September 30th, 1939
Southern British Isles, London, the capital of Britain On the fifth day since the first eting, we began the renegotiation after a period of frantic activity. In reality, it was a renegotiation just to put a stamp on it, as all the decisions had already been made behind the scenes.
“Ahem, I hope we can reach a good conclusion this ti.”
The French Pri Minister, Daladier, said as much, but he looked displeased.
He must know that Winston Churchill had given a speech in the British House of Commons supporting the ‘New German Governnt trying to win democracy against the fascist dictators,’ and that the MPs and the press, lobbied by the German-British Cooperation Organization, had shown considerable favor and support.
“Ah, of course, we have also prepared a great deal.”
I replied to Daladier with a smile. We prepared a lot, indeed.
Just nothing that France wants.
Foreign Minister Weizs??cker began to state our proposal.
“The New Governnt's proposal is as follows. First, if Britain and France recognize the reign of His Majesty the Emperor Wilhelm III and the legitimacy of the New Governnt, Germany will guarantee the formation of a governnt through democratic elections under a constitutional monarchy after the end of the civil war.”
As he listened, Daladier was watching Chamberlain's and Halifax's reactions, but they showed no particular response.
“Second, under these conditions, the New German Governnt will reinstate the Anglo-German Naval Agreent that Hitler broke.”
The Anglo-German Naval Agreent is simple. It states that the total tonnage of capital ships of the German Navy will not exceed 35% of the total tonnage of capital ships of the British Navy.
In truth, even without the restrictions of such a treaty, the German Navy can’t even et 20%, let alone 35%. But Britain, fooled by Hitler’s bluff, didn’t know that and signed it because it didn’t want another naval arms race with Germany, which had possessed the world’s second-largest naval force in the last World War.
Chamberlain and Halifax looked satisfied enough. Since the fact that British companies would get their scraps after the civil war couldn't be written into the official treaty, that part was a secret pact.
It was an item brought for pretext, but for them, at least, it served as an explicit reaffirmation that Germany had no intention of confronting Britain.
Daladier, too, seed to have grasped the atmosphere, and his glabella furrowed.
“Third, if the above clauses are accepted, the New German Governnt will re-approve the borders with France and Belgium as guaranteed by the Locarno Treaties. That is all.”
Both France and Belgium possess territory taken from Germany after World War I.
The Weimar Republic confird in 1925 with the Locarno Treaties that the territory rightfully belonged to Belgium and France, but this was broken when Hitler ran wild, such as by marching into the Rhineland.
As soon as Weizs??cker finished speaking, Daladier openly grimaced.
“Is that all? What about the Treaty of Versailles?”
“Regrettably, the current New Governnt is in the middle of a civil war and, at the sa ti, is being invaded by Italy.
We have promised to form a democratic governnt under a constitutional monarchy and have shown that we have no intention of engaging in hostile activities against the three nations of Britain, France, and Belgium.”
Daladier's expression contorted, but honestly, I didn’t feel particularly sorry for him.
It's just business between nations, isn't it?
“Even without reviving the treaty of the old regi that has beco aningless, I believe this is enough to prove our will for peace.”
Hearing my words, Daladier turned his gaze to Chamberlain and Halifax with an angry face, but Halifax opened his mouth with an emotionless expression, as if it were soone else's problem.
“Britain believes the German side's proposal is sufficiently reasonable under the current circumstances. With this, most of the unstable factors between Germany and us seem to have been clarified.
We have also received a written statent from the Belgian Embassy supporting the German side’s proposal.”
Saying so, Halifax handed the docunt from the Belgian Embassy to Daladier.
Daladier, his face flushed red, looked at it and then clenched his fist. Oops, that’s an official diplomatic docunt; it’s going to get crumpled.
“It seems Britain and Belgium consider our proposal reasonable, but not France?”
The re-approval of the French and Belgian borders is almost aningless from France's current position. After all, a Germany in the midst of a civil war has no capacity to invade France and reclaim territory.
However, for Britain, it eliminates the possibility of being dragged into a war between Germany and France, and for Belgium, which got crushed like a shrimp in a whale fight during World War I, it is a guarantee like welco rain in a drought. From the perspective of a weak nation like Belgium, even a Germany in civil war is threatening enough.
After seeing France abandon Czechoslovakia and declaring itself a Neutral Country, why would they refuse when Germany promised not to touch them, especially when they could hardly expect France’s protection?
“We have already guaranteed everything necessary for peacekeeping. We promised to reintroduce Weimar's democratic system instead of a dictatorship by a war criminal, to give up the naval arms race with Britain, and confird that there is no potential for dispute with France and Belgium.”
Of course, we are providing nothing in practice, but at least it is a sufficient answer to the justification for the ultimatum they gave us: peacekeeping and concerns about a dictatorship by a war criminal.
