Chapter 84
Chapter 84
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: The Champion's Return (4)
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Soviet dictator Stalin was tapping away at his calculator.
The General Secretary had extracted many promises from Yi Seong-jun in prior negotiations, but that still wasn't enough to satisfy him.
Why else would the reds be reds?
They could never be content with just their own share—they always wanted to divvy up everyone else's too.
"In this war, we're the ones solely bearing the brunt of the main German forces, yet it feels like Korea and Britain are angling for too big a slice."
Of course, he hadn't voiced anything like that during the talks.
Stalin was sharp enough to know better.
"Koba, you still need to know when to compromise. Aren't they supplying a hefty chunk of our munitions?"
"That's why I'm only pushing this hard. In any case, they need to earn their keep with some real action."
Stalin planned to demand the opening of a Second Front in the West in the near future.
It was unfair for the Soviets to keep shouldering the German main force alone like this.
Voroshilov let out a hollow chuckle.
"Britain's already stretched thin just holding the lines in Africa and the Middle East. Even Korea, which is in better shape, must be prioritizing the war in China. It'll take them at least two years to open a front in the West."
"That's exactly what's unfair. Does anyone think we're taking on the entire German army because it's easy?"
"So let's just float the idea. Demanding the impossible won't get us anywhere—they're not going to agree."
Stalin couldn't brush off Voroshilov's advice.
Following Stalin's directive, Molotov laid out their demands clearly at the Three Powers Conference.
"To disperse the formidable German forces concentrated on the Eastern Front, we demand the opening of a Second Front in the West by 1943 at the latest. For the sake of equitable burden-sharing among the Allies, the current setup where the Soviet Union faces Germany alone is untenable."
Churchill, naturally, didn't give him the time of day.
Ah, who was it that held a knife to Stalin's throat and told him to move next door to Hitler?
Wasn't it the Soviet reds who wiped Poland off the map and cozied up to their new neighbor?
They'd handed Hitler the chance to smash Europe's democracies by shaking hands with him—what were they complaining about now?
Churchill thought the reds had no conscience.
"Our primary goal is Italy. We'll topple Rome and pull two million Italian troops out of the fight, so enough about a Western Front."
He let their complaints go in one ear and out the other.
"Korea lacks the capacity as well. Opening a Second Front by '43 is beyond our capabilities. Daehan has committed the bulk of its army to the fight against China."
Joo Si-kyung echoed Britain's stance.
Whenever it suited their interests, Korea was always ready to back Britain.
"What, so we have to keep handling Germany all by ourselves?"
Molotov jumped up in protest.
It wasn't from any real surprise—it was a deliberate gesture to show the General Secretary he was giving it his all.
"Didn't you promise to send a fleet into the Mediterranean and annihilate the Axis forces in Africa?"
"That's just a drop of blood compared to what we're spilling."
The two sides locked horns.
Neither budged an inch, like they were talking to a brick wall.
As negotiations stalled, Yi Seong-jun stepped in.
"It's tough to open a Second Front right away, but it doesn't have to be in the West, does it?"
Yi Seong-jun suggested opening one in Italy or Greece instead.
Joo Si-kyung relayed the proposal to the conference attendees.
"A Second Front along the Mediterranean coast?"
Britain, which had been eager for operations centered on the Mediterranean, perked up at this.
No, it was exactly to their taste.
"That might be worth considering."
The British Empire's interests lay more with the Mediterranean rim than France.
When Britain and Korea expressed willingness to open a Second Front in the Mediterranean by '43, Molotov felt he'd at least saved face.
"After all, Korea and Britain committing to move in '43 is a concession, Comrade General Secretary."
Stalin, upon hearing Molotov's report, had to concede it was unavoidable.
Britain, the core of the Western Allies, lacked sufficient ground forces, and Korea didn't have the surplus capacity.
For them to open a front in the Mediterranean was a major show of good faith.
"I'm not sure how much impact their Mediterranean strategy will really have."
The General Secretary privately thought anything short of France wouldn't help the Soviets much.
Knocking Italy or Greece out of the war—how much would that really dent German strength?
"But it's better than doing nothing."
"True enough."
At least it would draw off some German forces once the front opened—that was some consolation.
