Father of France

Chapter 265 The Last Collaboration

According to Koeman's definition, present-day Israel and France can be described in one word: crawling backward, only in different ways.

In the wars of independence in French Indochina and the still nascent Algeria, France wasn't unable to defeat its opponents, but rather unable to overcome their powerful allies. Ultimately, the impact on the overall national economy forced France to withdraw its troops from both locations. Israel's situation becomes even more clear-cut: it simply couldn't win.

During the First Arab-Israeli War, both Israel and the Arabs were roughly at the same level in terms of weaponry, with few heavy weapons in their possession. The 75mm rapid-fire cannons in the hands of the Syrian army could be considered heavy weapons among Arab countries.

Even in town-level offensive battles, the fighting is mainly with light weapons. If Syria had Stalin's hammer from the Soviet Red Army, a single shelling of Haifa would have razed it to the ground. Why bother with this prolonged fighting? Why have there been no results after several days of fighting?
After its attempt to thwart the Egyptian army failed, Israel now faces a dire situation: the Israeli militia in the Sinai Peninsula suffers heavy losses under the fierce Egyptian counterattack; Haifa in the north is in imminent danger under the attack of the Syrian army; and most critically, the elite "Arab Legion" in Jordan is closing in on the eastern front, threatening to cut Israel's narrow territory in half.

Ben-Gurion had to abandon the idea of ​​proving his worth through war and gaining a relatively equal footing before talking things over; his father's rescue was now an urgent matter.

In Washington, Jewish lobbyists pleaded with Deputy Secretary of State Rowett, "This can't go on any longer. We need breathing room. Both the military and the people need a break. Defenses need to be reinforced, and weapons need to be imported. Otherwise, years of hard work will be wasted."

"Oh?" Rowett looked at the Jewish lobbyist with restraint, constantly judging in his mind that he was definitely not like his counterparts from the 21st century, the kind of people who would go through fire and water for Israel at a single command.

From the US perspective, Israel's predicament aligns with Washington's strategic considerations—a severely weakened Israel is not in the US's interest, but an overly powerful and completely uncontrolled Israel is equally problematic.

Israel's location was carefully planned through collective will, and not even by the will of the United States itself.

The two major blocs of the Islamic world, North Africa and the Middle East, should be physically separated, and Israel plays a role in this regard, a role even the Soviet Union acknowledged.

No matter what, Israel cannot be allowed to perish. Israel can live a difficult life; that is the role Israel should play. But if it perishes, the dam will be breached.

The United States should not stand idly by at the thought of the Arab Empire possibly reviving in some sense, even if it is just the possibility of it being reunited.

After a long pause, Rowett's answer reassured the Jewish lobbyist: "You must understand, this requires discussion at the United Nations. Currently, many countries disagree on the war, especially..."

“Moscow? They won’t say anything,” the Jewish lobbyist assured confidently. “The establishment of Israel was a joint effort by the victorious bloc, and the Arabs’ current actions are a challenge to the international order shaped by Washington and Moscow.”

"Hmm." Deputy Secretary of State Rowett gave an ambiguous "hmm." At present, relations between the United States and the Soviet Union were far from friendly, as some friction arose over the issue of merging occupied territories.

Although the White House and the Pentagon believed that the United States was in a position of absolute power and that the Soviet Union would not dare to confront the United States, which possessed nuclear weapons, he always felt that things were not so simple.

Contrary to what many American officials believe, they do not need to care about the Soviet Union's thoughts.

In the early Cold War, the United States did not actually consider the Soviet Union to be the greatest threat. This was not Koeman's delusion, but rather the true sentiment of most Americans. What the United States should be busy with now is filling power vacuums around the world; containment is secondary. Even if containment were to be pursued, Britain and the Soviet Union would be of equal importance.

Prior to this, the Soviet Union's retreat in Iran had led the United States to believe that if the United States were to take things seriously, the Soviet Union would only compromise. Therefore, even though the Soviet Union repeatedly warned the United States about merging occupied territories, the United States did not take it seriously.

Given the current understanding of the Soviet Union by the United States, even if the two countries were to have friction over the issue of occupied territories, most American officials would probably think that the Soviet Union would have no other option but to agree.

In reality, the United States didn't really consider whether the Soviet Union would object, and immediately convened a United Nations meeting on the issue of the First Arab-Israeli War.

