Chapter 496 Goodbye, Rudolph

A week after Hessmann and Ozawa Jisaburo reached an agreement to "assist pilots", Captain Rudolf von Heinsberg-Hessmann suddenly returned to his home in Zossen from the army. He told his father and mother that he was going to Japan.

"Rudolf, you are going to Japan?" Hessmann was stunned for a moment, and immediately thought of the reason. "It was the Japanese Navy Vice Admiral who chose you... That's not bad, you can see the world, which is very good for future promotion."

This is very natural. Little Hessmann is a carrier-based aircraft pilot with the rank of captain. He has won the Blue Max Medal and has outstanding skills. He can not only fly the Fokker Zero but also the Fokker 99 dive bomber.

In addition, little Hessmann is an elite pilot from the military academy. He has received the most rigorous military training education and can speak fluent English-this is actually the reason why Ozawa talked to these pilots. Because there are not many people in the Japanese Navy who can speak German, but there are many people who can speak English. So Ozawa can't find some pilots who don't understand English and can't communicate to go to Japan.

"Go to Japan? Oh my God, that's too far." Chloe shouted immediately after hearing the conversation between the father and son.

She certainly didn't want her son to travel far away. As the heir of the Heinsberg-Hersmann family, Rudolf has not yet found a noble lady of equal status to be his lifelong partner. How can he go all the way to Japan? There is no suitable marriage partner in Japan...

"Mom, I must go." Rudolf sat at the long dining table in the restaurant, enjoying the delicious food at home while discussing the world situation. "Because this is my mission, if the German Empire wants to lead the world, it must make full use of Japan."

That's right! If Germany wants to become the world hegemon now, it must defeat the United States, and to defeat the United States, it must use Japan to contain part of the US naval forces. And the better Japan fights in the Pacific, the less pressure Germany will have in the Atlantic.

If Japan can really capture Hawaii and wipe out the main force of the US Pacific Fleet. Then the "Polar Night Decisive Battle" planned by Hessmann will most likely not have to be fought. Because it is impossible for the Americans to use their remaining naval forces to fight Germany - that is the seed of the revival of the US Navy. If they are all used up, there will be no qualified officers and sailors to operate the newly built large warships when they are launched.

And if the US Atlantic Fleet shrinks and acts as a fleet, then the Atlantic sea power will belong to Germany for a long time. With the Atlantic sea power, Britain is a turtle in a jar, and the territory of Africa can be taken effortlessly, and South America can also be infiltrated with the help of pro-German factions and Catholics.

Chloe frowned and looked at her husband Hersman, as if she wanted Hersman to ask her son to stay in Europe.

"Chloe, Rudolf should go, it's a very good place." Hersman smiled and said.

As a father, he felt that his son going to Japan would not be more dangerous than staying in Europe, because Ozawa Jisaburo had promised not to assign escort missions to German pilots. It is safer to serve as a direct cover than escort, and it would be safer if he went to school as an instructor.

Moreover, when Rudolf returned to Germany after completing his trip to Japan, it would probably be 1943 or 1944. By then, the war would be almost over, and Rudolf, with his experience in the Pacific War, would probably not be sent to the battlefield again. He would probably be an instructor, and after the war, he would go to the Air Force Staff College for further studies, and his future should be very good.

Hersman said: "I don't think he will stay there for too long... maybe he will be able to come back in 1943. By then, he will become a national hero, and maybe he will bring back a Japanese girlfriend."

"Japanese girlfriend?" Chloe shook her head quickly and said to her son seriously, "Rudolf, this is not allowed. You are the heir to the Marquis, and maybe soon the heir to the Duke! You must have a wife who is of equal status."

In this era, European nobles and commoners would lose their inheritance rights if they married, so Chloe was so nervous. Moreover, in Chloe's circle, there were already many prominent figures who wanted to introduce Rudolf to very noble girls. Some even had the title of Duchess or Princess. Chloe couldn't help but bring one of them, a particularly beautiful Duchess from the Westerbach dynasty (a relative of Princess Sissi), home to introduce her to her son.

Hersman smiled at his son: "She can only be a girlfriend or lover, but you can't marry her home, understand?"

"Father!" Little Rudolf's face turned red, and he actually showed a shy expression, "What are you talking about?"

"Ludwig!" Chloe also glared at her husband. "Your son is a Prussian noble officer!"

Prussian noble officers are a very conservative group, and playboys are not welcome in this group. The more mainstream ones are like Hersman, marrying a woman of noble birth and a rich dowry, and then staying together for life and having a bunch of children.

