Iron Cross

Anyone with a discerning eye knows that the French issue is only the fuse, and the key lies in the situation of the war, especially the Indian crisis. For the British Empire, the Middle East is far more important than the African colonies. The fact that Churchill can continue to sit on the prime minister's throne after losing the Middle East only reveals one message: the British elite is mentally prepared to lose the Middle East and Africa.

Similarly, the elite also had expectations about France's actions and subsequent developments. When the Royal Navy bombarded the French fleet, when Britain accepted Charles de Gaulle and regarded him as the representative of the French government in exile, and when Free France cooperated with Britain to occupy French colonies, Britain was aware of Vichy France's possible reaction. According to London's wishful thinking, Vichy France must be difficult to maintain with Charles de Gaulle and Free France confronting each other outside and German national oppression inside, and finally collapsed completely due to the lack of support. Britain took the opportunity to control the European continent by influencing the French political situation.

This strategy was almost successful, but the plot suddenly took a sharp turn: first, Britain and the United States lost the war and lost North Africa and the Middle East, and then France and Germany compromised and eased (if it can't be called reconciliation). Germany used the early release of prisoners and the return of most of the occupied territories to exchange for the recognition of the Vichy authorities and the essence of the remaining French warships. When the German order came, the real money flowed into France, and the Pétain government moved back to Paris, the French people's hearts and minds immediately changed dramatically.

But this is not enough to determine the change of British policy. After all, no one cares what the French think. At the beginning, the British side could withhold support aircraft before France fell, which shows that the spirit of pitting teammates has long been internalized into the political instinct of Great Britain.

The key is India, the most dazzling jewel in the crown of the British Empire. If India is lost, Britain will immediately become a second-rate country, so all parties are extremely concerned about it. Churchill's decision on the Indian issue is very worrying. He was stubborn and chose Mountbatten, who many people opposed, as the highest person in charge of India. At the same time, he failed to persuade the United States to invest in the defense of India.

The loss of Ceylon had sounded the alarm for Churchill. Before he could react, the Japanese landing in Madras dealt a second heavy blow. The third key blow was the observation of a large number of Axis reinforcement fleets passing through the YH area. Everyone was sensitive to the fact that this might be the beginning of the next stage of the general offensive against India. Even though India still has nearly 300,000 troops, and the United States has promised to lobby China to send troops to the battlefield, both military and political leaders are extremely pessimistic about the prospects, especially the very pessimistic battle report sent by Giffard, which makes people think that the sky is about to fall.

In the battle report, Giffard described the strong attack power of the Japanese-German coalition forces, the overwhelming advantage of the navy, and even said that the Japanese tanks were more and better than his own. This telegram caused an uproar in London. Marshal Brooke and others tended to think it was true, perhaps a little exaggerated, while Churchill believed that it was completely fictitious and proved that Giffard had always been "cowardly, timid, and vacillating". He argued plausibly: Even if the Japanese-German coalition forces really had 50,000 to 60,000 troops, the 11th Army alone had 80,000 to 90,000 troops, so how could it fail so quickly?

Up to now, he has refused to admit that he would lose India. Although he no longer insists on talking about the turning point, he still believes that the British Empire can hold India-India will become the graveyard that will eventually bury the RB Empire! Others don't know where his confidence comes from. The current lost territory is not fatal to India, and the current momentum of the Japanese-German coalition forces has not reached the core area of ​​India, but many people think that he has gone too fast and too far on the road of paranoia. The British Empire needs a determined and indomitable prime minister, and does not want a stubborn and blindly optimistic leader, let alone a fat old man who hits his head against the south wall and refuses to repent.

Therefore, after Eden and Attlee's last contact, some people in both parties had other ideas. Attlee can represent the mainstream of the Labour Party, and Eden represents a large part of the Conservative Party. It stands to reason that the two parties are enough to drive Churchill out of office, and there is no need to engage in such secret work and secret contacts. The problem is that replacing the Prime Minister of the British Empire has never been a simple domestic affair. It is subject to many constraints, the most critical of which is the American factor.

The United States has always supported Great Britain's courage and hope to continue to resist, and Churchill is obviously the key figure connecting the two sides. He not only received Roosevelt's support, but also promoted the Anglo-American cooperation for a long time and spared no effort. Replacing and attacking Churchill will give HSD such an impression that Britain seems to be abandoning the Anglo-American alliance, and the price is so high that Great Britain cannot accept it. No matter who wins or loses in the end, Great Britain, which has lost the friendship of the United States, is destined to be unable to call the shots on this earth, so the opinion of the United States is particularly important.

The United States did its best to support Britain. It even arranged for strategic transport of a fleet of thousands of transport planes, and the United States took on all the daily import expenses. Great Britain's only means of payment was to write IOUs. If anyone still said that the United States did not support Britain or did not support it enough, then no matter who it was, they would feel very sorry.

