I'm the boss because I have a harem of anime characters.

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To put it bluntly, Western Europe hoped to protect its independence by paying tribute to the Soviet Union.

As for the reasons or excuses for giving out the money, that's something politicians and the government decide; ordinary people can't figure it out or find any evidence.

Secret politics has always been a European tradition. They are simply putting their traditional skills to use now.

However, Western European countries were not entirely unprepared. Even those destined to be swept into the dustbin of history would fight tooth and nail for their lives, let alone Western Europe at that time, which possessed the world's second-largest military industrial production system after the United States and the Soviet Union.

Although World War II destroyed many things, some things will never be completely lost as long as they were ever possessed.

Since the United States was no longer of any use, Britain and France simply lifted the armament restrictions on West Germany and began transferring armed personnel to West Germany.

West Germany was well aware that this meant putting itself at the forefront. If it yielded too quickly, Britain and France would consider how to kneel before the Soviet Union in a comfortable position.

If they could withstand the Soviet Union's initial three-pronged attack, Britain and France would not have minded increasing their investment, and even Italy, which was a fence-sitter, would have adopted a confrontational stance against the Soviet Union. At that time, the whole of Western Europe would have become a unified entity.

However, this is just wishful thinking, because the Soviet army was not weakened by the end of the war at all. On the contrary, their technological strength is now rapidly improving.

The People's Revolutionary Union provided the Soviet Union with many technologies from the 1960s to the 1980s.

The Soviet Union has already developed the mature T-64 main battle tank, but just like the T-64 main battle tank in history, it is too expensive. Therefore, the T-72 main battle tank, its mass-production version, is also in the planning stage.

However, these tanks were only deployed in small numbers to the main Soviet forces. The vast majority of the Soviet army was equipped with T-54 medium tanks.

However, despite these T5 tanks being medium tanks and having the original name of an older model, they have actually undergone many technological upgrades, including more advanced fire control and onboard radios, as well as more powerful engines. Even the main gun has been replaced with the latest version of the 125mm tank gun, which is extremely powerful.

Without exaggeration, this T54 medium tank should be called the T54 main battle tank.

These T-54 main battle tanks were even equipped with the initial version of composite armor, and their size was also increased compared to the original. Basically, the optimization potential of the T-54 tank chassis was explored to the extreme.

This is only one aspect of the equipment of the Soviet Red Army.

Armed helicopters, AK47 assault rifles, new body armor, and rudimentary electronic integrated systems greatly enhanced the Soviet Red Army's system-of-systems combat capabilities. If the Soviet Union were to conduct another August 1st military exercise, they could indeed reach Lyon, France, within a week.

Even if the United States were still at its peak, given the Soviet Union's current ability to advance, by the time the United States arrived, the French would probably have already learned Russian, and the British would have already passed their seven-day mourning period.

With a hammer in hand, everyone looks like a nail. The Soviet Red Army, having completed its re-equipment, was eager to test its strength against NATO forces.

NATO, of course, was extremely reluctant to give the Soviet Red Army such an opportunity. Their high command hadn't had enough of life yet. Given Stalin's attitude towards capitalists, there probably wouldn't be enough streetlights to hang in Western Europe by then. However, one person was very pleased at this time: French President Charles de Gaulle.

"Danger is also an opportunity; now is the time for France to integrate the whole of Western Europe."

De Gaulle was certainly aware of the Soviet threat, but as the last idealist man in France, he wanted to seize this opportunity to make France a true continental power, completely replacing Britain and Germany, and turning Western Europe's France into France's Western Europe.

"General, I completely agree with your idea, but it needs some proof."

During this period, businessman Charles de Gaulle advised General de Gaulle on his rise to power, providing him with funds and personnel. In return, after de Gaulle came to power, he made de Gaulle a member of the cabinet and gave him a large slice of the French military industry.

This is a perfectly normal political transaction, and no one thinks there's anything wrong with it. Even if it violates the constitution, giving a patriot a benefit is better than selling out national interests to traitors.

“You’re right. So now France needs to prove its strength. I need to reorganize the French army. Those weaklings don’t fit the image of a strong nation.”

At this time, de Gaulle was thinking of using nationalism to counter communism, which was something he had done in his native world history.

Humanity's current productivity is not enough to completely break free from the narrative of nationalism, and Nazi Germany proved that nationalism also has fighting power. Although there are many hidden dangers, as long as de Gaulle did not want to salute the red flag, he had no other choice.

The greatest advantage of democracy is its fighting power. If it cannot unite the whole world, then it will distinguish the whole world by your and my identity.

