Ch.243Italian Division

I’m sorry, but I must apologize to Pétain, though he hardly has any presence to speak of.

“My Tsar. Corsica is our land! We absolutely cannot give up Corsica.”

They’re reluctant to give up their colonies, barely holding onto Algeria and declaring they’ll reclaim Indochina, so they’d be even more attached to what they consider their own territory.

But you know what? We have just as much to say.

“Let me ask you, General Pétain. Does the Free French government-in-exile currently have the strength to reclaim the mainland?”

You don’t have that capability, do you? You can barely manage the Algerians as it is.

I imagine he’s here not so much to negotiate as to see how things are unfolding.

“Well, that…”

His silence confirms he knows it’s impossible.

He must realize that he’s in no position to make demands.

When they’re barely able to suppress revolutionary elements in Algeria, how could they reclaim mainland France?

It’s simply absurd.

He must know he’s just throwing a tantrum.

“Our Anti-Comintern Pact nations have suffered tremendous casualties fighting against millions of Commune troops. Will you be able to compensate for this after the Commune government disappears? If the Commune resists, all industrial facilities will be destroyed.”

He has nothing to say, does he?

If the Commune falls, the Free French government won’t need to pay reparations. At least Vichy France had some legitimacy, but these gentlemen have none.

“Please show mercy. If you proceed this way, the French people may harbor resentment that can only be washed away with blood. That would be problematic for us who must liberate France from the Commune’s oppression.”

Pétain is simply clinging to our mercy.

As a last act of resistance, he speaks of harboring resentment.

Unfortunately, I have no intention of being lenient, and just as I was about to speak, Hitler stood up first.

“Why shouldn’t we be compensated for the blood our people shed for a government-in-exile? In this war, the exile government was never officially recognized, while the French Commune on the mainland fought diligently against us as Communist German collaborators! With constant revolutions and regime changes. Having witnessed the Commune army’s atrocities firsthand, we have no choice but to tear France apart to ensure it never again has the capacity to wage war!”

He’s right.

There’s a saying that revenge begets revenge. But that only applies when the ability to seek revenge remains.

With the strong shackles of the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was reborn as Nazi Germany.

If you’re going to kill, you should do it properly. By leaving Germany in an ambiguous state, they started another war.

I intend to strip France of its title as Europe’s land power.

France will take a long time to recover anyway, and under our order, why would they need war-making capabilities?

I plan to tear France apart, with each region having only a self-defense force.

Just the minimum self-defense force, nothing more, nothing less.

I’ll have to discuss this further with the White Army later. For now, I have no choice but to side with Hitler.

“Chancellor Hitler here has personally withstood the combined forces of the Commune and Communist Germany. The Sudetenland has become such a bloodbath that it’s called a sea of blood. No matter what General Pétain says, the countries that have suffered damage won’t stand idle.”

The French Commune actively supported Communist Germany’s war effort, to a degree that Vichy France under Nazi Germany couldn’t even compare to.

If I let this slide, I might face considerable criticism.

If they lack the ability to pay reparations, we’ll have to take their territory and use what we get from it to compensate.

I agree with that approach.

“So, France will be torn apart as well?”

Pétain collapsed into his seat like a puppet with cut strings, his face filled with despair.

“Britain has been planning this all along. Their army was almost completely destroyed due to France’s betrayal. The existence of the exile government is irrelevant. The French Commune ruled the mainland, and they could mobilize such forces because the French people actively participated, recognizing the Commune’s rule. Unlike us, Britain’s sense of betrayal must be enormous.”

We did release the British soldiers who were imprisoned in Dachau and forcibly brought to Berlin.

But there weren’t even 30,000 of them.

They were unnaturally thin for soldiers of the British Empire. Many died while in the concentration camps under Communist Germany.

Upon hearing this news, Churchill, in an effort to maintain his regime, has been showing me all kinds of flattery unbecoming of a British Prime Minister, hoping to tear apart France.

From my perspective, wanting Britain to help us counter America in the Atlantic with the Royal Navy in the future, I’m inclined to grant Churchill’s desperate wish.

Britain’s power comes from its colonies anyway.

