Chapter 170

February 9, 1941

Brussels, the capital of Belgium

But before we could bring France to the negotiation table, the Allied Powers first had to gather and discuss what we, as the victorious nations, would demand.

After all, we had to decide on a rough outline beforehand so that the chaotic peace negotiations would be at least a little less chaotic.

So, we met in Brussels, the capital of Belgium, located in the center of the Allied Powers, and, as expected, had to face a total mess.

"This time, we must make sure France can never recover!"

The 'British Bulldog,' Winston Churchill, shouted in indignation, his plump face twitching.

Well, Britain had screwed over France so many times that their alliance was practically meaningless, but since they were still allies in name when the surprise attack happened, and even suffered a humiliating invasion of their homeland, Britain's anger was quite understandable.

The Belgian Prime Minister, Hubert Pierlot, chimed in to support Churchill, with a statement that seemed to omit 'stuck between two great powers' at the beginning.

"The Netherlands also contributed to this war, so we expect to receive a portion of France's colonies."

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Dirk Jan de Geer, also spoke while stroking his magnificent mustache.

This gentleman, wasn't he dismissed by Queen Wilhelmina after pathetically surrendering to the Nazis in the original history? To become the prime minister of a victorious nation, his life has really turned around.

Haile Selassie, the Emperor of Ethiopia, sat next to me, silently watching the scene with a slight frown.

To display the European countries' sordid greed for colonies so openly in front of the Emperor of Africa, it's truly embarrassing.

The representatives from Poland, Finland, and the Republic of China weren't here since they weren't directly involved in the French front, but they must all be desperately hoping that the Allied Powers will end the war with France quickly and come to their aid.

"Alright, since we are all well aware of each other's stances, let's hear the demands for now."

As I spoke to organize the discussion, Churchill was the first to speak.

"Originally, I wanted to have the government and military leaders handed over as war criminals and to dismember France into four parts for Britain, Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands to rule under a divided rule, but…"

"…What?"

I think I just heard something incredibly terrifying…

Churchill smiled magnanimously.

"Of course, if we bring up such conditions when we're supposed to be ending the war with peace negotiations, they'll fight to the last man. I know at least that much."

…That's a relief.

For a second there, I thought he might be serious since it's Churchill…

But in the meantime, the Belgian Prime Minister, Hubert Pierlot, smacked his lips as if in disappointment, which horrified me.

To think I have to discuss peace negotiations with people like this, I miss Claudia…

"The British Empire wishes to be ceded Normandy, make the Brittany region independent, and then take all of France's colonies.

Of course, after distributing the necessary colonies to the other Allied nations. Oh, and their military must naturally be disbanded.

Let's restrict it even more forcefully than the Treaty of Versailles."

Hmph.

Disbanding the military is one thing, but taking all the colonies? Won't that be a burden on Britain's finances?

Churchill turned his gaze to me, as I remained silent.

"What are Germany's demands?"

I let out a sigh and opened my mouth.

"The official acknowledgment of the Treaty of Versailles' annulment, as well as reparations and the cession of Elsass-Lothringen (Alsace-Lorraine)."

Honestly, I'm somewhat skeptical about whether we really need to take Alsace-Lorraine.

But the Cabinet was of the opinion that we absolutely had to get it, if only for the sake of public opinion.

Alsace-Lorraine had been French territory for hundreds of years before the Franco-Prussian War, and the period of German rule was less than 50 years.

Just looking at the fact that Germans didn't hold that much animosity towards recognizing French ownership of Alsace-Lorraine during the Locarno Treaties, it's clear that Alsace-Lorraine is a much lower priority territory compared to Danzig.

Besides, Alsace-Lorraine is an industrial hub that produces most of France's steel.

In Korean terms, it's no different from saying you're tearing away the entire core industrial zone from Busan to Pohang. In some ways, it's even more than that.

Is it truly a good thing to take a piece of land that could easily become the spark for the next world war, just to satisfy that near-frenzied nationalism?

Normandy and Brittany, plus Alsace-Lorraine. Just hearing the territorial cessions makes it seem like France would cry out for a fight to the death.

Next is Belgium's turn, which shed blood in this war…

"Belgium wants the Flanders and Calais areas, and the French colonies adjacent to the Belgian Congo: Western Congo and Gabon."

"My, my, looks like we'll need a bit of adjustment, won't we?"