At least back then, France, with its democratic ideals, was quite formidable in combat, unlike its current state. When people talk about the French army's fighting capabilities, it's as absurd as the defeat of the century-old Hiroshima army—what land-based power would lose its entire country in 42 days?

However, it was unrealistic to expect the French army to have the fighting capacity of the Napoleonic era in a short period of time. So de Gaulle came up with a clever trick: he broke up the French Foreign Legion and assigned them to the French army as officers.

How can this be explained? Could it be that the legendary French army could only sweep across Europe when under the command of foreigners?

This joke is absolutely horrible.

There was no other way; this was the best solution de Gaulle could come up with in a short period of time, and at least the combat effectiveness of the French Foreign Legion could still be guaranteed.

In addition to carrying out sweeping reforms of the French army, Egaole actively contacted Western European countries and began trying to find allies around the world, demanding that North African countries send troops to support France in exchange for allowing them to become independent.

Even if the combat effectiveness of the African legion cannot be guaranteed, they can still be used to fill gaps.

At the same time, de Gaulle demanded that Britain send at least 50 soldiers to stand by in West Germany to demonstrate their determination to stand with the rest of Western Europe.

There was no other way; the British had been so disastrous during World War I, and France simply didn't want to be on the front lines alone again.

Britain had no objection to this, because they were also aware that if Britain did not state its position and attitude at this time, France might very well go directly to the Soviet Union. De Gaulle was a very pragmatic man, and if France really had no hope of stopping the Soviet Union, then joining was also an option.

To avoid the hellish scenario of nuclear missiles being erected across the English Channel from becoming a reality, Britain has been very proactive this time. The first batch of troops arrived in place less than a month after de Gaulle's visit to Britain, and this attitude is commendable.

To demonstrate its determination to resist to the end, the British cabinet underwent a temporary major reshuffle. The hardline Prime Minister Churchill returned to his loyal 10 Downing Street, and the cabinet was replaced with a group of hawkish pro-war officials, seemingly determined to fight the Soviet Union to the bitter end.

However, de Gaulle certainly didn't believe it. Britain and France had been locked in a love-hate relationship for so many years, the French knew exactly what the other side was thinking.

Does changing the wartime cabinet mean they've truly resisted to the end? Don't dream. When needed, they can immediately replace it with a group of British Communists, then raise the red flag and declare Britain a socialist country.

On matters of life and death, Britain has never made the wrong choice; they are far more flexible than Italy.

As for West Germany, they responded to France's demand by recruiting a million soldiers.

Portugal and Spain both pledged to send troops to aid Germany, and Italy also deployed troops to West Germany.

At least on the surface, Western Europe still appears to be very united.

In this tense atmosphere, the American Civil War entered its most intense phase.

Section 29: All-American Free Fighting Tournament

Alright, dear viewers, next up is an epic American historical film—the Civil War!

First up was the Republican team representing the red states.

They chanted "Make America Great Again!" He vowed to eliminate all traitors who opposed the federal government, for they were the embodiment of American justice, their hearts and actions as clear as a mirror, every word and deed righteous. Any traitor who sought to divide America would be reduced to ashes by their hellish rage!

Next up is the Democratic Party team from the blue states of the United States.

They chanted for freedom; they were the symbols of America's eagles of freedom, and inclusion and diversity were their motto. As the new generation inheritors of the American immigrant spirit, the Democratic Party believed they would ultimately triumph!

Alright, now that both sides have made their grand entrance, let's wish this American Civil War a perfect ending!

Remember our motto: "Fighting comes first, friendship is nothing, crush the enemy, destiny is in our hands."

Come on, chosen ones of America, it's time to face your destiny!

For the American people, they don't know if their government can face its destiny, but they certainly can't live a good life anymore.

After all, whether it's the Democratic Party or the Republican Party, their core base consists of American capitalists. And for capitalists, war is a lucrative opportunity; how could they not seize the chance to profit from national crisis and live up to their capitalist status?

As a result, prices in the United States are skyrocketing. Although it hasn't reached the point where a loaf of bread costs $50, it has certainly caused widespread discontent among ordinary Americans in a short period of time.

"Shit! I never bought bread this expensive during World War II."

"Luncheon meat costs so much? Why don't you just rob someone?"

"I just don't understand why rents are going up too. Is your property going to join the fight?"

"It's really awful. He's made my monthly household food expenses at least double."

Many Americans are complaining, but life hasn't gotten to the point where it's completely unbearable, so their complaints are currently just that—complaints.

Both parties in the US are well aware of this. Whoever wins this American civil war will completely seize the opposing side's capital base and make internal concessions to their own. They will then be able to reintegrate American resources. The victor's power will be greater than ever before.

The thought of the spoils of victory would tempt even the most tactful capitalist to reveal a greedy glint in their eyes.

