|
|
|
|
|
#1
September 29th, 2011, 12:01 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Explosion heard around the world... Or Elser succeeds
November 8th, 1939, 1930h Munich Airport, Runway
Focke-Wulf FW-200 sat on the airport quietly. Inside Hans Bauer talked to his copilot. "According to the report of the ground control, this bloody fog will be lifting in 45 minutes. Night should be clear enough for take-off by 2200." "Ja, herr Standartenfuehrer." said the copilot. "I'll notify herr Weber, the head of security detail." 2000h, Buirgerbraeukeller Christian Weber listened to the man that approached him intently. Afterwards, he approached Adolf Hitler, who was preparing to start his speech for annual Beer Hall Putch anniversary. After hearing what Weber whispered to him, Hitler replied "Ach, sehr gut. Prepare to leave this place in 2130." 2035h, Konstanz, Germany-Switzerland border crossing Thomas Gruener Reich Customs official, accompanied by an ominous looking Gestapo man, checked papers of passengers on regular Munich-Bern train. One Johann Georg Esler fumbled around with a bunch of papers, until he finally produced his ausweiss. His nervousness caught attention of the Gestapo officer who took his passport from Thomas. Instantly he declared "Your papers are not in order! Please follow me!". Thomas stepped aside, careful not to interfere. Gestapo man roughly took Johann by the hand and guided him outside of train, where he was joined by two other officers. Thomas didn't want to know what was going to happen to the man. He heard some stories about "interogation" methods of men in gray overcoats, and didn't want to get more intimate with them. 2119h, Buirgerbraeukeller Clock was inexorably ticking on the detonator of the bomb, set beneath the speaker stand of the Hall. Only 60 seconds were left till the mechanism activated detonation cap. On the speaker stand the Fuehrer of Nazi Germany, mighty Third Reich was concluding his speech on decadence and impending fall of Allied power, which held Germany enslaved for 20 years. 2120h At the moment when Hitler belowed "NO MORE! I will ANNIHILATE them!" and Alte Kaempfer jumped to their sits, shouting "Heil Hitler!" in extasy, loud explosion obliterated speaker stand. Roof of the hall caved in, burying everything beneath rubble of concrete, metal and wood construction and roof tiles that was almost shoulder high at shallowest point. Extasy of the second earlier was replaced by cries of pain as over 90 people laid wounded and bleeding. Almost immediately 15 members of SS Liebstandarte who were standing outside rushed in the hall. They were shocked by the sight, but, oblivious to the cries of wounded men, started digging the rubble with their bare hands, hoping against hope to save the dictator they were sworn to protect with their lives. 2145h It took almost half an hour for the first teams of Feurwehr and Ambulanz to arrive to the scene. Place was already crawling with members of half a dozen security services, although SS men were clearly in charge. Fifteen Liebstandarte officers were sitting on the sidewalk, visibly subdued, while what looked like a senior officer of the SS, wearing Algemeine SS insignia and rank of Brigadefuehrer SS sweared at them savagely. 2200h Feurwehr officers dig out first bodies buried in the general area where speaker stand used to be. They are immediately surrounded by SS men and suggested to get some rest. A minute later four SS officers were seen taking out a body of man. His grey uniform was in tatters, and what probably used to be an overcoat, was a bloody mess of textile hanging off the stretchers. They put the stretcher in the black van, waiting outside, which promptly vanished at great speed. Most of the SS officers dispersed in the surrounding streets. They started frisking every bystander and arresting anyone even slightly suspicious. As most people tried to get out of the way, and made run for their homes this resulted in hundreds arrest. 15 members of SS Liebstandarte who were in front of the Hall, were picked up in the bus and driven away. No body knew what happened to them, although some sources claimed that they were given personal weapons and left in their cells. 