Just as Hessman was busy establishing the Greater Middle East Co-prosperity Circle, the Soviet Red Army, who was singing the Internationale, drove into Iran's Khorasan region and Afghanistan with great confidence under the command of Marshal Kulik, the commander of the Central Asian Front.

The news reached London, and the British reactionaries led by Winston Churchill became nervous.

Stalin is stretching his claws towards India!

The British Empire has been doing so badly, the Mediterranean sea power is gone, and the oil in the Middle East is also lost. Gibraltar is likely to be unsecured, and the fleets of Italy and France are about to come to the Atlantic Ocean.

If India is taken away by the Soviet Union again, what else can the British Empire fight? Even if the cabinet wants to fight during the war, British public opinion will turn to compromise. Isn’t the good days of the British Empire’s subjects built on the three treasures of Middle East oil, South African gold and India’s Assassin?

The Middle East was gone at a glance, and India's Asan was lost again and again. What else does the British Empire have? Why should we fight our lives and not fight with the Germans?

Moreover, once the Soviet Union attacked India, it would mean that they were completely standing with Germany. So what hope does the British Empire have?

"No, we must not let the Soviets take Afghanistan easily!"

Prime Minister Churchill roared in anger: "We must let these damn Bolsheviks suffer a little more in Afghanistan."

"Sir Prime Minister, do you mean we want the army to enter Afghanistan?" Sir Deer, chief of the Imperial General Staff, asked with some uncertainty.

"No!" Churchill sucked a cigar hard, shook his fat head hard, and said, "We cannot go to war with the Soviet Union now...at least we must take the initiative to avoid such a situation."

He thought for a while and said, "But once the Soviet Union invaded India, we must not resist any resistance. Sir Deer, transferred our troops on the east bank of the Suez Canal and East Africa to India... In addition, let General Okinlek serve as commander-in-chief of the British and Indian army and ordered him to rebuild the lost Gurkha troops in North Africa as soon as possible. We now need a lot of Gurkha mercenaries."

"Prime Minister, did the Middle East give up like this?" Sir Deer asked.

"Give up!" Churchill sighed.

If Stalin did not march into Afghanistan, Britain might be able to hold on in the Middle East for some time. However, now that India is in danger, the British Empire needs to use the remaining divisions in the Middle East and East Africa to defend India.

"However, the Gulf of Aden and the Persian Gulf should be blocked as much as possible." Churchill also told Navy Secretary Alexander and First Minister of Maritime Pound.

The Gulf of Aden and the Persian Gulf are the only way for Iranian crude oil to transport to Europe. In Kuwait and Saudi Arabia near the Persian Gulf, oil fields have been discovered in recent years. Although they have not been exploited, according to reports, the oil fields there are very shallow buried and not difficult to develop. If the Germans work hard to develop, it will soon become a large oil field like the Iranian Kuzestein oil-producing area. By then, the crude oil obtained by the Germans from the Middle East in a year will be astronomical!

If the UK can blockade the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Aden, then the rich oil resources of Iran, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia will not be able to help Germany for the time being.

"Prime Minister, we are building large airports in Socotra and Muscat, where we have deployed ground forces, anti-aircraft guns and radar stations." Sir Pound replied, "But the Eastern Fleet and the British and Indian Army are very short of aircraft, especially high-performance aircraft."

When it comes to planes, Churchill's brain hurts. Isn't it because the British Empire has fallen to this point because there are no good planes? Now that the Mediterranean is lost, it will be difficult for the British local planes to transfer to the Indian Ocean. It is five or six thousand kilometers away, and the territory of Germany is still everywhere in the middle. It is impossible to fly over. If you can't fly over, you can only transport it slowly.

"What high-performance aircraft do we have to deploy now?" Churchill asked with a frown.

"We have the Spitfire Type, P-40 and the P-51 that have just been introduced from the United States recently. As for bombers and attack aircraft, in addition to our Blenheim type, Wellington type, Swordfish type and Big Blue and White fish type, we also got the American A-20, which we call it the 'Boston' type 3 aircraft, which is a very good twin-engine bomber."

"Okay, then deploy the aircraft as soon as possible. In addition, the Royal Navy can also consider introducing US carrier-based dive bombers and carrier-based torpedo attack aircraft."

