Chapter 93
Chapter 93
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 93
Chapter Title: The Fate of Poland (6)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
< World War II - The Fate of Poland (6) >
March 6, 1940
Western Poland, East of Posen – German Army Polish Front Command
On the afternoon of the final day of the grace period promised to Poland, I sat in the command headquarters, my body weary, anxiously awaiting the outcome.
“Here you are, Vice-Chancellor. Have a cup of coffee.”
“Ah, thank you, Chief of the General Staff.”
Manstein handed me the coffee, and as I accepted it and addressed him by his title, he beamed as if it were the greatest thing he’d ever heard.
He probably had an aide make this, yet he looks so proud you'd think he'd brewed it himself...
The situation was so urgent that the reprieve we granted General Sikorski was tight even by our own standards. I, too, had spent an incredibly busy three days since the breakdown of the peace talks.
It would have been one thing if I planned to use Poland as a disposable pawn to buy time, but since the plan was to establish it as a bulwark against the Soviet Union, there was much to do.
I had to rush between factories to prepare military equipment, wrestle with the cabinet in heated debates, and then immediately return to the Polish front.
I may be a public servant dedicated to the nation, but how many nights in a row have I spent away from home? I’ve been married for barely a month; how can I not feel miserable?
I have a lovely wife, yet the only times I’ve seen her face have been when she briefly stopped by my office! Dammit, I want to relax at home with Claudia...
“You’ve been incredibly busy lately, Vice-Chancellor! The military is drawing strength from watching you strive so tirelessly for the fatherland!”
As I sipped my coffee, lost in thought with a frown, Manstein gushed beside me. Ah, this man. I gave a bitter smile.
“Isn’t the military brass displeased that we haven’t resumed the attack, even after the peace talks with Poland collapsed?”
Of course, we had a secret pact with Sikorski, but we couldn’t inform the entire military lest security be compromised.
“Ahem, well, there are some who feel that way. But I! I know full well that you have a profound plan, Vice-Chancellor! I have no doubt they will soon realize the depth of your wisdom and express their gratitude!”
I felt goosebumps rise on my arms and looked at him with a dubious expression. Naturally, as Chief of the General Staff, he had been told that we were waiting because of a secret agreement with Poland and that a peace treaty would soon be reached.
Within the army, only Minister of Defense Beck, Commander-in-Chief Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb, and Chief of the General Staff Manstein had been informed...
In front of me, Manstein acted incredibly moved to be treated as special and laid on the flattery, but I’d heard that behind my back, he grumbled about why we were giving time to a Poland that was already in our grasp.
For him to say such things even after hearing about the secret pact meant this old Junker simply disliked any conciliatory policy toward a defeated Poland.
And now this shameless old man...
If you’re going to talk behind someone’s back, at least do it discreetly. Suppressing the sigh that threatened to escape, I smiled placidly at Manstein.
“I have always trusted you, Chief of the General Staff.”
The words *only your abilities* were left unsaid.
“Haha, thank you, Vice-Chancellor! Hahaha!”
Manstein laughed, oblivious, while I humored him, my mind elsewhere.
While Sikorski prepared his coup, we began diligently moving the equipment we were to sell to Poland to this location, which would become the border area after the armistice, as per our secret agreement.
It was a hassle trying to explain to the military command, who seemed puzzled as to why we were amassing so much equipment near the front lines instead of distributing it to the various units.
The problem was whether Poland would succeed. If Sikorski failed or missed the deadline after all this, we would have to awkwardly distribute the prepared equipment to our own troops and order an attack.
“Phew, this is nerve-wracking.”
The Soviet proposal was something we could never accept without losing our right to call ourselves a democratic nation. But if the coup failed now, it would mean we had needlessly given both Poland and the Soviet Union time to breathe. My only option was to hope for Sikorski’s success.
As I waited, tense, a staff officer approached with a telegram. It seemed the results were in.
“Vice-Chancellor, a telegram from the homeland.”
I took the telegram and read it, letting out a sigh of relief. It was a good thing the frantic efforts of the past few days hadn’t been for nothing.
If this had all been a fool’s errand, my neck would have been on the line, since my damned father would have made sure it was all my responsibility.
“Oh, Vice-Chancellor! Did it go well?”
