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Volume 3 Far East Story Chapter 264 Peace between Soviet Russia and Germany

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    In mid-May 1918, the Western Front of the European War reached a stalemate. During the German spring offensive in April, Britain and France, especially the British army, suffered huge casualties. However, Germany failed to achieve its strategic goal, which was to capture Paris in one go. This time Ludendorff  Having learned their lesson, once the Germans moved to the defensive, they fell back to the Hindenburg Line.

    The spring offensive caused nearly half a million casualties to the Entente and Central Powers. As a result, by mid-May, it became a situation where everyone went back to find their own mother. Of course, the main force of the US military was speeding up its transportation to France, with nearly 10,000 soldiers killed every day.  American troops from the American recruit camp arrive at the French front line.

    The strength of the Allied Powers on the Western Front has been restored by the arrival of the US military. However, after just leaving the new barracks and bumping on the sea for a week, the combat effectiveness of the US troops who set foot on French soil for the first time made both Britain and France deeply doubtful.

    airplane?  ,No, borrow the cannon from France?  No, want a tank from France?  No, you have to ask France. Even machine guns and equipment of the US military are far from insufficient. Foch, the commander-in-chief of the British and French forces, does not know whether he is waiting for a savior or a beggar. The US troops on the French front line are not short of anything except rifles.  lack!

    Before the next offensive was launched, it was obvious that the hundreds of thousands of American troops who had arrived in France not only failed to become an effective force, but instead placed a huge burden on logistical support. The Yankees also came to Europe with the air of being a savior to participate in the war, and the French girls near the station were often harassed.  The American soldiers provoked each other, and of course, sometimes they were willing to get what they wanted. The European war that lasted for nearly four years caused countless French families to lose their men.

    At the same time, the difficult question facing the German commander-in-chief Ludendorff was whether to accept the olive branch once again offered by Comrade Ulyanov of Soviet Russia and restart negotiations between Soviet Russia and Germany?  Or sit back and watch the Soviet Russian regime be overthrown by the White Guards and the Sino-Japanese coalition forces?

    The efficiency of the German intelligence system was much higher than that of the Allied Powers. The contents of the Sino-Japanese secret treaty were placed on Ludendorff's desk in early May. Although the German commander did not take the Japanese Army seriously at all, he was concerned about the new situation in the year.  The rising Chinese army had to worry. The machine gun and artillery firepower of one division of the team built by the Chinese king was equivalent to three German divisions. If thirty such Chinese divisions came from the Eastern Front, things would be over.  It¡¯s not easy!

    "My dear Erich, Russia's price is not low this time. Do you think we should give the little man a hand? Although the Bolsheviks' incitement to the workers is very troublesome, as long as they promise not to sell goods to areas outside Russia,  Export their doctrine, I think things can still be discussed!¡±

    Hindenburg, the de facto supreme ruler of Germany and the Third Chief of Army Command and Staff, held a cigar in his mouth and a glass of champagne, and asked his deputy, Erich Ludendorff, the de facto commander-in-chief and deputy chief of staff of the German army, who had been thinking for a long time.

    "The Bolsheviks are a very stubborn group of people. Although Ulyanov is their leader, he cannot cover the sky with one hand. Moreover, the problem now is that the US military reinforcements on the Western Front have exceeded the amount we gave to the British and French armies in the last offensive.  In this case, we turn around and go to the Eastern Front to recruit Ulyanov and his comrades. This is a bit difficult to handle. The lack of troops is a big problem! "

    Ludendorff frowned. The representatives of Soviet Russia had been waiting in Brest for two days. He and Hindenburg were still undecided. The condition set by the Central Committee of Soviet Russia was that Soviet Russia could recognize Finland, Estonia, Latvia and  Lithuania and Poland are independent countries, but they do not accept the independence of Belarus and Ukraine, nor give up the North Caucasus. The price demanded by Soviet Russia is to sign an armistice agreement, receive food and arms assistance from Germany, and at the same time release the Bolshevik prisoners of war in the prison camps.  Let them return to their motherland to join the Red Army!

    "Ulyanov is a very energetic guy. Look, he has a good plan. Of the 2.6 million Russian prisoners of war, they only ask for the repatriation of nearly 800,000 of them who believe in the Bolsheviks. We have to take care of the other 1.8 million prisoners of war for him!"  Denbao grinned and said!

