African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 1736 France Rekindles Hope

The outbreak of the Nomonhan Incident attracted a lot of attention. Neither Japan nor the Soviet Union were small countries, and Japan was a member of the Axis powers.

At this time, Japan suddenly went to war with the Soviet Union. Not only was the Soviet Union misled, but other countries in the world also believed that Germany must have been behind this.

Berlin, Germany.

The German government was completely baffled by the outbreak of the Nomonhan Incident, because their Asian ally, Japan, had not informed them at all.

Adolf's good mood at the Prime Minister's residence was ruined by Japan's "unilateral decision-making".

He summoned Stammer, the key German liaison officer with Japan, and asked, "Why did the Japanese government suddenly launch a war against the Soviet Union?"

Stammer is a senior diplomat at the German Foreign Ministry. He served as a special envoy to Japan and, after returning to Germany, was also responsible for matters related to Japan.

Faced with Adolf's question, Stammer remained silent for a moment before speaking: "Your Excellency, we have not received any relevant notification from the Japanese government. This Nomonhan Incident appears to be an event planned solely by the Japanese government. Ambassador Ott had not previously mentioned any intention by Japan to take action against the Soviet Union."

Ambassador Ott's full name was Eugene Ott. He was originally the military attaché at the German Embassy in Japan and was promoted to German Ambassador to Japan in 1938.

Its main tasks are to coordinate German and Japanese strategies, convey high-level messages, and ensure that the two countries maintain military and political cooperation.

However, during the outbreak of the Nomonhan Incident, Japan clearly did not communicate or consult with the German government in advance, so Ambassador Ott naturally had no way to send the message back to Germany.

Adolf was somewhat dissatisfied with this, saying, "Japan, as an ally of the Empire, actually launched a war against the Soviet Union without consulting us beforehand. They are indeed a bunch of uncivilized monkeys, completely disrupting the Empire's strategic deployment against the Soviet Union."

Germany certainly wanted Japan to be an enemy of the Soviet Union, and even more so, it wanted Japan to cooperate with Germany in waging war against the Soviet Union. But all of this was based on one premise: that Germany would take the lead.

However, Japan's unilateral declaration of war against the Soviet Union was clearly beyond Germany's control, which was unacceptable to Adolf.

He said with a cold expression, "We haven't dealt with Britain and France yet. Although the Soviet Union is the Empire's target, according to the Empire's plan, we should have dealt with the Soviet Union after resolving the problems in Western Europe."

“Japan’s unilateral decision to go to war with the Soviet Union is very likely to disrupt our plans. They were supposed to cooperate with the Empire to launch an attack on the Soviet Union from behind after we were ready for a full-scale offensive against the Soviet Union.”

"Now that we've started a war, our main force is still in Western Europe. Those Japanese monkeys deserve to die!"

Stammer could understand Adolf's feelings. He couldn't comprehend Japan's logic in launching a war against the Soviet Union at this time without prior notice. More importantly, as the person in charge of contacting Japan, he hadn't received any relevant notification from the Japanese side, which was extremely impolite!

Even if Japan had given him a heads-up beforehand, he wouldn't be in such a passive position when reporting to his superiors.

He harbored deep resentment towards Japan, but because of his work, he still said a few good things about Japan.

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, this is not entirely bad news for us. Since Japan dared to attack the Soviet Union, it at least shows that our approach of winning over Japan was correct, after all, the Soviet Union was also our enemy."

"Moreover, although Japan, as an East Asian country, is somewhat weaker, it is still the only major power in Asia. Since they fought against the Soviet Union first, we can use this to obtain specific combat data on the Soviet army, so as to make a more accurate judgment on intelligence for the Empire's future attack on the Soviet Union."

"If the Soviet Union can't even handle Japan, it's definitely good news for the empire."

The exact strength of the Soviet Union was not particularly clear to Germany. After two five-year plans, the Soviet Union had built a complete defense industry system, which greatly improved the weaponry of the Soviet army.

However, the extent to which the Soviet army can effectively utilize the improved performance and production of weapons and equipment depends on factors such as the Soviet army's organizational capabilities, the updating of its strategies and tactics, the quality of its personnel, and the army's ideology and discipline.

Adolf said, "What's done is done. Now let Japan test how deep the Soviet Union's waters are! Hopefully, Japan can put some pressure on the Soviet Union."

Although Japan was an ally of Germany, Adolf's statement implied that he was not optimistic about a war between Japan and the Soviet Union, since Japan was ultimately just an Asian country with a yellow population.

