I Will Stage A Coup D’état - Chapter 84



Only Krnovel

EP.84 Return of the Champion (4)

Soviet dictator Stalin was tapping away at his calculator.

The secretary had received many promises through prior negotiations with Lee Seong-jun, but that alone was not enough.

Why would a communist be a communist?

If you are not satisfied with just what you have and try to share what belongs to others, you are a communist.

“In this war, we are the ones facing the main German forces, but it seems like Korea and Britain are trying to take too much.”

Of course, I didn’t say anything like that when we were talking.

Stalin was also a man with that much insight.

“Koba, you should know when to back off a bit. Aren’t they providing us with a significant amount of military supplies?”

“I’m saying this with that in mind. In any case, those guys need to do their part to match their share.”

Stalin intended to demand the opening of a second front in the West in the near future.

It was unfair that the Soviet Union alone was shouldering the main force of the German army as it was now.

Voroshilov laughed bitterly.

“Isn’t Britain already busy with the African and Middle Eastern fronts that have just opened? Even Korea, which is in a better situation, will be in a hurry because of the war in China. It will take at least two years for them to open a front in the West.”

“That’s not fair. Who is the one who takes on all the German forces without much effort?”

“So, let’s just talk. If you ask them to do something that is realistically impossible, they won’t listen.”

Even Stalin could not reject Voroshilov’s advice.

Molotov, under Stalin’s direction, made their demands clear at the meeting of the three powers.

“In order to disperse the powerful German forces concentrated on the Eastern Front, we demand that a second front be opened in the West by 1943. In order to share the burden fairly among the Allies, it is difficult for the Soviet Union to face Germany alone as it is now.”

Of course, Churchill didn’t even snort.

Oh, who threatened Stalin with a knife to move next to Hitler?

Wasn’t it the Soviet communists’ choice to get rid of Poland and become our neighbor?

What are you talking about, giving them the opportunity to join hands with Hitler and destroy all the democratic countries in Europe?

Churchill thought the communists had no conscience.

“Our first objective is Italy. We will take Rome and force two million Italian troops out of the battle line, so let’s stop talking about the Western Front.”

So, I listened to the communists’ stories with one ear and let them go out the other.

“South Korea also does not have the capacity. Opening a second front by 1943 is beyond our capabilities. South Korea is currently investing most of its army power in dealing with China.”

Joo Si-kyung also made a similar sound to the UK.

If it was to the advantage of the situation, Korea was always ready to side with Britain.

“No, so are you saying we should continue to handle Germany alone?”

Molotov jumped.

It was not an unexpected situation, but a deliberate gesture to show the Secretary that he was doing his best.

“Instead, didn’t you tell me that you would put a fleet in the Mediterranean and destroy the Axis powers in Africa?”

“Even so, it’s only a matter of shedding a few drops of blood.”

The two sides were in a tense standoff.

It was like talking to a wall because neither of us backed down even an inch.

When the negotiations were running into difficulties, Lee Seong-jun stepped forward.

“It’s difficult to open the second front right away, but it doesn’t have to be in the West.”

Lee Seong-jun said there is also a plan to open a second front in Italy or Greece.

Joo Si-kyung relayed Lee Seong-jun’s proposal to the attendees of the three-party meeting.

“Opening a second front along the Mediterranean coast?”

Britain, which wanted to focus its operations on the Mediterranean, was also drawn to this.

No, it was just their taste.

“Then it’s worth thinking about.”

The British Empire’s interests lay in the Mediterranean rather than in France.

When Britain and South Korea announced their intention to open a second front in the Mediterranean in 1943, Molotov thought he had saved some face.

“In any case, it is a concession that Korea and Britain are moving in 1943, Comrade Secretary-General.”

Stalin also thought he had no choice after hearing Molotov’s report.

At the time, Britain, the main force of the Western Allies, did not have enough ground forces, and Korea did not have enough resources.

It was a great gesture of goodwill for them to open a second front in the Mediterranean.

“I’m not sure if their Mediterranean strategy will be very effective.”

The Secretary-General honestly thought that no one but France could be of much help to the Soviet Union.

Even if Italy or Greece were to be removed from the battle line, how much of a blow would that be to Germany’s power?

“But it’s better than doing nothing.”

“That’s right, I guess so.”

Anyway, I decided to take comfort in the fact that the German forces would be weakened once the front line opened.

With the biggest sticking point of the three-way meeting resolved, the remaining agreements proceeded with flying colors.

