Germany: The Thousand Year Empire

After setting the tone regarding the exiled governments of Britain, France, and Portugal, Jörg's words suddenly turned toward Soviet Russia.

"Now, at last, we can gather together for warmth."

His voice echoed through the hall.

"With the scorching sun of the Mediterranean, with the iron will of Germany, we shall face the cold wind of Siberia with all our strength."

"We shall face that bloodthirsty Red Bear."

As his opening remarks came to an end, thunderous applause erupted throughout the hall.

The prearranged European Union flag slowly descended from above under the glow of the spotlights.

Under the combined effect of light, shadow, and ceremony, Jörg seemed like Odin himself, standing above Europe with divine authority in his hand.

"Next, we shall begin the vote to elect the members of the European Union Council."

Jörg handed the microphone to the Secretary General, then returned to the main seat.

After a brief vote, the result was naturally self evident.

The two remaining council seats were taken by France and Belgium.

The King of Belgium wore a dignified smile.

Pétain, however, felt both joy and sorrow.

The joy was that France had actually obtained the status of a victorious nation.

It could participate in the military supervision of Britain and even occupy one of the five major seats on the European Union Council.

The sorrow was that Pétain understood this was already the best outcome France could obtain.

Those occupied territories, those coastlines, those ports and shipyards, that lost dignity.

Perhaps they would never be recovered.

The meeting continued.

In addition to formally finalizing the list of European Union member states, the meeting also issued two economic resolutions.

The first approved the German mark as Europe's circulating settlement currency.

The second reduced tariffs among member states.

Both resolutions had been personally reviewed by Jörg.

Originally, their intent had been to completely eliminate trade barriers.

However, Jörg believed that implementing zero tariffs too early would trigger large scale chaos and resistance from various governments.

One could not swallow a fat man in a single bite.

Gradual progress was the true meaning of implementation.

As for matters concerning passports and visa free travel, only a draft was proposed for the time being, since the relevant systems had not yet been formally established.

Among all the bills, the most comprehensive was the Aid Finland Bill.

It detailed transportation, weapons, and personnel arrangements, and clearly stipulated that if Finland was invaded by Soviet Russia, the European Union would have the right to intervene directly.

Berlin Industrial Zone.

A group of workers gathered around a radio, each expressing his opinion.

"If you ask me, we should simply annex all of Europe."

A worker raised his voice.

"Why bother forming a union and keeping so many country names?"

"Just call everything Germany and name them by province. Would that not sound much better?"

A middle aged man with a short beard took small sips from a glass of beer that was less than half full.

The other patrons immediately echoed him.

"Exactly."

Only a young man in work clothes smiled and retorted.

"Eri, annexation is easy to say, but how could it possibly be that simple?"

"If Germany were the one being annexed, would you want your country to become France or Italy?"

"A familiar yet completely foreign name?"

Eri immediately retorted, "How could that happen?"

"If it really came to that, I would fight those people to the end."

"Yes."

The young man nodded.

"Even you think that way. Would people from other countries not think the same?"

"Annexing everything in one breath would only give us territory on the surface."

"How would we solve national issues?"

"How would we solve resistance?"

The young man's words drew glances from several middle aged men.

"And I think our current territory is already enormous."

"We have Poland."

"We have Austria."

"We have France's vast coastline."

"Our footprints are already spread across Europe."

"One step farther, and it will be the whole world."

Those words stirred Eri's emotions.

Back then, he and all of Germany had still been immersed in the shadow of the Treaty of Versailles, living with fear, humiliation, and uncertainty.

Yet only another decade had passed.

The Treaty of Versailles had been declared illegal.

Germany had reclaimed all territories lost after the Great War.

And now, with nothing more than a German passport, a person could be treated as an honored guest throughout Europe.

Their mark could already compete with the United States dollar for the throne of the world's number one currency.

Aside from the current slight shortage in food supply, Germany seemed almost perfect.

Most importantly, their leader was uniting Europe and leading Germany forward alongside the world.

"Master of Theory."

A bald middle aged man spoke contemptuously.

"Can you tell us when the beer supply will return to a full glass instead of half?"

"Soon, sir."

The young man smiled.

"Britain's naval blockade has ended."

"Food is no longer the greatest problem."

United States.

Nance Garner sat at his desk, listening to a report from the Army.

"Mr. President, the 1st Army Group is already on standby in Texas and Arizona."

"We plan to adopt Germany's blitzkrieg tactics."

"First, we will bomb several major transportation hubs in Mexico."

"The Navy will attack from the Tamiahua area of Mexico, creating naval conditions for a landing operation and directly capturing Mexico City."

As a judge, Garner was not particularly interested in military affairs.

He nodded and said to the Secretary of War, "Proceed with this plan."

The Secretary of War stood and prepared to leave.

But then, as if remembering something, he respectfully said, "Mr. President, there is another situation that deserves our attention."

"After Britain's surrender, the remaining resistance forces landed on Saint Pierre and Miquelon yesterday."

This news made Garner frown.

Saint Pierre and Miquelon had originally belonged to France.

After France's surrender, Saint Pierre and Miquelon had not declared allegiance.

It had sided neither with Vichy France nor with Free France.

This had given certain naval officers an opportunity.

After all, the location of Saint Pierre and Miquelon was too important.

It was one of the few naval bridgeheads in the region.

If this naval bridgehead could be captured and troops stationed there, America's national defense security would rise to a new level.

During Roosevelt's lifetime, he had planned to orchestrate a vote.

First, allow the island's residents to vote and obtain legal recognition.

Then, send troops to directly control this French island.

If Free France was dissatisfied, diplomatic wrangling could follow afterward.

But the assassination had changed everything.

The plan remained on paper and had never been implemented.

It had been extinguished together with the Red Plan targeting Canada.

Now, the British landing made Garner remember this island again.

"Is there a way to take it back?" Garner asked.

"Yes."

The Secretary of War gave a cautious answer.

"If we send troops directly, there is a high chance Britain will back down."

"But at present, the War Department is preparing for the Mexico offensive."

"If the British and French resistance forces refuse to compromise, we may face the dilemma of fighting on two fronts."

He paused slightly.

"Also, because Britain and Japan are allies, if we come into conflict with Britain, our East Asian front is highly likely to face a joint attack from Australia and Japan."

"And if Germany intervenes at that opportunity…"

The Secretary of War did not finish the sentence.

But his meaning was clear.

Nance Garner thought for a moment, then replied, "Then put it aside for now."

"Win the Mexican campaign as quickly as possible."

"From this moment on, begin planning the capture of Saint Pierre and Miquelon."

He tapped the desk lightly.

"Oh, and restart the Red Plan."

"Britain coming to Canada means it has changed from Germany's neighbor to our neighbor."

"It is no longer Germany's threat."

"It is ours."

Garner's gaze became cold.

"The burning of the White House must never happen again."

....

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