Chapter 654 The gift of the head of state to the chief
The gift Reinhard prepared for Antonescu is very interesting, that is, Horia Cima, the leader of the Iron Guard who fled to Germany for refuge.
Horia Cima's escape trip was actually hosted by Ross.
The reason why Ross received the leader of the Romanian Iron Guard was largely because of the great resonance between him and Ross.
First of all, the Iron Guard had a lot in common with the Gestapo ideologically, which gave Ross a natural affinity.
To a certain extent, the Iron Guard is like the German Gestapo's relative in Romania. Both sides have the same form, the same belief model, and the same emphasis on ideology.
And the most interesting thing is that Horia Cima is actually a leader with very mediocre abilities. He has basically no merits that can be praised. The only thing that is special is that Horia Cima's thinking is extreme.
Precisely because there were no outstanding figures in the entire Iron Guard, Reinhardt could only place his hope on Antonescu, the only outstanding military commander, to become the future dictator of Romania.
But Ross did not give up. He always believed that Horia Cima was easier to control than Antonescu and that supporting the Iron Guard was more conducive to German interests.
However, Ross was unwilling to oppose Reinhard's will, so he did not refute Reinhard's decision to choose Antonescu. On the other hand, he accepted Horia Cima's escape request and used the Gestapo to
Romanian forces took Horia Cima to Germany.
"My head of state," Ross said incredulously when he heard that Reinhard came to him to hand over Horia Cima. "Perhaps we shouldn't hand Horia Cima over to Antone."
Antonescu. This is a card in our hand that can be used to threaten Antonescu at any time."
Although Rose is average in ability, his loyalty to Reinhard is unquestionable.
The reason why he is making this suggestion now is essentially to consider Reinhard's interests and to make profits for the Führer's empire.
However, Reinhardt could not accept Rose's heartfelt suggestion.
He had a different view, another view that controlled Antonescu.
Reinhard shook his head and sighed: "Threatening Antonescu through Horia Cima is not our best choice."
He took out a pen from his pocket and handed it to Rose with some meaning, and asked as an example: "If this is a conscious pen, now I want to control it and let him use it when writing for me."
"Then, instead of using another pen to compete with him and threaten him." Reinhard paused here, and then continued: "It would be better if we hold the ink needed for the pen in our hands and use it.
To seduce him with profit."
Rose understood the metaphor of Antonescu and Horia Cima as two pens very quickly.
"So, my head of state, you mean that as long as we have enough benefits as 'ink' to lure Antonescu, the effect will be better than threatening him?" Ross looked into Reinhard's eyes.
asked.
"That's it. The 'ink' we want to give to Antonescu is a large area of Soviet land." Reinhard saw that his metaphor was quickly understood, so he smiled and said: "Give Antonescu
This can include the two northern provinces of Romania occupied by the Soviet Union. Recovering lost territory is a great honor for any national leader."
"In addition, we can also give a large amount of Soviet land east of the Dniester River to the Romanians as war dividends. The premise is that they will help us take these lands away from the Soviets."
"If regaining lost territory can redeem Antonescu's previous regrets, then expanding the original territorial scope and opening up more land for the country is an opportunity for Antonescu to win a huge reputation!"
"Then Antonescu has no reason to reject us?" Ross asked excitedly after hearing this.
"That's right!" Reinhard said with a proud smile: "Not only will he not refuse, but he will also work harder to help us capture the city on the southern front. In this way, the Roman army will bear more for us.
casualties and consume more Soviet troops."
I saw Reinhard raising his fingers, extending his index and middle fingers, and making a two sign: "Another point is that occupying the large area east of the Dniester River requires a large number of troops. Such a move
This expenditure on troops is obviously not cost-effective for us."
"Allowing Romania to occupy this land also allows them to use a dozen third-rate divisions staying in the country to help us occupy the Soviet-occupied areas in the rear. Anyway, these Romanian third-rate divisions will not have the slightest effect if they stay in the country. It is better to lure them
Antonescu took out these troops with low combat effectiveness to help us act as an occupying force."
After a series of analyses, even Ross had completely figured out Reinhardt's method of controlling Romania and mobilizing Antonescu. The head of state was obviously more interested in inducement than coercion.
"In this case, what should we, the head of state, do with the leaders of the Iron Guard and the 14 senior leaders who fled to us? Should they be returned to Antonescu?"
"Iron Guard members are not qualified politicians. They only use their power to exercise their power, plunder, revenge, massacre Jews, and do whatever they want." Reinhardt said with disgust: "We don't even want to keep these people.
Useful. Even if I make an assumption that the empire needs a group of people to establish the Romanian puppet regime, it would be better to select a group of politicians from the Romanian political circle who are willing to cooperate than these Iron Guard people."
"Send it to Antonescu, just think of it as a personal gift from us to him." Reinhardt waved his hand and instructed Ross: "Let Antonescu, the 'leader' of Romania,
It's not bad to take a favor from us, after all, we will need him more often in the future."
When Reinhard called Antonescu, he specifically emphasized the word "leader", which was actually a resonance of interest.
In today's Europe, Reinhard, the German leader, calls himself the "Führer" according to his preference, and Mussolini, the previous Italian dictator, likes to call himself the "leader."
Now that Mussolini's life is hanging by a thread, almost no one calls him "leader" anymore. But Spanish dictator Franco still likes to be called "leader" as always.
Antonescu, Romania’s newly minted dictator, also likes to be called “the leader.”
As for Finland's military leader Mannerheim, he most likes to be called "Marshal".
From this point of view, every leading figure within the Allied Powers has his own naming habits. When these leaders joined forces, their various titles made it easier for reporters to distinguish between reports.
For example, the latest report in Romania's official newspaper is "A gift from the head of state to the leader-the top brass of the Iron Guard have escaped."