Germany is located in central Europe, bordering the Soviet Union in the east and Britain and France in the west. These three countries are "obstacles" that Germany must encounter before it dominates the world, otherwise it will be difficult for Germany to expand abroad. To this end, Germany has formulated a "blitzkrieg" plan, the purpose of which is to avoid fighting on two fronts, make a quick decision and not give the enemy a chance to breathe.
Relying on the blitzkrieg, Germany once successfully got rid of the dilemma of two-line operations in the early days of the war. However, due to the disconnection between the strategic attempt and Germany's comprehensive strength, Hitler finally went to a dead end of two-front operations, which was also an important reason why he finally lost the war.
Hitler's coming to power marked the establishment of the German fascist regime and the formation of the European war source. In order to seize world hegemony, Hitler took Britain, France and other capitalist powers as enemies on the one hand, and hated the socialist Soviet Union on the other. Germany is in danger of becoming a powerful enemy of both sides. How to avoid fighting on two fronts is in a special position in Hitler's overall strategy of foreign expansion.
1937165438+15 October, Hitler held a secret military meeting in Berlin and clearly put forward Germany's foreign expansion plan. First, establish a "Great German Empire" centered on Central Europe; The second is to defeat France and the Soviet Union and seize the hegemony of the European continent; Finally, it is to expand overseas, conquer Britain and America and dominate the world. Hitler's foreign expansion plan can be simply summarized as the expansion plan of "mainland first, ocean later"
Under the slogan of "opposing * * *", Hitler constantly invaded the territory of neighboring countries. Faced with the fascist expansion policy, Britain and France and other countries "drag out an ignoble existence" and pursued the "appeasement policy", hoping to protect themselves by sacrificing the interests of small and medium-sized countries and the Soviet Union.
It was in constant contact with Britain and France that Hitler saw the fear of war of these European powers, and he constantly pushed his luck and acted recklessly. 1March 938, Germany annexed Austria; 1938 In March, the Germans occupied the whole of Czechoslovakia. Poland is surrounded on three sides by Germany, which is in an extremely favorable strategic position in Europe.
According to the expansion plan made in advance, after repeated consideration, Hitler decided to destroy Poland first, and then carve it up step by step, so as to avoid the worries of going west and build the bridgehead of going east to the Soviet Union. At the same time, in order to contain Britain and deter France, Hitler also took active actions in diplomacy.
1939 in may, Germany and Italy signed the treaty of friendship and alliance between Germany and Italy;
1939 In August, Germany and the Soviet Union signed the Soviet-German Non-Aggression Treaty.
"If you want to take it away, you must fix it."
The German-Italian alliance gave Germany strong international solidarity, and the two countries promised to deal with hostile countries on the same front. The signing of the non-aggression treaty between the Soviet Union and Germany prevented Germany from fighting on the east and west lines at the same time, and Germany completely relieved its worries. Hitler immediately attacked and occupied Northern Europe, Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Yugoslavia and Greece. The Germans were invincible and sang all the way, successfully avoiding two-line operations.
However, we must understand that Hitler's expansion plan to avoid fighting on two fronts is based on the use of blitzkrieg to break one by one. Only when the development of the war situation conforms to his preconceptions can he win, and once the war situation is disrupted, it will inevitably bring serious consequences. Later, the development of the war also proved that it was true.
After the British forces were expelled from the European continent, Germany began to aim their guns at the Soviet Union. In order to keep the west calm, Hitler used various means to induce Britain to surrender, which was rejected by the British wartime cabinet headed by Churchill. Angry Hitler decided to "destroy Britain as the base of the war against Germany".
On August 1940 and 1 day, Hitler issued the order 17, and decided to "conduct air and sea operations against Britain", demanding that the German air force seize the air superiority and carry out large-scale air strikes on the British Isles, so as to destroy Britain's military and economic potential and then compromise with Germany, forcing Britain to withdraw from the war. In this way, the British air battle that lasted for nearly a year began.
Facts have proved that the Germans completely underestimated the resistance will of the British soldiers and civilians. "True peace cannot be achieved by shaking hands with Hitler, but Hitler's doctrine must be eliminated first." In the British air battle, the British warriors broke the myth that the Germans were invincible, the German attack on Britain was frustrated, the air battle ended in the British victory, and Hitler's strategic deployment was completely disrupted.
