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Episode 232: What we will fight for (6)

Churchill was the worst boss, being greedy, ignorant of military science, giving his subordinates tasks they could not handle and causing embarrassment by proposing his own brilliant ideas, but at least he was not the type of person to neglect work.

In order to sustain the British Empire that spanned five oceans and six continents, diligence and sincerity were essential.

Even in peacetime, there were a lot of essential tasks to maintain this vast empire, but there was no need to talk about them in wartime.

"The famine in Bengal is severe. "It is reported that the number of deaths so far has exceeded 1 million."

"Ask Australia to send more food to India. "If a revolt breaks out even in Bengal, India is over, it's over!"

"The occupation of Iraq has been completed. But the guerrillas continue to run wild, so we need two more divisions to suppress them and completely stabilize Iraq."

"We also have Palestine and Egypt, but two additional divisions just in Iraq? "Tell me how I can survive with just my current troops."

"Are the Suez Canal, Gibraltar, and Bab el Mandeb Strait still full of mines?"

"Even if we remove mines all night, in the morning there are new mines that they have planted."

"Are you calling that an excuse now? "Even with the most powerful navy in the world, they can't remove even a single mine laid by the Germans!"

The British Navy hastily requisitioned civilian merchant ships and used them to clear mines, but U-boats also persistently spread mines.

There were many cases where U-boats laying mines were sunk by British Navy destroyers, but the opposite was also true.

In addition, the German Air Force stationed in French Syria frequently launched Fw 200s with long ranges to attack minesweepers that were clearing mines.

As a result, Churchill planned an operation to attack and occupy French Syria and Lebanon in addition to Iraq, but this was put on hold because the priority was to eliminate rebels in Egypt and Palestine.

The strength of the rebels in India was slightly weakened by the continuous and steady subjugation of the British army. The British army, barely able to catch its breath, turned its attention towards Burma again.

"Hurry and retake Imphal. "It wouldn't be difficult to know that the Chinese army also arrived at that moment."

However, something else happened that was upsetting the UK.

"Burma is no longer a colony! Burma is free. Burma is an independent country. "I declare this to the whole world!"

Aung San declared Burma's independence with support and support from Japan.

"People of Vietnam. "Today I declare the independence of Vietnam!"

"Long live Laos! Long live Japan! Long live independence!"

French Indochina, occupied by Japan, was also divided into the Empire of Vietnam, the Kingdom of Laos, and the Kingdom of Cambodia, respectively, and declared independence.

Churchill grabbed the back of his neck.

"Damn idiots… … ."

Although it was a puppet state of Japan, it had become an independent country on the outside, so it was obvious that the British-ruled colonies would also be stimulated by this.

It's quiet for now, but as in the case of India and the Middle East, you never know when rebels might rise up demanding independence with the Hakenkreuz flag or Japanese flag in their hands.

De Gaulle, who was living in poverty in England, was also angry about Japan's dissolution of French Indochina and the establishment of a puppet state.

De Gaulle, who was despondent due to the failure of the Dieppe landing, met with Churchill as if for the first time and argued in a heated tone that Japan's declaration was invalid.

"Why don't I know that? Of course, as the general said, Indochina will remain French territory after the war."

"Thank you, Your Excellency."

After agreeing with De Gaulle's words, encouraging him, and sending him away, Churchill resumed his battle with the mountain of documents.

Besides the colonial rebels, there were many other problems that contributed to Churchill's hair loss.

If he had to choose the two biggest, Churchill would have chosen Turkey and Spain without hesitation.

"The Turkish military's strength is increasing day by day."

"Communication between Germany and Türkiye has also increased significantly compared to before."

"The number of freight trains passing through the Pyrenees has more than doubled compared to before."

"News has arrived that German Foreign Minister Ribbentrop met with Franco in Madrid."

Franco's Spain and Innönu's Türkiye.

Both are countries that are extremely close to Germany.

Spain won the civil war with Germany's help, and in return, when the German-German War broke out, it declared its participation in the war and even sent troops.

Two German divisions have already entered Spain and are stationed in the south, close to Gibraltar.

Although Turkey is not an Axis power, it has shown actions that can be seen as a de facto member of the Axis power.

