Chapter 152
Chapter 152
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Suez War (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Egypt's real power holder, Nasser, had deeply internalized the advice given by Lee Seong-jun.
If you're too hasty in trying to grab everything at once, you'll end up losing even what you already hold.
Nasser decided to take his time pondering the issue of returning Suez.
‘By the time the Aswan Dam is completed, I can bring it up then.’
Timing-wise, raising the topic around that point seemed perfect.
“Mr. President, what came of your discussions with the American ambassador regarding the Aswan Dam?”
Muhammad Naguib, the puppet president installed by Nasser, scowled at the question.
The president dropped a bombshell right away.
“We've been denied a loan from the United States.”
“What?”
Nasser couldn't hide his shock at the news that a loan everyone assumed would be approved had been rejected.
“But we need that to break ground and start modernizing our homeland, don't we?”
Electricity is the blood of modern civilization.
Without it, factories couldn't run, and nights couldn't be lit up like day.
The president explained the American ambassador's attitude.
“He said they couldn't give us a single penny. Claimed it lacks economic viability.”
“That doesn't make any sense! Do you know how big Egypt's population is?”
Nasser vented his frustration.
But the problems didn't stop at the Aswan Dam.
Major projects, including the modernization of Alexandria Port, were halted one after another due to the loan cutoff.
The Nasser regime immediately began to wobble under cash flow shortages.
“Look at that bastard Nasser. What, modernizing the country with some Arab-style democracy? He's not getting anything done.”
Even within the military, where people had sympathized with Nasser's ideology and backed him, doubts about future achievements started to emerge.
Nasser, a politician before he was a soldier, sensed the danger in this situation.
‘If things continue like this, the regime will collapse.’
If Egypt, the flagship of Arab-style democracy, fell, other Arab nations pursuing Arab-style democracy might topple like dominoes.
That would be the end.
In the midst of this delicate situation, a discreet proposal arrived from the Soviet Union.
“We understand Egypt is grappling with issues related to the Suez Canal. If Egypt nationalizes Suez, Moscow will back you.”
After much deliberation, Nasser made his decision.
‘His Excellency Lee Seong-jun's advice can't be ignored. But at this rate, we won't accomplish anything, and the reforms will crumble. Better to thrash around desperately than let that happen.’
Nasser's resolve was quickly conveyed to the National Salvation Military Committee.
“So, Suez?”
“Time to take it back.”
Nasser spoke of Suez's return with a resolute expression.
“If we do that, won't the British and French just sit idly by?”
“The British and French are like old lions with broken teeth from colonial wars. If we push hard, they won't dare stand up to us. Of course, I've prepared safety nets.”
Just in case, Nasser had already sought support from Arab brother nations sharing his ideology, like Iraq, and from the Soviets.
“We will of course support you.”
The Soviets were even more proactive.
“We'll send some weapons and loans to Cairo.”
Then, on January 5, 1950, a little time later, the Egyptian government abruptly declared the nationalization of the Suez Canal Company and its tolls.
France's Leotard regime, already cornered by colonial wars, exploded in rage.
“We struggled a bit against those Vietnamese bastards, and now these Arabs are looking down on us too? We won't let them get away with this.”
For once, French public opinion backed Leotard.
Britain, the other owner of the canal, also erupted in fury.
“They dare lay hands on a Great British Empire asset? Economic sanctions!”
Clement Attlee, who had returned as prime minister representing the Labour Party, couldn't hold back this time.
Suez was, rightfully, a Great British Empire asset.
Of course, the Attlee government didn't even consider mobilizing troops.
Britain was too exhausted for that.
Britain decided to provide war funding to Leotard.
With Britain's support secured, Leotard immediately began planning to retake the canal.
Of course, having learned lessons from several wars, Leotard didn't entertain the delusion of crushing Egypt alone.
“Let's take down Egypt together.”
Leotard reached out to Israel, Egypt's potential savior.
For Israel, it was a dream come true.
“Uh, well, do we really have to fight our Egyptian friends?”
Still, true to form, they haggled once.
“Oh, we'll supply weapons and funds, so let's team up.”
“Really? Then let's join hands.”
The Jews smiled smugly as things fell into place just as they planned.
With this, crushing Egypt would drastically reduce the risk of a two-front war.
The two sides held working-level talks in Sicily, Italy.
There, Israel committed to the main force, while France promised airborne troops, marines, and air and naval support.
Exactly two weeks after the agreement, Israel launched a surprise invasion of Egypt.
“What? Israel is coming from here?”
Nasser was caught off guard by the situation.
‘No way.’
Only then did he realize why Lee Seong-jun had warned against touching Suez.
The Egyptian army suffered a major defeat against the Israeli forces and was pushed back.
Up to this point, events followed a path similar to the original history.
However, the war didn't proceed according to Israel's plans.
An unexpected wildcard shattered Israel's war strategy.
