Chapter 955: Building a South American Federation
"What do you want to do?"
Hersman actually did not believe that the three white South American countries of Argentina, Paraguay and Chile could really unite into a federation. But Brazil is indeed, as Perón said, unlikely to lead a group of Spanish-speaking South American countries.
Since Brazil cannot lead South America, the country's ruling elite will tend to maintain the status quo rather than change the status quo in South America. In other words, Brazil as a country has little motivation to fight.
If the European Combined Fleet is dispatched to coerce, Brazil can of course be forced to succumb and join the Axis powers. However, if Brazil is forced to join, it is impossible for Brazil to truly serve Germany. Once Brazil enters the axis, Germany must ensure that Brazil is not invaded by Spanish-speaking South American countries such as Argentina and Uruguay.
In this case, what motivation would countries like Argentina, Uruguay and Chile have to join the axis? Even if they are forced into the axis, it is just soy sauce.
"Your Majesty the Imperial Marshal," said Peron, "there will be a blitzkrieg with the goal of carving up Brazil! Argentina's army is ready, and we also have our supporters in Chile and Uruguay. As long as Germany supports us, the three countries will immediately They will unite, form an alliance, and launch a surprise attack on Brazil."
It turns out that both the Chilean and Argentine armies are Nazis, and there are also huge pro-Nazi forces in the Uruguayan army. In December 1943, the Nazis in the Uruguayan army launched a coup with the support of the Argentine army, but there was no Success. But as long as Germany and Argentina join forces, Chile and Uruguay will surely soon fall into the hands of pro-Nazi officers.
Then the three countries will immediately form an alliance to deal with Brazil, while Paraguay and Bolivia are their little brothers, building up their momentum and grabbing some of Brazil's inland land.
"Will it take a long time?" Hersman asked.
"No," Peron looked a little excited. "The Argentine army and navy staff have repeatedly calculated that we can make Brazil surrender in as soon as one month."
"A month?" Hessman said thoughtfully, "Brazil has millions of square kilometers and a population of more than 40 million, right?"
Brazil's last census was in 1940, with 41.079 million people, which is more than the combined population of Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay!
“But the essence of Brazil is in the southern coastal area.” Peron told Hersman. “The two big cities of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro are the core of Brazil. As long as they are captured there, Brazil will surrender... and to capture these two As long as the navy can win quickly, the coalition forces of Argentina, Chile and Uruguay can land in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, capture them before Brazil is fully mobilized, and then force the Brazilian government to surrender and cede some territory.
Some land in western Brazil will be allocated to Bolivia and Paraguay, and a brand new country will be established in southern Brazil, where white people of German and Italian descent mainly gather. Then this white country, dominated by German and Italian immigrants, would join Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay to form a white South American federation. "
It turned out that Peron's idea was to create a white South American federation - that is, to unite the areas in southern South America, including Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, and southern Brazil where the descendants of European immigrants live, through a war to form an emerging white federal state. .
This idea is certainly feasible to a certain extent. As long as a figure like Perón can accumulate enough prestige in a victory over Brazil, and at the same time have strong support from Europe.
Such a white federal state in South America can exist, at least in the short term...
Hessmann thought about it over and over, and then asked Peron: "Should the European Combined Fleet deal with the Brazilian Navy?"
"No need," Perón said, "Our navy is much stronger than Brazil's. We have two Rivadavia-class battleships with a standard displacement of 28,000 tons, while Chile has one naval ship with a standard displacement of 28,000 tons. The La Torre-class battleship. Brazil only has two Minas Gerais-class battleships with a standard displacement of less than 20,000 tons, which is not our opponent at all.”
South American countries in this era are actually quite powerful, especially Chile and Argentina, the two "South American and European countries". Not only are their economies developed, their per capita income is no less than that of Europe, but their military power is also very powerful.
Both Chile and Argentina possess "strategic-class" weapons such as battleships, and their battleships are not just superficial parallel imports, but real ones that can reach the advanced level of World War I!
Even if the current European combined fleet wants to dispatch battleships to deal with them, it must use big guys of Bismarck's level to be sure of victory.
"But you don't have an aircraft carrier, and you don't have a really decent air force." Hersman said, "Brazil has a close relationship with the United States. If the three countries unite and join our side, Brazil, which is scared, will most likely accept support from the United States. "
Peron nodded, "Yes, this is exactly why we need Europe's help..." He paused, thinking about his words and said: "But if Argentina wants to become the real leader of the White South American Federation, it must show its true Strength."