2205h Berlin, Prinz-Albrecht-strasse, SS HQ "You must confirm this! Right now! I don't care if you have to run to Munich!" shouted Himmler, whose face was red with anger to the young Hauptsturmfuehrer who brought the teleprinter report. He saluted, shouted sharp "Jawohl, Herr Reichsfuehrer!" and turned on his hills and left. After the doors closed, Haydrich, sitting opposite to Himmler, with woried look on his face said "Herr Reichsfuehrer, you understand what this means?". Equally worried Himler replied "Ja, mein Reinhard! The fat, bungling fool will have his five minutes! If only Hess was kept as a heir-apparent!! But even Fuehrer realised that Hess was looney. Anyway, we must follow publicly expressed will of the Fuehrer for now. Send your men to bring the idiot from his hunters lodge". "Jawohl, Herr Reichfuehrer! I will personally take care of that. I just wish I could get my hands on the swine who did it. He would wish that Mueller got to him first." At that moment Hauptsturmfuehrer appeared again. He ommited the usual Hitler salute, instead only rising his right hand. "Herr Reichsfuehrer! It is confirmed! Der Fuehrer ist Tot!" 2300h Zossen, OKH Phone rang in the conference room, where Brauchistch, Halder, Jodl, Keitel, Rundstedt, von Bock and von Leeb were just going through the proposed plan to attack France by the way of Low countries. Captain Roehmer answered it. His face paled. "WAS?" he shouted as he stood up holding the receiver so tightly that his knuckles went white. Everyone in the room turned toward him. Senior officers looked at each other fear visible on every face. They knew that this war was gamble and that French army could still roll over slight opposition forces on so called "Sigfried line" could offer. Most divisions were still transiting from Poland to the west using rail and highways. They were triumphant, but tired. Losses were just replenished and new men still haven't gotten the grips and unit cohesion suffered. They all feared French offensive. The bad news that arrived, was however of different nature. Keitel was the first one to hear it. His reaction caused chill to penetrate the room as his face conveyed shock, sadness and fear at the same time. He announced quietly, unable to use his throat in full capacity "Meine herren, der Fuehrer ist Tot!" Anybody left standing after his announcement just lost control of their legs and sat down. Many faces of junior officers filled with tears, as the man they recognized a hero, and worshipped for bringing glory and might to their country was suddenly taken from them. "Halder, this changes everything," whispered Brauchistch. General-oberst Brauchistch has only weeks earlier refused to take part in conspiracy which was headed by Halder, Canaris, Witzleben, Hoepner. This exchange was not noted by anyone. Halder just nodded solemnly. 2315 Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, Bendlerblock, Berlin A figure in the chair behind a large desk sobbed quietly in his hands, wrapped around his face. Paper on his desk that caused this was soaked in tears. "Why!" he whined. His hand reached into his drawer and appeared holding a pill between his index finger and thumb. After staring through the window on quiet Berlin night for few minutes, he carefully put it on the table and reached for a telephone reciever. "Get me Magda" he whispered. "I need my wife." 2330 Carinhall "Herr Goering, wake up" shouted the young servant, Mathias Gnaedinger. He never dared interupt Feldmarschals sleep, but there were four men from SS in the house. He knew you don't get to say too many noes to these guys. One of them, tall, young and blonde fellow, bearing insignias of SS-Gruupenfuehrer pushed Mathias away and poured water from the glass he picked up from the nightstand directly on Goerings face. Bewildered Feldmarschall rose up to sitting position, trying to gather his bearings. He was not used to such rude awakening. As he blinked, he saw blurred figure in black uniform and bowing toward him. Instinctively he flinched, his mind racing to recent past, sorting out events to check if something he did could bring his demise in the eyes of the Fuehrer. Nothing he could think of could be so devastating to him that Hitler would decide to rid himself of one of his most faithful lieutenants. "However, life in Third Reich was cheap. My life might be more expensive than others, but..." He never finished this line of