54 – London’s Declaration of War
January 1, 1915. Imperial Palace, the capital of the German Empire, Berlin.
“The Imperial Government representing Constantinople hereby notifies London of the following position: Our empire has exercised its right to self-defense against the threat of Russian invasion. There can be no apologies, and the withdrawal of the Germans is even more impossible.”
“Are you aware that what we have conveyed to Constantinople is a final ultimatum?”
“Yes.”
“In that case, the friendship between our countries ends today. We hereby declare war on the Ottoman Empire on behalf of His Majesty’s government.”
On December 28, 1914, England declared war on the Ottoman Empire. The newly appointed Prime Minister, Lloyd George, clearly stated in the declaration of war that England could not tolerate the Ottomans strangling Russia.
It was to be expected. Once the Ottoman Empire ignored London’s demands, war became an inevitable course of action.
“England has declared war. This problem was caused by our return, so we must definitely help.”
“Do not worry.”
We immediately responded by declaring war on England.
“In accordance with the German-Ottoman Defensive Pact, the German Empire hereby notifies the British Empire that it is entering a state of war.”
Since we had already sent as many ships as possible to take refuge at sea in anticipation of the war with England, the damage was minimal.
We were prepared and our hearts were calm.
Following suit, Austria, Bulgaria, and other allied countries declared war on England one after another.
Two days later, Japan declared war on us, citing the provisions of the Japan-Korea Treaty of Alliance.
“The Empire of Japan, based on the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, declares war on the German Empire.”
It was expected. Japan was a lackey of Britain.
But what came next was an unexpected country.
“Portugal has declared war on us?”
I was a little taken aback.
Of course, I knew that Portugal was Britain’s oldest ally.
Still, really? Are they insane?
Anyway, the negotiating countries regained their momentum with the support of Britain and its allies. The negotiating atmosphere that had been circulating in Paris and the voices of reversal were largely softened.
But even so, it was only temporary.
Once Russia became a “non-existent country,” everyone would realize that they had lined up in the wrong place.
Cough, cough.
Since the beginning of the new year, I had caught a cold and my coughing could be heard.
“I guess I should have been more careful about catching a cold in the winter.”
In an era without proper flu vaccines, catching a cold and getting pneumonia could easily lead to the afterlife.
I was about to think that I should wear a mask when a terrifying fact suddenly came to mind.
“Wait. A cold?”
Come to think of it, there was the Spanish flu. If my memory served me right, it was a pandemic that killed more people than the First World War.
There were only two to three years left until the Spanish flu, which would plunge the world into terror, but we hadn’t made any preparations. We should have been more thorough in our preparations, especially considering the ongoing active trade with the United States, the source of the flu.
It goes without saying that antibiotics are useless against viruses, so there is no point in preparing for them. Not to mention that I had no knowledge of how to mass-produce penicillin in a cultivation tank.
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“Given the current situation, it seems that preparing to secure masks is the right answer.”
Considering the level of the times, it was best to focus on strategies that would prevent infection and control its spread.
The masks of this era were not anything remarkable, but at least they helped prevent the spread of droplets from infected individuals. A single layer was probably not enough, so using two or three layers would likely solve the problem of droplets.
Considering that the situation could prolong, it was necessary to establish a system to produce enough masks for the entire German population to use daily until at least 1917.
The problem was that there was no room for such a system in the precarious situation of reviving the economy.
“There is a reason why we need to end this war quickly.”
There was a possibility of a ridiculous situation where one could win the war but lose to influenza if not careful.
“We can repurpose military manufacturing facilities for mask production. Let’s prioritize expanding those facilities… And we need to create a response organization for the epidemic.”
I picked up the telephone.
Soon, General Falkenhain, who was full of war spirit, entered the office.
He seemed to have something to report, as he held a thick document in his hand.
“Please come in, Chancellor. There is something important that I need to tell you.”
“I also have an important report to make to His Majesty, so I came to see you.”
“That’s fortunate.”
After offering him a seat, I showed Falkenhain the memo I had written earlier. He carefully read its contents and then looked puzzled.
“A public hygiene unit? Are you thinking of creating an organization that includes civilian doctors?”
“Yes.”
I came up with the idea of establishing a unit responsible for public hygiene. It was much more persuasive to focus on creating a sanitation organization to deal with diseases affecting the people suffering from labor during the war and the residents of occupied territories, rather than advocating for creating an epidemic prevention organization for an unexpected epidemic.
The model for the public hygiene unit was closer to the United States’ Public Health Service than the German Weimar Republic’s “Relief Operations Army.” Strictly speaking, it was a compromise between the two. The tasks they performed were similar to those of the Public Health Service, but the fact that the organization itself was under the jurisdiction of the military, not the health department, was similar to the Relief Operations Army.