The three principles to respond to the axis were also agreed upon without difficulty.

However, there were also stories that were not discussed here.

A representative example was the disposition of Eastern European countries such as Poland.

“Poland must return to its pre-war state.”

Lee Seong-jun tacitly took the position that he did not care how the Soviet Union handled it, but Britain’s position was different.

Britain expressed the view that the exile governments should return to lead the country as soon as the war was over.

Stalin had no intention of agreeing to the British plan.

‘That can never be. Poland must be secured as our satellite. Poland is our rightful spoil!’

Stalin wanted to create a large buffer zone in Eastern Europe to ensure that the mainland would never be invaded again.

Even if we look at history, which has been repeated so far, Western invaders have easily crossed the Eastern European plains, which had no particular geographical obstacles, and reached Moscow, threatening the existence of the Russian state.

The princes of Poland and Sweden, the Emperor of France, the Kaiser and Führer of Germany have repeatedly shown the same lesson.

Now that nightmare had to end.

To do this, Poland had to be made part of the Soviet empire and Germany had to be torn apart.

Had to swallow the Czech Republic.

Eastern Europe had to be turned into the Soviet Union’s inner courtyard.

In fact, Stalin’s obsession with buffer zones was something that the monarchs of the old tsarist empire had also harbored.

It wasn’t that Stalin was particularly greedy for land or anything like that.

This was a disease that anyone who sat on the throne of Russia was bound to suffer from.

Of course, you may wonder:

Isn’t it a bit problematic that in the process of turning the Soviet Union’s desires into reality, Poland’s sovereignty or the people’s will is being violated?

It didn’t matter to Stalin at all.

If we had taken that into account, we would not have wiped out Polish intellectuals in the Katyn Forest.

Stalin buried in the dark pits of the Katyn Forest all the doctors, professors, officers, teachers, and anyone else who could lead the Polish people in the interests of the Soviet Union.

That doesn’t mean the secretary was particularly cold-hearted.

Both Churchill and Roosevelt were men who were prepared to trample on the interests and sovereignty of weaker countries when necessary.

The only difference was that Stalin was a man who trampled on others without even pretending to be sorry.

“Comrade Beria.”

“Yes, Comrade Secretary.”

“Friends of the Polish Workers’ Party, from now on, you have to manage them thoroughly. If there are any friends who have Polish nationalist tendencies or who make some strange remarks, quietly get rid of them. Do you understand what I mean?”

“Yes. I will check it thoroughly.”

The secretary’s instructions were clear.

The idea is to remove in advance any obstacles that might create noise in the process of establishing a Polish satellite government.

The first step toward satellite statehood will be completed by turning the Polish Workers’ Party into a thoroughgoing puppet.

“If there are any Czech Communist friends who can stand up as leaders, start preparing a list. Friends who can communicate with us to some extent.”

“Yes, Comrade Secretary.”

Stalin intended to expand his influence in Central Europe as much as he could after the war.

‘We swallow everything we can, we swallow everything.’

The Secretary-General, like the conscienceless communist that he is, planned to start preparing to take a bigger share than what Britain and Korea had offered.

Poland, Czech Republic and half of Germany.

If it could achieve just that much, the Soviet Union would be able to reign as a superpower without rivals in Europe.

The only catch was the Western restraint.

If the Soviet Union becomes too large, the West will not treat Moscow with the same tolerance it has now.

The Federation will become a new public enemy, just as Germany is today.

However, it was foolish to give up the opportunity for growth because of fear of being controlled.

‘In that sense, Korea is lucky.’

At first, Germany was to become the public enemy and prevent Korea’s expansion from being checked, and then the Soviet Union was to step in.

Is there any other country that has had the opportunity to rise up the ranks of great powers so smoothly?

‘There is one.’

USA.

The world’s leading economic power, alone in a new continent with no competitors, expanded its territory and increased its national power.

The father of liberal democracy, who would one day become the Soviet Union’s greatest competitor.

Considering that the great empire and the old lion Britain were acting as one body, the Soviet Union also needed a friend to stand against it.

In terms of national power and size, the only opponent was Korea.

It was ridiculous that, despite having so many ideological differences, we were forced to trust each other.

‘If we look at it this way, even if we ignore the British side’s story, we have no choice but to listen to Lee Seong-jun’s opinion.’

Considering the relationship with Korea, it couldn’t be helped.

Stalin decided to reconsider the plan presented by the South Korean side.

Still, Poland was determined to swallow it up.

Even the secretary-general could not yield on that.