the French Commune follow suit?

The French Commune should not have announced its national policy of advancing into the demilitarized zone, claiming Alsace-Lorraine, retaking the Nordal-Calais region, and then reverting to a lost victory, a blood-for-blood exchange, Alsace-Lorraine or war? What was the point of doing this?

There are still some things Thorne can't understand. In that timeline, Germany expanded its army by a million soldiers, partly because of the high unemployment rate. Many people couldn't find jobs, so they had no choice but to join the army. In this timeline, the French Commune didn't have an economic crisis. How could a socialist country like France, which had a planned economy, have an economic crisis?

All these actions reveal a strange sense of unease. What exactly is the French Commune trying to do? The only thing that is certain now is that the French Commune is preparing to go to war with the German Empire.

However, if France wants to start a war, it must be quick and decisive. This is common sense. The longer it drags on, the more disadvantageous it will be for them. This is common sense. Does France in this life also like to stay in the trenches?

Something's not right, something's very wrong. There's more information from Thorne. Although Germany hasn't made a statement, it doesn't mean they haven't taken action.

News also came from the Rhine royal family that Wilhelm II had invited some prominent figures from within the German sphere of influence to Berlin, and the kingdom had also received information that a defensive line would be built on the border of the Kingdom of the Rhine, with funding from the central government.

Germany's actions were quite reasonable. The longer the war went on, the more advantageous it would be for Germany. Therefore, a protracted war was what they wanted to see. If Germany knew this, then France should know it even more. Why would France spend huge sums of money to engage in an "arms race" with Germany on the border?

"unless......"

Thorne's mind suddenly lit up. Unless this was a deliberate act by France, in the previous life, Germany took a risky path in order to quickly defeat France. That was also the highlight of Manstein and Guderian's time: breaking through the Ardennes Forest, encircling the Anglo-French forces, and launching a strong attack on Paris.

If Mayer hadn't forced a halt to the offensive, the hundreds of thousands of Allied troops at Dunkirk would likely have been wiped out, and history might have been rewritten.

That's what Germany thought back then, so will France think the same way in this era? If you don't have enough strength, you can only resort to unconventional methods and unexpected victories.

France may also want to emulate the Schlieffen Plan, but that's something Germany has already done. If they were to implement it, Germany would see through it immediately and easily counter it. If that doesn't work, France will most likely want to launch a raid on the Ardennes Forest.

When hundreds of thousands of German troops were stationed on the Franco-German border, an armored division suddenly appeared, first forcing Flanders to surrender in a dozen days, and then launching a blitzkrieg against Berlin? Germany has three kingdoms on its own soil, unlike France. A blitzkrieg against Berlin might not force Germany to surrender immediately, but it probably wouldn't hold out for much longer than France in that era.

The Maginot Line was most likely a smokescreen. France's armored capabilities were not weak, and after studying mobile warfare for so long, it's unlikely they would resort to trench warfare later on.

If that's the case, Thorne had an idea. Germany also needs to build a defensive line, on the Rhineland. And this old Wilhelm even offered to provide funds. Well then, he shouldn't be polite. He'd better take advantage of this old emperor.

It is estimated that neither Germany nor France would have imagined that an undercover agent had infiltrated the eastern enemy that France faced directly, the western shield of the German Empire.

"France, I've already sided with the Communists, you really don't need to work so hard."