Von Brauchitsch added, “Please also remember that, as in the case of Bangladesh, he should solicit the tacit approval of the British before negotiating a final deal. South Africa has been part of the British Empire since Napoleonic times. Germany would love to sell arms to countries such as this, but not at the expense of British friendship.”
The Defence Minister detailed the status of the ME262 squadrons within the Alliance. Denmark, Norway and Portugal had only one squadron each. Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania Holland, and Spain had three squadrons each. Italy had four squadrons, Poland and France had six, while Germany had fifteen, one of which was carrier based. Approximately one thousand two hundred aircraft in total.
In a wartime scenario this number would not be considered sufficient for the Alliance’s defence needs. However, certain of the Alliance countries were so pleased with the aircraft, and the prestige it apparently gives them, five of them were currently considering further acquisitions.
France was still in the throes of re-establishing a viable aircraft industry, but acknowledged that it would be a few years before they would have anything equal to the ME262. In the meantime, to honour their military commitment to the Alliance, they had no alternative but to purchase the German combat aircraft. And learn from it!
Much the same situation applied with the mobile artillery and tanks. There were now about nineteen hundred Panther and Tiger tanks, and nine hundred mobile guns/rocket launchers within the Alliance, and these numbers were still steadily increasing.
The military forces of Germany and the European Alliance were in good shape.
The Economics Minister gave his usual heartening news of the continued growth of the economy, and of the country’s increasing monetary reserves. Germany was now in the envious position of being able to lend money to other nations at favourable interest rates. However, he had drawn up strict guidelines for doing so. Only countries with suitable histories, stable economies, approved governments, and with the undoubted ability to repay, would be considered for any such loans. Also, no loans would be given to any country whose total indebtedness exceeded twenty percent of its Gross Domestic Product, other than in exceptional circumstances.
Minister Erhard also mentioned, with a big smile, that he believed he was witnessing the start of a new form of ‘German imperialism’. In response to the quizzical looks of his audience he explained that German banks had started to acquire interests in American banks to take advantage of that booming economy. “It is a development I fully support and should pay high dividends in the future,” he said.
The remaining four Ministers had nothing of great import to contribute. All was well within their domains.
The Chancellor thanked everybody and closed the meeting.
General Sieckenius had been busy since his appointment in his new job. He had completed the military assessment of the needs of the Bangladeshi and Serbian armed forces. Copies of these had been forwarded to the Defence Minister for his consideration, before he in turn, looked for approval of the finance and trade aspects from those respective ministers.
He had then turned his attention to the South African armed forces. German intelligence had given him a fairly complete picture of their structure and equipment. They had also been able to give him a few hints as to what the South Africans might be looking for.
The South African Ambassador in Berlin had been amazed when a detailed reply to his country’s enquiry about re-equipping their armed forces, was delivered to him only two weeks after their own letter had been delivered to the German Defence Minister. German efficiency at its best!
Neither was Sieckenius sitting around waiting for other countries to come to him. He started by calling for intelligence reports on all of the South and Central American countries and their military forces. He picked Argentina as his first target. A visit to their embassy in Berlin quickly resulted in an invitation to visit their country and meet with the President and the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.
Before wasting any further time, Sieckenius informed General von Mannstein of this development, and asked for the Governing Councils feeling on Argentina.
It had been only two months earlier that the current President of Argentina, Juan Peron, had been appointed. This country, with a population of forty million, had gone through a period of political instability and periodic economic crises in the 1930s. It was considered a regional power in Latin America and, importantly, was anti-communist. The army was also highly Germanophile. The air force operated about two hundred obsolescent aircraft. The navy was relatively strong, being ranked about eighth strongest in the world.
It had taken less than two weeks for Sieckenius to get his answer from General von Mannstein. Yes, there was a good case for offering aircraft, tanks and other arms to Argentina. However, the Economics Ministry expressed a wish to be cautious about any long term financial assistance that may be requested. Now it was up to Sieckenius to see what deal he could put together.
Sieckenius had been received royally in Argentina. On his second evening there, he had attended a dinner hosted by the President and his charming wife, Evita. President Peron had taken a personal interest in the arms talks, to make sure his senior officers and government officials conducted all discussions efficiently and with the minimum of wasted time. A pleasant surprise in Latin America!
The Argentinians had a long shopping list. Sieckenius gazed at it with satisfaction. They wanted one hundred jet fighters, ten military versions of the Focke-Wulf Starflight, two hundred and fifty tanks, one hundred and fifty mobile guns and rocket launchers, FAL automatic rifles, and machine guns. One of his host’s stipulations was that the rifles and machine guns should be produced locally under licence. Assistance would be needed to build the factory.
The navy required ten fast patrol launches, (E-Boats), four destroyers and four submarines. Sieckenius was stunned when the President himself said he would like an aircraft carrier as their country’s future flagship.
After sending the list to Berlin, the German General stayed in Buenos Aires awaiting a reply from his superiors. It came five days later. Everything could be supplied. The costs and estimated delivery dates were included. He had already had preliminary discussions with the Argentinian Defence Minister about the method of payment. They had offered an initial payment of one half of the total, and the balance by way of a loan from Germany.
After being advised of the Argentinian payment terms, the German Economics Ministry confirmed that in principle the terms were acceptable but would be subject to the usual investigation into Argentina’s financial status by a small team from the Ministry. These people could be in Argentina two weeks after receiving the arms order. They would need no more than two weeks to assess the loan application.
Unexpectedly, the Governing Council had included a further stipulation. Sieckenius was to discuss the matter of the Falkland Islands with the Argentinians.
Because of Germany’s special relationship with Great Britain, the possibility of German arms being used by Argentina in an attempt to annex the Falkland Islands, was of some concern.