Chapter 683 Ottomans Join the War
Just considering that less than a month had passed since the start of the war, it seemed that the Germans were on the verge of replicating the trajectory of the Franco-Prussian War. Although the war losses announced by the two sides were different, the French army was in disgrace at the Franco-German border, while the German army instantly destroyed Belgium and marched straight into the country, which was seen by other countries.
It has to be said that the slave owners spent tens of millions of dollars, almost more than Italy's military expenditure in the Italo-Turkish War, to give the Kingdom of Italy such a blow, which was really painful for this impoverished imperialist country.
After the Italo-Turkish War, the hatred of the French in Italy had reached its peak, but due to its lack of strength, Italy was not provoked by the Germans to declare war on France.
The Italians' patience eventually led to France's greater contempt, but in fact, what the Italians feared was not France, but the British Empire, which had colonies all over the world. Although Britain seemed to be in a bit of decline in recent years, the Germans did not care about the accumulated power of the world for three hundred years, but the Italians still cared a lot.
The supplementary terms of the Triple Alliance allowed the Italians to go to war with France, but they were reserved about going to war with Britain.
This time, the debate among the Italian high-level officials was fruitless. At least the combination of the Triple Entente of Britain, France and Russia still made the Italians feel fearful. Finally, the Italian Prime Minister said, "Telegram to His Majesty the German Emperor that we still need some time to prepare for war. Please rest assured that we have not forgotten the humiliation brought by the French."
In the Ottoman Empire, the debate was much more intense. The German officer corps had an overwhelming influence on the Ottoman Army. However, in order to defeat the pro-British faction, Enver Pasha still used the two battleships as his attack point. "The British believe that the entire Ottoman Empire is not as valuable as two battleships. How do you explain this to Jemal Pasha? You have always advocated the development of the navy. Now our naval battleships have been seized, and even farmers without savings have donated money. The British are humiliating our entire country."
"Besides, we have an alliance treaty with the Germans!" Enver Pasha reminded everyone present that the alliance treaty was signed on August 3, when Germany had already declared war on France.
By this time, the war had already broken out, and both sides were betting on the first few battles that were about to break out. The French desperately mobilized heavy troops to the border, not for defense, but to prepare to invade Germany in one fell swoop. France transported troops from its North African colonies to the mainland, and the British and French fleets in the Mediterranean were responsible for the safety of these troop transports. The biggest threat came from Germany's only two warships in the Mediterranean: the powerful battlecruiser "Goeben" and the light cruiser "Breslau".
The Allies immediately angrily demanded that the Ottoman Empire disarm the two German ships, but the Germans came up with a clever idea. They transferred the two warships to the Ottoman Empire to replace the two ships confiscated by Britain, which deepened the Ottomans' favor. So, the two German ships were renamed, the Ottoman flag was raised, and the crew also changed to Ottoman clothing.
Enver Pasha mentioned the two battleships, and finally said in a heavy tone, "We have no choice. The Allies will not let us go after the war. There is only one way ahead, a matter of sooner or later."
"But we are too close to Britain and Russia." A hesitant voice appeared. The Ottoman Empire bordered the Russian Empire, and its southern territory was connected to Britain-controlled Egypt. Could the Germans come to the aid of the Ottoman Empire?
“And then there are the Americans in the Persian Gulf, whose attitudes are less obvious, but who have a kinship with the British.”
"You can rest assured about this. William Pasha hates the British very much." Enver Pasha replied confidently.
Sheffield would never betray the Ottoman Empire, but the reason was unknown to anyone at this time. That was the oil in the Persian Gulf. If the Ottoman Empire gave the slave owners legal ownership of the land, Sheffield would stand firmly on the side of the Ottoman Empire, not to mention the British. Even if the aliens stood on the side of the Allies, Sheffield would stand firmly on the side of the Ottoman Empire.
The 100,000 square kilometers of land near Kuwait and the west coast of the Persian Gulf alone, not counting Iran's land, contain more than 35% of the world's oil reserves. The slave owners have already decided that the future Confederate States of America will be established here.
