Chapter 2410： Finnish people

This time President Carl Juho Stalberg went to Germany mainly to discuss military issues, but unfortunately, the president himself did not understand military affairs. Therefore, he had to take a military person with him. The military adviser also left a strong mark in history. This is the only Finnish marshal in history! Karl Gustav Mannerheim, known as the Marshal of Finland! In the subsequent Soviet-Finnish war, he was responsible for commanding the entire Finnish army to fight!

Mannerheim can definitely be regarded as a professional soldier. This buddy once served in the Tsarist Cavalry Regiment, participated in the Russo-Japanese War and was promoted to colonel because of his outstanding performance. Then he was promoted to lieutenant general in the war. After the collapse, the lieutenant general returned to Finland because of his dissatisfaction. After returning to Finland, he was still responsible for military work. And now, in the whole of Finland, there is no more suitable person as a military adviser than him!

Before going to Germany, Starberg decided to have a long talk with his defense minister and military adviser, Lieutenant General Mannerheim. They must figure out what they need and what the Germans can give.

"According to our previous exchanges with Germany, Germany is still relatively friendly to us. They regard us as an ally that can contain Russia, and they expressed their willingness to provide us with various equipment, many of which can be sent for nothing. Described, we only need to pay proper maintenance and freight to obtain German army equipment that can arm at least 4 divisions." President Stahlberg said.

"Your Excellency, I am not as optimistic as you think. I have seen the first batch of equipment lists given to us by the Germans. Most of them are light weapons and some outdated artillery. The number of machine guns and new artillery is completely insufficient. Although these things are much stronger than the Russian goods in our hands, the long-range cannons, tanks and aircraft we need most are provided very few. Especially for aircraft, the Germans are currently unwilling to provide us with aircraft engines with more than 400 horsepower. "Mannerheim said.

It stands to reason that after the war, a large number of surplus weapons became a burden for a country instead of wealth. After the war ended in history, a considerable number of countries had mad weapons. For example, after the end of the First World War in history, the French government provided hundreds of 75MM rapid-fire guns to the newly born Poland.

But the situation on this plane is different, because the war in Europe is over and the war in the Pacific is about to ignite! The large amount of surplus materials in Germany are very useful. Go back and put some oil, paint, pack them and sell them directly to the Americans! This is not surprising. Historically, Americans used French weapons to fight in Europe. The American industry in this era is not as defying as World War II. Without national mobilization, it is really difficult for Americans to gather so many equipment and weapons in a short time!

For example, tanks, the Germans have produced relatively mature wolf tanks. However, before Sherman came out, the U.S. tank design was a tragedy. After comparing its own blueprint tanks with German finished tanks, the U.S. military decisively rejected almost all tank bids and decided to buy German tanks directly. Buy a Bavarian wolf tank, not a Prussian tank...

As for aircraft engines? Well, although the later generations of Pratt & Whitney Double Wasps dominate the world, American aero engines in this time period are really not good, so Americans who are eager to expand their military have also purchased a large number of German aircraft and engines! Many German planes even painted American paint at the airport and then shipped directly to the United States!

And in this way, if you plan out the tanks and aircraft that the Americans bought and reserved, and the German army itself, there is not much left. As for the remaining weapons, the Germans are preparing to seal them up or sell them to other countries. Naturally it is impossible to give it to Finland directly.

"Although these equipment are very old, they are still a bit more advanced than our enemies. We can make do with it first. After all, we are facing Russians with low combat effectiveness, not German troops armed to the teeth. And the Russian Civil War has not yet occurred. It's over, even if one side wins, they will not be able to ease it in ten years. We don't have to worry that the war will come soon." Starberg said.

"Of course the war will not come soon. Within ten years, or even fifteen years, the two sides will be peaceful. But what about the future? Twenty years later, or even further? I personally feel that in your tactful rejection After forming a military alliance with Germany, the help the Germans gave us can be described as coping. They symbolically leaked a little bit from our teeth. They are not willing to share military technology and new equipment with us." Mannerheim said.

"We can't easily join any military alliance. We are different from Germany and Russia. They can gain benefits through war, but we can't. You have been on the battlefield in person and know how terrifying a war between major powers is! A big battle will lose hundreds of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of troops! How many people are there in Finland? There are less than 4 million in totalWe really can’t stand such a huge casualty, once we tie up On the tank of a certain country, then no matter what the final outcome of the war is, these losses are beyond our ability to bear." Starberg said.

"So, you want military help and security guarantee from Germany, but you don't want to fulfill your obligations?" Mannerheim said.

"Yes, I am the President of Finland. I must consider these issues from the standpoint of Finland. For us, the best result is to avoid any war. If we rely on Germany as our back, we can use our friendly relations with Germany. Intimidating the Russians so that they dare not act rashly, then naturally is the best result. But if Germany takes the initiative to fight Russia, we at most choose the tendentious neutrality, we can provide some help to Germany, but absolutely does not include direct roll Into the war!" Starberg said.

"It's difficult to do this. If I were a German, then I could sell some advanced weapons to Finland at most, but I would never provide them for free, let alone make military guarantees. The Germans believe in pragmatism, they Rejecting any nominal alliance, they will help allies, but for those who plan to fish in troubled waters, they will never show off. For example, Italy, after Italy chose to act on Turkey, Germany and Austria have actually taken Italy Excluded from the alliance system. In the second half of the war, Italy once proposed to join the alliance and fight Britain and France, but was flatly rejected by the German government." Mannerheim said.

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