Chapter 60: 60
March 22, 1940
10 Downing Street, London, England
Chamberlain frowned and silently read the plan.
The plan was decorated with a red border indicating top secret.
"Is this really the only way, Minister?"
It was a proposal that had already been approved, but even considering the cancer, I wasn't sure if this was the best option.
Unlike Chamberlain, who was struggling, Admiralty Secretary Winston Churchill had a confident attitude, as if asking what was the problem.
"Are you showing your weakness again now? You are Prime Minister of the British Empire. Be confident."
It sounded like a sarcastic remark to myself rather than an intention to cheer me up.
Chamberlain frowned, but Churchill shrugged his shoulders with a hearty smile as if asking what was the problem.
A man like a snarky snake.
Even though he was on the same team because of Hitler, Chamberlain was dissatisfied with Churchill.
At the Anglo-German summit, Churchill fiercely criticized Chamberlain for surrendering to Hitler, and Chamberlain protested that he had only made the best choice to preserve peace in Europe.
However, Hitler actually annexed the Czech Republic and invaded Poland, so Churchill's words turned out to be correct.
Of course, Chamberlain also did not trust Hitler, so he made various efforts, such as increasing the military and seeking to make the military more elite, but not only the public but even fellow Conservative Party members did not recognize Chamberlain's efforts.
Chamberlain had no choice but to invite Churchill to join his cabinet.
However, I did not have the slightest desire to become friends with him, who acted like an ordinary person as if he were the prime minister.
When the Winter War broke out, Churchill strongly insisted that Germany and the Soviet Union should act first, fearing they might jointly invade Scandinavia.
France agreed with Churchill's claim, and the two countries asked Norway and Sweden to pass through their territory, saying they would send troops to help Finland.
However, Norway and Sweden rejected Youngf's request. Finland eventually surrendered to the Soviet Union and signed a peace treaty.
Churchill's plan seemed to have ended in vain, but he was not a great man to give up here.
"Now we must stop worrying about international law or respect, and do whatever it takes to defeat Germany! "Sweden, which sells iron ore to Germany, and Norway, which helps export iron ore, should be treated as de facto allies of Germany."
The simple and ignorant logic that the friend of my enemy is my enemy.
With Churchill's strong insistence, the British government pressured Norway to stop exporting iron ore to Germany, but Norway expressed strong displeasure and refused.
"Norway has refused our request, so Norway is now an enemy of Britain. Therefore, we propose a preemptive strike against Norway."
As soon as Norway rejected Britain's request, Churchill came up with two plans.
The plan was to bombard the Norwegian-German transport routes with mines through Operation Wilfred and Operation R4, respectively, and to invade mainland Norway and completely destroy the Narvik port and the connecting railway.
It's not just diplomatic pressure, it's an outright invasion!
Chamberlain tried to reject it, saying it was too extreme and reckless, but eventually approved his plan after Churchill's persistent persuasion and requests. However, some anxiety still remained and tormented him.
Is this really the best? Isn't there a better way than this?
Unlike Chamberlain, who was struggling, Churchill shouted loudly as if he had no worries.
"First, we will only proceed with Operation Wilfred, and depending on Norway's response, we will decide whether to launch Operation R4. If the Norwegians were wise, they wouldn't dare to stand up to the British Empire.
Even if they were to become our enemies, what threat would a weak country like Norway pose? "Don't worry, Prime Minister!"
"Okay."
This person is so confident, so instead of feeling reassured, why should I feel even more anxious?
Chamberlain remembered that Churchill had said something similar in the past.
Gallipoli.
One of the British Empire's worst mistakes.
When World War I broke out, Churchill, who was the Minister of the Admiralty, confiscated the super-dreadnought class battleships that the Ottoman Empire had ordered from Britain, citing a shortage of battleships.
Osman protested fiercely, but Churchill downplayed Osman's protest and offered a daily rental fee of 1,000 pounds.
Considering that the amount paid by the Ottomans to England was 2.75 million pounds, the rental fee of 1,000 pounds was no different from telling them to eat it up and leave.
The enraged Ottomans declared war on Britain, and suddenly the Allies found themselves in a position where they had to fight the Ottomans as well.
Churchill insisted on landing at Gallipoli, the entrance to the Dardanelles Strait, in order to proceed directly to the Ottoman capital Istanbul.
And the result is...
