Chapter 2410 Finn One

This time President Karl Juho Stahlberg went to Germany mainly to discuss military issues, but it is a pity that the president himself does not understand military affairs, so he must bring a person who understands military affairs to visit, and he The military adviser also left a strong mark in history. This is the only marshal in Finland in history! Carl Gustav Mannerheim, known as the Marshal of Finland! In the Soviet-Finnish war of later generations, he was responsible for commanding the entire Finnish army to fight!

Mannerheim can definitely be regarded as a professional soldier. This buddy once served in the Tsarist Russian Cavalry Regiment, participated in the Russo-Japanese War and was promoted to colonel because of his outstanding performance. Later, he was promoted to lieutenant general in this war. After the collapse, the lieutenant general returned to Finland because of his dissatisfaction. After returning to Finland, he was still in charge of military work. And now, in the whole of Finland, there is no one more suitable as a military advisor than him!

Before going to Germany, Stahlberg decided to have a long talk with his Minister of Defense, Lieutenant General Mannerheim, the military adviser. They had to figure out what they needed and what the Germans could give.

"According to our previous exchanges with Germany, Germany is still relatively friendly to us. They regard us as an ally that can contain Russia and express their willingness to provide us with various equipment, many of which can be sent for free. To describe it, we only need to pay the appropriate maintenance and freight costs to obtain the German Army equipment capable of arming at least 4 divisions." President Stahlberg said.

"Your Excellency, I am not as optimistic as you think. I have read the first batch of equipment lists given to us by the Germans. Most of them are light weapons and some outdated artillery. The number of machine guns and new artillery is completely insufficient. Although these things are much stronger than the Russian goods in our hands, there are very few long-range cannons, tanks and aircraft that we need most. Especially aircraft, the Germans are currently unwilling to provide us with aircraft engines with more than 400 horsepower. said Mannerheim.

It stands to reason that after the war, a large number of surplus weapons are not wealth for a country but a burden. Historically, after the end of the war, a considerable number of countries have thrown their weapons wildly. For example, after the end of the First World War in history, the French government provided hundreds of 75MM rapid-fire guns to the newborn Poland.

But the situation on this plane is different, because the war in Europe is over, and the war in the Pacific is about to ignite! The large amount of surplus materials in Germany is very useful. Go back and apply some oil and paint, pack them up and sell them directly to the Americans! This is not surprising. Historically, Americans have used French weapons to fight in Europe. The American industry in this era is not as bad as World War II. Without national mobilization, it is really difficult for Americans to gather so much equipment and weapons in a short period of time!

For example, tanks, the Germans have produced relatively mature wolf tanks. However, before Sherman came out in the United States, tank design was a tragedy. After comparing its own blueprint tanks with German finished tanks, the US military decisively rejected almost all tank bids and decided to directly buy German tanks, and only Buy Bavarian Wolf tanks, not Prussian tanks...  

As for aircraft engines? Well, although the Pratt & Whitney Double Hornets of later generations are coercing the world, the American aero engines in this period of time are really not good. Therefore, Americans who are anxious to expand their military also purchased a large number of German aircraft and engines! Many German planes were even painted with American paint at the airport and shipped directly to the United States!

And in this way, after excluding the tanks and aircraft purchased and ordered by the Americans, as well as the German army itself, there is not much left. As for the remaining weapons,

The Germans are going to seal it up or sell it to other countries. Naturally, it is impossible to give it to Finland directly.

"Although these equipment are very old, they are also more advanced than our enemies. We can make do with it first. After all, we are facing the Russians who are not very effective in fighting, not the Germans who are armed to the teeth. And the Russian Civil War has not yet In the end, even if one side wins, they don't have ten years to recover from it. We don't have to worry about the war coming soon." Stahlberg said.

"Of course the war won't come soon. There will be peace between the two sides within ten years, or even fifteen years. But what about the future? Twenty years later, or even farther away? Personally, I feel that after your tactful refusal After forming a military alliance with Germany, the help the Germans gave us can be described as coping. They let us out a little symbolically through their teeth. They are not willing to share military technology and new equipment with us." Mannerheim said.

"We can't easily join any military alliance. We are different from Germany and Russia. They can gain benefits through war, but we can't. You have been on the battlefield yourself and know how terrifying a war between major powers is! A large battle will lose hundreds of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of troops! And how many people does Finland have? The total is less than 4 million. We really can’t stand such a huge casualty. Once we are tied to a certain country’s chariot, then regardless of the final outcome of the war, these losses are unbearable for us," Stahlberg said.

"So you want military help from Germany and even security guarantees, but you don't want to fulfill your obligations?" Mannerheim said.

"Yes, I am the President of Finland. I must consider these issues from the standpoint of Finland. For us, the best result is to avoid any war. If we rely on Germany, we can use the friendly relationship with Germany to Intimidating the Russians so that they do not dare to act rashly is naturally the best result. But if Germany takes the initiative to attack Russia, we will at most choose a biased neutrality. We can provide Germany with some help, but it definitely does not include direct embroilment. Go to war!" said Stalberg.

"It's hard to do this. If I were a German, I could at most sell some advanced weapons to Finland, but I would never provide them for free, let alone make military guarantees. Germans believe in pragmatism, and they Reject any alliance in name. For allies, they will do their best to help, but for those who plan to fish in troubled waters, they will never pretend. For example, Italy, after Italy chose to attack Turkey, Germany and Austria have actually put Italy Excluded from the alliance system. In the second half of the war, Italy once proposed to join the Allies to fight against Britain and France, but was flatly rejected by the German government." Mannerheim said.

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