thought. Bowing figure whispered in his ear "Der Fuehrer ist Tot!". This caused Goerings mind to frantically activate. At that moment he recognized Himmlers' hound dog. He shuderred from the shock this announcement brought to his unprepared mind. Goering jumped out of the bed, rushed to the cabinet in the far end of the room and reached for a pill container in the drawer. He popped one of the pills in his mouth, and quickly followed it with brandy from the bottle that stood ready on the cabinet. He was not ready for this. Himmlers' pet read an official announcement from the piece of paper he retrieved from his pocket. As Goering turned around, three SS what-ever-fuehrers stood at attention and belowed "Der Fuehrer ist Tot! Heil Fuehrer!". At that moment Goering fainted. 0200 Downing street 10, London Chambarlain woke to the sound of door to his bedroom opening. His personal secretary Lord Dunglass was at the door, with police officer from PMs personal security detail at his side. Alecs face conveyed utter confusion and without any preliminaries he said "Adolf Hitler is dead!". This woke Prime minister instantly. "Summon me Leslie, Halifax and..." he started thinking aloud. After a moment of consideration "Actually, summon entire War Cabinet for immediate session. Also, confirm this news however you can. Tell Macmillan to sketch announcement for BBC. It must confirm our position on the war, no matter what!". As Alec left, Neville thought for himself "God, I hope French are not this foolish!" 0200 Paris, Elysee Palace Daladier looked on the piece of paper in his hand with disbelief. "He is dead." he thought "So this is why they called me from my house in the middle of the night. What happens now?". Daladier pressed a button, and his aide d'affairs appeared. "Summon meeting of the cabinet as soon as they can come. Call Maurice and tell him to be here in half an hour." 0200 Moscow, Kremlin Stalin, Molotov, Beria, Zhdanov and Voroshilov sat at the desk. Cups of hot tea were in front of them, and air was full of scent of Stalins favorite Georgian tobbaco. "I can't believe that Hitler would allow something like this to happen to him." Stalin said, waving his head. Beria just smiled and remarked "I guess that he wasn't as beloved a Fuehrer as we thought he was." "Comrade Vycheslav, who do you think is going to succeed him?". "I am better able to answer this." said Beria "Comrade Chairman, according to my sources, Goering is slated as heir apparent, by the will of Hitler." "Thank you, Comrade Beria" said Stalin. "Comrade Vyacheslav, is our agreement with fascists in danger? Could Goering revert Hitlers policies and attack us?" "Comrade Chairman, Goering is reputed to have expressed doubts on war against Soviet Union privately! If he manages to consolidate his power, I believe we can even find common interest with Germany and continue our cooperation!" "Comrade Chairman," interjected Voroshilov "We could rely that Goering has distaste of ground war as an airforce pilot. He will try to avoid getting into large scale conflict on the ground as much as he can, I believe. Pilots of our VVS shy away from "ground pounding" and despise any combat on the ground." "Thank you, Comrade Klimenti" said Stalin "We will now inspect the figures of realization of the third Five Year plan." To be continued Last edited by Shaby; September 29th, 2011 at 05:43 PM.. 
|
|
#2
September 29th, 2011, 12:12 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Hi,
please change "Der Führer ist Todt" to "Der Führer ist tot"... in the moment you claim that Minister Todt is the Führer... i think this isn´t your intenion, right? 
|
|
#3
September 29th, 2011, 12:18 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
|
|
#5
September 29th, 2011, 01:14 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
|
|
#6
September 29th, 2011, 01:15 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
he was, since 1918... he had a wound and got morphium... he got addicted...
|
|
#7
September 29th, 2011, 02:40 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Informationfan has it wrong; todt (dead) is correct. That Dr. Todt has that name is mere coincidence. The head of the Sicherheitsdeinst is Heydrich, not Haydrich. And 'bloody' is not proper German slang; 'verdamte' (damned) or the equivalent would be better.