The Gallipoli landings ended in the worst disaster, with 252,000 Allied soldiers killed or injured, and Churchill avoided responsibility for the failure of the operation, but was criticized by public opinion and eventually resigned from his position as minister. Even now, Gallipoli remains Churchill's enemy.
The same thing should not be repeated this time...
"Mussolini also said he would actively cooperate with us, so Germany will not be able to focus purely on Norway."
Come to think of it, there was also Italy.
Mussolini, who had been gnashing his teeth at Germany because of the invasion of Ethiopia and the annexation of Austria, secretly made a proposal when the British Empire declared war on Germany.
The proposal was that if Germany attacked Britain and France, or if both countries attacked Germany, Italy would join the war and help England attack Germany.
In return, Mussolini demanded Anglophone support for the modernization of the Italian military and recognition of post-war Austria and Bavaria as Italian spheres of influence.
Mussolini's demands were more excessive than expected, but Churchill insisted on accepting Italy's demands.
Since it was important to defeat Germany first, the post-war issues should be considered later.
"For now, let's just think about destroying Germany. "The promise with Italy can only be 'adjusted' after the war ends."
Chamberlain, who knew what Churchill meant by adjustment, stuck out his tongue.
How can you say something like that without even changing your expression? If that was a talent, it was a talent.
Churchill met with Count Ciano, Mussolini's son-in-law and Italian foreign minister, and requested that if Britain and Germany clashed in Norway, Italy would attack Austria accordingly.
Ciano conveyed Churchill's request to Mussolini, and Mussolini accepted Churchill's request.
"But they say the condition of the Italian army is extremely messed up... Can they fight properly against the German army? "The Polish army fell to the German army in just four weeks."
According to a report by a group of British military officers who went to Italy to help modernize the Italian army as requested by Mussolini, the Italian army was at a level that could not be considered the army of a great power.
Artillery, an essential force for the army, is in short supply, and many of the artillery pieces that are available are antiques that were manufactured more than 30 years ago.
British officers were shocked because one artillery battalion had only three cannons.
The armored power was even more critical, and the L3 tankette, armed only with machine guns, was the main force of the Italian army's armored power.
The Italian army was using those that could be eliminated from Panzer 2, let alone Panzer 4, as their main equipment.
After seeing the German army's performance in Poland, Mussolini trained his engineers and introduced several new machines, but even this was evaluated as being several levels lower than the 4th Panzer.
Although the situation of the Italian Navy was better than that of the Army, Germany did not border the Mediterranean Sea in the first place, so the Navy had nothing to do.
The Air Force's development has been slow despite Balbo's efforts due to the departure of the Air Force Minister.
The current state of the Italian army was a total disaster in all respects.
"Hmm. Still, it is a powerful country, so it will at least keep Germany at bay. I also don't think the Italians can advance on Berlin. In any case, Italy is just a way to buy time. "If one Italian young man can replace the death of one of our young people who is responsible for the future of the British Empire, wouldn't it be worth it?"
"You say such incredible things so casually."
As Chamberlain clicked his tongue, Churchill became even more sly.
"I would appreciate it if you thought I was honest. If one British man and one Italian man had to die, who would you choose? I will definitely choose the latter. "Wouldn't the Prime Minister make the same choice as me?"
"I won't deny it. Let's ask one last question. If we attack Norway, the whole world will condemn us. What do you think about this? "Wouldn't our position in Britain be diminished?"
"Well, you're going to get some criticism. But that's it. What country would dare stand up to the British Empire? Even if we swear at them, as time goes by, they will gently wag their tails at us as if they never did this before. All you have to do is win the war. "Isn't there a saying that it is the winners who write history?"
You speak well.
After sending Churchill off, Chamberlain sat in a chair and thought for a while.
As Churchill said, writing history is the privilege of the victors. The way of the world is that as long as you win the war, everything is acceptable.
but,
What if you lose the war? What will happen then?
Wouldn't people judge his choice to stand against Germany, which threatens the peace of Europe, as a meaningless effort?
And what is the fate of the British Empire?
Even after losing the war, can Britain remain a country where the sun never sets?
***
March 26, 1940
Milan, Italy
"Ohhh, these are..."
Mussolini's face was quite excited as he looked at the Matilda II tank and Somua S35 tank that Youngf had gifted to Italy as a token of friendship.
Although the number of each tank was only about one platoon and the training of the tank crews was still in its infancy, Mussolini was very satisfied just by being able to have high-performance tanks that Italian tanks could not match.
