Chapter 1688 Internal Divisions in Poland

To be realistic, in 1938, Japan could only dominate in Asia. If it were in Europe, Japan would barely be considered a second-rate power. In Europe, Germany was undoubtedly in a class of its own, followed by the Soviet Union, Britain, and France, but these two countries were severely unbalanced.

The Soviet navy was clearly not very strong, Britain had a weak army, and France's overall military capabilities were somewhat lacking.

In this respect, France's main disadvantage is its small population; if it weren't for this limitation, France's war potential would certainly be considerable.

As for France's resource shortage, it can only be said that it is on par with Germany. Germany does have an advantage over France in resources such as coal and iron ore, but France has many overseas colonies. If France can develop West Africa alone, it will not have to worry too much about resources.

France's main problem now is structural. Without addressing the deeper issues, France will likely remain in this stagnant state of development.

Regardless of whether it's the Soviet Union, Britain, or the Soviet Union, Japan is still somewhat inferior in terms of military strength. If we compare their overall national power, Japan lags even further behind.

Therefore, even if Japan is classified as a second-rate European power, it would only be at the bottom. In fact, Japan and Italy should be ranked as third-rate powers.

...

October 1938.

Warsaw, Poland.

Poland today is far less powerful than it was in the previous era. Before World War II, Poland not only considered itself the fifth strongest country in Europe, but its overall national strength was also among the top twenty in the world.

The claim that Poland is the fifth strongest country in Europe is clearly an exaggeration by the Polish themselves; in the previous life, Poland's apparent military strength before the war was indeed that of a nation.

However, this does not mean that Poland was necessarily stronger than countries like Spain and Sweden. Rather, Poland's geopolitical situation in its previous life was too unfavorable, so it had to maintain a high level of military preparedness.

After all, in its previous life, Poland was sandwiched between the Soviet Union and Germany, and both of these countries had an extremely strong desire for land.

Of course, Poland itself was not a good thing either. Before World War II, it could be said that Poland had no good relations with any of its neighboring countries and was a bully that preyed on the weak.

This is not surprising, though. Poles and Russians were originally Slavs. Looking at the historical performance of Tsarist Russia (the Soviet Union) and Serbia, we can see that regardless of whether it was West Slavs, East Slavs, or Yugoslavs, they all had similarities in national character.

Their way of dealing with their neighbors reveals a kind of "barbarity" and "vulgarity." They seem to lack common sense, don't know how to compromise or back down, and are prone to provoking public anger.

The Soviet Union needs no introduction; its past performance can be described as "a disgraceful record." Of course, the Soviet Union also had a "frank" side, such as its support for its allies in the past. But this also proves that the Soviet Union, or rather the East Slavs, was not good at meticulous governance and doing things according to the rules.

This led to the Soviet Union and its allies being completely open and honest with each other when things were good, but also extremely irrational and domineering when things were bad.

Serbia is also a very bold country. During the Ottoman Empire, it always fought against the Ottoman Empire, which can obviously be considered an advantage. However, after independence, it began to show off its power in the Balkans, but its strength was not very good.

For example, Serbia's various provocations against Austria-Hungary before World War I were, to be honest, a completely "brainless" act.

Finally, there's Poland. Before World War II, Poland was extremely arrogant and was ultimately partitioned by Germany and the Soviet Union, which was entirely deserved.

However, Poland now clearly does not have the same arrogance it had before World War II, especially when facing Germany.

The Polish Presidential Palace in Warsaw.

Due to the influence of East Africa on history, the history of Poland has long been distorted, and the Polish president in 1938 became a military strongman, Piłsudski.

In his previous life, Piłsudski was actually the "Father of the Nation" and a powerful ruler of Poland. However, in his previous life, Piłsudski mainly controlled the military and did not hold the "nominal" position of national leader. Instead, he appointed a puppet he supported as president.

Now, he has become the direct leader of Poland, both in terms of position and actual power.

At that moment, Piłsudski was in the presidential office discussing Germany with high-ranking Polish officials.

Piłsudski, holding a cup of tea, addressed the people in the office: "Gentlemen, just yesterday, German Chancellor Adolf sent me a telegram. He hopes to conduct a large-scale military exercise involving the Axis powers in Poland. What are your thoughts on this?"

Influenced by East Africa, tea was promoted and popularized more widely in Eastern Europe than in the previous life, so the tea in Piłsudski's hand came from East Africa.

After all, East Africa, as a new world "tea giant," has achieved parity with the Far Eastern empires and Britain in the field of tea production after so many years of development.

Of course, this mainly refers to the international market, since the status and consumption of tea in the Far Eastern Empire are far superior to those of other countries.

However, in the international market, the Far Eastern Empire was not very strong due to its own decline in power.

With East Africa becoming the new "tea giant," its main competitor is naturally Britain, which owns two major high-quality tea-producing regions: India and Sri Lanka.

However, the fierce competition between East Africa and Britain in the world tea market was mainly concentrated in the 1920s. Today, after a long period of competition and adjustment, the two countries that control the world tea trade have embarked on a path of cooperation.

The main reason for this situation is that the market for tea as a beverage has not been explored in depth enough. Therefore, after more than a decade of competition, both Britain and East Africa realized that instead of fighting to the death in the market, it would be better to join hands to further explore new markets.

Although tea is known as one of the "world's three major beverages," it is undoubtedly less popular than coffee in the world.

Therefore, British and East African tea merchants took this as a starting point and dedicated themselves to equating tea with "high-end" and "elegant" to market and promote it to more countries and people.

Britain occupies an important position in the world's cultural and public opinion hegemony, especially as the leader of the First Industrial Revolution, making Britain a benchmark for most backward countries in the world to learn from.

This has led to other countries adopting some of Britain's cultural and lifestyle habits, such as tea culture, at least in the former Commonwealth.

Since the 1920s, following World War I, the rise of East Africa has clearly led to a certain degree of popularity for East African culture and lifestyle around the world.

The reputation of East Africa as the world's leading industrial power has brought with it the export and promotion of East African culture.

With the guidance of two world superpowers, Britain and East Africa, one old and one new, tea was promoted smoothly as a high-end product in the international community.

At least on the European continent, tea drinking is now much more common than in the previous life, especially in countries outside of Britain, Poland being one of them.

East African tea entered the Polish market very early. Even before tea cultivation in East Africa was on a large scale, there was already some tea trade between East Africa and Poland. For example, East African merchant ships transported tea from the Far Eastern Empire or India to various countries in Central and Eastern Europe for trade.

This enabled East Africa to establish a large-scale tea sales system in Europe very early on. After the East African tea industry was fully formed in the 20th century, East African tea began to flourish in Central and Eastern Europe thanks to this sales system.

Polish President Piłsudski's two hobbies are smoking cigars and drinking tea.

Piłsudski believed that drinking tea helped him stay alert, so a teacup could be seen in front of him at important meetings.

When Piłsudski mentioned that Germany wanted to organize a military exercise in Poland, Polish officials began to make detailed deductions and discussions.

His confidant, Reitz, asked, "Your Excellency, do you know the scale of the military exercises that Germany is referring to?"

Pišković had previously mentioned that this was a "large-scale military exercise," hence Rez's question.

Piłsudski said, "The scale of this exercise is certainly not small, and it may even involve hundreds of thousands of people, because Germany has said that this is a large-scale exercise of the Axis powers, not just Germany alone."

"This means that most of the countries in Central and Eastern Europe and Southern Europe will have to participate at that time."

Central and Eastern European countries naturally refer to Germany, Poland, Western Ukraine, etc., while Southern Europe mainly includes countries like Italy and Spain.

Rez speculated, "The purpose of this military exercise may be aimed at the Soviets, after all, we are already on the front line of the confrontation between Germany and the Soviet Union."

President Piłsudski said: "That is the case. At present, in Europe, Britain and France are very weak in their attitude towards Germany. Only the relationship between the Soviet Union and Germany has been relatively rigid, and the two countries have not shown any attitude of peaceful coexistence."

