Chapter 1278 Britain’s Regret
The British government is naturally watching and anxious about East Africa's performance in the Persian Gulf. As the situation worsens, the British government becomes increasingly worried about its own situation.
London.
Number 10 Downing Street.
"These **** East Africans, without them disrupting the situation, this war should have ended long ago!"
Recently, the new British Prime Minister David is in a very bad mood. The political situation in Russia is turbulent, the Ottoman Empire joins the war, the Persian Gulf **** in East Africa, etc., all of which seem to prove that the war situation is developing in a direction that is not conducive to the Allies.
In 1916, the former British Prime Minister Asquith resigned because of the unfavorable coordination of the war organization, and David took over the mess.
In 1917, not only did the form of the war not change, but it became increasingly unfavorable to Britain due to the influence of various factors.
Of course David knows that the winner of the current war lies with the two extraterritorial powers, the United States and East Africa.
"If we cannot cut off the Allies' logistical supply lines, it means that the war will continue, and when the Allies have finished digesting it on the Eastern Front, the Western Front will also become precarious."
"Now that the war has become more and more unfavorable to us, what do you think?"
Faced with the Prime Minister's inquiry, many senior cabinet officials were also worried. Foreign Secretary Balfour said at this time: "Britain has no other choice, either to withdraw from the war or to fight to the end. But if it chooses the former, the empire's reputation will be completely ruined." , and we have sacrificed so much for the war, and if we get nothing, the angry people will overwhelm London.”
"And fighting to the end until the final victory of the war seems extremely far away for the empire. The current trend of the war has fully demonstrated that it is difficult for us and the French to fight against the Allies, especially in Russia. The allies are in an extremely passive state.”
"So, in order to ensure the victory of the war, any means should no longer be scrupulous now. At the same time, we need more allies, especially the United States, Italy, Romania, etc., any country that may have an impact on the war situation , we all need to actively strive for it.”
"This is true at the national level. Other forces in Europe, such as Jews in the financial field, anti-war people in the Allies, and even the Labor Party can be used as alternatives."
Faced with Balfour's extreme remarks, Minister of Munitions Winston strongly objected: "Other aspects, of course there is no problem, but we absolutely cannot allow the Labor Party to become bigger in Europe."
"Now that the Russian Labor Party has formed a climate, I feel that they will become the enemy of the entire free world. That is to say, we cannot interfere in the changes in the domestic situation in Russia. Otherwise, I fully support helping the Russian government liquidate the Labor Party."
"Even losing to the Germans is not terrible, but allowing the Labor Party to grow bigger in Europe will be a terrible disaster. They have no national consciousness and build a new country through idealism. It is extremely easy to incite people who do not know the truth."
Balfour and Winston are both militants, and of course Prime Minister David is no exception. Today, the British cabinet is all militants.
It's just that Balfour and Winston disagreed on some details about the war.
Prime Minister David said to Winston: "Since you are so opposed to the Labor Party, it is understandable, but now the fate of the empire is tied to the war. If we want to win the final victory, we must have stronger, more allies, and even everything." The power that can unite.”
"If we can use the European Labor Party organization to destroy the order in Germany and let us win, this might be a way."
"That is what determines the victory of the war. It has never been about counting on the opponent to make mistakes. The key now is who can win the support of the two major powers of the United States and East Africa."
"If we want to change the war situation now, the only way out is to bring the United States on board our warship, and at the same time stabilize East Africa as much as possible, and not let East Africa really fall to the side of the Allies." "If East Africa joins the hostile camp, then war can basically be declared It's over early, we will lose India, Australia, Egypt, the Persian Gulf...the British Empire will be disintegrated immediately."
Prime Minister David looked embarrassed. He said to Winston: "Now, we want to win over the Americans, but the Americans are also afraid to make a bet because of East Africa's position. They are afraid that they will join us, and East Africa will join later. The German-Austrian camp may fall into the vortex of war.”
"The U.S. government's invitation to us is also stuck on the key point of East Africa. However, East Africa is also a German country, and its relationship with the Allies is naturally closer. Moreover, East Africa's industry is not inferior to that of the United States. If they join the war, then It would be a disaster."
Winning over the United States and East Africa has always been what the two camps of the Entente and the Central Powers have been doing, but the effect is not significant.
Prime Minister David went on to say: "The United States and East Africa stayed away from the European war and made huge war fortunes. It can be said that there was no need for them to end. They even wished that the European war continued."
"Looking back now, I extremely regret that the empire joined this seemingly endless war. It can be said that the frontier government was deceived by the French."
"Just imagine, maybe it would have been the best choice for Britain not to join this war from the beginning. If so, it would not only be the United States and East Africa that would be watching the storm, but also the empire."
"After all, even if the Germans develop a navy, they won't actually pose much of a threat to us unless they gain an advantage in the North Atlantic."
"However, we may be able to achieve this even without joining the war. As long as Germany's naval strength does not exceed the Royal Navy, the North Sea is a fortress that they will never be able to break through."
"At the same time, it is impossible for Germany to fully develop its naval power. After all, they are restrained by France on land."
"If our diplomatic methods had been smarter at the beginning, we could have completely avoided the birth of the Allies. Our diplomatic mistakes in the Balkans, Russia, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire have led to us being in such a passive situation today."
Of course, the real reason why David said these depressing words was actually because he was jealous of the achievements of the two so-called "neutral countries" in the United States and East Africa.
Now that the war has begun, Britain has discovered that the United States and East Africa are rapidly carving up Britain's overseas interests.
Even if Germany is really defeated, there is still a risk of losing Britain's hegemony in the face of two fully grown world powers, the United States and East Africa.
So Prime Minister David changed his subject: "Everything we do seems to be a wedding dress for the United States and East Africa. In fact, even if Germany gains European hegemony, it will definitely not have as much impact on us as the two maritime powers of the United States and East Africa." The threat is huge.”
"Unfortunately, it is too late to make these assumptions now. We are completely trapped by the European war. If we do not solve the Allies, we will not even have a future."
"It can be said that now the empire has reached an unprecedented critical moment of life and death. If there is a mistake in every next step, it may drag the empire into the abyss."
David dares to say that in British history, there has never been a more difficult prime minister than him. Regardless of whether Britain can ultimately win the war, Britain's decline seems to be impossible to stop.
And David's words also infected every cabinet member. From the war to the present, looking back, they suddenly realized what they had lost.
There is no doubt that Europe is important, but for Britain, a maritime country, the encroachment of overseas British interests by the United States and East Africa has also reached a shocking level.
Especially in East Africa, it can be said that every step of East Africa's overseas expansion now makes the United Kingdom feel terrified. In addition, the East African Navy has let itself go like a wild horse, and its strength is not much different from the German Navy.
(End of chapter)