Chapter 778 Marshal Hindenburg
Berlin Palace.
Mid-May is the time when grape flowers bloom. The flowers sway gracefully on the vines, and the faint fragrance permeates the scattered sunlight, giving people a pleasant feeling.
However, they could not dispel the shadow in William II's heart.
William II was strolling in the vineyard. He originally wanted to relax, but the flowers around him only caught his eyes but failed to enter his consciousness.
Wilhelm II's mind was full of Hindenburg.
He already regretted dismissing Falkenhayn and transferring him to command the Ninth Army.
Before doing so, William II did not consider one question: Who would be the Chief of the General Staff? Who was still qualified to be the Chief of the General Staff?
William II originally thought that this matter was simple. He just needed to remove Falkenhayn and replace him with another general as Chief of the General Staff.
However……
Hindenburg was invincible on the Eastern Front. If Charles was the "Mars of France", then Hindenburg was the "Ares of Germany".
(The picture above is a statue of Ares. Mars is the god of war in Roman mythology, and Ares is the god of war in Greek mythology)
Although William II believed that this had something to do with luck.
If Falkenhayn and Hindenburg were switched, with Falkenhayn in charge of the Eastern Front against Russia and Hindenburg facing Charles on the Western Front, it would be Falkenhayn instead of Hindenburg who would become the "German Ares".
But facts are facts, there are no ifs in war.
The only defeat on the Eastern Front had nothing to do with Hindenburg. The Russian Brusilov Offensive defeated the Austro-Hungarian Empire's defense line.
At this time, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was still an independent army, and they were unwilling to obey Hindenburg's command and insisted on fighting independently.
However, the facts gave the Austro-Hungarian Empire a hard slap in the face.
The failure of the Austro-Hungarian Empire indirectly proved that Hindenburg's ideas were correct and far-sighted.
If Hindenburg had not sent reinforcements to stop Brusilov's army, the Austro-Hungarian Empire might have collapsed.
Under these circumstances, who else could serve as the German Chief of the General Staff and command the entire army?
Although William II was extremely reluctant, the citizens of the country turned their eyes to Hindenburg. All the officers and soldiers in the army hoped that Hindenburg would command them. Even the ministers believed that only Hindenburg could save Germany.
What else could William II do?
Forcibly appoint someone else as Chief of the General Staff?
I'm afraid that I'll be driven down amidst a chorus of curses in a few days.
Bring Falkenhayn back again?
Even if William II could swallow his pride, Falkenhayn would not be able to come back because he had suffered many defeats on the Western Front and was driven out of office because he was incompetent.
Now that he had not made any military achievements, it was certainly impossible for him to come back and serve as Chief of the General Staff to command Hindenburg.
"What a stupid thing to do!" William II fell into deep self-blame.
But it was too late to regret now. He had to hand over the command of the entire country's army to Hindenburg. Hindenburg had the final say on both the Western and Eastern Fronts.
So did the Austro-Hungarian army.
Wilhelm II heard that Hindenburg was forcing Austria-Hungary to surrender command.
Hindenburg had good reasons:
"Only when we truly unite together, work closely under a unified command and share intelligence, can we defeat the enemy completely."
"Think of the difficulties faced by the Austro-Hungarian army, Italy, Romania, and the disastrous defeat on the Eastern Front under the Russian offensive."
"If you are unwilling to do this, the outcome will most likely be total destruction."
The last sentence was full of gunpowder, and everyone could hear the threat in it, including the Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz Joseph I.
(The picture above shows Franz Joseph I, Emperor of the Austrian Empire and Austro-Hungarian Empire)
William II knew that Joseph I would eventually compromise.
Austria-Hungary did not have the power to refuse.
She was in trouble in three directions at the same time: Italy, Romania and Russia.
As long as Hindenburg did not send reinforcements, the Austro-Hungarian Empire would be in danger of being destroyed.
Whether to hand over command to Hindenburg or destroy the country, any sane person would make the right choice.
Hindenburg would then have control of all the armies and he would immediately become the most powerful man in Germany.
"Your Majesty." At this time, a guard came forward and reported: "Marshal Hindenburg is here, he is waiting for you in the reception room!"
William II's heart skipped a beat and a hint of displeasure flashed in his eyes.
Normally, since William II was in the vineyard, Hindenburg, as a minister, should have gone to the vineyard to meet the emperor.
Now, Hindenburg was waiting in the living room for William II to come over, and it sounded like William II was going to see him.
But William II didn't dare to say anything: "Okay, tell him to wait a moment."
"Yes, Your Majesty," the guard responded and retreated.
William II did not intend to go back immediately. He wanted to put on airs and ask Hindenburg to wait for a while to assert his dignity.
However, he immediately thought that he did not seem to be qualified to do so now.
Without Hindenburg's nod, Wilhelm II might not have been able to mobilize even a single infantry company.
After hesitating for a while, William II sighed, walked down the steps of the vineyard and walked towards the living room.
…
There were no guards at the door of the living room, but now there were two people standing on the left and right. They were Hindenburg's men.
They were unarmed, and when William II approached them they stood up and saluted, but this still put William II under great pressure.
Hinburg stood at the window looking at the scenery outside, pretending not to notice William II coming in. He held his head high and his hands crossed behind his back, as if waiting for his subordinates to report the situation to him.
(The picture above shows Hindenburg in 1916)
It was not until Wilhelm II approached that Hindenburg suddenly realized, turned around, and saluted: "It is an honor to meet you, Your Majesty."
William II suppressed his inner unhappiness, and kindly invited Hindenburg to sit down on the sofa, and then politely had coffee and fruit served.
"Is everything going well, Marshal?" said William II. "I hope your work is not too heavy."
It would be better if you proposed to focus on only one front, so that I can justifiably hand over the Western Front to someone else.
But Hindenburg did not give William II any chance. He replied calmly: "You don't have to worry about this at all, Your Majesty. In fact, I think the work of the General Staff is much simpler than that of the Commander-in-Chief on the Eastern Front."
"Oh, really?" William II laughed, with a hint of bitterness in his smile.
"Of course." Hindenburg took a sip of coffee. "Because when I was the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Front, I always had to worry about my superiors transferring my troops. Now I don't have this worry!"
The smile on William II's face froze.
Before that, it was William II and Falkenhayn who implemented the policy of "West first, East later", occasionally transferring troops from the Eastern Front to fill the holes on the Western Front.
Hindenburg's words may not sound like anything important on the surface, but in fact he was showing off to William II.
(End of this chapter)
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