Chapter 88:

February 23, 1940

Paris, the ‘City of Light,’ capital of France Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs Józef Beck sat with an anxious face, waiting to be called.

France, which just kept repeating that they would enter the war soon and to just wait, even as Poland's main force was entirely besieged, had exhausted the patience of Polish Inspector General of the Armed Forces Rydz-Śmigły, who finally ordered Minister of Foreign Affairs Beck to go to France himself and get an answer one way or another.

Because the German Military had blocked not only Poland's air superiority but also its only sea route, Minister of Foreign Affairs Beck had to go to Romania and take a passenger ship, finally arriving in France after a long journey.

However, by the time he arrived in France, the Radical Party cabinet, which had only repeated that they would enter the war soon and to just wait, had already undergone a mass resignation, and the French Social Party regime had taken its place.

His predicament of having to sigh heavily and wait endlessly, despite being the Minister of Foreign Affairs of a single country, seemed to show Poland's fate.

When he was finally called in, Józef Beck was able to meet the new Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of France.

“Welcome, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs. I am François de La Rocque, the Prime Minister of France.”

“I am Józef Beck, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Your Excellency, the Chancellor. It is a bit late, but as France's ally, I congratulate you on becoming Prime Minister.”

“A pleasure to meet you, I am Paul Baudouin, the French Minister of Foreign Affairs.”

As soon as the simple introductions were over, La Rocque said, as if making a declaration:

“I ask for your understanding that the conference was delayed because I've been so busy lately. But coincidentally, we're a bit short on time, so I believe we'll have to get straight to the point.”

Beck felt more than just disbelief; he felt anger at La Rocque's shameless attitude toward an ally, but as Poland was the one in a desperate position, he had no choice.

“As you know, France has declared that it will protect Poland against Germany.

Until now, you have taken no action while the German Military ravaged Poland, citing France's internal affairs, but I believe it is now time for France to act.”

After hearing Beck's words, La Rocque tilted his head with a smile and opened his mouth.

“That's very strange. To my knowledge, nowhere in France's declaration to protect Poland against Germany do I recall a promise that France would intervene even if Poland launched a preemptive invasion and was counterattacked.

Was there such a clause, Minister of Foreign Affairs?”

“There was not. It was only a statement that we would protect Poland as a defense alliance in the event Germany initiated an armed conflict with Poland.”

In a situation where the French Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs were casually conversing as if he were a person being ignored, Beck felt his vision go dark.

He hadn't come with very positive expectations, but it seemed France's new regime wasn't even going to give him a nominal promise.

“D-Does that mean you are abandoning Poland?”

“Shouldn't we be precise with our words? The alliance between France and Poland was a promise that if one was preemptively attacked by Germany, the other would strike from the rear. But we are not the ones who created a situation where we could not enter the war by personally spoon-feeding Germany a justification.”

Józef Beck was seized by despair. The once-spirited diplomat who had dreamed of Międzymorze, a New Order under Polish Leadership, was now facing the total failure of the Second Polish Republic's diplomacy.

“P-Prime Minister. If you abandon us here, Poland has no other ending but to become the prey of Germany and the Soviet Union.

Aren't they both enemy nations to France!”

“That is France's business. It is not for a country that overestimated its national power, signed a non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union without consultation with its ally, and then attacked Germany to interfere.”

As Józef Beck stood there with a look of utter bewilderment, La Rocque glanced at his wristwatch and smiled faintly.

“Oh, I regret to say we're running a bit short on time.

Minister?”

At La Rocque's glance, French Minister of Foreign Affairs Baudouin handed a diplomatic document to Beck. Beck accepted the document with trembling hands, read its contents, and squeezed his eyes shut.

Expressing regret for Poland's inappropriate actions as an ally, France hereby revokes the guarantee of independence it provided to Poland.

After handing over the document that crushed Poland's last hope with its short and concise content, La Rocque smiled faintly and opened his mouth.

“You've had a long journey. I wish you a safe trip back as well, Minister of Foreign Affairs.”

-

Watching Józef Beck trudge out with a despondent face, the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Paul Baudouin, glanced at La Rocque and asked.

“They're an ally, but is it alright to discard them like an old shoe?”

“Ah, do not worry.