"Well," Hersman shrugged and said to his son, "I was just kidding... But as far as I know, the Japanese will definitely arrange a woman for you. That's how it is there. That's Japanese culture. You can have fun with it, but don't take it seriously."

Little Rudolph's face turned even redder, and he lowered his head and began to eat the steak that his mother had fried...

While Hersman was teaching his son Rudolph the "diplomatic etiquette" after going to Japan, another Rudolph was also ordered to pack his bags and go to Japan.

"Going to Japan?" Second Lieutenant Rudolf von Ribbentrop, who serves as the platoon leader in the tank destroyer battalion of the Waffen-SS "Grossdeutschland" Motorized Infantry Division, was suddenly summoned to the company headquarters this morning and asked the company commander to Wasinger received a transfer order.

According to the order, he will go to the "Military Advisory Group to Assist Japan" led by Lieutenant General Paulus as an anti-tank technical advisor.

"Lieutenant, why me? I'm just a second lieutenant." Rudolf Ribbentrop was a little confused.

In this time and space, because the Hungarian Revolution was relatively large, Germany retained its General Staff after World War I. Therefore, the training system for elite officers has been retained. Officers like Hersman, who entered the military academy as a teenager and received more than 10 years of military education, are the real elites. Rudolf Ribbentrop was just a non-elite officer promoted from among the soldiers, and his military quality was not even a level lower than that of the former.

"Because you are an expert in anti-tank combat and you can also speak English." Lieutenant Schwarzenegger patted Rudolf Ribbentrop on the shoulder and said, "What is needed is practical experience in anti-tank combat. And you are an officer who is skilled in using various light anti-tank weapons, including the Panzerfaust. You are the most suitable candidate for our "Gross Deutschland" division, and this is a very good task. You will definitely do it after returning from Japan. There are opportunities for advancement.”

The Japanese are going to get the "Iron Fist" from Germany. This anti-tank weapon that is easy to produce and use is obviously suitable for Japan. Moreover, the "Iron Fist" samples are easy to carry and can be taken as luggage to Japan by the German Military Advisory Group - the military advisory group is considered a diplomat and has diplomatic immunity, and Soviet customs cannot search their luggage.

Of course, they can't treat a Panzer IV tank or an 88mm anti-aircraft gun as luggage.

"Marshal of the Empire!" Lieutenant General Paulus raised his hand in salute to Hessman, and then quickly walked to Hessman's desk.

"Sit down." Hersman looked up at his former adjutant, now Army Lieutenant General Paulus. In this time and space, Paulus will definitely not be able to get the marshal's scepter. He is just an office general.

"Are you ready?" Hersman asked. "When are you leaving?"

"Yes, it is ready. It will depart on September 26 and arrive in Japan on September 27." Paulus replied.

The "Paulus Advisory Group" will take a Lufthansa plane to Japan, and will land in the Soviet Union to refuel on the way, but all passengers will not be able to get off the plane and set foot on Soviet soil.

"Have you studied the situation on Oahu?" Hersman then asked.

"It has been studied," Paulus replied. "Now there are many large-caliber shore guns on Oahu, and there are also a lot of aircraft. There are also two divisions of the US Army, as well as many Marine Corps and The total number of naval personnel and defenders may be as high as 50,000 to 60,000. Moreover, there are 100-200 tanks on the island... I believe that the Battle of Oahu will be very tragic, and the Japanese casualties are likely to exceed that of the Battle of Lushun.”

The Battle of Port Arthur mentioned by Paulus of course refers to the offensive and defensive battle of Port Arthur in the Russo-Japanese War. The Japanese fought for 5 months and suffered 59,000 casualties before finally capturing the fortress. The US military's defense on Oahu is no less than the Russian defense in Lushun in the past. The loss of about 60,000 people was likely to be borne by the Japanese army.

However, exchanging 60,000 people for an Oahu island is definitely a very good deal. However, Oahu is not Lushunkou after all. It is thousands of kilometers away from the Japanese mainland. If the attack takes five months, the Japanese will definitely be overwhelmed by their own logistics line.

In order to seize the island in a short period of time, in Hersman's opinion, the only way is to use a thick-skinned and heavy-gunned super battleship like the "Yamato" to destroy several important forts in the south of Oahu. At the same time, they must land on the beach on the northern coast of Oahu that cannot be reached by heavy artillery, and fill it with mountains of corpses and seas of blood all the way to Pearl Harbor.

Considering that Japan does not have a tank landing ship and the United States has tanks deployed on Oahu, Hersman provided Japan with a cheap and high-quality secret weapon such as the "Iron Fist" anti-tank grenade launcher. Now it's up to them whether they can seize the opportunity.