One man's resistance against Japan, I mobilized a million people to aid Shanghai.

Three days later.

Inside the Prime Minister's Office's underground operations room, ***'s eyes were fixed on the operational map on the wall.

"Are you ready?"

"Yes!"

"Let's begin!"

......

In the depths of the forests of East Prussia, night provides the best cover.

Heinz stood beside his command vehicle, gazing at the column of tanks before him, which stretched out like a giant steel python.

These were the latest weapons of the Third Reich's armored forces, Panzer III and IV tanks, their gray paint gleaming coldly in the moonlight.

The soldiers were conducting final checks, talking in hushed tones, their breath dissipating into the cold night air.

"General, the 19th Armored Corps has all reached its designated positions."

The chief of staff reported in a low voice.

"Fuel and ammunition resupply completed. All units shall remain on radio silence."

Heinz nodded, took out his pocket watch, and glanced at it.

This leading advocate of the "blitzkrieg" theory was not at peace at this moment.

He knew that in a few hours, the armored force he had personally trained would be put to its first real-world test.

The theories in textbooks are about to be transformed into a torrent of steel, either proving them correct or proving them to be insane.

150 kilometers away, Ehrlich was lying on the concrete steps of a hidden observation post, observing the dilapidated border outpost through a high-powered telescope.

As Chief of Staff of Army Group South, he personally oversaw the final deployment of this first-ever large-scale armored assault.

"The infantry divisions of the 10th Army have moved into attack positions."

His adjutant handed him a document: "The First and Fourth Air Forces report that all forward airfields are ready, with a total of 1,600 aircraft on standby."

Erich straightened up and dusted off his uniform:

"Inform all division commanders that no revealing actions are permitted before dawn."

"Although the border troops of the ragtag people are poorly equipped, they are not blind."

His plan was bold and risky, concentrating the main force of the Third Reich on its northern and southern flanks to form a pincer movement, rather than the traditional all-out offensive.

Army Group North, commanded by Fedor, will launch an attack from Pomerania and East Prussia to cut off the Danzig Corridor.

Army Group South, commanded by Gerd, launched an attack from Silesia and Slovakia, heading straight for Warsaw.

What was truly lethal was the coordination between armored divisions and dive bombers, a completely new form of warfare.

At 1 a.m., the frontline infantry of the Third Reich began to quietly cut the barbed wire along the border.

The engineering corps erected a temporary pontoon bridge across the river, each movement precise and silent.

The tank engine was kept cool, and it was quietly pushed into its final concealed position by horses and soldiers.

Along the entire German-Polish border, 150 million German troops were like a bowstring being slowly pulled taut, while the poor had only a vague sense of their presence.

......

A small radar station in the Third Reich on the German-Polish border.

In the dead of night, the radar station was completely silent, save for the occasional chirping of cicadas.

Suddenly, a burst of intense gunfire shattered the rare silence.

"Bang bang bang!"

"Bang bang bang!"

Three German soldiers were wounded, and the *** was furious upon learning the news.

Subsequently, without waiting for Po Lan's explanation, *** directly issued the war order.

......

The dilapidated town of Vilon, a border post.

Private Kowalski wrapped his coat tighter around himself and paced back and forth in the watchtower to keep warm.

It was already 3 a.m., and there were still two hours before the shift change.

The eastern horizon was still pitch black, but Kowalski had a feeling that something was off tonight.

A few hours earlier, the outpost received a report from its superiors: there was unusual troop movement within the territory of the Third Reich.

But we've heard these warnings far too many times in the past few months, and the sense of urgency has become numbed.

Although the high command of the dilapidated army was on guard, they still harbored illusions: perhaps XHZ was just bluffing, perhaps the assurances from the French and the British would work, and perhaps war would not actually break out.

"Kowalski, come down and have a cup of hot tea," came his companion's voice from below the tower.

Kowalski was about to respond when he caught a glimpse of something unusual at the edge of his vision.

On the edge of the Third Reich forest across the way, a metallic glint seemed to flash. He raised his binoculars and adjusted the focus, but there was only darkness.

"Suspicious and paranoid."

He muttered to himself, but still kept his finger on the rifle trigger.

Suddenly, a sharp whistling sound pierced the night sky.

Before Kowalski could react, the deafening explosion knocked him to the ground.

The main building of the outpost was hit directly, and wood chips and bricks flew everywhere.

Then came the second and third shells, and the entire border position was instantly engulfed in flames.

At 4:45 a.m., the Third Reich battleship "Schleswig-Holstein" suddenly opened fire on the dilapidated garrison positions on the Westerplatte Peninsula under the pretext of visiting the port of Danzig.

The main guns of this old warship roared, marking the official start of the war.

Almost simultaneously, six thousand German artillery pieces opened fire along the entire German-Polish border.

The sky was dyed orange-red by the gunfire, and the earth groaned as it trembled.