“To aid our brother nation of Arab-style democracy, we will deploy troops.”
Iraq's Qasim regime, which had been sitting idly by, mobilized its army.
Qasim calculated that letting Egypt fall now would reduce potential allies for forming an Arab federation in the long term.
For Qasim, helping Egypt was the obvious choice.
In response, Syria, which had been Israel's ally,
“You may pass through our territory. We'll also provide some troops.”
Damascus granted passage rights to the Iraqi army and supplied volunteers and funds.
Syria took such an active stance because the Ba'ath Party, which followed Korean-style democracy, strongly demanded support for Iraq and Egypt.
The Suez War instantly ignited into the Second Middle East War.
“Huh?”
Israel didn't even have time to panic.
Days later, armed groups from Lebanon and Palestine declared war on Israel.
Then Saudi Arabia moved.
“Looking at how things are going, if we don't do something, we'll end up isolated in the Arab world.”
Saudi Arabia decided to generously aid the nations participating in the war with funds.
As a result, the Israeli government found itself facing the disaster it had unleashed.
Counting just the belligerents: Egypt, Lebanon, Iraq, Palestine—four countries.
Behind them, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and others supported their Arab brothers' war.
It was essentially an all-out Arab war effort.
The silver lining was that it was a direct clash while the Arabs were still not fully modernized(?).
“Total war!”
Israel once again conscripted men, women, young, and old without discrimination, pumping up its forces.
The desperate realization that defeat meant the end once more united the Jews.
But the fatigue from repeating a nation-destroying war after just a few years was unavoidable.
‘We tried a preemptive war and ended up staking the nation's fate on it.’
The Israel Defense Forces had to fight a brutal war once more on the front lines defending the homeland.
France, crossing the Mediterranean by sea, took one look at the mess and reconsidered.
‘Time to cut losses?’
If it were just Egypt, they'd dive in, but with four or five countries, jumping in would be insane.
France ignored Israel's pleas and sailed back to the mainland.
“You traitorous bastards.”
“We don't know anything. Can't hear you.”
As if they had never prepared for war over Suez, France wiped the issue clean from memory.
Even President Leotard never mentioned Suez again.
Instead, he brazenly claimed,
“Some were saying we should attack Nasser, calling him the Arab Hitler or whatever, but it's all exaggeration. How could a third-rate Third World country compare to a superpower like Germany? At best, he's just a local thug terrorizing his own neighborhood.”
With that, Leotard washed his hands of it.
Israel was stunned by the fascists' trademark shamelessness.
“How can people be like that? Even Lee Seong-jun isn't as brazen as those guys.”
Israel fought valiantly against the Arab coalition advancing from all sides.
Of course, it wasn't Israel's strength alone.
“Man, these Jews are creepy.”
The Arab coalition was once again frustrated by the enormous funds pouring in from Jews worldwide.
Even in this disadvantageous war, the Jews managed to defend their territory.
The Second Middle East War ended after two months, but its aftermath was more devastating for Israel than they imagined.
“Comrades, we've learned that if we unite as one, we can overcome this crisis. Now that we've bonded through shared blood, let's form a federation.”
“We need to make clear this doesn't necessarily mean full unification.”
“Of course.”
Israel's preemptive war had birthed the Arab alliance that the Jews had so desperately wanted to prevent: the Arab Federation.
It started with three member states—Egypt, Syria, and Iraq—but those three alone were enough to terrify Israel.
As a result, fierce infighting erupted in Israel over responsibility.
“Is this the outcome of your preemptive war? Your misjudgment nearly destroyed Israel. And now we've got an Arab Federation. What are you going to do about it?”
After a heated clash, Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion and Golda Meir took full responsibility and stepped down from politics.
With the war leadership resigning, it wasn't an exaggeration to call it a de facto defeat for Israel and France.
Each country grappled with complex thoughts about the war's outcome.
“Forget the Arabs or Israelis—Britain and France are completely toothless now? Can't even send a single soldier to Suez and they call themselves great powers?”
It was a greater humiliation than in original history.
In original history, at least Britain and France had crushed Egypt and retaken Suez.
Britain and France's prestige plummeted once more.
This situation gave Soviet dictator Stalin one firm conviction.
“If they can't even protect their core interests, Britain and France have no capacity left for foreign interventions. So, even starting a proxy war in Italy should give us a good shot at winning.”
With nuclear development nearly complete, the Soviets no longer had to fear America.
From this perspective, Stalin concluded he could afford to play with fire in Italy.
“Comrade Zhukov.”
“Yes, Comrade General Secretary.”
“Starting today, triple the military supplies we're sending to Italy.”
“I'll take immediate action.”
“Comrade Molotov, go to Italy and convince Comrade Togliatti properly. Make sure he understands my points. Got it?”
“I will.”
And so, the Soviet Union resolved to open Pandora's box.
The sparks of war began to blaze fiercely once more.