32 – Bulgarian Expedition
After the outbreak of the war, my first adversary that I sought to destroy was Serbia. Unfortunately, Serbia was persistently resisting with vitality.
I wanted to use even chemical gas at this rate.
Why are these Serbian bastards so stubborn?
If this continues, it will be troublesome until winter. If we engage in winter mountain warfare in the Macedonian mountainous region, the non-combat losses would exceed imagination.
Lost in thought while looking at the map of Serbia, a female secretary brought a telegram that had arrived from the war front.
One was from Ludendorff, and the other was from our liaison officer dispatched to Austria.
Both contained the essence that Austria was successfully launching an offensive and would soon be able to conquer Belgrade.
I was pleased with the content, but seeing Ludendorff’s name hidden away where it couldn’t be seen made me feel somewhat uncomfortable.
Ludendorff was a commander of exceptional talent even by the standards of the German Empire, with expertise in all aspects of strategy and tactics. However, due to his uncontrollable ambition and endless belligerence, he was a card that had been kept in one position.
Thinking back to how Ludendorff had run wild on his own in the previous chapter, and how I had fallen into the role of a scarecrow, it was no different than showing mercy by leaving him in the war front.
“He’s certainly suitable as a commander at the level of a front-line general, but he doesn’t match my style.”
Writing that I regret it won’t necessarily be a remedy.
Anyway, Serbia’s momentum has been broken. If we push forward to Macedonia while we’re at it, there’s nothing more to ask for, but it didn’t seem easy to achieve that.
Unless Bulgaria joins forces, Serbia won’t collapse easily.
Even so, there didn’t seem to be much to worry about.
“It seems like there won’t be any problems on the Serbian side. It looks like Austria is finally winning. Still, it’s Austria, so you never know.”
I had Goltlief, who was playing billiards at the opposite table, verify the report. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, who saw that, expressed his thoughts.
“There won’t be a reversal for Serbia.”
“Do you have any information?”
“Bulgaria has recently been sending hostile signals to Serbia.”
Bulgaria?
I was a little puzzled by Gotlip’s words. While Bulgaria had promised to side with Germany, they hadn’t been clear about the timing. Did they acquire some new information from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs?
When I expressed my doubts, Gotlip revealed the information he had obtained.
“It’s still unconfirmed, so I haven’t reported it to His Majesty yet, but there are rumors that Bulgaria has expelled Serbian diplomats on charges of espionage.”
Diplomats expelled?
Bulgaria’s actions were reminiscent of the persona non grata concept that we were familiar with.
In other words, designating foreign diplomats as undesirable and forcibly expelling them.
This was an act that could lead to the collapse of relations with the other country.
By doing this, it was a sign that they were willing to go to great lengths with Serbia.
“Do you think it’s safe to judge based on the situation?”
Although Austria recently made a bold move, the German army had occupied the western part of Poland along the Vistula River, and the Russian army had been retreating from Galicia.
Considering that a full-scale offensive against Serbia was being prepared, it could be judged that now was the best time to raise the stakes.
The land in Serbia that we had promised wasn’t that much, but the appeal of restoring the homeland was politically and emotionally significant, so it wasn’t unreasonable for us to go all out.
“Are there any significant movements from other neighboring countries?”
“The information is still uncertain. Romania has just replaced its ambassador, and Greece doesn’t show any hostile movements towards us other than lending a port to Serbia. Unless there is solid information that the Ottoman Empire has leaned towards us, the possibility of acting hastily is low.”
“I see.”
Greece alone could pose a challenge to Bulgaria, but it wasn’t a match to fight against the Ottoman Empire. Even if it was in a state of disrepair, the gap between a former Mediterranean powerhouse and a regional small country was enormous.
“But we need to keep a closer eye on Romania. Work closely with the newly appointed Count Bernstorff to thoroughly understand their intentions.”
“Of course.”
I concluded my brief meeting with Gottliep and sent him away.
The overall picture didn’t look too bad to me.
But the situation could change at any moment.
There were wolves ready to pounce on us if we appeared weak.
I decided to have a little more patience until the situation became clear.
*
In the midst of this, the awaited answer came from Sophia.
“The Chief of the Bulgarian Army General Staff is visiting Berlin?”
The Bulgarian Tsar revealed their intentions by sending General Staff Chief Nikola Chekov, who was responsible for all external negotiations related to the war, to Germany.
“If Bulgaria gets involved, things will be easier. We can get rid of those stubborn Serbians this year.”
Considering that Bulgaria’s previous involvement was in October 1915, progress was remarkably fast.
Of course, Bulgaria’s moves were likely greatly influenced by the fact that Britain had not joined the war.
Formally, Nikola Chekov’s visit was stated to be as an arms purchasing delegation, but the people in the Berlin diplomatic circles didn’t believe that. To be fair, their suspicions were well-founded.
“Welcome, General.”
I personally welcomed Nikola Chekov and had a short tea time with him. A knowledgeable employee from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who had knowledge of Chinese culture carefully brewed and presented to us a special tea from Yunnan, which was a gift from the Chinese ambassador Yan Huiching.
Expressing his gratitude for my invitation, Chekov orally conveyed the message from the Bulgarian Tsar. The contents were not too different from what I had expected.
“Ferdinand took the bait.”
The ambitious king, who had briefly held the position of the loser in the Balkan Peninsula, couldn’t resist the gambling table that seemed certain for him to win. Ferdinand expressed his willingness to stand on the side of the German Empire, in exchange for additional finances, weapons, and military advisers promised by Heinrich.
