Chapter 368: Chicken with Soy Sauce
At the Geneva Peace Conference in June 1940, not all representatives of countries were busy engaging in various mediations and transactions. At least one country's delegation behaved very dullly. After arriving in Geneva, they moved directly into their consulate general in Geneva and collectively became homebodies. Except for the mandatory conference held at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, there are basically no guests, let alone any mediation or transactions. It's as if they just came to Geneva to make soy sauce.
But the country they represent should be an important participant in this Geneva Peace Conference. They are the delegation of the Republic of Turkey.
"Leader, Marshal," von Papen, the German Ambassador to the Republic of Turkey, said to Hitler and Hersmann on June 17, "the reason why Turkish Prime Minister Refik Seydam personally led a delegation to Geneva is because It was not to reach any agreement, but to reach no agreement. He was mainly worried that the Turkish diplomats would be deceived by us and do something in Geneva that would damage Turkey's neutral status, so he personally led the team here. ”
"Marshal," Adolf Hitler looked directly at Hersmann with his deep-set gray-blue eyes, "have you always believed that Turkey is the key to our winning the war?"
"Yes," Hersman said, "They are indeed a key factor! Turkey guards our gateway to the Middle East by land. If Turkey agrees to our troops' transit, our troops can occupy the Suez Canal in up to one month. And put Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia and British Kuwait under the protection of the empire, and these four countries have abundant oil resources, enough to meet the needs of the entire Europe.”
Iraq and Iran are now the main sources of British oil. Although Saudi Arabia and British Kuwait do not currently produce oil on a large scale, as early as 1937 and 1938, rich reserves were discovered in the deserts of these two countries, and it was very easy. developed oil resources.
Moreover, the two countries of Iraq and Iran have been oppressed by Britain for a long time, so they regard Britain's enemy Germany as their savior and are very pro-Germany. If Türkiye can develop channels, German troops will have no difficulty in entering Iraq and Iran.
In addition, the French Syrian authorities were now subject to the leadership of Pétain's government. If the German army can pass through Turkey, it can immediately take over France's military facilities and political power in Syria and turn it into a large German stronghold in the Middle East.
If historically Rommel's armored forces moved south from Syria and were supplied with oil from Iraq and Iran. Even if the British have three heads and six arms, they cannot hold the Suez Canal.
Once the Suez Canal is lost, Britain's sea power in the eastern Mediterranean will be over, and Britain's presence in the western Mediterranean will not last more than a few days. Because Britain only has a large stronghold like Gibraltar on the west coast of the Mediterranean, it is very easy to be blocked and monitored.
Precisely because of Turkey's key position, after the outbreak of World War II, Germany, Britain and France worked hard to win over Turkey.
Of course, the two sides have different requirements for Türkiye. Britain and France, or more accurately, Britain and the United States, now demand neutrality from Turkey, using neutrality and Turkey's mountainous terrain to seal Germany's southern passage to the Middle East.
Germany hopes that Turkey can become Germany's staunch ally like it was during the last world war. In return, Germany would help Türkiye partially restore its lost empire. The proposed abolition of the Treaty of Sèvres and the Treaty of Lausanne at the Geneva Peace Conference was to clearly convey Germany's goodwill to the Turkish government.
But Turkey, an empire that once made European Christian civilization tremble with fear, has now lost its ambitions and only wants to live a stable life guarding its own peninsula of Asia Minor.
"Mr. Prime Minister, thank you very much for taking time out of your busy schedule." Colonel Donovan seems to be a man with great powers, or the Wall Street plutocrats behind him are powerful enough. In short, he has now seen the people hiding in the Consulate General. The Prime Minister of Turkey who is a homebody.
Wearing a well-tailored suit, black wooden-framed glasses, and a very European appearance, Prime Minister Refique Saidam looks like an older, old-school European politician, cunning and impeccable.
He smiled slightly at the visiting Donovan and spoke in fluent English: "Colonel, I'm not busy at all now, because the things to be discussed at the Geneva Peace Conference have nothing to do with Turkey."
"It doesn't matter?" Donovan was stunned. "Isn't Turkey a party to the Treaty of Lausanne?"
"Yes, we are a party to the Treaty of Lausanne." Refique Saidam said.
"But now the Germans want to abrogate the treaty."
"Turkey has no problem with this," Refik Saidam said seriously. "We in Turkey have always abided by international law and the League of Nations."