Soon after, Enver Pasha received a call back from Sheffield. The slave owner, in the name of Kuwait Pasha, supported all actions of the Ottoman Empire and ensured that the Christian militia in the territory would stand on the side of the empire. Maintain the stability of the Middle East, especially the Persian Gulf. Enver Pasha was very satisfied with this and became more determined to join the Allies.
In a private telegram, Sheffield wrote to Enver Pasha, "If the Ottoman Empire stands on the side of the Central Powers, it will be a great tragedy for the Russian Empire. The Russian Empire's Baltic ports are almost deprived of foreign aid under the blockade of the German High Seas Fleet. As long as the Dardanelles is closed, the Russian Empire will fall into an unprecedented isolation and will no longer have contact with the Allied Powers of Britain and France. The blow is devastating."
Sheffield was definitely not talking nonsense. From a historical perspective, it is not clear whether the Ottoman Empire could defeat the Russian army after joining the war, but it did put the Russian Empire into a comprehensive encirclement by the Allies. Otherwise, in the middle of the war, the British would not have fought to the death to open the road to the Black Sea, because the Russian Empire could no longer hold on.
"Boss, will Mrs. Natalia be dissatisfied?" Before sending the telegram, the head bodyguard reminded his boss to pay attention to family unity.
"So you sent this telegram!" Sheffield put his hands on his waist and said as if it had nothing to do with me. "Besides, I am the Pasha of the Ottoman Empire. I have obligations to the entire Ottoman Empire. What's wrong with just giving suggestions? Who says that the Ottoman Empire will definitely follow my advice and join the Allies?"
At present, the League of Nations newspaper's reporting center in Europe is Rome, the capital of Italy, which has not yet officially joined the war. Of course, this is also seen by the slave owner as an ideal place to create fake news. He can't find a more suitable place than Rome. At this time, if the League of Nations irresponsibly spreads rumors in the main warring countries, the newspaper will be closed down.
The main reason for choosing Rome was that the Italians wanted to laugh at the French, which made Sheffield an ideal place to blow the German trumpet. Reports such as Germany had not yet been fully mobilized, its war potential had not yet been tapped, and German airships would descend on the capital of any European country flooded the streets of Rome.
It has to be said that after the Italo-Turkish War, Romans liked to read this kind of reports, and public opinion was incited in this way. It's just that Italians have not yet realized this.
Kluck arrived at the Marne River, and the French Fifth Army and the British Expeditionary Force outside him had crossed the Marne River earlier that day. The two hastily retreated, exhausted and confused troops had repeatedly received orders to blow up the bridges, but they did not do so. After occupying these bridgeheads, Kluck, ignoring the order from the Berlin High Command to keep pace with Bürro's Second Army, prepared to cross the river immediately the next morning to continue his pursuit of the French Fifth Army.
In Berlin, everyone from Kaiser Wilhelm II to ordinary people believed that the French army was about to be completely wiped out and Germany's victory was imminent.
"My Chief of General Staff, why are you always frowning? We are about to defeat the French and the war will be over soon. Now we can think about how to deal with these presumptuous bastards from the Allied Powers." William II looked at the joyless Moltke and spoke to comfort him.
"Your Majesty, where are the prisoners? Did millions of French soldiers die on the battlefield? We have captured less than 50,000 French soldiers!" Moltke the Younger said doubtfully, "The main force of the French army has not been annihilated. General Kluck said that victory is just around the corner. Isn't he too optimistic?"
Within a month after the outbreak of the war, the German army followed the basic policy set by Schlieffen and quickly crossed the Belgian territory to advance to the French mainland. The whole of Germany, and even almost the whole world, was convinced that the German army would soon win and Paris would be occupied.
Moltke the Younger said cautiously, "Maybe we are too optimistic!"
"Your Majesty, news has come from Constantinople." The aide-de-camp came in and read in front of William II and Moltke the Younger, "The Ottoman Empire is about to fulfill its obligations as an ally and join in the victory."
(End of this chapter)
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