2 – Schlieffen Plan Withdrawal (2)
The decision to abandon the short-term battle in the west and redirect the main force to the east brought significant diplomatic benefits.
Although Belgium and Luxembourg harbored dissatisfaction with the turmoil of the previous day, they agreed to maintain neutrality. Britain also promised to maintain neutrality as long as the German army did not cross the borders of France and Belgium. If Britain maintained neutrality, abandoning Schlieffen had value.
Ah, should we avoid a naval blockade and fight?
To change the atmosphere and lead the war against Russia, I appointed Falkenhayn as the new commander. Falkenhayn, who was evaluated as capable throughout the First World War, was a calculated move on my part.
Falkenhayn’s interest in the eastern front throughout the previous phase clearly aligned with the current situation.
Anyway, by defeating Schlieffen, the initiative on the western front had effectively shifted to France.
It goes without saying that France would not remain idle if we didn’t attack. I ordered the Foreign Ministry to handle diplomatic matters, but there was almost no possibility that France would maintain neutrality.
By reporting that the attempt to make France a neutral country in the German-Russian war had failed, French Ambassador Wilhelm von Schoen and the Foreign Ministry gave strength to this speculation.
In fact, once Russia had entered a state of war with their ally, France, fighting was inevitable.
From the beginning, the German military assumed that if they went to war with Russia, France would become an enemy. Fortunately, they could face both with the power of their alliance.
Above all, Germany and France knew each other too well. The key points of the main invasion routes were fortified, and the defense strategies were relatively well prepared.
If France truly wanted to penetrate Germany, they had to go through Belgium, just as Germany had done several times in the first and second world wars. The French military also seriously considered the option of bypassing Belgium.
However, the French government had no intention of executing a bypass operation in Belgium. The idea of trampling on a neutral country for the convenience of military strategy was only possible in a country like Prussia, which led the nation.
Considering this, I didn’t pay much attention to the French counterattack.
In the previous chapter, France had successfully defended itself by taking advantage of its interior lines and had a strong force. Why would Germany, with a shorter front line and dense fortresses, not be able to defend itself?
In the first World War, where motorized units were not yet universal, the defender who could freely use the railway had an absolute advantage.
So even if France participated in the war, there was no immediate pressure to be felt. The preparations were already sufficient.
Russia was also a worthy opponent, as proven in the previous chapter. In this chapter, they redirected even more troops to the Eastern Front. It was more advantageous, not disadvantageous.
The problem was Serbia.
Our ally, Austria-Hungary, had a massive army, but it lacked the capability to overwhelm the small Serbia.
In fact, Austria was paying a hefty price for its own war, no less than Putin’s Russia. Considering the nature of a multi-ethnic state, there was some understanding, but the fact that even the basics were lacking was a serious problem.
For example, Austria had no information management. The incident where Colonel Alfred Redl, the chief of staff of the 8th Corps responsible for Eastern Front reconnaissance, was bought off by Russia and sold all important military secrets had happened just a year ago. The Austrian authorities had no idea about this until they received intelligence from the German intelligence agency.
If they had known this, they should have taken some remedial action, but they didn’t. The Austrians continued with the operation as it was, without changing the “plan,” even though they clearly knew that the operation had leaked.
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Italy in the Second World War was not like this.
If we relied only on such allied forces for support, we would end up in the same situation as the previous chapter, where we could only smear ourselves with feces in Serbia.
That’s why I thought that the biggest task at the beginning of the war was to “subdue Serbia.” Because if we could subdue Serbia, we could free up millions of allied forces for other fronts.
Still, isn’t it a bit too much to prioritize Serbia?
After all, both Russia and France are opponents that cannot be annihilated in a short period of time. So, it was reasonable to systematically break down the easier enemies one by one. Isn’t it taught in military tactics to deal with weaker enemies first?
I made up my mind to redirect the advancing expeditionary force to the Russia-Austria border to support Austria.
East Prussia, the birthplace of Prussia, had the 8th Corps already deployed there, so there was no problem.
By doing this, Austria would be able to project a much larger force into Serbia than in previous chapters.
“If Austria can deploy three times the number of troops as the Serbian army, they should be fine. They have the resources.”
I believed that with this level of help, Austria would easily defeat Serbia.
But what if we go against the Serbian army?
I cannot handle that myself.
Come to think of it, even Hitler couldn’t clean up Mussolini’s mess. Comparing it to the case of that dumbass, I suddenly felt uneasy.
I boarded a special train to return to Potzdam, and less than an hour later, France’s declaration of war was announced. I listened to the announcement of the French Republic’s declaration of war against Russia, written in the proclamation of the General Staff.
“The government of the French Republic, representing the free citizens, has repeatedly requested that the German Empire cease its military threat against our ally, Russia.
However, the German Empire, ignoring our government’s desire for peace, has issued a general mobilization order and has finally begun military action against Russia.
We, the French Republic, consider the militaristic attitude of the Prussian military government as the ultimate threat to the peace and order of Europe.
Therefore, in order to fulfill our sacred alliance obligations and safeguard the welfare of the French community, we hereby declare war against the German Empire.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that the declaration of war had been passed in the French parliament. After the Franco-Prussian War, Germany had been a presence that provoked France’s anger from every aspect, from heavy reparations to lost territories to repeated threats of war. So, it was only natural that the declaration of war passed through the parliament.