Defeating Britain is only one step of Germany's foreign expansion. Hitler's ambition was to conquer the whole of Europe and even the whole world. Hitler, who was overconfident in the war, formulated the "Barbarossa Plan" to attack the Soviet Union when he launched the British air war. "The German armed forces should be prepared to defeat the Soviet Union with a quick decisive battle even if the war against Britain is not over." Hitler launched a war of aggression against the Soviet Union on June 22nd 194 1. In the past year or so, the Germans who successfully avoided fighting on two fronts finally came to a dead end.
Germany's global expansion strategy forced it to face the top three: Britain, France and the Soviet Union. How to avoid fighting on two fronts is the primary problem that the Germans have to consider. Then, why is Hitler willing to risk being caught between Scylla and Charybdis again after successfully avoiding the two-front battle for more than a year? This is mainly related to Hitler's judgment of the situation at that time and the fragility of German wartime economy.
First, the contradiction between Britain and Germany is irreconcilable. Although the British forces were driven out of the European continent, Britain was always unwilling to bow its head. The English Channel is an obstacle that the Germans can't cross. In the face of the powerful British navy and air force and the tough Churchill, Germany is "invincible without peace." However, the arrogant Hitler believed that although Britain could not capture it, it was already weakened and would not pose much threat to the German army's eastward advance.
Second, with the continuous expansion of the war, the supply of strategic materials such as oil and grain in Germany is increasingly tight, but Hitler naively believes that as long as he defeats and occupies the Soviet Union, the problem of insufficient supply of strategic materials in Germany can be completely solved. "Eliminate Bolshevism, completely occupy a large territory of the Soviet Union, and control strategic resource reserves of great value to Germany's future development, such as Ukrainian granaries and oil in the Caucasus."
Third, Hitler thought that the Soviet Union was vulnerable after the "great cleansing". As long as the Germans are fully prepared for the war and use the blitzkrieg to drive straight, it is entirely possible to completely defeat the Soviet Union. As long as the Soviet Union is defeated, Britain will become a complete loner in Europe. So Hitler thought 194 1 was the "best time" to invade the Soviet Union.
194 1 On June 22nd, 2008, the Soviet-German war broke out. Hitler simply thought that the Soviet Union could be "frightened" in two months and completely "solved" in less than half a year. To Hitler's surprise, the Soviet soldiers and civilians swore to defend the motherland, and the Vietnam War became more and more brave. 194 1 year, 65438+February, the Soviet army began to turn to counterattack, the German blitzkrieg failed, and was forced to go to a dead end of two-front operations.
The outbreak of the Soviet-German war has greatly changed the international situation. The United States and Britain changed their previous appeasement and connivance attitude towards Germany, and at the same time adjusted their policies towards the Soviet Union.
On June 22nd, Churchill gave a speech:
"Hitler's invasion of Russia is only a prelude to the invasion of the British Isles. Britain should give Russia and the Russian people all the assistance it can."
At the same time, American President Roosevelt also expressed "willingness to help the Soviet Union".
194 1 65438+On February 7th, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, and the Pacific War broke out, from which the United States was involved in the war.
Germany not only fell into the dilemma of fighting on two fronts, but also had to confront the powerful United States. The Germans are in a bad war environment. Since the outbreak of the Soviet-German War in June 194 1, the Soviet Union has been asking the United States and Britain to open up a second front as soon as possible to alleviate the strong pressure of the German army on the Soviet Union. However, due to their respective strategic interests, the United States and Britain did not decide to open up a second front until the Tehran meeting at the end of 1943. The successful opening of the second battlefield in Europe accelerated the pace of Germany's demise militarily.
Hitler's success in avoiding the two-line war and his final predicament in the two-line war shows that hegemony without any way will eventually be defeated. Hitler mistakenly believed that his aggressive policy was correct and arrogantly fantasized about conquering the world. This kind of expansion plan, which is seriously divorced from its strength, contains great risks.
Hitler was dizzy and arrogant for a temporary victory, and built his military plan to conquer Europe on the basis of wishful thinking. One false move may lose the game. Arrogance and helplessness will eventually be defeated.
Throughout the process of Germany from weak to strong, from prosperity to decline, the lessons and enlightenment given to us are extremely profound. Germany tried every means to escape from the dilemma of two-line operations, but in the end it could not escape from the "dead knot" of two-line operations, which fully explained the truth that going against the trend and doing nothing in the end and monopolizing the road were finally stopped.
Although the war is far away, the lessons are still there. May world peace last forever.