September 1, 1939, 1 p.m.

The western front of the Polish Primorsky Army (this hapless army group fought on two fronts) was already destined to be cut in two with the breakthrough of the Brachy River.

At this time, the Supreme Commander of the Polish Army, Field Marshal Reiz-Himigvi, was calling at Warsaw Castle to report the good news.

"Yes, Mr. President, we have resisted." The Polish marshal said in a joyful and affirmative tone, "On the north-western front, our troops have held the Germans at the west bank of the Brachy, and a new line of defense is being constructed; On the Northern Front, the Modlin Army repulsed the Germans, and the corpses of the Germans were piled up in front of our trenches, which, if we wished, could immediately storm East Prussia; On the Southern Front, the situation was slightly more severe, with Army Group Lodz and Army Group Krakow fighting very hard, but Army Group Carpathian fought well, crushing the offensive of the German and Slovak armies (as a vassal of Germany, Slovakia also participated in the war against Poland...... The situation in the port of Danzig was also good, the German fleet was blocked out of the port, and we also sent seaplanes to drop torpedoes, but unfortunately they did not hit, but they also frightened the Germans. ”

The Polish marshal, of course, was lying, and the lie was not addressed to Polish President Ignaci. Mošićcki listened to it, but to the British ambassador who was a guest at Warsaw Castle - at 12:45 p.m., the secretary of Warsaw Castle called and told Rez-Shimigvi: British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain thought that peace negotiations could be considered on the basis of the "six points" put forward by Germany!

In other words, Britain was still quite hesitant to go to war against Germany! If Britain retreated and no longer fulfilled its obligation to participate in the war, Poland would be doomed.

Therefore, Marshal Rez-Himigvi understood what the Polish president meant at that time, so he temporarily left a lot of military affairs that were a headache to look at, and first called the presidential palace to "report the good news".

Soon the voice of the British ambassador came from the other side of the phone: "Your Excellency Marshal, I heard that your air force suffered great losses under the surprise attack of the Luftwaffe?" ”

There is no way to hide this, the second Luftwaffe air raid on Warsaw has just ended! Although there were few casualties, Warsaw's airport, railway station and road out of the city, as well as several warehouses stockpiling supplies, were bombed. There are also people in the city who are nervous.

"Yes, the losses of the Air Force are very large!" "But the Polish people will not be intimidated by the air raids of the Germans!" We will hold out to resist, no matter how many tons of bombs they drop on Warsaw! ”

"The Polish people are so brave," said the British ambassador appreciatively, and then he paused again, "then, marshal, you really do not consider the 6 peace conditions proposed by the Germans?" ”

"No," said Rez-Himigvi in a tone that seemed very angry, "Mr. Ambassador, it is Germany that should now be considered for peace!" Because their military offensive has completely failed, we will soon throw reserves into a counteroffensive...... We have the ability and determination to do so! First of all, East Prussia, the Modlin Army and the Narev tactical cluster are ready to storm East Prussia, and the offensive will begin soon! ”

"Oh," said the British ambassador, who was silent for a moment, and then asked in a tentative tone, "you demand East Prussia?" Is this your condition of peace? ”

"Yes!" "Who let them start a war and suffer defeat?" Mr. Ambassador, please convey to London: stupid losers should be punished! ”

"Okay, I'll report your words to Whitehall Street." said the British ambassador.

Reiz-Shimigvi hung up the phone and sighed softly, his big words had already been said, and it was really hard to say whether the British would believe it and then immediately declare war on Germany. And now Poland is not only in danger with Germany, but also from the Soviet Union. According to the latest report of the Ukrainian Defense Forces, both the Belarusian and Ukrainian special military districts of the USSR have now been renamed the "Front". This could well mean that the Soviet Union was about to attack right-bank Ukraine......

……

Whitehall Street, UK, 1.30pm (Greenwich Mean Time, 1 hour behind Germany and Poland) Rez-Shimigvi's "peace terms" were reported by the British embassy in Warsaw, by airwaves, to the hands of the British Foreign Secretary, Viscount Halifax.

"The Poles rejected Germany's idea of peace and also put forward their own terms of peace," Viscount Halifax shook his head slightly, "and the Poles thought they had achieved a considerable advantage and therefore wanted to get East Prussia after the victory." ”

"I think I can consider it." Winston Churchill, the British Admiralty, immediately nodded in agreement - Churchill, along with Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and other members of the Cabinet, were meeting in Whitehall Street to discuss the declaration of war on Germany.

