Chapter 60:
Chapter 60
The Free French forces, who fought at the front line to defend London, suffered high casualties, but they were relatively less affected by the firestorm that engulfed the city.
They lost their rear support units, but thanks to their armored vehicles’ protection and speed, they managed to join the last line of defense of the Guards regiments, who were evacuating the refugees northward as ordered.
The German tank units that pursued them eventually turned back to London, presumably to suppress the remaining resistance forces.
They had to leave with bitter tears of humiliation.
They left behind the ruins of London, which they had vowed to defend, and headed to Glasgow, Liverpool.
They hoped for the day when they could fight again with the help of the Americans.
The commander of the Free French, General de Gaulle, had already left Britain.
“The French will not leave Europe!”
There was no one who could control him after Prime Minister Churchill went ‘missing’.
Only Churchill, who was equally stubborn and fought against him, could bend his will.
Otherwise, everyone ignored and remained silent when he acted like a spoiled asparagus.
At least, Minister Attlee, who took over the prime minister’s position after Churchill’s disappearance, was humble and polite and tried to cooperate with de Gaulle. But he seemed to give up after a few clashes.
“Do you think Comrade Stalin would be willing?”
“Hmm… Maybe if he is the Comrade Stalin…”
Of course, de Gaulle’s hard-line stance always had the fervent support of the Free French officials.
Those who fled from the mainland to London, and then from London to Glasgow, following the Free French government in exile until the end, were those who harbored an immense hatred for Nazi Germany.
They swore to follow the Free French until the last moment, when all their colonies turned against them, when even the United States, whom Britain relied on, recognized Vichy France as the legitimate government, and when only Britain, on the verge of collapse, supported them.
And de Gaulle declared that he would not follow the British government that decided to flee temporarily to Canada.
The French-speaking residents of Quebec supported Vichy France like all other colonists or French immigrants.
No, even those who recognized the existence of the Free French were rare.
“We will leave instead! The French will not run away from the battlefield of Europe!”
De Gaulle shouted that and provoked a wide range of reactions.
The fleeing British government became a lackey of a lackey.
The Polish government in exile that followed them became a lackey of a lackey’s lackey.
Canada became ‘that place’ and they all became cowards who ran away from the battlefield of Europe.
De Gaulle breathed heavily and rambled on in French with such a strong accent that it hurt my ears. But I didn’t care much about that.
Anyway, I had to listen to what the interpreter translated for me since it was not English.
When de Gaulle paused his speech, the interpreter told me the general gist of what he said.
He seemed very verbose and talked a lot, but the point was simple.
“So, you want me to let the Free French fight on the Eastern Front? Under my direct command?”
When I said that through the interpreter, de Gaulle started talking again.
The members of the Politburo looked at him with curiosity as if they admired his eloquence.
Anyway, after talking for a while, the interpreter told me what he said.
“Yes, that’s what he said.”
“Really? He seemed to say a lot more than that.”
It seemed that everyone had a similar thought.
Hey, Molotov old man, can’t you speak French?
When I glanced at the Molotov cocktail, he shook his head slightly as if he knew what I was thinking.
Oh, he can’t… Well, how good could he be at a foreign language, having lived his whole life on this Russian land?
Stalin had purged all those foreign-educated officials from the Bolsheviks in the Great Purge.
He was a very Russian figure.
And de Gaulle, as well known, was a very French figure. So they seemed to clash from the start.
“Ah… He said that the Free French have fought a heroic struggle, that they can make a contribution on the Eastern Front, that the legitimacy of the Free French government in exile is superior to that of Vichy France, that supporting Vichy is unfair and that he appeals to support the Free French, and that he ‘asks’ for support for the brave soldiers who want to fight on the Eastern Front as allies of the coalition. Comrade Stalin.”
Phew… He has a long tongue. But the problem was always simple.
“So… de Gaulle…?”
“He said he wants you to call him Commander de Gaulle. Comrade Stalin.”
“Fine, fine. Commander de Gaulle.”
The members of the Politburo seemed to understand my intention when I emphasized the word ‘commander’.
The smile on Beria’s lips became even thicker.
Thanks to the interpreter’s appropriate intervention, de Gaulle did not seem to notice my intention yet.
