Chapter 180 The Battle of Poland (43)

At this moment, a soldier ran over to report, "General, we found the gold! Approximately 800 tons."

The SS lieutenant nodded and looked towards Michael on the side. "His Highness ordered that we only take away 500 tons, leaving 300 tons for your country."

Michael smiled faintly. "Wilhelm is really too courteous. Does he have any other instructions?"

"His Highness hopes your country uses one hundred tons for military expansion, and the remaining amount can be handled by your country."

"Alright, I will definitely convey this to my father."

"Damn it! That's our Polish gold! If you dare touch it, England and France won't let you off!" Watching these two individuals blatantly dividing the gold, President Mościcki and Marshal Śmigły were on the verge of going crazy, shouting hysterically.

The SS lieutenant sneered. "What can you say? Still relying on your English and French allies? I'd like to see how they won't let us off. Do you remember when England and France declared war on us? Unfortunately, there is still no war on the Western Front. Hmph, those fools dream that we will continue to advance eastward and clash with the Soviet Union, benefiting them. When our mighty army heads west, England and France will be trampled under our feet!" After mocking them, he waved his hand, letting the soldiers take them away.

Ignoring the struggling pair being dragged away, Michael asked with some confusion, "Is Wilhelm really planning to take on England and France by himself? If he says the word, we can help too."

"Your Highness, no need to worry. Look at this 'Eastern Europe's Number One Military Power'; it's just like that. His Highness said, it only takes eight weeks to deal with those Gallic roosters. Your country just needs to focus on expanding its military and strengthening soldier training."

In the original timeline, as a servant state of Germany and the largest contributor of troops to the war against the Soviet Union, Romania immediately joined the war against the Soviets after the start of Operation Barbarossa. Romania deployed 13 divisions and 9 brigades, forming the 3rd and 4th Army Groups with a total force of 382,000.

However, their equipment was not impressive. Each Romanian infantry division had only 36 anti-tank guns, and all of them were light anti-tank guns that couldn't deal with most Soviet tanks. Divisional artillery had just over twenty 75mm or 100mm M1897 Schneider field guns from World War I. The cavalry divisions had only nine 37mm anti-tank guns.

Their first armored division had only 122 tanks, with the majority being light tanks from Czechoslovakia, Poland, and France. There were only 21 German Panzer III tanks (which made Romania a customer of the international market, making logistics very difficult), 9 75mm anti-tank guns, and 81 47mm medium anti-tank guns. It was clear that this armored division was unable to confront the Soviet T-34.

Relying on such "backward" equipment, they could fight independently in the Battle of Odessa, showing their combat fierceness.

Throughout World War II, the Romanian army's performance was noteworthy. Among all the German satellite states, whether in terms of troop numbers, quality, or degree of participation in combat, Romania ranked second only to the German forces. It was essentially the second pillar of the Southern Front in the Soviet-German theater.

Wilhelm, of course, wouldn't mistreat such a loyal ally. Over the years, he had strongly supported Romania in developing its military industry.

From individual soldier equipment to tanks and aircraft, everything had been changed to the German standard.

Soldiers were equipped not only with the Karabiner 98k but also with the MP41 and StG45. The MP41 was the famous British Sten Mk.II submachine gun. The StG45 was a simplified version of the StG44 (MP44). Its production cost was only 45 German marks, lower than the StG44's 70 German marks. The required production time and raw materials were also smaller, making it suitable for the small country facing resource shortages.

After a few years of development, the Romanian army now had a standard squad equipped with a G43, two StG45s, three MP41s, and the remainder with the Karabiner 98k. The MG3 served as platoon-level support firepower.

The armored units were mainly composed of Hetzers, with Jackals as support. Aircraft production focused on training Bf 109s and Il-2 attack planes.

Additionally, Wilhelm sent a group of military officers specifically responsible for training Romanian soldiers.

It could be said that Romania's current military strength was second only to the German forces.

After unloading all the cargo, the SS lieutenant bid farewell to Michael and boarded the returning train.

.........

"Get out, General Rómmel." The German officer sitting in the passenger seat glanced at the middle-aged man in Polish general uniform sitting in the back seat, looking somewhat disheartened, and spoke. "You can be happy; your good days are about to come."

The person in question was the former commander of the Lodz Army Group, Juliusz Rómmel. Upon hearing the officer's words, he couldn't help but snort. "What good days can a puppet have?"

"I don't want to waste time with you. Anyway, time will prove everything." Saying this, the officer got off the car, opened the back door. "Please get off."

Juliusz Rómmel reluctantly got off the car, looking around. "Where is this?" But when he saw several radio antennas erected on top of the building in front of him, it seemed to be some command post.

The officer smiled faintly. "You'll know in a moment."

Following the officer into the building, they reached an office, and Juliusz Rómmel finally met the real master. "Is it you?!"

Erwin Rommel!

"Please, have a seat." Erwin Rommel waved his hand. The officer saluted and exited the office, leaving only the two Rommels inside. "Although I'd like to catch up, my troops are about to set off soon, so I'll be brief. If you're willing to submit to us Germans, His Highness will appoint you as the leader of the interim government of Poland."

Juliusz Rómmel angrily interrupted him. "Make me your lackey? Absolutely impossible! That young fellow thinks..."

"Bang!" A loud slap made Juliusz Rómmel shiver, staring at the other Rommel, whose face was icy, eyes flickering with dangerous cold light. "Juliusz Rómmel, mind your words! He is the future emperor of Germany and will be the greatest emperor in Europe. I warn you not to use disrespectful terms like 'young fellow' to refer to him. Otherwise, you won't even leave this office building!"

Juliusz Rómmel couldn't help but shudder. "Fine, fine. I was rude. I also admit that your heir is exceptionally talented, a genius that appears once in a century. But all this doesn't change the fact that you are invaders."

Rommel corrected. "We are here to establish justice."

Juliusz Rómmel showed a mocking expression. "Establish justice? Forget it, these words can only deceive outsiders. Do you not think you are deceiving yourself by saying these things to me?"

Rommel shrugged. "Since you put it that way, how about we change it to the law of the jungle? Is that factual enough for you?"

Juliusz Rómmel fell into inner struggle. Rommel added, "You may not know yet; your President Mościcki and Marshal Śmigły have already been arrested by us. The entire government preparing to go into exile has been wiped out."

"!!" Juliusz Rómmel was completely stunned, staring at Rommel with his mouth wide open. After a while, he sighed deeply. "I can agree, but I have two conditions."

Rommel said indifferently, "His Highness mentioned that discussing conditions requires bargaining chips. I don't see you having any bargaining chips now, but I can still listen."

"My requests are simple." Juliusz Rómmel sighed, and unconsciously, the "conditions" turned into "requests." "First is to spare the soldiers in our prisoner-of-war camps. The war is over, and those who survived should not needlessly lose their lives."

Rommel nodded. "That's a given. His Highness never indiscriminately kills innocents. Besides, living people are always more valuable than dead ones, aren't they?"

Juliusz Rómmel was not a fool and immediately understood Rommel's implied meaning. His Highness could guarantee the lives of those soldiers, but the price was to work for Germany. And this job was clearly unrewarded.

"The second is that you must ensure the normal development of Poland. You can't let the 34 million people of Poland all end up as potato farmers."

"Of course, no problem." Rommel smiled, extending his hand. "Wishing us a pleasant cooperation, Mr. Juliusz Rómmel, the leader!"