Chapter 675 War breaks out
Finally, it has come to the last step. After many sleepless nights, it has finally come to this result. William II hopes that the Russian Empire and France will give up their support for Serbia under the threat of German military power.
Like Nicholas II, before the full-scale war began, German Emperor Wilhelm II also fell into hesitation. Anyone, no matter how strong-willed, would instinctively want to retreat in the face of such a life-and-death war.
Now William II has taken an important step, leaving behind the close personal relationships between European royal families and, for the sake of national interests, allowing the Germans to stand openly on the land under the sun.
"Your Majesty, you are looking for me!" German Chief of General Staff Moltke the Younger hurried over upon hearing the call from William II.
"My friend, your responsibility has never been so important." William II looked at his close friend, Moltke the Younger, who became the Chief of the General Staff with his efforts, and said solemnly, "Is our army ready?"
"We make preparations every year! We have always known that the French are powerful." Moltke the Younger gave an affirmative answer. Since Moltke the Younger became the Chief of the General Staff, he has repeatedly studied the advance on the Western Front, the current situation of the French, Belgian, British and Russian armies, and the possibility of launching an attack on Germany's eastern and western fortress systems, and drew new conclusions every year.
The estimate of the Franco-Belgian army was extremely accurate, and the great shift in French thinking from a defensive to an offensive strategy in view of its growing military strength did not escape the eyes of the Berlin General Staff.
The British army, which was being reorganized for a war on the European continent, did not need to be overrated; the question of the participation of the British Empire's other colonial armies in the war could be ignored. What surprised them was that the Russian Empire had recovered so quickly after its defeat in the Japanese war and the revolutionary turmoil.
The reason why the officer corps, including the Chief of the General Staff Moltke the Younger, showed a warlike attitude was not because they believed that the French would be reborn again. The French have always been strong, and Germany has already experienced it.
The powerful trend of the Russian Empire was something Germany had never seen before. What if the European gendarmerie really revived? What should we do? The shadow of fighting on two fronts was on the Eastern Front. Germany had to change its current situation of being surrounded before the Russian Empire broke out.
"Look at this, my chief of staff. Perhaps you will be surprised by the Americans." William II took out the most realistic false intelligence in history that was personally prepared by Sheffield and placed it in front of the most powerful chief of staff of the German army.
"The Russian Empire's army was influenced by France and was filled with the same offensive thinking as the French army. Thanks to the size of the Russian Empire's army, the Russian Empire did not need a month-long mobilization period to join the war. It could have just sent frontline troops to join the war and mobilized the rear, completing both tasks at the same time." Moltke the Younger read the intelligence sent by Sheffield, and then his eyes fell on the paragraph about the Western Front. "The Liege Fortress in Belgium is the top priority on the Western Front. It is reported that the British are secretly inciting the Belgians to protect themselves. Once this hinders the German army, it will slow down the progress of the Allies. The Liege Fortress is the first fortress in Europe. The fortress complex and heavy artillery make the entire fortress area very strong. Without heavy artillery and Zeppelin airships, it would waste the German army's precious time."
"Your Majesty, who sent this?" Moltke the Younger could not hide the shock on his face. Even though he, the Chief of the General Staff, was not a genius commander, he had been in the General Staff for so many years and of course understood how important the issue mentioned here was.
"This news was obtained by a friend of ours in the United States." William II replied with a serious look.
"Is the information reliable?" Moltke asked further, wanting to know more. "The analysis of the Russian army in it is the most idealistic, mobilizing while participating in the war. At least now the Russian army's logistics management is still very poor. Maybe the Russian army will be able to do this in a few years, but definitely not now. So yes, we still have to stick to the original plan, resolve France, and prepare for the realization of the Schlieffen Plan. But this intelligence is by no means without value. The statement about the Liege Fortress is very worrying. Your Majesty, if we have to go through Belgium, we may not be able to be polite and friendly, and we must bear some accusations from various countries."
The basic content of the "Schlieffen Plan" is to divide all German combat forces into the Eastern Front against Russia and the Western Front against France. The ratio of forces on the Eastern and Western Fronts is roughly 1:8. The Western Front is divided into the left and right wings, and the ratio is still 1:8. Part of the left wing troops are deployed in the central area of Verdun, which is the northwest entrance of Paris and the center of France's defense system against Germany. The rest are deployed on the 240-kilometer Franco-German border. The right wing of the Western Front is the main force of Germany and the key to Germany's victory in the war.
According to the "Schlieffen Plan", once the war broke out, the German troops on the Eastern Front would use their small forces to cooperate with the Austro-Hungarian army to contain the Russian army, with the aim of restricting Russia to the border of East Prussia.