Goering was wounded in the leg during the Beer Hall Putsch (1923); he became addicted to morphine as a result of having it administered in the hospital afterward. For the rest of his life he fought that addiction, sometimes winning, sometimes losing. Having him faint is dubious; although the news would be a shock he would handle it well. AFAIK he was never prone to fainting, which would be a definite disqualifier for a fighter pilot! He would be a memorable Fuhrer; intelligent, politically astute, flamboyant, affable, charming; a complete contrast to the quiet, reserved, self-effacing Hitler.
|
|
#9
September 29th, 2011, 03:18 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
After all, Fuhrer was sui generis title for Hitler alone, I don't think that Goring would dare to continue as Fuhrer. IMO he would take the title of Reichprasident and name someone else as Reichkanzler.
|
|
#10
September 29th, 2011, 04:10 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
The idea that you beat a native language-person with no-knowledge is funny... it is tot... simply... read a book about german language, come back and appologize  i do not answer your hymn about Goehring... that is just to, well...  The chance you learn something is given- now Todt has nothing to do with Tod or tot... you can someone kill... "jemanden totmachen" you are Mr.Death (Sie sind Herr Tod) death from above (Tod vom Himmel) to kill (töten) hope you could learn something...
|
|
#12
December 30th, 2011, 12:24 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
December 10th, 2115, Paris, Gare de Lyon
The locomotive pulled the train into the station, and stopped, releasing clouds of steam. The doors of the cars opened and people started coming out. Many were met with hugs and kisses of relatives, while still more looked on with a slightly lost and slightly inquisitive look on their faces. They were common sight on this train for a long time now. They usually were the refugees from Eastern European countries that have in one form or another fallen under German dominance. This night among them was a tall man, unremarkable by anything except his height. Viktor never expected anyone awaiting him and once he picked up his luggage he turned to leave. He had to find a place to stay in Paris. Finding a way to publish the evidence he carried was the first priority. He realized that it will not be that easy too get anyone to listen to him, but he knew if he could get anyone to look at his photos it would be enough. Any competent reporter would immediately jump on this story. But for the moment he had to find a place to stay for the night and rest. Having spent the night at small, but comfortable and above all cheap hotel in, Viktor got up, finished his breakfast as fast as possible and left the hotel. Post office was just opening, and he marched in. At the hotel lobby he bought three envelopes and addressed them to the three leading newspapers in France. In each of the envelopes there was a short letter explaining the purpose of a letter and a sample of a photograph Viktor smuggled from Czechia. He also left the address where they could contact him. Having just enough funds to stay in the hotel for mere three days, he hoped somebody would contact him by then. Nothing was left for him but to wait. Blaine had a friend in Paris, where Viktor could go to loan some money if things got out of hand. He decided to use this only in dire emergency. December 11th, Berlin, Chinese Embassy Dai-Li entered the ambassadors office and without any preamble said "Mr. Ambassador, I will need your office today. You will vacate it immediately and remain out until further notice. The meeting that is about to take place here has never happened." "Yes, I understand. You will not be disturbed mr. Li." replied ambassador and left. A few minutes later, Wilhelm Canaris, dressed in civilian outfit, entered the office. "Good morning, mr. Li." he said. "I am glad we could arrange for this meeting. Welcome to Berlin. I initiated this contact with you with the authority of Reichsgovernment. My government has in the past few months reconsidered the relationship with your government. We have concluded to establish the relatioship with your country on a new basis. Undoubtedly previous government has commited grave errors that have been costly to both of us. We hope, however that this can be put behind us and we can cooperate with you." "Mr. Canaris, I must admit I am pleasantly surprised by desire of your government to reconsider the foreign policy as regards to China. We were under impression that you favor Japan over us." Li said. 