They built a base for the German Air Force in their country, imported German-made weapons, and received training under German military instructors... … .

The concentration of Turkish troops in Mersin, Adana, and Antikiya in southern Turkey also stimulated anxiety in Britain.

The island of Cyprus, beneath Turkey, was a strategic location and was home to the largest number of Turks next to Greeks.

As a result of the agreement concluded with Britain, Turkey gave up its territorial claims to the island of Cyprus, but it only did so because it had no choice. If it had had enough strength, Turkey would have demanded Cyprus from Britain.

Churchill stopped his work and considered the worst. If Spain enters the war, Britain will lose Gibraltar.

The Suez Canal and Bab el-Mandeb Strait are already blocked by mines, and if Gibraltar is completely lost, the western Mediterranean will fall completely into German hands.

This time, let's consider the case where Turkey participates in the war. If the Turkish army, supported by Germany, pushes south on tanks provided by the Germans, it will quickly devour Palestine and Jordan and advance through the Sinai Peninsula to Suez.

The loss of Gibraltar and Suez meant Britain's complete loss of the Mediterranean, and the loss of the Mediterranean meant that the Middle East and Africa were directly exposed to Axis attacks.

Although it is not as big as Turkey, if even Iran, which is close to Germany, is stimulated to participate as an Axis power, the road to India will be wide open.

If German armored units push in that way... … .

Churchill's face turned white as he imagined the Union Jack being lowered and the Hakenkreuz flag being hoisted at the British Government General building in New Delhi.

no. No matter what happens, you have to stop it.

***

April 25, 1943

New Fuhrer's Residence in Berlin, Germany

"Tommies are going crazy."

"Churchill is probably on the verge of bursting into tears by now. "Even India is in an uproar, and even Türkiye and Spain have started to move."

"I guess so. "I might pee my pants the moment the Wehrmacht lands in England."

Now that the implementation of Operation Sea Lion was fast approaching, Germany was busy preparing for the operation.

In order to hide Operation Sea Lion, SD worked hard to spread bait and waited for MI6 to get hooked.

And our allies have also begun to take action to earn money for the food they have been receiving.

Persuading Franco, who was suspicious and timid, was no easy task, but when Gibraltar, the British West Indies, and British Guiana were announced to be handed over to Spain, Franco decided to enter the war.

"But do you really intend to cede these regions to Franco after conquering England?"

"That's right. "I said I would give it to you, but I can't not give it to you."

We also considered handing over French Morocco and Oran, which he coveted, to Spain as Franco wanted, but we did not put it into practice because we were concerned that France would strongly oppose this.

After Algeria and Indochina, the colony that France considers most important is Morocco, and if they ask to give it to Spain, they will give it to Spain.

Of course, if we put pressure on them, they would cry and give it up to eating mustard, but the loss would have been greater to restore the friendly relations between Germany and France that had barely been built because of Spain.

The plan they came up with was to use chickens instead of pheasants and hand over British colonies to Spain.

"Is there some problem?"

Göring asked, somewhat incomprehensibly.

"Of course, Spain is an important ally of Germany, and Spain's cooperation is essential for the occupation of Gibraltar, but aren't the areas that were decided to be handed over to Spain also quite important to Germany? However, if you pass these areas... … ."

Tsk tsk tsk. I only want to think this briefly.

"Are you an idiot?"

"yes?"

"Think with common sense. "Just because we occupied the British mainland, would we be able to take over all of Britain's colonies?"

"Are you making a false promise to Franco, knowing that we would not have British colonies?"

I'm finally getting my head around it. But there was one mistake in what Goering said.

"It's not a lie. If Britain really hands over all its colonies to us, of course we should give them to them. But think about it carefully. "How many colonies does Britain have?"

The most famous ones are India, Burma, Malay, New Guinea, Nigeria, Kenya, Ceylon, Oman, Qatar, Aden and many more... … .

Although it is not a colony, there is no place on the entire continent except Antarctica that is not under British influence, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, which are all dependents on Britain.

"If India becomes independent, it will be accepted as a member of the Axis powers, so even if we leave this aside, there are plenty of other colonies and protectorates. Of these, there is enough business left over from just Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. "Do you understand what I mean now?"