If Bulgaria joined the war, they were willing to fulfill those conditions. It was worth a gamble to swiftly crush Serbia.
My evaluation was by no means exaggerated. The Kingdom of Bulgaria had a powerful mobilization system that allowed them to conscript up to 12% of the population into the army in the initial stages of the war.
The visible number of Bulgarian divisions was only ten, but Bulgaria was a country that could organize a force of 600,000 troops from a population of 4.8 million in just one month.
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They were much more reliable than the larger Austria.
I showed a positive response to Bulgaria’s proposal.
“If Bulgaria wants it, let’s do it. We will immediately send a military advisory group when the ceasefire occurs.”
Bulgaria needed various things, but the most urgent was a military advisory group necessary to increase their army.
“Thank you, Your Majesty. Tsaritsa Sofia will be pleased.”
I took Chekhov and brought him to the operations room where a strategic map was prepared. The armies of various countries that participated in the war were scattered all over the map of Europe.
Chekhov couldn’t hide his interest when he saw the scene. He could see the vivid situation that was not easily known through newspapers or diplomatic cables.
I took Chekhov next to the map and pointed at Serbia with my finger.
“If Bulgaria joins the war, Serbia should be the first to deal with. Of course, you probably know the story to some extent, but Serbia is not an easy opponent.”
Chekhov did not deny that fact. Although Bulgaria was nicknamed the “Prussia of the Balkans,” Serbia was also a country known for its rough nationalism. Just by looking at the fact that they were struggling against Austria, who was not an immediate opponent in terms of strength, it was clear that they were not an easy opponent.
“So, there is a need to cooperate with Austria in the first stage of the war. If you go to Vienna, suggest sending a liaison officer to the Serbian front on behalf of the Emperor or the War Ministry. It would be nice if we could crush them at once, but if that’s difficult, it would be easier to weaken and kill them with a comprehensive offensive across the entire front, wouldn’t it?”
In the previous episode, Bulgaria and Austria occasionally conducted joint operations, but essentially, they acted separately on their own fronts. Considering that, it was safe to say that they had no intention of proper cooperation unless the German army intervened to coordinate between the two.
I was determined to thoroughly improve this point.
“If Your Majesty recommends it, I will propose it to Austria.”
I sat down with Chekhov and discussed the variables that could occur while Bulgaria was crushing Serbia.
The secret meeting with the Chief of Staff of the Bulgarian Army ended in two hours. Officially, it was packaged as a visit by a senior official who had visited Germany for business purposes to show respect to the head of state.
Whether you believe it or not, diplomacy ultimately relied on justifications.
I called Eduard von Pal, the advisor to the Austrian Emperor, who was stationed in Falkenhain and Berlin, and shared this fact. Falkenhain heard for the first time that Bulgaria would join as an ally, but Austria had been involved in the discussions since the stage of tempting Bulgaria, so they were aware of the rough information.
“If Bulgaria joins, Serbia can be finished in a month, Your Majesty.”
Count Pal confidently spoke.
Of course, I didn’t believe such assurance.
Because the acting party was Austria.
At least my expectations for the Austrian army were very, very low.
Count Falkenhain seemed to have a similar thought, as his mouth curled up and down. Did that Chief of Staff guy really mock the Allies?
I cleared my throat and instructed the count to report this fact to the Emperor. I didn’t share this information with the ambassador or the generals dispatched for diplomatic or wartime purposes in Austria, in order to limit the number of people who knew about this possible alliance.
After Count Pal stepped back, Count Falkenhain spoke.
“How much of the fact that Bulgaria will participate as an ally can be shared?”
I pondered for a moment.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was excluded for now.
Not because I didn’t trust them, but to confuse the enemy. If the Ministry of Foreign Affairs didn’t know that Bulgaria would participate, they would have to diligently operate in Sofia, and the enemy would be confused and uncertain about whether Bulgaria would side with Germany.
“Only share it with the General Staff.”
Count Falkenhain also agreed.
“What about the Military Advisory Group?”
As I thought, it was a bit overwhelming to take care of Bulgaria while also sending a military advisory group to Poland.
After contemplating for a moment, I found the answer.
“Attach a few retired generals, including Hindenburg, and send them.”
I mentioned the generals who had lost their positions. Hindenburg had recently returned from the reserves to active duty, but I didn’t give him a position. If they had treated me like a scarecrow and arrogantly thought of me as a military decoration in the previous session, I wouldn’t have minded throwing them in jail.
To be honest, I plan to handle it quietly as soon as the war ends.
“The generals will probably be unhappy with this.”
Even if they were asked to go to a major power like China or the Ottoman Empire, they would probably have some complaints, but if they were asked to go to a small country like Bulgaria, they might have felt the same way.
“Since I prepared the envelope in my name, please take good care of it while you’re on your way, and the principal will inform you.”
Palkenhein didn’t say anything more, probably thinking that Falkenhayn would accept it if it was about the “Kaiser’s secret funds” story.
Come to think of it, those Junker guys, even though they looked down on the Bohemian soldiers, gladly took the money given by the dumbass Bulgarians. And then they spread lies like “Prussian soldiers do not interfere in politics.”
Even in front of the dumbass Bulgarians, they would grovel as long as they were given money, but if the Kaiser gave them money, they would shut their mouths.
After Palkenhein left, the room became very quiet.
I slowly walked over to the table I had seen earlier.
Where my gaze fell, on top of Serbia, enemy symbols were scattered messily.
Once Bulgaria comes, even the sickening Serbia will become quiet.
I swept away the symbols on top of Serbia with the baton in my hand.