'So this is what this meeting is about. I surmised as much.' he thought. "That may have been so under previous regime. We however have realised the basic mistake made in assuming that Japan is more beneficial to Germany than your great nation. I hope the following few days you are going to spend in Berlin will result in favorable agreement and a new Sino-German friendship. I have the things we can offer to you on this paper. Anything listed there is available for sale to China. We are also willing to extend HAPRO for four more years. You are meeting with me because we felt that secrecy is paramount in this phase of the reconciliation process." Canaris said. "What about the Japanese? You understand that this question is of the foremost importance to China. We must have your assurance that you will no longer extend diplomatic support to Japanese." Dai-Li asked. "Ever since we concluded the pact with Soviet Union, our relationship with Japan has cooled off considerably. So far their friendship has not benefited us as much as yours. I must, however, stress the desire of our leaders to attempt some sort of reconciliation between China and Japan. Rest assured that we will not be unfair to China. Should that fail, we will then consider other options. You will have an opportunity to meet some of the most prominent German business men. Should you desire such a meeting, we can also arrange for you to meet somebody from the Army. Our task is to come up with framework of cooperation, a proposal if you want, which could be presented to the higher-ups." Canaris finished summing up the essence of the idea. The idea of Sino-German rapprochement was born out a week ago. After the first contact with Soviets and once they presented their demands, someone from the foreign ministry proposed the alternative be considered. After all, Soviet demands were preposterous in any case. How could they demand that fully armed vessel be surrendered to them? As an admiral, Canaris had a soft spot for the navy and giving a ship to godless communists was not acceptable in his mind. The presence of Dai-Li in Europe was purely a lucky coincidence. "I am grateful for such an offer. Kuomintang has long admired German people and our cooperation in previous years has enabled us to withstand unprovoked and unwarranted Japanese aggression. Germany was the only world power that has ever substantially helpt China. I can only say that Chairman Chang looks forward to the report from this trip. I understand the reasons behind your request for secrecy. The sole rumor of our talking would upset at least two of the world's powers. As long as this depends on me, I will guarantee the secrecy of our meeting." Chinese intelligence chief said. He took the paper and after reading it, beamed a wide smile. "All this equipment will certainly be useful in our fight. I think we will be able to come up with some deal." "Will you be able to ensure cooperation of the Soviets in delivering the items to China?" inquired Canaris. "I believe we will. They are already providing us with some help." Li said. "Should they refuse to allow this, what alternatives are there?" Canaris asked. "It depends on the stance Western powers will take. I believe we could arrange something with the British. They are willing to go a long way to ensure the defence of Singapor and Malaya. Anyway, I think we will come up with something when and if such an eventuality comes to pass."
__________________
Quote:
|
|
#13
December 30th, 2011, 04:16 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
In the short run, I think the UK, US, France and the USSR are in favor of a stronger China. I don't think Italy cares.
|
|
#14
December 30th, 2011, 08:14 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
I don't think we are there (April 1940) ITTL yet, so is it another ship ITTL, and if so, which one please?  Last edited by Eternity; December 31st, 2011 at 02:43 AM.. Reason: Typo
|
|
#15
December 30th, 2011, 09:19 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
@Naraht Sure Japan would be upset and I also believe that Soviets would be less than enthusiastic with the German scheme. I believe Soviets wanted strong China, but in their own terms.
@Eternity I guess Soviets would demand the ship in the same class as the Lutzow if not Lutzow herself.
__________________
Quote:
|
|
#16
January 1st, 2012, 08:46 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
How can China pay for German weapons?
I am impressed with the thought of Germany supplying China with weapons. I did not see that one coming.