All alliances must be decided based on their strategic value. An old ally is nothing but a hindrance to France's great march forward if it has no value now.

The reason the last regime fell was because they didn't know that.”

It was La Rocque who had incited national animosity towards Germany by calling to protect Poland and sent the Radical Party government to the Second Munich Conference, only to blame the Radical Party for everything and seize power as soon as public opinion against fighting Germany for a Poland that was fighting poorly grew.

In the mind of François de La Rocque, things like ideology and diplomacy were, in the end, nothing more than opportunity costs.

“Faith in useless allies, ideology, and the like are worthless in modern diplomacy.

We must focus only on the substantial benefit for the great nation of France. That is also why I appointed you, a Christian activist rather than a Socialist Party member, as minister.”

“Your Excellency, the Chancellor. Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs José Félix de Lequerica has arrived.”

Having finished speaking to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, La Rocque heard his aide and smiled broadly.

“Now, let us forget about the useless old ally and go meet a new friend who will be helpful to France.”

-

February 24, 1940

Berlin, Northern Germany, Government Complex

“What do you mean, there are signs of the Soviet Army trying to invade Poland?”

The intel that flew in while we were preparing a general offensive, having smoothly gained the momentum of victory against Poland, was giving us a headache.

“Yes.

It is intel from the Finnish Embassy. The Soviet Army's Finnish Offensive has stopped, and a significant military force has begun to withdraw.

The circumstances suggest they intend to annul the non-aggression pact and take advantage of a cornered Poland.”

Hearing my words, Minister of Defense Ludwig Beck scowled and spat.

“What, are they scheming to have us do all the work while they get all the rewards?”

This is exactly the kind of damn situation I wanted to avoid, which is why I wanted to foster friendly relations with Poland without fighting if possible, but that ship has sailed since they attacked us directly…

Thank goodness Finland let us know in advance so we could at least buy some time to prepare. It seems Finland held out better than in the original history, and it's a relief that helping them was meaningful.

“How long will it take for the Soviet Union to invade Poland?”

The one who answered my father's question was the Director of the Abwehr, Wilhelm Canaris.

“We cannot predict exactly at this moment.

The Abwehr's spare capacity is focused on France, Italy, and Poland, and the Soviet NKVD (People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs - Soviet Intelligence Bureau) is not an easy opponent to provoke recklessly.”

If we could at least estimate roughly when the Soviet Union's preparations will be finished, we might have a countermeasure, but we don't even know that.

This is truly hopeless.

“Considering they have to deploy the military that was in Finland to the Polish border and prepare an offensive, it will take at least two weeks, even at the earliest.

But I cannot guarantee anything beyond that.”

The opinion was from Ludwig Beck.

That would mean the timing of the Soviet Army's offensive depends entirely on when Stalin decides to stab Poland in the back.

If he made the decision only after seeing that the Polish main force was besieged by us, we might still have some time.

But if he had already decided on the Poland invasion and had a plan in place, they will invade as soon as their units are deployed.

“What should we do?”

“Since it has come to this, how about we launch a general offensive before their preparations are complete and just occupy all of Warsaw, which is former territory of the Kingdom of Prussia?”

The answer that Field Marshal Ludwig Beck, the Minister of Defense, gave to my father's question made me freak out.

“If we do that, we will lose all the diplomatic standing we've worked so hard to build.”

Minister of Foreign Affairs Weizsäcker voiced his opposition, but Ludwig Beck still looked dissatisfied.

It's true that Warsaw was German territory for a short time under the name South Prussia from the late 1700s until before the Napoleonic Wars.

But Warsaw is Poland's capital, for crying out loud.

We only managed to get Britain to acknowledge our possession of Danzig and Posen because we were the ones who were invaded, and we nicely liberated Czechoslovakia and gave them some crumbs on the side. If we go off the rails like that here, we won't be able to handle the aftermath.

“So are you saying we should shed our blood and just let the Soviet bastards gobble up Poland? There are many in the military who are already dissatisfied with just the Danzig Corridor and Posen. We should have reclaimed at least Upper Silesia!”

The Polish-controlled Upper Silesia, represented by Katowice, was originally German territory, but after the last great war, as the territorial dispute between Germany and Poland continued, the Entente Powers intervened and ceded the area to Poland.

