"Fake war" with Germany. How Britain and France betrayed Poland and planned to organize a "crusade" against the USSR
After 1 September 1939, Germany attacked Poland, September 3 England and France declared war on the Reich. At the same time, the masters of England and France, although they had a complete advantage over the Germans on the Western Front, did not rush to the aid of Poland, effectively leaving it to their fate. Therefore, the period of the Second World War from 3 in September 1939 to 10 in May 1940 of the year on the Western Front was called “Strange War”, “Unreal War” or “Sit War” (fr. Drôle de guerre, Engl. Phoney War, German Sitzkrieg).
Thus, the nature of hostilities between the warring parties was underlined - their almost complete absence, with the exception of hostilities at sea. The warring parties conducted only local battles on the Franco-German border, mostly sitting in the fortifications of the Maginot and Siegfried defensive lines. In fact, London and Paris allowed Berlin to calmly and successfully complete the Polish campaign, seize Denmark and Norway, and prepare for the invasion of France itself.
Thus, the English Field Marshal B. Montgomery noted: “France and Britain did not budge when Germany swallowed Poland. We continued to remain inactive even when the German armies were being transferred to the West with an absolutely obvious goal of attacking us! We patiently waited for us to be attacked, and throughout this period, from time to time they bombed Germany with leaflets. ” And French General A. Beaufr wrote that the war began to seem "some sort of gigantic scenario of silent conciliation, in which nothing serious can happen if we play our party correctly."
A similar assessment of the position of London and Paris at the time when the German aggressor could still be used, stopped, was also given by the German general K. Tippelskirch. He noted that at the end of 1939, at the beginning of 1940, the preparation for the upcoming actions “did not deal with the French army at all ... They did not particularly believe in the offensive of the enemy. The troops did not aim at waging war at all. The widespread apt expression "strange war" was characteristic of the attitude of the French to war and the Motherland. "
Although it was obvious that the conquest of Poland was only an intermediate step in the implementation of Hitler’s program to create the world’s “Eternal Reich”. For a number of objective circumstances, Adolf Hitler decided to first solve the problems of the strategic rear, before making a roll to the East. Hitler was well versed in strategy and economic issues. He understood that Germany was not ready to go to war with such a strong power possessing enormous resources and territory like the USSR. It was necessary to urgently increase the military-industrial and demographic potential of the German Empire, not only at the expense of domestic resources, their mobilization and long-term development programs, but also at the expense of other Western European countries. That is, to create a kind of "European Union" headed by the Third Reich. And already relying on his resources to increase the power of the Wehrmacht, to prepare a broader strategic base for the onslaught to the East, and also to solve the problem of a reliable rear, so as not to repeat the main mistake of the Second Reich during the First World War - the war on two strategic fronts. Hitler sought to completely eliminate the possibility of war on two fronts during the war with Russia. For this it was necessary to crush France and a number of other states in the West, and also to conclude a tacit agreement with the British.
Also the Fuhrer wanted to solve the long-standing historical a dispute between the French and the Germans, France was seen as a historical enemy, which must be significantly defeated and humiliated. With the British, given the strong Anglo-Philosophical mood in the German elite, which actually developed the racial and hate theories of the Anglo-Saxons, Berlin expected to come to an agreement and together build a racial, slave-owning New World Order.
The inevitability of the war with France and England was provided for by the German top even before the start of the Second World War. This concept was formulated by Hitler back in 1924, in Mein Kampf. He wrote: “Germany should look for acquisitions of new territories in Eastern Europe at the expense of Russia and limiting countries. We break with the traditional aspirations of the Germans to the south and west of Europe and pay attention to the East. " But before, noted Hitler, it is necessary to destroy the desire of France to hegemony and "once and for all explain with this sworn enemy." "The destruction of France will allow Germany to acquire territories in the East later." "The settling of accounts" in the West is only a prelude ... It can be viewed solely as a cover for our rear in order to spread our territory in Europe. "
8 March 1939, at a meeting with senior representatives of the military, economic and party leadership, Hitler returned to the idea of a historic defeat of France: “In 1940 and 1941. Germany once and for all will settle accounts with its eternal enemy - France. This country will be erased from the map of Europe. England is an old and frail country weakened by democracy. When France is defeated, Germany will easily establish domination over England and will then receive at its disposal the wealth and possession of England throughout the world. ”
Therefore, Berlin began to pre-plan the war against France, England and Belgium and the Netherlands in the middle of the 1930-s. The Germans saw in France the main enemy in the coalition of the Western powers and hoped that the defeat of the French army, the largest force that was in Western Europe, would lead to the establishment of German hegemony in Europe and force England to become Germany’s junior partner during the construction of the New World Order.
It is worth noting that the general scheme in the planning of European and world domination was pretty well outlined by the leaders of the Third Reich in the prewar years. First, hiding behind the campaign of anti-Bolshevism and anti-Sovietism, and receiving financial and economic assistance from large Western capital (especially British and American), the German elite planned to seize the resources of Central and Eastern Europe, strengthening the strategic positions and the military-industrial base of the Third Reich. Paris, London and Washington at this time, waiting for the decisive clash of the Germans and Russians, strongly supported the onslaught of Germany to the East, surrendering Berlin one position after another. Then Berlin planned to collapse on the countries of Western Europe in order to secure the strategic rear and further strengthen the military-economic and raw material base of Germany, which is already becoming the leader of Europe (the “European Union”).
At the same time, Hitler apparently had certain confidence that he would be handed over not only Eastern and Central Europe, but also Western Europe, including France. The masters of the West were ready to give almost the whole of Europe to Hitler, so that he organizes a "crusade" to the East, against the Russian (Soviet) civilization, which announced a new, alternative model of the world order, inherently fair, denying the parasitism of a small handful of "elite" over all of humanity. The Soviet Union built a society of creation and service, proclaiming social justice, opposing them to the consumer society and the slave model of capitalism. Therefore, the masters of the West have allowed Hitler and his entourage a great deal, including the capture of most of Europe.
