From a serious academic perspective, Fascism and Nazism cannot be considered the same ideological current. Fascism originated in Italy, a political concept with roots in the Roman era. Its hallmark was the belief that the state is supreme and that power must be centralized, coupled with a fierce opposition to democratic elections. Mussolini’s pursuit of this path was driven by a desire to restore Italy's national dignity.

Nazism, while also a model aimed at national revival through a centralized regime where the state was supreme, added the element of radical racism—the belief that humans are inherently unequal. Consequently, during its tenure, the Nazi regime engaged in the brutal slaughter and even extermination of those it deemed "inferior races."

The Jews were driven out, with several million dying over the years. Other groups, such as the Romani, were treated with equal cruelty. However, the Romani lacked the wealth of the Jews, and few voices were raised in their defense.

Based on these differences, Europe contained both a "Fascist Bloc" and a "Nazi Bloc." The Nazi Bloc consisted of the Central and Eastern European nations controlled by Germany, while the Fascist Bloc included these plus Italy and France.

Since France and Italy had withdrawn from the Axis, only the Nazi Bloc remained on the European continent. At this time, Bulgaria was its easternmost member.

In February 1945, the German forces in Bulgaria noticed a shift: the fighters supporting the World People's Liberation Army ground offensive had changed from jets to propeller planes. Had this occurred over the German mainland, the Luftwaffe would have been overjoyed. The German troops in Bulgaria, however, had no reason for celebration.

In previous air battles, the Luftwaffe’s jet strength in Bulgaria had been almost entirely exhausted. What few remained had been withdrawn to the fatherland to counter the massive raids by the Chinese Air Force. Now, the Germans in Bulgaria possessed neither jets nor propeller aircraft.

In the mountainous regions of southern Bulgaria, the slower speed of the propeller planes actually allowed for more precise strikes against German ground positions. The Wehrmacht, already struggling to build defenses in the mountains, found their movements paralyzed by constant overhead bombing and strafing.

The WPLA units utilized this aerial superiority to punch gap after gap in the German lines. Ultimately, the German command in Bulgaria was forced to order a retreat. If they did not withdraw soon, they would be encircled in the mountains.

German logistics were already incapable of sustaining high-intensity combat; once surrounded, they would lose all capacity to fight. From the common soldiers to the generals, the sentiment among the Germans in Bulgaria was that if they had to die, it was better to die at home.

But no sooner had they cleared the mountains than they received word: a Chinese paratrooper unit had landed in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia. The local garrison had immediately surrendered to the Chinese and turned their weapons against the Nazi regime in Bulgaria, capturing its leadership in a single sweep.

Upon hearing this, the German commander in Bulgaria felt a strange sense of relief. All obstacles to surrender had been removed; he could now lead his troops to capitulate to the Chinese military with a clear conscience.

If they returned to the German mainland now, they would likely die in battle. While dying on home soil was preferable to leaving one's bones in Bulgaria, returning home *alive* was better still.

To date, the reputation of the regular Chinese Army remained respectable. There were no rumors of them executing prisoners—a stark contrast to the World People's Liberation Army. The Spanish units of the WPLA had conducted brutal executions of captured Spanish government troops in places like Morocco. Having fought personally in the Spanish Civil War, the Germans simply did not have the courage to surrender to the WPLA.

Thus, the German command immediately contacted the Chinese Air Force to express their intentions. A few days later, tens of thousands of German troops hurried back to Sofia to surrender to a force of Chinese paratroopers that numbered only one-tenth of their own.

At this stage, the German General Staff was unwilling even to discuss the matter. They skillfully filtered the real news from Hitler and the other Nazi elite. In the art of deceiving those above them, there is little difference between the ancients and the moderns, East or West. Thus, the initial report Hitler received was that the German forces in Bulgaria had fought bitterly against overwhelming odds, but after a failed attempt to retake Sofia, they had found themselves trapped between a fortified city, pursuing enemies, and Chinese air superiority. With no escape, they had been forced to surrender.

However, Reinhard Heydrich, the de facto leader of the SS, possessed his own intelligence network. At Hitler’s demand, Heydrich provided a version of events much closer to the truth. This threw Hitler into a towering rage within the Chancellery.

"...*Zhazha!*"

"...*Wo dao Hebei Sheng lai!*" (I struggle alone!)

"...*Wei Sidalin!*"

"...*Sao furen... hao bang hao bang da...*"

Phonetic outbursts echoed through the vast offices of the Chancellery. Manstein, Model, and Guderian, who had been summoned, stood before Hitler, enduring the Führer’s furious roaring.

It must be said that while these three could understand the Bulgarian command's decision, they also felt it was a dishonorable act. Thus, they did not take Hitler’s vitriol personally.

In the end, Hitler’s fury was merely impotent rage. He had no way to send men to Bulgaria to arrest and trial the local commanders. And it wasn't just Bulgaria; German forces across the Nazi Bloc and in northern Italy were currently experiencing a crisis of morale.

Initially, these troops had truly believed that by holding the lines, they could prevent China from entering Germany. Their will to fight had been firm, and they had withstood the WPLA’s fierce onslaughts.

But as news of the continuous massive bombing of the fatherland reached the units abroad, their morale was dealt a crushing blow. At the thought that their families might be vaporized in the rear, many emotionally unstable officers and men wanted nothing more than to return home immediately.

Since Hitler was powerless to stop the Chinese raids, he was forced to accept the reality of his army's crumbling resolve.

