Father of France

Chapter 200 De-Africanization
Someone coughed softly, while someone twirled a pen in their hand.

A consensus permeated the air: this was the only option for the French army after the war—to safeguard France's status as a major power at all costs.

General Dragon's gaze swept over each of his colleagues, seeing tacit approval, support, and the slightest doubt that was quickly suppressed. "Mobilize the troops from the overseas provinces, Senegal, and French Indochina, as well as the colonial troops. The operation must be swift and the results thorough."

"The initial decision is to mobilize two divisions, totaling 28,000 men, along with the local French forces in Madagascar, to suppress the riots. The order will be immediately transmitted to the aforementioned areas."

This order was given to French troops in North Africa, Southeast Asia, and West Africa. As for the other large colony, French Equatorial Africa, no notification was needed due to the inconvenience of transportation.

In Jakarta, Indonesia's largest city, Koman learns that his opportunity for promotion has arrived, meaning he can no longer stay on Java Island to serve the Dutch; France is his true homeland.

However, in the pursuit of perfection, he still did his best to wrap things up, listing out the reasons why the French army would continue its military operations in West Java after leaving.

Indonesia is a Muslim-majority country, and the Soviet Union was greatly weakened by the World War. Within five years, the Soviet Union would not be able to exert influence over Indonesia. The main opponent of the coalition forces was the locally grown followers of Muhammad, who were also traditional enemies of Europe.

Therefore, religious sites and religious figures were the main targets of the French army's purge in this operation. According to various reports, more than 30,000 imams at all levels were killed. However, this was still only a small part of the various religious groups in West Java. The effect was very obvious, and the effect of using war to sustain war was quite good.

This is because religious sites like mosques, similar to temples in India, functioned as ancient banks, where people often stored cash and valuables. This practice was based on the trust that religious sites were sacred and inviolable.

The imam or relevant personnel managing the mosque are responsible for safeguarding these valuables.

Koeman didn't plunder the six major Chinese families; he merely forced them to relinquish their operational rights. This was entirely because there were better targets for robbery. Even if the Chinese were wealthy, they were a minority in their territory. France came to fill a trade gap; the Chinese's meager funds were hardly enough.

"Military operations combined with the destruction of social production will give West Java people enough time. By then, they will be too exhausted to resist the colonizers and will only focus their energy on finding food."

Koeman called Lefevere over to analyze the terrible consequences of the destruction of social productivity; three months was indeed enough time.

Although he always talked about nine rice harvests in two years, how could Indonesia in the late 1940s possibly meet such a standard?

Although Java boasts some of the best agricultural conditions among islands in the world, its population of 30 million is not just for show; such a large population results in a lack of rice export capacity.

What are the consequences of military action coupled with the deliberate destruction of productivity? The successive dynastic changes in this great Eastern power have proven this countless times: famine breaks out.

Although each dynastic change in the great Eastern power involved a 50% random reincarnation mission, only a very small percentage of the population was killed on the battlefield. The main reason for the massive population loss was that war destroyed productivity, leading to the emergence of refugees who further damaged productivity in other regions.

“Once refugees appear, the carrying capacity of each place is limited. If we plunder the food in one place, they will go to places where there is food when they have no food, which will expand the scope of food shortage. Like the tide, it will make the food shortage more serious and eventually lead to famine.”

Koman paused here and used the UK as an example, saying, "The famine in Bangladesh a few years ago can be used as an example, which directly starved three million people to death."

He wasn't slandering Britain; France even had evidence. Did they really think French India was just a decoration? They couldn't even take a few photos?

“Sir, I believe the expeditionary force on Java will do its utmost to complete the mission, but they are afraid of pressure from the United States,” Lefevere said, nodding as he listened.

"Isn't what we're doing also making it difficult for the US to exert pressure?" Koeman said with a smile. "Sukarno himself is not difficult to deal with. Eliminating this group of leaders of the independence movement, especially the leaders of the army, will greatly reduce the difficulties faced by the Netherlands. We can even spare Sukarno's life. He has already proven himself by surrendering once. He is not a determined liberator."

Sukarno's incompetence has been proven time and again. It is rare in the world for a leader who has led a country for many years as the leader of an independence movement and the father of the nation to be overthrown in a military coup. There are similar examples in Africa, though.

Based on this alone, Sukarno is on par with the matchmaking system in the African region. He's so bad it's reassuring; keeping him around is definitely more useful than killing him.

It seems the Dutch thought so too, as Sukarno was never under any threat to his life. Otherwise, during Sukarno's imprisonment, the Dutch would have had countless opportunities to cause the founding father of Indonesia to collapse prematurely.