The areas that were decided to be handed over to Spain cannot be possessed anyway, and even if they were acquired, there would be no problem at all if they were handed over to Spain since there are plenty of better lands.

Under the same conditions, I told Pétain that I would help France take over Britain's African colonies.

Pétain, who was upset over the Indochina issue, blinked at my words and promised France's full support.

As someone who knows the future, I knew that these colonies were nothing more than shiny apricots, so there was no need to work hard to secure colonies.

Some have argued that Germany should regain the African colonies it lost after the war, but even if it had them, it would be expensive and difficult to keep them?

It would be much better to hand it out to allies as a favor or make it independent and turn it into a puppet state, sucking up only a moderate amount of resources.

'Operation Felix', a plan to attack and occupy Gibraltar, was established after Britain declared war again last year.

The main goal of the operation was for the German and Spanish troops to attack and occupy Gibraltar with the support of the Luftwaffe, but since Spain was neutral with Britain, it almost remained a paper plan, but was revived.

Unlike Operation Felix, in which the German army was scheduled to take charge of the main force, in the case of Operation Marlin, an operation to occupy Cyprus, the Turkish army was to be the main force, and the Luftwaffe was to provide support.

Not only was there no room to immediately send the forces needed for Operation Sea Lion all the way to Turkey, but unlike Gibraltar, Cyprus' defense was relatively weak.

Of course, Cyprus is much larger than Gibraltar, but on the other hand, it is not well prepared for defense and has only second-class troops, so there was no need for the National Defense Force to step forward.

"How long will it take for each operation to be completed?"

"It is estimated that it will take at most four days for Gibraltar and a week to 10 days for Cyprus. It could be less than that."

Brauchitsch answered.

The attacks on Gibraltar and Cyprus were merely tributes to Operation Sea Lion.

The real plan of these two operations was to divert Britain's attention from the Strait of Dover to the Mediterranean Sea and the Middle East.

Now, Churchill was extremely wary of a friendly invasion by creating numerous new divisions to repel a direct attack on Britain across the sea, and even creating a home guard composed of the elderly, children, and women.

However, if we act as if we have no intention of invading the British mainland and attack major Mediterranean bases, Churchill will have no choice but to divert the troops he had stationed in the rear to defend the mainland out of Britain.

What if the enemy mobilizes the entire fleet of the Kryx Marine and the navies of allied forces such as Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and France to make a surprise landing on England while the enemy is unaware... … !

It will be possible to occupy England, an impregnable fortress.

"Mr. President, may I ask one question?"

"Sure."

"If you land in England and Churchill asks for reinforcements, what will you do then?"

"Churchill, will that man negotiate? "If he were that kind of person, he would have begged to negotiate with the Soviet Union the day after strengthening it."

"That's true, but his thoughts might change once the Wehrmacht sets foot on Britain. And Churchill could be impeached and someone else could become prime minister."

"I guess it's not impossible. Still, even if we negotiate, there will be no need to attack our troops. "If he cleans his mouth after our troops withdraw, all efforts made so far will have been in vain."

As Brauhitch said, if the UK requests reinforcement immediately after the success of Operation Sea Lion, we are willing to listen.

However, withdrawal of troops from the UK is nonsense and we plan to negotiate on the basic premise that the National Defense Forces will at least be stationed in the UK.

Considering Britain's long-standing tradition of military leadership, they might call for another war as soon as they withdraw their troops.

In fact, there are other issues that need to be considered more seriously than the UK negotiations.

America's participation in the war.

Unless Germany preemptively attacks the United States like Japan did, there is little chance that the United States will launch a preemptive attack, but it would be a different story immediately after landing in Britain.

Not only is Roosevelt still holding on in the White House, but his anti-German tendencies are well known.

Therefore, it is clear that the United States will react in some way as soon as friendly forces land on Britain.

Preventing the United States from participating in the war... … Frankly, it is impossible with Germany's power.

However, I have no intention of sitting still and letting this happen. As soon as the United States declares its participation in the war, 'it' will be used.

That's why I've been saving it all this time.

As I am risking my life to win this war, you, Roosevelt, will also have to risk your presidency.

Because I have no intention of being treated lightly.