In addition, improvements in the performance of Italian tanks are being made little by little with the help of engineers dispatched by Britain and France.
Everything seemed to be going smoothly. till now.
"Marshal, are you just pretending to eat? "Your expression hasn't been good for a while."
Unlike Mussolini, who was happy, Badoglio, who accompanied him, did not have a good expression.
Marshal Roh, who hesitated at Duce's point, soon opened his mouth quietly as if he had made up his mind.
"Do you really intend to help Youngfu in the war?"
"exactly. "I've already received the promised payment, so now I can't just wash my mouth and remain ignorant."
Strictly speaking, the tanks and technicians sent by Youngf were not gifts but a down payment.
Mussolini offered to help Youngf by attacking Austria, and Youngf accepted this and sent various weapons and technicians that Mussolini wanted.
Although this was an extremely welcome event for the Italian army, which had poor weapons and technology, it was not enough to make up for the Italian army's losses that began in 1935.
Italy's already insufficient finances became even more scarce due to the invasion of Ethiopia and participation in the Spanish Civil War.
Not to mention the invasion of Ethiopia, even during the Spanish Civil War, Italy poured a huge amount of money, equivalent to 20% of its annual budget, for three years.
Thanks to this, he succeeded in gaining Franco's favor, but the Italian army was left penniless.
Due to a lot of unnecessary spending in Spain, all plans essential for the modernization of the Italian military, such as the development of new weapons and the reorganization of military organization, were canceled.
When the generals said that it was impossible to modernize the military with a budget that was cut in half, Mussolini gave an absurd answer, saying that it was a cheap price to spread fascism to the world.
While Hitler's Germany created the latest tanks, fighter planes, battleships, and aircraft carriers, the Italian army had no choice but to be armed with outdated weapons such as cannons, tankettes, and biplanes manufactured in the 19th century.
It's because of Duce's small pride and vanity.
Even if we had given up on either Ethiopia or Spain, we wouldn't have come to this point. Badoglio secretly sighed.
"Duce, even though we have support from Britain and France, war is impossible right now. "The modernization of the military has only just begun, and guerrillas are rampaging in Ethiopia."
"I know that much. Marshal, think about it. Do you think Germany will beat England and France?"
"yes? "I'm not sure, but wouldn't it be difficult?"
"That's it. No matter how much the Germans fly and crawl, they will never be able to defeat Britain and France. What is there to be afraid of when we are on the same boat as Britain and France? All we have to do is help Youngf hold back the Germans. "Anyway, it's up to Youngf to advance on Berlin, not us."
Mussolini's argument was that Germany would not be able to pay relative attention to Italy anyway because it was dealing with the British Empire, so it would be enough to exchange moderate artillery fire along the border and capture a few German divisions.
Neither Britain nor France would expect much from Italy.
"We just have to do as much as we can! "If we can turn Austria and Bavaria into Italian territory with the sacrifice of 20,000 to 30,000 people, there will be nothing left for burial!"
What made Mussolini even happier was that Britain and France promised to hand over Austria and Bavaria to Italy after the war.
However, Badoglio and Ciano were negative about Youngf's promise.
"Even during the last war, Youngf promised us Croatia and Austria. But after the war, all we got was Südtirol and parts of Africa. "If the same thing happens again this time, the people will not remain silent."
"You're not wrong. But if that happens twice in a row, YoungPro will lose the world's trust. Who would trust a country that doesn't even keep its basic promises? So this time, Youngp will definitely keep his promise. Look at these tanks. They even paid the price in advance to show that we don't trust them.
Even though it may be difficult to cover all of Bavaria, they will definitely take care of Austria. "Austria alone is reason enough to participate in the war."
Mussolini's ambitions did not end there.
After gaining Austria and Bavaria, he planned to invade neighboring Yugoslavia and Greece and annex them to Italy like Albania.
If possible, the plan is to conquer Turkey and make the Black Sea into Mare Nostrum, following the Mediterranean Sea.
Wouldn't this be enough to be called the 'New Roman Empire'?
There was a high possibility that Youngf would tackle him on the way, but it seemed unlikely that Youngf, who had just finished the war with Germany and had exhausted his national power, would even prepare for a war with Italy.
Mussolini was convinced that if they had planned to stop Italy by going to war, they would never have accepted his demands in the first place.
"In 10 years from now, the world will look up to this country. "Just like the Roman Empire did in the past."
Badoglio could only watch with anxious eyes as Duce smiled ambitiously, dreaming of a rosy future.
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