Chapter 1351: Chapter 975: Rebellion Operation Chapter 1351: Chapter 975: Rebellion Operation The annihilation of the 1.5 million-strong military force placed Russia in a very dire situation. However, it was evident that there was a country in even worse straits than Russia, and that was Germany, forced into a defensive strategic withdrawal.

Compared to the firmly united Germany of the war’s midway point, the current Germany resembled more a chaotic and disordered amalgamation.

The German Chancellor was not omnipotent; he could not make all Germans trust and obey him.

Whether it be the upper echelons of the German military or government officers, or even those retired old fellows, there were elements within that opposed the Chancellor of Germany.

Although the Chancellor had established domestic intelligence organizations for this very reason, repeatedly scrutinizing those retired old fellows and the higher-ups in the military and political sphere.

But things lurking in the shadows cannot be completely eradicated. They would shrink back into darkness when Germany held the upper hand, and just as well, they would emerge to condemn when Germany found itself at a disadvantage.

The most famous official opposing the Chancellor was the retired military high-ranking Ludwig Beck.

This individual also held considerable renown in history, and because of his glorious 40-year military career, he was awarded the rank of Artillery General. (A first-class honorary military rank)
During his military career, Ludwig Beck once served at the very top as the Chief of General Staff of the German army, until he was forcibly removed from his position due to political disagreements with the Chancellor of Germany.

As a result, General Ludwig Beck was highly dissatisfied with the Chancellor’s tyrannical actions, and he also opposed the war against Poland without Germany being fully prepared.

However, the rapid defeat of Poland greatly exceeded Ludwig Beck’s expectations. General Ludwig wasn’t a fool; he decisively gave up his opposition to the Chancellor in public and behaved as an obedient retired senior.

Nevertheless, following the failed defense of Moscow and the Battle of Stalingrad, Ludwig Beck felt that the time had come.

Seizing the moment while Germany hadn’t yet lost its last vestiges of power, while the native land of Germany had not been attacked by the Allied Nations, now was the last chance for Germany to seek peace.

However, at this time, most of the German government and military were made up of war advocates, with the Chancellor being a steadfast and crazy warmonger.

Under these circumstances, to convince the government to surrender to the Allied Nations, it was necessary to find every means possible to pull the Chancellor from his high seat.

Considering the numerous confidants and the fanatical Schutzstaffel cultivated by the Chancellor, to completely overthrow him would require a swift and decisive overturn of the government and his execution.

Executing the Chancellor of Germany–what a mad idea.

Although many among the Junker nobility in the military high command were dissatisfied with the Chancellor, they were clearly unable to confront the core forces cultivated by the Chancellor.

The Chancellor had cultivated a large number of confidants through various means, including the Schutzstaffel, who were loyalty incarnate to only the Chancellor, the German-Italian Air Force controlled by the Chancellor’s confidant Goring, and intelligence organizations established under various guises.

With such an extravagant lineup, not to mention a few military high-ranking officials’ opposition, even if a portion of the military were incited to directly rebel, it’s not certain they could seize Berlin before the Chancellor reacted.

If discovered, the outcome of such a revolt would only have one ending: execution.

General Ludwig Beck was clearly aware of the consequences of failure, but he also knew that his and Germany’s opportunities were dwindling.

To successfully plot a coup and seize control of Germany’s power, it was essential to have several very firm and reliable allies, whose hands must also hold sufficient numbers of the military.

General Ludwig Beck’s first target was Hans Spiedel. Although Hans Spiedel was only a Brigadier, he commanded a rather elite force.

More importantly, Brigadier Hans was a good friend of General Ludwig Beck, so naturally, General Ludwig understood that Brigadier Hans had developed some dissatisfaction with the Prime Minister’s rule.

In fact, before the war began, Brigadier Hans was a nationalist and agreed with the German Chancellor’s actions to expand military preparations.

But clearly, the Chancellor’s actions were not limited to military expansion and annexation of a few small countries; his plan was even to swallow up the whole of Europe.

Offending several of Europe’s major countries all at once appeared somewhat mad to General Hans, especially Germany’s behavior of taking on the entire world alone in the later stages of the war, which led Brigadier Hans to have even more doubts about the German Chancellor.

Just like General Ludwig Beck, Brigadier Hans believed that if Germany could not exit the war soon, the German public would face a catastrophe even worse than that of World War I.

Such thoughts coincided perfectly with General Ludwig Beck’s, which was also the reason the two could come together and become friends.

But a mere Brigadier and the strength of an infantry division were far from enough to overturn the German Chancellor.

To ensure the success of the plan, General Ludwig Beck and Brigadier Hans unanimously decided to act only after gathering more military forces by winning over more military upper echelons.

The good news was that after the failure of the Stalingrad campaign, the Junker nobility had grown increasingly dissatisfied with the German Chancellor who had stubbornly initiated the battle.

Now, gathering a few military high-ranking officials opposed to the Chancellor seemed entirely feasible.

A few days later, a piece of great news thoroughly excited both Brigadier Hans and General Ludwig Beck.

This was because Brigadier Hans’s persuasion had worked wonders. He not only swayed some senior officers of the newly appointed Army Group B but also convinced its current Commander-in-Chief, hailed as the “Eagle of the Empire,” Field Marshal Erwin Rommel.

Erwin Rommel’s fame was well established. Although his record and history did not match, Erwin Rommel had demonstrated his talents during his military career and was promoted to Field Marshal of the army.

Regarded as one of the three greatest German commanding officers of World War II, Erwin Rommel’s military capability was beyond question.

Even in this world, Erwin Rommel had held important positions such as Commander of the German Chancellor’s Main Camp, which evidenced the Chancellor’s trust in the Eagle of the Empire.

For Brigadier Hans and General Ludwig Beck, courting Rommel was something they wouldn’t even dare to dream of.

After all, Rommel was an active Field Marshal, in charge of one of Germany’s three major Army Groups, Army Group B, with a military force of hundreds of thousands of men.

Compared to Rommel, the infantry division led by Brigadier Hans was hardly worth mentioning.

Although Army Group B was based in France, with Rommel’s support, this rebellion action would undoubtedly go much smoother.