Chapter 1323: A few bones of Britain (second update, please subscribe)
Since two days ago, Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas, has become the focus of the world's attention!
The meeting between the heads of state of the United Kingdom and the United States is being held here. In everyone's opinion, they may talk about the "Cuba issue" and, of course, other international issues.
But no one expected that this meeting would be full of gunpowder from the beginning.
Late at night on December 19, Macmillan sat there silently. This British Prime Minister, who had acquiesced to his wife's extramarital affair for more than thirty years, was definitely a guy who was good at forbearing, but now Woolen cloth?
Deep in his heart, there was so much anger!
Burning with rage, he thought over and over in his mind the conversation he had with Kennedy over the past two days. It was no longer a conversation, but a sword swing.
“Kennedy and the Americans are trying to castrate the very foundation of Britain!”
Taking a strong drag on his cigarette, Macmillan said to himself:
“No matter what No matter what, I won’t let you get what you want!”
In the darkness, Macmillan's eyes were as bright as an angry lion.
Tomorrow... it will be a real war!
At this moment, Macmillan seemed to be thinking of Churchill and how he faced difficulties and persisted in that darkest moment during World War II.
Now, it's his turn!
It is absolutely impossible to give in.
In fact, it was difficult for him to give in. He was the one who originally asked to join the U.S. "Air Lightning Missile" program. In fact, he only participated in the program at the request of the Royal Air Force.
Although Britain had purchased medium-range missiles from Nanyang at that time and had nuclear counterattack capabilities. But the UK still has hundreds of IIIV bombers, and the Royal Air Force needs a ballistic missile that can be launched from the air to restore the bombers' combat effectiveness.
Nanyang has no similar plan. Therefore, the United States' "Air Lightning Ballistic Missile." has become the best or even the only choice.
The United Kingdom has high hopes for this plan. After all, the medium-range missiles purchased from Nanyang will soon reach the end of their lifespan, and because of its small land area, the United Kingdom is not suitable for deploying land-based missiles.
In this case, air-launched ballistic missiles that can be carried by bombers have become Britain's only nuclear deterrent in the future.
In the absence of Nanyang, the United States is the only option.
But no matter what, they did not expect that the Americans would terminate the plan with various lame excuses.
Not only that, now they are trying to turn the British Empire into their little follower.
“Americans...really think they can do whatever they want?”
In the darkness, Macmillan’s eyes, reddened by the light of the cigarette butts, burst out with nothing but anger. Outside it is more perseverance.
In the early morning of the next morning, Macmillan got up early, had some breakfast, and drank two cups of coffee. At first, both of them just smiled politely, and then as soon as they came up, Kennedy once again emphasized the United States' demands.
“Based on common interests, the United States believes that the United Kingdom should give up the continued development of nuclear forces and only develop conventional forces, while the United States is responsible for nuclear forces.”
In a word, the nuclear power is too deep. , if you can’t grasp it, let the United States grasp it for you.
Look, America is so considerate.
After Kennedy said these words, Macmillan said:
"It is necessary for the UK to develop its own nuclear power. We must take this power into our own hands! We have no intention of taking it from others!"
From talking about "handing over the British nuclear power to From that moment on, Macmillan and Kennedy began a tit-for-tat struggle in Nassau.
"Mr. Prime Minister, this is for the common interests of the entire NATO allies. The United States is responsible for the nuclear security of NATO allies, while NATO allies can devote more funds and energy to developing conventional forces, which will have Help us defeat the Soviet Union!”
Kennedy, who “brings the power of victory over Cuba,” has a very tough attitude at this time. In his opinion, it is time to turn Britain into a subordinate of the United States!
“And I hope Prime Minister you can understand that this is not a consultation, but a notification!”
What is a notification?
Just tell him - the United States has decided that regardless of whether the United Kingdom accepts it or not, the United States will not allow the United Kingdom to have strategic nuclear forces!
In other words, he is telling the UK that the decision-making power is not in his hands.
Now Washington has made a decision, no, more accurately, Kennedy has made a decision, London - you must choose to obey!
Facing the "notice", Macmillan suppressed his anger, expressed his anger and dissatisfaction with a sneer, and said at the same time:
"Notification? Is this the decision of the United States? Just like Moscow notifies Warsaw? Or like notifying Budapest!"
Macmillan's tone was full of anger. At this moment, he felt unprecedented The humiliation, in his opinion, even exceeded the threats Hitler issued back then.
Even Hitler, as an enemy, did not give orders to Britain in this tone.
“Since when did Britain become a vassal of the United States? Just like Hungary and the Soviet Union!”
At this moment, everyone felt Macmillan’s anger , he specifically mentioned that Hungary and the Soviet Union were once allies, but in the face of the Soviet invasion, the Hungarians resolutely used their courage and blood to defend Hungary.