As expected, an unexpected incident still occurred. When it was the Soviet representative's turn to speak, he used a cold tone to condemn "the aggression and expansion of the Zionists" and demanded that Israel unconditionally withdraw from all occupied territories.

The Soviet Union launched a scathing attack on Israel, far exceeding American expectations. Even so, the American representative, in his final remarks, remained confident and composed, as if the Soviet statement were merely a minor incident.

"Gentlemen," his voice echoed through the hall through the loudspeakers, "we are witnessing a tragedy escalate. Countless lives are being lost, and regional stability is under serious threat. Continued fighting will not solve any problems; it will only sow more seeds of hatred and violence."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the representatives of various countries present, finally settling on the Soviet representative. His gaze was no different from his gaze toward the other countries, carrying a sense of composure that everyone was equal before him.

"Given the current dire humanitarian situation and to create the necessary conditions for a lasting political solution, the United States of America solemnly proposes that the Security Council immediately adopt a resolution demanding a comprehensive and unconditional ceasefire by all belligerent parties within forty-eight hours. We call upon all parties to seize this opportunity to return to the negotiating table and seek a just and lasting peace within the framework of relevant UN resolutions. An arms embargo should be imposed on both sides during the four-week ceasefire period to prevent further tragedies. Now, let us vote!"

The American representative raised his hand first, followed by one country after another. The Soviet Union neither opposed nor approved, but chose to abstain in protest.

So after the meeting, as the representatives from various countries walked out of the venue, the US representative to the United Nations and his accompanying officials said nonchalantly, "The Soviet Union's dissatisfaction was limited to verbal protests; they neither took nor could take any substantial action. We can do whatever we want."

Later that day in Moscow, the Soviet capital, Foreign Minister Molotov reported to Stalin on the Soviet Union's response at the United Nations.

"Very good, as long as the representatives of various countries see the Soviet Union's attitude, that's enough," Stalin commented calmly. "The United States is probably very pleased now; they've won again."

Molotov dutifully reminded Israel that the situation there was indeed dire, otherwise the United States would not have been in such a hurry to push for a ceasefire.

Stalin then informed Beria that weapons would be supplied to Israel through Czechoslovakia, and that he would not object to Jewish soldiers within the country who wished to return home.

These Jews, with their overly strong nationalistic sentiments, would be a scourge if left in the Soviet Union, and it was unclear how to deal with them.

The Soviet Union only nominally criticized Israel to avoid leaving a bad reputation among Arab countries, but in reality, it shared the same goal as the United States.

Almost simultaneously, in the Ministry of Defense's underground command center in Tel Aviv, an encrypted message was sent to all forward command posts: "The UN ceasefire resolution has been adopted. A complete ceasefire will take effect at 8:00 AM local time tomorrow. Repeat, a complete ceasefire is in effect. Use all available time to consolidate existing positions, reorganize troops, and replenish supplies."

We must seize every moment to prepare for war. The entire north has been almost occupied by the Syrians. Haifa is now just an isolated city, but the Syrian army is not in such great danger because Haifa is indeed in the midst of fierce fighting. The real danger lies with the Egyptian and Jordanian-Iraqi coalition forces in the east, both of which are only 30 kilometers away from Tel Aviv.

Israel received a substantial, albeit undisclosed, financial injection and immediately began procuring weapons worldwide. While the United States bought Israel time, it refused to sell weapons. Ultimately, Israel is not that important to the United States at this stage; its strategic value is to be demonstrated through conflict, and the US needs to assess whether Israel is worth helping.

As for the attitudes of European countries and the United States, they were similar, with Britain being an exception. Britain was replenishing Jordan's weapons supply, selling airplanes and weapons to the Jordanian Arabs, and training pilots for them. Britain was coerced by the US and the Soviet Union to give up its colonies and was very unwilling to remain neutral.

Another reason why European countries did not help Israel was that the Soviet army began to obstruct the railway leading to Berlin, and European countries were calling on the United States and the Soviet Union to sit down and talk.

The United States and the Soviet Union were secretly cooperating for the last time after the war, and nominally they were about to begin the most intense struggle since the war. European countries had no time to care about things in the Middle East.

But Damascus did not think so. A delegation came to Paris and directly stated that they wanted to meet with the Commander-in-Chief.

“Commander-in-Chief? No.” After receiving the news, Martin looked at Corman, who was with Eva Gardner. The commander-in-chief of the First Army of France was General Dragon.

(End of this chapter)