I Will Stage A Coup D’état - Chapter 71
Only Noblemtl
EP.71 Invasion of Indochina (1)
In October 1941, the Indochina invasion began.
It was the first time in Korean history that an expeditionary force had been sent so far away since the Great War.
Citizens who gathered at the event felt their hearts filled with pride.
“Oh, proud Korea.”
“The son of the Great Korean nation with half a millennium of history has finally taken on the burden of the Yellow Man.”
A man dressed in a marshal’s uniform entered the red carpet to the sound of a loud military band.
“His Excellency the Prime Minister is entering.”
“Everyone, stand up, guns.”
At the prepared inspection ceremony, selected military police came out and displayed a splendid ceremony.
Lee Seong-jun walked, following the example of soldiers moving with restraint.
With every step, I could feel the majesty of a person in power.
It was as if a tiger was walking by.
When Lee Seong-jun, the man at the top of the empire, stepped onto the stage, people barely managed to catch their breath.
Lee Seong-jun wasn’t the type of person to fire a cannon just because he was catching his breath, but he had to be careful not to breathe in front of someone with that much power.
“Loyalty. Commander Baek Dong-seok of the Expeditionary Force and the 58,000 soldiers from the expeditionary force report that they are now entering the Indochina liberation operation.”
Lee Seong-jun lightly raised and lowered his hand.
Kim Seong-ju had his own political calculations in appointing Baek Dong-seok, one of the big names in the National Salvation Military Committee, for this operation.
‘The Chinese war is a war that will not have any notable battles anyway, so we should put our people in Indochina, where it is easier to achieve results and attract more attention.’
It was typical camp logic, but Lee Seong-jun also tolerated it.
No matter how strong the control over the military was, it was necessary to prevent uncontrollable variables from arising as much as possible.
“My lord, I will approve the operation. I believe that you will bring victory to Korea.”
“General Baek Dong-seok, I will live up to the expectations of His Excellency the Prime Minister.”
The inspection took place for one hour.
The South Korean military showed off various equipment, including tanks, vehicles, and self-propelled guns, that they would be deploying in this attack.
The number of troops mobilized reached two divisions.
Of course, if you asked whether it was possible to transport all this massive equipment to Indochina, the answer was no.
The Korean military had an abnormal structure in which, compared to its large combat ship force, its logistics support ships were too weak.
The Korean military’s logistics capacity was at best able to transport one fully formed armored regiment.
“Those militarist bastards. How far do they plan to go with their war of aggression?”
But it was enough to scare foreigners who didn’t know the circumstances.
The expression on the face of the French ambassador, Charles Arsene Henry, who was actually watching this scene, was half-rotten.
“Koreans really intend to devour Indochina as a whole.”
Officially, Korea and France were not in a state of war.
However, such facts did not seem to matter to the militaristic Koreans.
In the first place, international law in Pyongyang was no better than an unchewed gum.
‘They’re like the Prussians of the Far East.’
The only two countries that put into practice the idea of trampling on neutral countries for strategic convenience were Germany and South Korea.
The French ambassador immediately filed a protest with the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs upon returning to the embassy.
The South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs gave this response:
“It is doubtful whether France is truly free from fascist influence. As proof, the French colonial government in Indochina committed the outrage of intervening in the Sino-Korean War, despite its obligation to maintain strict wartime neutrality. If the French authorities did not want it, who could have forced them?”
South Korea argued that:
Since Germany is ‘using’ French Indochina, Korea will go and ‘liberate’ it.
I will go and protect the colonial administration and the local French property without touching them.
It was astonishing logic.
While spouting such nonsense, Koreans had no doubt that they were abiding by international law.
What was even more absurd was the reaction of the Anglo-Americans, who should have started a match here.
“South Korea’s actions should be interpreted as an exercise of the right to self-defense.”
“Isn’t Korea just going to blockade the Hanoi route and leave the colonial government in place? If Korea goes further, that’s a problem to think about then.”
“You guys are going to lose anyway if we fight, so let’s just end it on a good note.”
Following China, Britain and the United States also took the stance of acquiescing to Korea’s expansion in Southeast Asia.
No, is Hitler that scary?
Thinking about it, it was scary.
Isn’t it the Germans’ fault that our country is still in a vegetative state?
Ambassador Henri decided to report the situation in the Far East to his home country.
The French government was furious at Henry’s report.
“We must never surrender to the Koreans!”
In addition, Marshal Philippe Pétain’s government had already suffered a significant blow to its legitimacy by capitulating to the Nazis and coming to power.