As the Soviet Union was inhabited by Slavic people, Adolf looked down on them and considered them an inferior race. However, if Germany had actually conquered the Soviet Union, then as white people, the Slavs would certainly have been ranked higher than the Japanese.

Moreover, the Soviet Union was indeed far stronger than Japan in terms of overall national strength. Even if Adolf overestimated Japan, he could not have believed that Japan could gain an advantage over the Soviet Union. At most, it would result in a lose-lose situation.

If Japan could truly fight the Soviet Union to a standstill, Adolf would be satisfied. This would also mean that the gap between the Soviet Union and Germany would be even greater. If even Japan could inflict huge losses on the Soviet Union, wouldn't Germany be able to easily defeat the Soviet Union if it went to war with them in the future?
Therefore, in May 1939, the German government adopted a wait-and-see attitude towards the Nomonhan Incident.

It wasn't that Germany didn't want to take the opportunity to weaken the Soviet Union, but rather that Germany's main focus was currently on dealing with France and Britain.

Even though Germany is quite optimistic at this moment, it is still relatively cautious in dealing with these two old European imperialist countries.

……

Paris, France.

At that moment, in the Paris government compound, French Prime Minister Daladier was having a friendly exchange with Soviet Ambassador to France, Sulitz.

The outbreak of the Nomonhan War also brought news to France, which injected a strong boost into the already somber atmosphere of the French government.

From the French perspective, the outbreak of the Nomonhan Incident also signified the start of the war between the Axis powers and the Soviet Union. If they could use this as an opportunity to drag the Soviet Union into war against Germany, then France would not be without a chance to defeat Germany.

Prime Minister Daladier said to Sulitz, "Ambassador Sulitz, Japan has now declared war on the Soviet Union, which fully demonstrates the Axis powers' ambitions against the Soviet Union."

"Now both France and the Soviet Union face the common threat of radical democratic Germany. Our two countries should unite to rebuild the friendship between France and Slavs."

Here, Prime Minister Daladier is implicitly referring to the cooperation between France and Tsarist Russia during World War I. However, the Soviet Union was clearly hostile towards Tsarist Russia, so Daladier used the French and Slavic peoples to represent the "traditional" friendship between the two countries.

In response to Prime Minister Daladier's request, Suritz replied, "Prime Minister Daladier, we in the Soviet Union are also willing to strengthen cooperation with France."

"As you said, the Axis powers, led by Germany, have now become enemies threatening world and European peace." "Both of our countries are direct victims, so for the sake of peace and the future of both countries, we should put aside our past prejudices and work together to address the crisis of war."

Upon hearing Suritz's statement, Prime Minister Daladier was in high spirits and continued to ask, "Does the Soviet Union have any intention of forming a military alliance with France?"

Faced with this question, Ambassador Suritz hesitated for a moment, and said with an uncertain tone, "Regarding the alliance between the two countries, Moscow has not yet given any direct instructions. However, Comrade Joseph has expressed his intention to strengthen cooperation with your country as much as possible."

"As for the issue of an alliance, I will consult with Moscow later, but in my personal opinion, the possibility of the two countries forming a military alliance is still very high."

"Now it all depends on the results of our initial contacts with your country. If France can show enough sincerity, I think it will definitely accelerate the process of negotiations and cooperation between the two countries."

Prime Minister Daladier was somewhat disappointed that the Soviet Union did not form a direct alliance with France and did not declare war on Germany.

However, the fact that the Soviet Union could now achieve this level of capability was enough to excite France.

After all, given that the Soviet Union was an ideological enemy of France and had a long history of strained relations, it was already quite remarkable that it was able to change its attitude towards France and take the initiative to propose cooperation.

If France weren't in such a difficult situation, putting himself in France's shoes, Prime Minister Daladier would certainly have had reservations about forming a military alliance with the Soviet Union.

France is now disregarding these issues and dares to boldly cooperate with the Soviet Union entirely because of the immense pressure exerted on France by Germany and the Axis powers.

Leaving aside the stalemate in the war in northern and eastern France, even Germany's ally Italy is putting immense pressure on France in the southeast.

Moreover, France's ability to set aside its ideological doubts about the Soviet Union is also related to the current international environment.

France was worried about the Soviet Union becoming too powerful in Europe. However, if Germany and the Soviet Union went to war, it would inevitably weaken the Soviet Union greatly. Even if the Soviet Union became the final victor and joined forces with Britain and France to defeat Germany, even if Britain and France were weakened, wouldn't the capitalist world still have the United States and East Africa as two superpowers?
The United States and East Africa will obviously not stand idly by and allow a completely "red" Europe to emerge.

