I am Jiang Weiguo in World War II

Page 506

The British finally "lowered their proud heads" on the Hong Kong issue, although many high-level military and political leaders, headed by Foreign Secretary Eden, strongly advocated "being tough on China" and proposed to form a Far East Fleet and a Far East Expeditionary Force, " Severely attack the arrogance of the Chinese, and defend the dignity, honor, and interests of the British Empire." Some emotional MPs even shouted what the British high-level officials shouted before the outbreak of the Second Opium War that year, "Only at the mouth of the gun. There is only diplomacy" and "the Chinese must be taught a lesson", and the British people have stirred up a thousand waves with one stone, and the major mainstream media have waved their flags enthusiastically, "The Chinese cannot be allowed to continue to be arrogant" "That was the British Empire 100 years ago. The defeated third-rate country is still defeated by the British Empire today! The third Opium War is about to break out." "The ancient eastern country looks huge, but in fact it is just a giant with mud feet. Accept the blackmail from this third-rate country," "The British Empire is not the Soviet Union," etc. However, Prime Minister Chamberlain chose to "know the current affairs" like the French, and formally signed a special executive order to hand over Hong Kong to China.

Chamberlain's "softness" is not entirely due to his conservative and weak character and his consistent appeasement policy. In fact, he also has a sense of crisis at this time. A number of high-level decision-makers in the UK found that although the British government and the opposition were full of voices of "main war", the real high-level decision-makers basically did not agree with the war.

Chief of Staff General John Greer Deere put it this way:

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, in a war with China, our country has a good chance of winning, but the premise is that our country will deploy its national strength and military strength.

China is too far away from us. This is our biggest difficulty. If we want to defeat China, we must mobilize the whole country, and then use India, Malaya, and Singapore as forward bridgeheads, dispatch at least half of the fleet of the Royal Navy, and organize more than 100 million troops Army, launch an attack on the mainland of China. At that time, regardless of the outcome, we are destined to pay a heavy price; our second biggest difficulty is that China's close ally Germany is always eyeing us near our homeland. If we put too much national power and military power For the war against China, for the Far East, then, what about our homeland?Who can guarantee that the Germans will not suddenly take advantage of our homeland?For a small Hong Kong, is it worth it to plunge our vital mainland into a major crisis?In addition, a war against China will inevitably be a huge war. We need at least three months or even half a year to prepare. However, the Chinese have issued an ultimatum and they will attack Hong Kong immediately. It is difficult for Hong Kong to persist until we are ready. At that time, at that time, Hong Kong has fallen, and we can only counterattack Hong Kong!"

Admiral Deal finally concluded: "We are not afraid of going to war with the Chinese, but it is not worth it!"

Chamberlain nodded and sighed: "Then return Hong Kong to China!"

The reason why decision makers like Admiral Deal disagree with going to war with China is not because they are afraid of China, nor do they support Chamberlain’s appeasement policy, but because they are more sober, rational, and realistic, knowing that a lot of national power and military power will be spent for a Hong Kong It's not worth it, not to mention that Germany's threat to the UK is far greater than that of China. The UK cannot use too much national power and military power to deal with China for the sake of Hong Kong, which in turn will cause the UK's defense against Germany to be greatly reduced. That is obviously putting the cart before the horse and not worth the candle .

Chamberlain deeply agrees with this, and he really lacks the courage and courage to fight, and he feels that "Hong Kong is originally China's, and it is wrong for Britain to occupy Hong Kong." These reasons prompted him to finally choose China returned to Hong Kong.

China, which had just been exulting for the recovery of Macau and the French Concession, suddenly fell into the third round of jubilation.

On the night of August 8th, the night sky in Hong Kong was suddenly filled with colorful and beautiful waves. 28 million Hong Kong people celebrated the return of Hong Kong to their heart's content and celebrated that they had once again become an upright Chinese.

Hong Kong people are indeed celebrating from the bottom of their hearts, because they are not British in the legal sense of the UK (there is no MP from Hong Kong in the London Parliament), so they have always been "homeless", and now, They regained their nationality and their motherland. Nothing makes Hong Kong people happier than this. What's more, Jiang Weiguo has issued a declaration on behalf of Chiang Kai-shek. "Change" and "Hong Kong will not become a city in Guangdong Province, but an independent special zone", this political promise undoubtedly reassured the celebrities and famous families in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong officially became a British colony in 1842, and now it was recovered in 1941. For 99 years, there have been [-] Hong Kong governors.

