Chapter 688: Falling Out

Sometimes, one has to admire humanity’s persistent pursuit of technology. This preference has become a major driving force for the advancement of human civilization. As various inventions are born one by one, humanity also moves towards a more brilliant future.

With the continuous development of the war, the demand for developing optical aiming systems grew ever larger. Germany’s optical equipment was a world leader, so its engineers and technicians had more than doubled their technological capabilities in just one short year.

As the quality of optical equipment improved, the photographic equipment used on German reconnaissance aircraft also became more precise. Then, according to various needs, some corresponding functions were also developed, perfected, and expanded. For example, color photography technology, which was quite precious before the Second World War, was slowly becoming popular among the German middle-income population. Akado, for his part, had enjoyed the convenience this technology brought to his family much earlier.

The fineness of the film and the techniques for developing it all saw unprecedented development during this time. High-ranking German generals could even use higher-resolution, clearer, and color-differentiated photos to analyze high-value targets deep within the enemy’s strategic rear. Of course, because the technology was not as mature as it is today, this was limited to high-value targets.

While Caesar lay quietly in his crib, Akado had already taken countless precious photos of him, many of which were the latest in color photography. These photos recorded precious images of Caesar with his eyes closed and his body bare. The little fellow’s childhood was clearly more than twice as happy as Akado’s.

Just as Akado was watching with a smile as his personal photographer, Hugo, took one precious souvenir picture after another of his son with the latest camera, a major stood at the door, holding a file and constantly winking at Anna, who was standing by Akado’s side. Anna knew that something urgent must have happened, otherwise the military intelligence liaison office would not have disturbed the Führer’s private rest space.

So she had no choice but to gently tug on the corner of Akado’s clothes to remind the Führer that someone had come to see him with an important document. Akado looked towards the door, then forced an apologetic smile at Mercedes by the bedside. Only then did he get up and walk over to the officer, taking the file from his hand.

“My Führer! Just now, American bombers attacked our oil field facilities in Romania. A chemical factory was hit and is on fire, and seventeen civilian houses have collapsed. The fire department is organizing the rescue of the Romanian civilian victims,” the officer said, raising his right hand in a salute to Akado and then standing at attention to briefly introduce the contents of the telegram.

In fact, the American and Soviet bombing of Romania had also caused damage to an oil facility, but after emergency repairs, it had already resumed production. So, based on the basic principle of downplaying major incidents, the local garrison and the air force command had both decided not to report such a minor loss to the great Führer, who was busy with a myriad of state affairs. After all, the Führer was very busy and should not be troubled by minor matters.

However, compared to the losses, the brilliant combat results were definitely worth showing off and were enough to downplay the local damage in Romania. The German army had deployed a full 410 fighter planes and 120 anti-aircraft guns to intercept the invading enemy aircraft. The results of the interception could be described as spectacular. At least 250 American planes and 150 Soviet planes were shot down, while Germany had only suffered the minor loss of 31 fighters.

The air force had produced 12 ace pilots in one go, and the phenomenal Hartmann had shot down more than 10 enemy planes in that day’s battle, bringing his total score to over 140, forcing other German pilots to sadly admit that to be born in the same era as such a genius meant they were destined never to become the top ace.

“American bombers?” Akado, who had been involved in politics for 10 years, was very sensitive and grasped the truly noteworthy thing in this report. In the past, American bombers had often tried to attack German targets, but as long as it was not within the North African theater, the internal German reports would, with a tacit understanding, use the term “British Air Force.”

The officer had clearly prepared before coming, so he immediately replied, “My Führer, this time the American bombers did not change their camouflage. I don’t know if it was because there was no time or a lack of materials, but in any case, this time the American bombers were all in the standard U.S. Army Air Corps paint scheme.”

Akado’s expression immediately darkened. He tossed the file to the officer beside him, then looked at Anna and ordered, “Have Mr. August… and Merkel, come to the Führer’s residence to see me immediately! Immediately! Notify Fanny to bring her personnel and equipment and prepare for a broadcast and video recording, to the standard of an important press conference!”

Clearly, the news that the Romanian oil fields had been bombed had already been sent to the Chancellor’s Office and the Foreign Ministry. After all, for American bombers to appear in quasi-German airspace without changing their camouflage was no longer a simple military operation, but a rather serious political incident.