Therefore, even if the Soviet Union were to defeat Germany, France would not need to worry too much. The Soviet Union would then become France's new enemy, and the United States and East Africa would certainly intervene.

Prime Minister Daladier told Suritz: "I hope the Soviet Union can make a decision as soon as possible. The Axis powers have become too powerful to control. Germany, Italy and Japan are all major powers, and Spain and the Ottoman Empire are also formidable forces."

"The Axis powers alone consist of five major powers, as well as a number of middle-powered countries. Even if we joined forces with the Soviet Union to deal with the Axis powers, it might not be very effective."

"Especially Germany. During the last World War, Germany almost fought against three of our countries at the same time. Germany is much stronger now than it was during the last World War. Although Germany annexed Austria-Hungary, one plus one is greater than two."

"Under German rule, the mobilization capacity, industrial output, and weaponry of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire were even more outstanding than in the last World War."

"At present, France is under tremendous pressure, almost surrounded on three sides by Germany, Italy and Spain. If France is defeated, it will definitely not be good news for the Soviet Union."

"At that time, Britain may retreat to its homeland and find it difficult to continue to compete head-on with Germany. If this really happens, Ambassador Sulitz, I think you should also be aware of the kind of pressure the Soviet Union will face."

"Germany will certainly not show any mercy to the Soviet Union."

"Therefore, the best course of action for the Soviet Union now is to immediately intervene in the war in Europe and cooperate with us to jointly deal with the pressure from Germany."

"Otherwise, the European countries will be defeated one by one by Germany. Therefore, I hope that Ambassador Sulitz will communicate with the Soviet leadership as soon as possible after returning."

"Join the just war against the Axis powers, not only for our France, but also for your own security and development."

Prime Minister Daladier's words were truly from the bottom of his heart, and Ambassador Sulitz deeply agreed with them after listening to his analysis.

There was no possibility of détente between the Soviet Union and the Axis powers. Not to mention the conflict between Germany and the Soviet Union, even the relations between Poland and Western Ukraine, two members of the Axis powers, and the Soviet Union could not possibly be eased in any way. There was also Japan, which was already at war with the Soviet Union, and the Ottoman Empire, which was a long-standing enemy of the East Slavs.

As for the other Axis powers, they were also hostile to the Soviet Union due to ideological issues.

Thinking of all this, Ambassador Suritz felt even heavier. He said to Prime Minister Daladier, "Your Excellency Prime Minister Daladier, I will convey your message back to the country in its entirety."

"I will personally promote the development of comprehensive cooperation between the two countries. I believe that in the face of the threat from the Axis powers, the relationship between France and the Soviet Union will undergo a tremendous transformation."

Ambassador Sullitz favored forming a military alliance with France, but he didn't make any definitive statements, as it wasn't entirely up to him.

However, Prime Minister Daladier was also very satisfied with Ambassador Sulitz's attitude, which also meant that those in the Soviet Union were also clearly aware of the threat posed by the Axis powers to the Soviet Union.

Therefore, it was highly likely that the Soviet Union and France would reach a comprehensive military cooperation, or even an alliance.

Afterwards, Prime Minister Daladier and Ambassador Sulitz had in-depth discussions on the current cooperation between the two countries. Although an alliance could not be reached for the time being, the two countries could reach preliminary cooperation in the fields of economy, technology, and military.

The Soviet Union, in particular, could benefit from such cooperation, since it ultimately lagged behind established imperialist powers like France in the economic, technological, and military fields.

The Soviet Union especially needed French support in science and technology and military affairs, which would help it improve its industrial system and arm its own army.

What France wanted to convey from the Soviet Union was "a signal" that the Soviet Union was on France's side in the face of the German threat.

After seeing Ambassador Sullitz off, Prime Minister Daladier immediately convened a meeting to announce the good news to the top French military and political leaders.

"The Soviet Union's attitude toward us has changed significantly. We have a very high chance of bringing the Soviet Union into our camp to jointly deal with the threat from Germany. So what we need to do next is to withstand the military pressure from Germany and the Axis powers. After the Soviet Union leaves the scene, we may be able to reverse the current unfavorable situation."

Regardless of whether the Soviet Union could ultimately achieve its goal, the announcement of this news gave the French government and military tremendous confidence and courage.

They were pessimistic before because the gap between France and Germany was too large, and it was hard to see any hope of victory. However, if the Soviet Union were to intervene, it would completely change the situation in Europe.

(End of this chapter)