The ragged defenders were awakened from their sleep, many of them being engulfed by artillery fire before they could even reach their positions.

The Third Reich's army, like hungry wolves, charged straight at the Ragged Men's position, but the Ragged Men were not unprepared.

......

Heinz's armored command vehicle, the Gretel, sped across the ravaged eastern plains. A continuous stream of reports from various units came through the radio:

"The 3rd Armored Division has broken through the Blahi River defense line and is advancing towards Tuhora."

"The 20th Motorized Division is encountering a counterattack from the Polish 18th Cavalry Regiment and is currently engaged in combat."

"The vanguard of the 10th Panzer Division has cut off the railway line in the northern Danzig Corridor."

Heinz picked up the microphone:

"Don't engage the infantry! Your mission is to break through enemy lines and divide them! Let the follow-up infantry divisions clear out the resistance strongholds!"

His tactical ideas are being executed perfectly.

The armored formations, acting as the spearhead, tore through the defenses and, disregarding flank safety, pressed deep into enemy territory.

The dilapidated army's deployment is still stuck in World War I thinking, with defenses evenly distributed along the border, lacking strategic depth and mobile reserves.

A piercing whistling sound came from the sky.

Heinz looked up and saw a group of Stuka dive bombers swooping down on the dilapidated positions in the distance like vultures.

These JU-87 bombers were equipped with speakers that emitted terrifying shrieks during dives, which greatly shocked the defenders.

"The air support was timely," the chief of staff commented.

Heinz nodded: "Tell the air force to prioritize attacks on Polish command posts and communications centers."

"We must blind them and deaf them."

The scene at the front lines resembled an apocalyptic painting.

German tanks formed a wedge formation on the plain, kicking up clouds of dust.

The battered cavalry launched a tragic counterattack, the last large-scale cavalry charge in history.

When a warhorse faces a steel monster, the outcome is already predetermined.

This was not a war at all, but a complete massacre.

Faced with the steel behemoths, these cavalrymen were utterly powerless to resist and were slaughtered at will by the German tanks.

The German army surged forward at breakneck speed, and the ragged men were forced into retreat.

Meanwhile, Army Group South made even faster progress.

Ehrlich's pincer movement began to show its power.

The armored forces of the 10th Army made multiple breakthroughs on a broad front, crippling the "Loz" Army Group and quickly putting it in danger of being divided and encircled.

"The main Polish army is retreating towards the Vistula River."

Ehrlich marked on the map, "Order the 15th Motorized Corps to accelerate its advance and seize the crossing before they establish a new defensive line."

The brutality of war was on full display from the very first day.

The town of Veron was razed to the ground by artillery fire, and the roads were crowded with civilians fleeing the bombardment, moving in the opposite direction to the German troops advancing westward.

Many battered soldiers, separated from their units in the chaos, still spontaneously organized resistance, attacking German armored vehicles with anti-tank rifles and Molotov cocktails.

......

At 9 a.m. Warsaw time, the dilapidated presidential palace.

President Mohzlittsky listened to the General Staff report, his face pale.

"The Danzig Corridor has fallen, and the Pomeranian Army Group has been cut off."

"In the direction of Silesia, German armored forces have penetrated 50 kilometers into our territory."

The room was filled with smoke, and the generals were arguing incessantly.

"We must immediately withdraw all troops behind the Vistula River and establish a new defensive line!"

"No! We should hold our ground and wait for John Bull and the Gallic Rooster to come to our aid!"

"John Bull and the Gallic Rooster?"

Some people said bitterly, "The war has already begun, but they haven't even officially declared war yet!"

Outside the window, panic had begun to spread through the streets of Warsaw.

Radio broadcasts were interrupted from their regular programming, repeatedly playing mobilization orders and air raid sirens.

The first wave of refugees poured into the city from the west, bringing with them horrific sights from the front lines.

"The Third Reich's tanks came like a tidal wave..."

"The sky is full of their planes..."

"Our cavalry charged the tanks; it was a massacre..."

The dilapidated air force was almost completely wiped out on the first day.

Although the pilots fought bravely and shot down more than 120 German aircraft, the disadvantages in both quantity and quality were difficult to overcome.

By the end of the first day, less than a third of the dilapidated planes were still capable of taking off compared to before the war began.

However, even in despair, the resistance continued.

The Polish General Staff ordered a "scorched earth" policy, destroying bridges, railways, and factory facilities to slow the German advance.

Civilians spontaneously organized themselves to provide food and intelligence to the troops.

In the evening, John Bull and the Gallic Rooster finally officially declared war on Germany.

Thus began the World War.

XHZ thought they were about to dominate the world, but what they didn't know was that the biggest beneficiary of this eastward expansion was Zhu Ganglie in the East.

At this moment, Zhu Ganglie is doing something that will affect the entire world's timeline.