I can see the benefits of having China as a counter weight to the USSR for Germany. Also, the potential market for consumer goods, chemicals, and machinery in China is much larger that Japan. I am hoping that this will work out. However, my perception is that China is broke due to the economic decline since the mid 1800's and the damage due to the Japanese invasion. If my perception is correct then what can China supply Germany with to pay for the weapons? I am assuming that Germany will need either gold/silver/foreign currency or raw materials to keep their own economy running. I am looking forward to seeing how this thread develops. Stubear1012
|
|
#17
January 1st, 2012, 09:58 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
(In our TL a real military alliance was signed in 1940 after France was defeated.) In this TL backing China (again) seems like a wise decision. And something that both the British Empire and France could support. Plus the USA. And for now the USSR.... And I don´t think that China "is broke". It´s simply too large and too populated to be broke. With a new treaty between China and Germany I suspect even the corrupt Chinese government will find a few mines to pay for support.
|
|
#18
January 23rd, 2012, 07:45 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Downing street 10, four hours later
Halifax entered Prime minister's office, followed by sir Robert and Dahlerus. "Mr. Prime Minister you need to hear this man." Halifax phoned few minutes earlier to inform the office of his imminent arrival. As they entered his office, Neville looked up inquisitively. "Sir Neville, you remember mr. Dahlerus, don't you? The Swedish businessmen that carried the messages from mr. Goering earlier this year?" asked Robert. "Yes. Of course I do. Please proceed." Neville said. "Well, mr. Dahlerus is bringing a new proposal from mr. Goering. Mr. Johan, please." Robert said. "Your excellency, mr. Goering would like to meet you in person. He notes your Government has refused German request for increasing the German airforce limitation to 50% above the 2.000 limit. Mr. Goering believies the decision to refuse this proposal was not based on full apprehension of facts on the ground. I was not informed on exact meaning of his remark, and mr. Goering has declined to disclose the information to me. His belief is that sensitivity and importance of those information warrants direct meeting of the heads of governments. Mr. Goering asked me to convey to you his goodwill and assurances that no matter what, he wants peace. He wants you to know that current regime in Germany is different than the previous one and that his assurances are more credible than those of his predecessor." Dahlerus paused for a moment to draw breath.* He was interrupted by question from Nevile "You must be aware that we have heard similar things number of times from the previous German government. How can we trust them in the future? We devised the limitations delibarately in order to inhibit any future aggression from Germany."* Dahlerus continued "Mr. Goering has anticipated your question. As your ambassador to Germany, mr. Henderson can atestify, mr. Goering has repeatedly voiced his opinion against war. Furthermore, I am instructed to tell you that this meeting will in no way resemble Munich agreement, which German government understands as being tainted by the events that developed afterwards. This is the essence of the message I was asked to deliver. My function here is to convey this message to you on personal behest of mr. Goering, who is my friend. I can offer you nothing more than what I already told you. Surely, you may derive its importance from the fact that mr. Goering has decided to personally address you, instead of going through intermediaries. Whether you choose to accept the proposal to meet mr. Goering personally or not is your choice. German government is aware that your position is dependent on French government. Mr. Goering has nothing against the presence of the representative of highest level of French government at the meeting. He, however, appeals to you to convey his proposal to your counterpart in France mr. Daladier and kindly appeals to keep the information on this as confidential as possible and limit the circulation of it to the highest level of government, at least for now. Failure to do so will result in German government denying the proposal was ever made." Confused, Nevile asked "Yes, I understand, but WHAT proposal, Mr. Dahlerus? The proposal to meet mr. Goering? That I can accept, but on the condition that the subject of the meeting be disclosed in advance. I am not going to clandestine meeting without clear agenda that can be presented to British public. You must understand that in my function as a Prime Minister I am responsible to House of Commons and I cannot single-handedly accept any agreement or any other obligation. Mr. Goering can make such decisions on the whim given his system of government. Surely, the nature of democratic process in this country has not escaped you or mr. Goering." "Your Excellency, of course I understand the limitations of your position but in the world such as it is today, some discussions must, out of necessity take place behind the closed doors. As I told you already, I am not privy to the information mr. Goering wants to disclose to you at the private meeting. If you insist, I will convey your request for an agenda of the meeting, although I am sure that, if it is delivered, it will be through confidential channel." "Deliver this message to mr. Goering. His Majesty Government will not under any circumstances enter any deals with German government designed to create situation that allow for further territorial aggrandizement of Germany. That must be clear. So if that proposal is of such a nature, mr. Goering can forget the deal. If, pending the delivery of substantial proposal, we deem it worthwhile, I may accept to attend this meeting."