It is not surprising that when the Wehrmacht armored divisions smashed Poland, there was an “Unreal war” on the Western front. The defensive strategy of Germany in the West during the war with Poland was temporary and understandable. It was caused by the need to concentrate maximum forces and resources in the East and to avoid active war on two fronts. After Hitler defeated Poland and escaped the threat from Moscow by concluding a non-aggression pact, it became possible to transfer the main forces of the Wehrmacht to the western front, which were hardened during the victorious Polish campaign. Beginning in mid-September 1939, the leadership of the Third Reich began preparations for an offensive on the Western Front. September 27 at a military meeting, Hitler said: “Time will work in general against us if we don’t use it right now. The economic potential of the opposite side is stronger. The enemy is able to purchase and transport. Militarily, time is also not working for us ... Once lost time is irreplaceable in the future. ... In any case, it is necessary to immediately prepare an attack on France. ”
Hitler was completely right about the irreplaceableness of lost time. However, France continued to move in line with the policies of the owners of the West, who gave Europe to Hitler. The lessons of betrayal against Austria, Czechoslovakia and Poland, which led to a significant weakening of the positions of the national states of France and England, were not properly evaluated. There was still a lull on the Franco-German border. The inaction of the French and British troops created the most favorable conditions for the further actions of Nazi Germany. Not a single bomb hit the extremely vulnerable German military-industrial base, the Ruhr, where new mountains were being prepared. weapons on the eve of the next military campaign. Limited combat operations were conducted only on sea lanes. Britain traditionally wanted to maintain dominance at sea in order to secure the metropolis and its communications with the colonies and dominions.
The Munich policy aimed at resolving the internal contradictions in the capitalist world at the expense of the Soviet civilization, the course towards Germany and Russia, did not change even after the Polish campaign. Moreover, this course has become even more pronounced. The governments of Britain and France believed that, without conducting active hostilities against Germany, formally entering into war with the Reich, and continuing to exert political, informational and economic pressure on the Germans, they would be able to force Berlin to go to the East. During this period, in the West, the anti-Soviet campaign reached its apogee, Europe was embraced by the spirit of a “crusade”.
Moreover, London and Paris, formally fighting with Germany, were closely engaged in diplomatic, economic and military preparations for an attack on the Soviet Union. Actively developed military plans, was preparing troops. Possible targets of attacks on the USSR were discussed in Paris: Leningrad and Murmansk in the north, and the Black Sea and the Caucasus were in the focus of attention in the south. The attack on the USSR was planned to be carried out from two directions - in the north and south. Under the pretext of helping Finland during the Soviet-Finnish war, they planned to strike at Leningrad and Murmansk, intercept the railway between the two centers. To do this, it was planned to use large ground and naval forces, 150 thousand were being formed and prepared for the transfer to Finland. Anglo-French Expeditionary Force. Weapons and equipment were sent to Finland in a wide stream. At the same time, preparations were underway for use aviation и fleet against the southern regions of the Soviet Union. Plans were developed for air strikes in the oil-producing regions of the Caucasus. It was also planned to introduce the Anglo-French fleet into the Black Sea and establish its control over it.
This was not the case. Plans were developed and practical preparations were made for broad offensive actions in the land Caucasian theater. 19 January 1940, Paris and London set about developing a “direct invasion of the Caucasus”. In the West, it was planned that Yugoslavia and Turkey would be involved in a war against the Soviet Union. An important role in carrying out a strike on the USSR from the south was assigned to the French command, created in Syria and Lebanon, headed by Weygand.
Thus, instead of fighting with Berlin, although he was officially declared war, London and Paris were preparing for strikes on the USSR in the north and south, clearly pushing Hitler to begin a general "crusade" of the West against the Russian (Soviet) civilization.
Not for nothing, the English historian A. Taylor, considering the policies of the English and French governments during the “strange war” period, noted: “For Great Britain and France to provoke a war with Soviet Russia, when they were already in a war with Germany, it seems insane, and this suggests about a more sinister plan: to direct the war along an anti-Bolshevik course so that the war against Germany can be forgotten or even ended. ”
The former president of Czechoslovakia E. Benes, who was after the occupation of the country in London, wrote that in the winter of 1939-1940 the governments of England and France sought to involve their countries in the war against the USSR, entering into an agreement with Germany: “Germany should attack only the Soviet Union, concluding peace with the Western powers. " And the influential British newspaper "The Times" wrote about the "eventual regrouping of powers, including Germany, included in the anti-Soviet front."
Actively preparing for war with the Union, the masters of the West took measures to ensure that Hitler was aware of this and this created the prospect of a joint anti-Soviet "crusade", where Germany was assigned the main role, and England and France had to act on the strategic flanks. Besides, Anglo-Saxons continued persistent attempts to push Japan to war with the USSR. In this case, England rightly counted on US support.
It is clear that such a course on a “fake war” with Germany and preparation for a general “crusade” of the West against Soviet civilization had the most negative impact on the combat capability of France and other Western states. While Germany was preparing for a real war in the West, France was demoralized, lost the spirit of struggle. The morale of the people and the army was undermined, the combat readiness of the armed forces decreased. The danger from Germany diminished, the resources of France and England were not fully mobilized to repel the German strike. In France, the level of military production during the "war" even declined.
Thus, the British and French "elites" contributed to the further expansion of the Second World War and again created for the leadership of the Third Reich the most favorable conditions for the continuation of the aggression in Europe.
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