This also reminds the other party that Britain still has a few bones. In the face of threats, Britain will also persist to the end.
Like Hungary, the British did not mind sacrifice and bloodshed!
Facing Macmillan’s anger, Kennedy was a little more polite:
“Mr. Prime Minister, please forgive me, I think you misunderstood me. From the perspective of the United States, Britain has always been They are all partners with a special relationship with the United States, but it is for our common interests that the United States is responsible for NATO's nuclear forces, and the United Kingdom will also save a lot of financial expenditure. After all, the cost of establishing and maintaining a nuclear weapons arsenal is very huge! You can use more funds for the construction of conventional forces, and of course for your welfare expenses!”
Kennedy seemed to be apologetic, but his attitude was still firm. There is only one demand - Britain must give up its strategic nuclear forces.
As for everything else, it doesn't matter. What's important is that you must obey.
“We believe that whether to build and maintain a nuclear weapons arsenal is Britain’s own business, and it is not Washington’s turn to worry about it, just like we will not worry about your nuclear bombs!
Britain’s Therefore, joining NATO is to avoid Moscow notifying Warsaw from happening in London. If all this cannot be avoided, then we might as well just go to the Warsaw Pact. Just like the Russians, they have various restrictions on the power of the allies and do not Allow them to have nuclear weapons!"
Looking at Kennedy, the guy who became famous with the "Cuban Missile Crisis", Macmillan said coldly:
"I think De Gaulle has the same feeling. Of course they agree with me.”
The independent nuclear deterrence strategy is not only the core of Britain's defense, but also the core of France's defense. The United States' pressure on Britain will also be used on France.
So, Macmillan directly involved France, and France's attitude on this issue will definitely be more determined than that of the UK. After all, it is absolutely impossible for that guy de Gaulle to give up his strategic nuclear deterrent force. .
As for defecting to the Russians... it is just a verbal threat. They will not defect, but it does not mean that they will not remain neutral in the Cold War.
And neutrality... itself is surrender!
Faced with his threat to pull France to surrender to Russia, Kennedy directly made harsh words, saying:
"If this happens, we will use every ounce of gold to completely crush the pound! After all, for the United States, we will never accept Britain as an ally of Russia!"
This is a breakup. !
Kennedy's response was not just a threat, in fact, it was also a means in the White House's plan. As early as the Eisenhower era, the United States did not want the United Kingdom to have an independent strategic nuclear force, so it used the "Lightning Missile" to induce the United Kingdom to give up the "Blue Light Missile", which itself was a carefully planned attempt by the U.S. government to terminate British independence. of nuclear deterrence. Now, it’s time to get Britain back where it belongs – under the protection of the United States.
Faced with such a threat, Macmillan said directly:
"Mr. President, we will take all measures to protect the pound, not only using our power, but the power of the entire Commonwealth.
I believe that when the time comes, the Soviets will also be willing to help, and in the meantime , the UK will no longer welcome US troops stationed in the UK, and in order to ensure our security, I believe the British will not mind inviting Please move in!
Just like we did whatever it took to defeat Hitler, we can cooperate with any country to defend the British Empire.”
In Macmillan Company. After all the harsh words about inviting the Soviet Union to station troops were released, the meeting was no longer a meeting, but a fierce confrontation. Faced with the suppression of the United States, the United Kingdom launched the most violent resistance to the United States in history. This resistance was a full-scale fall to the Soviet Union.
Faced with Macmillan’s threat to expel the U.S. troops stationed in Britain and defect to the Soviet Union, U.S. President Kennedy also took a tough stance and refused to make substantive concessions.
The meeting on the third day did not make any progress, and the two sides broke up on bad terms again.
The outside world knows nothing about this. Despite this, reporters from various countries still discovered some clues. They found that officials from the United Kingdom and the United States no longer even have dialogue in public, and even Each treats the other with a vigilant or even repulsive attitude.
“There may have been a conflict at the meeting between the heads of state of the United States and Britain!”
Almost immediately, reporters from various countries made this judgment, and soon, rumors spread—— The United States tried to prevent the United Kingdom from possessing an independent nuclear deterrent force, and attempted to incorporate the British nuclear deterrent force into the scope of NATO through the "Multilateral Nuclear Forces" plan, thus achieving centralized command and control of nuclear weapons by the United States.
After this news came out, there was an uproar in the UK. Many Conservative MPs called on the government to reject the United States. They also expressed their dissatisfaction with the United States through public channels. In their view, the Americans were infringement of British sovereignty.
Of course, what they didn’t know was that during this four-day meeting, the United States’ violation of British sovereignty had reached its extreme, and in order to safeguard its own interests, the British had played all the cards they had, Macmillan Taking the diplomatic skills accumulated by the British Empire over the past century to the extreme, on the fourth day, in order to maintain the "special relationship between Britain and the United States," he almost forced Kennedy to integrate the U.S. nuclear force and the British nuclear force into the NATO system, and then rotate the NATO military officers. Controlling nuclear weapons,
According to Macmillan, this is very simple - since it is to be handed over to NATO, then all nuclear weapons should be handed over to NATO together. If the United Kingdom cannot hand it over, the United States will not hand it over!