So Akado did not have to wait long. August and Merkel arrived at the Führer’s residence one after the other. It was clear that they were already on their way before Akado had summoned them. As soon as they met, the three of them dispensed with the pleasantries and got straight to the issue of the Romanian air raid.

“The Americans may have sensed that the situation in North Africa is getting out of control, so they have adopted a preemptive strategy against us,” August said, pointing at the map in front of him. “We are approaching the Middle East. Once we break through the Suez Canal defense line, the Americans will lose the entire Middle Eastern oil-producing region, and we will gain another huge oil production base.”

Merkel nodded and added, “On the other hand, several old gentlemen from the Jewish financial consortium and their representatives have approached me several times. They are eagerly hoping that we will support them in establishing their own country in the Jerusalem area. For this, they are willing to provide a large amount of funds to support our continued expansion towards the Middle East.”

Akado knew about this. The Jewish financial consortium was no longer as cautious as it had been a year ago. They saw the hope of Germany winning the war and the possibility of Akado fulfilling his promise. Therefore, the European Jewish groups, which had not been actively supporting Akado before, had now put up their own capital to support his plan to continue expanding military operations in North Africa.

An important part of this was that the Jewish financial consortium in France had actually taken out the reserve gold that Vichy France had hidden in a secret base on the outskirts of Paris to serve as funds to support the expansion of the German army. When a full 100 tons of gold were transported out of the underground vault, the dazzling light almost blinded the German special forces soldiers who were escorting it. This also proved from another angle that, as a former European power, the defeated France still had a lot of potential to be tapped.

Of course, in fact, there was still a great distance between the hopes of the Jews and Akado’s plan. Akado was actively preparing for an unprecedentedly large-scale battle with the Soviet Union on the Eastern Front when winter came, while the Jews hoped that Akado would stop his offensives in other directions and concentrate his forces on helping them restore their nation first. Clearly, on this matter, Akado would not easily compromise. After all, the support of the Jews could not make up for the losses he might suffer on the Eastern Front.

“Putting aside the matter of the Jews for the time being, the fact that the Americans have torn off their masks this time and suddenly struck at our most vital point is a problem that must be solved immediately,” Akado said, his voice growing colder as he mentioned the Americans’ blatant act of cutting the ground from under his feet. He walked over to the huge world map, stood opposite August, and placed his hand on the locations of Washington and New York. “The Third Reich will absolutely not be a passive victim! Merkel! Fanny is already in the next room. The press conference will be held immediately. I’ll give you ten minutes. The Holy German Third Reich officially declares war on the United States of America!”

“Führer! You… are you really going to declare war on the United States?” Merkel knew that Akado had always been very wary of a falling out with the United States in foreign policy. He had even acquiesced to American military actions in Africa without any preparation for a break. To suddenly declare war on a great power like the United States at this critical juncture, just as the Eastern Front campaign was about to begin, was definitely not a wise choice.

“The Führer is correct. I think that in a few hours at most, the American declaration of war will be delivered to the German Foreign Ministry…” August, of course, also knew that it was not that Akado wanted to declare war at this time, but that the Americans were preparing to do so. Otherwise, those planes would not have appeared without British camouflage, nor would they have simultaneously dispatched such a large number of aircraft to suddenly attack the Romanian oil field facilities, which were crucial to Germany.

“Mr. August is right! The Empire cannot be forced to declare war on the other side every time. Since the United States has shamelessly attacked without a declaration, we will declare war first!” Akado said, clenching his fists tightly.

He was already used to this feeling. When you least want to face a war, the enemy will start one. After all, to become a world power, no one is an idiot. Roosevelt and his generals had analyzed the situation very thoroughly: Germany had already cut off the Cape of Good Hope route to the Middle East, and the battle in Egypt was already out of control. This was no different from a declaration of war by both sides, so there was no need to maintain the superficial state of peace anymore.

Just as Akado made up his mind to declare war on the United States, the Americans were also preparing their own press conference for a declaration of war. It seemed that a war between the two most important forces in the Second World War was now inevitable.

Published: 2025-09-18T11:08:37.000+00:00
Last Edited: 2026-02-27T18:42:21.000+00:00
URL: https://www.patreon.com/caleredhair/posts/mtr-c688-falling-139175589

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