To entice ordinary citizens to dedicate themselves to the American war effort, both parties went to great lengths to paint a rosy picture of life after their respective victories. This rhetoric proved highly effective, at least in the short term. Citizens from both the Red and Blue camps enthusiastically enlisted, further fueled by infiltrators on both sides. The total military strength of the Eastern and Western governments quickly swelled to nearly 500 million, with over ten million reservists waiting to enlist, pushing America's manpower potential to its absolute limit.

At this point, astute American politicians had already realized the problem: their policies had been implemented too well, to an excessive degree. Such large-scale conscription meant that if the war ended or escalated further, the American civil war would never end.

Even if they knew, what could they do? They've gone on and on. Democrats or Republicans, their only way out is to kill each other. Only the survivors are qualified to feast on the corpses of the dead and become even more terrifying beings.

Only victory would give them enough resources to control and ensure that their supporters could reap the benefits of victory, thereby easing internal conflicts in the United States.

To put it more extremely, war is also a good opportunity to eliminate troublemakers. Wasn't the outbreak of World War I partly due to the interference of Maximists?

If you can't solve the problem, then solve the people who discovered and created it.

The brutal law of the jungle has once again descended upon the land of North America.

Now that both sides are ready, let the American Civil War begin.

Because both sides wanted a quick victory, they moved their main forces to the front-line states, roughly divided (from north to south): North Dakota, Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas.

The most familiar one here is definitely Texas. It was traditionally considered a rebel state within the United States. And this time, they were also on the front lines of the American Civil War. Unlike other states, Texas had a complete military-industrial production system (it wasn't as perfect in 1955, but the production of small arms and the maintenance of heavy weapons were still no problem), so their weapons and equipment could be procured locally and directly deployed to the front lines.

Even the equipment used by the Oklahoma National Guard was purchased from Texas, and one-third of the Blue Army's forces on the front lines were tied down there.

There's nothing we can do; Texas is just too good at this.

In comparison, the fighting in other states was not as intense, and large areas of the battlefield even turned into trench warfare similar to that of World War I.

There's nothing that can be done about it. The central United States is mostly plains. The reason why the fighting in some states in the central region is not intense is mainly because their terrain is plateau, such as the Ozark Plateau which is adjacent to the Mississippi Plain. Even if the US armored forces were to rush in, they couldn't break through and could only go around it.

However, due to the dense network of waterways in that area, the river fleet that served during the American Civil War has been rejuvenated and revitalized.

The core vessels on both sides engaged in a fierce battle along their respective river routes in Hanoi. This was a vital transportation hub that had to be contested, as river transport was second only to sea transport in value. If one wanted to transport troops and resupply ammunition to the front lines cheaply and in large quantities, the river was a transportation resource that had to be controlled.

Both the Eastern and Western governments built supply depots near the river. These depots stored large quantities of food, weapons, and ammunition. Some depots were converted from nearby towns and had complete living facilities. These locations were crucial to both sides.

As a young nation, the United States clearly lacked sufficient experience in civil war; at the very least, they had not yet figured out how to seize strategic points and contend for supremacy should the country be divided into East and West.

In contrast, look at Xinhua's 5000-year history. They have thoroughly understood that land and knew exactly which locations to control and which strategic strongholds to compromise in their quest for supremacy.

When strategic understanding is inadequate, tactics become the focus of contention between the two sides. The actual battle situation becomes a tug-of-war where every inch of ground is fought for, with both sides engaging in a protracted struggle.

This is very disadvantageous for the Eastern governments. The Great Lakes industrial region of the United States is not yet a hollowed-out Rust Belt, and it is under the control of Democratic governments.

Therefore, after the fighting broke out on the front lines, in addition to full-scale war mobilization, the Republican government in the United States also launched diplomatic activities and imported weapons through various channels.

How should I put it? It has a feel to it, like during the American Civil War, when the Southern states were buying weapons and ammunition everywhere.

The Republican administration's inherent weakness lay in its insufficient industrial output. Players were well aware of this. Therefore, when the American Civil War broke out, many patriots within the Republican administration began to actively support industrial reconstruction.

The technology provided by these patriotic capitalists may not be the most advanced, but it is absolutely the most suitable for the United States at present, and it is guaranteed to make the already devastating civil war even more devastating.

If the Republican administration had investigated even slightly, it would have discovered that the origins of these weapons, equipment, and industrial facilities were unknown. It was as if they had sprung up on American soil overnight.

But in such a critical situation, even if the Republican government discovered these problems, it would choose to turn a blind eye. Those industrial equipment and weapons were actually usable, and the victory in the Civil War determined the ownership of the federal government. There was no need to worry about such trivial matters now.