The subtext of this statement is that it does not all depend on "Dad"... At least it seems that it cannot all depend on "Dad", otherwise Argentina will not be able to be the leader of the federation, and Peron will not be able to be the president of the federation.
Hersman understood Peron's idea - if Argentina wanted to be strong, it would not be enough to rely on its own territory, resources and population. It was necessary to gather the territories in the southern part of South America where there were more white people to form a federation.
To achieve this goal, Argentina must lead South America, and Peron must have a very high reputation. Only in this way can a South American white federation with sufficient territory, population and resources emerge.
And if Peron wanted to become a great leader, "Daddy" had to do more work.
"We can sell you an aircraft carrier and four anti-aircraft destroyers," Hersman said, "with pilots, officers and non-commissioned officers who can speak Spanish. These people will serve you temporarily until your people can fly them themselves.
We will also select a group of officers and soldiers with actual combat experience from the Blue Division and the Spanish volunteers of the SS to join the Argentine Army.
In addition... we will also send a military advisory group to help you command the war against Brazil."
...
"Will this work? Brazil is so big, can it really be defeated within a month?" After sending Peron and his little Nazi girlfriend away, Adolf Hitler had afternoon tea with Hersman in the reception room of the Eagle's Nest while discussing the South American issue.
"I don't think it will work," Hersman tasted the Argentine coffee that Evita gave to Hitler, shook his head and said, "Peron thinks we don't have a hard time fighting. You'll know when he takes the field.
Brazil is not so easy to deal with... Brazil is not only large, but also borders the US-controlled area. Even if the sea route is blocked, the Americans can maintain hundreds of thousands of troops in the interior of Brazil by air transport."
Hersman certainly knew that the Americans had used air transport to supply Berlin in history. In nearly a year, US planes flew more than 278,000 sorties. At most, 12,000 tons of supplies were transported to West Berlin in one day, and a total of 2.326 million tons of various materials were transported!
Now the Americans only need to use one-tenth of the force of the West Berlin air transport to transport more than 1,000 tons of weapons, ammunition and fuel to Brazil every day. According to the calculation that a division consumes 50 tons of ammunition and fuel per day (food can be obtained locally in Brazil), it is not difficult to maintain 20 US-standard divisions fighting in Brazil.
Moreover, the Amazon River and its tributaries flowing through northern Brazil have strong navigability. A 10,000-ton ship can sail directly from the mouth of the Amazon River to Manaus, the capital of Amazon State, Brazil, while a 3,000-ton ship can sail to Iquitos, Peru, 3,680 kilometers away from the mouth of the Amazon River!
In other words, in addition to the huge air transport costs, the United States can also provide supplies to the battlefield in northern Brazil through Peru on the Pacific coast.
Being too close to the US-controlled area is probably one of the reasons why the Brazilian government has always been reluctant to turn to Germany. Because of the US infiltration into Brazil, once Brazil turns to Germany, the north and west of Brazil will most likely become independent with the support of the United States. By then, the Brazilian Federation will fall apart...
"But this is not a problem for us," Hersmann continued to say to Hitler, "We can defeat hundreds of thousands of US troops in northern Brazil. And controlling the Amazon River entrance area in northern Brazil is necessary... if we still want to make a difference in the Americas."
The Amazon River estuary is close to Guyana, where there is an important port city of Belém, which is a distribution center for agricultural products exported from the Amazon Basin. If the German army wants to deploy a large army in the American battlefield, it must control the port of Belem, which is a large port that can serve as an anchorage for the European joint fleet.
In addition, the area south of the Amazon River estuary, close to the African continent and the Cape Verde Islands, in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, is also something that Germany must control. As long as Germany can deploy air forces and fleets in Rio Grande do Norte, it can form an Atlantic blockade line of only about 2,500 kilometers in length together with the air forces and fleets stationed in Cape Verde - this means that the shore-based Fw-190 deployed in the two places can provide full escort for the Ju288 by shuttle flights.
At the end of the talks, Hersmann said to Hitler: "Now Brazil is always delaying and unwilling to join us, and we can't wait indefinitely, so I suggest supporting Peron and going to war with Brazil."