"Especially in recent years, both countries have intensified their arms race, which further illustrates the current tension in the relationship between the two countries."

President Piłsudski now does not believe that Germany will clash with both Britain and France, because Britain and France have consistently shown compromise and concessions in their attitude toward Germany, as evidenced by the previous Spanish Civil War.

Moreover, if Germany were to go to war with Britain and France first, Piłsudski did not believe that the Soviet Union would stand idly by. If the Soviet Union were to take advantage of this opportunity to launch a war against Germany, Germany would be attacked from both sides.

Conversely, the attitudes of Britain and France led Piłsudski to believe that if Germany chose to go to war with the Soviet Union first, these two countries might not have the courage to declare war on Germany.

Rez said, "If that's the case, then this military exercise is a good thing for us. After all, there is no room for easing the deep-seated hatred between us and the Soviet Union, so I think we should actively cooperate with Germany."

However, Reitz's view was immediately opposed. Polish General Sosznkowski said, "Your Excellency Reitz, I do not agree with your view. On the contrary, I am more wary of Germany now."

Sosnkovsky's words instantly chilled the atmosphere in the office, and many people were taken aback by his remarks.

The relationship between Poland and Germany is quite "friendly" now, after all, Poland is Germany's little brother.

President Piłsudski asked with great interest, "General Sosnkovsky, what are your thoughts? You may also share them."

Soshnkovsky was also his capable assistant, so President Piłsudski trusted him as much and was willing to listen to the general's opinions.

Sosnkowski said with great concern, "Your Excellency, I will be frank: the threat that Germany poses to Poland now actually exceeds that of the Soviet Union."

"Does everyone still remember the outcome of World War I? After World War I, the two major camps, the Central Powers and the Allied Powers, were essentially evenly matched."

"But in reality, Germany still had a greater military advantage, which directly led to Germany acquiring approximately 50,000 square kilometers of land from Eastern Europe after the war."

"But everyone, do you remember where this 50,000 square kilometers of land came from?"

Sosnkowski's words instantly evoked some unpleasant memories for everyone present. After all, the territory that Germany expanded eastward after World War I was undoubtedly their own land in the eyes of the Poles.

President Piłsudski's expression also turned serious, and he asked Sosnkovsky, "Do you mean that Germany might still encroach on our territory in the future?"

Sosnkovsky nodded heavily: "Your Excellency, what do you think are Germany's chances of winning if it were to go to war with the Soviet Union and Britain and France now?"

After a moment's thought, President Piłsudski shook his head and said, "It's hard to say. If Germany were to go to war with three countries at the same time, the situation might turn out like the outcome of World War I."

President Piłsudski actually leaned towards the assumption that Germany might not wage war against three countries simultaneously. However, who could say for sure? Therefore, he could only assume the worst-case scenario so that Poland could make the most cautious plans.

Sosnkovsky nodded and said, "Okay! Let's assume that the two sides will draw again. If the two major camps re-form this time and it ends in another draw, then it is possible that countries like Britain and France will sacrifice the interests of other countries to gain concessions from Germany."

"Your Excellency, what do you think Britain and France will offer as bargaining chips at that time?"

Before President Piłsudski could answer, Sosznkowski said with a somber expression, "In the most likely case, Poland will ultimately bear all the costs."

"If the two camps were to fight to a draw again, Britain and France would certainly not cede any land in Western Europe in order to force Germany to back down, especially France, whose own territory would certainly not be compromised in any way by Germany."

"The Low Countries, namely the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg, are an important buffer zone between Britain, France, and Germany. I think Britain and France will actively push for Germany to abandon its illusions about these places, and the same goes for Denmark."

The Low Countries were seen by Britain as a bulwark. If any country invaded this region, it would directly threaten the security of the English Channel. Obviously, Britain could not accept the annexation of this region by a continental European power.

The importance of this region to France is self-evident; it has always been a focal point of contention between France and Germany.

(End of this chapter)