Ch.215The French Commune

# The Unexpected Reversal

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Like adding insult to injury, Communist Germany, just like Nazi Germany, squeezed everything they could to equip their tanks with radios as standard, enabling communication with air forces and demonstrating warfare more advanced than the French.

Above all, with elite officers from the imperial era plus the pressure of political officers, they were at least equal to, if not worse than, Nazi Germany.

Of course, if this were truly a soul-crushing blow and France had somehow managed to hold on, Communist Germany would have self-destructed on its own.

Unlike the German People’s Army communicating via radio, the French Army had to send reports by motorcycle, and even then, they had to report to superiors first and wait for orders before executing operations, making it inevitable that they would fall behind Germany.

“What are those crazy frog bastards doing?!”

“Bluh-bluh bluh-bluh.”

While the Ardennes was breached and Sedan quickly fell, leaving France stammering in confusion, the German People’s Army—Goebbels’ fan club—threw themselves forward like sacrificial lambs, as if offering their souls to Goebbels himself, breaking through the Allied lines.

The cause of the Allied failure was clear.

It was the Allied command preparing for offense rather than defense, following Churchill’s strong demands.

The command structure was even more complicated as different nations formed an alliance. Instead of the original strategy of defending, forcing attrition on the German army, and crushing them when weakened, they relied solely on superior numbers for an unconditional offensive. Just offense. Plain offense. In the original timeline, by the time Charles de Gaulle’s counterattack should have happened, France had already taken a hit, stood dazed, and melted away like ice cream on a hot summer day.

However, Communist Germany, unlike Nazi Germany, hadn’t built up its forces as much, so they had to pull troops from the Polish defense line to plan this operation.

In other words, at this time, Communist Germany’s eastern front was essentially a paper-thin defense line that could easily collapse. If there had been any communication, the Polish army could have struck from the side, rendering the German People’s Army’s offensive futile, and the Polish forces could have raced across German territory as Anastasia’s devilish whispers suggested.

But the Polish army and the Imperial German army didn’t have time to realize this, as they were only thinking about joining when Britain launched an offensive, so they didn’t attack.

During this gap, German Communist Party members who were still active infiltrated Paris and made contact with the Commune.

“Now it’s time for our French Commune comrades to step up. We must end this meaningless war, make peace, and together capture the enemies of revolution—the Triple Alliance.”

“Understood.”

The relationship between Germany and France had a long history of enmity through the Napoleonic Wars, the Franco-Prussian War, and World War I. But the French Commune and the German Communist Party were different.

Just as cockroaches have no nation or borders…

These reds, regardless of French or German nationality, shared the common goal of a communist utopian revolution. From the French Commune’s perspective, they had experienced the failure of the Paris Commune before, and although they had regained strength thanks to the Great War and the Great Depression, they envied Communist Germany as the first communist state, naturally modeling themselves after the German Communist Party and receiving help from Berlin.

The French Commune was outraged that France had joined forces with Britain to attack Germany, starting an aggressive war. They were moved by Berlin’s instructions to serve as meat shields while sparking revolution from within, and were preparing for revolution.

Moreover, Goebbels had promised that if France became endangered, instead of surrender, they would make peace and invite the French Commune to join the Red Front, which further emboldened the Commune.

Finally, as the German People’s Army broke through the Ardennes Forest and Sedan fell more disastrously than in the original timeline, creating a free passage to Paris like a low-lying highway, the French Commune leader Maurice Thorez incited anti-war sentiment.

“Why must we engage in an unnecessary war of aggression? Look at the results of this aggressive war! Imperialism will eventually succumb to the power of workers! Workers of France, rise up! Rise against the oppression of those imperialists who force death upon us! Let us fight imperialism together! Workers of the world, unite!”

Thorez’s French Communist Party, taking advantage of the lack of a national unity cabinet due to left-right division and the still-floundering French cabinet, recruited some troops to attack the cabinet that was trying to form a wartime government under Paul Reynaud.

“What are you thinking, doing this during wartime?!”

“Our French Commune will move toward peace and coexistence with Germany. And together we plan to spark world revolution against imperialist nations.”

“Y-you madmen. You’re insane!”

“Was it not madness to attack Communist Germany, which was staying peaceful, while anti-war sentiment was boiling?”

After all, who was calling whom insane when they had made the careless choice to attack Germany out of fear of the Commune erupting?

“At least we don’t use communists to start revolutions like you do!”

How dare they mobilize millions of French people for a meaningless war of aggression out of fear of revolution!

“Would communists like us have gained power in a healthy country? This is all the will of the French people! This is a country of revolution! We will execute those who mobilized the people for a war of aggression for their own benefit!”

Anti-war sentiment had always been strong in France, regardless of whether the opponent was Germany or someone else.

Meanwhile, they had ceded leadership to Britain and started a war of aggression. Even though France possessed Europe’s strongest army, their offensive was lukewarm, and after suffering defeat, it was natural for the French people to support the Commune.

Thorez wanted to use this momentum to prove once again that France was a country of revolution.

Yes, it was time for the execution of the existing cabinet.

Although some had escaped the revolution, Thorez had captured the previous Prime Minister Léon Blum, Édouard Daladier, and the current Prime Minister Paul Reynaud, who had led this war.

The French people had initially been reluctant to support the war but had followed orders out of duty. Seeing Europe’s strongest army collapse helplessly against Germany, the loser of the Great War, anti-war sentiment grew until they blamed the current government entirely.

After all, it made no sense for Europe’s strongest army to lose to Germany, which had been the defeated party.

But on the other hand, it was possible in a workers’ state. Only a communist state could achieve this.