‘My’ face was handsome once, so when I tried to smile softly, it still looked quite warm.
He seemed to think my smile was a positive reaction and his face relaxed a bit, but it twisted again the next moment.
“So, Commander de Gaulle. How many divisions does the Free French have?”
With a much louder voice, de Gaulle fired back. But what’s the point? We can’t understand you anyway…
The interpreter summarized briefly.
He said they have two thousand one hundred and thirty-six officers and soldiers of the most courageous and elite forces.
Oh boy, two thousand…
“Good. Commander de Gaulle. I’m ignorant about this, but… In France, what rank of officer commands two thousand soldiers? Colonel? General?”
“…He said it is usually a colonel who commands them. Comrade Stalin.”
Now some of them were laughing without making any sound.
They knew my intention well.
Supporting a right-wing politician like de Gaulle would only increase the influence of the pro-Western side in the post-war negotiations.
The future de Gaulle would be betrayed by the United States in the Suez Crisis, by Britain in the nuclear development process, and eventually advocate European centrism with Adenauer… But in essence, he was a right-wing politician who clashed with the Communist Party and the Socialist Party.
Did I have to help such a person make a contribution on this Eastern Front?
No, would it even be possible to have a Normandy landing and liberation of Paris by the Allies after Britain was trampled?
“Hey, Zhukov comrade!”
“Yes! Comrade Stalin!”
Zhukov stood up at my command. Oh boy, what a difference in stature.
“Zhukov comrade, how many soldiers are you commanding and how many tanks do you have?”
“As the commander of the Southern Front, I command about… 2.5 million soldiers. I have about 20 thousand tanks if I count all the light tanks and their improved versions.”
As I started to ask for details, de Gaulle’s face darkened more and more.
He was not a good politician by looking at how his emotions showed on his face so clearly.
He might have been a hero who led the war like Churchill, but he was also a person who deserved to be sidelined and demoted in peacetime.
“There is no such thing as that… They are all left in Britain. Comrade Stalin.”
“Is that so? Without those things… You can’t do anything in modern warfare. Hahahahaha!”
Some laughed with a snort.
This was what Stalin had said to the Polish government forces during the Warsaw Uprising… It was cruel but true.
Two thousand infantrymen were nothing in battle unless they were some amazing special forces. Even if they were special forces, they would melt away if they were deployed in this frontal war.
The Free French soldiers might be elite soldiers armed with courage, hatred for Germany, and loyalty to their country, but a regiment was just a regiment.
It was hard for one regiment to beat two regiments, very unlikely to beat one division, and impossible to beat one corps.
And on this Eastern Front, dozens of corps were colliding.
“There, Zhukov comrade!”
“Yes! Comrade Stalin!”
Zhukov stood up at my command. Oh boy, what a difference in stature.
“Zhukov comrade, how many soldiers are you commanding and how many tanks do you have?”
“As the commander of the Southern Front, I command about… 2.5 million soldiers. I have about 20 thousand tanks if I count all the light tanks and their improved versions.”
As I started to ask for details, de Gaulle’s face darkened more and more.
He was not a good politician by looking at how his emotions showed on his face so clearly.
He might have been a hero who led the war like Churchill, but he was also a person who deserved to be sidelined and demoted in peacetime.
“That’s similar to our Soviet Union, isn’t it? ‘Commander’. It’s a little bit, too few soldiers for you to command, but I’ll consider that as a difference between France and us. Interpreter, translate everything as it is.”
“Yes, I will, Comrade Stalin.”
“With 2,000 soldiers in the Free French… How many tanks and planes and artillery do you have?”
He said they have none. They are all left in Britain. Comrade Stalin.”
“Is that so? Without those things… You can’t do anything in modern warfare. Hahahahaha!”
Some laughed with a snort. This was what Stalin had said to the Polish government forces during the Warsaw Uprising… It was cruel but true.
Two thousand infantrymen were nothing in battle unless they were some amazing special forces.
Even if they were special forces, they would melt away if they were deployed in this frontal war.
The Free French soldiers might be elite soldiers armed with courage, hatred for Germany, and loyalty to their country, but a regiment was just a regiment.
It was hard for one regiment to beat two regiments, very unlikely to beat one division, and impossible to beat one corps. And on this Eastern Front, dozens of corps were colliding.
