Ch.218Now Who’s the Boss Here?

# Turkey, Ankara

President Mustafa Kemal Atatürk of Turkey made a momentous decision after receiving Anastasia’s message.

Yes, the decision to finally reclaim the lands stolen by those British and French.

He summoned Prime Minister İsmet İnönü.

“Since mainland France has fallen to the Reds, now is our opportunity. Let’s drive the French out of Anatolia and reclaim Syria as well.”

“We’ll finally recover Syria.”

The justification was perfect.

As a member of the Anti-Comintern Pact and a nation sharing borders with communists, they would reclaim territories lost in previous treaties to prevent the red plague from spreading.

Of course, the French government-in-exile in Algeria might protest, but they could simply counter with: “Are you communists too?” and dismiss their complaints.

This was not a war.

Yes, if anything, this was a special military operation.

At first, he thought the Russian Empress was lying and merely throwing the bait of territorial recovery as a false incentive, expecting Turkey to eventually submit. But it turned out to be true.

‘So she really does have prophetic abilities.’

She apparently knew about the great earthquake in Japan in the Far East, the Great Depression that troubled even the great powers in the 1930s, and even the exact locations where their resources were buried.

That meant she must have known about France falling to communism in advance.

Kemal found himself smiling bitterly.

“How amusing.”

“What is, sir?”

“All of this, this world dancing in the palm of the Russian Empress. She must have known France would fall to communism.”

Once or twice might be coincidence. But this couldn’t be explained away so simply.

What did her future hold? Surely she hadn’t foreseen Turkey’s downfall.

For a brief moment, he felt doubtful.

Russia, now more than ever, was claiming to be Rome’s successor to restore its pride after the war with communists, reclaiming Constantinople and Pontus, sometimes even calling itself Byzantium.

Perhaps once Turkey grew stronger, Russia would devour it whole—

Kemal shook his head slightly.

No, that couldn’t be it. That was too far-fetched. If that were the case, Russia would have crushed Turkey when it had the chance.

If all this was following the Tsar’s script, Russia would sweep away communist Germany, France, and Italy, seizing European hegemony.

Britain, having lost so much of its army, wasn’t even worth discussing.

Well, whatever. Though Turkey had lost some territory to Russia, it had gained this opportunity thanks to Russia.

The Turkish National Army, which had been preparing for this moment for a long time, moved immediately.

Turkey had harbored deep resentment toward Britain and France, who had forced the Ottoman Empire to side with the Central Powers in the Great War and then dismantled the empire afterward.

“Defend our lands from the communists!”

“W-what! Why is Turkey—!”

“Capture all the Reds!”

From French Anatolia to Syria, Turkey mobilized to reclaim the former Ottoman territories.

With the mainland government changed and a government-in-exile established in Algeria, French residents in Syria and French-occupied territories in Anatolia were left without proper information, unsure which side to follow.

They had no strength to resist the Turkish forces that had been grinding their teeth for decades, waiting for this chaotic opportunity.

When Turkey reclaimed the French-occupied territories in southern Anatolia and Syria, the exiled government in Algeria, which had belatedly received the news, protested to Atatürk.

“W-what is the meaning of this? Even though we’ve lost our mainland, to launch a surprise attack without a declaration of war!”

“This is not a war but a special military operation. Besides, the French Commune has claimed succession to all territories of the French Republic. In other words, it’s Red territory. Can France, having lost its mainland, still claim to be the rightful owner of that land?”

Turkey had plenty to say.

Indeed, the French Commune had declared ownership of all territories, claiming to be the successor to the French Republic.

Of course, this was merely an attempt to justify that colonies that needed to be liberated due to the communist system had always belonged to the Commune.

For Turkey, it was a golden opportunity to reclaim its lands.

“You’ll regret this someday.”

“I doubt you have the national power left to make us regret anything.”

İnönü sneered mockingly.

Those who had lost their mainland dared to speak of regret.

They would eventually need Russia’s goodwill to survive, yet they spoke such words.

“What?”

