US media reveals the stupid plan of Britain and France in World War II: it almost led to the Soviet-German alliance

On November 20, the website of the American magazine "National Interest" published an article entitled "Operation "Lance"-How a Crazy Plan to Bomb the Soviet Union Almost Lost World War II", written by a defense and Historical writer Michael Peck, compiled as follows:

Nazi Germany was defeated to a great extent by the Soviet Union, but it did not rely on the Soviet Union alone.

But what if Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union had been allies rather than enemies? What if the United States, Britain, and their allies faced a massive Soviet Red Army supported by a militarily powerful and technologically advanced Luftwaffe, armored vehicles, and submarines?

This apocalyptic new Dark Ages scenario almost happened. In the early days of World War II, Britain and France planned to bomb Soviet oil fields. The goal was to stop Hitler. The result was very likely to help Hitler win the war.

This idea of ????Britain and France is very stupid, but it is not unreasonable. By the end of 1939, Britain and France were convinced that Germany and the Soviet Union had become friends. Stalin had tried every means to build an anti-Nazi alliance before the war, but the resistance and hesitation he encountered led him to believe that the capitalists were plotting to plunge Germany and the Soviet Union into a mutually depleting war, while the West looked on. Busy.

Although Britain and France were wavering on whether to ally with the Soviet Union led by Mao Zedong, Germany was not as hesitant: 1939 August On September 23, Germany and the Soviet Union signed the "Soviet-German Non-Aggression Pact." The Soviet Union obtained a strategic buffer zone, which provided a breathing space for it to accumulate military strength and allowed the Soviet Union to recharge its batteries while Germany and Western countries fought a war of attrition.

But the real winner was the Führer of Nazi Germany. This treaty allowed the Third Reich to easily annex Poland and Eastern Europe without having to worry about a second front in the east. Just as importantly, the Soviet Union agreed to supply the Third Reich with vital raw materials, especially oil, thereby keeping the German economy afloat during the war and breaking the Allied naval blockade that played a decisive role during World War I. .

In the eyes of the Allies, the Soviet Union had changed from Germany's great enemy to its ally. So why not attack the Soviet Union and kill two birds with one stone? Perhaps there was also an element of frustration with the First World War, when Allied armies sat behind the Maginot Line and took no effective action while Germany occupied Poland and Scandinavia. Bombing the Soviet Union probably seemed easier than facing the Germans on the battlefield.

And so Operation Spear was born. More than 100 British and French bombers planned to take off from allied bases in Iran and Syria as well as Turkey, which was neutral but opposed to the Soviet Union, and continued to attack Soviet oil fields in the Caucasus in a strategic bombing operation launched at night. This is not just planning without any real action. In fact, British reconnaissance planes took off from Iraqi airfields in March 1940 and took photos of oil facilities in Baku and Batami.

Allied air force planners believed this would be a powerful blow. We now know that if this action was really taken, the result would be a joke. The accuracy of British night bombing campaigns in 1940 and 1941 was so low that so few bombs landed within a few miles of their targets that the Germans barely noticed them. Even in 1944, the British Royal Air Force deployed thousands of bombers during night raids with the help of the most advanced radar and navigation technology at the time, and dropped bombs aimlessly over some German cities because they were unable to destroy accurately positioned targets. goal.

The Germans have proven through their actions that facilities damaged by bombs can be restored at an astonishing speed. A "Lancaster" bomber in 1944 could carry seven tons of bombs; a "Blenheim" bomber in 1940 carried bombs weighing only half a ton.

Only the deepest arrogance in the heart would make people believe that sending a hundred less advanced bombers at the beginning of the war could severely damage the Soviet oil industry. This kind of self-belief indeed troubled a group of people who were keen to implement the plan throughout World War II. Strategic bombers.

In his book "Operation Spear", Patrick Osborne also said that Allied intelligence agencies ultimately concluded that Russian oil accounted for only a small portion of Germany's fuel supply (largely Some originally came from Romania). “What matters in this matter is not the accuracy of British intelligence reports, but the willingness of both British and French leaders to ignore such information in order to put the idea of ??attacking the Soviet Union into practice and thereby create obstacles for Germany: the principle of killing two birds with one stone was It was magnified to a ridiculous degree."

In any case, it was luck or lack of luck that saved the world. In May 1940, German armored vehicles rolled over the Low Countries and entered France. After six weeks, France surrendered. Operation "Spear" ended in vain. In addition, when Hitler's troops were on the verge of seizing the Caucasus oil fields in 1941 and 1942, Britain was still planning to take action to blow up these facilities if the Soviet Union did not destroy the oil fields before they were captured. Interestingly, Britain seemed more willing to fight Soviet fighters in order to achieve this goal. Ironically, as Osborne said, bombing would not only not harm Germany, but would weaken the Soviet regime, the backbone of the alliance against the Nazis. "If the Communist Party led by Stalin collapses, someone will fill the decision-making vacuum; nine times out of ten, it will be Hitler."

However, in the summer of 1940, things were really possible. going in different directions. If Operation "Lance" is implemented before France surrenders, then the British government will probably face a situation of dealing with the alliance established by the Nazis and the Soviet Union. French allies will not come to help, and the United States will still retreat under the isolationist policy. Some British leaders, including Lord Halifax, favored some form of peace agreement with Hitler. If Britain and the Soviet Union were also at war, perhaps even Churchill, as a diehard, would not have the heart to continue fighting a war that seemed hopeless.

Of course, even if the Allied bombings brought Hitler and Stalin together, the close relationship between the two countries was destined not to last very long. Two predators who voraciously prey on other prey will inevitably meet in force. Having said that, Operation "Lance" may change world history.

Fortunately, the world never had the chance to verify this.