Donovan was taken aback by the Turkish Prime Minister's statement, "Are you going to side with Germany?"
Prime Minister Refik Saidam shook his head and said: "Colonel, why do you think so? Do you think there is an inevitable connection between the abolition of the Treaty of Lausanne and Turkey's participation in the war?"
"Isn't it?" Donovan asked, "Once the Treaty of Lausanne is abrogated, won't Turkey be able to take back the territory in the Arab region and the island of Cyprus?"
Prime Minister Refik Saidam looked at Donovan in surprise: "Ah, how do you Americans view international law? Do you think that territorial division is as simple as land sales? If the sales contract is invalid, the land can be recovered? "
"This..." Donovan looked at the Turkish Prime Minister in front of him, "Do you mean that Turkey does not intend to take back the territory in the Arab region?"
Prime Minister Refik Saidam laughed and said, "The territory in the Arab region does not belong to Turkey. It is the territory of the Ottoman Sultan as the Caliph. Turkey expelled the Ottoman Sultan and abolished the Caliphate system 20 years ago. So the Arab region has nothing to do with Turkey!"
This is obviously a reversal of right and wrong, but it is a soft nail that makes it difficult for Germany to oppose.
"But what about public opinion in Turkey?" Donovan still felt uneasy, "You know, the Germans are very good at stirring up radical sentiments."
"Turkey does not have any radicalism," Prime Minister Refik Saidam said with a smile, "Turkey only has Kemalism. We are neither pan-YSLists nor pan-Turkism. Turkey is Turkey!"
Unlike the chaotic Yugoslavia, Turkey has a powerful ruling group-the Turkish Republican People's Party founded by Kemal. Although the party does not conform to the aesthetics of Britain and the United States, the existence of this party saved Britain from a catastrophe in 1940. Because the Republican People's Party has enough power to suppress domestic nationalists, and will not be confused to become cannon fodder for Britain and the United States because of its love for democracy and freedom.
"So, can you guarantee that Turkey will not stand with Germany against the free world in the future?"
Prime Minister Refik Saidam shook his head and said, "Colonel, I don't know what will happen in the future, and the future is not in the hands of countries like Turkey. It is you, the United States, who decide the future. Now everyone in Europe knows that only if the United States joins the war will Germany be likely to fail. And Turkey, in any case, can no longer stand with the loser. Although we don't want to get anything, we don't want to lose what we have. In order to keep what we have, we will have to cooperate with the devil when necessary!"
...
"Don't want to get anything, don't want to lose anything, this is Turkey's position!" German Ambassador to Turkey von Papen also mentioned Turkey's attitude towards the world war at this time. "I think... they want to stay out of it!"
"This is actually helping Britain. The Turks have always been like this. They are good at taking advantage of the contradictions between us Europeans to achieve their expansion goals..." Hitler came to a conclusion, and then he asked Hersmann, "Marshal, should we consider invading Turkey?"
"Leader," Hersmann shook his head and said, "The terrain of Turkey is not favorable to invaders. We are likely to get stuck in Asia Minor."
"Then what should we do?" Hitler asked in a calm, cold tone, "Are we, the German Empire, fooled by the Turks?"
"Leader, they will pay the price for rejecting our goodwill in the future."
Marshal Hersmann said to Hitler: "But now, what we have to do is not to invade. Instead, we have to tell Turkey clearly that we will soon defeat the British fleet in the Mediterranean, and then Turkey will have no value to us! If they want to keep what is in front of them and want to gain something, they should stand with us before the British Mediterranean Fleet fails."
Although he said so, Hitler and Papen knew that Turkey was actually valuable! Even if Britain lost the Mediterranean-because Turkey's surrender can ensure that Germany enters Iran and Iraq before the Soviet Union.
Moreover, Turkey's mountainous terrain and its tough and warlike national temperament can also become a barrier to prevent the Soviet Union from moving southward to the Middle East in the future.
"I understand!" Hitler stood up, walked a few steps with his hands behind his back, and then said to von Papen, "Go tell the Turkish Prime Minister that my bottom line is that the Suez Canal is controlled by us or the Italians. At that time, Turkey must stand with us immediately, otherwise Germany will take back Constantinople!
We will not occupy the mountainous Asia Minor, but we can easily take away Constantinople! If the Turks still want to own it after the war, they must become our allies immediately after we seize the Suez Canal... This is the last chance!"