39

Road to (3)

"Hitler, come on!"

"I didn't believe him after all! Damn it."

When Germany annexed the Czech Republic, Britain and France were put on alert.

The security guarantee for Czechoslovakia that Hitler had promised at the Anglo-German summit was rendered meaningless, and the pledge signed by the British and German leaders was reduced to nothing more than a piece of paper.

Czechoslovakia no longer exists.

What was once the Czech Republic is now a province of Germany under the new title of Bohemia-Moravia, and Slovakia survives but is a German puppet state.

Britain, which had been hit hard by the annexation of the Czech Republic, was furious at Germany's betrayal.

The power of the British Union of Fascists (BUF), which had been attracting supporters by claiming friendship with Germany, was weakened, and public opinion that Germany should be punished rapidly rose.

"I predict that war with Germany will soon be inevitable. "We need to prepare now."

"That is correct. "We need to increase our military budget and expand our divisions."

"Then the budget..."

"Is the budget important now? "You never know when war will break out!"

In fact, Chamberlain did not completely trust Hitler and increased his military forces right after the Anglo-German summit ended.

There was a sarcasm calling for more money to be invested in welfare, but as Germany's mask was removed through the annexation of the Czech Republic, voices opposing the increase in military spending were heard.

To make matters worse, on April 1st,

As the Spanish Civil War, which had lasted three years, ended with the victory of the German-backed Nationalist faction, the sense of crisis in England grew even more.

French public opinion, which had been extremely negative about the war due to memories of World War I, also changed to a hard-line view of the need to prepare for war with Germany.

In May.

Germany began claiming sovereignty over the Danzig Corridor, which was occupied by Poland.

The shadow of war was falling over Europe much sooner than everyone thought.

***

As expected, Poland flatly rejected my request to return Danzig.

I offered Poland the right to freely use the railways of the Danzig Corridor for 30 years and support the modernization of the Polish army if they gave up Danzig, but our proud Polish friends refused even this.

The commander-in-chief of the Polish army, Edvard Ritzsigwy, reportedly scoffed at my suggestion and said:

'If I pass Königsberg, I will consider passing Gdansk (Danzig).' That's a bold statement.

It was a common idea among all Germans that the former eastern territories, including Danzig, which had been taken over by Poland due to defeat in World War I, should be recovered.

The Junkers and the Nazis, as well as the Social Democrats and the Communists, all agreed on this issue.

I, who had been preparing for war with Poland even before the annexation of the Czech Republic, pretended to continue negotiations with Poland and later ordered the establishment of a plan to invade Poland.

As soon as I received my order, Keitel, Brauchitsch, and Reichenau stayed up all night concentrating on drawing up an invasion plan, and a month later, they prepared a thick report and presented it to me.

Operation White.

It was the name of the operation for the invasion plan of Poland.

The detailed plan of Operation White was not much different from what I knew in history.

Except that since the non-aggression pact has not yet been concluded, plans are being made to occupy eastern Poland.

"How many days do you think it will take to completely bring Poland into submission?"

"If all goes according to plan, it will take a month and a half, or two months if the Polish army is stronger than we think."

Keitel answered.

Since I did not want to run out of ammunition at the end of the invasion like the actual German army and become heartbroken, I ordered the military to store up as much ammunition as possible.

Thanks to Tote and Speer's efforts, ammunition production is going smoothly, but you never know. You should always get into the habit of being prepared.

"The problem is Britain, France, and the Soviet Union..."

Keitel frowned.

Brauchitsch and Reichenau, who were confident that Poland would not be a problem, also hardened when Youngpso was mentioned.

What the German military was most concerned about right before the invasion of Poland was whether or not the three Anglophone countries would intervene (Italy was not included in anyone's consideration).

If Britain and France attacked western Germany while Germany was attacking Poland, the German army had no way to stop it.

Even if the possibility of intervention was somewhat low because the Soviet Union had a bad relationship with Poland, it was obvious that Britain and France would unconditionally intervene. In reality, it was like that.

It is said that when the ultimatum from Britain and France was delivered, not only the German generals but even Hitler cried out.

To that extent, Youngf's intervention was a problem that Germany had to avoid at all costs.

But the problem is that just because something needs to be avoided doesn't mean it can be avoided.

Having already lost face over the Czechoslovakia issue, if we retreat from the Polish issue, our pride will of course plummet to the bottom, and the worst situation that could happen is that all the countries that have been allied with the British will turn their backs and join hands with Germany. Because of this, Youngf came out very firmly on the Polish issue.

So much so that one doubts whether it is the young man who showed such indecisiveness in the Sudetenland last time.

Youngf's intervention is unavoidable. But the Soviet Union is a different story.

"I can't do anything about England and France. Instead, the Soviet Union won't have to worry."

"What do you mean, there's no need to worry about the Soviet Union?"

Brauchitch tilted his head. Keitel and Reichenau also blinked, not understanding what I meant.

"We'll see."

***

Although it was a little later than actual history, the Soviet Union was also put on alert when Germany began demanding Danzig from Poland.

The relationship between Germany, an anti-communist country, and a communist country cannot mix like water and oil.

Although the Soviet Union's relationship with Poland was extremely poor, Stalin was very concerned that Germany might invade the Soviet Union through Poland.

Even though it did not like Poland, the Soviet Union believed that Poland's security was important to prevent the invasion of Germany, which was much more threatening than Poland, and attempted to contact Youngf.

The four countries, Britain, France, Poland, and the Soviet Union, proposed to form an alliance against Germany.

England and Poland, who were in a more desperate position than anyone else, showed a completely different situation than the Soviet Union expected.

"The Soviet Union proposed an alliance?"

"Those communists? "It's something to see if you live for a very long time."

Although not as bad as Germany, the UK and France are also countries that reject communism.