__________________
Quote:
|
|
#19
January 23rd, 2012, 08:23 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
December 16th, Finland-USSR border regions
The deadline for evacuation of the border areas was quickly approaching. Virtually no one elected to stay behind. *Finns inhabiting those places were not numerous, *however that didn't make their situation any less tragic. They were not the first people in Europe to be uprooted from their homes, most certainly not the last ones either. Desperate, people loaded everything that wasn't nailed down (sometimes even things that were) onto carts, sleds and in case of lucky few the cars and lorries. Rail traffic remained reserved for military. The government assured the civilians that they will receive replacement homes and that entire Finland will share in their misfortune. Further to the north of the border, military units carefully dismantled anything remotely useful in their bases in order not to leave it to the Soviets. They already lacked equipment anyway. According to the agreement, Finns accepted to neutralize Mannerheim line. Fixed weapons overlooking Ladoga lake and Gulf of Finland were dismantled and taken away. According to this experience, remounting weapons would take perhaps a week in case anything untoward happen in the future. During that week, line would be manned by infantry. Hopefully, they would be able to withstand Soviet assault. So far, it seemed Soviets kept to their end of the deal. No incidents or provocations were noted in last two weeks. It seemed that Soviets *were retreating. At least the convoys of vehicles produced noise from their end of the border and they mostly headed away. Soviet airplanes still occasionally flew over, but the flights were announced and with purpose to determine whether Finns were keeping to their end of agreement.
__________________
Quote:
|
|
#20
January 27th, 2012, 12:56 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
December 17th, around 10 o'clock, Chequers
Sumner Welles arrived to Britain late afternoon on Saturday. After meeting Joseph Kennedy, he retreated for rest. Meeting with Prime minister on Sunday was semi-official one, so they agreed on having a sit down in Chequers. "Mr. Welles, welcome to United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. I hope you have a pleasant stay here. I, for one, am glad to welcome representative of the great Republic from across the ocean to this country. Your country shares the most of the values with United Kingdom along with even greater respect for individuals. We stood together in previous war and without your help, the outcome of that struggle remains in doubt. My government and me personally welcomes your presence." Neville opened the meeting, once everyone settled down. "Sir Neville, I am grateful and honored to be invited to this magnificent residence. Mr. President invites you to visit United States at your earliest convinience. Mr. President regrets that he is not able to be here, despite his earnest wishes. Some members of the Congress and Senate are opposed to any kind of active foreign policy. Government of United States along with the people can only express joy that another devastating war has been narrowly avoided and that people of the world are yet again free to return to everyday worries." Sumner said. "Mr. Welles, we understand the purpose of your visit is to provide diplomatic support in establishing and maintaining peaceful relations among European powers. His Majesty's Government regrets that United States have not taken more active interest earlier, as that might avoid the entire unfortunate turn of events. We understand the reasons that caused this, but nonetheless, United States should have taken interest in European affairs. Although peace now appears to be at hand and only formal signature on the agreement is needed to conclude the war, the world remains an unstable place. True stabilization and averting the threat of future wars can only be achieved once grivances of all peoples are addressed. However, establishing peace is the first step in this process and help of our friends and cousins from United States will be appreciated and needed." Neville said, slightly reprimanding the envoy. "Sir Neville, your understanding is correct. Mr. Hull has selected me to tour the Europe and determine the most acceptable way for United States to help Europe find path to reconciliation and peace. Our interest in this is dual. Foremost it is to alleviate suffering of the millions of Europeans and loss of life and treasure war entails. Secondly, our perhaps selfish wish to avoid spending American lives and treasure in a conflict that would certainly spill over entire world, had it not been contained." "Your excellencys' words are wise and your desire to save your people from suffering is understandable. Natural question is, of course, what kind of support can we count on from your