Chapter 605 Italy, Be Confident
At the peace talks of the Second Moroccan Crisis, French representatives expressed strong protest against Germany's excessive actions, and there was reason to suspect that the Italian army's restlessness was approved by the Germans, although Paris has no evidence yet.
There are too many powerful countries involved in Europe, and all kinds of movements need to be analyzed in detail. Even if Sheffield gives a rough analysis of the situation, Anne still needs to make adjustments at any time based on her own understanding.
"Congressman Philip, I wonder if the help from Britain can curb the German ambitions?" In the villa where she lived, Anne, dressed in a long dress, came late and met the congressman whom she knew through her mother.
"In our communication with the British side, we emphasized the balance of power in the Mediterranean. We also talked about the Italians, who are also allies. Recently, they seem to be ready to take advantage of the Germans. The British take this situation very seriously, but due to the strength of the Italian navy, they are unwilling to completely offend the Italians. This is a very frustrating thing." Philip pondered for a moment, obviously dissatisfied with the British's ambivalent tendency at the critical moment.
"The cunning British have always been like this. Many people have said that the Franco-Russian relationship within the Allied Powers is the basis for maintaining the security of France." Anne sighed quietly and did not tell the congressman in front of her that among the so-called many people, the one who least trusted the British was her husband.
"It's like this, ma'am. The British have only promised to negotiate with the Germans about the Morocco issue. As for Italy's current movements, we probably can't count on them." Senator Philip was silent for a while. The fact that he was in the same camp with the British and had to endure the British sense of distance was a little unbearable.
The interests of many countries conflict with each other. For example, the British are mainly afraid of the imbalance of power in Europe caused by Germany. The current goal of the Russian Empire is relatively simple, which is to weaken the Ottoman Empire as much as possible. However, there will be problems after the weakening. Although the Germans are not very interested in the Balkans, the Austro-Hungarian Empire is keen on expanding to the Balkans, especially the Hungarian part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Military alliances involving multiple countries are often unable to coordinate and unanimous. It is not only possible, but also very common for them to act on their own until the war really breaks out.
"Dear Senator, I just feel that if the land that should be ruled by the French is swallowed up by a country like Italy, the humiliation it brings seems to be greater than the Morocco incident." Anne said lightly, "Why should the Italians do this? If we can do it without compromising with the Germans, why should we compromise with the Italians?"
This is also the latest trend in French public opinion. Many major newspapers are unanimous in calling for vigilance against Italian military adventures.
After the fermentation of public opinion in recent months, accompanied by the spread of Italian jokes, the French, at least the citizens of Paris, have developed a condescending contempt for Italy. With this mentality, if the Moroccan crisis eventually turns into a situation where the Italians take advantage of the exchange of interests between Germany and France and successfully grab the biggest piece of the pie through military adventure, this will make many Parisian citizens feel fooled.
"Mr. Congressman, if we suddenly join the war, even against Italy, it may cause criticism from some citizens. In fact, we can wait and see. If Italy can easily get rid of the Ottoman army, the government may recognize the interests of the Italians, but I think Italy is likely to fall into a quagmire. If we seize the Ottoman enclave, the Italians will not be able to solve the problem within half a year. What's wrong with us picking peaches?"
When Germany and France were exchanging interests over the Moroccan crisis, British Foreign Secretary Grey in London told the German ambassador: If the emperor was prepared to send troops to land in Morocco as domestic newspapers advocated, it would be tantamount to declaring war on both Britain and France at the same time.
The news was immediately transmitted back to Berlin via radio. At the German Imperial Palace, Bülow, who had already resigned as Prime Minister, came here angrily and asked to be summoned. After finally waiting for William II to come out, he could not help but say, "We made a shocking noise in North Africa and attracted the attention of the whole world. Just because the French promised to give us the tropical rainforest full of miasma and danger, we accept the status quo? It's ridiculous!"
Although he is a former prime minister, the recent exchange of interests between France and Germany is no secret to Bilo. France wants Germany to recognize France's position in Morocco and cede part of the territory in northern Cameroon to France; France, in turn, transfers the central and southern French Congo and adjacent areas under French Equatorial Africa to Germany as compensation.
In Bülow's view, the tropical rain forests in Central Africa were of little value and were far less habitable than those in North Africa. For this reason, Bülow and some Prussian Junkers strongly opposed this.
