I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 922 Open the champagne at halftime
Faced with a powerful Russia, Britain has less and less room to maneuver.

Of the traditional European Big Three—Britain, France, and Germany—Germany has completely surrendered, France has surrendered and lost half its strength, and Churchill doesn't know how much longer he can hold on.

Churchill faced pressure not only from Russia, but also from within Britain itself.

Churchill, the wartime prime minister, was not elected by the British Parliament, but was directly appointed by the British monarch.

Now that the war is over and Churchill's term is coming to an end, the British Parliament has a plan to hold a general election as soon as the war ends.

With Stanley Baldwin's retirement, the biggest threat to Churchill in Britain came from Labour leader Clement Attlee.

During the World War, Churchill adopted many extreme policies to strengthen Britain's resolve to resist, including sending troops to suppress workers' strikes.

Although Churchill firmly believed that, based on his contributions to Britain during the World War, he could easily win and lead Britain forward.

However, judging from Churchill's daily behavior, his confidence was not as great as he appeared.

To make matters worse for Churchill, Russia demanded that Britain allow its overseas colonies to decide their own fate under the premise of "national self-determination."

Franklin D. Roosevelt also suggested that Britain should place its overseas colonies under the trusteeship of the international community.

Churchill was furious and took the initiative to contact de Gaulle, hoping to re-ally with France to jointly confront the pressure from Russia and the United States.

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, let's be realistic. Even if France and England were to reunite, they would not be able to stand against the United States and Russia."

De Gaulle did not want to form an alliance with Britain, much less offend Russia and the United States.

The Allies had not yet discussed the Vichy France issue, which was a Damocles' sword hanging over de Gaulle's head.

If the Allied powers considered Vichy France to be an ally of Germany.

France would then be tragically divided, and de Gaulle would have to ensure that a part of France became a victorious nation.

Now, going against George and Roosevelt is almost a done deal, with no room for maneuver.

"If a referendum is held, France will lose all its overseas colonies, and you will become a sinner against France, an unforgivable sin!"

Churchill was furious, feeling like a small boat in a storm, about to capsize at any moment.

"You think the United Kingdom can save India just by opposing it? Don't dream!"

De Gaulle sneered, thinking that Britain and France were in the same boat and neither needed to mock the other.

Churchill was deeply saddened, wondering what he had been striving for all this time.

France's early surrender, though not dignified, prevented it from suffering greater losses. Pétain sacrificed his honor to safeguard French interests.

Britain has persisted to this day, but not only have a large number of cities, including London and Liverpool, been reduced to ruins, Britain also owes the United States more than $100 billion in foreign debt, which will not be repaid until at least the 21st century.

Britain still hasn't paid back the money it owed the United States after World War I.

George knew Churchill was a tough guy; he was born to fight, and if he didn't fight the enemy, he would fight his own people. He would fight until he died, and he would always find a way to cause trouble.

Although Japan has not yet surrendered, for Britain, the war is effectively over.

Like George, the British public had reached its limit of tolerance for Churchill's rule.

Before heading to Russia, Churchill and Montgomery discussed the possibility of going to war with Russia.

Churchill could not accept Britain's marginalization and hoped to unite with the United States and anti-Russian forces in Europe to continue fighting Russia and contain its expansion.

Montgomery made it clear to Churchill that even if Britain united with all anti-Russian forces worldwide, including Japan, it would be unable to militarily confront Russia. The Russian army's victory over the Germans, while not entirely bloodless, at least meant that its main forces remained intact, and both in terms of morale and sheer size, it was at an unprecedented peak.

Germany's hatred for Britain was no less than that for Russia.

Germany currently has 500 million German soldiers who have just laid down their arms.

Even if only half of them were German soldiers.

If the Russian army were to arm this portion of the German troops, Britain would face annihilation.

Churchill had no choice but to come to Russia to seek opportunities.

Churchill never expected that his private conversation with Montgomery would be published in Russian newspapers and made public.

The media across Europe was instantly and completely engulfed in the frenzy.

The two world wars brought immense suffering to Europe, and everyone longed for the arrival of peace.

Churchill actually wanted to continue the war, dragging Europe into an even deeper abyss.

What are the British trying to do?
The British Parliament reacted very quickly, immediately deciding to hold a general election in the country.

Churchill hastily left Russia and urgently returned to Britain.

George invited Franklin D. Roosevelt, Prince William, and Charles de Gaulle to dinner, where they discussed the British general election and unanimously expressed pessimism about Churchill's prospects.

With Churchill away, George and Roosevelt finally reached a consensus on several issues.

Regarding the proposed solution for Germany, George and Roosevelt agreed to completely demilitarize Germany, not only closing all German arsenals but also disbanding the German army, abolishing the General Staff, retaining only 10 police officers nationwide, and agreeing to the stationing of Russian troops to oversee Germany's transformation.

Referendums were held in German-occupied territories based on the premise of "national self-determination," allowing local people to decide their own fate. Russia and the United States jointly formed a monitoring team to oversee the democratic process in various regions.

European countries' overseas colonies also need to hold referendums based on the premise of "national self-determination," especially in Africa and Asia.

Although de Gaulle was bitter, he was mentally prepared for today's outcome and did not find it as unacceptable as Churchill.

Neither George nor Franklin D. Roosevelt said that a referendum would begin immediately.

Even if overseas colonies hold referendums to gain independence, there are still many issues to be resolved between them and their mother countries. It's not a one-size-fits-all solution, and there is still room for maneuver.

There are some cases that are truly unavoidable, such as Portugal and Belgium. Even without national self-determination, these two countries would certainly not have been able to keep their colonies in Africa.

It is now clear that Russia and the United States are joining forces to divide Europe's sphere of influence. Once these overseas colonies gain independence, Russian and American goods can legitimately enter the local markets. Germany's ultimate dream of instigating two world wars has ultimately benefited Russia and the United States.

The British are quite efficient when needed.

On election day, Churchill held a small banquet at his London home to celebrate his and the Conservative Party's victory.

The Conservative Party headquarters optimistically predicts that the Conservatives will win at least 56% of the vote.

Churchill also believed that he would definitely return to Russia as the leader of the new British government.

The results showed that the Conservative Party won only 197 seats, while the Labour Party won 393 seats.

This once again proves that opening champagne at halftime is absolutely a bad idea.

(End of this chapter)