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**National Duma**

I hear the troops that were sent to the United States are returning one by one.

Now it’s about time to start considering joining the fight. Apparently, there’s someone who made quite a name for themselves during this deployment to the United States.

I’m about to find out who that is from the White Army.

“Hmm, I’ve heard there are some individuals from the recent American deployment who have made quite significant achievements.”

“Yes. They are former Red Army members from the Civil War. However, they defected pretty quickly back then.”

So they defected from a concentration camp? It would be great if they were someone noteworthy.

Otherwise, did some nobody gain a bit of weight this time?

“Who are they?”

“They are Mikhail Tukhachevsky and Georgy Zhukov.”

“Tukhachevsky was in the army?”

“Yes. After being dragged to Siberia, he expressed his intention to defect.”

I had forgotten about that. It’s easy to overlook when it’s forgettable.

In this world, Tukhachevsky’s existence faded significantly after the loss of the Civil War.

But it seems he’s made quite a success in the U.S.

“Wasn’t he with Stalin?”

“Even Stalin is playing the role of a priest in a concentration camp now. Didn’t he want to join our United States?”

Well, given Stalin’s current state and the fact that the present United States is completely different from Russia, what’s there to hesitate about?

Rather, he’d probably prefer to join the United States to protect his pride.

“Hmm. Today’s Russia is much better than the Soviet Union.”

That’s rather normal.

He probably fought hard to distance himself from the Reds somehow.

And now we have Georgy Zhukov among them. Unlike others who were annihilated, these two survived and are now gaining benefits.

So, will they perform well in the war against Germany?

“Your Majesty, Germany has ignited a revolution in France!”

This was news coming from the Okhrana’s French branch.

“Is this true from the Minister of the Interior?”

“Yes.”

“I’m taken aback by how casually you say it’s a revolution.”

Just how serious is the current situation? It seems we must summon the Okhrana.

“We just began to grasp the situation. France has quickly succumbed. We’ll need to look into it further, but it seems the Communist German forces at the Low Countries are attacking the Allied forces while another army has broken through the Ardennes Forest to strike from behind.”

Isn’t that a classic flanking maneuver?

Ultimately, are the Germans striking from behind?

“Huh.”

I can’t believe this is actually happening.

Goebbels has evidently accomplished something greater than Nazi Germany.

If he had failed dramatically, he would indeed have been forced to shoot himself in the bunker. Yet here we are, it actually succeeded.

“Well, it’s not bad.”

So far, everything is progressing as I anticipated.

I expected France to eventually fall, and I’m rather grateful they did, as it saves me the trouble of later wrestling with England over the issue of Communist threat in Europe.

Everything is going according to my scenario.

“However, not everyone might be participating in the revolution.”

“Charles de Gaulle and the disgraced Pétain from Spain have fled to Algeria and formed a government-in-exile for the French Republic.”

Charles de Gaulle and Pétain went to Algeria?

Instead of going to England, they chose Algeria? That’s quite a big flip, isn’t it?

And they went alongside Pétain.

Considering Pétain’s role leading Vichy France, it’s ironic. There’s clearly a red revolution happening, and they had no choice.

Additionally, since they were in Spain, it seems they found some camaraderie with the Falangists.

“What about the situation inside France?”

“There exists a resistance group similar in nature to the German Free Corps, known as the Cross of Fire.”

The Cross of Fire. Right, I’ve heard of that.

Isn’t François de la Roque the leader?

“Hmm. Is François de la Roque in charge?”

“Not certain, but before the war, the one who led the Cross of Fire was François de la Roque, so there’s a possibility.”

The internal French resistance known as the Cross of Fire, along with Pétain and de Gaulle in Algeria. What a peculiar situation.

“Well then, the Allies are done for.”

Even if de la Roque tries to engage in guerrilla tactics, there will be limitations.

Historically, they almost met their demise solely due to a single flanking maneuver.

However, the current German forces are significantly weaker than Nazi Germany, so they will certainly aim to uproot France this time.

And if the majority of the French forces join the People’s Army alongside the German troops…

It truly will be the end.

The British Army will be decimated across the European continent, and the Low Countries will just turn into roads trampled upon.

“Yes. Churchill of England had trained elite troops to completely capture Germany by land, sea, and air, but he intended to compensate for the insufficient army through France. In fact, even throughout the Great Depression after the Great War, France continued to invest in its army.”

“Yet, a revolution has erupted, and Germany isn’t a mere puppet state they’ve bolstered; they are strengthening themselves adequately. So, there’s little chance for a military coup. What about a civil war?”

The French army was filled with anti-war sentiment and had suffered many casualties, fighting under British command against Germany.

There’s no way the revolution just happened on its own. Perhaps it won’t be as gruesome as the situation in Russia, given that most French people despised the war.

“Yes. Anyway, they are in a besieged state. Given how the French populace’s sentiments are geared towards the Commune, switching sides may have been a viable option.”

Then, the question becomes what to do with the Allies.

One thing is certain—they will not return home unscathed.

If the majority of the French forces, who form the backbone of the Allied army, have joined the Red Front, then there’s really no way around it.

“What about the Allied forces?”

I’m curious about how extensive the split will be. If France falls into revolution, it could go badly.