"But the British are tough. Although these island bastards are so annoying, we must admit that the British navy is stronger than ours. This is an advantage when it comes to colonial issues." William II listened calmly to the former prime minister's words. He did not have the irritable and arrogant image described in British newspapers at all. Instead, he analyzed the matter very calmly.
"In fact, this is also an opportunity. The fear that the Italians have always shown towards France in the alliance treaty is a real hidden danger. Your Majesty, I know that the French are threatening the Italians not to take military risks, but judging from the current situation, the Italians have long been unable to tolerate the Ottoman enclave. They must be hoping to create a fait accompli while the French are confronting us. Why can't we take advantage of this in return?"
Although he was no longer the prime minister, Bülow did not hide his thoughts in front of William II. In his opinion, Germany should at least give Italy an unobvious support so that the Italians could act boldly with confidence.
As for public opinion within France, Bülow also learned through some channels that many French people have discovered that the Italians are trying to take advantage of the situation. In this way, if he is still the prime minister, he can take advantage of the situation to intensify the relationship between Italy and France. This will make Italy more obedient in the Allied Powers, which is beneficial to the overall strategy of Germany.
You should know that the earliest reason why Italy joined the Triple Alliance was that Italy wanted to control Tunisia. Italy had serious conflicts in its colonial territories, but Italy had a reservation clause in the alliance treaty. Italy attached a reservation condition to this: if Britain attacked Germany or Austria-Hungary, Italy would not be obliged to assist its allies.
This was a hidden danger in the alliance, although it was not discovered by Bilo himself. People of that era would not have thought that Italy would defect. Of course, it was a senior German slave owner who let the former prime minister know about it through his friendly relations with German companies.
After hearing what Bilo said, William II fell into deep thought and asked, "But the Italians want to seize the enclave of the Ottoman Empire, and the Ottoman Empire has a very good relationship with us. If we show a very obvious tendency towards the war between the Ottoman Empire and Italy, it seems that it will damage the relationship between the two countries."
The German-Austrian alliance was surrounded by the Franco-Russian alliance, and fighting on two fronts had always been a problem that Germany had to consider. The friendly relationship between the Ottoman Empire and Germany could reduce the pressure on the Eastern Front.
"No, Your Majesty. If the Ottoman Empire wants to get closer to the Allies, it has to ask the Russian Empire whether it will agree. In recent years, the Russian Empire has infiltrated the Balkans very deeply. Even if it goes to war with the Italians because of the enclave, facing the threat of the Russian Empire, the Ottoman Empire cannot get close to the Allies."
William II was shaken, and this was an opportunity to seize the opportunity. It would not be a bad thing if Italy could be used to test the bottom line of the French. If the two countries really fought, regardless of whether Germany would join the war, at least it would be possible to see the level of the French army and at the same time make Italy and France enemies.
Under the guidance of Madame Anne, who has many political friends, the idea of waiting and seeing has become very popular in French politics. In Germany, the idea of trying the French by using the Italians has emerged.
Each country was considering its own interests. In this situation, the Ottoman ambassador's appeals to European countries were doomed to be in vain. Only the Black Gold Company tried its best to help the Ottoman Empire transport soldiers. Before the Italians officially declared war, the Ottoman garrison had reached 30,000 people. Although they were still short of weapons, they were slightly stronger than at the beginning.
In the Ottoman capital, countless patriots shouted and defended the empire's territory from the prying eyes of the Italians.
In the early morning, under the cover of the naval guns, the Italian soldiers began their attack. After the conventional artillery preparation, Italy launched a full-scale assault. The positions that seemed to be bombed to pieces by the artillery fire did not show any Ottoman soldiers. Obviously, before the Italians were ready to launch the raid, the Ottoman soldiers had already prepared to avoid the coverage of the navy's naval guns.
Fifteen hundred Italian soldiers successfully occupied the port, and the news was then passed back to Rome, and then quickly spread throughout Europe and Sicily. Countless workers worked at the docks, watching the soldiers who were ready to go board the warships. The news of victory had come from across the sea, and the whole of Italy fell into a high uproar.
The initial victory gave the Italians, who had never won a great victory on the battlefield, the illusion that this time it would work.
In just a window period of more than ten days, Black Gold Company transported 20,000 Ottoman soldiers from other parts of the Ottoman Empire, which demonstrated its professional attainments in the field of international transportation. In the entire Libya region of later generations, there are now nearly 30,000 Ottoman soldiers and more than 20,000 Arabs and Bedouins. These local forces may not like the Ottomans, but now everyone is a peace believer and must unite to fight against the Italian invasion.
(End of this chapter)
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