Seeing Churchill make eye contact with Belgian Prime Minister Hubert while speaking playfully, it looks like they conspired in advance to completely snatch the English Channel from France.

They didn't contribute much, but they sure want a lot.

"The entire northern France region. I don't think France will accept that."

At my words, Hubert flinched slightly, then added as if making an excuse.

"This is heavily influenced by His Majesty the King's will. And doesn't Germany, which suffered the least damage in the war with France, also demand Elsass-Lothringen?"

Blaming the King, and now saying that since Germany is demanding land, they should too? I'm really not getting a good impression of this Belgium.

"We are, of course, saddened by your country's damages, but I have some doubts about how much Belgium contributed to the victory. If what we heard from the Foreign Minister is correct, it sounded like you said you would surrender without reinforcements…"

Hubert just cleared his throat and couldn't give any reply.

And I have to take care of someone like that as an ally.

Suppressing the urge to sigh, I turned my gaze toward the Netherlands.

"We want the territories of French Guiana in South America and the Lesser Antilles (Caribbean Sea)."

The Dutch Prime Minister de Geer is at least a bit more realistic.

"In return, we would like you to hasten the recapture of the East Indies."

A sense of reality with a reason, but I liked that too.

At least he's someone who knows that getting greedy in an urgent situation and dragging out negotiations will do no good.

"Ahem, ahem, then shall we begin the discussion…"

"There is still one more person."

Churchill's expression turned uncomfortable at my words, and he shifted his gaze to Haile Selassie.

"My people want French Somaliland and Eritrea, which Britain has occupied."

"It is true that we defended Libya with your country's help, but Eritrea is the territory of the victorious British Empire."

Hearing Haile Selassie's words, Churchill's expression turned unpleasant, and I could see Emperor Selassie was also getting angry.

"Winston, a moment of your time."

"…Dietrich."

"Please excuse us for a moment, everyone.

I hope you'll understand."

"Ho ho, go right ahead."

Even so, both the Prime Minister of Belgium and the Prime Minister of the Netherlands were giving Emperor Selassie looks that were far from friendly.

I gave a slight nod to Emperor Selassie, then gestured to Foreign Minister Weizsäcker to watch the situation, and he smiled and nodded his head.

Only then did I head with Churchill to a lounge near the meeting hall.

As soon as he sat down, Churchill took out a cigar, lit it, and asked.

"Are you telling me to hand over a colony of the glorious British Empire to Black people?"

"You certainly said so. That you could cede a portion of the African colonies if necessary."

"That, that was when the other party was Germany!"

Why are you making a face like a man who's been scammed by his lover…

I let out a sigh, somewhat dumbfounded.

"Prime Minister Churchill. Does the British Empire currently have the capacity to digest all those colonies?"

"Vice-Chancellor Schacht. It is true that we received great help from Germany, but this is crossing the line of interference."

The British Empire is going to fade into the annals of history by the end of this war anyway.

The colonies will all eventually be liberated.

Does he really not understand the significance of Ethiopia, an African nation, proudly participating as one of the axes in the great powers' war?

Winston Churchill is one of history's great figures, but in my eyes, he now looked like an adult struggling not to get off a toy rocking horse that he had long outgrown.

If this were the original history's Allied Powers, I would have strongly pushed for the complete liberation of colonies alongside Roosevelt.

"Fine, fine.

If returning a colony to an African nation is such a problem, then Germany, which contributed greatly to this war, also has the right to demand a colony. In exchange for Germany not touching France's colonies, we will take Eritrea as compensation.

Then, if we 'sell' it to Ethiopia, there shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Honestly, you can't even properly manage Italy's colonies right now, to the point you need the Ethiopian Army's help to defend Libya, so you can't even manage it, can you?

"…Very well. If it must be done that way, I shall agree."

Hearing Churchill's consent, I let out a sigh.

That paltry pride of imperialism will crumble in 10 years at the longest, and trying to protect a collapsing sandcastle by hugging it will only cause it to slip through your arms.

"If we're done now, let's go back."

I raised my hand to stop Churchill as he waddled to get up.

"Let's think about this seriously for a moment. Do you really think France will accept these conditions?"

All the colonies including Algeria, the entirety of Northern France, and the cession of Alsace-Lorraine.

On top of that, the disbandment of their army.

The way I see it, there's no way France would accept such conditions unless they were surrendering unconditionally.

"If they don't accept, they'll have to pay the price! Let's send an ultimatum!"