At this time, the Governor of Hong Kong was the British Sir Luo Fuguo (Of course, Luo Fuguo’s surname is not Luo, and he is not Chinese, but an out-and-out Englishman. Every British Hong Kong Governor will deliberately translate his name into Chinese. Therefore, I hope to make the people of Hong Kong have a sense of kinship), but Luo Fuguo has been ill for a long time, so he has been recuperating in London for a long time, and he is not in Hong Kong at this time. Therefore, Lieutenant General Norton of the British Army and Major General Mordeby, Commander of the British Garrison in Hong Kong.

Chen Ce, chief of the Chinese navy's general staff, presided over the handover ceremony. Lieutenant Admiral Norton, Rear Admiral Mordeby and other British personnel from the Hong Kong government received Chen Ce and other Chinese representatives with a sad expression. The Mi Zi flag was lowered slowly in the center of Hong Kong. , the blue sky and white sun flag is rising.

On August 8, the Portuguese-occupied Macao was recovered. On August 8, the French Concession in China was recovered. On August 8, Hong Kong and the British Concession in China were recovered. One after the other, it was dizzying. Subsequently, the "Hong Kong Special Administrative Region" and the "Macao Special Administrative Region" were established on September 18 at the same time.

After Hong Kong, Macau, the British Concession, and the French Concession were all recovered, plus the Japanese Concession, the Italian Concession, the Belgian Concession, the Soviet-Russian Concession, the German Concession, and the Austrian Concession that had been recovered successively earlier, as of now, except Taiwan and Sakhalin, which were in the state of negotiation, Showa Castle leased to the Japanese through equal treaties, and the land of Israel leased to the Jews, there is no territory in China that is still occupied by foreign powers.

When the British returned Hong Kong, it was not the British who were most disappointed, but the Japanese. The Japanese had already waited for the Sino-British war, and then under the banner of "fulfilling the obligations of their allies and helping China", they raged against the long-coveted Southeast Asia. Started to do it, but unfortunately, things backfired, and the British finally returned Hong Kong to China obediently.

In this matter, the person who lost the most was British Prime Minister Chamberlain.

Chamberlain's prestige and approval rating have declined sharply because of "forced by China's despotic power and bowing to China."

After all, Chamberlain used to engage in appeasement policies and sold the territories of other countries (for example, he did not oppose Germany's dismemberment and annexation of Czechoslovakia), but now, he is selling Britain's own territory (territory), which naturally leads to the British government and opposition parties criticizing him. Great doubts and criticisms arose.

In fact, Chamberlain did not adopt a policy of appeasement to China on the Hong Kong issue, but had to make concessions due to objective reasons. The generosity of selling the territory of a third country to feed the enemy is now intensified, directly turning into generosity of oneself, ceding the territory of the United Kingdom to feed the enemy."

After the Hong Kong incident, Chamberlain was deeply hit politically, physically and mentally. He also doubted and regretted his foreign policy. Therefore, on the one hand, he vigorously promoted hardliners to enter the top core of the British government and gradually changed foreign policy. The thought of abdicating to the virtuous came into being.

Some people are happy and some are sad, Chamberlain is in a state of desperation, and Jiang Weiguo on the other side of the world is high-spirited and busy at the same time. Recovering Hong Kong and other lost territories is actually not a big deal in Jiang Weiguo's mind. The two old-fashioned and lifeless great powers dare not and will not go to war with China for it. A new war will definitely come, but there is still a period of time.

Right now, China's top priority is to seize the time to reorganize the military, develop the economy, and expand industrial construction, so as to enrich its national strength;

On September 9, the North China Political Affairs Commission (formerly known as the "Lujin Political Affairs Commission") was officially abolished.

The abolition of the North China Political Affairs Committee was a major decision made by Jiang Weiguo after many requests and permission from Chiang Kai-shek, because Jiang Weiguo did not want to let some kind of discordant things intensify, let alone create a situation where "the North and the South are divided against each other". In fact, there is no such thing as Necessary and does more harm than good.