On August 5th, Austria-Hungary, Germany’s ally, declared war on Russia.
Thus, the flames of war showed signs of spreading throughout Europe. The remaining countries on the fringes of madness also began to calculate which side they should align with.
“I can’t afford to sit idle either.”
I sent Heinrich, a high-ranking royal, to Sofia.
Heinrich, born in 1862, was the Kaiser’s younger brother and a high-ranking officer holding the rank of Admiral. He had a history of performing several special envoy missions for the Kaiser, making him perfect for conducting behind-the-scenes diplomacy.
Heinrich’s visit to Sofia was more of an action to ensure that Bulgaria did not align with the negotiating side. Since there was no guarantee that the future ally would definitely side with Germany, this move was essential.
Looking at Bulgaria drawn on the map of Europe, I turned my gaze to Italy.
“At this point, Rome is closer to the Triple Entente negotiations. It’s unlikely that we can persuade the Italians with ordinary conditions.”
When talking about the situation before the First World War in textbooks, the Kingdom of Italy is often taught as part of the Triple Alliance. However, the actual situation was quite different. Italy had concluded the secret Treaty of London with France, which neutralized the Triple Alliance even before the war began, making it a country that could hardly be seen as a “proper” ally.
However, there was no need to assume that Italy would necessarily become an enemy. There had been considerable twists and turns for Italy to align with the Triple Entente.
In the case of this war, Britain did not initially participate as a negotiating party, and the conditions were created for Austria to gain the upper hand in the Balkans. If the Saranda government of Italy wanted to join the negotiations, they had to overcome strong opposition. This was because not all Italians were inclined to be friendly towards the Triple Entente.
It is commonly thought that Italian nationalists considered Austria as their enemy, but that was not the case.
The concept of “Italia irredenta” advocated by nationalists did not only include the land owned by Austria. Tunisia, where a large number of Italians had resided for a long time, although not included in the unredeemed territories, was a territory that Italian nationalists hoped to annex in a broad sense.
Italian Prime Minister Antonio Salandra and King Vittorio Emanuele III were inclined towards war with Austria, but they were also helpless against the tide of public opinion.
In a modern nation where nationalism flourished, the demands of the masses had the power to overturn the will of the monarchy and the government. The fact that Bavaria, which had so despised Prussia, sided with Berlin in the Franco-Prussian War was due to the public opinion created by German nationalists.
“It’s cheaper to manipulate public opinion than to persuade the Italian government.”
It would cost a fortune to manipulate articles in newspapers and influence public opinion, but considering the price to persuade the Italian government, it wasn’t that expensive.
Upon arriving in Potzdam, I invited Foreign Minister Gottlieb von Jagow to dinner. Gottlieb, born in 1863, was a unique diplomat who had built a significant career in Rome before becoming a minister.
In a way, he could be considered a “Italy expert” who was one of the first choices in the German Empire.
But as future history would prove, Gottlieb’s diplomacy towards Italy did not yield good results. I did not consult with Gottlieb about the Italian plan, considering this point.
“Foreign affairs have been troublesome.”
“Still, it’s fortunate that the number of countries to worry about has decreased to four, Your Majesty.”
The minister made a joke about the countries that had severed diplomatic relations with Germany. As someone who had run around tirelessly to prevent Britain from joining the war, it didn’t sound like a joke.
“What about Constantinople?”
On July 28, before Germany started the war, the pro-German Union and Progress Committee of the Ottoman Empire, led by Ismail Enver Pasha, proposed a secret alliance with Germany.
Germany responded to this proposal by sending a document to Constantinople. Thus, on August 2, the German-Ottoman alliance against Russia was concluded.
Previously, I only knew that the Ottoman Empire was dragged into the war by force due to its dependence on Germany, but I didn’t know about these behind-the-scenes movements before the war. How could an ordinary person like me know about such things?
In other words, this event itself was of little significance.
“Unfortunately, Constantinople does not intend to implement the alliance right now. Despite the lack of financial resources necessary for carrying out the war, both the military and the government fear fighting against Russia. Enver Pasha, the real power in the Ottoman Empire, is also unlikely to move until we show him something.”
“It seems it’s not the right time yet, so let’s wait patiently.”
In any case, the Ottoman Empire is siding with Germany.
If we were to reproduce “that incident.”
The German Empire of actual history had shown itself to be exemplary in making the Ottoman Empire’s participation in the war a matter of fact. I had no intention of deviating from that method.
“After all, this country is not a nation that can engage in normal diplomacy.”
I justified my future actions with this logic.
* * *
3) FRANCO-ITALIAN CONVENTION OF 1902: In 1900, France promised to remain neutral in Germany’s military actions against France in Morocco, while Italy promised to remain neutral in Germany’s military actions against France in Tripolitania, Libya. The convention was ratified in 1902.
4) Unredeemed territories of the Kingdom of Italy. It generally refers to Tyrol and Trieste, which are mostly under Austrian rule, as well as Istria, Dalmatia, and the Savoy and Nice regions, which are owned by France.
5) İstanbul: The old name for Istanbul, known as Constantinople in Turkish.