Chapter XV
In which a new character is introduced.
July 16th, 1939. Munich. The home of Hans Grübermann.
- ...and after twelve days of fighting, Copenhagen, capital of Denmark surrendered. King Christian X fled the country along with the cabinet, and General Schmidt declared martial law. - Hans turned off the radio, thus missing the rest of the broadcast about Swedish troops commencing a drill in Malmö, and the Foreign Ministry's concerns about the possible consequences in the two nations' relations.
Top left: Christian X, King of Denmark; top right: a Brigadier General of the Wehrmacht rolls into Copenhagen after the siege is over; bottom: Major General Rudolf Schmidt, commander of the 1. Panzer-Division arrives in Copenhagen.
- That's
wonderfull news! Then Wilhelm can return home soon! He will surely have
so many exciting stories to tell!
- And they hopefully won't be too bloody either, with him working at the staff of his Division now - said Joachim. He was visiting Hans in Munich for the weekend. Hans wanted to introduce his fiancée: Anna Hoffmann, a young waitress at a café close to Hans' place. They've met at the café about a month ago. The girl tried to cheer up the depressed Hans, and they quickly fell in love. The three were having dinner in Hans' appartment.
- Oh, I would love to meet this Wilhelm fellow! Hans told me so much about him and his adventures in Spain. - Anna was very easy to get excited. A charming attribute for such a nice young lady. - And your other friend, Martin, too! It's such a shame he couldn't have come with you, Joachim! We had such a lovely weekend!
- Indeed. Well, I'm afraid I won't be able to visit you again until next month though. Work is pileing up and I doubt I could get even one day off except for the weekend. We are still at war after all.
- True, but surely not for
long! The British and French can't even
hope to breach our defences on the border. There's
hardly any reason for them to continue the hostilities.
Unless they manage to make an invasion from the
sea, that is.
- You know, I'm not that much of a military strategist, but even with their enormous navy, the British couldn't really stage an invasion of Germany. With Copenhagen fallen, the Baltic Sea is out of the question for an invasion. The only place they could attempt a landing is in Denmark, or Northern Germany. We surely have enough forces to defend those beaches, don't we? Not to mention that the ships we are building at the
Deutsche Werke will be ready in about four month, and then the Kriegsmarine will finally have the chance strike back!
- You are
right of course. Anyway, back to Wilhelm. What's the quickest way to
reach him? Can you
call a soldier on the front?...
*** *** *** *** ***
July 18th, 1939. Munich, Hans' place.
- Hallo? It's Hans Grübermann.
- Hans? It's Wilhelm! I'm on leave for three days. I'm visiting my family in Munich, and I thought I could drop by at your place.
- Oh, it's
wonderful! I wanted to
ask you anyway, but it is pretty much
impossible to reach someone in the army!
- As it should be. I'll arrive tomorrow, at 18:00. You can expect me at 18:30 at your home if that's fine with you.
- That would be
great! I have to
introduce you to someone! We will cook supper, by the time you arrive!
- That sounds fine. What about the others? Do you think it would be possible inviting them, too?
- Well, not really... Martin and Joachim live in
Berlin and both have to work, so they won't have
time for a trip here.
- And Erhard? - Wilhelm didn't hear about Erhard's incident yet.
- Ohm... - Hans paused for a while. - We hadn't really
hear about him in a month now...
- That's not like him at all. Any idea what happened?
- He was taken away by some
state policemen!
- That's exactly like him...
-
What do you mean?!
- We'll discuss this when I get there. See you tomorrow! - Wilhelm hung up the telephone. This really wasn't something you discuss over the phone.
*** *** *** *** ***
July 18th, 1939. Munich, the Grübermann Residence.
- Anna, this is
Captain Wilhelm von Walsrode. Wilhelm, this is my
fiancée, Anna Hoffmann.
- It's my pleasure to meet such a beautiful young lady! Your fiancé definitely does have a very good taste! - said Wilhelm while kissing the hand of Anna, who blushed completely.
- Oh, my!... - said Anna, covering his mouth with his hands.
- Please, Wilhelm, would you mind not
seducing my bride to be? Women can't
resist a tall man in a
uniform, and on top of that, you need to be
unbearably charming as well...
- Oh, don't be such a stupid boy, Hans! You know how much I love you! - Anna was trying to placate Hans. The man always became aggrieved very easily.