Jiang Weiguo has been struggling and operating so far, and has strong strength and great influence. So, is he considered a warlord?Strictly speaking, Jiang Weiguo has all the characteristics that a warlord should have, but he is not a warlord, because he is not independent, let alone opposed to the national government headed by Chiang Kai-shek. The "Ning faction" is essentially the same as Chen Cheng's civil engineering faction and He Yingqin's faction, and is part of the national government.

What is a warlord?Just separatist forces in places that are essentially independent of the central government.

As for Jiang Weiguo, he was originally part of the central government. The "central faction" of Chiang Kai-shek's national government was composed of Jiang Weiguo's Ning faction, Chen Cheng's civil engineering faction, and He Yingqin faction, so Jiang Weiguo was not a warlord.

Warlords all have their own territory, and no other forces, including the central government, are allowed to get involved. Jiang Weiguo also has a territory, but his territory is "very vague". At first, his territory was the two provinces of Shandong and Shanxi. They are getting bigger and bigger, and they are all recovered from the control and occupation of the enemy country, not from Chiang Kai-shek's "enfeoffment".

After Jiang Weiguo obtained these places, he did not intend to use them as a "long-term foundation". He just wanted to manage the places according to his own consciousness, and "return them to the central government" when necessary.

To put it bluntly, after Shandong is recovered, if Jiang Weiguo is immediately handed over to Chiang Kai-shek, Chiang Kai-shek will definitely send a bunch of officials who are deeply trusted by him but most of them are rat-worms to govern. Then, Shandong will not be corrupted and destroyed. spoiled?Without proper and efficient governance, how can Shandong develop rapidly?How can it provide wealth for the country?Therefore, after Jiang Weiguo acquired Shandong, he first built and developed by himself, and prevented corrupt officials under Chiang Kai-shek from entering Shandong.

Jiang Weiguo never intended to take those places for himself.

Jiang Weiguo's territory is very vast, the core of which is the four provinces and two cities in North China (Lu, Jin, Hebei, Sui, Ping, Tianjin) and the four provinces in Northeast China (Liao, Re, Ji, Hei), followed by Gansu Province in the Northwest, Qinghai Province and the successively recovered Xinjiang, Mongolia, Beihai, Xihai, and outer Northeast regions have even expanded outside China, including new territories in the south of central North Asia, western North Asia, and the four countries of Central Asia, Iran, and Israel.

However, these sites never really belonged to Chiang Weiguo alone. In these places, the army included both Chiang Weiguo's troops and Chiang Kai-shek's troops. Most of the government officials were sent by Chiang Kai-shek, and some officials were recommended by Chiang Kai-shek and appointed by Chiang Kai-shek. So, the line is blurry.

To put it bluntly, Chiang Kai-shek and Jiang Weiguo father and son are a family after all, and it is impossible to distinguish them too clearly. Jiang Weiguo never thought of breaking away from Chiang Kai-shek and working alone.

Jiang Weiguo will never do that, the reason is definitely not his feelings for Chiang Kai-shek, although Chiang Kai-shek's trust in him is one of the prerequisites for him to flex his muscles, but more importantly, Jiang Weiguo knows that it will lead to civil strife in the country, he will never Disregarding national interests for his own ambitions, and he never had ambitions in that regard.

There is an inevitable reason for Jiang Weiguo to "accept the recovered land as his own" and then "return it to the original owner". In his heartfelt words, it is: "Can I not manage it myself? Give it to the old man, he will definitely send Come a group of corrupt officials, not to mention business, thank God for not losing everything! In history, after Japan surrendered, what kind of virtues were those who took over the national government? Needless to say? Everyone desperately enriched their own pockets, regardless of national interests, Regardless of the sufferings of the people, isn't that how the infamous "five sons ascended the imperial examinations" came about? Houses, tickets, cars, and women are ridiculed by the world as "five sons enrolling in imperial examinations")? Therefore, I want to implement a wartime military management system in those places, select clean and honest officials with both ability and virtue to govern, and establish a clean and efficient new local government , to maximize the local development potential and development efficiency, keep the old man's corrupt officials out of the door, and prevent them from coming in to do harm in the name of governance.

For example, under Lao Tzu's management, Shandong's GDP growth rate can reach 30%. If the old man's corrupt officials manage it, it will be 5%. The theory that "anti-corruption is a major event, we must take our time and not rush it" is used.

