I Will Stage A Coup D’état - Chapter 166



Only Noblemtl

EP.166 Extortion (1)

The Italian War brought about a serious crisis for the French fascist regime.

“Leotard, you crazy war-monger! Is it right for you to wage war in your colonies while war breaks out in our neighborhood?”

While other colonial empires withdrew from their colonies where colonial wars had broken out, France had not yet given up on Algeria and Indochina.

Algeria was an extension of the mainland, so it could not be given up, and Indochina was a profitable colony, so efforts were made to find a way to negotiate with the Viet Cong in order to salvage at least half of it.

In the midst of all this, war broke out in Italy, so it was inevitable that there would be a barrage of calls to end the colonial war.

“Give up now! The safety of the mainland comes first!”

“The communists are driving tanks and waging war in neighboring countries, so what are you doing in Africa now?”

Although voices calling for an end to the war, citing the security crisis, were growing louder, Leotard could not back down.

‘If we back out here, we’re finished.’

If we waste tens of thousands of lives, money, and time, and just wash our hands of it and leave, who will take care of the aftermath?

I had no choice but to pretend not to see or hear anything and endure it until the end.

“Wow, look at those kids. Can’t you hear me?”

Leotard’s regime mobilized the military and police to suppress the protesters.

“Those who seek to divide the nation are communists who seek to harm the interests of the French nation. We will vigorously oppose the communist schemes to divide France into pieces.”

Leotar tried his best to hold out against the Reds somehow.

However, the voices of resistance continued to grow louder.

In proportion, Leotard’s control of the military also took a downward turn.

It was at this moment that the French military began to move.

“We can’t let that fascist ruin our country any longer. Let’s bring that guy down and bring in the general.”

The military decided to bring back de Gaulle, the man who had managed to raise France’s status after the war, as head of state.

On March 10, 1951, the French military launched a surprise coup.

The mobilized force consisted of only about 20,000 troops, mainly airborne troops, but it was enough to take control of the capital.

“Coup, a coup d’état.”

Leotard and the Golden Dawn elements fled hurriedly to Bordeaux.

They tried to suppress the coup by convening a military command in Bordeaux, but the French army would not listen to their orders.

Chief of Staff General Alphonse Huynh flatly rejected Leotard’s request for suppression.

“The French people no longer support you. Why should our army shed blood for a leader who does not have the support of the people?”

Leotard’s regime collapsed with just one word.

“I didn’t know those guys would fall apart like that.”

Franco regretted the collapse of the Leotard regime, but he resolutely refused the request for asylum, taking into account the mood of the new regime that would be established in Paris.

“I didn’t know Spain would reject us.”

“Salazar will accept us. Let’s go to Portugal.”

Leotar’s group sought protection from the Portuguese dictator, António de Oliveira Salazar.

When Leotard’s regime collapsed overnight, the world was shocked.

‘If this continues, won’t the Communist Party take power in France?’

If politics were in disarray, the Communists could take advantage.

In fact, the French Communist Party did look for an opportunity to move immediately after the military coup.

But when I heard that de Gaulle was the face of the military regime, I gave up everything.

‘De Gaulle, the monster is back?’

De Gaulle was a titan whose name value the Communist Party could not dare to oppose.

The Communist Party, remembering de Gaulle’s purges of both the left and the right after the war, held its breath.

As soon as de Gaulle took power, he began to cut off complex colonial wars.

“Indochina will be withdrawn by 1953. Until then, the south will be under French control and the north under North Vietnam.”

Ho Chi Minh also agreed to de Gaulle’s proposal.

He then made a forward-looking proposal to Algeria.

“I will grant Algeria the same citizenship as France and accept it as a true part of the French Republic. If it so desires, I can also grant it autonomy.”

De Gaulle’s proposal was certainly radical, but it was not a very appealing story to the Algerians who had already suffered hundreds of thousands of casualties.

“We want independence!”

After much debate, de Gaulle offered Algeria unconditional independence in 1953.

“To that extent, I can accept it.”

The Algerian Liberation Front was also oppressed by the overwhelming size of the French army, so it was willing to accept a peaceful solution if it could be achieved.

Of course, the French military’s fascist supporters could not accept de Gaulle’s decision to give up the colonies.

“De Gaulle betrayed us.”

“You’re throwing away the results of our 10 years of fighting!”

“We can’t follow that traitor’s orders!”

Some French troops stationed in Algeria immediately mutinied.

