Iron Cross

ps: Already modified.

Sarajolu knows more than the general public: With the German army's successive victories in the Middle East battlefield, the German control area has directly bordered Turkey. After the German army controlled Cyprus, German planes taking off from the island could recklessly conduct aerial reconnaissance of Turkey. Whenever the Turks could not help but protest, the other side always smiled and said that the plane was lost and promised not to make the same mistake again - that is, before the next time the Turks found it.

In theory, the Turkish Defense Forces should be very wary of the Germans, but on the contrary, due to the many wars with Russia in history, since the Young Turks came to power in the Ottoman Turkish period, Germany and Turkey have carried out large-scale exchanges and cooperation, and the relationship between the two armies is very good. Now Turkey's largest warship, the Yavoz, is the Goeben battlecruiser presented by Germany to Turkey during World War I.

Therefore, when Keitel specifically stated that he was communicating with the Turkish military and explained the incident of the military plane getting lost, Sarajolu knew that trouble was coming. It would be better not to let the Ministry of Foreign Affairs protest. Anyway, what would happen if the Germans really crossed the border? Dare to shoot down German planes? Speaking of it, Switzerland is the only neutral country in Europe that dares to shoot down German planes because they have Bf-109. However, after the Germans put Fw-190A and Bf-219 into patrol together and erected K-5 railway guns on the border, the Swiss could only swallow their anger. Not to mention that the Fw-190 and Bf-219 were matched together to eat Bf-109 to death, and the endurance alone was enough to kill Bf-109. On the Swiss issue, Hoffman was more radical than Hitler. He knew that even if the European Union was established, Switzerland would not join. Therefore, he had to let the Swiss know Germany's attitude and make them clearly aware of the strength of the German army. It is not cost-effective to send ground troops to attack Switzerland, where everyone is a soldier. Many people will die. But if he uses airplanes and railway guns, he is sure to turn Switzerland into a ruin. It is not necessary to occupy a country, especially a Western European country, to conquer it. This is the biggest difference between him and Hitler. He does not want the territory and population of Switzerland. As for the Swiss crossing the border to attack Germany, the Swiss would not dare to do it even if they had three guts. This is why after Germany occupied Cyprus, the Turkish top leaders smelled the smell of the coming risk. Germany could attack Turkey unscrupulously from Cyprus, and Turkey had no way to counter it. In terms of air force, it is not Germany's opponent. In terms of navy, Turkey only has the old Goeben. Now, let alone the Mediterranean, the Indian Ocean is the world of the Axis. In terms of army, Germany has armored divisions in the Middle East. In addition, once Turkey crosses the border to fight, the world will be completely in chaos. You know, the Bulgarian troops in the Axis camp are still intact. Bulgarians and Russians are both Slavs and will not take action, but they will not be soft on Turkey. There are also Greeks. They are controlled by the Germans, but they may not have no thoughts about Turkey.

"You mean, they are here to express gratitude and apology?" That night, after listening to Sarajolu's report, President Inonu widened his eyes with an incredible expression.

"Yes, that's right." Sarajolu stated the Germans' reasons: First, Turkey gave convenience to the German fleet when the German fleet passed through the Black Sea Strait last time; second, during the Middle East campaign, Turkey detained British troops that fled to Turkey; third, thank Turkey for deploying 26 divisions on the Turkish-Soviet border, which tied down at least 200,000 Russians...

"This is their gift list."

Looking at the things on the list, Inonu frowned again-the things on the list were not too few, but too many.

Listed on it are: 30,000 rifles; 1,000 light and heavy machine guns; 300 small and medium caliber artillery and mortars; 24 artillery with a caliber of 105mm or above; 60 armored vehicles; 48 Type III tanks; 36 Bf-109 fighters...

All kinds of weapons added up are basically enough to arm two infantry divisions, and they are infantry divisions with heavy firepower.

"This is a hot gift." He put the list gently on the table and couldn't help sighing. President Inonu is not an ordinary person. He is a politician who grew up fighting with Kemal, the founding father of Turkey, and grew up completely from the army. He knows what these equipment mean.

If the Germans simply coerce or bribe or promise, he can pretend to be polite and deal with it skillfully, because the Americans also proposed a gift of 50 million US dollars and a long-term interest-free loan of 500 million US dollars. There is still room for further negotiation and bargaining between the two sides. Even if he wants to join the Axis, he can strive for better conditions.

But now the Germans came up with a large amount of arms, and then said nothing about the subsequent foreign policy and political stance. In addition, Keitel and the senior officers of the army wanted to "reminisce", and things changed completely. After all, he was the president because of his prestige and means for many years, and because he was supported by the army. But if he dared to refuse the goodwill of the Germans, the army would immediately make a fuss and even turn away from him - these arms are more tempting than US dollars. US dollars may not necessarily be exchanged for arms, nor may they be used in the army, but arms have only one place to go.

"What do you think we should do?"

"What should we do?" Sarajolu smiled bitterly, "What can we do? We must accept it, otherwise the army will rebel."

The two men fell silent at the same time. Once this batch of arms is accepted, Turkey's position will be immediately shaken in the eyes of Britain and the United States, enough to cause misjudgment and no explanation, and then the Russians will make targeted mobilizations, which in turn will irritate the nerves of the Turkish army.

In the final analysis, the current military power faction is basically people who have experienced the last war. Turkey was beaten so badly in the last war, and they think about revenge every day. Russia and Turkey have had 12 large-scale wars in history and lost a large amount of territory. They also think about revenge all the time. Only Germany showed goodwill during Turkey's modern reforms. From industry to military, Germans are active everywhere. In the last war, Germans and Turks were comrades in the same trench.

Therefore, it is an unimaginable strategy for Turkey to join the Allied Forces and be in the same camp with Britain, the United States and the Soviet Union. The Americans originally had the fantasy of letting Turkey send 50 divisions to attack Germany, and the United States was willing to pay all the costs. Such a naive proposal was ridiculed by the army as soon as it was opened - the Americans did not know the combat effectiveness of the Germans, so how could the Turkish officers not know?