Take it easy?joke!How much wealth will be lost?How much time will be wasted?Now is the time of war!Must seize the time to develop!The sooner the better!Can I waste my time?If I do this, even if the old man suspects there is something wrong with it, I will admit it! "

Chiang Kai-shek has almost no suspicion of Jiang Weiguo, but Jiang Weiguo's practice of "taking those places as his own" does seem a little suspicious, but Jiang Weiguo has "returned" all of them to him now.

The reason why Jiang Weiguo established the North China Political Affairs Committee (Lu-Jin Political Affairs Committee) was firstly to allow the local area to develop better and faster under his own governance, and secondly because North China was the front line against Japan at that time. To deal with the Soviet Union, it is inevitable to implement a semi-independent self-government state. Now, the power of the Soviet Union has been driven back to Europe, and Japan is not enough to pose a big threat to northern China. Naturally, there is no need for the North China Political Affairs Committee to continue to exist.

Of course, many of the original members of the organization will not lose their jobs. On the contrary, they have experience, qualifications, political achievements, and Jiang Weiguo as a big backer, so they have entered the central government one after another, and they are still the backbone of the "Ning Clan".

It can be said that the abolition of the North China Political Affairs Committee is equivalent to Jiang Weiguo's initiative to "hand over the territory".

However, Jiang Weiguo's strength and power were unscathed, and even improved to a higher level.

The Nanjing Army was not limited to the north, and Jiang Weiguo's civil servants were not limited to the North China Political Affairs Committee, but were integrated into the central system, so as to better allow Jiang Weiguo to "act in the name of the central government."

After all, the Nanjing Army is part of the Chinese army and will not truly become an independent army. It will only go to the four directions according to the needs of the country. Of course, even if the Nanjing Army is "disbanded", it is still the Nanjing Army. No matter where the 77th Division is sent Where to go? Everyone knows that the 77th Division belongs to Jiang Weiguo, and the same goes for the other 27 of the 26 divisions of the Nanjing Army; The civil servants of the faction are under the same roof, and they seem to be indistinguishable from each other, but everyone knows that someone is under the orders of Jiang Weiguo. Other factions are mixed and working together, and the people of the Ning faction are still the people of the Ning faction.

At this time, the 27 divisions of the Nanjing Army were scattered in various places. Some were stationed in the mainland, some were stationed in new territories and front lines, and some went to the south to receive training and prepare for another battle.

To put it bluntly, as long as Jiang Weiguo survives, the "Ning family" will always exist.

The reason why Jiang Weiguo held on to the four provinces and two cities in North China and the four northeastern provinces was because these two places had the most important heavy industry in China, accounting for more than [-]% of the country (before the Soviet war). Heavy industry was the foundation of the country. Jiang Weiguo could not Tolerate being corrupted, and don't rest assured that others will manage it.

Now, Jiang Weiguo took the initiative to "hand over the territory", which will not damage his hard work, because he has already established a complete system in the place that once belonged to his territory.

After the system is established, it will not be easily destroyed, and will have the function of self-improvement and virtuous circle. This solid economic system is impenetrable by water and impenetrable by needles.

To put it bluntly, Jiang Weiguo has built Shandong Province prosperously. Now he "returns" Shandong Province to Chiang Kai-shek. Chiang Kai-shek must maintain the status quo. He has no reason to ruin Jiang Weiguo's hard work. Survival of the fittest.

Jiang Weiguo is not a warlord, but he is an out-and-out chaebol.

Jiang Weiguo is completely subordinate to Chiang Kai-shek politically; he is also subordinate to Chiang Kai-shek militaryly, but he is semi-independent and has great autonomy; he is independent in terms of secret service agencies; is also independent.

Jiang Weiguo had his own source of income, not only did not rely on Chiang Kai-shek's appropriation, but he often "supported" Chiang Kai-shek out of his own pocket.

From the beginning, Jiang Weiguo followed the military and business routes. Although he has been more or less contaminated with politics now, his principle of "holding a gun in his right hand and money in his left hand" has not changed.

Jiang Weiguo joined the army, of course, to defend his family and defend the country, to expand the territory, and to engage in business, to make money and then strengthen the army, benefit the people, and save China's national industry, which was originally full of holes, and revitalize China's shaky and precarious economy. system.