“Regret, you say? We have never forgotten the Great War for a moment. Britain and France—we have never forgotten how you dismantled us.”

“So you’re choosing to be hostile to us now? That Russian Empress will surely take note.”

France was counting on Russia.

After all, Turkey was practically Russia’s front yard.

Would Russia be pleased to see Turkey grow stronger?

This was a farce born from not knowing about the private conversation between Anastasia and Kemal.

“Between a France stained red with communism and Turkey, an ally of Russia—who seems more trustworthy? Even Britain has lost its army and must appease us, no?”

“!!”

France had lost its mainland. Britain had lost hundreds of thousands of elite troops, making it unable to manage even its colonies, let alone mount an invasion.

The outcome was obvious.

Russia would lead the coming era, and since Russia had promised to help Turkey, the era of Britain and France was over.

So İnönü boldly demanded:

“Return the territories you took from us during the Great War, and we will rightfully fight against the communist states. Isn’t it a profitable deal to reclaim your mainland in exchange for returning our lands?”

“Ugh.”

The French government was caught in a dilemma.

After all, the French Commune was claiming all French territories as their own, making Turkey’s actions appear as a justified preventive war.

Moreover, having lost the mainland and being forced to appease even the Algerians in their colonial refuge, they were in no position to make demands of Turkey.

Britain was in an even worse position.

They had long since needed to recall their Mediterranean Fleet to the mainland.

Even then, confronting the French Commune’s fleet and the Italian fleet would force the navy to suffer considerable losses.

Having abandoned colonial defense and unable to trust colonial troops, they now needed to bring in other armies.

“If Turkey helps us, Britain will return all Anatolian territories acquired from the Ottoman Empire during the Great War.”

While Britain couldn’t speak for France, it decided to relinquish the small piece of land it had acquired from the Ottoman Empire.

Of course, even this didn’t satisfy Kemal.

While he had the chance, he needed to extract everything possible.

“Hand over Palestine and Jordan as well.”

Britain was furious at Turkey’s demands, remarking that Turkey had grown quite bold, but they had no alternative.

At the current pace, Turkey might actually advance into Jordan and Palestine, and Britain lacked the strength to stop them.

Especially if Russia was supporting them from behind.

In the end, Britain had to accept Turkey’s demands, recognizing Palestine and Jordan as Turkish territory again, forcing Britain to withdraw from the Levant region as well.

Meanwhile, Austria received an ultimatum from communist Germany.

Depose the Kaiser, stop suppressing the Austrian Communist Party, dismantle all border fortresses, and embrace communism for the liberation of workers.

These were conditions Austria could not accept.

Especially recognizing the Communist Party and embracing communism.

Just these two points alone amounted to an ultimatum demanding the overthrow of the government.

Hitler sneered at Goebbels’ ultimatum.

“Not even worth considering.”

“Finally, it’s our turn.”

He hadn’t expected France to fall so quickly.

“Poland is still holding out, but it won’t last long. In the end, we’ll be the bulwark against communism.”

Looking at the situation from all sides, they were indeed positioned as a bulwark.

He had absolutely no intention of surrendering.

Since Poland was still holding out, refusing the ultimatum wouldn’t result in an immediate invasion.

He had not the slightest intention of even pretending to comply.

Hitler suddenly turned his head eastward.

Britain was now barely managing its homeland defense, and France had lost its mainland.

This was probably exactly what the Russian Empress intended.

If Russia were to step in and quickly eliminate the communists, it was obvious who would maintain order in Europe.

He disliked losing leadership to the Slavs, but for now, there was no choice.

Now the perfect scenario she desired was approaching.

Britain and France were in shambles, the Baltic and Balkan small nations would cling to Russia’s coattails.

Britain, having suffered heavy losses, would have to abandon its colonies, making it unthinkable to resist Russia even after the war. France, even if it reclaimed its mainland, couldn’t defeat Russia with its diminished strength.

So, when would the Empress of Moscow make her move?

In the end, Russia would be the game-changer.

# * * *

While war raged across Europe, we were building a nuclear reactor in Moscow and diligently advancing our nuclear development technology.