    "Russia still has about 200,000 German prisoners of war. The Russians used 200,000 people to exchange 800,000 Bolshevik prisoners of war, but we suffered a bit!" Ludendorff said with a frown.

    The number of prisoners captured by the German army in previous battles on the Eastern Front was not large, only one-tenth of the number captured by the Russian army. However, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was captured by the Russians, at least about 500,000 people.

    "The issue of prisoners of war is not a big deal. The key is whether we should help Russia, or simply let him fend for himself. Anyway, we can still support the pro-German non-Bolshevik regime!" Hindenburg pointed out the essence of the problem.

    "Kolchak and the others have definitely gone with the Allies. The hatred caused between Russia and Germany during the three and a half years of war cannot be easily resolved. The enemies who fought to the death will soon join hands to fight against each other.  Fighting against former allies is a bit difficult for soldiers. Speaking of which, I really don¡¯t understand what the Chinese and Japanese think about Japan¡¯s invasion of China.After so many years, can we put aside our past grudges and work together in the blink of an eye?  Do yellow people think differently from us?  "

    Ludendorff said thoughtfully that supporting a pro-German Russian regime would not succeed overnight. To put it harshly, in places like Finland, Poland, and Belarus, as soon as the German troops retreat, the so-called *  *The republic and the regime were overthrown by the Soviet Bolsheviks in less than a month. If the Soviet Union could promise not to export their Bolshevism, the smaller regime would still be Germany's first choice.

    "My dear Erich, I think you are making the problem too complicated. Let's put back the 800,000 Bolshevik prisoners of war in exchange for 200,000 German boys, and then ask the Soviet Union to recognize Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and  Poland¡¯s **, as for Belarus and Ukraine, there are German troops stationed now, and the Soviet Union will not dare to overthrow the local self-government for a while, and then it will not be too late!¡±

    Hindenburg obviously felt that if the Soviet Union could recognize the independence of the above-mentioned places, the gains would be great. As for the future, to be honest, it depends on the ebb and flow of everyone's strength in the future, but the most urgent task is to let the Soviet Russian regime  Consolidate it, don't let the Kolchaks push all the way to Moscow where the day lilies will be cold!

    "In this way, as long as the Soviet Union recognizes the independence of Belarus and Ukraine, we agree to sign an armistice agreement and repatriate prisoners of war. We can also return part of the captured Russian weapons to them, provided that the Bolsheviks must withdraw from the above countries and regions and stop exporting them.  ism and revolution, otherwise let¡¯s not talk about it! Paul, what do you think?¡±

    Ludendorff made up his mind to first use Russian prisoners of war to resist the Sino-Japanese coalition forces that were about to advance westward. As for Kolchak, he did not take it to heart. The White Guards in the direction of Kazan only had 200,000 people to die, and 800,000 more were waiting.  Once the Soviet Bolshevik prisoners of war are returned, and the original local Red Army is added, it will be 1 million Red Army fighting 200,000 White Guards. If they cannot win, what is the need for Ulyanov and his comrades to exist?

    "They still want us to support food supplies!" Hindenburg followed. He didn't want to repatriate 800,000 prisoners of war and end up defecting to Kolchak's White Guards on the opposite side because they had nothing to eat!

    "The Soviet government paid for the food. Aren't there a lot of treasures in the Kremlin in Petrograd and Moscow? Tell that Ulyanov to stop hiding it. It's over.  There is no such store in this village. All the gold in the treasury and the valuables in the palace are brought here to exchange for food! Of course, we will give them the worst food from Ukraine and Belarus!¡±

    Ludendorff gritted his teeth and said that the American troops on the Western Front were like a huge stone oppressing his heart. For a moment, he felt pale and powerless. No matter how good Germany and Austria were, they would still suffer in terms of resources and resources when fighting against the United States, Britain and France.  Manpower was insufficient. As for the Sino-Japanese allied forces in the east, Ludendorff remained wary of the Chinese troops, but his inner calculation was that with such a vast land in Russia, hundreds of thousands of Chinese troops would have to rush through the Ural Pass.  , and how much space can it occupy?  How to ensure the logistics of an expedition thousands of miles away?
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