Chapter 53
Chapter 53
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: The German Civil War - Shadow of Versailles (3)
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September 30, 1939
London, Capital of the United Kingdom
Five days after our first meeting, we began renegotiations after a flurry of activity. In truth, all the decisions had already been made behind the scenes; this was merely to put the official stamp on it.
"Ahem, I hope we can reach a favorable conclusion this time."
French Prime Minister Daladier said this, but he looked displeased.
He must have known that Winston Churchill had given a speech in the British House of Commons, supporting the 'new German government striving to achieve democracy against fascist dictators,' and that members of Parliament and the press, lobbied by the Anglo-German Cooperation Organization, had shown considerable approval and support.
"Ah, of course. We have also prepared a great deal."
I replied to Daladier with a smile. We had prepared a great deal indeed. Just nothing that France wanted.
Foreign Minister Weizsäcker began to state our proposal.
"The new government's proposal is as follows. First, if Great Britain and France recognize the reign of His Majesty Emperor Wilhelm III and the legitimacy of the new government, Germany will, in turn, guarantee the formation of a government through democratic elections under a constitutional monarchy after the civil war concludes."
Daladier listened while gauging the reactions of Chamberlain and Halifax, but they showed little response.
"Second, under these same conditions, the new German government will reinstate the Anglo-German Naval Agreement, which Hitler had nullified."
The Anglo-German Naval Agreement was simple. It stipulated that the total tonnage of the German Navy's capital ships could not exceed 35% of the total tonnage of the Royal Navy's capital ships.
In reality, even without such a treaty, the German Navy couldn't even reach 20% of that limit, let alone 35%. But Britain, taken in by Hitler's bluster, was unaware of this and had signed the agreement to avoid another naval arms race with Germany, which had possessed the world's second-largest navy during the last Great War.
Chamberlain and Halifax looked reasonably satisfied. The matter of British companies reaping benefits after the civil war couldn't be written into a formal treaty, so that part was a secret pact.
Instead, this was a clause brought in for appearances, but for them, it served as an explicit reaffirmation that Germany had no intention of challenging Britain.
Daladier, seeming to grasp the atmosphere, furrowed his brow.
"Third, if the above conditions are accepted, the new German government will reaffirm the borders of France and Belgium as guaranteed by the Locarno Treaties. That is all."
Both France and Belgium held territories taken from Germany after the First World War.
The Weimar Republic had affirmed in the 1925 Locarno Treaties that these territories were the rightful lands of Belgium and France, but the pact was broken when Hitler went on a rampage, marching into the Rhineland.
As Weizsäcker finished speaking, Daladier's face contorted with open displeasure.
"Is that all? What about the Treaty of Versailles?"
"Regrettably, the current new government is in the midst of a civil war and simultaneously being invaded by Italy. We have promised to establish a democratic government under a constitutional monarchy and have shown our lack of hostile intent towards Great Britain, France, and Belgium."
Daladier's expression twisted, but frankly, I didn't feel particularly sorry for him. This was business between nations, after all.
"There's no need to revive the treaties of a defunct old regime. I believe this is sufficient proof of our peaceful intentions."
Hearing my words, Daladier turned an enraged face toward Chamberlain and Halifax, but Halifax spoke with a detached, emotionless expression, as if it were someone else's problem.
"Great Britain considers the German proposal to be quite reasonable under the current circumstances. We believe this resolves most of the anxieties that existed between Germany and us. We have also received a letter from the Belgian embassy supporting the German proposal."
As he said this, Halifax handed Daladier the letter from the Belgian embassy.
Daladier, his face flushed red, stared at it and then clenched his fist around it. Goodness, that's an official diplomatic document. It's going to get crumpled.
"It seems Great Britain and Belgium find our proposal reasonable. Does France not?"
Reaffirming the Franco-Belgian border was practically meaningless for France at this point. A Germany embroiled in civil war had no capacity to invade France and reclaim territory.
For Britain, however, it eliminated the risk of being dragged into a war between Germany and France. And for Belgium, which had been crushed between giants in the First World War, it was a guarantee as welcome as rain in a drought. To a small nation like Belgium, even a Germany in civil war was a significant threat.
Having declared neutrality after seeing France abandon Czechoslovakia, and with little hope of French protection, why would they refuse Germany's promise not to touch them?
"We have already guaranteed everything necessary for maintaining peace. We have pledged to reintroduce the democratic system of Weimar instead of a dictatorship by war criminals, to abandon the naval race with Britain, and have affirmed that there is no potential for conflict with France and Belgium."