Eisenhower even met with these patriotic capitalists, awarding them medals to recognize their contributions to the United States and taking photos with them. These people then naturally entered the upper echelons of the Republican government.

What's wrong? Is it strange? Revolving doors are an American feature; if you don't like it, don't play with them.

After the players rebalanced the game, the Republican government's survivability has been significantly improved, and now it is not afraid of even a protracted war.

There's a small problem: we're not worried about the consumption of weapons and medicine, but what about the consumption of lives? It takes at least 16 years to raise a child to adulthood, but on the battlefield, a life can be lost with just one bullet.

In any case, exchanging flesh and blood for steel is not a worthwhile trade. This has already been proven by the liberation offensive of the Human Socialist Reform Alliance in the Indochina Peninsula.

Neither of the two US governments cared about such a trivial matter, since it wasn't them who were being sent to the battlefield. Instead, to demonstrate unity between the two governments, many players, acting as capitalists, personally sent their nominal children and heirs to the battlefield. This was to show that the American leadership stood with their people.

This deceptive act spurred a surge of American citizens to enlist, ensuring that enough corpses would fill every trench in the American Civil War.

As a result, in the first month of the war, both sides suffered more than 30 casualties.

For both sides, which had already mobilized tens of millions, the loss of 30 might not seem like much. But you have to understand that this was only the result of the first month of fighting. If the war lasted longer and more intensely than two months, the bloodshed in the American Civil War would have already exceeded that of World War I and World War II.

Considering the resilience of their own people, both Democratic and Republican governments launched blitzkriegs, concentrating mechanized forces in an attempt to break through key enemy defenses.

The M48 tank and the Patton tank became mortal enemies on the battlefield. The Republicans used red paint and the Democrats used blue paint, and the two sides fought with the momentum of the US-Soviet war on the central plains of the United States.

Both sides' vanguard forces were elite units that had participated in World War II, either fighting the Japanese in the Pacific or the Third Reich in Europe. The battle took place near Omaha, Nebraska, with more than 2,000 tanks deployed, and the density of armored units per square kilometer exceeded that of the Battle of Kursk.

However, before the armored forces clashed, the air forces of both sides engaged in fierce combat, with F-86s fighting F-86s. Other available propeller-driven fighters were also deployed to the battlefield. Although they were no longer capable of fighting jet aircraft, they were still very effective at harassing armored ground units. The tactical thinking on both sides was remarkably consistent: to first seize air superiority and then inflict maximum damage on the other side.

There was a minor problem: the air forces on both sides were evenly matched, and even the pilots were of similar quality. After a full day of fierce fighting, the air forces on both sides suffered heavy losses. In the end, the armored forces of the red and blue camps began to fight against the enemy's armored forces without the cover of their own air forces.

This was a pure armor collision.

As both sides sought to outflank the other, the battle lines stretched continuously, and the battleground gradually shifted south and north. Eventually, the armored forces on both sides split in two: the northern forces fought in Minnesota, while the southern forces moved to Arkansas, demonstrating the formidable mobility of armored forces, especially in plains areas.

As for the empty space in the middle, it can only be filled with machine gun trenches, barbed wire, and minefields. The combat mode instantly changed from the mobile warfare of World War II to the tower defense clashes of World War I.

By this time, both sides had exhausted their three main strategies, panting heavily as they hid behind their defensive lines, staring intently at each other. The time had come to December 1955.

This undoubtedly sends a clear signal to the outside world that the American civil war is unlikely to stop in the short term, and for NATO countries in Europe, they really can only rely on themselves now.

During this period, European countries did attempt to mediate the conflict between the two sides in the American Civil War. But just as an honest judge finds it difficult to settle family disputes, the opinions of outsiders carried no persuasive weight.

However, this is also a good thing for Europe, as they have now truly abandoned all illusions and are preparing for war.

Indeed, preparations for war had to be made, because the mobilization of the Soviet Red Army was no longer concealed, and the American Civil War lasted for a full year, fully demonstrating that the United States had completely lost its ability to intervene in foreign affairs.

At that time, Britain and France did not possess nuclear weapons. Even if the United States transferred some nuclear weapons to Britain and France to cause trouble for the Soviet Union, they would absolutely not dare to use them, because the Soviet Union had more nuclear bombs and could completely nuke the major cities of the two countries. Given the land area of ​​Britain and France, if a few nuclear bombs were used, they would be completely finished.

Amidst a complex atmosphere of anticipation, confusion, anxiety, and excitement, World Twelve arrived in 1956.

While American soldiers were spending Christmas in the trenches, the Soviet Union was fully prepared to sweep across the whole of Europe.