The Rise Of Australasia-Chapter 1143 - 860: The British Throne Crisis
Upon his arrival in London, Minister Romon's first course of action was to meet with the renowned faction of war advocates in Britain, expressing his apprehension about Germany's terrifying military might and his own resolute war intentions.
Although Winston Churchill was far removed from the government, he had previously held a variety of cabinet positions, including Minister of Internal Affairs, Navy Secretary, Minister of Munitions, Secretary of Army, Air Force Minister, Minister for Colonial Affairs, and Minister of Finance, which meant he still possessed considerable standing in British politics.
After listening to Minister Romon's firm stance on war, this former cabinet member, now transformed into a writer and renowned critic, suggested with implication, "Perhaps the fate of our countries that stand behind us will be decided by the meetings of tomorrow."
On April 10, 1936, Prime Minister Baldwin hosted a diplomatic meeting with Minister Romon, who represented France.
At this meeting, Minister Romon brought up the German-Austrian war that had erupted two days before and bluntly stated, "I do not believe this is merely a war between Germany and Austria; it is a great war that spreads across the whole of Europe.
France needs the support of Britain; it is the crucial assurance for our victory over Germany. Without support from Britain, France will be defeated in this war, and we would have to seek ways to minimize casualties in order to save a France on the brink of annihilation."
Minister Romon's message was simple. Summing it up in one sentence, it was: If Britain fights, I will fight; if Britain does not, I will surrender—thus threatening Prime Minister Baldwin and the British Government.
If this had been one year ago, Prime Minister Baldwin would have sneered at the French threat, even making direct mockery of it, paying no mind at all to the Frenchmen's behavior.
But now things were different. Germany was far more powerful than a year earlier, presenting a much greater threat to the British. What's more, Prime Minister Baldwin, seeing the unusual calmness and resolve in Minister Romon's eyes, couldn't help but start to waver
If Minister Romon were alone, Prime Minister Baldwin would not care about his words. But the problem was, what Minister Romon represented was the entire French government.
If this was the unanimous view of the French government, then the British Government had to consider it. If France were indeed forced to give up resistance, could Britain still defeat Germany, now ruling all of Central and Western Europe?
New n𝙤vel chapters are published on novelbuddy.cσ๓.
Although it was highly unlikely that France would surrender, Prime Minister Baldwin did not dare to gamble on that slim chance. If Germany were allowed to dominate Central and Western Europe, threatening the hegemony of the British Empire, his tenure as Prime Minister of Britain would come to an end, and he would undoubtedly face the anger of the majority of the British people.
However, joining the war and aiding France was exactly what Prime Minister Baldwin did not want to see. The devastation brought to Britain by the last great superpower war was still fresh in memory, which made the British Government home to many doves.
For the relatively conservative Prime Minister Baldwin, going against the general opinion and waging war would be far more difficult than having forced Edward VIII to abdicate.
After all, in the case of Edward VIII, Prime Minister Baldwin was considered to be on the moral high ground and had received support from the Church, various Colonial Governments, and the British people.
But waging a war had consequences that would not be bearable by Prime Minister Baldwin alone.
Seeing Prime Minister Baldwin's indecisive demeanor, Minister Romon seized the opportunity to propose his plan regarding Australasia: "Your Excellency, Prime Minister, I understand what you are worried about. But please trust that if your country joins the battlefield, France will have absolute certainty of victory.
If we can persuade Australasia to join this war—with your country's and Australasia's alliance, I believe the Australasians will not refuse.
With Australasia's assistance, we will have absolute certainty of winning the war. At the same time, we can prevent any country from profiting from this war.
After the war is over, your country will still be the most powerful nation, and France will not seek more land. Our goal is to maintain the status quo."
"Australasia?" Prime Minister Baldwin nodded silently, his doubts about Minister Romon's claim of absolute certainty in victory somewhat lessened.
According to the current recognized ranking of national power, Britain, France, and Australasia are supposed to be the top three in the world. Even though Germany's sudden rise has rendered this ranking somewhat unreliable, it's still roughly accurate.
Within the German-Italian Island Alliance, only Germans rank securely within the top five. Italy and the Island Nation each have their flaws, only managing to hover around the eighth spot, contending for the fifth; they are certainly not stable superpowers.
Approaching from the perspective that Britain is stronger than Germany, France is stronger than Italy, and Australasia is superior to the Island Nation, this war does indeed seem winnable.
Though Germany has another ally in Spain, France also has the Austrian Empire as a formidable ally, which altogether presents an even more robust force.