With the conference's biggest sticking point resolved, the remaining agreements fell into place swiftly.
They easily settled on three principles for countering the Axis.
Some issues, however, went undiscussed.
The most prominent was the fate of Eastern European nations like Poland.
"Poland must be restored to its prewar status as a nation."
While Yi Seong-jun implicitly signaled indifference to how the Soviets handled it, Britain's position differed.
Britain insisted that exile governments should return home and take the reins the moment the war ended.
Stalin had no intention of agreeing to that.
'No way in hell. Poland has to become our satellite state. It's rightful spoils of war that we've earned fair and square!'
Stalin wanted a substantial buffer zone in Eastern Europe to ensure the Soviet homeland was never invaded again.
History had repeated the lesson: Western aggressors had effortlessly crossed the flat Eastern European plains—lacking any real geographic barriers—all the way to Moscow, threatening Russia's very existence.
Polish and Swedish warlords, the French emperor, the German Kaiser and Führer—they'd all driven home the same brutal truth, over and over.
It was time to end that nightmare.
To do so, Poland had to be absorbed into the Soviet empire. Germany had to be torn asunder.
Czechoslovakia swallowed whole.
Eastern Europe turned into the Soviets' backyard.
In truth, Stalin's obsession with buffer zones was one shared by the old Tsars.
It wasn't that he was uniquely land-hungry.
It was an affliction that came with sitting on Russia's throne.
One might wonder, of course:
Wasn't it a problem that fulfilling Soviet ambitions would trample Poland's sovereignty and its people's will?
Stalin couldn't care less.
If he'd given a damn about that, he wouldn't have exterminated Poland's intellectuals in the Katyn Forest.
For the Soviet cause, he'd buried doctors, professors, officers, teachers—anyone who could lead the Polish nation—in the gloomy pits of Katyn.
That didn't make the General Secretary unusually cruel, though.
Churchill and Roosevelt were just as ready to crush small nations' rights and interests when it suited them.
The only difference was that Stalin didn't bother pretending to feel sorry about it.
"Comrade Beria."
"Yes, Comrade General Secretary."
"Keep a tight leash on our Polish Workers' Party comrades from now on. If any show Polish nationalist leanings or mutter anything cheeky, make them disappear quietly. You understand?"
"Yes. I'll handle it thoroughly."
The General Secretary's orders were crystal clear.
Eliminate any obstacles that could cause trouble during the establishment of a Polish puppet regime.
Only then could the first step toward satellization be complete—with the Polish Workers' Party as a thoroughgoing puppet.
"Same for our Czech Communist Party comrades—start compiling lists of those we can elevate. Ones who'll listen to us, at least."
"Yes, Comrade General Secretary."
Stalin intended to expand Soviet influence across Central Europe postwar, as far as his reach allowed.
'We'll swallow everything we can—every last bit.'
True to form as a conscienceless red, the General Secretary planned to grab more than what Britain and Korea had proposed.
Poland, Czechoslovakia, half of Germany.
Securing that much would make the Soviet Union the unrivaled superpower in Europe.
The only hitch was Western scrutiny.
If the Soviets grew too massive, the West wouldn't tolerate Moscow as indulgently as now.
The Federation would become the new public enemy, just like Germany today.
But shirking growth opportunities out of fear of pushback would be foolish.
'Come to think of it, Korea's been lucky.'
At first, Germany had been the common foe, shielding Korean expansion from checks.
Next, the Soviets would step up.
What other nation got such a smooth shot at climbing the great power ladder?
'One other, actually.'
America.
Alone on a competitor-free New World continent, it had sprawled its territory and built the world's top economy.
The father of free democracy—the inevitable archrival of the future Soviet Union.
Considering how that colossal empire moved in lockstep with the aging British lion, the Soviets needed a partner to counter them.
By national strength or global ties, only Korea fit the bill.
It was almost comical: despite vast ideological gulfs, they had no choice but to trust each other.
'That means we can ignore the Brits, but we'll have to heed Yi Seong-jun's views.'
Daehan ties left no alternative.
Stalin decided to reconsider the Korean proposal.
Poland, though—he'd swallow that no matter what.
On that, even the General Secretary wouldn't yield.