Chapter 1022 Peace Movement
Near the Swiss capital of Bern, in the picturesque town of Hofn, there is a fairy-tale-like castle called Oberhofenburg on the shore of Lake Thun. It once belonged to the Habsburg dynasty, which led Europe. After the last World War, the descendants of the declining dynasty sold it to an American consortium. Now it has become the villa of the US Ambassador to Switzerland, Hopkins.
The newly appointed US ambassador seems to like this place very much. He has hardly ever been to the embassy. He lives in Oberhofenburg all day long. He also pushed all diplomatic activities with the Swiss Confederation to the counselor and devoted himself to the peace movement.
"Is your country really willing to withdraw all its troops from Australia and New Zealand? Does your country have any arrangements for the future of Australia and New Zealand?" The person who was asking Hopkins in the elegant summer hall of Oberhofenburg was Matsuoka Yosuke, the Japanese ambassador to the Roman Empire. Now he is the official in charge of Japan's peace activities with the United States, and the US-Japan peace talks are conducted under the mediation of the Roman Empire.
Therefore, today, the Roman Empire Foreign Minister Galeazzo Ciano, Marquis of Capri, who accompanied Matsuoka Yosuke to Oberhofenburg, was also present. This elegant fascist leader is now lucky. Not only did he not get shot (historically, he has been dead for several months), but he has also become the political successor of his father-in-law, Mussolini, and the future great leader of the Roman Empire!
Unlike Hitler, who was a little exhausted by the Russian integration, Mussolini has been living a very comfortable life during this period. The Roman Empire has been revived, Caesar has become the emperor (not the emperor, but the Caesar), and he has also got a loyal younger brother in South America - Juan Peron's Argentina.
Peron is now a servant of two masters. Not only are the Germans supporting him, but Mussolini also regards him as his good student, and also regards supporting Argentina as a good move for the Roman Empire to intervene in South America.
In addition, the Japanese and Americans now flatter Mussolini, calling him the most outstanding leader in Europe, and even comparing the Roman Empire with the European Community - the European Community is Germany + Britain + France + Russia + a lot of other countries! The Roman Empire can actually be on par with the European Community, how can Mussolini not be proud?
And the world war seems to be coming to a successful end for Mussolini. He did not participate in the Soviet-German War at all (Hersman did not intend to let him participate), and the war with the United States will soon end with the United States seeking peace and paying compensation.
As early as when Kennedy was the US ambassador to Switzerland, Mussolini had met with the American ambassador more than once. And the magnanimous Roman Caesar also agreed to forgive the Americans... The condition was that the Americans symbolically compensated the Roman Empire with tens of millions of dollars.
In fact, Mussolini didn't care how much compensation he paid, he just wanted the false reputation of defeating the United States.
After the Americans agreed to pay compensation, Mussolini did not immediately sign the US-Roman Peace Treaty. Instead, he continued to mediate peace between the United States and Japan, because Mussolini felt that the Roman Empire was a responsible and reputable great power, and it could not abandon its allies and make peace alone. Instead, it should bring the European Community and Japan together to make peace with the United States.
So Mussolini was very enthusiastic about mediating peace between the United States and Japan.
However, the US-Japan peace movement has never been smooth, because the United States has deep resentment towards Japan, and is unwilling to give up the Hawaiian Islands and control over Australia and New Zealand.
And Japan is naturally unwilling to let the United States take back the Hawaiian Islands, and even more unwilling to let the United States maintain a strong military presence in Australia and New Zealand - although the front of the Pacific battlefield is now in the Hawaiian Islands, it is actually Australia and New Zealand that really make Japan feel uneasy.
Not to mention how much threat the B-29 long-range bombers that have just begun to be deployed in large numbers to Australia will pose to Japan's oil fields in the South Pacific. The activities of US submarines attacking from Australia in the South Pacific alone have posed a great threat to the Japanese.
As more and more US submarines are put into service, the threat of the US wolf pack is becoming greater and greater. However, Japan's national strength is limited, and it is impossible for it to learn from the British and American history to desperately build ships to fight against the enemy's underwater wolf pack.
Moreover, the Japanese Navy has always attached importance to decisive battles and neglected escorts. The number of destroyers and anti-submarine patrol aircraft is seriously insufficient, and it cannot cope with the US "submarine sea" at all. In history, in order to fight against the German wolf pack, the British and American destroyers and escort destroyers were equipped with more than 1,000 ships, while the total production of German submarines in World War II was more than 1,150. The number of the two seems to be similar, but because the loss rate of submarines is much higher than that of anti-submarine destroyers, and the anti-submarine means of the British and American are not limited to destroyers, the German submarines have to face the British and American destroyers and various anti-submarine aircraft that have always been in a great advantage in number in the Battle of the Atlantic.