Of course, we weren't actually giving them anything of substance, but it was a sufficient response to the justifications for their ultimatum—maintaining peace and concerns about a dictatorship by war criminals.
So, will you now attack us—the ones striving to establish democracy against Hitler and Mussolini—simply because we won't reinstate the Treaty of Versailles?
The moment they do, Daladier and the Radical Party would be negating everything they have stood for.
I was concerned about the impact on the French general election, but they were the ones who had tried to save themselves by sacrificing us. There was nothing to be done about it.
"I believe Germany has shown sufficient goodwill. At the very least, we cannot help Hitler and Mussolini, can we?"
"I never doubted that we were steadfast allies."
In response to Chamberlain's words, Daladier complained with a sense of injustice, but Chamberlain merely gave him a pitying look and remained silent.
"Of course, Great Britain and France are allies. But that does not mean we are each other's spokesmen."
With Halifax's statement, the treaty was signed as it stood.
Great Britain, France, and Belgium recognized the new German government as the legitimate government of Germany and approved the accession of Wilhelm III to a constitutional monarchy.
"I hope this treaty will secure peace for our time."
As he said this and offered me his hand, Chamberlain looked like a weary man who had once been a giant but was now on the verge of collapsing under the world's storms.
In the original history, he was judged an incompetent prime minister who was duped by Hitler and led his country into the worst of wars. Perhaps he was simply struggling to prevent his nation from falling into that horrific Great War again before he died.
"I hope for the same."
The hand of Chamberlain, who had led a great power of his era, was thin and weak, feeling somehow ephemeral.
Meanwhile, Winston Churchill, once treated as a has-been, was regaining prominence. As the only politician in Britain to have accurately foreseen the danger of Hitler, he was becoming an icon of anti-fascism, backed by businessmen and the press.
This was enough from my end. Only future generations would know how Chamberlain and Churchill would be judged in this altered history.
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October 1, 1939
Northeastern Italy, Trentino-Alto Adige – Bolzano (South Tyrol), Italian Army Base
Six days had passed since Mussolini's declaration of war. He had rashly declared war before the talks between Britain, France, and the new German government could progress, but the Italian army was completely unprepared.
It would have been better if they had at least deployed troops in advance, but thanks to the Pope's support, the deployment of Italian forces to the Austrian border had only begun after the military government's coup.
"We're supposed to advance into that?"
"Oh, dear God."
Lacking winter gear or any proper equipment, the Italian soldiers stared blankly up at the Alps, which already wore the face of deep winter.
For the Italians, who were mostly accustomed to the pleasant, warm Mediterranean coast or the inland plains, the sight of the white, snow-capped mountain range in early October left them speechless.
"Commander! No matter how much the Duce urges us to hurry, this is impossible. Not even half of the division has been deployed, and no winter equipment has arrived! If we push them in like this, our men will be sacrificed to the Alps, not the enemy!"
Giovanni Messe, who had been appointed deputy commander of the German invasion for his relatively smooth operation in the occupation of Albania, spoke urgently into the phone, but all he heard from the other end was the sound of someone smacking their lips.
[Smack, smack. Look here, Messe. I'm in the middle of a meal. Let's talk later.]
"C-Commander!"
[The steak isn't even cooked well today, so don't you go getting on my nerves too. Call back in an hour.]
Despite Messe's desperation, Italo Balbo, Marshal and commander of the German invasion force, hung up the phone.
"What did he say?"
In response to his aide's question, Giovanni Messe stared intently at the telephone for a long moment before saying a single sentence.
"...Let's have a meal as well."
An hour later, after finishing a long meal filled with lively chatter typical of Italians, Giovanni Messe spoke with the commander again. The conclusion, however, was still to advance, no matter what.
Sighing heavily, Giovanni Messe ordered the advance, only to be told that the troops couldn't move because they were still eating, following the meal order he had given an hour ago.
It took an hour for the order to eat to be passed down to each unit, and then another hour for the soldiers to have their meal.
It took a long time, as was typical of the Italian army, which served even its common soldiers lavish meals with wine while in garrison, but Messe couldn't bring himself to interrupt what might be the last luxury for his men before they crossed the Alps.
"We laughed at how pathetic the German army was during the Anschluss, and now look at us. We're in an even worse state."
"You can say that again."
Giovanni Messe and his aide muttered dejectedly. This was the very reason Italy had been bold enough to invade Germany.
The last time the Italian army had seen German forces was during the Anschluss, the annexation of Austria. They had witnessed a hasty invasion completed in three days, with marching formations and everything else in complete disarray.