However, there was no possibility of a successful rebellion by colonial troops stationed far from the home country.

France ended the colonial war by cooperating with Algerians to suppress the rebels.

The end of the colonial wars following the defeat of the fascists.

Narratively speaking, it was merely a slightly delayed reenactment of what had happened in England.

But when you look at it overlapping with other stories, the context is completely different.

‘France was liberated from colonial wars.’

The Soviet Union was shocked to hear that the Algerian War had ended overnight.

‘If this happens, the French will be able to project their power into Italy.’

Moscow could not help but seriously consider the possibility that up to 600,000 French troops tied up in Algiers would pour into Italy.

In this case, additional deployment of troops was inevitable.

The problem was the opposition of the European communist countries.

If we were to ask for more troops when we had already deployed hundreds of thousands of troops, it was obvious that no one would respond.

Even if it were possible, if such reckless military expeditions continued, there was a risk that the communist regimes that had been painstakingly built would collapse.

This can be seen immediately by looking at the collapse of the Leotard regime, which boasted of its strong power.

Moscow could not help but turn its calculator again.

If you just back down, your prestige, status, and trust will collapse.

However, if we directly deploy federal troops, the risk of all-out war will increase.

Should we back off or push on to Italy, where a difficult fight awaits us?

“Comrade Secretary, wouldn’t it be better to escalate the war crisis?”

Normally, he would have dismissed it as crazy talk, but given the circumstances, Stalin decided to give the proposal a listen.

“I will listen, so speak.”

“What we are worried about now is that the West is throwing more chips at the limited board, isn’t it?”

“yes.”

“So we need to show that there is a possibility of a battlefield opening up elsewhere, so that the West cannot push its chips further into Italy.”

Let’s overcome the crisis with intimidation.

It was a plausible story, even to the secretary.

While Stalin was lost in thought, the attendees remained silent.

Finally, the secretary tapped the desk with his pen.

“Well, that doesn’t seem like a bad idea. I think it’s right for us to go all out in this situation.”

Stalin didn’t like taking risks, but when the stakes were this high, he knew how to take a bold step.

Wasn’t it the same during the Soviet-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact?

“Comrade Vasilevsky.”

“Yes, Comrade Secretary.”

“Prepare to increase the German and Czech garrison forces by three times their current size.”

The Soviet troops currently deployed in Central Europe number one million.

To triple that, a partial mobilization order would have been necessary.

Everyone swallowed as they thought about the repercussions this measure would bring.

The size of the troops deployed to Central Europe was enough to make the West nervous, not to mention the partial mobilization itself.

“We will take action immediately.”

Minister of War Vasilevsky accepted Stalin’s order without hesitation.

In order to maintain its expanded influence after the war, the military needed to prove its usefulness.

Vasilevsky knew only too well what fate befell a hunting dog that failed to prove its worth.

“And while we’re at it, it would be good if we could create a treaty organization like NATO.”

Although he hesitated to take a confrontational stance with the West, he was faced with bayonets in the Italian War anyway.

Stalin had no reason to hesitate any longer.

“Then how about setting up an organization in Warsaw?”

Moscow is too far behind, and Berlin is just around the corner.

Warsaw, which was reasonably close to the front and also safe, was an ideal location for the headquarters.

“That might not be so bad.”

The WTO, or Warsaw Pact, came into being with a few words in the Secretary General’s office.

From partial mobilization of an army of 3 million men to the creation of a treaty organization to rival NATO.

The Secretary-General’s response was beyond imagination.

However, everyone agreed that it was a move fit to threaten the West.

The next day, the shocking action taken by the Soviet Union sent shockwaves through the world.

As partial mobilization was ordered across the Federation, millions of men began moving to their military camps.

Western observers were gripped with horror as soon as they confirmed this fact.

“Father, partial mobilization order?”

“Based on the information we have, it appears to be true.”

What was even more surprising was what happened next.

“You’re sending 2 million more to Europe?”

“Ivan, are those guys crazy?”

“This is clear evidence that they are preparing for a world war!”

Not only the United States, but all of NATO was put on alert.

It was hard to believe that the Soviet Union would go to such lengths to save just one Italy.

“Should we die for Rome?”

Immediately, small voices calling for an anti-war resounded throughout Western countries.

In particular, in Germany, which was at the forefront of the war, voices calling for peace were loud.

“Peace instead of war! We want peace!”

Of course, that cry was not heard by the leaders of the two countries.

Before long, the fear of all-out war spread across Europe.