On the afternoon of September 3, 1942, the sun released its vitality without hesitation, but the Bad Berka Armored School proving ground near Eisenach of the Third Reich had entered a completely different state.
There are sentries all around, and Sd.Kfz.223 wheeled armored vehicles patrolling back and forth from time to time pass through the streets. At major intersections, there are also military police holding MP38s, wearing "dog tags" and focusing on checking special passes. On duty, if someone can lean down from the air and observe carefully, they will also find that temporary machine gun bunkers are deployed at important intersections. The bright MG-42 machine guns shining in the sun can instantly kill all evil intentions. of people torn to pieces.
This posture was so powerful that one could tell at a glance that a big shot was coming to the test site. Originally, Hoffmann did not want to be so laborious, but since he was assassinated by a bomb in the Eagle's Nest base camp and uncovered the conspiracy of the treasonous group, the leaders of the National Socialist Party began to His safety is of particular concern. At Bowman's insistence, relevant security and defense measures were strengthened as never before, and Major Genscher's responsibilities became increasingly important.
Speer, who was in high spirits but looked tired, struggled to get out of the Mercedes-Benz 770 sedan. Starting from midnight two days ago, the Third Reich has fully transferred to the wartime system after general mobilization. All industrial enterprises, especially military industrial enterprises, have begun to transform from "one shift" to "three shifts" in order to coordinate all aspects. relationship, especially to ensure the supply of energy, raw materials and other daily necessities to key enterprises, and to synchronize the train timetable update to adapt to the new economic rhythm. The economic head of state made great efforts and did not work for two days and two nights. After closing his eyes, he could only take a hurried nap in the car. When he was shaken awake by the adjutant, he felt that his head was still dizzy.
After Hoffman launched the wartime system and made it clear that the Ministry of Armaments was under the jurisdiction of all military industries, the management rights of various core arms production were gradually returned to the Ministry of Arms: After the aviation arms reorganization case, the production power of the Air Force Equipment Department was transferred to Ministry of Armament; after the Admiral of the Navy visited the head of state a few days ago, the right to determine the priority of naval equipment production was also transferred. In addition, Speer initially used a bet to force through the tank armament rearmament case. Now the Ministry of Armament has Basically controls the production of various equipment. Without his consent, neither a tank nor an airplane would be produced. As a result, he became the leader of the German economic community. Not only did he transform from an unknown private architect to a hotshot figure in the eyes of various economic tycoons, but his political status also improved rapidly. After Goering's fall, the outside world has Himmler, Goebbels and Speer under the Führer are collectively known as the three giants of the empire. His status in the party has even vaguely overshadowed the veteran Foreign Minister Ribbentrop and the always active Unusual party boss Martin Bowman. The Mercedes-Benz 770 he is currently riding in was given as a gift by Mercedes-Benz to please him. Originally, the other party wanted to give him the top-of-the-line 770K. Considering that it was the car used by the head of state, Speer wisely refused-his limelight It's too much. The head of state may not mind what car he rides in, but he doesn't want to provide others with a reason to attack him.
It feels good to have power, but Speer has a clear understanding of the origin of his rights and status, and he also reciprocates: not only does he fully implement the production tasks assigned by Hoffmann himself, but he also When Hoffman went out to inspect armaments and industrial production, he tried his best to take time to accompany him. After learning that the head of state was going to personally participate in the new tank experiment and finalization technical analysis meeting, he followed despite being exhausted. Although some old-school politicians and conservative military officers secretly called him the "yes man" of the Führer, he was too lazy to care and only smiled contemptuously.
Looking at Speer, whose face was pale and his eyes were bloodshot, Hoffman said with concern: "Your face doesn't look good. Maybe you should take a good rest?"
Speer smiled bitterly and shook his head, and said resolutely: "Since you have handed over the rights of arms production to me, then I must do my best to do this job well, as long as my body can hold on."
"The wartime system is not advancing smoothly?" Hoffman stopped and asked sensitively. He knew that many people were dissatisfied with Speer's control of the entire economy and were resisting openly or covertly. Even Bauman would comment on Speer with jealousy from time to time, but this was a figure he personally selected and has been proven by history. It is also the authority of the head of state, and Hoffman will never allow any slander or wavering.