It was possible because the workers united.

Of course, it also helped that Goebbels himself had proposed to France that since the people had risen up in revolution to overthrow the imperialist government, they should put aside past grudges and join hands.

He made a very generous offer to release their brothers and sons, not reclaim Alsace-Lorraine, and treat them as victors who had switched sides to fight against the Allies.

The French people, who had no interest in communism, believed that Germany had won because of communism, apart from military issues like command structure and troop morale.

“Révolution! Révolution!”

“Look at those imperialist oppressors. Those British pigs who once ruled the world and were victors in the Great War have finally been defeated by Communist Germany. Isn’t this because they forced war-weary people to fight? Those British bourgeois pigs even used us as meat shields and forced death upon us. The current government made French workers produce ammunition for those British, and our soldiers died for British soldiers! Does this make any sense?”

Although they still disliked Germany, dying for Britain made no sense.

After all, wasn’t this war started because of Britain?

The anger of the French people was directed more at Churchill and their incompetent government than at Germany, which had defeated them.

The era of imperialism was over.

Now revolutionary France must overthrow those imperialists!

“Révolution! Révolution!”

“Now, let the executions begin!”

Rat-tat-tat-tat!

Before the eyes of the French people who had ridden the red wave of revolution, the former and current prime ministers who had led the war, along with cabinet members, were shot by the French Red Guard.

With the country essentially in anarchy, the French Communist Party finally seized power and declared the French Commune.

And with the help of fellow communist Germany, the French troops at the border, which could be considered the Maginot Line, were released and reborn as the French Commune Army, the People’s Army of France.

“People of France! The German Secretary Goebbels is not your enemy! I, Goebbels, am a friend of France! A comrade who will advance the communist revolution together! World revolution is only possible with France, the country of revolution, and we Germans will resolve our old relationship with France for the sake of revolution. I only hope that you will join us! First, we will not demand France’s surrender, we will release surrounded troops, and we will not demand territory! And together, we will drive those British bastards completely off the European continent!”

Waaaaaah!

Goebbels himself flew to Paris with a small number of Communist Party officials rather than the army, promising the Parisians and French people that there would be no demands for surrender, no hostage situations, no land grabs, and instead, France would be treated as a victor in the Red Front after the war.

Photos were taken of Goebbels and Thorez shaking hands at the Eiffel Tower, establishing a new relationship between Germany and France, laughing and chatting together. These images spread throughout France, Germany, and even to the Allied nations.

This is how the French Commune became the new brain installed in France’s deranged head.

The French troops at the front had few options, given the constant friction with Britain and the sky-high discontent among soldiers.

Above all, being surrounded, it was their only chance to accept Germany’s generous offer to become victors. Except for Free French figures like Charles de Gaulle, everyone joined the German forces.

Considering France’s capabilities, it was as if hundreds of thousands of troops had suddenly switched sides, putting the Allies on the defensive.

“Prime Minister executed? Communist revolution? Damn those frog bastards! We should have crushed Germany before this happened!”

In London, Churchill pounded his desk repeatedly in anger, but only hurt his own fist.

“Prime Minister, we have a serious problem. Our forces are surrounded by the German People’s Army and the French People’s Army.”

“Damn it!”

The German Army Group A was already launching fierce attacks on British forces along with Army Group B, and the French army that should have been helping withstand the German attack was now fighting alongside Germany against the British forces. There was no solution.

Given the situation, evacuation was the only answer.

“Prime Minister, we’re running out of time. We must decide on evacuation now! Fortunately, not all French forces are siding with the People’s Army. Some French troops have requested to join us!”

At Mosley’s words, Churchill’s eyes trembled.

Some, he said. That meant the main French forces had all switched sides.

The British forces in the Low Countries and along the German border alone numbered 400,000.

This was the result of Churchill’s push for rearmament and increased troop numbers.

These troops were essentially the cream of the crop scraped together from the British Isles, and losing them would effectively mean the end of the British Army.

“Evacuation. We must hurry with the evacuation. So our troops can safely withdraw.”

Churchill said with a trembling voice.

Some troops and the Low Countries would have to be sacrificed for Britain’s evacuation, but immediate withdrawal was the priority.

That was Churchill’s only remaining option.

However.

“You want to evacuate? That won’t do. Admiral Raeder. I know you dislike communism, but it was because of communism that we could defeat them. And this is our last chance. Even if we have to exhaust our entire navy, we must completely annihilate the British forces here so that Britain cannot challenge our Germany for decades to come.”

“Understood.”

Goebbels had no intention of letting them go.

He had to relentlessly pursue and capture them all before they could evacuate.

While keeping them alive might be useful for negotiations, with Churchill’s temperament, would he stay quiet? He might try to stab them in the side again during the final war with Russia.

He absolutely could not let them go.

He would annihilate most of them and capture only some to throw into Dachau concentration camp or force them into labor, making them pay for the damage they had caused Germany.

“Comrades! The time has finally come! Do not accept prisoners from those invaders! Kill all the British so they can never set foot on this land again!”

“Sieg Heil!”

“Heil Goebbels!”

Unlike the original timeline where the Dunkirk evacuation succeeded due to Germany’s misjudgment, Goebbels decided to push forward. A bloody future awaited the British forces.

Meanwhile, Manstein, who had planned Operation Sickle Cut, looked at his Goebbels Medal and sighed.

“Are these French bastards even bigger idiots than the Berlin reds?”

The Allies were bigger idiots than expected.

Manstein, who unexpectedly became a hero of the German Communist Party alongside Guderian, could only hold his head in his hands.