"Right now, the Republic of China and Finland are in crisis, and India is also in danger. We also want to move our forces from the Western Front to the Eastern Front as soon as possible.

What will you do if we make such demands and they decide to cry out for a fight to the death?"

If that happens, the idea I painstakingly came up with alongside the Ministry of Propaganda and Claudia, to mobilize the entire Luftwaffe to whittle down France's will to fight, will all be for nothing.

"Germany has strategic bombers now, doesn't it? Air superiority is completely ours.

If we mobilize all the bombers of the RAF and the Luftwaffe, we can turn Paris into ashes! Let's tell them. Decide whether to turn Paris into a sea of fire or surrender!"

Churchill shouted, almost enraged.

Ah, this is driving me crazy. At this rate, we might really have to wipe France off the map.

What kind of reward could possessing that stupid scrap of land be to all the people who will die on the front lines?

"First, we cannot notify them of these contents. There's a high risk it will be misused for their internal solidarity, so if we must send an ultimatum, let's use it when they refuse peace negotiations. For now, let's bring them in directly and proceed with the negotiations."

It's clear that whatever we decide on our own will just be rejected by France anyway, so we might as well call the party concerned.

"Ahem, f-fine. Let's do that."

Churchill reluctantly agreed.

The official peace negotiations haven't even started yet, and I already feel like throwing it all away and going home.

---

February 10, 1941

Paris, the 'City of Light,' capital of France

Jean-François de La Rocque was reading the Allied Powers' telegram, with the ashen-faced Foreign Minister Paul Baudouin and Minister of Defense Philippe Pétain standing before him.

"Hmm…"

After reading the entire telegram, La Rocque slowly opened his mouth.

"Report to Belgium in person to conduct peace negotiations.

Failure to do so will regrettably result in the use of physical force?"

Pétain opened his mouth, his mustache twitching with rage.

"These damn Allied bastards are acting like they've already won!"

"W-What will you do, Prime Minister?"

Unlike Pétain, Baudouin, a foreign minister from a civilian background, was intimidated.

La Rocque let out a small sigh, stood up from his seat, and walked to the window.

The sky, which had been gloomy and rainy for days, was slowly clearing up, and a light like dawn descended between the dark clouds, illuminating the scene of Paris.

"…Beautiful."

While the two ministers were fidgeting at his leisurely sentiment, unsuited for the immediate crisis, La Rocque returned to his desk and slumped down.

"Let's accept. I will go myself and strike a deal with them."

"For you to go in person, it's dangerous, Prime Minister."

Baudouin tried to dissuade him from the statement that the prime minister of France, already treated as a traitor and a war criminal nation, would go in person, but La Rocque replied with a faint smile.

"When France is on the verge of ruin, is the prime minister's personal safety the issue?"

Germany's act of cornering France to drag them to the negotiation table had, as a result, ironically resolved the very part that worried La Rocque the most.

He had been worried that deciding to surrender when not a single inch of French soil had been invaded would get him ousted and lead France to call for a continued fight, but they had kindly and clearly informed the French people that their defeat was an unavoidable fact.

At least post-war France won't have any stab-in-the-back myths floating around like Germany did.

As La Rocque let out a hollow laugh, Pétain spoke in a dissatisfied tone.

"Aren't you giving in too easily? Such a humiliating demand…"

"The sooner we sign a peace treaty, the more French citizens will survive, won't they?"

La Rocque replied, shaking his head.

Germany had gone to the trouble of creating a situation where surrender was acceptable; he couldn't push France to ruin by calling for a continued fight here.

'Murderer!'

The grief-stricken cry of a woman who had lost her father in the last Great War and her son in this one echoed in his ears.

To think that he, who had vowed to make France great, had to contemplate how to make France surrender obediently.

La Rocque did not hide his self-scoff.

"In any case, if the war in France drags on, it will be difficult for the Allied Powers as well. Germany has an urgent Eastern Front, and Britain and the Netherlands have all their colonies in Asia under attack."

The fact that they sent a demand so blatant it was close to an ultimatum was, rather, proof that they too were that desperate.

"Fortunately, we have the British occupied territory that General de Gaulle defended with his life, so we're not completely empty-handed. Haha."

As Baudouin and Pétain were unable to say a word, La Rocque wore a bitter smile.

'Ah, finally, Dietrich Schacht. I'll get to meet that man in person.