In order to further put pressure on the Polish government, Reinhardt ordered the construction of an "Eastern Barrier" containing a large number of troops in the second half of 1938. The German army mobilized new troops, including 18 divisions, and marched to Poland and Germany in stages.
Participate in construction work at the border, rotating every two weeks.
In addition, a total of 30,000 Jewish labor reform prisoners were transferred from the original labor camp that was renamed the "Production and Labor Corps" and went to join the construction of the Eastern Barrier.
The mobilization of the Production and Labor Corps caused many factories in Czechoslovakia that were merged by Rhein Company to take over the ammunition production orders that were left behind. As the real boss behind Rhein Company, Reinhardt was lucky enough to make a big noise.
He took the opportunity to make a fortune.
In fact, Reinhard's purpose of building the "Eastern Barrier" really had nothing to do with the literal meaning. It was just a means for Germany to mass troops to the Polish border and exert military pressure on the Polish government.
As for the name Eastern Barrier, it was just a nice name given by Reinhardt to take care of the mood of British Prime Minister Chamberlain who took away the agreement signed by him.
Of course, the fortifications still need to be repaired. The 18 reorganizers who were nominally involved in the construction work will definitely not be used. They just moved to another place for training.
Those who actually participated in the construction work were the 30,000 members of the Production and Labor Corps. The so-called defense line they built was nothing more than a group of fortifications connected by field fortifications.
Looking for an excuse to supervise the progress of these 30,000 workers, the German Armed SS also dispatched two divisions of infantry, led by Army Commander Model, to the east bank of the Oder River in August, and started in September.
Enter the waiting area on the west bank of the Oder River.
Even soldiers like Manstein saw that the German government's intention was to put pressure on Poland, but the Polish political circles imagined that this was a manifestation of Germany's fear of Poland and that it wanted to rely on fortifications to guard against the powerful Polish cavalry.
Sudden attack.
On September 25, Reinhard held an internal meeting in a mountain villa opposite the Obersalzberg, convening all army group and army commanders and their chiefs of staff. The navy and air force responded
Generals of high rank also went together.
During the meeting, Reinhard made no mention of the Eastern Barrier being built, but instead asked the generals to relax about the Western Barrier, the Siegfried Line.
After that, Reinhardt started from the tense situation in the Mediterranean and France's poor internal affairs. Through logical analysis and judgment, he concluded that the leaders of Britain and France were difficult to find the determination to launch a war.
In short, this meeting did not mention the issue of war against Poland from beginning to end. However, it repeatedly hinted that if Germany and Poland went to war, the German army would definitely not encounter the danger of a two-front war.
At the end of the meeting, the commander-in-chief of the newly established Army Group South of the German Army in the direction of Poland, General Lundstedt, who noticed the trick, proposed: Even if the actions of the German troops on the eastern border can be interpreted as the construction of the Eastern Barrier, the German army to the east of Prussia
The deployment of troops cannot be hidden from the Polish side. In addition, the United Kingdom has recently provided Poland with a mutual military assistance treaty, and the German army is likely to face a pincer attack from the east and west after future wars.
Seeing that his hint of war with Poland was pointed out by Lundstedt, the most respected general among the generals, Reinhard also shouted unequivocally: "I am very sure that Britain and France will not interfere, and I can even bet my own underwear!
If Britain and France sent troops to attack Germany during the war with the Polish army, I would take off my underwear and run naked around the center of Berlin!"
With a bang, the entire conference hall seemed to have exploded with gunpowder.
Even Lundstedt, who had always been known for his calmness and poise, was so shocked by Reinhardt's shocking declaration that his face turned red.
I have seen shameless people, but I have never seen such shameless people. All the commanders and chiefs of staff were beating their chests and wondering why their country had such a second-rate head of state. Why was the leader of Germany so abnormal? Look at France. Daladier, the British Chamberlain, who could cause so much trouble?! Don’t heads of countries usually attach great importance to their own image?
Reinhard's previous analysis was quite reasonable and well-founded. Although it was not completely convincing, it also allowed everyone to see the legendary wise prediction ability of the Führer.
But now it's better. When Lieutenant General Lundstedt raised a question, this weird head of state with abnormal brain simply risked running naked to guarantee it. An outsider said that the greatest leader in Germany's modern history came around. Running naked in the center of Berlin is exciting just thinking about it!
In the hall, some mid-level officers who originally admired the head of state fell into disrepute, and many of them collapsed on the spot. This was the man who boldly planned Operation Rainbow, led the Ruhr counterattack forcefully, and miraculously completed three national mergers. The head of state? Just him, this streaking madman?!
In fact, if Reinhard was furious like Hitler in history and refuted Lundstedt's views, he would be able to achieve his goal of sending troops to Poland. However, that would inevitably cause bad blood between him and the generals.
Choosing such an approach may be a bit embarrassing, but it will not make the relationship stalemate.
Now he can rely on the footsteps of history to judge, but in the future he will not have to rely on these famous German generals under his command.
Of course, it wasn't all because Reinhard was selfless and sacrificed himself for others. He was really afraid that one day someone in the army would get out of his mind and carry out an assassination operation like that in history. In that case, he wouldn't be the one who got hurt.
Looking at the generals with strange expressions, Reinhard took advantage of the heat and shouted angrily: "If anyone has objections, feel free to raise them boldly. I'm not unreasonable."
Then, the dignified main generals of the Third Reich, including the navy, land and air force, saw him change the subject and instead smiled slyly: "But, if anyone makes this bet with me, then if he loses, he will have to do what I said. Go to Berlin and run naked."
"Of course, for the sake of fairness, if there is one person who opposes me, I will run one lap if I lose. There are ten people who object, and if I lose, I will run ten laps naked. But if I win, the opposing people should also do one lap each. Circle, right?”
"Although I am the head of state, I don't want everyone to be polite to me. If you have any opinions, feel free to mention them. We all bet based on our ability. Also, don't think about saving face for me. I This man wants everything but is shameless. As long as he loses, I will run naked for as many laps as I have to..."
Finally, among a group of embarrassed generals, Manstein, who was the chief of staff of Rundstadt, stepped forward to relieve the siege. This "Führer faction" general staff officer of Army Group South came forward and suggested: "I The head of state, this is not good, no matter who loses, this face... Maybe you should leave a pair of underwear when you run away."
"Okay, listen to Chief of Staff Manstein!" Reinhard agreed readily. Then he looked at the generals with bright eyes and said with a sly smile: "Then, who dares to bet with me?