“The contingent is about 500,000, consisting of some Free French forces that joined certain British troops and the forces in the Low Countries. Out of this, 400,000 are British troops, including those from the Commonwealth.”

The British army numbers 400,000. Isn’t that quite a lot for a volunteer army?

In essence, the French army bore most of the burden of this war; if they all shift towards the communist factions, what happens?

“Considering Britain’s volunteer system, if those 400,000 are annihilated, we may face the worst-case scenario.”

It would indeed be the worst situation.

Churchill rushed, and look where it led us now.

What a pitiful excuse for a person.

“With no means of landing forces, we will subsequently be worrying about colonial revolutions. No, they will try to gather their entire navy to defend the homeland.”

What happens if a substantial contingent of the British army gets wiped out?

Britain wouldn’t even think about launching a landing anymore; I wonder how the zealous Red Germans will react.

They’ll probably set their sights on Austria.

Before Britain makes any effort to recover, they would want to end the war within their own borders.

“Then they can seriously focus on invading Austria.”

Historically, France had predominantly anti-war sentiments, and they weren’t all that enthusiastic about the war against Germany.

After suffering a defeat in this scenario, what more can be said?

I’m really in quite a dilemma here. Supporting de la Roque in France, and Pétain and de Gaulle in Algeria, could be entertaining.

But considering the world is already diverged from history, wouldn’t it be better to exploit these dynamics for a major upheaval?

Though I’m curious why they went to Algeria instead of England. If the majority of the French forces have transitioned to the People’s Army, they might initially pretend to comply before fleeing south.

Then I find myself interested in de la Roque.

I’d prefer to support this over Pétain or de Gaulle. If de la Roque’s resistance forces have something akin to the German Free Corps vibe, it could create an interesting power struggle within France later.

“What about the French navy?”

Given how de Gaulle and Pétain swung their way to Algeria, one might say it was an opportunity, right? They should have managed to salvage part of their fleet.

“I believe the French navy has split.”

“The anti-communist faction that took Pétain and de Gaulle likely made it to Algeria.”

“Yes.”

So the French fleet has been torn apart.

Then let’s speculate for a moment. During this chaotic situation, what would happen if the Italian fleet and the Red French fleet took on the British Mediterranean fleet?

“Can the Italian fleet manage to fight the British Mediterranean fleet? What is your assessment, Minister of Navy? You’ve overseen the naval expansion by gauging other countries’ navy sizes, so I presume you know the situation.”

Unfortunately, Kolchak has taken naval expansion quite seriously, unlike his historical role leading the White Army.

He was thinking of expanding the Black Sea Fleet sufficiently to at least hold its own against the Royal Italian Navy.

So he must have some knowledge of the Italian fleet’s scale.

“The Italian fleet is roughly on par with or slightly inferior to the British Mediterranean fleet. At the very least, it’s a position they can challenge.”

Historically, the Italian fleet had always bothered the British Mediterranean fleet.

Of course, they harassed yet inevitably reached their limits.

I want to see the possibility unfold here.

“If that’s the case, Pétain and de Gaulle in Algeria will be preoccupied, and seeing that the majority of the army has shifted to the People’s Army, I suspect the navy won’t differ much. What if the French navy unites with Communist Italy and fights the Mediterranean fleet, wouldn’t the possibilities be substantial?”

“Certainly, that seems likely.”

Let’s brainstorm a scenario for a moment.

If the Mediterranean fleet decides to retreat to secure the homeland, what then?

Immediately after, if the Red French fleet and the Communist Italian fleet strike from behind, it could lead to quite a difficult situation.

“What if the French navy engages in battles without knowing they’ve been compromised?”

Historically, the self-sabotage happened only when Nazi Germany was seizing fleets. It took until 1942 for them to self-sabotage.

However, the circumstances here are remarkably different.

France has been hit with various crises, and the incursion of Communist Germany inevitably led to a revolution.

Was there even a chance for the loyal Republicans to self-sabotage? I must say, things are getting amusingly chaotic here; France never fails to entertain.

“Hmm. Then, what if Turkey aims for Syria during this chaos?”

“Syria, you say?”

It’s time for Turkey to honor its commitments.

With Turkey’s current strength, they could seize Syria. Supporting Turkey’s occupation of Syria would be a reasonable step.

“Turkey has grown its military significantly. At the very least, they should be capable of recovering their homeland and Syria, which they lost to Britain and France.”

It’s not like they’re incapable of gaining control over the completely disorganized Syria.

Besides, Kemal is still alive.

I have a feeling I might have given some decent advice to keep him healthy.

“I have a feeling this might be seen as an act of aggression.”

“That’s up to Kemal to decide. If the British forces are indeed annihilated this time, it could be a moot point. They’ll probably be cautious of Turkey’s gaze. Moreover, the Red France will claim Syria as their territory. This could serve as a justification to claim their communist front right in their backyard.”

The Red French would not want to relinquish their colonies at once.

Regardless of how much they embrace communism, their colonial empire holds a degree of dignity, and while they might reluctantly give Algeria due to the French Republic’s provisional government, do they have the intention to give up Syria?

Right now may very well be the chance they’re waiting for.

“That sounds interesting.”

“Your Majesty. However, wouldn’t it be better to consider this after the British forces have been annihilated?”

The British must care for their own survival; would they really have time to tend to France?

 

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