In contrast, Japan has built more than 200 destroyers so far, of which only more than 150 are truly useful "first-class destroyers" (the total production as of May 1944). Because there have been losses on the battlefield, there are only 118 "first-class destroyers" now, almost all of which are used for surface fleet operations.
The remaining dozens of outdated destroyers and a very small number of first-class destroyers had to fight against American submarines that were 10 times their own size (at this time and time, the United States had to take the submarine route because it did not have sea control in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans), so it was impossible for them to win.
And Germany was powerless to do anything about it, not only because the EEC Navy did not have enough destroyers of its own (there were also anti-submarine missions in the Atlantic), but also because the Japanese Navy looked down on the "cheap ships" 1936 D-type destroyers built in large quantities before the Pacific war took a sharp turn for the worse. The Japanese wanted super destroyers like the French "Utopian" and "Mogador" classes, and even placed an order with the French shipyard in October 1943, ordering 5 "Mogador" class heavy torpedo improved models. This is a large destroyer of more than 4,000 tons, almost catching up with the light cruiser...
However, the Japanese Navy focused on decisive battles and ignored the escort route, and it seemed to have really reaped the rewards in May 1944.
The Americans were really "scared", and they also proposed a very tempting peace condition through the mediation of the Roman Empire.
The United States was willing to withdraw from Australia and New Zealand in exchange for Japan's withdrawal from the Hawaiian Islands and signing a peace treaty.
"Australia and New Zealand are both independent countries, how can we arrange their future?" Hopkins' voice was very low and he spoke very slowly, as if he was very unwilling.
He said to Matsuoka Yosuke in English with a wry smile: "If you can guarantee not to infringe on the sovereignty of Australia and New Zealand, we can promote permanent neutrality between Australia and New Zealand."
Matsuoka Yosuke's English was very fluent, and he did not need a translator to talk directly to Hopkins. He immediately asked: "What does permanent neutrality mean? What kind of guarantee is there? Do the military forces of Australia and New Zealand need to be restricted? As a guarantee, can Japan's army and navy be stationed in certain places in Australia and New Zealand?"
When he asked these questions, the excitement in his heart could hardly be suppressed.
If the permanent neutrality of Australia and New Zealand is really guaranteed, it means that these two rich countries will rely on the protection of the Japanese Empire.
Because many important islands in the South Pacific and the Strait of Malacca are now under the control of Japan, and the permanent neutrality of Australia and New Zealand means that the military forces of the European Community will not be stationed...
Hearing Matsuoka's question, Hopkins sneered in his heart: Do you think the Germans will allow Australia and New Zealand to be "permanently neutral"? It's so naive.
"Permanent neutrality means, of course, like Switzerland, that the major countries in the world sign a treaty to guarantee the eternal neutrality of Australia and New Zealand. At the same time, all foreign troops are prohibited from entering."
When Hopkins said this, he glanced at the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Roman Empire. Marquis Ciano smiled: "The Roman Empire has no objection to this and will respect the choice of Australia and New Zealand."
Marquis Ciano certainly knew that Germany would not let go of Australia and New Zealand. Although Rome supported "permanent neutrality", he could only say some ambiguous words. After all, Japan is far away and can ignore Germany, but Rome is next to those Germanic barbarians. If the Germans are angered, it may be a barbarian invasion.
However, his words still gave Matsuoka Yosuke some encouragement. In his opinion, the Roman Empire also supported the permanent neutrality of Australia and New Zealand.
"So..." Matsuoka Yosuke asked again, "Are you ready to make peace with Germany? Mr. Ambassador, you know that our Great Japanese Empire is a responsible big country. We have signed a treaty with Germany to fight together, and we cannot make peace alone."
"Of course, we must make peace with Germany." Hopkins smiled, "As for the peace conditions, I can tell you now: as long as the Germans are willing to withdraw their troops from Guyana and Brazil, we can recognize the New Aspania Federation (referring to the federation composed of Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and southern Brazil), and at the same time stop interfering in the Soviet-Russian civil war. I believe that such conditions are enough to exchange for peace."
It should be enough for Germany! Matsuoka Yosuke exhaled lightly. He really couldn't think of any reason why Germany would not accept such peace conditions. However, Japan should still get the Soviet Far East, at least a buffer state should be established in the Far East. At the same time, it should be confirmed that the east of Malacca and the west of Hawaii are the sphere of influence of the Japanese Empire...