country? Our hope is that you can offer to deploy your troops to proposed buffer zone between France and Germany. I am aware that it will not be any substantial unit, but perhaps deploying a company of your Marines, just as a token gesture would show that United States cares for stability in Europe." Neville said. "Mr. Prime Minister, deployment of troops on foreign soil is something United States do only reluctantly. Our lawmakers will certainly question the practical consequences that might arise in the future and what obligations and burdens will implicitly be taken on. Current administration, as well as majority of American people view European democracies as our friends. President Roosevelt, if it was up to him, would certainly not hesitate to deploy even larger contingent of US troops, however isolationism is prevailing sentiment in wider American politics right now. Mr. President will certainly try to muster enough votes in Congress for this, but your hopes should be realistic." Welles replied. "This is rather dissapointing news, I must say. Would it be possible that United States take the role of impartial supervisor of the arms limitations clauses. This role is stipulated by the treaty and I am fairly certain that all sides will find US acceptable. Entente members will surely welcome it. This will not require any obligations on the part of United States and your isolationists can not possibly object this." Neville offered. "If all sides find this acceptable and if it does not mean any future obligation to US, my initial feeling is that such a role will be entirely possible. Provided of course, that every side accepts our role. I am instructed to discuss obtain the opinion of Your excellency on some other pressing issues in the world. Mr. President has invested considerable political capital into China problem. After all, Japanese territorial pretensions naturally extend to territories currently subject to American and your rule as well as French and Dutch. Only Chinese resistance has checked their limitless expansion on the Far East. Mr. President desires that our countries coordinate common approach. Chinese are struggling to stop Japanese and reclaim the lands occupied through aggression. To proceed, they need our support. United States has provided everything our so far limited means allowed. Now, that situation in Europe is heading toward peaceful resolution, we expect that European powers will assume more active role on the Far East." American envoy stated. "We certainly share the interests of United States in checking the Japanese aggression. Some of the most important parts of our Empire are threatened and our partners Australia and New Zeeland have expressed their concerns in regards to this. Australia in particular has already been subjected to economic pressure from the Japanese. Government of The Netherlands has already faced some trouble in Dutch East Indies were it appears Japanese agents are trying to forment disorder. If we present a united front to the Japanese, they will be insane to challenge our might. I presume you will visit France and have the same discussion with them?" "Yes, my itinerary includes Paris, The Hague, Berlin, Rome and assuming I get response from Kremlin, Moscow too." answered Sumner. "Splendid," continued Neville "You can share what I said to you with French. I hope you have more luck with Moscow than we did. They refused to discuss the issue of Eastern Poland, declined to take part in peace convention and according to our intelligence sources they are preparing to pressure various East European countries into territorial and economic concessions. Given the nature of communist regime, one can only view those developments as precursors for some future aggression on their part. Although the regime in Moscow has changed, they still have the ambition towards the Straights, and if taking the lands in Eastern Europe can be construed as creating a buffer to shield their southern ambitions. If you manage to arrange the meeting in Moscow, please express the concern of democratic nations toward Soviet foreign policy, but keep the information I have given you to yourself." said Chamberlain. "I see, mr. Prime Minister. My intention in going to Moscow was mostly to discuss policy in China, as it appears that they are also supporting Chinese in their struggle against Japan. We were under impression that Soviet actions in East Europe are motivated primarily by defensive concerns. What I can promise you is to try to entice Stalin to talk to you.". The talk about various other subjects lasted for another hour, followed by official lunch. After lunch, Sumner thanked Prime Minister for reception and left to his hotel. He needed to prepare for trip to Paris. His busy week has only just begun.
__________________
Quote:
Last edited by Shaby; January 27th, 2012 at 01:08 PM..
|
 |
| Thread Tools | |
| Display Modes | |
|
|
Hybrid Mode