"There is a small difficulty, but I believe it can be overcome." Speer glanced at everyone, not only seeing Marshal Keitel and others from the Supreme Command, but also Dr. Ferdinand Porsche, founder of Porsche Company, and Heinrich Henry who attended the meeting. Scheer factory representative Dr. Kurt Arnold and others, he smiled, nodded to them, and tried to answer in a calm tone.
"The wartime system must be strictly promoted. Anyone who interferes with or undermines the wartime system, no matter who he is, no matter what status he holds, or what position he held before, you can ask Comrade Himmler to cooperate in dealing with it. If he is not capable of handling it, , please report it directly to me." Hoffman has said this several times in private, and now he is bringing it up again in order to save Speer's face in front of these industrial tycoons and senior military officers.
Everyone was shocked. The head of state's words were not unreasonable. Everyone was well-informed: Hjalmar Schacht, who used to be the Minister of Economy and is now the Minister of Cabinet, has inextricably linked to the industry. (Hjalmar Schacht) had been arrested a few days ago on charges of treason. It was the head of state who issued the order. Himmler and Speer played a role in fueling the process. The obvious reason was because of the Nazis. Hirth secretly and openly gathered some industrialists to boycott the general mobilization and oppose the Ministry of Armament's control of military industrial production. In fact, this was because Schacht provided funds to the conspiracy group through secret channels. At the same time, the mayor of Leipzig, Dr. Gerdler, was also arrested. . Walther Funk, who served as Minister of Economics, had a good relationship with Schacht and was sympathetic to him, tried to plead with the Führer through Goebbels, but was repeatedly scolded by the latter as "confused" and never dared to do so again. Say more.
"Thank you very much for the support of the head of state." After the two of them finished singing and performing the double act, a large group of people finally poured into the conference room.
The person who presided over the technical verification meeting of the new tank vehicle was the Sixth Division of the Weapons Testing Department of the Army Weapons Bureau. There were two people in charge of the introduction, one was the technical officer Colonel Thomale, and the other was Dresden Industrial Professor Eberan from the university, these two people were also the main technical persons in charge when the Tiger tank prototype went to Wolf's Lair for its first demonstration on April 20.
"Colonel Tomale, Professor Aboian, I remember you..." Hoffman shook hands with the two of them enthusiastically, "I have read the report you submitted. It is a very valuable report."
"My head of state." Colonel Tomale didn't expect that the head of state would still remember him, and he was suddenly excited and at a loss. However, the silver-haired Professor Aiboan had seen the world and was in a very peaceful mood. UU Reading www.uukansｈhu. com After hearing Hoffman's evaluation, the pupils behind his small round eyes flickered, "Dear Head of State, thank you very much for your affirmation of our report, but what I am curious about is, did you read all of that boring report?" Have you read it carefully?"
"I..." Hoffmann looked puzzled. Indeed, as the professor said, this report was a bit long and boring. However, because of the clear comparison and comments on the products of Porsche and Henschel, he was impressed by this. It's very profound, and I'm sure I've finished reading it. It's precisely because he has different opinions and requirements on the development of the Tiger tank, otherwise he wouldn't ask for another technical verification meeting. But what does the professor's words imply?
The technocrat Colonel Tomale did not expect that Professor Aboian would embarrass the head of state at this moment. His old face turned red and he was sweating profusely. It was obvious that he wanted to stop the professor next to him from talking, but the latter obviously did not want to. Moved, he continued: "Dear Head of State, I don't mean to offend you. I just heard rumors that the Ministry of Arms seems to be interested in ordering 100 test vehicles from Porsche Company as a priority?"
Upon hearing this, Hoffman's face turned red, and Dr. Porsche's face behind him was also very ugly. Now Hoffman knew the crux of the problem: because Dr. Porsche had a close relationship with Hitler, and because of his personal As the chief expert of the German Tank Development Committee and the chief adviser to the Führer on tank issues, he is very influential in the upper echelons. Not only does the doctor plan to produce 100 tank chassis on his own before finalizing, but he also bypasses the Ordnance Bureau and directly uses the name of Porsche Company. A contract was given to the Krupp factory to produce 100 upper bodies and turrets. The intention was clear. It was believed that this contract would fall into the hands of Porsche, and Hitler had approved it without hesitation after receiving a call from Dr. Porsche.
The atmosphere at the scene gradually became awkward.