Once they give up those colonies, they won’t be able to defeat Russia, which has over 200 million people and extracts enormous resources from its mainland alone, with a formidable military, even without colonies.

This means they have no choice but to follow our order.

At least the British know when to bend after being pushed this far, and just as they acknowledged their hegemony passing to America, they’ll acknowledge it passing to Russia.

France, on the other hand, is truly an untrustworthy nation given its revolutionary history.

It’s fortunate that Rivera is here instead.

If Franco, who advanced to Bordeaux, were here, he might have been conflicted due to his relationship with Pétain.

“Those who can’t even maintain their colonies, tsk.”

Hitler clicked his tongue, openly displaying his contempt.

He seems quite displeased with the French representatives here.

Indeed, even during the Italian landing, the Algerian forces weren’t numerous.

Of course, from the exile government’s perspective, they mobilized as much as they could. In the current war, Free France is an irregular force that’s neither here nor there.

“Well then, let’s discuss Corsica later. I assume there are no objections to ceding Sardinia to Spain.”

“””No objections.”””

“Good.”

For some reason, Hitler is smiling with satisfaction as he looks at the map while we divide Italy.

Something just occurred to me.

Surely this guy hasn’t become obsessed with maps because of what I said? He’s been staring at the map like a madman since I mentioned “pando” (territory).

“And we’ll revive the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in southern Italy. Prince Ferdinand Pius, the claimant to the throne, will be installed to rebuild the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.”

I’ve been planning this for a while. Prince Ferdinand Pius, the throne claimant, has agreed to become the King of the Two Sicilies.

“””No objections.”””

“The Danubian Federation will effectively control northern Italy up to Venice. Additionally, Lombardy will become a puppet state of the Danubian Federation with a Habsburg monarch as the King of Lombardy.”

The territory of the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia has officially become Danubian Federation territory up to Venice. Lombardy has also become nominally independent but is essentially part of the Danubian Federation, just as it was a constituent state of the Austrian Empire.

It’s just wordplay. In effect, it has become Danubian Federation territory.

“No objections.”

Hitler nodded, seemingly satisfied with his allocated territory.

Now we need to proceed with the full division.

I plan to split the remaining Italian territory into the Kingdom of Piedmont, the Papal States, and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.

“Piedmont will be restored as a kingdom with Vittorio Emanuele, the former ruler of the Kingdom of Italy, reinstated as the King of Piedmont.”

“””No objections.”””

Yes, everything has already been arranged.

I’ve already sent people ahead before coming here.

The Italian Communist Party? The government itself is a group of war criminals, so they have no right to protest.

By now, Vittorio Emanuele should have been rescued, and Prince Ferdinand Pius should be here as well.

“The remaining regions will be placed under the revived Papal States. Additionally, in consultation with the Papal States, a low-level federation will be formed consisting of Piedmont, the Two Sicilies, and the Papal States, with the Pope as the chairman under the rule of the Papal States.”

This is the new Italian Federation.

The Pope is merely the head, while the territories are all fragmented.

“””No objections.”””

Instead of unification, we’re placing them under the Pope’s influence.

I think this is reasonably good, isn’t it?

Shortly after, through a meeting with Pope Pius XII, central Italy officially became part of the Papal States, and the Pope assumed the chairmanship of the Italian Federation, consisting of the Papal States, Piedmont, and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.

The rest of the Anti-Comintern Pact nations didn’t particularly object.

Bulgaria has advanced into Serbia, Turkey has reached the Suez, and Romania is just supplying resources.

Even that wasn’t given for free; they sold fuel for money, so it was profitable if anything.

The federated countries agreed to provide troops to join us in attacking the Commune.

It seems the Italian army had followed Mussolini like water being swept away, without much interest in communism itself.

Italy was in an ambiguous situation for accepting communism.

But in the end, there will be bloodshed if we are to cross over.

We’ve just revived the kingdoms and the Papal States, but we’ve roughly divided the soldiers by their origins into each kingdom and the Papal States, placed them under our command, and immediately mobilized them.

I don’t expect much from Italy anyway.

