The Rise of the Third Reich

"You want to make a separate peace with Germany?" Churchill's face suddenly darkened. "Mr. Prime Minister, do you understand what this means? France will lose its empire because of this, just like Germany in 1919!"

"In fact, what the Germans want is a European Community, a community that can permanently eliminate war in Europe. France's overseas empire, the colonies of Belgium and the Netherlands, and the original German colonies will all become peripheral members of the European Community... "

"What?" Churchill looked at Renault, "You have already started secret negotiations with Germany?"

Paul Reynold shook his head and said: "There is no such thing as secret negotiations...In fact, the Germans made the peace negotiations public. They made a request for mediation to the League of Nations and also proposed open peace conditions."

"When did it happen?" Churchill's eyes widened, "Why didn't I know?"

"This morning, just over an hour ago," Paul Reynaud said, "the French representative to the League of Nations called me and told me."

It turned out that Churchill was on the plane when the German representative requested mediation from the League of Nations, so he did not know about it.

"What conditions did they propose?"

“The first is the abolition of all unequal treaties arising from the First World War, including the Treaty of Versailles, the Treaty of Saint-Germain, the Treaty of Trianon, the Treaty of Sèvres and the Treaty of Lausanne… …”

"This, this, this..." Churchill was stunned again and again, and finally said loudly: "This is a trap, a very despicable trap! We must not be fooled by Germany... Those treaties are not unequal treaties, but It is a binding treaty that complies with the principles of international law and is recognized by the world and cannot be abrogated under any circumstances.”

"International law?" Paul Reno said with a wry smile, "Are these treaties signed because of international law? Were they ruled by the International Court of Justice in The Hague? Mr. Prime Minister, those treaties were the result of the world war, and now we are defeated... …”

Churchill shook his head, "No, we are not defeated yet! But if we agree to abrogate those treaties, then our two countries will really fail!"

Paul Reynold just shook his head. France had failed, and it had failed miserably. It was the same with or without these treaties. Could it be that France, which had occupied Paris, could still use the Treaty of Versailles to sanction Germany?

Churchill seemed to have read through Paul Reynaud's mind. He said solemnly: "The key is not the Treaty of Versailles, but the Treaty of Saint-Germain, the Treaty of Trianon, the Treaty of Sèvres and the Treaty of Lausanne." 》...These treaties dismembered the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Ottoman Empire, and are the cornerstone of the international order in Central Europe, the Balkans and the Middle East. If they are all abolished, then Yugoslavia will be dismembered, Greater Hungary will reappear, and Romania will lose its special characteristics. Lansylvania, and Turkey regained its legal sovereignty over the Arab region of the Middle East!”

British privileges in Egypt, Palestine, Jordan, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, and French privileges in Syria, were all based on the Treaties of Sèvres and Lausanne (the Treaty of Sèvres was later abrogated and replaced by Based on the loose Treaty of Lausanne.

Once these two treaties are abrogated, British and French colonial rule in the Middle East will lose their legitimacy. At the same time, the Turks who lost their empire due to the Treaty of Sèvres and the Treaty of Lausanne will become more pro-German, thus pushing Turkey, which was originally willing to remain neutral, towards Germany. Once Turkey falls to Germany, several oil-producing countries in the Middle East will inevitably become vassals of Germany, and the biggest bottleneck of the German war machine-the oil supply problem will also be completely solved.

In addition, the Treaty of Saint-Germain and the Treaty of Trianon were used to disintegrate the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Of course it is impossible for the Austro-Hungarian Empire to be restored now, but once these two treaties are abrogated, Greater Hungary can be restored legally. Both Croatia and Slovenia, dissatisfied with being ruled by Serbs, may take the opportunity to withdraw from the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Then Croatia may form a federation with Hungary, and Slovenia may directly join the German Empire (Slovenia is an Austrian crown territory). Pro-British Romania will lose its northern barrier, the Transylvanian Mountains, leaving its hinterland completely exposed to the tracks of German armored forces, and Romania will have to surrender to Germany.

By then, Germany's sphere of influence will extend from Central Europe to the Balkans, to Iraq and Iran, and even to India! With the resources of the Middle East and the Balkans, Germany has the capital to maintain the economic prosperity of the European Community. The British attempt to use blockade to force Europe into poverty and shake German rule has completely failed.

