While Hersman was busy building the Greater Middle East Co-Prosperity Sphere, the Soviet Red Army, singing the Internationale, under the command of Marshal Kulik, commander of the Central Asian Front, marched into Iran's Khorasan region and Afghanistan with great vigor and high spirits.
When the news reached London, it immediately made the British reactionaries led by Winston Churchill nervous.
Stalin is stretching his claws into India The British Empire has been so badly mixed, the Mediterranean sea power is gone, the Middle East oil has also been lost, and Gibraltar is likely to be unprotected, and the fleets of Italy and France are about to come up to the Atlantic.
If India is taken away by the Soviet Union again, what will the British Empire still fight, even if the cabinet is to fight in wartime, the public opinion of Britain will be turned to compromise, and the good life of the subjects of the British Empire will not be based on the three treasures of Middle Eastern oil, South African gold, and India The Middle East is gone, India and Ah San are lost again, and what are the big guys in the British Empire who are fighting for their lives not to fight with the Germans Moreover, if the Soviet Union attacked India, it would mean that they were completely on the same side as Germany.
So what hope is there for the British Empire "No, the Soviets must not be allowed to take Afghanistan easily" Prime Minister Winston Churchill roared angrily: "These damned Bolsheviks must be made to suffer a little more in Afghanistan." ” "Mr.
Prime Minister, you mean that we want troops to enter Afghanistan," asked Sir Deere, Chief of the Imperial General Staff, with some uncertainty.
"No," said Churchill, taking a sharp puff on his cigar and shaking his fat head vigorously, "we cannot go to war with the Soviet Union now, at least we must take the initiative to avoid such a situation." ” He thought for a moment and then said, "But once the Soviet Union invades India, we can't help but put up any resistance.
Sir Deere, transfer our troops on the east bank of the Suez Canal and in East Africa to India, and make Admiral Auchinleck the commander-in-chief of the Anglo-Indian forces.
Ordered him to rebuild the Gurkha troops lost in North Africa as soon as possible, we need a lot of Gurkha mercenaries now. ” "Prime Minister, the Middle East has just given up," Sir Dill asked.
"Give it up," Churchill sighed.
If Stalin had not marched into Afghanistan, Britain might have been able to hold out in the Middle East for a few days.
But now that India is in danger, the British Empire will need to use its remaining divisions in the Middle East and East Africa to defend India.
"However, the Gulf of Aden and the Persian Gulf still need to be blocked as much as possible."
Churchill spoke to Alexander the Admiralty and Pound, the First Sea Secretary.
The Gulf of Aden and the Persian Gulf are the only routes for Iranian crude oil to be shipped to Europe, and in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia near the Persian Gulf, oil fields have been discovered in recent years.
If the Germans had worked hard to develop it, it would soon have become a large oil field on a par with Iran's Khuzestan oil-producing region.
At that time, the Germans would get an astronomical amount of crude oil from the Middle East in a year And if Britain can blockade the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Aden, then the rich oil resources of Iran, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia will not be able to help Germany for the time being.
"Prime Minister, we are building large airports on Socotra and Muscat, where we have ground troops, anti-aircraft guns and radar stations."
Sir Pound replied, "But the Eastern Fleet and the Anglo-Indian Army are very short of aircraft, especially of high-performance aircraft. ” At the mention of airplanes, Churchill's brain hurts.
Isn't it because the British Empire has fallen to this point that it is now lost in the Mediterranean Sea because there are no good planes, and it is very difficult for British planes to transfer to the Indian Ocean.
Five or six thousand kilometers away, there is still German territory in the middle.
It is simply impossible to fly over.
If you can't fly over, you can only ship slowly.
"What high-performance aircraft do we have to deploy now," Churchill asked with a frown.
"The fighters with better performance we have the Spitfire, the 40 and the 51 that has just recently been introduced from the United States.
As for the bombers and attack aircraft, in addition to our Blenheim, Wellington, Swordfish and Big Mackerel, we also got the American A20, which we call the Boston 3, which is a twin-engine bomber with very good performance. ” "Okay, then deploy the planes in place as soon as possible, and the Royal Navy can also consider introducing American carrier-based dive bombers and carrier-based torpedo attack aircraft."
Churchill paused and then brought the conversation back to Afghanistan, saying, "But Afghanistan used to be a tough country to deal with, wasn't it?"