If Korea were to ‘liberate’ its colonies in this situation, I didn’t know what would happen.
There was also a risk that the Germans’ attitude would become more indifferent.
To gain respect, you had to show your skills.
The Petain government’s orders for Indochina were decided from the beginning.
“Fight against Korea with every soldier and every warship!”
The Indochina Governor-General was greatly embarrassed when he received the de facto order to kill himself.
The Governor-General of the Federation of Indochina, Giang Decou, thought the government was crazy.
‘If we had proper troops, what on earth would we have against those Koreans?’
Realistically, it would have been suicidal to confront Korea with the full force of the Indochina Federation.
Although the Indochina side had more troops, there was no comparison in terms of quality.
The gap in naval power was even more severe.
How could a battle be fought when the Indochina Navy has fewer destroyers and corvettes than the Korean Navy’s combined fleet?
Nevertheless, the French Army was determined to fight.
Brigadier-General Gabriel Sabatier, commander-in-chief of French forces in Indochina, conveyed to the governor-general his intention to obey the government’s orders to fight to the last man.
“This is nonsense, General.”
“I know it is reckless, Your Excellency the Governor.”
“But why?”
Sabatier recalled the day France surrendered helplessly.
How heartbreaking was the humiliation of that day when we collapsed without even being able to put up a proper fight against the German army.
That day, I learned that living is more shameful than dying.
That’s why Sabatier wanted to fight.
This was the only way to restore the honor of the fatherland that had fallen to the ground.
The world was not polite enough to respect cowards who gave up their country for nothing.
Someone had to shed blood to protect the dignity of the fatherland.
“It is a soldier’s duty.”
The governor sighed deeply at Sabatier’s calm words.
“I don’t think there is any point in making such sacrifices. I believe that it is important to let at least one more person survive.”
“That is Your Majesty’s way. My way is to serve my country with my life.”
“Do as you wish.”
The governor temporarily abandoned his plan to surrender without resistance.
It was a plan that would have been impossible from the start without the cooperation of the French military.
The Governor-General sent word through British Hong Kong that Indochina would be subject to orders from Paris.
French resistance.
This was an unexpected reaction from the Korean government.
“This is a bit of a difficult situation. His Majesty will be very uncomfortable.”
Kim Seong-ju was more worried about Lee Seong-jun being upset than about things going wrong.
“Kim Yuk-sang. Don’t worry too much. I’ll take care of it. Those little snails won’t change the game just because they’re wiggling around a little. How much power do we have?”
Baek Dong-seok reassured Kim Seong-ju with his confident attitude.
‘Well, General Baek’s words aren’t wrong.’
Given the overwhelming superiority of the Korean Navy, the expeditionary force was effectively entering a fight they could not afford to lose.
“The number of casualties must be kept to a minimum. If there is a lot of bloodshed, the people will definitely want the land.”
“Don’t you think I don’t know?”
Baek Dong-seok was fully prepared there.
“Just outsource it like they did in China.”
“You’re outsourcing? Do you have any friends who would do that?”
“Ho Chi Minh.”
Kim Seong-ju was a little embarrassed by Baek Dong-seok’s words.
It was a familiar name, but he wasn’t that important of a person.
“Isn’t he the leader of the Indochina Communist Party? Even so, he’s just a piece of trash who has lost all his power. What use would you make of someone like that?”
Although it was in a better position than the divided Vietnamese Nationalist Party, the Indochinese Communist Party was also in decline.
“This is the one Your Majesty asked me to use.”
“Then there won’t be a problem.”
Use Ho Chi Minh to defeat the French colonial forces.
It’s okay if the communists grow their power in the process.
Of course, would His Majesty have made such a move without even calculating it to that extent?
The Korean military decided to adopt the Lee-Je-Yi strategy of using the Communist Party to crush French resistance.
Once this policy was established, the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs also took action.
Soon, Ho Chi Minh was contacted across several lines.
“Mr. Ho. I would like to talk to you in Korea.”
“Korea? Those imperialists?”
Ho Chi Minh did not have very good feelings toward Korea.
Despite its position and national power as the only great power in Asia, Korea was a people who endlessly started wars to satisfy their greed rather than fighting for the cause of Asians.
In some ways, they were more heinous yellow traitors than Western imperialists.
“Yes. What would you like to do?”
If we look at it only from an emotional standpoint, Korea was a group of people not even worth talking to.
However, as the head of the Indochinese Communist Party, which had begun real politics, it was impossible to ignore Korea.
“Where should we meet?”
Ho Chi Minh decided to have a conversation with Koreans.