Now, are you going to say you'll attack us, who are trying to establish democracy against Hitler and Mussolini, just because we won't reinstate the Treaty of Versailles?
The mont they do, Daladier and the Radical Party would be negating every action they have taken so far.
I'm concerned about the impact on the French general election, but they're the ones who ca out to kill us to save themselves, so it can't be helped.
“I believe Germany has shown its sincerity with this.
At the very least, we cannot help Hitler and Mussolini.”
“And I never doubted that we were a steadfast ally.”
In response to Chamberlain’s words, Daladier complained as if wronged, but Chamberlain only gave him a pitying look and did not speak.
“Of course, Britain and France are allies.
But that does not an we are each other's spokesperson.”
With Halifax's remark, the treaty was signed as is.
Britain, France, and Belgium recognized the New German Governnt as the official governnt of Germany and approved the enthronent of Wilhelm III under a constitutional monarchy.
“I hope this treaty will preserve peace for our ti.”
Chamberlain, who said this while offering
a handshake, was a tired figure who had once been a giant but was now on the verge of collapsing from life's hardships.
He, who was evaluated in the original history as an incompetent pri minister who was tricked by Hitler into causing the worst war, might have just been struggling to not see his fatherland fall into that brutal Great War again before he died.
“I hope so as well.”
The hand of Chamberlain, who had led one of the era's great powers, was thin and weak, feeling sohow epheral.
On the other hand, Winston Churchill, once treated as a has-been, was the only politician in Britain to have properly foreseen the danger of Hitler and, as an icon of anti-fascism, began to receive attention again with the support of businessn and the press.
This is enough of what I can do.
Only posterity will know how Chamberlain and Churchill will be evaluated in this changed history.
-
October 1st, 1939
Northeastern Italy, Trentino-Alto Adige – Bolzano (Südtirol), Italian Army Strongpoint The sixth day since Mussolini's declaration of war.
He had rashly declared war before the talks between Britain-France and the New German Governnt showed any progress, but the Italian Army's war preparations were not ready at all.
It would have been better if they had deployed in advance, but thanks to the Pope's support, the Italian Army's deploynt to the Austrian border only began after the Military Governnt's coup d'état.
“We’re supposed to advance through this?”
“Oh God.”
The Italian Army, with no winter gear whatsoever, was staring blankly at the Alps Mountains, which already had mid-winter weather.
For the Italians, who mostly lived on the pleasant and warm coasts of the diterranean Sea or the inland plains, the white mountain range, already covered in snow from early October, left them speechless.
“Commander.
No matter how much the Duce rushes us, this is impossible. Not even half of the division has been deployed, and no winter gear has arrived at all! If we push them in like this, our military force will all be sacrificed to the Alps, not the enemy!”
Giovanni sse, who was appointed Deputy Commander for this German invasion operation thanks to having conducted a relatively smooth operation when occupying Albania, spoke earnestly into the telephone, but only chewing sounds ca from the other side.
[Chew chew. Look here, sse.
I’m eating right now. Let's talk later.
]
“C-Commander!”
[The steak isn't even cooked well today, so don’t you get on my nerves too. I’ll call you back in an hour.
]
Despite sse's desperation, the commander of the German invasion force, Field Marshal Italo Balbo, simply hung up the telephone.
“What did he say?”
In response to his adjutant's question, Giovanni sse stared at the telephone for a long while, then said one thing.
“…Let’s go have a al, shall we.”
An hour after finishing a long al with lively chatter, as is typical of Italians, Giovanni sse spoke with the commander, but the conclusion was to advance anyway.
Giovanni sse, who ordered the advance with heavy sighs, received the reply that the troopers couldn't advance because they were eating due to the al order given an hour ago.
It took an hour for the order to eat to be handed down to each unit, and then another hour for the soldiers to eat.
It took a long ti, as befitting the Italian Army which serves even common soldiers a luxurious al with wine in the garrisons, but sse couldn’t bring himself to interrupt the last luxury of his subordinates who were about to cross the Alps Mountains.
“We laughed at the pathetic German Military during the Anschluss, but to think we’d be in an even worse state.”
“Indeed.”
Giovanni sse and his adjutant muttered dejectedly.
The reason Italy could so boldly invade Germany stemd from that.
The most recent German Military the Italian Army had seen was the one that carried out a snap invasion in three days during the Anschluss, or the annexation of Austria, with their marching formation and everything else a complete ss.
The German Military has not had any proper actual combat since then, and Hitler and the Nazis are busy hiding the situation of the civil war. So the Italian Army was only thinking of the ti of the Anschluss and was secretly looking down on the German Military.