Britain has suffered a lot in Afghanistan in history, and Britain fought Afghanistan three times from the end of the 19th century to 1921, but lost each time.
"Yes, Afghanistan is very difficult to deal with, the terrain is complex, the people are fierce and aggressive, there are many armed tribes, and it is difficult to exterminate."
Sir Dill frowned, "But they may not be able to deal with the Russians, after all, the Russians are very cruel." ” "Then we should help the Afghan people resist the Soviets, but not openly."
Churchill bit the butt of his cigar and thought, "We can't let the Soviet Union eat Afghanistan in peace, or Stalin will rush into India anytime and anywhere."
But let's not give the Afghans our own equipment, give them some American-made weaponry.
Is there such equipment on the Indian side?"
"There are some, but not many."
Sir Deere told Churchill.
Britain urgently procured many light weapons from the United States after the defeat in the Battle of France, some of which had already been sent to India.
"Okay, that's it," Churchill decided, when a secretary at 10 Downing Street walked in briskly and reported the good news: the American cruise ship "Mississippi Concern" had been damaged by a German submarine off the coast of the Azores.
"I think it's a sign that the Germans are starting to get carried away," Churchill concluded, taking two puffs of his cigarette, "that perhaps they will soon be going to attack neutral merchant ships at sea, as they did at the end of the last World War, and that will prompt the United States to speed up its entry into the war." ” "What one of our cruise ships was damaged" At about the same time, President Roosevelt, who was studying Afghanistan with Secretary of State Hull and Secretary of Commerce Hopkins, also received news of the attack on the USS Mississippi Princess.
"President, I think this is an opportunity."
"We can immediately declare our presence in Iceland and the Azores to defend U.S. freedom of navigation," Hopkins cautioned After the battle in the Mediterranean was decided, Roosevelt decided to have American troops stationed in Iceland, the Azores, and the Canary Islands.
However, the United States at present is not the gendarme of the world in later generations, and it is still relatively cautious in sending troops overseas, especially to the European sphere of influence.
Iceland is okay to say, after all, it has been occupied by the British, and the US military is just going to take over, and now a small number of US troops from the front station have already moved in, but it has not yet been announced to the public.
As for the presence in the Azores and the Canary Islands, there were some troubles, with Portugal and Spain rejecting the American request.
Spain even deployed a small number of BF109 fighters, HE112 fighters and Ju88 bombers to the Canary Islands to put on a posture of preparing for resistance.
Although Spain's military strength is now weak, both the BF109 and the JU88 have shown their strength in the European theater.
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With these planes in the Canary Islands, the U.S.
Navy would have to take the risk of sinking large surface ships if it wanted to take the islands.
Therefore, the plan to enter the Canary Islands can only be put on hold for the time being.
And Portugal's military strength was weaker than Spain's, and Salazar's government followed a pro-British line, so the rejection of the United States was only lip service and did not send additional troops to the Azores.
Therefore, the US Navy decided to wait for an opportunity to "enter" the Azores, and the difference was just an excuse.
"It's a good excuse, and that's it."
Roosevelt thought a little before slapping the head, and then the topic returned to Afghanistan.
"Our British friends seem to be very unhappy with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan," Roosevelt said, "and it seems that they are not willing to give up India." ” "President, if India is lost, the British may not have any idea of confronting Germany any longer," Secretary of State Hull said, "and now the Soviets are challenging the British bottom line." ” "Then what are we going to do, tell Stalin straightforwardly to get him out of Afghanistan" Hopkins shook his head and said, "President, we can't do this.
Because in Stalin's plan, India must have been paid by the USSR for fighting against Germany. ” "But the British won't agree."
Roosevelt shrugged, "It seems that we are in a very awkward position when it comes to India. ” "We can advise Stalin not to try to enter India before defeating Germany," Hopkins pondered.
"The Indian problem should be resolved after the war."
"So can we provide some secret help to the Afghan government," Roosevelt thought for a moment and asked again.
"Of course you can, but it has to be secret."
"It's easy to get some German-made weapons and equipment to be provided to Afghanistan, because the Germans have been selling arms since they were re-armed, and many countries in South America have bought German weapons and equipment, and we have a lot of them." ” "Okay, then let's do it quickly," President Roosevelt nodded, and said with a smile, "I've heard that Afghanistan is a difficult country to deal with, and the British have suffered a lot there, and maybe the Soviets will have some trouble." ” t1706231537: