Chapter 1697 Bargaining
In the past, Britain would have been willing to pay any price to keep the Middle East under its control. However, since the rise of a major power in the south in the 20th century, Britain's control over the Middle East has become increasingly strained.
Today, the Middle East has become a hunting ground for East Africa, Germany, and the Soviet Union, and Britain, which has interests in the Middle East, has become the "prey."
In the earliest days, Britain's only competitor in this region was Tsarist Russia, and the Middle East was a strategic direction for Britain to contain Tsarist Russia.
At the end of the 19th century, the unification of Germany and the emergence of East Africa began to threaten Britain's interests in the region. Germany mainly relied on its alliance with the Ottoman Empire. East Africa itself was a major power on the Indian Ocean coast, and the Indian Ocean was bound to become the direction of East Africa's expansion after its rise.
The Ottoman Empire was the strongest power in the Middle East and, in the eyes of the great powers of the 19th century, the fattest piece of pork in the Middle East.
At that time, the Ottoman Empire was practically a plaything of Britain and France. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, with the support of Britain and France, the Ali regime in Egypt almost defeated the Ottoman Empire and became the new regional hegemon.
However, the Ottoman Empire was ultimately able to stabilize the situation, which naturally involved compromises with both countries.
Throughout the nearly one hundred years of the 19th century, it was a history of humiliation for the Ottoman Empire. Ultimately, until the eve of World War I, the Ottoman Empire had completely lost most of its territory, including the Balkans and North Africa.
Even so, the Ottoman Empire, though weakened, was still a formidable power, the largest country in the Middle East.
Now, the Ottoman Empire, once the largest power in the Middle East, has become an important member of the Axis powers led by Germany, and has thus gained a brief respite.
Germany also greatly expanded its influence in the Middle East through the Ottoman Empire. Both the Ottoman Empire and Germany got what they wanted in the cooperation, and the losers were naturally Britain and France, who had once benefited from the Ottoman Empire.
This is similar to the situation where Britain suffered the greatest losses after Japan rose to power in Asia and launched the Far East War, as Britain had the greatest vested interests in the Far East Empire.
Moreover, like the Far Eastern empires, the Ottoman Empire has traditionally been the most powerful country and market in the region.
Therefore, although Germany only controlled the Ottoman Empire, it also meant that Britain lost its largest overseas market in the Middle East.
As for the vested interests of other countries in the Ottoman Empire, after the Napoleonic Wars in the early 19th century and France's defeat, it was basically difficult for them to compete with Britain. Tsarist Russia, on the other hand, was defeated by the combined forces of Britain and France in Crimea in the mid-19th century.
In 1871, France was defeated by Prussia, which led to the unification of the German regions and made France more strategically dependent on Britain.
At that time, East Africa's development was just beginning on the African continent.
In other words, after the Franco-Prussian War of 1871, Britain became the sole winner in the Ottoman Empire, with no other power able to compete with it in the region.
World War I was a turning point. After that, the Ottoman Empire became completely dependent on Germany and cooperated with Germany during the war to completely sever Britain's interests in the Ottoman Empire and settle accounts with it after the war.
Meanwhile, East Africa had become a world power recognized by all, consolidating its hegemony on the African continent and hastily embarking on a new round of expansion overseas.
Before long, the Soviet regime stabilized amidst internal and external troubles and entered a period of rapid development, regaining the former glory of Tsarist Russia in the Middle East.
These three "superpowers" proposed by Chamberlain, with the Middle East as their hunting ground, illustrate the immense pressure Britain faced.
Therefore, Chamberlain viewed the Middle East as a "place of trouble," and Britain's desire to maintain its interests in the Middle East was becoming increasingly difficult.
To put it bluntly, on its own, could Britain have stopped East Africa, Germany, or the Soviet Union?
In this situation, it was not an unfeasible option for Chamberlain to sacrifice some of his interests in the Middle East in exchange for German guarantees, thereby triggering competition between Germany and two other countries.
"Prime Minister Chamberlain, what do you think of what I just said?"
Adolf didn't give Chamberlain much time to consider, urging him on from the side.
Chamberlain gritted his teeth and said, "Prime Minister Adolf, if Germany truly needs to deal with the Soviet Union, then we, Britain, are not incapable of making huge sacrifices for the sake of peace in Europe."
"However, what specific benefits do you wish to gain in the Middle East?"
Previously, Adolf had made exorbitant demands, aiming to seize British interests in the Middle East, which Chamberlain certainly could not agree to. However, Chamberlain could still make decisions regarding certain interests.
Adolf was overjoyed upon hearing this, but he said calmly, "We also understand Britain's difficulties, so we won't go too far. I think this is out of strategic necessity for the encirclement of the Soviet Union."
"It would be reasonable for you to hand over or allow Germany access to places like Persia, Kuwait, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, Syria, and Lebanon. At the same time, we also want to obtain a military base in Cyprus to further strengthen the blockade against the Soviet Navy."
Even though Chamberlain was mentally prepared, he was still taken aback by Adolf's greed, and the French Foreign Minister Bonnet also became emotional at this moment.
The regions Adolf demanded included those within France's sphere of influence. For example, when Adolf demanded control of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, he did not specify whether it included France's Djibouti colony or referred only to Britain's Somaliland and Gulf of Aden colonies.
Syria and Lebanon are among the most important regions for France's operations in the Middle East.
So Foreign Minister Bonne finally spoke up at this moment: "Mr. Adolf, your country's demands have gone too far!"
"Even if it's for dealing with the Soviet Union, some of the regions you mentioned wouldn't be very effective in this regard. For example, the Soviet Navy, not to mention that you already control the Black Sea straits."
"The Soviet Navy itself was a joke; its strength was not even enough to threaten the naval power of Germany and its allies along the Black Sea coast."
The Black Sea Fleet was one of the most powerful naval forces in the Soviet Union, but its only battleship was still an old ship from the Tsarist era. Despite refitting, its speed, air defense, and command and control systems were outdated.
The Black Sea coast already had naval deployments by both Germany and Italy, and the Ottoman Empire, Romania, and Bulgaria were all allies of Germany.
Under these circumstances, it was entirely uncertain whether the Soviet Navy could even withstand the Axis naval forces in the Black Sea, let alone break out of it.
Therefore, Adolf's claim of a threat from the Soviet Navy was a joke in itself.
At this point, Prime Minister Chamberlain also spoke up, saying, "The Soviet Navy is now in great decline, and as Mr. Bonne said, it does not pose any threat to Germany. Therefore, some of the demands made by Prime Minister Adolf are indeed somewhat unreasonable."
Adolf was naturally very dissatisfied with the change in their attitudes. He said coldly, "Hmph, we Germans took on this responsibility entirely for the sake of the overall interests and peace of Europe. Shouldn't Britain and France compensate Germany for this?"
Benito chimed in at this point, saying, "Dealing with the Soviet Union is a thankless task, and even if we don't intervene, can the Middle East remain safe from threats from the Soviet Union and certain extra-regional countries?"
The extra-regional countries Benito refers to here are clearly East Africa, since apart from Europe, only East Africa can get a share of the Middle East pie.
Seeing Adolf and Benito's tough stance, Chamberlain softened his stance again.
"Prime Minister Adolf and Prime Minister Benito, you must understand the difficulties our two countries face. If it were to deal with the Soviet Union, Britain and France would naturally not stand idly by. However, we must also give an explanation to our own people."
"How about this, we can each compromise. Britain and France can cede some territory to you, making it your sphere of influence, but it must be something we can accept."
“Especially in those places that are truly facing the Soviet threat, we can hand them over to Germany, while in those areas that are not threatened by the Soviet Union.”
"We could also cede some economic benefits to compensate Germany and Italy. Do you two think what I'm saying is reasonable?"
Adolf and Benito exchanged glances, and then Adolf said, "Prime Minister Chamberlain, what you said makes some sense. We can accept some losses, but we can't go too far astray from what I mentioned before."
Seeing that Adolf showed that he was willing to negotiate, Chamberlain breathed a sigh of relief, but he still cursed the two robbers in his heart.
No matter how you look at it, Britain suffered a huge loss this time, and Adolf even pretended to be a victim.
Chamberlain was prepared to bleed, but his Foreign Secretary, Bonnet, was clearly worried about the outcome and appeared somewhat agitated.
Chamberlain subtly nudged him with his elbow, signaling him to calm down.
"In that case, Mr. Adolf, I think that for most of the eastern part of the Middle East, we should primarily compensate Germany economically."
“For example, in places like Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine, German companies can also enter these places, and we and France can give up some market share.”
"Regarding your country's claims to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and Cyprus, we can also grant Germany a stable military base in each of the relevant regions, thereby safeguarding Germany's local economic interests."
This was the limit of the compromise Chamberlain could offer Germany.
He could not sell off the entire British colony to Germany; if he did, his country would certainly not accept the outcome of such negotiations upon his return.
Similarly, he could not make the decision to sell French colonies to Germany. On the one hand, he had to consider the feelings of France, and on the other hand, France was only an ally of Britain. If France's core interests were threatened, Britain could not command France.
However, Chamberlain found it barely acceptable to relinquish some economic benefits and grant Germany one or two locations to build military bases.
For example, around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, Britain and France could easily find a military base and lease it to Germany free of charge.
Just like Djibouti in its previous life, several major powers have built military bases in Djibouti, such as the Far Eastern Empire, the United States, Japan, France, Germany, and Italy.
The area along the Bab el-Mandeb Strait now controlled by Britain and France is much larger than Djibouti was in the past, including the British colony of Somaliland, as well as the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea coast on the Arabian Peninsula.
Finding a location acceptable to Germany for building a military base is not too difficult.
Compared to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the Suez Canal was the strategic core for Britain to control the Red Sea shipping lanes, so allowing German military forces to enter the Bab el-Mandeb Strait was still acceptable to Britain.
Foreign Minister Bonne did not have much objection to Chamberlain's proposal, after all, Germany was currently powerful, and France, like Britain, had prepared to bleed money before arriving in Warsaw.
In his view, it is a very worthwhile deal to get Germany to back down by offering only economic benefits.
Of course, here Bonet has implicitly acknowledged that Germany's future new military bases in the Middle East will definitely be established within Britain's sphere of influence.
After all, France only had two small colonies in the Middle East and along the Bab el-Mandeb Strait: Syria and Lebanon were large territories for France, while Djibouti was an even smaller place.
Britain could not possibly allow German military bases to encroach on the already small French colonies!
Chamberlain would certainly have been willing to do so if France could accept it, but the answer was obvious: France would not accept it. Therefore, Chamberlain could only let Britain suffer a greater loss.
Chamberlain said, "Prime Minister Adolf, look at my proposal. Is it acceptable to Germany? If Germany cannot accept this proposal, then there is nothing we, Britain, can do. This is our limit."
Adolf did not immediately give Chamberlain an answer, but instead pretended to think and fell silent.
Time passed second by second, but to Chamberlain it seemed to stand still, putting immense psychological pressure on him.
In this somber atmosphere, awaiting the judgment of "fate," if Germany could not accept it, then Britain would have no choice but to prepare for a complete break with Germany.
Chamberlain was unaware that a cold sweat had broken out on his back as he waited breathlessly for Adolf's reply in the warm Villanuev Palace.
After an unknown amount of time, Adolf slowly spoke, "Prime Minister Chamberlain, out of respect for you and for your long-standing contributions to the friendship between Germany and Great Britain, I, on behalf of Germany, can accept this part of your proposal, however..."
Chamberlain's heart, which had just been at ease, was now on edge again, fearing that Adolf would make some more difficult demands.
"However, in order to protect Germany's overseas interests, more places should be added for Germany to choose from, and this should not be limited to the eastern Mediterranean and the Red Sea coast. Other places in the Middle East, as I mentioned before, should not be omitted, such as Persia and Kuwait."
"According to what you've said, Prime Minister Chamberlain, these places should be considered areas in the Middle East that were directly threatened by the Soviet Union!"
One or two military bases were clearly not enough to satisfy Adolf and Germany. Germany wanted to establish a stable military system between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. In Adolf's view, there should be at least four military bases. With Italy's Red Sea colonies, the Axis powers could open up a passage to the Indian Ocean.
(End of this chapter)
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