- You don't need to worry, my friend. The Wehrmacht is my life, having a women needing my attention would be too much of a burden. Not to mention the worry I would bound to cause to my hypothetical wife when I go to war. If all army men were to be bachelors, this would be a better World.
They were talking in Hans' living room, and at that point, the telephone in the hall started to ring.
-
Excuse me for a moment! - said Hans and he went out to the hall to pick up the phone. - Yes? Hans Grübermann speaking... Yes. Yes, he is here. A moment, please! - he put down the phone and went back to the living room - Wilhelm! It's for
you.
- Who is it? - Wilhelm was surprised.
- He said he is from your
unit. He said it is
urgent.
- Alright. - Wilhelm went out to the hall and picked up the phone. - Yes?... Ah, Otto! How may I help you?... What? Why? - there was a long pause here - You mean... - another long pause - I understand. I'm on my way! - he put down the telephone and went back to the couple.
- You will both have to excuse me. It was a pleasure meeting you, ma'am, but I have to go now. My leave has just been revoked.
- So soon? But you just arrived! - Anna liked Wilhelm already and she wanted to get to know him better - I was hoping that you would stay for a few days at least!
- I'm terribly sorry, ma'am, but duty calls. I am to return to Kiel immediately. You might consider turning on the radio for the evening news. Good night!
Later that evening Hans and Anna learned from the radio that the German Reich declared war on Sweden after the Scandinavian country failed to cease the military drills in Malmö.
*** *** *** *** ***
July 20th, 1939. Berlin. Herr Schulz's office in the
Deutsche Werke.
- Good day, Herr Strauss! I asked you here because of a new contract we just accepted. - Herr Schulz, Joachim's direct superior was head of the Resources Department, responsible for the purchase of all needed material for the projects of the company. - As you might know from the news, there was a major naval engagement between the Swedish Navy and the Kriegsmarine, resulting in two Cruisers being heavily damaged. We aquired the contract to repair these ships in our Köngsberg subdivision. I'll send you there to oversee the purchase of the required material.
Naval battle between the Kriegsmarine and the Swedish Navy.
- Yes, Sir.
- The whole business shouldn't last longer than a few weeks, or maybe a month. Don't mess this up, Strauss! I was told that if we perform well in this assignment, we might get the contract for the five new Münich-class Cruisers, scheduled to be launched in September! With the Carriers commissioned in November, that new contract would provide our living for another year!
- That would be wonderful, Sir. - Herr Schulz was of the easily excitable kind, like Anna, Hans' fiancée. Joachim started to wonder if they could have any relation.
- By the way, any news about your friend, Erhard? He's such a bright young lad, we could use his talent for the Cruisers. He has some kind of gift to calculate trajectories! I could arrange for a transfer for him to the development department. It's such a shame he's on vacation for so long! Or is he ill? I can't remember... - Joachim hesitated for a moment. He didn't really know what to say...
- I'm sorry, Sir, but I'm afraid, Erhard won't come back to the
Deutsche Werke. He was hired by the
Rheinmetall. They offered him a significantly higher salary. - It's not nice to lie to your boss, but it was the easiest way out.
- Oh, such a shame. Anyway, I may have good news for you, too! When the Carriers will be commissioned, they will need a team of specialists to keep them in tip-top shape. This team would need engineers, hull melding workers and such, but it will also need clerks repsonsible for the materials used in maintenance or repairs. Well, your name has come up. Unless you have a better offer from the
Rheinmetall as well...
- No, Sir, definitely not! - The words of Martin echoed in Joachim's mind... - I would gladly accept such an opportunity!
*** *** *** *** ***
July 22th, 1939. Berlin. The Ministry of Propaganda and Enlightment. Martin was sitting at his desk, and reading the most recent reports from Sweden. Resistance in the North was similar to the one in Poland: minimal, even where there was any. Karlshamn to the west of the port of Karlskrona was captured within a day, and so was Malmö. The drilling military unit already left the city by the time the 1. and 2. Panzer-Divisions arrived, Malmö was captured without a fight. The first actual land battle between the two armies took place in Karlskrona on July 21th, and it proved that the Swedish Army was completely and utterly unprepared for the German offensive. The battle only lasted a day, and capturing that port provided a much needed supply route for the invading forces.