On the way to the Matignon Palace, Churchill talked non-stop, finally convincing Prime Minister Reno that there was no way out in compromising with Germany. The only way to save France is to merge with Britain, and then use a long-term blockade and air raids to force the collapse of German rule in Europe.

After a lot of talking, Prime Minister Reno seemed to have changed his mind and promised that as long as he served as prime minister, he would not let France negotiate a separate peace with Germany. But when the two arrived at the panic-stricken Matignon Palace, an unexpected piece of bad news caused Paul Reno to collapse mentally.

"Mr. Prime Minister, the Kingdom of Italy has issued an ultimatum to us!" A secretary of the Prime Minister's Office who looked like he was about to cry said to Paul Reno. "The Italians asked us to evacuate Iceland and the Faroe Islands within 24 hours and move them there. Give Denmark back...or Italy will declare war on us!"

"What? Iceland and the Faroe Islands? But they are not occupied by us..." Paul Reno turned his head and looked at Winston Churchill with complaints and pleading eyes.

Churchill shook his head and said: "The Italians must have issued the same ultimatum to Britain, but the British Empire will not surrender to Italy!"

…

Of course, the British Prime Minister can not be afraid of Italy's ultimatum and refuse to give up Iceland and the Faroe Islands - in fact, even if Britain returns them to Denmark, Mussolini will still find other reasons to declare war.

But for the desperate members of the French cabinet, Italy's declaration of war was the straw that broke the camel's back, and Britain's "indifference" chilled them. As a result, Renault's proposal for a merger between Britain and France was unanimously opposed by cabinet members.

In the view of most ministers of the French government, a merger with Britain under the current circumstances is worse than a successful merger with Germany. Merging with Germany can at least save the lives of millions of French people, and relying on the powerful German Empire, France can also save most of its colonies and continue to live a prosperous and comfortable life. And merging with Britain will make the French shed their last drop of blood!

Deputy Prime Minister Marshal Pétain even directly criticized the British at the meeting. He said: "The reason why we in France are in the situation we are in now is entirely because of the British! The British have been our enemies for the past hundreds of years and have spent a lot of time Spending a lot of money on the European continent can attack France's agents, and Prussia is actually the thug they supported. Even if we completely gave up our dream of dominating Europe after Emperor Napoleon's dream was shattered, Britain still did not forget to contain Prussia. The rise of Germany and the rapid revival of the German Empire after the last world war were all the result of British support and connivance. Now that Germany has become unstoppable, they want to use an Anglo-French union to continue to serve as their cheap cannon fodder. If they agree to unite, it will be the stupidest government in the world. There is nothing more stupid.”

"Marshal, what should we do?" Paul Reno, who was completely at a loss, asked, "Are we going to surrender to the Germans?"

"We must stop fighting and seek a decent peace with Germany like between soldiers and soldiers." Marshal Pétain said, "If necessary, the power of choice can also be given to the French people. Let them merge with Britain, The choice was between joining the European Community and taking all the responsibility for defeat."

"Then can we hand over the fleet to Britain?" Paul Reno then asked Pétain. On the way to the Matignon Palace, Churchill also talked to him about the issue of separate peace as a "last resort" - if France could hand over its fleet to Britain, Britain would agree to France's separate peace.

"Of course not!" Marshal Pétain refused without hesitation. "The fleet is our biggest bargaining chip, and the Germans will give good conditions for the 'Richelieu' class and the 'Dunkirk' class. Moreover, if If we give the fleet to Britain, the British will use them to blockade France and starve and impoverish the French. This is the method they will use to defeat Germany. Will our people agree to win the war for Britain at the cost of starvation? ?”

Pétain's words convinced most of the cabinet members. In fact, everyone already knows that the French navy and the Italian navy will change the naval strength comparison between Britain and Germany. This is of decisive significance to the outcome of the world war. Why should France not use this trump card well?

"Moreover, we are not making peace with Germany alone," Pétain continued, "but rather accepting the mediation of the League of Nations... This is absolutely in line with international law. How can we, France, as a permanent member of the League of Nations, not accept the mediation of the League of Nations? ? If the League of Nations ruled that the Treaties of Versailles, Saint-Germain, Trianon, Sèvres and Lausanne violated public international law, France should naturally abide by the League of Nations ruling. This is nothing Defeat, but a decent peace.”