France's tragedy is inextricably linked to Britain's ruthlessness. The British tried every means to jeopardize Germany, their old rival, in the Treaty of Versailles, allowing Germany to establish a powerful SS force under the eyes of the League of Nations. And then
When Germany was in economic difficulty, it promptly provided loans to Germany, and the amount was even far greater than the amount of Germany's compensation.
From what Britain did, it was difficult to tell that this was an ally that had fought side by side with France. The French people could not even believe that an ally that had been squatting in the same trench before could actually turn its back on such a short period of time.
Call it selfish or shameless. As the British government, the first thing that comes to mind is the interests of its own country.
In the last war, Britain had already paid enough!
Britain paid an excessively high price for its victory in World War I. More than 1.1 million British and colonial people sacrificed their lives, which was unprecedented in British history. This huge sacrifice prompted the entire United Kingdom to reflect on the value of World War I.
Britain, which participated in World War I, changed from a creditor country before the war to a debtor country after the war. The international financial center was transferred from London, England to New York, United States, and the empire's control over the colonies was greatly reduced. Starting in 1919
The unrest in India and the Irish independence movement in 1920 were serious enough to interfere with the planning of British military strategy.
Another result of the First World War was that while the British Empire was weakening, the United States became the most powerful country in the Americas and France became the most powerful country in Europe. They lost their troops and made dowries for others! This is what the British are thinking about.
The regret that won’t go away.
The huge casualties and memories of past glory prompted the British government to come to a specious conclusion: Britain had never been so heavily involved in European wars before, not even the Napoleonic Wars! However, Britain was sitting on a mountain where the sun never sets.
The throne of the empire.
Therefore, they believe that the UK should return to its previous "continental balance of power" policy that relied on straits and limited intervention, and adopt a more conservative security strategy.
As a result, Britain, which had just shared difficulties with France, turned around and became a good friend of Germany. It sat back and watched Germany strengthen its armed forces on the road, watched the French Ruhr defeat, and ignored or even condoned Germany's deception of reparations to France.
Is Britain ruthless? I'm afraid this description is not accurate. At least the British government is very responsible for its own people. To say it is ruthless, it can only be said that it is ruthless towards France today.
At this moment, in a white building in London, England, a group of MPs were discussing their ideas around a small Minister of Health.
This seemingly low-ranking Minister of Health is actually Chamberlain, the leader of the Conservative Party of the British Empire!
"Mr. Chamberlain, France has recently shifted its military focus to the construction of the Maginot Line." A tall, slightly fat congressman came up to him and said, "This is a sign that the French government has given up on offensive thinking. We may be able to appropriately reduce the number of attacks on the Maginot Line."
France secretly suppressed it."
"Yes, it seems that France will not compete for European hegemony now, and there is no need for us to feed the German hound." Smith, who is already the Deputy Minister of Defense, also explained his views.
Then, the British senior officials present nodded in agreement. In their view, the purpose of the British government to strengthen the German army is to prevent France from becoming the European hegemon. Since the French have settled down to build fortifications, there is no need to relax their attitude towards Germany.
The restraining reins are gone.
However, Chamberlain, who was regarded by everyone as the leader, said calmly: "No, the reins on Germany cannot be tightened."
Why!? The eyes of almost every senior executive present were filled with incredible looks.
Without letting many senior officials wait for too long, Chamberlain smiled slightly and said: "The number of German army, even if they include their so-called SS, will not exceed 300,000. This number of troops is not even one-third of Poland's, let alone one-third of Poland's.
It is impossible to contain France."
After listening to Chamberlain's words, many congressmen nodded thoughtfully. Even if Germany had the idea of attacking, they could not produce the corresponding strength.
Seeing no one objected, Chamberlain went on to conclude: "Britain's foreign policy for the past four hundred years has been to oppose the emergence of the largest, most powerful and most domineering countries on the continent. Britain has always joined the less powerful side and united with them.
Defeat and defeat the military overlord on the continent, no matter who he is or which country he rules."
Make friends from far away and attack close by, separate from the strong and combine with the weak, support the weak and suppress the strong. There is no conflict of feelings, beliefs, or ideas. What Britain wants is just to keep the number one on the European continent in a situation of being suppressed forever.
"Gentlemen, helping Germany is not because of the friendship between the two countries, or even to win over another ally. Our goal is simply to avoid the emergence of a dominant country on the European continent. Even if this most powerful country is
France, which has a traditional friendship with us, cannot tolerate it either." Chamberlain stated his position resolutely without a trace of hesitation.
This is Chamberlain, an honest politician. He never hides his views and dares to say what many people think but dare not say. Even his political opponents have to admit that Chamberlain has what many politicians have.
Honest quality.
Finally, the meeting ended with a sentence left by Chamberlain: "Are we heartless? This may be true for France. But please remember, this is British politics... These are British politicians!
"
Even after sending everyone away, Chamberlain, an honest politician, still had some thoughts that he did not confess to everyone.
Chamberlain did this not out of selfishness, but because once this idea was spoken out, it was likely to scare everyone. Chamberlain was worried that someone would not be able to bear it and would leak it.
That's right, this idea is called "diverting disasters eastward". Who is Germany, and what is France? Compared with that huge and terrifying country in the East, they are nothing more than ants.
Chamberlain saw very clearly that the country in the East called the Soviet Union has never given up for a moment exporting revolution to the world, especially to Europe. One day in the future, when a red torrent pours into the European continent, Germany, France, and even the United Kingdom will
, it is impossible to resist it with the power of one country.
The United Kingdom, with the English Channel as a barrier, wanted to make the final decision and liberate the European continent occupied by the Soviet Union. It had to let "big powers" like Germany and France consume the Soviet Union's power as much as possible first.
For this reason, the British government is even trying its best to build Poland into a powerful country. It has sent a large number of military advisers to Poland together with France to transport advanced equipment.
France's purpose was to create a hound to contain Germany, while Britain's purpose was to create a watchdog to protect the European continent from the Soviet Union.
The majestic empire on which the sun never sets actually tried every means to prevent a new country. This may seem a bit comical, but this is indeed the current situation that Britain has to face!
Why did the empire on which the sun never sets try every means to play with the balance of power in Europe and balance the strengths of all parties? Chamberlain knew very well that the glorious empire on which the sun never sets was far from as powerful as it seemed!
Possessing the most extensive colony in the world, its territory will always remain under the rays of the sun. "The Empire on which the Sun Never Sets" is an honor and a burden!
The Commonwealth has a standing army of millions, and Britain has the largest fleet in the world. But all of these are scattered around the world. Today, the British mainland army only has a total of 200,000 people, which is only one-fifth of France!
When he thought of the assessment made by the British General Staff that the Soviet Union had no less than 8 million Red Army troops, Chamberlain felt a headache...