It's a pity that the rich and generous Americans are really not very good at fighting. They have been losing all the way from the beginning of the African campaign. Although the scene was ugly, it actually had little impact on the United States. The casualties were said to be only 500,000, but the situation deteriorated so quickly that it might only be a few bleeding wounds to the United States, not life-threatening, but a fatal injury to the United Kingdom. Now the Japanese combined fleet is desperately attacking Australia and New Zealand. As the traditional sovereign nation, Great Britain can't come up with any solution. Even after passing the news to HSD, even HSD can't command the Pacific Fleet - Nimitz's retreat is completely shocking. Clear up the current weakness of the United States.

The only hope of the United States is to delay and wait, to wait for the U.S. domestic arms production to explode, and to wait for a large number of warships, especially aircraft carrier formations, to form an army. Right now, the U.S. is still holding back nearly 10 million troops and is unable to get out. But can Great Britain survive until this point?

"Our consensus is that in view of the close relationship between France and Germany and the close relationship between Italy and Germany, Great Britain cannot be reduced to a second-rate country. In addition, there is a conservative force in the party that is relatively hostile to Germany, so..." Aiden looked at it with a complicated expression. He glanced at Attlee and said, "Change the horse, but don't change the hill."

"Have the terms been negotiated?" Attlee shrugged. "Your statement makes me feel as if we are catering to the Germans. I can tell you that we can still fight with the Germans if we change the Prime Minister. We just don't want to To see a fool, a bastard who can only deceive the people with speeches and empty rhetoric, continue to stay on the stage.”

"Great Britain needs a Pétain who is highly respected and can consider the fundamental interests of the people. The key is that he never cares about personal gains and losses." Eden did not care about Attlee's attitude. "Does your party have such a candidate?"

"Of course not. Not everyone wants to be Pétain, and it's not easy to do it. At least I'm not suitable." Attlee looked a little anxious. "I have no objection to the person proposed by your party. He can be accepted. The key is Can the Germans accept it and on what terms?"

As soon as the word "conditions" was mentioned, Ayden immediately felt like a frustrated ball: "That's the problem. It's difficult to negotiate the conditions. Lisbon has tried its best to bring it together, but the key points are still not settled."

"Where are the people?"

"He was protected in Portugal, a safe place, and Germany also sent people."

"Won't you force him to sign something?" Attlee frowned, "That would be too passive."

"Without our commitment and recognition, nothing he signed will work. Hitler is not that stupid." Aiden shook his head, "What I'm worried about now is that Hitler's asking price is not low, at least he won't give us favorable conditions similar to France. "

Attlee thought to himself: Is there any need to ask? France has been lying down and pretending to be dead for a long time. After Pétain and Laval came, it became even more dedicated to currying favor with Germany. Of course, the Axis conditions must be more generous. If they are not generous, how can they attract people? Britain and Germany have been at war for so many years, starting in Poland. Germany initially refused to accept its proposal to divide the world peacefully - Rudolf Hess is still in prison, and there are still a few leftovers in the Royal Navy. Leng Zhi probably doesn't like the Germans either. The only value of Britain now is to quickly eliminate the United States' will to resist after surrender and confirm Germany's global superiority. Apart from the role of this stepping stone, he doesn't understand what the Germans will look at. Britain could have been expected to continue building ships for Germany, etc. This group of shipyard workers went to North America and apparently lost that value.

He was a little irritated: "I have read Hitler's vision and programmatic documents about the European Union. The relevant provisions in it are not particularly harsh for France, but we are different. There is no problem for Great Britain to survive, and there is probably no problem for it to be a powerful country. But it cannot be a first-class power.”

"Now we are betting that the United States will decide to continue fighting after knowing that we have given up on our homeland. If so, it is not a big deal to agree to Germany's certain conditions. The worst is that it will break the contract in the future. But if the United States does not do this, we cannot arbitrarily agree to Germany's relevant conditions now. Then It will be a very fatal result." Aiden sighed, "This is also the fundamental reason why the 'conversion' plan has been delayed."

"Because there are no politicians who have the courage to take responsibility, endure the consequences, and are willing to bear the bad name." Attlee understood the problem at a glance, "You just want to use such a vague slogan that both parties agree to explain to the people, easily He deliberately abdicated his own responsibilities, as if the two parties participated in this war with unanimous opinions. In other words, we have no part in enjoying the glory and being impassioned, but we are expected to participate in it when we are burdened with infamy, right?”

"What's your opinion?" Aiden didn't answer the question and kept asking.

"I agree with the 'conversion' plan, but we still need to discuss it later. The Labor Party does not have the final say alone." He thought for a moment and then said, "Can we send someone to Lisbon? We need to talk to His Highness."

"I'll give you an answer next week."