“We made an agreement with the six major Chinese families that the assets would be returned six months after we gained control. Now that the trade gap between France and the Soviet Union has been largely resolved, we must keep our promise when the time comes. This is a Dutch colony, and the Chinese families here can establish a better relationship with the Chinese families in Saigon. Keeping it is a better option.” “Don’t worry, sir,” Lefebvre agreed. “We’ve already discussed this issue before, but we don’t know how long the Netherlands can hold out.”

"Actually, there was a good chance." Koeman recalled that the Netherlands persisted until 1949, the year after which the Korean War broke out.

It could be said that the Netherlands fell before dawn. Koeman was not saying that the Netherlands could maintain its colonies, but that the United States was too busy to cause trouble in Southeast Asia during the Korean War.

The French troops withdrew from French Indochina in 1954, the year after the end of the Korean War.

If the Netherlands works hard, it's still possible to hold out for another five years, just like France. Of course, that's just wishful thinking in the future, because by then it won't just be the United States exerting pressure, but also the Soviet Union and the major Eastern power that stood with the Soviet Union.

The major Eastern power is now the focus of the United States' attention. The window of opportunity for the United States is not long. Even during the full-scale offensive phase of the Liberation War, Chiang Kai-shek's army suffered far greater losses than the enemy, with almost five men being lost to exchange for one enemy soldier.

Since the outbreak of the war, the size of the artillery party's army has been declining. After the Battle of Menglianggu a month later, the main offensive was crushed and the war officially entered a strategic stalemate.

By this time, Chiang Kai-shek's defeat was already inevitable. The remaining two years were only possible because a few large military groups were still in force, but no one could save him, not even the US military.

Otherwise, why would Koeman never overestimate Chang's abilities? With a four-fold troop advantage, he achieved a five-to-one exchange ratio and took only a year to go from a full-scale offensive to a strategic stalemate.

Once Zhang Lingfu was defeated, the troop strength ratio became two to one, and the artillery faction was left to be attacked unilaterally.

It's no use for Chiang Kai-shek to blame the Soviet Union and the United States. Given the situation starting in the second half of the year, even if the United States showed sincerity in waging the Korean War, it would only result in another casualty.

The Netherlands can keep trying; if they can hold out until the Korean War breaks out, they can stay for a few more years.

"If our military operation is successful, we can share our experience with the Dutch unconditionally."

Koeman presented his comprehensive plan for this trip to Java, speaking in a tone of "better to sacrifice a friend than myself," and said, "Actually, if there were a controllable pro-Soviet force in the Dutch East Indies, it might actually be a good thing for Europe. In that case, the Soviet Union would greatly reduce its forces deployed in Europe and increase its investment in the Red Navy. The size of the ground forces that posed a huge threat to Europe would be reduced accordingly. You can't say this to the Dutch."

Lefebvre chuckled and quickly said no.

Koeman's idea of ​​sacrificing Dutch colonies to alleviate pressure on Western European countries is completely opposite to the United States' current understanding of Indonesia. The common point is that both want to sacrifice Dutch interests, which of course cannot be known to the Dutch.

"I'll return to Saigon tomorrow. The rest is up to you. If you encounter any difficulties, keep in touch with me by telegram. I'll figure something out," Coman said in a tone that suggested he was asserting power and acting like a father.

The next day, Koman got up early and led his company onto the ship. He came quietly and left quietly, keeping his achievements and fame hidden and leaving without a trace.

The saying goes that a good warrior achieves victory without making a great feat. The locals in West Java, caught in a famine, had no idea that their tragic fate was caused by a Frenchman who had stayed in Jakarta for just over a month.

He certainly didn't come for nothing. Although it wasn't completely finished, it has achieved some initial results. This overall strategic approach, which combines policy guidance with military operations and focuses on food control, can now be applied to Madagascar.

Upon returning to Saigon, Corman went straight to the French military headquarters in French Indochina. In Paris, General Dracon soon received a brilliantly written telegram describing the French military's achievements in West Java and suggesting that it could be used in the strategy to suppress the riots in Madagascar.

"Madagascar is too Africanized. The French army should try to isolate Madagascar from the African continent. This island cannot be too African."

General Dragon carefully read the contents of Coman's telegram: "Conduct general strikes against the Austronesians in the Central Highlands, control the agricultural areas, and focus the main forces on the African immigrant groups on the east coast of Madagascar to help the Austronesians occupy the dominant ecological niche. Consideration should be given to mobilizing a division of the Vietnamese National Army, as the Vietnamese are more suited to the local climate."

(End of this chapter)