Chapter 352 France Don’t Cry Thirty-Seven

"You want to make a separate peace with Germany?" Churchill's face suddenly darkened. "Mr. Prime Minister, do you understand what this means? France will lose its empire because of this, just like Germany in 1919!"

"In fact, what the Germans want is a European Community, a community that can permanently eliminate war in Europe. France's overseas empire, the colonies of Belgium and the Netherlands, and the original German colonies will all become peripheral members of the European Community... "

"What?" Churchill looked at Renaud, "You have already started secret negotiations with Germany?"

Paul Reynaud shook his head and said: "There is no such thing as secret negotiations...In fact, the Germans made the peace negotiations public. They made a request for mediation to the League of Nations and also proposed open peace conditions."

"When did it happen?" Churchill's eyes widened, "Why didn't I know?"

"This morning, just over an hour ago," Paul Reynaud said, "it was the French representative to the League of Nations who called me and told me."

It turned out that Churchill was on the plane when the German representative requested mediation from the League of Nations, so he did not know about it.

"What conditions did they propose?"

“The first is the abolition of all unequal treaties arising from the First World War, including the Treaty of Versailles, the Treaty of Saint-Germain, the Treaty of Trianon, the Treaty of Sèvres and the Treaty of Lausanne… …”

"This, this, this..." Churchill was stunned again and again, and finally said loudly: "This is a trap, a very despicable trap! We must not be fooled by Germany... Those treaties are not unequal treaties, but It is a binding treaty that complies with the principles of international law and is recognized by the world and cannot be abrogated under any circumstances.”

"International law?" Paul Reno said with a wry smile, "Are these treaties signed because of international law? Were they ruled by the International Court of Justice in The Hague? Mr. Prime Minister, those treaties were the result of the world war, and now we are defeated... …”

Churchill shook his head, "No, we are not defeated yet! But if we agree to abrogate those treaties, then our two countries will really fail!"

Paul Reynold just shook his head. France had failed, and it had failed miserably. It was the same with or without these treaties. Could it be that France, which had occupied Paris, could still use the Treaty of Versailles to sanction Germany?

Churchill seemed to have read through Paul Reynaud's mind. He said solemnly: "The key is not the Treaty of Versailles, but the Treaty of Saint-Germain, the Treaty of Trianon, the Treaty of Sèvres and the Treaty of Lausanne." 》...These treaties dismembered the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Ottoman Empire, and are the cornerstone of the international order in Central Europe, the Balkans and the Middle East. If they are all abolished, then Yugoslavia will be dismembered, Greater Hungary will reappear, and Romania will lose its special characteristics. Lansylvania, and Turkey regained its legal sovereignty over the Arab region of the Middle East!”

British privileges in Egypt, Palestine, Jordan, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, and French privileges in Syria, were all based on the Treaties of Sèvres and Lausanne (the Treaty of Sèvres was later abrogated and replaced by Based on the loose Treaty of Lausanne.

Once these two treaties are abrogated, British and French colonial rule in the Middle East will lose their legitimacy. At the same time, the Turks who lost their empire due to the Treaty of Sèvres and the Treaty of Lausanne will become more pro-German, thus pushing Turkey, which was originally willing to remain neutral, toward Germany. Once Turkey falls to Germany, several oil-producing countries in the Middle East will inevitably become vassals of Germany, and the biggest bottleneck of the German war machine - the oil supply problem - will also be completely solved.

In addition, the Treaty of Saint-Germain and the Treaty of Trianon were used to disintegrate the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Of course it is impossible for the Austro-Hungarian Empire to be restored now, but once these two treaties are abrogated, Greater Hungary can be restored legally. Both Croatia and Slovenia, dissatisfied with being ruled by the Serbs, may take the opportunity to withdraw from the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Then Croatia may form a federation with Hungary, and Slovenia may directly join the German Empire (Slovenia is an Austrian crown territory). Pro-British Romania will lose its northern barrier, the Transylvanian Mountains, leaving its hinterland completely exposed to the tracks of German armored forces, and Romania will have to surrender to Germany.

By then, Germany's sphere of influence will extend from Central Europe to the Balkans, to Iraq and Iran, and even to India! With the resources of the Middle East and the Balkans, Germany has the capital to maintain the economic prosperity of the European Community. The British attempt to use blockade to force Europe into poverty and shake German rule has completely failed.