Of course, Kennedy refused in the end. After all, the United States... has always been lenient to itself and strict to others. It was to castrate Britain's nuclear power, not to castrate itself!
In the end, in order to force the United States to make concessions, Macmillan even produced a videotape of the scandal involving a senior Kennedy cabinet official. It can be said that he exhausted all means, but also guaranteed one thing—— Intelligence work on allies is more important.
After a battle that was “the sum of all other means except direct fighting”, the two sides still failed to reach any agreement. In order to ensure its strategic nuclear autonomy, the UK still firmly opposes the US’s multilateral strategic nuclear theory. theory.
However, the two sides finally did not break up, but it cast a shadow on the special relationship between the two countries. On the same day, after making a moderate reputation, the heads of the two countries returned by special planes.
On the plane back to London, Macmillan's expression was serious, and the overall atmosphere on the plane was also depressing. Whether they were politicians or generals, they were all smoking quietly or reading newspapers. , all of them understood how the four-day meeting ended.
"Mr. Prime Minister, although this issue has been put on hold for the time being, the problem has not been solved. The Americans will never give up."
Facing the Secretary-General of the Cabinet Office Ha As reminded by Rod Evans, Macmillan said:
“This is not a problem. It was a mistake when we cooperated with the United States to develop missiles! Now, it is time to correct this mistake...”
After saying that, Macmillan took a long drag on his cigarette, then put out the cigarette butt in the ashtray and said:
"Fortunately... we have Nanyang!"
In fact, if not Because of Nanyang, Macmillan had already compromised. Why did he invite the Soviets but not invite them? It was just a bargaining chip on the negotiation table. He was not crazy, so how could he lead the wolf into the house?
How could he not understand the character of those Soviet people?
Like the negotiations between Churchill and Steel, they made it very clear - after defeating Germany, Eastern European countries will have fair elections. And Steel agreed.
But after the war ended, what happened in Eastern Europe? Thousands of Eastern European politicians have either disappeared or been arrested. Those who returned from exile in the Soviet Union established their governments with the military support of the Soviet army. In countries such as Poland, the Soviet Union simply tore off all pretense and established a Polish government and Polish army directly with Soviet people.
Inviting such a group of people into the UK is more than just inviting a wolf into the house! Instead, it sent the British Empire directly to the gallows.
Okay!
The Soviet Union is definitely unreliable and impossible to count on.
God bless!
I have Great Britain and Nanyang!
Reflecting on God's gift, Macmillan said
"Get ready, I will visit Nanyang as soon as the New Year arrives."
Almost at the same time , on a Boeing 407 in the other direction, Kennedy suffered a setback in Nassau. He frowned and said:
"There is only one reason why Macmillan's attitude is so tough...that is They have Nanyang!”
This is why Britain is tough and won't give in!
"Yes, Mr. President, Nanyang can not only give them political support, but also provide them with missiles to enhance their strategic nuclear forces."
Secretary of State Dean is standing aside Said:
“Because he had Nanyang as his backing, Macmillan did not succumb to pressure!”
Faced with the Secretary of State’s reminder, Kennedy said:
"So, is there any way we can stop them?"
"Stop... from drawing Nanyang into the "multilateral nuclear power" plan? They will definitely not agree!"
Although Dean just said it, but Kennedy's eyes lit up. , said:
“Incorporating Nanyang into multilateral plans, this... does not seem to be impossible!”
At this moment, Kennedy was definitely thinking, and he obviously forgot One point - Nanyang is also a nuclear power with a full range of nuclear forces.
Nanyang, Britain, and France are all different. To make such a request from such a country is absolutely mind-boggling!
The president's imagination was so wide-open that Dean's eyes widened and he said in shock:
"Mr. President, we can't even convince the United Kingdom. Besides, it's Nanyang. They have their own intercontinental missiles. , there is no need to ask us for help!"
"I know this is almost impossible, but..."
Kennedy waved his hand and said.
"We must use this method to let the British understand our attitude. To let the whole world see our determination, we must also let Nanyang understand this. When they understand this, in order to preserve their own strength, They will naturally refuse to provide help to the British.”
What will the British who have no choice do then?
That is, I came to Washington in despair and surrendered in front of him, an Irishman.
Only then will the arrogant British know what mistake they made.
At this moment, Kennedy felt a little excited, and he lit a cigarette. Took two puffs. Then he said in a proud and somewhat arrogant tone.
"The British don't even know what kind of mistakes they have made. Well, it's decided, we are going to give them a crackdown - bring Nanyang in!"
(End of this chapter )