Relying on those large enterprises that have developed as much as state-owned enterprises such as State Grid, PetroChina, and Sinopec in the past few years, Jiang Weiguo has firmly controlled China's economic lifeline at this time, with more than [-]% of heavy industries and more than [-]% of The chemical industry, the entire military industry, and more than [-]% of the light industry are in his hands. The most important petroleum, steel, metallurgy, coal, power generation, tungsten ore, bristles, tung oil, aviation, water transportation, and medicine are almost all in his hands. hand.

According to Jiang Weiguo's shares in those large enterprises, he is estimated to be the richest man in China at this time. If the gray and black income from drug manufacturing and drug trafficking is added, his assets are completely incomparable.

Whether in politics or military, Jiang Weiguo and Chiang Kai-shek have no separation, and the real division is in the field of economy.

Just like a simple truth: children who have achieved financial independence can be truly independent in front of their parents.

This is the reason for Jiang Weiguo. The economy in the north (North China, Northeast, Northwest) Xinjiang, Mongolia and the new territories are almost all controlled by Jiang Weiguo. As for the native south, the heavy industry, chemical industry, and military industry are almost all in the hands of Jiang Weiguo. In the final analysis, what Chiang Kai-shek’s powerful bureaucrats are harming at this time is the economic fields such as light industry, civilian industry and commerce, agriculture, and tertiary industry in southern China. Chiang Weiguo’s "independent economy" did not rob them, but developed it on its own. , so the conflict between the two is not too big.

Before the Sino-Japanese War, China’s industrial economy was very backward. The heavy industry, chemical industry, and military industry were all very weak, accounting for a small proportion of the total economy. Jiang Weiguo rescued it, and then cared for it carefully, cultivated it carefully, and developed it with all its heart. With today's scale and achievements, the light industry, agriculture, tertiary industry and other economies in the north were taken back from the hands of the Japanese and the Soviets and developed correctly and efficiently, so that they have today's huge scale.

Jiang Weiguo basically did not touch the cheese of those powerful bureaucrats.

Now, Jiang Weiguo feels that it is time to clean up the economy and officialdom in the south.

However, two major events occurred at this time. One was that Japan and Portugal reached an agreement that Portugal leased the port of Dili, the capital of East Timor, to the Japanese navy. This caused great shock to Britain, France, the Netherlands and other countries. Can sign a military alliance agreement with Japan.

Chapter 587 Constant Trouble (2)

The Portuguese government leased the port of Dili, the capital of East Timor, to the Japanese navy, which shocked Britain and the Netherlands.

East Timor is located in the southernmost part of the central Indonesian archipelago, and further south is Australia. Therefore, although the place is only a tiny place with a small population and a backward economy, it can be called a backcountry on the edge of the civilized world. Even the Portuguese themselves almost forgot about this. It belongs to Portugal but is thousands of miles away from the mainland of Portugal and is insignificant and has almost no oil and water. However, because of the changes in the world pattern at this time, the importance of its geographical location has undoubtedly become prominent.

Portugal originally had a relationship with the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. However, Portugal is now a member of the Union State, which has caused East Timor, which belongs to Portugal, to become a nail in the vast area of ​​Southeast Asia and Australia controlled by the United States, Britain, France and the Netherlands. The importance of an enclave of the Allied Powers in the Far East colonies of the United States, Britain, France and the Netherlands is clear at a glance.

Originally, Portugal's national strength was weak, so the United States, Britain, France and the Netherlands did not care about it. But at this time, Portugal leased East Timor to Japan, and the problem became serious. Japan has the third most powerful navy in the world. If a naval base is established in East Timor , what does that mean?It means that Japan, which originally "kept a distance" from the Far Eastern colonies of the United States, Britain, France and the Netherlands, suddenly extended its fangs to the Far East colonies of the United States, Britain, France and the Netherlands.

The Dutch government immediately lodged a "strong protest and serious condemnation" to the Portuguese government. The Portuguese government replied: East Timor is a territory of Portugal, and Japan is a friendly country of Portugal. Portugal leased its territory to Japan. I don't know what this has to do with the Netherlands. relation?

When the Portuguese government issued this note, a convoy of the Japanese Navy had swaggered from the mainland of Japan to East Timor. ".