“Interpret, interpret.”
When the interpreter told de Gaulle the numbers that Zhukov had said, he clenched his teeth.
Of course, there might be some exaggeration since the Southern Front was the largest in scale… But he couldn’t compare with two thousand.
“By the way… How many divisions does Vichy France have?”
“…It is estimated that they have close to 300 divisions. Comrade Stalin.”
That was probably true.
After France surrendered to Germany in six weeks, nearly two million French soldiers were taken prisoner to Germany.
If Germany returned them and rearmed them, starting from two million and ending with more than one million that the Free French gathered at the end of the war…
They could produce about 300 divisions. Indeed, it was not a waste of words to call them the best land army in Western Europe. But anyway, they had a lot of heads.
Wouldn’t they be better than the Italian army…?
“Ho ho… Then one Free French soldier would have to face more than a thousand, right? Hehehe. What would you do if you supported the Free French and 3 million Vichy French troops came to the Eastern Front?”
“He said that the French officers and soldiers would resist the German oppression, and that they could weaken the enemy and strengthen the allies by broadcasting propaganda to them and persuading them to surrender to the Soviet side. Comrade Stalin.”
Allies? That’s only when the Free French are ‘allies’.
Our allies are the French Communist Party.
The left-wing resistance groups, who received millions of Reichsmarks of counterfeit money – funds for operations – from Beria, started to cooperate fully with us, albeit reluctantly.
Could the ragtag Free French who didn’t even get recognition from the resistance make the Vichy French surrender?
Or would the Nazis, who were not really idiots, send those who seemed likely to surrender to the front line?
They didn’t seem to do so until now.
“I think I don’t have to worry too much even if 3 million French troops come. At most… The war would be extended by six weeks?”
“…”
De Gaulle glared at me with a flushed face. Mikoyan and Kaganovich burst out laughing, and the other Politburo members also started to giggle as if a bell rang.
The quick-witted ones seemed to know that my intention was to insult de Gaulle, and they deliberately laughed more exaggeratedly.
The Free French had nowhere to go.
They barely came here by going around and around in the Arctic direction, but the Soviet Union declared that they had no intention of cooperating and openly insulted them.
Roosevelt hated de Gaulle and still recognized Vichy France as the legitimate government, and Britain was on the verge of collapse and de Gaulle had overturned them once.
They had their own leadership with the resistance, so why would they miss a regiment-sized force of two thousand?
“Go to sleep. I’ll give you a proper treatment for a ‘comrade commander’. Hehehe.”
I sent away de Gaulle, whose ears were red with anger.
The interpreter followed de Gaulle out with quick steps.
The remaining Politburo members became serious again.
The policy on France had already been agreed upon before he arrived, so there was not much deep discussion.
“What about the resistance… Who is the leader we are in contact with?”
“His name is Jean Moulin. He was once an administrative expert who served as a prefect at a young age…”
Ah, I know him. He will eventually be caught by the Nazis and executed. Should I tell him? This is something I’ll have to see.
‘My’ plan was this.
Most of the Politburo members still didn’t know about the existence of the atomic bomb, so they based their assumption on cooperating with the resistance to cause chaos in Vichy France and occupying France by passing through Germany.
If there was a second front in Europe – it was impossible to have a second front on the mainland after Britain fell – they thought they would cooperate with them.
But would Vichy France not surrender – or rather collapse – when Berlin became ruins?
Then, what if the resistance groups that were already prepared like our founding preparation committee took over the French government organization?
It would be an immediate coalition, or at most a coalition government.
There would be no place for the Free French.
The Free French itself took over by liberating Paris… But could they arrive in Paris faster than the resistance?
There was no powerful country in Europe that could be called a great power except for France – or rather Elan – excluding Spain and Italy, which were defeated and war criminals.
The United States’ core of projecting influence in Western Europe was France.
If France was dominated by left-wing forces, then the United States would have to try hard to find allies for themselves. Bringing Spain and Italy to their side.
This would probably deal a significant blow to the legitimacy of the United States.
The liberator of Europe, the Soviet Union, and the United States, who colluded with the invaders.
Our goal was there.
The grand plan to dominate Europe in the future was completed.
Now it was time for the Red Army to speak.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