However, these assumptions could not persuade Prime Minister Baldwin to agree to join the war. The conservative Prime Minister Baldwin still had all sorts of reservations.
"You have accounted for most of the Powers, but you have not considered the Russians," Prime Minister Baldwin pondered for a while before saying, "Russians are also a threat, and if we cannot get the Russians to join the war as well, I do not think this war will be beneficial to the British Empire."
"Russians cannot possibly avoid this war," Prime Minister Romon said with a smile, "The Russian invasion of Poland shows that Russians still maintain the Tsardom of Russia's immense ambition for territories.
Moreover, they will absolutely not allow Germany to dominate Europe, nor will they allow the existence of such a powerful country in Eastern Europe that could threaten their capital, Berlin, at will.
We have already built the Maginot Line on the borders, and we can rely on the Maginot Line to keep the German Army at bay. Once the Western Europe offensive reaches a standstill, the war between Germany and Russia will not be far off.
By then, all we need to do is to quietly stay within the Maginot Line and watch the super-battle between Germany and Russia unfold."
Although he had his unique thoughts, Minister Romon's impression of the Germans was still stuck in World War I and the previous wars; naturally, he did not anticipate that the laboriously built Maginot Line by the French would hardly be effective in the upcoming war.
Prime Minister Baldwin, being a contemporary, naturally had no doubt about Minister Romon's words. Prime Minister Baldwin was also aware of the Maginot Line, which the French had built at great cost.
Even with meticulous preparation by the Germans, to breach the French Maginot Line would require at least several months.
This time could be used to prepare for war, and it would be perfect if the Germans could be forced to focus on Eastern Europe.
"Minister Romon, the matter of war still needs to go through Congress and Cabinet deliberations; please forgive me for not being able to give you a definite answer. If possible, I hope you can attend tomorrow's meeting, and I will try to secure an opportunity for you," Prime Minister Baldwin said with a smile at the end of the discussion, giving Minister Romon a pie in the sky.
Minister Romon could only nod helplessly, placing his hopes on tomorrow's meeting.
It now seemed, convincing Prime Minister Baldwin directly through his authority to get Britain to join the war was impossible.
This also meant that Minister Romon must get through the British Cabinet and Congress and gain the support of the British Faction of War Advocates to coax Britain into the anti-German alliance.
What Prime Minister Baldwin did not expect was that before the meeting of the next day, he was faced with an even more severe crisis.
On the afternoon of April 10, the famous politician and writer Winston Churchill published an article in the newspaper, clearly outlining the ongoing war between Germany and Austria, and expressing a very pessimistic view, "Britain is gradually walking towards its demise, conceding step by step to a failing country, successfully handing over the title of contender for European dominion.
If the British Government does not awaken in time, by the time Germany defeats Austria, Britain will face a terrifying European Continent superpower."
At the end of the article, Churchill subtly mentioned the current crisis with the throne in Britain, as well as the ongoing disputes between Edward VIII and the government—over that twice-divorced woman.
The effect on public opinion was achieved.
With the involvement of a vast number of newspapers, this news report quickly spread throughout the United Kingdom. It was impossible for the British Government to block all the publishing newspapers in a short time, as this seemed like a premeditated action, where all new publishers promptly printed the news and distributed the newspapers at an extremely fast rate to all regions of Britain.
"Britain's crisis has arrived, and our King is still quarreling with the Cabinet over a woman," some newspapers with ulterior motives quickly understood such news, causing widespread heated discussion among the British people.
Although such newspapers and publications were quickly banned by the British Government, the heated discussions among the public not only did not stop but became even more intense.
Merely on the second day, the British people erupted in protests, opposing Edward VIII's inaction, and opposing Edward VIII's marriage to the twice-divorced Mrs. Simpson.
Now that was fine, the contradiction that initially was just between the British Royal Family and the Cabinet directly evolved into a contradiction between the British Royal Family and the people.
Although the key figure in the dispute was Edward VIII, as the King of the United Kingdom, he directly implicated the British royal family.
The day after the protests erupted, within the meeting hall of Buckingham Palace, members of the British royal family, namely Edward VIII, the Duke of York, the Duke of Gloucester, and the Duke of Kent, held a private meeting that lasted for two hours.
This crisis between the British government and the royal family also indefinitely postponed the meeting that Minister Romon was looking forward to.
However, the good news was that Edward VIII was very likely to be forced to abdicate. His successor, the Duke of York, appeared to be a capable figure who disagreed with the appeasement policy, potentially aligned with the Faction of War Advocates, according to the well-known Winston Churchill.