Britain-France, who were enemies, overestimated the German Military and were dragged along throughout the interwar period, whereas Italy, who was an ally, was on the verge of attacking because they underestimated the German Military.
-
October 3rd, 1939
Southwestern Austria, Key City of the State of Tyrol, Innsbruck The Austrian Border Guard was letting the Italian Army pass through in their ragged state, with bewildered faces.
Among the Italian soldiers ordered to march across the Alps without any winter gear, many had lost their rifles and everything else, so being completely empty-handed, and many among them complained of frostbite.
The commander of the Austrian Border Guard, Major General Karl Eglseer, was on the phone with his superiors while watching the dumbfounding scene.
“Sir, are we really supposed to just let them pass?”
[That’s right. It's an order from Imperial Councilor Arthur Seyss-Inquart.
They are here to help us as our ally.]
The Austrian State Commissar (Nazi Governor), Josef Bürkel, was naturally a Nazi Party mber, and he was still loyal to Hitler.
“…Understood.”
With all the Nazi Party mbers or pro-Nazi Austrian generals dispatched to Germany as part of the Poland invasion force, Major General Eglseer, who was appointed to the sinecure of the Border Guard for being distant from the Nazis, put down the telephone while furrowing his glabella.
The Italian Army arrived in the urban area of Innsbruck and began to beg for warm als and places to sleep at civilian houses.
“So real helpful allies they are.”
Major General Eglseer clicked his tongue, but an order from his superiors was still an order.
“If we let them rest for a bit, they will pass, Major General.”
But contrary to their hopes, the Italian Army continued to arrive in Innsbruck, scattered in a complete ss, not in platoon but squad units, or even smaller groups.
The residents of Innsbruck, long accustod to welcoming travelers passing through the Alps Mountains, treated them well enough since they were allies, and the Italian soldiers, having received heartfelt hospitality, soon recovered their energy but instead of leaving, they just stayed put.
Finally, his patience at its limit, Major General Eglseer searched through the local Italian forces and managed to find the person in charge.
“What in the world are you all doing? Weren't you here to fight the German rebel army?”
Deputy Commander of the German invasion force, General Giovanni sse, who was faced with the furious Major General Eglseer, was greatly perplexed.
The order he had received from his superiors was this.
‘Since it will take ti for the entire army to gather, lead the vanguard across the Alps Mountains and secure Tyrol.
’
Here, ‘securing’ ant prohibiting the use of German place nas and language and enforcing Italianization, just as Mussolini had done in Bolzano (the Italian na for Südtirol) after taking power.
But how could he do such a thing to the Austrians, who had not repelled his subordinates who crossed the Alps Mountains in a ragged state, but had instead cared for them sincerely as an ally?
His conscience pricked him, but as the field commander, he judged that if he provoked the Austrians now and they turned into enemies, there would be trouble.
“I’m sorry, but the order we received from our superiors is to wait here.”
“Until when?”
“Um, well.
I think we’ll know once the main force arrives.”
Mussolini, who had initially demanded the entire region of Austria, was coldly rejected by Hitler, and when the Military Governnt's coup d'état occurred in the anti, he sent an overture to Britain-France, but their reaction was naturally cold.
Mussolini belatedly lowered his demand to all of Southern Austria, but after being rejected even on that, he ended up joining the war in exchange for receiving only Tyrol.
“What, so you’re saying you’ll just stay here indefinitely without knowing until when?! If that was the plan, you should have at least set up a bivouac!”
sse was speechless, as if he had ten mouths but nothing to say.
But what could he do when they were sent off without even proper equipnt.
Moreover, the order they received was to forcefully occupy this place that had opened its roads and cared for them as an ally.
sse's head began to throb.
However, sse’s worries did not last long.
The problem was that it was in a regrettable direction.
“What have you been doing all this ti, Deputy Commander!”
The commander, Field Marshal Italo Balbo, who had departed leisurely only days after the operation started, stord in and imdiately harangued sse.
“And who is this?”
Seeing Major General Karl Eglseer with his Wehrmacht Major General rank insignia, Field Marshal Balbo did not hide his gaze that said, ‘What kind of Major General riff-raff is this, barging in and causing a row?’, and Major General Eglseer also flared up.
“Weren't you here as our ally to fight the rebel army? Why are you squatting in Tyrol?”
“Commander, I will explain the situation!”
Hearing Major General Eglseer's protest, sse tried to quickly step in, but the Field Marshal ended up running his mouth as he pleased.
“This is no longer Tyrol. As of today, this place has been incorporated into the territory of Italy as the northern Provincia of Trentino-Alto Adige!”
It was a disaster born from the gap between Hitler, who had expected his ally, the Italian Army, to actively engage in the subjugation of the rebel army, and the disgruntled Mussolini, who had dread of all of Austria but ended up with only Tyrol.
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