Once Manstein and the others were finally dismissed, Hitler slumped into his chair, looking lost. In that moment, he even felt a longing for the Wolf’s Lair in East Prussia. The narrow, cramped spaces there had allowed him to curl up in a small pocket of perceived safety.

But with the Chinese attacking Germany from the south, for Hitler to remain in the north would be seen as cowardice. Driven by this feeling, he had returned to the Chancellery in Berlin. Yet the great building was so immense that he could find no place to put his mind at ease.

As he was brooding, an adjutant announced, "Führer, Governor-General Heydrich requests an audience."

Hearing that his chosen successor had arrived, Hitler felt a measure of comfort. At least Heydrich would not lie to him.

Heydrich brought another piece of bad news: "Führer, according to our intelligence, the Soviet Red Army is likely to launch an offensive against us in the near future."

Hitler was stunned. He pondered for a moment before asking, "Have Stalin and He Rui reached an agreement?"

A trace of pity flickered in Heydrich’s blue eyes. He could see that Hitler was now completely isolated from accurate information. Heydrich knew that Stalin had not met with He Rui; He Rui’s health had been so poor over the past year that he only appeared in public on major holidays, and the only foreign leader he had met was the French Premier.

Given He Rui’s political stature, he could have declined to see the French Premier. The meeting had only happened because President Pétain was too old to make the long journey to China, leaving the Premier to represent him.

Heydrich felt that Hitler was, to some extent, bringing this on himself. Every time Hitler heard bad news, he would descend into a neurotic rage and berate his subordinates. Over time, naturally, no one wanted to tell him anything that might trigger such an outburst.

Now that Hitler was asking, Heydrich told him what he knew. Hitler did not flare up at Heydrich. Instead, he thought for a while and said, "If we lose to China, we can at least say we did our best. If we lose to a Soviet sneak attack, we will be nothing but a joke. Heydrich, are you willing to command the Eastern Front?"

Heydrich had already guessed that providing this information would lead to him being sent to the East. Having served as Governor-General of Poland, he had effectively integrated the region. It was only logical for him to take charge of the entire Eastern Front.

"Führer, I request that 500 jet fighters be placed under my command," Heydrich stated his condition.

Hitler wanted to refuse but ultimately agreed. He was considering a counter-offensive when the Chinese attempted to land in Germany, and propeller planes against jets were mere lambs to the slaughter. The Wehrmacht had retained some 800 jets, and for now, he could provide Heydrich with a portion of them for a brief period.

Meanwhile, in the Kremlin, the members of the Soviet Central Committee did not believe their move against the Germans could be kept secret. This was because they had used the armistice period to completely overhaul the Red Army’s operational system.

Without the introduction of electronic computers from China, this reorganization would likely have mirrored previous failed reforms—a chaotic mess resulting in nothing. With the new tools, however, vast calculations were easily completed, and debates were settled with quantified data and comparisons.

Combined with intelligence gathered from around the world and the Red Army’s own battlefield experience, they had finally resolved the systemic issues that had plagued their operational doctrine since the 1920s.

With a proper system in place, there was no room for the small-scale "winning tricks" of the past. From a serious reconnaissance perspective, moving a million-man army was impossible to hide from an adversary with a professional military apparatus like Germany.

Since it couldn't be hidden, the Red Army focused entirely on how to fight with its maximum capability and unique characteristics.

The entire operational plan was of a high standard—at least, the Central Committee members found nothing to criticize. Although the armistice with Germany had been humiliating, the USSR had utilized the time effectively to perfect the Red Army’s combat power.

The logic of the strike was straightforward: even if the Red Army attacked, the Wehrmacht was incapable of a major counter-offensive. Thus, the Red Army split its forces into two main axes: one toward Poland and one toward Romania.

The Soviet Party no longer sought to seize all of Eastern Europe, but neither could they ignore the favorable situation. The plan incorporated elements of the previous Operation "Thunderstorm." The Soviet objective was to seize all of Poland and Romania. Invading the German mainland was not part of this plan.

If the objectives were met, the Red Army would halt at the German border and then formally contact China to discuss the final assault on the Reich.

After all, Russia had been a Great Power since the tsarist era; they understood the European mode of diplomacy. The reason for the "fight first, talk later" approach was simple: the Soviet Union did not wish to lose any more face.

Soon, Stalin made the final decision and approved the operation. Zhukov and Chuikov rose to leave. Though they walked out one after the other, Chuikov deliberately maintained a certain distance. Watching their backs, Stalin felt that Zhukov’s excessive pursuit of credit had already deeply offended the other generals of the Red Army.

Feeling resigned to his reliance on Zhukov, Stalin turned his gaze to Molotov. "Comrade Molotov, are you prepared to go to China?"

Molotov nodded. He was ready. As soon as the Red Army seized Poland and Romania, he would depart immediately. It wasn't that he didn't want to maintain a more aloof posture, but under the European diplomatic model, this Soviet offensive could easily be interpreted by China as a hostile act.

In Europe, hostility was basically synonymous with being a quasi-enemy. When two armies met, they might very well come to blows. While the USSR had no desire to submit to China, and even less desire to become a source of raw materials and a market for Chinese industrial goods, they had no wish to go to war with China over a misunderstanding.

Sino-Soviet peace was beneficial to the USSR, and even more so to China.

"I am prepared to accept He Rui's reprimand, Comrade General Secretary," Molotov replied. After this somewhat submissive statement, he added, "If He Rui's physical condition allows him to see me, that is."