Even without Mussolini’s debuff, they’ve only fought poorly. Generalization is a terrible thing.

I feel like they’re going to mess up something else.

Honestly, I feel so much pity for them that I almost feel bad about tearing them apart.

“So, shall we continue our march into France now?”

Pétain, looking like he’s aged ten more years, asked with the face of someone who has reached enlightenment.

The remaining French forces seem eager to advance quickly, but that’s out of the question.

“Crossing now would result in considerable casualties. It will take significant effort to capture those communists who are determined to block us.”

Even for us, it would be difficult if they stick to us like cockroaches.

How would we stop those stubborn cockroaches?

“We will actively help as well. We must assist in eliminating the Commune for our nation to continue existing.”

Well, shall I drop the bait now?

We might have to destroy Paris, which I’m truly sorry about for Pétain, but it can’t be helped.

“I have a proposal for General Pétain.”

“What kind of proposal?”

“Russia has developed and tested a bomb capable of erasing an entire city.”

This is how I’m letting Pétain know about the existence of the nuclear bomb. I need to ensure he doesn’t oppose using it.

Pétain will have no choice if it means reclaiming even a part of the mainland.

“Are you saying such a weapon exists?”

“You’re free to believe it or not, but the damage would be immense. The Commune wouldn’t be able to resist surrendering.”

More precisely, there would be no leadership left to surrender.

Thorez must be feeling the heat by now, but he won’t be able to back down.

“Indeed. If we capture all the Commune leadership in Paris, this war would end. We could capture both Thorez and Goebbels.”

Hitler seems excited at the thought of capturing communists.

He must have quite a grudge.

“Communists shouldn’t even be given the luxury of a trial. We should respond in kind to their barbaric people’s courts that executed people.”

Of course, we won’t drop it immediately.

We’ll offer surrender a few times, and if they refuse, then we’ll do it.

“So, we have to make this decision?”

“That’s right. You claim to be a government-in-exile, don’t you? If we lend you this weapon and Free France uses it to eliminate the Commune in Paris, we may have provided the weapon, but at least you could claim that the Commune was eliminated by French hands.”

I plan to keep Laroque as one of the pillars of what little will remain of France.

For example, when the exile government forms a new government on the mainland, I’ll ensure Laroque gets a position so they can check and fight each other.

But before that, I want to hear Pétain’s choice now.

“Ha, you tear away our land and then ask me about dropping such a weapon on Paris. You’re too cruel to be called a saint.”

As a final act of resistance, he seems to be questioning whether I’m truly a saint.

Sorry, but I’m Russia’s saint.

That means I have no reason to show restraint for France’s sake.

“I am Russia’s saint, not France’s Saint Joan of Arc. What’s certain is that you could exchange the damage to France for just one city.”

No matter how stubborn the Commune forces are, they would have no choice if their capital disappeared.

“But what if the Commune resists despite that?”

“That’s possible. However, with the government gone, they won’t hold out for long. After witnessing such destructive power, the soldiers would lose their will to fight.”

How many communists would want to fight after seeing a nuclear bomb?

It’s Thorez and his group who would try to hold out with grand declarations about world revolution, not the ordinary soldiers.

In a situation where they’re being crushed by Russia’s overwhelming advance, what more could they do if Thorez and his group are all swept away by nuclear heat?

“Hmm. I’ll need to think about it.”

There’s nothing to think about.

It doesn’t seem likely that Britain will just remain trapped on their island in this war.

Even in the original history, they failed miserably in the Dieppe Raid, didn’t they?

Honestly, I’m concerned about that.

If our Churchill strikes the Commune from behind while we’re distracted, the war would become easier.

Pétain will permit the use of nuclear weapons, knowing what Britain might do if they enter the mainland.

So I’ll drive the point home.

“For your information, Britain is planning to destroy the Commune and tear it to pieces. If your decision comes too late, it could become worse than a revival of the Hundred Years’ War, so please keep this in mind.”

Whether Pétain was a traitor or someone who made an unavoidable choice to protect France in the original history is a divisive topic.

He seems to have become a hero who led the Free French government against the Commune, without such controversy.

But reality is more harsh.