Although the actions of Japan and Portugal did not violate any international conventions, the intentions of the two countries were entirely Sima Zhao’s heart. Admiral Andrew Brown Cunningham, Chief of the British Navy’s Chief of Staff, said: “Why did the Japanese go to East Timor to build a naval base? There is absolutely no second explanation except that they plan to launch a war there and invade there!" This view has convinced many high-level officials in Britain, the Netherlands, and France. Not only that, but Japan and Portugal are both members of the Allied Powers. The move of the two countries has nakedly revealed a message: the Allied Powers camp is preparing to attack Southeast Asia, Australia and the owners of these two large territories.

China also had a lot of conflicts with the United Kingdom when it regained Hong Kong. However, no matter how China’s recovery of Hong Kong is analyzed, it is difficult to explain China’s intention to go to war against the United Kingdom. As for Portugal’s lease of East Timor to build a military base for the Japanese Navy, it is an offensive intention. It is ready to come out.

For a time, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Portugal, and Japan quarreled internationally.

Jiang Weiguo was very aware of the internal reason for this matter. Portugal is a follower of Germany, and Japan requested to lease East Timor. For such a big and sensitive matter, Portugal must notify Germany and "request instructions" from Germany. If Germany does not allow it, Portugal will definitely not lease it. Right now, Portugal has leased it, which shows that Germany's attitude is agreed or acquiesced.

Hitler had notified Jiang Weiguo of this matter, and conveyed Germany's intentions for this move: first, to test Britain, France, the Netherlands, and the United States, which had been watching the fire from the other side; second, to pave the way and obtain an excuse for war at any time;

The Japanese navy has a base in East Timor, which can definitely play a role in taking precautions and even preemptive strikes. After all, East Timor is embedded in the Far East colonies of Britain, France, Holland and the United States.

Jiang Weiguo supported the war with Britain and France, but he hoped to fight it later. Fighting now is not conducive to China, because China and the Chinese army are not fully prepared, and it is easy for the Japanese to take advantage of loopholes and fish in troubled waters. In the final analysis, fighting the Soviet Union, Germany is the first main force, China is the second main force, Japan stays on the sidelines to watch the excitement and provides some backup, and immediately fights Britain and France and the United States behind Britain and France. Germany is still the first main force, but the second main force is not China, but Japan , it is China's turn to stay out of the way and watch the fun and provide a little backup.

Fight, definitely want to fight, but China needs to slow down. However, the Japanese obviously can't wait, and have already started to provoke troubles everywhere; on the other hand, China will not fight, and Germany will not fight. It is best for Germany to fight with it. At least one of China and Germany should fight with it. China needs time, but what about Germany?Jiang Weiguo contacted Shang Zhen and Dai Anguo to ask about the situation in Germany.

Shang Zhen and Dai Anguo quickly replied to Jiang Weiguo.

The war in the Soviet Union was a very profitable "business" for both China and Germany. China made a lot of money and made a lot of money because of this, and Germany did the same.

In order to win the Soviet Union, Germany paid more than 40 deaths, more than 20 disabled people, and more than 600 billion U.S. dollars (equivalent to the sum of Germany's two-year GDP) in financial and material losses. The cost was not particularly huge, but winning the Soviet Union What did Germany gain after the war?Annexed and controlled more than two-thirds of Eastern Europe, the territory increased rapidly, obtained sixty-seven out of ten of the Soviet Union's elite areas, and obtained a huge amount of oil, iron ore, coal mines, food and other resources that can fully meet the needs of the German war machine , Germany’s previously stretched resource problem has been completely resolved, and German factories have industrial raw materials that cannot be used up for at least 20 years, and have also established a “new order of continental Europe” with Germany as the core. ".

When Hitler came to power, the territory of Germany was about 53 square kilometers. Before the Soviet war, the German territory had been expanded by Hitler to more than 70 square kilometers. After the end of the Soviet war, the German territory had reached more than 170 million square kilometers. The increase of more than 100 million square kilometers is the "new eastern territory" obtained through the Soviet Union's war. Undoubtedly, Germany's national power will also increase rapidly with the rapid increase of its territory. Not only that, around the German border, Italy , Hungary, Romania, Spain, Portugal, Bulgaria, Poland, Finland, Ukraine, Estonia, Bulgaria, Lithuania, a total of 12 countries are Germany's companions, comrades-in-arms, and allies, making Germany the most powerful and unique leader in Europe at this time .