Churchill paused and pulled the topic back to Afghanistan, saying, "But Afghanistan... it used to be a very difficult country, right?"

Britain suffered a lot in Afghanistan in history. Britain fought three times in Afghanistan from the late 1830s to 1921, but it defeated wars every time.

"Yes, it's hard to deal with Afghanistan. The terrain there is complex, the people are fierce and aggressive, and there are many armed tribes, which are difficult to destroy." Sir Deer frowned, "But they may not be able to deal with the Russians, after all, the Russians are very cruel."

"Then we should help the Afghan people fight against the Soviet Union, but not openly." Churchill bit his cigar's butt and thought, "We cannot let the Soviet Union eat Afghanistan safely, otherwise Stalin would rush into India anytime and anywhere. But we should not give Afghans our own equipment...give them some American weapons and equipment. Is there such equipment in India?"

"There are some, but not many," Sir Deere told Churchill.

After the defeat in the Battle of France, Britain urgently purchased many light weapons from the United States, part of which had been sent to India.

"Okay, that's it!" When Churchill made the decision, a secretary from No. 10 Downing Street quickly walked in and reported good news: the American cruise ship "Mississippi Watch" was injured by a German submarine in the waters near the Azores.

"I think this is a signal, and the Germans are starting to be proud!" Churchill sucked two puffs of cigarettes and concluded, "Maybe they will soon attack the neutral merchant ships sailing at sea like the end of the last war, and this will prompt the United States to speed up its participation in the war."

...

"What? One of our cruise ships was injured?"

Almost at the same time, President Roosevelt, who was working with Secretary of State Hull and Commerce Secretary Hopkins to study the Afghan issue, also received news of the attack on the "Mississippi Princess".

"President, I think this is an opportunity," Hopkins reminded, "we can announce our entry into Iceland and the Azores immediately to defend the freedom of navigation in the United States!"

After the victory and defeat of the Mediterranean Battle, Roosevelt decided to let the US troops enter Iceland, Azores and Canary Islands. However, the United States is not the military police of the later generations, and is still cautious in sending troops overseas, especially within the sphere of influence in Europe. It is okay for Iceland to be said, after all, it has been occupied by Britain, and the US military just takes over. Now a small number of US troops at the front station have already been in, but it has not been announced to the public.

As for the entry into the Azores and the Canary Islands, they encountered some trouble, and Portugal and Spain both rejected the request from the United States.

Spain even deployed a small number of B-109 fighters, He-112 fighters and Ju88 bombers to the Canary Islands, posing as if they were ready to resist. Although Spain's military strength is very weak now, B-109 and Ju88 are both showing their strength on the European battlefield. With these aircraft in the Canary Islands, the US Navy has to bear the risk of large surface ships being sunk if they want to take the archipelago. Therefore, the plan to enter the Canary Islands can only be temporarily shelved.

Portugal's military strength is weaker than Spain, and the Salazar government took a pro-British route, so its rejection of the United States was only verbally and did not send additional troops to the Azores. Therefore, the US Navy decided to wait for an opportunity to "enter" the Azores, and the only difference was just an excuse.

"This is indeed a good excuse, just do it." Roosevelt thought for a while and then patted the board, and then the topic returned to Afghanistan.

"Our British friends seem to be very dissatisfied with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan," said Roosevelt. "It seems they are unwilling to give up India."

"President, if India is lost, the British may not have the idea of ​​confronting Germany anymore," said Secretary of State Hull. "Now the Soviets are challenging the bottom line of Britain."

"What should we do then? Tell Stalin straightforward to let him quit from Afghanistan?"

Hopkins shook his head and said, "President, we cannot do this. Because in Stalin's plan, India must be the reward for the Soviet Union's war against Germany."

"But the British would not agree." Roosevelt shrugged, "It seems that we are in a very embarrassing position on the issue of India."

“We can advise Stalin not to try to enter India before defeating Germany,” Hopkins pondered. “The Indian issue should be resolved after the war.”

"So can we provide some secret help to the Afghan government?" Roosevelt thought for a while and asked again.

"Of course, but it must be a secret." Secretary of State Herr thought, "It can provide Afghanistan with some German-made weapons and equipment, which is easy to get, because the Germans have been selling arms after they have restored their arms. Many countries in South America have purchased German weapons and equipment, and we have a way to get a lot."
Chapter completed!