“Yes, it was a success. Now that Poland’s government has changed, the war will soon be over.”
Sikorski’s coup had succeeded, just barely.
Now that they controlled Warsaw and held the authority for peace negotiations, the generals in the besieged cities of Danzig and Posen would have no choice but to obey the new government in Warsaw.
“Haha, then shall we proceed as discussed?”
I gave Manstein a wry smile.
“Yes. General Lutz and General Rommel, who distinguished themselves with their armored divisions in this Polish campaign, will lead the entry into Danzig, while General Guderian and you, General Manstein, will be at the vanguard entering Posen.”
Manstein looked slightly disappointed but wore a satisfied smile nonetheless. It had been a pain placating him when he threw a tantrum, insisting that if Rommel was to be given the glory of entering Danzig, he should be sent there too.
Did he really think I should pull General Lutz, who was already near Danzig, just to put him in his place? For a Chief of the General Staff, he could be so childish for his age...
“Of course, you must move only after the official peace treaty has been signed, Chief of the General Staff.”
“Goes without saying! Don’t you trust me, Vice-Chancellor?”
*Honestly, not really,* I wanted to say.
Sigh. Still, it was true he was trying his best to stay on my good side. I offered Manstein an ambiguous smile in response.
“Of course I trust you. I do. Absolutely.”
“I’m honored, Vice-Chancellor! Hahahaha!”
*Right, let’s just say I trust you because there’s no Chief of the General Staff as competent as you, General Manstein.*
-
March 7, 1940
Western Poland, German-Polish Front near Łódź
With the success of the Polish coup on March 6th, both Germany and Poland issued orders to their confronting armies to immediately cease all hostilities.
Time was of the essence, as we didn’t know how or when the Soviet Union would react to this news, so we arranged for the official peace negotiations the very next day.
This time, General Sikorski and I met not in borrowed Hungary, but on Polish soil, at a conference table with our respective armies at our backs.
“It is a pleasure to see you again, General Sikorski.”
“The same to you, Vice-Chancellor Schacht.”
I spoke with a natural smile, but General Sikorski’s expression was not nearly as bright as his words suggested.
It was understandable. He was about to sign a treaty ceding Danzig and Posen and renouncing all claims to them.
Just because he had succeeded in his coup while we waited didn’t mean the power dynamic had reversed. Their main forces were still trapped in our encirclement, and the Soviet Union would surely be furious once they grasped the situation. Unfortunately for them, that was not the case.
“I trust you have no objections to the terms agreed upon in our previous secret pact?”
When Foreign Minister Weizsäcker presented the secret agreement, Sikorski closed his eyes for a moment before giving a heavy nod.
Once he agreed, I spoke.
“Excellent. I am very pleased that Poland will keep its promise. In that case, I would like to agree on a few additional points.”
“Additional points?”
At my words, General Sikorski’s expression hardened slightly. It made us seem like villains, but in truth, we were the ones who had been invaded...
“Yes, first. I understand your navy possesses submarines. If you anticipate difficulty in maintaining them after the war, we would like to purchase them.”
The Polish navy’s destroyers had been sunk in Danzig at the beginning of the war, but the whereabouts of their submarines were unknown.
Sikorski’s expression soured. It couldn’t have felt good to be reminded of Poland’s new reality as a landlocked nation in such a manner.
“...Very well. They are docked in Estonia, but I will see to it they are handed over to Germany. As for the price, that will have to be determined later. Can we deduct it from the reparations to be paid?”
“Thank you for your swift decision.”
It wasn’t so much a swift decision as it was a lack of options, but at least now I knew they were in Estonia. This would surely please Admiral Dönitz, who had been feeling a bit neglected lately.
“The Poles in West Prussia and Posen will be relocated to Poland. We will grant a one-month grace period for them to settle their property and prepare for the move.”
Setting Danzig aside, about half the population of West Prussia and Posen was Polish. Sikorski looked somewhat somber, but he soon nodded.
This was to eliminate any potential for future conflict with Poland, a nation with already intense nationalist sentiments.
In the original history, this was a measure Poland took against Germans after World War II ended. It felt strange for us to be doing it in reverse. Of course, we wouldn’t be so merciless as to beat them and drive them out in rags.