"Winston, the Poles are bragging!" Neville. Chamberlain glared at Churchill, the Secretary of the Admiralty. Bringing this almost "thorny" MP into the cabinet is all about appeasing the main militants in the Conservative Party. But that doesn't represent Neville. Chamberlain wanted to go to war with Germany.

Because Chamberlain knew very well that as soon as the war began, it would never stop. Either Germany collapsed completely, or the British Empire fell apart - it was a gamble on the fate and future of the empire!

"What are we waiting for?" Winston. Churchill spread his hands, "The Poles are still fighting valiantly, the German offensive is likely to have been thwarted, and even if the Poles exaggerate their gains, we should not back down." Because this is the duty of the British Empire, if we betray our allies in violation of our obligations, no country will ever believe in us. As for the USSR, we also don't need to worry, didn't our and French planes already get to the Middle East? If Stalin dared to take advantage of the fire at this time, then he would have miscalculated. ”

"Of course, of course, I know ......" Neville. Chamberlain knew that the main camp was already in the majority of Conservative MPs. "But we should still consult with France."

He still wanted to delay for a while and see if there was a turnaround, so he looked at Halifax and said, "Viscount, you go to Paris and discuss with Chancellor Faraday about the ultimatum to Germany." He paused, and then said, "In addition, the French should discuss the air raid on Baku and the formation of the Eastern Army." ”

The so-called Eastern Army is based in Iraq, French Syria, and Lebanon, and is used to block the Soviet Union's southward movement of the Middle East coalition forces, and its commander-in-chief is tentatively General Weygand of France -- he is now the commander-in-chief of the French forces in Syria and Lebanon!

"Also," said British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, after a moment's thought, "you will discuss with French Prime Minister Faraday the question of the invasion of Crimea and Romania." ”

Britain and France now had an extremely risky plan - they did not dare to fight Germany to the death on the Continent, but they always wanted to strike "on the periphery" and trap Germany. In addition to bombing the Baku oil fields, Britain and France also planned to send ground troops to South Russia and Romania (as was the case in history, because the German attack was too quick to destroy France).

……

The great leader of the Soviet Union, Joseph. Comrade Stalin did not think at this time that Britain and France were planning to attack the Soviet Union, and it seemed to him that Britain and France would most likely try to win over the Soviet Union now.

"Is the ultimatum ready for the Poles?" Stalin held a cigarette in one hand and a report from the Red Army Intelligence in the other - a report on the ongoing Polish-German war.

The report says that the air force of the Germans performed excellently and suppressed the Polish air force at the very beginning. And in the air battle over Warsaw, the Germans also used an advanced aircraft that had never been shown in the past.

This aircraft showed an overwhelming superiority against Polish PZL.11 fighters!

But the situation of the battle on the ground was unknown, and the Germans seemed to be "in a hurry" and threw themselves into the offensive with insufficient time for artillery preparation. In addition, the Germans also concentrated on tanks and launched onslaught on both the north and south fronts, and the attack may have made some progress, but the Polish military top brass in Warsaw was more optimistic......

"It is ready," replied People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs Molotov, who had come to report to Stalin, "and our ambassador to Poland could deliver an ultimatum at any time." In addition, the German ambassador, Count Schulenburg, had just called the People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs, hoping that we could immediately fulfill our obligations under the treaty and go to war with Poland. Comrade General Secretary, how should the People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs answer as well? ”

Stalin was silent and did not speak, and Molotov did not dare to ask, but sat respectfully, and I don't know how long it took before Stalin spoke: "Tomorrow at the earliest!" But we have to give the Poles a few days to reply. ”

"Will you deliver an ultimatum tomorrow?" Molotov asked cautiously.

In addition to the ultimatum, the People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs prepared another program - which, of course, was prepared on the instructions of Stalin.

"With option No. 2 first, if the Poles are willing to dissolve their federation, then right-bank Ukraine is a matter between us and the Ukrainians." Stalin paused, "That's ...... We can do without Western Belarus and at the same time not interfere in their war with the Germans. ”

This is actually no different from an ultimatum, except that there is one less threat of war.

"Understood," Molotov stood up and wanted to leave, but Stalin suddenly said again: "Go and talk to the Poles today and tell them that we recognize the independence of Poland and now we just want to reclaim the lost territories of right-bank Ukraine." (To be continued.) )