There was a reprocessing plant in Chelyabinsk, and by some strange coincidence, Semipalatinsk in the Kazakh Republic was chosen as the testing ground.

Other cities also participated in the nuclear development program, designated as secret cities like the Soviet Atomgrad.

Thanks to the sacrifice of Bolsheviks who were semi-forcibly thrown into the work for the United States of Greater Russia in Siberia, the dangers of radiation were clearly identified, and nuclear research progressed rapidly.

To the point where even Japan couldn’t criticize us for using human guinea pigs.

Well, that’s how we put the Bolsheviks to good use.

We could use them without hesitation for large-scale road construction and nuclear testing.

“Wow, this is quite impressive.”

I admired the Moscow reactor.

Of course, being an early reactor, it looked somewhat crude compared to modern ones.

We were now almost at the experimental stage.

After success, we’d need to make enough to drop on Berlin and Paris, plus a few extras as reserves.

If America claimed their losses were too great for Operation Downfall, we could gladly drop nuclear bombs on Japan for them.

Of course, America would have to pay Russia handsomely for that.

“Yes, Your Majesty. It’s all thanks to your guidance. We’re simply curious how you knew such things.”

“It’s difficult to explain in words. Let’s just say God gave this to end the war. That’s all you need to know.”

Come to think of it, perhaps that’s why the old man sent me here.

After all, he sent me—someone with enough knowledge about nuclear science to guide nuclear scientists, even if I’m not an expert in the field.

Soon, something big will happen.

When that time comes, all of Europe will likely submit to us.

“A report from the Okhrana London branch. The families of the Dunkirk battle victims have taken to the streets, demanding Churchill be removed.”

I’d be furious too in their position.

They only needed to stay on their island, but they prepared for war to capture Germany, even declaring war as the representative of the Allies, resulting in France’s betrayal and the annihilation of their own forces.

Unlike the Churchill in original history who somehow maintained approval ratings even while facing Nazi Germany, he had wasted that great army in Europe.

Churchill would probably have to bow in the streets, begging, “Please just let me keep my cabinet until the end of this war.”

Honestly, despite the disaster at Dunkirk, there’s no better leader for Britain than Churchill right now.

Moreover, the war isn’t over yet.

As long as the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy remain intact, they’ll somehow hold out.

In exchange, they’ll lose a lot—the British Empire, maintained through colonies, no longer has the strength to maintain those colonies.

Naturally, countries that have harbored resentment against Britain will express their discontent.

Turkey, for example.

“The Turkish army has reclaimed Syria and confirmed ownership of the Levant region in negotiations with Britain.”

The news delivered by the Turkish diplomat brought a smile to my face.

As I had hoped, Turkey had seized this opportunity to conduct a special military operation to eliminate communists in Anatolia and Syria, and naturally, they had won.

Wow, this was a huge success.

If Britain was accepting Turkey’s demands, they must be truly powerless.

I wonder what will happen to India, Britain’s crown jewel.

If they can’t even care for their colonies, India won’t sit quietly.

Britain’s elite forces have been completely annihilated.

They’ll probably need to bring in colonial garrison troops. Britain will struggle to hold onto India.

Then they’ll likely exclude some colonial troops and recruit from the British mainland.

The Home Guard will soon emerge.

Of course, the Home Guard was at best a second-rate militia with poor equipment.

In the original history, they had abandoned all their equipment while fleeing Dunkirk, so they didn’t have sufficient gear.

In this timeline, with greater losses at Dunkirk, it would be even worse.

In the original history, they even had spears, I heard.

Well, the Home Guard was truly just a reserve force, mainly there to make up numbers in case of emergency.

Britain, if they gathered all their naval forces, could still prevent a mainland landing, even if they couldn’t launch one themselves.

Communist Germany, needing to crush Poland and Austria before preparing for the final war with Russia, wouldn’t attempt Operation Sea Lion.

If they suffered heavy losses during Operation Sea Lion, they’d be exhausted before even fighting Russia.