The two colonial empires that colonized about half of the world and the Soviet Union, which called for revolution and called for the eradication of imperialism and capitalism, perceived each other as enemies until the rise of Germany, and are not much different now.

Stalin also did not like the idea of joining hands with the imperialists, but he judged that the Soviet Union's chances of winning a war against Germany alone were low, so he had no choice but to reach out to Youngf first.

No matter how money-obsessed the imperialists are, they know that they must join forces in the face of the common enemy, Germany.

If the British Empire helps Poland from the west and the Soviet Union pressures Poland from the east, even Hitler will not be able to run rampant.

I should have done that...

***

"Comrade Secretary General, a reply has arrived from England."

"Is it now?"

Stalin was so dumbfounded that he was speechless.

I can't believe I received a reply only six weeks after I proposed forming a military alliance against Germany. Isn't it too late at least?

Even the reply was shocking.

I don't know about the military alliance, but let's hold a preliminary meeting and discuss it. Stalin gritted his teeth without realizing it.

"Carefree guys. We don't know when war will break out, so why don't we just take it easy and have a meeting? Are all imperialists like this?"

"Hmm, but Comrade Secretary General, since you have received a reply, I don't think you need to look at it so negatively…"

Vacheslav Molotov, who became People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs in place of Maxim Litvinov, who was demoted as Soviet ambassador to the United States, said.

He continued speaking carefully, paying special attention to his choice of words so as not to offend Stalin.

"Huh, okay. We need to understand those arrogant bastards. "Is there anything you can do?"

"That is a reasonable statement, Comrade Secretary General. "Imperialists are people who are blinded by greed and have no sense of decency."

Stalin, who was looking with half-disgust at the Molotov that was rattling hard to please him, shook his head and got up from his desk.

I was so stressed out that I felt like I needed to relieve my mood with some vodka and cognac.

"Tell England. Instead, we will decide the meeting place."

"All right."

Stalin chose his country's capital, Moscow, as the location for the summit meeting of the three Anglo-Soviet powers. Surprisingly, Britain and France also agreed that the meeting location should be Moscow.

Soviet Union was a little relieved that Youngf was not thinking at all, but relief soon turned into anger.

"What, these guys? "Are you kidding me?"

"her! "This is so..."

The Anglo-French negotiation team arrived in the Soviet Union a month after accepting the Soviet Union's proposal to hold talks in Moscow, but instead of going straight to Moscow, they stayed in Leningrad all day.

"Oh, this is the famous Winter Palace."

"It's as grand as I heard."

"I've only seen it in pictures, but it's truly spectacular."

After spending a full day sightseeing, the British negotiating team arrived in Moscow only on August 12th.

Stalin was furious, but he swallowed his anger until the end.

He appointed his close friend, Marshal Kliment Voroshilov, who served as the Minister of Defense of the Soviet Union, as the head of the negotiation team, and other prominent figures, including Soviet Army Chief of Staff Marshal Boris Shaposhnikov, as negotiating team members.

As such, the Soviet Union was taking this negotiation very seriously.

However, once again, Britain and France shattered the Soviet Union's expectations.

"If war with Germany breaks out, the Soviet Union can deploy 120 army divisions, 5,000 artillery pieces, 9,000 tanks, and 5,000 aircraft. How many troops can Britain and France deploy?"

The head of the French negotiator, Army General Joseph Dumain, responded to the words of Voroshilov, head of the Soviet negotiator.

"France can deploy 110 divisions and 4,000 tanks."

"Hmm."

Although smaller than the Red Army, this is also a significant number.

In particular, the French army prides itself on being the world's strongest army, so if qualitative aspects are taken into consideration, it will be able to compete with the German army.

"Then what about England?"

"that is······."

Unlike Dumang, who answered confidently, Rear Admiral Reginald Drax, head of the British negotiation team, trailed off as if something was pricking him.

"The British Empire can send 16 divisions."

"······Sat, isn't the interpretation wrong?"

Voroshilov was so embarrassed that he even stuttered. When he first heard Drax speak, he thought the interpretation was wrong.

However, he interpreted what the interpreter Drax said without making a single mistake and told it to Voroshilov.

Since it's England, I thought there would be about 160 divisions, but there are only 16 divisions? Does 16 divisions make sense based on common sense? The British Empire, the world's most powerful country?

During the Great War, Britain dispatched 80 divisions to Europe. But instead of increasing the number, it is actually decreasing. Does this make sense?

"No, the British Empire can only send 16 divisions? "Are you trying to joke with me?"

"Marshal Voroshilov, this is embarrassing, but it is no joke. Indeed, the British Empire can only send 16 divisions. As the economy worsened due to the Great Depression, military spending was drastically cut, with the Army taking the biggest hit.

It would be a different story for the Navy, but the Army is still in the midst of reorganization, so only 16 were squeezed out. "There are only four divisions that can be deployed right away."

It was becoming increasingly more difficult.

It is absurd to say that there are 16 divisions, but only 4 of them can be deployed right away.

Voroshilov and even the interpreter were left speechless by the absurd words of the British negotiating team.

Voroshilov made eye contact with Shaposhnikov, who was sitting next to him. Voroshilov's eyes seemed to say:

'Should I continue with this?'

'Still, it's us who are disappointed, so let's continue for now.'

'Is that so?'

"Oh, there's one thing I forgot to mention."

"Please tell me, General Dumang."

Voroshilov, who was calming his mind while drinking tea, was dealt another heavy blow.

"France has no plans to send its troops beyond the Maginot Line. Please keep this in mind."

"······."

France's statement that it would only play within the Maginot Line built on the border with Germany was essentially the same as saying that it had no intention of attacking the German mainland.

In other words, they were going to sit back and just defend themselves, so the Soviet Union should fight Germany first