Since then, the German army had not fought a proper battle, and Hitler and the Nazis were busy concealing the state of the civil war. Thus, the Italians, remembering only the Anschluss, had been looking down on the German military.
Their enemies, Britain and France, had overestimated the German army and were dragged along throughout the interwar period, while their ally, Italy, had underestimated it and was now on the offensive.
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October 3, 1939
Southwestern Austria, Innsbruck, the main city of Tyrol
The Austrian border guards, with bewildered expressions, were letting the ragged Italian soldiers pass.
Many of the Italian soldiers, ordered to march over the Alps without winter gear or proper supplies, had lost their rifles and everything else, some arriving with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Many among them were complaining of frostbite.
The commander of the Austrian border guard, Major General Karl Eglseer, was on the phone with his superiors as he watched the absurd spectacle.
"Are we really supposed to just let them through?"
[That's right. It's an order from Reichskommissar Arthur Seyss-Inquart. They're our allies, here to help.]
The Austrian Reichskommissar (Nazi Governor), Josef Bürckel, was naturally a Nazi Party member and remained loyal to Hitler.
"...Understood."
While all the Nazi or pro-Nazi Austrian generals had been dispatched to Germany with the invasion force for Poland, Major General Eglseer, who had been assigned to the quiet post of the border guard for being far from a Nazi sympathizer, frowned as he put down the phone.
The Italian troops reached the city of Innsbruck and began begging the locals for warm food and a place to sleep.
"Some helpful allies these are."
Major General Eglseer clicked his tongue, but an order from his superiors was still an order.
"They'll probably move on after a short rest, sir."
But contrary to their hopes, the Italian soldiers continued to arrive in Innsbruck, scattered in complete disarray—not in platoons, but in squads, or even smaller groups.
The residents of Innsbruck, long accustomed to welcoming travelers crossing the Alps, treated the Italians well, seeing them as allies. The Italian soldiers, having received such sincere hospitality, soon recovered their strength but then simply stayed put instead of leaving.
Finally, his patience worn thin, Major General Eglseer searched through the local Italian forces and managed to find the man in charge.
"What in the world are you all doing? Weren't you here to fight the German rebels?"
Facing the furious Major General Eglseer, General Giovanni Messe, the deputy commander of the German invasion force, was at a complete loss.
The order he had received from his superiors was this:
'It will take time for the entire army to assemble, so lead the vanguard across the Alps and secure Tyrol.'
Here, 'secure' meant to Italianize the region, forbidding the use of German place names and language, just as Mussolini had done in Bolzano (the Italian name for South Tyrol) after coming to power.
But how could he do such a thing to the Austrians, who had treated his ragged men with such care, seeing them as allies, rather than repelling them?
His conscience pricked him, but as the field commander, he judged that provoking the Austrians now could lead to disaster if they turned hostile.
"I'm sorry, but our orders from high command are to wait here."
"Until when?"
"Hmm, well. I suppose we'll know when the main force arrives."
Mussolini, who had initially demanded all of Austria, had been coldly rejected by Hitler. When the military government's coup occurred, he sent out feelers to Britain and France, but their response was naturally frigid.
Mussolini had belatedly lowered his demand to all of southern Austria, but after being rejected again by Hitler, he finally agreed to enter the war in exchange for just Tyrol.
"So you're telling me you're just going to sit here indefinitely?! If that was the plan, you should have at least set up a proper camp!"
Messe was speechless. But what could he do? They had been sent off without any decent equipment.
Moreover, the order he had received was to forcibly occupy this place, which had opened its roads and cared for them as allies. A headache began to throb in Messe's temples.
But Messe's dilemma did not last long. The problem was the unfortunate direction it took.
"What have you been doing all this time, Deputy Commander!"
Days after the operation began, the commander, Marshal Italo Balbo, finally arrived at a leisurely pace and immediately began to berate Messe.
"And who is this?"
Seeing Major General Karl Eglseer with his Wehrmacht insignia, Marshal Balbo did not hide his disdainful gaze, as if to say, 'What's some piddling major general doing barging in here and causing a scene?' Major General Eglseer bristled in response.
"Aren't you our allies, here to fight the rebels? Why are you just sitting around in Tyrol?"
"Commander, allow me to explain the situation!"
Hearing Major General Eglseer's protest, Messe tried to intervene quickly, but the Marshal ended up speaking his mind.
"This is no longer Tyrol. As of today, this place has been incorporated into Italian territory as the northern province of Trentino-Alto Adige!"
It was a disaster born from the gap between Hitler, who expected his Italian allies to actively help suppress the rebels, and Mussolini, who was sulking after dreaming of all of Austria only to receive a mere Tyrol.