Putting feelings aside, Poland would need the population now as it prepared to fight the Soviet Union.
“However.”
Seeing Sikorski’s grim face, as if wondering what was next, I spoke with a certain pride.
“The port city of Gdynia, west of Danzig, was built from the ground up by Poles as a city for Poles. Therefore, we will leave it as a free city and permit Poland to conduct trade through it. The transportation links were built to reach Warsaw anyway.”
Sikorski’s eyes widened slightly, as this was completely unexpected.
Making Gdynia a free city meant that while it would be German territory, the city would be autonomously managed by Poles, and Poland could freely conduct import and export through its port.
Roads and railways to Poland proper would pass through German territory, so they would have to go through our customs, but at least they wouldn’t suffer a fatal blow from a sudden trade blockade.
“...That is a welcome gesture of goodwill.”
This had been the most difficult point to persuade the cabinet on, as there was considerable opposition, but it was a necessary step to maintain an amicable relationship with Poland and build trust going forward.
Even if Sikorski declared he was renouncing claims to Danzig and Posen, there was always a chance he’d be branded a traitor in Poland and ousted, in which case the next government might well repudiate all his actions.
It was better to take preemptive measures to quell some of the Polish people’s discontent and support a leader with whom we could reason.
“Furthermore, the equipment we are selling to your country has already been brought to the border. We will hand it over as soon as this year’s payment is made. If you wish, we can transport it with our vehicles.”
The equipment was primarily composed of heavy weaponry to replace what Poland had lost in the fighting against us and anti-tank gear to counter Soviet armored forces. It would be a great help to them in the coming invasion.
Sikorski quietly studied the list of military equipment I handed him, then gave a bitter smile. With a slightly more relaxed expression, he gave a small nod and spoke.
“I was concerned that we might be treated as a disposable pawn by Germany even after giving up everything. I must express my gratitude for your consideration.”
This alone wouldn’t eliminate all opposition, but from here on, it would be up to him.
It had been a struggle to persuade the cabinet, which didn’t hide its animosity toward Poland, but I felt a sense of pride in being able to reply to him with a smile.
“The resolve you have shown was worth this much of an investment.”
While it was true that General Sikorski’s attitude had earned my favor, prompting me to go through the trouble of actively persuading the cabinet, I had put in extra effort because this was a crucial move for Germany’s future.
For now, animosity between Germany and Poland would linger from the war, but Poland had been one of Germany’s major trading partners and was a bulwark against the Soviet Union. There was no reason to be unconditionally harsh.
The damn Polish militarists would have been useless no matter how well we treated them, but it would be foolish to act like colonialist imperialists toward a man willing to cede territory, renounce claims, and hand over his entire former leadership for war crimes trials just to accommodate us.
Finland was a small nation in need of protection, but Poland was a country of a certain weight, a potential threat to Germany, and the first nation to surrender to us.
If we were excessively harsh, any nation that fought us in the future would surely vow to fight to the death.
Was it any coincidence that in the original history, the Soviet Union waged a nationwide resistance against Germany, and even madmen like the Nazis sought to surrender to the Allies rather than the Soviets?
“For now, our relationship may be strained, but I hope that in the future, we can become partners cooperating in a better form.”
“We hope for the same.”
Our delegation and Poland’s signed the official treaty, no longer a secret pact.
The attitude we showed here would undoubtedly influence how other nations would treat us in the future.
Taking advantage of an opponent’s weakness to bleed them dry might feel good in the short term, but it only breeds conflict in the future.
Knowing full well what the coming modern era would look like, the path Germany had to aim for was ultimately that of the hegemon of Europe.
Therefore, image-making was crucial for Germany to conclude the war amicably and exercise a leading influence in Europe.
“Then, may God’s blessing be with you and with Poland, General.”
“...And may God’s blessing be with you and with Germany, Vice-Chancellor.”
The war between Germany and Poland, which began on December 20, 1939, officially concluded on March 7, 1940.
But Poland still had to prepare for war with the Soviet Union, and we were at war with Italy.
Peace was still a distant prospect, but both nations had set aside their animosity for the sake of their national interests and succeeded in avoiding catastrophic ruin.
I hope that the outcome of the German-Polish war, different from the original history, will ultimately bring a different destiny for us all.