On the way to the Matignon Palace, Churchill talked non-stop, finally convincing Prime Minister Reno that there was no way out in compromising with Germany. The only way to save France is to merge with Britain, and then use a long-term blockade and air raids to force the collapse of German rule in Europe.

After a lot of talking, Prime Minister Reno seemed to have changed his mind and promised that as long as he served as prime minister, he would not let France negotiate a separate peace with Germany. But when the two arrived at the panic-stricken Matignon Palace, an unexpected piece of bad news caused Paul Reno to collapse mentally.

"Mr. Prime Minister, the Kingdom of Italy has issued us an ultimatum!" A secretary of the Prime Minister's Office who looked like he was about to cry said to Paul Reynaud, "The Italians demanded that we evacuate Iceland and the Faroe Islands within 24 hours and return them to Denmark... Otherwise, Italy will declare war on us!"

"What? Iceland and the Faroe Islands? But they are not occupied by us..." Paul Reynaud turned his head and looked at Winston Churchill with a complaining and pleading look.

Churchill shook his head and said, "The Italians must have issued the same ultimatum to Britain, but the British Empire will not surrender to Italy!"

...

The British Prime Minister could certainly not be afraid of Italy's ultimatum and refuse to give up Iceland and the Faroe Islands - in fact, even if Britain returned them to Denmark, Mussolini would still find other reasons to declare war.

But for the desperate French cabinet members, Italy's declaration of war was the last straw that broke the camel's back, and Britain's "indifference" made them feel chilled. So Reynaud's proposal for the merger of Britain and France was unanimously opposed by the cabinet members.

In the view of most ministers of the French government, it is better to merge with Britain than with the victorious Germany under the current circumstances. Merging with Germany can at least save the lives of millions of French people, and relying on the powerful German Empire, France can also keep most of its colonies and continue to live a rich and comfortable life. Merging with Britain will make the French bleed to the last drop of blood! Deputy Prime Minister Marshal Petain directly accused Britain at the meeting. He said: "The reason why France has fallen to this point is entirely because of Britain! The British have been our enemy for the past few hundred years, spending a lot of money to support agents on the European continent who can strike at France, and Prussia is actually the thug they have supported. Even after Emperor Napoleon's dream was shattered and we completely gave up the dream of dominating Europe, Britain still did not forget to contain us. The rise of Prussia and the rapid revival of the German Empire after the last World War were the result of Britain's support and connivance. Now that Germany is so powerful that it is difficult to contain, they want to use a Anglo-French union to... Let us continue to be their cheap cannon fodder. If we agree to union, we will be the stupidest government in the world, and there is nothing stupider. "

"Marshal, what should we do?" Paul Reynaud asked, completely at a loss, "Should we surrender to the Germans?"

"We must stop fighting and seek a decent peace with Germany like a soldier to a soldier." Marshal Pétain said, "If necessary, we can also give the power of choice to the French people. Let them choose between merging with Britain, joining the European Community, and taking all the responsibility for the defeat."

"Then can we hand over the fleet to Britain?" Paul Reynaud asked Pétain. On the way to Matignon Palace, Churchill also talked to him about the issue of separate peace under "last resort" - if France can hand over the fleet to Britain, Britain will agree to France's separate peace.

"Of course not!" Marshal Pétain refused without hesitation, "The fleet is our biggest bargaining chip. The Germans will offer very good conditions for the Richelieu and Dunkirk classes. Moreover, if we hand over the fleet to Britain, the British will use it to blockade France and make the French starve and impoverished. This is the means they use to defeat Germany. Will our people agree to win the war for Britain at the cost of starvation?"

Pétain's words convinced most of the cabinet members. In fact, everyone knew that the French Navy plus the Italian Navy would change the naval power comparison between Britain and Germany. This is of decisive significance to the outcome of the world war. What reason does France have not to use this trump card well?

"Moreover, we did not make peace with Germany alone," Petain continued, "but accepted the mediation of the League of Nations... This is absolutely in line with international law. As a permanent member of the League of Nations, how can France not accept the mediation of the League of Nations? If the League of Nations rules that the Treaty of Versailles, the Treaty of Saint-Germain, the Treaty of Trianon, the Treaty of Sevres and the Treaty of Lausanne violate international public law, France should naturally abide by the League of Nations ruling. This is not a defeat, but a decent peace."