After thinking for a moment, Falkenhain shared his thoughts.
“If that happens, there might be a shortage of medical personnel in the front.”
“I’m not suggesting that we immediately pull military officers. I’m talking about organizing a group with civilian doctors.”
“Is that really necessary?”
“If we want to stabilize war-torn regions like Poland and the Baltic early on, medical support is essential, isn’t it?”
Falkenhain didn’t deny that point.
As the conversation about the public health unit was about to pass, Falkenhain brought up the matter he had brought with him.
I was taken aback by his story.
“You want to carry out a southern offensive as well? What does that mean?”
The core of the German army’s planned spring offensive in 1915 was a joint amphibious operation between the army and navy, with the Baltic Sea in between. The role of the army was to secure the Gulf of Riga and focus on occupying Latvia so that the navy could make a leap to the Gulf of Finland. Although it was a side issue, Western Ukraine was only partially acquired to secure the front.
However, it seemed that the war strategy was thinking beyond that.
“Towards the end of the spring offensive, Minister Ludendorff came up with the idea of moving some troops south to sweep the western side of the Dnieper River together with Romania.”
“Ludendorff. It’s amazing that his name is still heard even if you try to forget about it.”
After dismissing my thoughts about Ludendorff, I expressed my doubts about the operation. It would be April or early May, just after the spring offensive, when Rasputitsa would be at its peak in Ukraine. Why would they choose such a time to launch an offensive in the south?
If Ludendorff was really a stupid human being, I wanted to dismiss it as nonsense, but I knew that wasn’t the case. For now, I wanted to hear the reason.
“You know as well as His Majesty that the supply situation of the Russian army has deteriorated significantly compared to the beginning of the war. After conducting the spring offensive under these conditions, the forces and resources available for the southern front will inevitably be scarce. Moreover, it will be difficult to properly transfer the forces and supplies due to Rasputitsa.”
“On the other hand, we can use the Dniester River as a supply line. Romania can also be a positive factor for our supply. Ludendorff judged that this would be an opportunity to deal a fatal blow to the Russian army when the gap in supply and mobility between the two sides is maximized.”
“Come to think of it, there is a supply line.”
During the Second World War, when the railways and roads on the Western Front of the German army were completely paralyzed by the Allied bombings, they maintained their logistics by using the Rhine River. I also acknowledged that water transport had benefits comparable to railways or roads.
“If the Romanian army attacks Bessarabia and supports the flank, and we can quickly move down the Dniester River to the Black Sea coast, the logistics will be resolved quickly.
Along the Balkan railway, the Raspoutine train did not have much influence in transporting materials to Romania along the Black Sea coast. I also considered this and judged that Ludendorff’s idea seemed plausible.”
“Well then, if we’re going to secure control over the Black Sea, there might be some variables, don’t you think? I heard that the Russian Black Sea Fleet will soon send Dreadnought-class battleships out of Sebastopol for inspection.”
The problem with supplying the coast along the Black Sea was that control over the sea had not been guaranteed. If Russia were to send new Dreadnoughts to the Black Sea, control over the sea would be immediately lost. In that case, not only would it be impossible to transport supplies by ship along the coast, but the coastal roads would also be difficult to use.
“I have come to discuss this issue with Your Majesty. Our army hopes that the navy will move its submarines to the Black Sea.”
“Moving submarines from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea.”
Our navy had been sending submarines to the Mediterranean by rail and sea. It was not difficult to extend these submarines further east to the Black Sea.
Although submarines were powerful asymmetric weapons, there were limits to the times. How could they deal with the Black Sea Fleet?
‘But there might be a way.’
When I thought about it, it seemed possible.
Russia was extremely reluctant to lose large warships and had a tendency not to send them out if there was a possibility of loss.
I don’t know if it was because Russia suffered from PTSD as a result of the Russo-Japanese War, but even during World War II, the naval forces of the Axis powers clearly saw the Russian naval forces shuttling troops to the sea in destroyer escorts, but the battleships and cruisers remained moored in port.
Even now, the behavior of the Russians was no different. So if we could make them believe that even if there were warships, they were as good as ‘nonexistent’, achieving our goal didn’t seem difficult.
“Not a bad idea.”
In response to my enthusiastic answer, Falkenhayn showed his satisfaction.
“I will consult with the navy and give you a positive response. Please wait.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
I signaled to Falkenhayn that I was positive about this operation. Of course, I had no intention of sending Ludendorff, who came up with this idea, back to the field. Even if he was talented, I didn’t want to employ someone who was ready to play around above my head.
After sending Falkenhayn away, I summoned Admiral Tirpitz, the Minister of the Navy.