At the same time, the right wing assembled on the Western Front rotated southwestward with Verdun as the axis, passing through Belgium, a neutral country in Europe, and entered France from the Belgian-French border. After crossing the Belgian plains and sweeping across the French coast, it surrounded Paris from the north, west, and south, and then moved eastward to outflank the main force of the French army from behind. The task of the left wing on the Western Front was to lure the enemy and resist the attack of the main French army.
"I can take some blame to a certain extent, since I am the emperor of the German Empire, but have you thought about how to solve the problem of the Liege Fortress?" William II asked in a concerned tone.
"The problem of the Liege Fortress deserves attention, but it is only a tactical problem. Just like what the intelligence said, this problem can be solved by deploying heavy artillery and airships." Moltke the Younger said confidently, "Your Majesty, you haven't told me whether this intelligence is true."
"I heard that it was obtained from the son of a former US president. Do you think it's true?" William II stretched out his injured hand and clenched his fist. "Once the plan is set, it must be carried out unswervingly."
In the evening, the news from St. Petersburg reached Berlin. Russian Emperor Nicholas II formally rejected the ultimatum to abandon the general mobilization. Wilhelm II closed his eyes and gritted his teeth as he ordered, "Announce to the outside world that war has been declared on the Russian Empire."
At the German General Staff, Moltke the Younger was busy with the deployment work, and some officers were puzzled by the impromptu decision to prepare for the attack on the Liege fortress.
"You must understand that this is a national war. It cannot be concluded in one decisive battle. It must go through a long and hard battle to exhaust all national strength. Otherwise, a country will not surrender. In such a war, even if you win, the loss will outweigh the gain." Moltke the Younger held his forehead. He had suffered from neurasthenia from years of war preparations, but Germany needed him now, and he could not leave at this time, as this would shake the morale of the army.
Even though deep down in his heart, the Chief of General Staff always believed that the Schlieffen Plan was a gamble rather than a real way to win, he could not say it out loud because Germany's national strength determined that this was the only way to do it under the current conditions.
So when William II reminded him of the dangers on the Eastern Front, he still confidently told the emperor that the Eastern Front was nothing to worry about. Although Moltke the Younger didn't think so, what could he do? Germany no longer had the national strength to deal with it!
The resources mobilized by modern countries are too powerful. Once a stalemate occurs, Germany will simply not be able to outlast the Allied camp. This is why Moltke the Younger answered in this way when the officer of the General Staff raised an objection just now.
It was not that Moltke the Younger rejected the ideas proposed by many talented staff officers! Rather, Germany's national strength could only support the army to achieve its current goals. For the victory of Germany, he even personally formulated a plan to attack the Liege fortress.
Once the war started, he immediately seized the modern Liege fortress in Belgium by surprise. This was an amazing decision for him, the chief of staff who was not known for his boldness. If this move failed, people would definitely ask who ordered the implementation of this defeat, and Moltke was very clear about this.
"The heavy artillery and airships for attacking the Liege fortress must be in place immediately. The war is already here!" Moltke the Younger shouted to the officers of the General Staff. He had completely gone against his cautious nature and only hoped that this plan that went against his nature would bring good results to Germany.
Germany sent an ultimatum to Belgium, demanding that the German army be allowed to pass through Belgium to fight against the French army, and that a reply be given within 24 hours. German troops had already appeared on the border between Germany and Belgium.
Before Belgium made an official response, Germany officially declared war on France, and the core of the Allied Powers and the Central Powers, the Franco-Russian Alliance and the German-Austrian Alliance, had already joined the war.
The news that dominated the screens in the United States that day was about Belgium's brutal rule over Africa, dominated by photos of countless Congolese black people having their hands chopped off. Recently, Sheffield got smart and learned from the Republicans, specifically looking for photos of women and children to publish.
At the same time, the second most circulated news was the preliminary concept of the Greater Liberia Plan, which used photos of Congolese people having their hands chopped off while allowing black people to return to Africa. Only Sheffield, a master of bad things, could do this.
However, the European war had already broken out and German troops had appeared on the Belgian border. It seemed inappropriate to hype up the tragic conditions of the Belgian colonies at this time.
Soon someone told Sheffield that this was inappropriate. The Belgian ambassador believed that some newspapers in the United States were misleading. The king who did this had been dead for several years, and asked the federal government to stop this irresponsible behavior.
"The United States is a country with free speech. No one can cover my mouth." Sheffield stood still for a while after learning the news from Washington, and said softly, "Tomorrow's newspaper will reprint the report on how the British pretended to be neutral and deceived the German ambassador. That's it."
(End of this chapter)
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