Although the territory itself is small, it's a major coal-producing region and thus a highly industrialized area, so from Germany's perspective, it is a land they very much want to get back, but the problem is…

That place isn't simply lost territory from the Treaty of Versailles; it was formally ceded territory through the mediation of the League of Nations, and because it's Poland's core industrial district, Britain expressed reluctance.

Just getting the infamous Perfidious Albion, Britain, to acknowledge the recovery of Danzig and Posen was the result of immense diplomatic capability, but the military doesn't understand that.

“If we're going by that logic, we should reclaim all the territory that France and Belgium took. That would be endless…”

“Shouldn't we do that someday? At least, that's the military's opinion.”

Hearing Ludwig Beck's words, I almost grabbed the back of my neck. I thought the German military had been quiet for a while after the military government coup failed, but as soon as they got a bit comfortable, their belligerent disposition is starting to show again.

It's a problem, anyway.

Even if I try to save at least Poland's national polity through negotiations with Poland and the Soviet Union, we and the Soviet Union are already in a hostile relationship because of our support for Finland, and our relationship with Poland, the country we were invaded by, is also the worst.

Besides, the Soviet Union is already treated as a public enemy by the international community; who knows what kind of criticism we'd face if we were caught in a conspiracy with them now.

For starters, Finland, which is our most steadfast ally even if it is a minor power, would feel a sense of betrayal.

“In any case, we cannot demand the cession of additional territory besides Danzig and Posen. We are already at war with Italy, and France is also practically an enemy nation.

We cannot afford to take the risk of giving them another justification and turning Britain into an enemy nation as well.”

“Vice Minister, I understand well what the current government's foreign policy prioritizes.

But as I said, there are not a few within the military who are dissatisfied with the Fourth Empire's policy on diplomacy.”

Ludwig Beck took a step back after hearing my words, but he made a painful point.

I've worked hard and put in a lot of effort to improve the military's perception of the Fourth Reich, but I guess things in this world are never easy…

“But Vice Minister, in my view, letting the Soviet Union swallow Poland whole is more dangerous than ruining that diplomatic standing.”

Just when I thought Beck had finally backed down, the next batter up was the hard-line anti-communist, Director Canaris.

My head is starting to ache…

“At this point, isn't Poland's downfall a fait accompli anyway? They have already suffered massive losses from us, and what's left of their main force is entirely besieged by us in Danzig and Posen.”

Director Canaris's words are right.

What's left of their units are also in a stand-off with our military, so if the Soviet Army invades Poland now, it will be the same as the invasion of Poland in the original history. The Soviet Union will lightly ravage the empty eastern part of Poland and push in in an instant.

“Then let's make it so that neither happens. We must ensure we don't get on Britain's bad side, and that the Soviet Union doesn't get Poland for free.”

“Do you think we'd be in this mess if it were that easy?”

“Before the Soviet Army finishes its attack preparations, we should first conclude peace negotiations with Poland, so they can fully deploy their military on the Eastern Front.”

I don't expect those Polish militarists and nationalists to be grateful to us and become an ally over this.

It's not like Poland will be able to achieve victory against the Soviet Union on its own. But they will at least be able to buy some time against a Soviet Union that is struggling in Finland due to the aftereffects of the Great Purge.

In the current situation, if they can buy us even a little time to finish off Italy and for Finland to reorganize, that alone will be a great help to us.

“They were the ones who were willing to go to war with Hitler, saying they couldn't even give up Danzig.

Do you think they'll accept so obediently?”

“I'm very worried about that too, but…”

To think the next problem explodes just when I thought I'd solved one and could catch my breath, this era is truly terrible.

“We have to at least attempt it.

Please have a little faith in the results our Ministry of Foreign Affairs has shown so far. Isn't that right, Minister Weizsäcker?”

“Hmm.

It is worth an attempt, but whether they will respond…”

What? For Weizsäcker, whom I had trusted, to be so lukewarm here? As I was getting flustered, my father spoke with his trademark rotten smile.

“Then this matter can proceed under the Vice Minister's responsibility.

Since you brought it up yourself, take responsibility and see it through.”

“…I will do my best, Chancellor.”

I answered with a very reluctant face, but Hjalmar Schacht went one step further.

“I don't need your best.

Bring me a result.”

Ah, really.

That damn father of mine…