Progress made by the Wehrmacht during the first days of the Swedish Campaign.
Different troops of the Swedish Army on a military drill in January, 1939. Top and bottom left: Swedish ski-troops, specialized in mountain warfare with their winter-equipment; top right: the Stridsvagn m/37 Light Tank of the Swedish Army, which didn't get past prototype stage and never used on the battlefield; bottom right: a Bofors 37 mm Anti-Tank Gun, developed in Sweden and sold to many nations in Europe, but never put to any use in Sweden against Germany.
The Swedish Air Force was also no match for the Luftwaffe. Unlike the offensive in Poland, this time the German Fighters were providing cover for the advancing units, so the (completely outdated) Fiat B.R. bombers used by them were no threat to the Wehrmacht. And neither were their Hawkers Hart fighter aircraft. The Seversky J-9 fighters never made it past the prototype stage, so they couldn't contribute to the war.
Top left: the outdated Fiat B.R., the backbone of the Swedish bomber forces; top right: the Hawkers Hart, forming most of the Swedish fighter squadrons; bottom left: the Junkers Ju 86, purchased from the German Junkers company in small quantities; bottom right: the most modern Swedish fighter aircraft, the Seversky J-9, which didn't saw any combat during the war.
The only real opponent was the Swedish Navy. Having such a long coast, Sweden built its defensive strategy around maintaining a (relatively) strong navy, defending from invasions. Which turned out to be a logical approach, as the German invasion was comming mainly from the sea. The Swedish 1st Squadron made two attempts at fending off the German invaders while still at sea, and they were defeated twice. Their second attempt costed the Kriegsmarine the 4. Zerstörergeschwader flotille, but all the planned invasion forces were already on Swedish soil, so the Nordseeflotte could return to port for repairs.
Center: the HMS Sverige, flagship of the Swedish Navy; top left: Swedish sailors prepare to engage enemy aircraft; top right: the HMS Gotland, a Gotland-class cruiser of the Swedish Navy.
"It's all nice and well, but how will I write a patriotic article about all this?..." - tought Martin to himself. He was disturbed in his musings by the telephone.
- Yes?
- Hi, it's Joachim!
- I'm afraid if this is not related to the war in Sweden and how I will write a patriotic article about them not really putting up a defence to speak of, then I'm not interested, sorry.
- Well, it might not be related to Sweden, but it is to Scandinavia! Finland surrendered!
- Yeah? So what?...
- I told you the Soviets are not suited for conquering the World! They couldn't even handle Finland!
- Really? - Martin counted in his head for a bit - The war lasted twelve days. Defeating your enemy in less than two weeks is not that bad if you ask me...
- Yes, but all they recieved was a stripe of land a few kilometers wide with no real value. Hardly impressive.
The resulting peace after the Finnish Summer War.
- Tell that to the men who live there.
- Isn't that your job?
- If they were citizens of the German Reich, it would be.
- Well, at the rate we are going right now, they might be very soon...
- Alright, did you want to say anything actually important, or did you only want to annoy me?
- B, I guess... Alright, I'll let you get back to your work, but only on one condition!
- And what would that be?
- Next weekend you come with me to visit Hans and his lovely fiancée!
- Agreed. Now leave me alone, please.
- Bye!
After putting down the phone, Martin started to wonder about Finland. The lack of resistance on Sweden's side is not a good source of patriotism. Unless it has a patriotic, or at least anti-communist reason! Finland was lucky to get away with, as Joachim put it, a stripe of useless land. But the people living in Viipuri and the surrounding land will have to suffer the tyranic rule of the Bolsheviks! And if Finland was out of the way, who would be next on the list of nations to be wiped from the face of the Earth only to fuel Stalin's vision of worldwide revolution? Sweden, obviously! To prevent that fate, it is the sacred duty of the German Reich to defend the Swedish people from the horror of International Communism! Probably even the Swedish themselves realize that, but they can't openly ally with Germany in fear of an attack from the Western Allies, now at war with the Reich! It is bright as day: the whole war in Sweden is only faked in order to convince the Allies and the Soviets that Sweden is only a victim of circumstances, while in fact they want to be brought under the protective umbrella of the Axis! Brilliant!
Index
And I can rename them later on anyway.
