Iron Cross

Eden and Attlee never expected that the current peace talks in Germany were not one, but two. In addition to negotiations with the Duke of Windsor, who arrived secretly in Lisbon, Portugal, more important and confidential Soviet-German negotiations were also underway in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. The intermediary was Bulgarian Tsar Boris III, but he transferred the main party - - German Foreign Minister Ribbentrop and the Soviet People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs Molotov met together and wisely stopped participating.

He is a smart man: politically, Bulgaria is an ally of Germany, and ethnically, Bulgaria is the same Slavic race. No matter what strategy is adopted, it is likely to offend both sides. The best way is to act as a mediator. The size of the two great powers, the Soviet Union and Germany, is by no means something Bulgaria can afford to offend. Don’t look at the fact that the Soviet Union is being beaten so hard by the Germans that it can’t hold its head high. In the entire axis camp, except for Germany, the Soviet Union will beat everyone it faces. Who knows what will happen in the future? How to develop? What's more, judging from Germany's opinion, it is not to solve the Soviet Union once and for all. In the future, there will be a Belarusian regime run by the Russian Liberation Army. For Bulgaria, there are still many things that need to be dealt with carefully.

Ribbentrop and Molotov were old acquaintances. When the two signed the "Soviet-German Non-Aggression Pact", they were their main arms. Unexpectedly, they would sit down and talk about the Soviet-German non-aggression pact again. The fundamental problem is that even the parties involved are lamenting it.

Meeting acquaintances avoids a lot of politeness and avoids unnecessary criticism and accusations. For both parties who know the basics, this is completely unnecessary. Molotov did not immediately criticize Ribbentrop for tearing up the "Non-Aggression Pact". The latter did not have to make a lengthy attack on the Bolshevik political system. What both sides had to do was simple - to reach peace terms as much as possible.

Although Ribbentrop was puzzled by the head of state's willingness to give Stalin a chance for peace against all odds, according to him, the Soviet Union was now in a state of survival, unable to fight anymore, and could completely tear down the Soviet Union and start over. But Hoffman asked him in one sentence, which made him speechless: "After Stalin is overthrown, who will take over the vast Russian land? Vlasov?"

The latter nodded subconsciously, but always felt that something was wrong.

"Vlasov is bowing to us now. It may not be possible over time. It is impossible to conquer a country for a long time. Russia has no history of becoming a colony. I cannot station a large number of troops in the East for a long time. Even if it is stationed, it will be meaningless. They will soon "It will recover." Hoffman stared at him and said, "But if Russia splits into two or more completely different political entities, with relatively balanced forces, diametrically opposed and constraining each other, they must first solve their internal troubles. Don’t worry about dealing with us. This will buy us time!”

As for Molotov, the instructions he received were very clear: to reach a peace agreement with the Germans as much as possible, whether long-term or short-term, just asking Germany to take the pressure away from the Soviets to fight against Britain and the United States, and to support the Bolshevik regime. Earn respite.

From initial tentative contact to in-depth negotiations, the two sides reached substantial agreement in many areas, but there were still several issues that could not be circumvented.

The first is the refugee issue: both sides agreed to accept them at a ratio of 1:100, that is, when Germany takes back one captured officer and soldier, it will also accept 100 Soviet refugees. However, the two sides disagreed on the composition of the refugees. Molotov only wanted to hand over People who are old, weak, sick and disabled and unable to create productive value, while Ribbentrop only wants close relatives of Russian People's Liberation Army soldiers, and at the same time, the nearly 2 million people deliberately "released" by the Soviet authorities in the early stage need to be included in the calculation;

The second is the issue of the Russian Liberation Army: Both sides agreed to give the Russian Liberation Army the status of a political entity, but Molotov proposed that Vlasov and his organization be renamed the Mensheviks, or simply the Russian National Socialist Democratic Party. The countries controlled by the Bolsheviks organized together to form a confederation, collectively known as the Soviet Union, with the Bolshevik leader as the supreme leader, but they achieved internal autonomy, non-interference and equal treatment. Ribbentrop was surprised by the proposal. He did not understand that such a thing existed. After thinking about it, he felt that this was not a request that he could agree to or respond to, so he shied away from the need to report to Berlin first;

The third issue is the division of national borders: Molotov is ready to give up Leningrad in principle, but the relevant population must be relocated first. In addition, he neither agrees with the withdrawal of the existing military demarcation line by 500 kilometers nor the Currently taking into account the current military demarcation lines in Central Asia. The Bolsheviks demanded a retreat of up to 150 kilometers, and the Russian Liberation Army could not occupy it. Germany could station troops for a period of 15 years. After 15 years, the people would decide on their own which federation they would join. Ribbentrop opposed this, and his counter-proposal was to reduce the retreat distance to 300 kilometers, but the five Central Asian countries must become independent in accordance with the principle of national self-determination and accept German protection.

The fourth is the issue of compensation: Molotov said that the Soviets could not provide anything in compensation now. At most, they could hand over some antiques, oil paintings and military equipment. However, they promised to issue national bonds to pay in kind (mineral products) every year, or they could give Free development rights in Germany. Ribbentrop had little interest in the development rights, but he thought the issue of compensation could be discussed later.

In addition to the above-mentioned principles and core issues, the two sides wisely did not discuss conditions such as punishing the culprits or reorganizing the government, which were highly humiliating but without substantive significance, and reached agreement on major issues.

For example, the Bolsheviks recognized all the independence issues of the Eastern countries, but required that they complete the procedures for withdrawing from the alliance;

Another example is the distribution of troops between the Red Army and the Russian Liberation Army. The two sides generally maintained a ratio of 4:1, that is, 3 million Red Army and 750,000 Russian Liberation Army; another example is the principle of prisoner exchange. Axis prisoners of war were unconditionally repatriated, and Red Army prisoners of war were repatriated on a "voluntary" basis. Germany expressed its agreement with the Soviet Union's expansion in Mongolia, Afghanistan, and northern India. If the Red Army was willing to send troops to Africa to fight Britain, it could also consider allocating a colony. Molotov did not comment on this.

But the only problem that got stuck was the opportunity and time for the ceasefire. The two sides were diametrically opposed here: Ribbentrop proposed that only after the Soviet Union signed a peace treaty, delivered Leningrad and agreed to the independence of the Eastern countries, the two sides could formally cease fire; Molotov emphasized that the two sides should cease fire on the spot and then sign a peace treaty, and the Soviet Union could first hand over Leningrad to the German army.

This unexpected episode became a trouble for the negotiations to continue.