Chapter 684 Italy Joins the War
"Well, at least they can bring strong pressure to the Russian Empire." William II was very happy and said to Moltke the Younger, "Fighting on two fronts has always been a hidden worry of the General Staff. I also know this. But now the two-front war is not just for us. The Russian Empire is also facing the same situation. This is fair."
"Yes, Your Majesty, let me think about it." As the Chief of the General Staff, Moltke the Younger could certainly see the benefits that were visible to the naked eye. The participation of the Ottoman Empire would completely surround the Russian Empire and open up a southern front to relieve the pressure on the German Empire's eastern front.
In fact, just as he was doubting the results of the German army on the Western Front, he was also worried about the Russian army that had already attacked East Prussia. The Russian army was much faster than the German General Staff had expected, and it could even be said that it had broken the General Staff's pre-war plan.
The Russian army's rush into the war without waiting for mobilization to be completed was certainly seen as a responsible and conscientious act by the Allied allies, but in the eyes of the Central Powers, it was just the opposite. It was fatal to the German army on the Western Front.
Moltke the Younger even thought about withdrawing troops from the Western Front to resist the Russian Army on the Eastern Front. However, due to the deviations in the actions and cognition of the German Army on the Marne River, Moltke the Younger could not make up his mind.
If the French army had collapsed, the German army would have at least hundreds of thousands of French prisoners of war. However, according to the reports from the frontline troops, Moltke the Younger did not see a large number of French prisoners of war, not to mention hundreds of thousands, not even 50,000. This was obviously abnormal. If the French army retreated in an orderly manner, he would withdraw troops from the Western Front to resist the Russian attack on the Eastern Front, which would cause the German strategic operations to fall into a stalemate and become a de facto two-front war.
At this time, even most Germans, including William II, believed that France was about to collapse, but the more so at this time, the more Moltke the Younger dared not take it lightly. Whether to withdraw troops from the Western Front or not had made the German Chief of Staff hesitate for a long time. The military force at hand was only this much, and he wanted to be comprehensive but had no extra troops.
Now that the Ottoman Empire had confirmed its imminent entry into the war, Moltke the Younger was freed from this dilemma. He could only and must believe that the Ottoman Empire would tie down part of the Russian army, and the German troops on the Western Front could not move, so he continued to attack in one breath.
Moltke the Younger once again made a decision that was completely contrary to his cautious character. He believed that the Ottoman Empire's participation in the war would bring advantages. He did not withdraw troops from the Western Front to support the Eastern Front. Instead, he made a gamble on the Western Front with the existing forces, hoping to defeat France in one fell swoop and force France, which had the strongest Allied army, to withdraw from the war.
On August 25, Moltke the Younger, in the name of the German Chief of General Staff, ordered all German army groups in France to attack Paris at all costs and end the war on the Western Front.
The mobilization of Britain and France was not as fast as that of Germany. As a result, when the war began, the German army concentrated its superior forces to launch an attack. On the other hand, the British and French coalition forces could only continue to send troops to the front line like a refueling tactic. In this case, the British and French coalition forces would need to persist for a long time if they wanted to defeat the German army.
The war broke out so suddenly that Britain and France had not completed their preparations at all before the war began. In addition, the German army was so strong that it was beyond their expectations. It was precisely because of this that Britain and France were caught off guard. The German commander on the front line who received the order from the General Staff knew that they were not far from victory at this time. He ignored the fatigue of more than ten days and ordered the soldiers to continue to move forward.
The Battle of the Marne officially broke out. Moltke the Younger did not withdraw any German troops, once again violating his cautious character and engaging in a gamble. Thousands of large-caliber artillery roared, the German First Army launched an attack on Paris, and at the same time, the German troops on the Western Front quickly moved towards the Marne River, and the whole of France was suddenly caught in a precarious situation.
In East Prussia, Nicholas II's European steamroller also threw himself into the war with amazing endurance. Even in the eyes of its allies, the Russian Empire was a dangerous country. When it was reliable, it was the backing of the entire allies. When it was unreliable, it was considered a threat to any country. But this time, the Russian Empire showed with its actions that it was in a reliable state.
Near Tannenberg, the Russian army, which had twice the strength of the German army, launched wave after wave of offensives, hoping to open the road to Berlin, rescue France, which was already in trouble, and ease the pressure on the Allied Powers on the Western Front.
Fierce fighting was taking place on both the eastern and western fronts, but the front-page headlines of this day were destined to belong to the Ottoman Empire. Enver Pasha defied all objections and, on the evening of August 26, when the two battles were in full swing, the Ottoman Navy raided the Russian Empire's Black Sea fortress. The next day, the Russian Empire declared war on the Ottoman Empire. The next morning, Britain and France declared war on the Ottoman Empire. On the same day, news came from Constantinople that the Ottoman Empire officially declared war on the Allied Powers.
The New York Daily News, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Daily Times, and New Orleans Morning Post all reported the news of the Ottoman Empire's war, and wrote in a lamenting tone, "Now that the war has evolved from a war within Europe to a real world war, no one knows where the fate of mankind will go."
Due to the boss of the League of Nations, these newspapers will not publish any reports favorable to Britain. Sheffield will not allow such voices to appear. Regarding the reasons for the Ottoman Empire's participation in the war, the major newspapers mainly reported on the two most expensive battleships in history and what price the Allies would pay.
"My dear, between the Ottoman Empire and the British Empire, we have to take the feelings of the British into consideration." Louisa Morgan was frowning. On the issue of Britain and Germany, the slave owners stood firmly on the side of Germany. At least it made sense in domestic public opinion. There were a large number of descendants of German immigrants in the country, and even the Rockefeller family was one of them. But there were no immigrants from the Ottoman Empire in the country, and they were still on the opposite side of Britain?
"I am the Pasha of the Ottoman Empire. I have my own territory in the Persian Gulf in the Middle East." Sheffield stroked his hair and said righteously, "Did Britain give me a penny? On the contrary, they seized a lot of my goods. Although they gave me money at a discount, it was all business. Don't expect me to thank them."
"Well, of course. It's not that I don't have sympathy for the Allies. Tomorrow's report will focus on the plight of the Russian Empire and France. To be honest, the Russian Empire will suffer the most from the Ottoman Empire's participation in the war, and the Germans will be the happiest." Sheffield glanced at Natalia and said in a restrained tone, "The British are like this. They make trouble for themselves and let their allies bear the consequences."
The family background was there. The slave owner couldn't say anything about the French or the Russians, so he could only say that the British were bad. Fortunately, he didn't attach much importance to the identity of the descendants of British immigrants, and he was not ambiguous in his sarcasm.
"Why do you say the Germans are the happiest? The French army is obviously stronger than the Russian army." Edith Rockefeller raised her thigh and disagreed, "Otherwise why did the Germans use all their main forces against France at the beginning?"
"My dear, France has always been so powerful. It is visible. The power of the Russian Empire is invisible. You don't think that Russia is a backward country, right? Even if it is, this country is the country that Germany fears the most. The Germans are not afraid of the French, but it is another issue for Russia." Sheffield reminded, "Think carefully about the order of declaring war a month ago. Germany first declared war on the Russian Empire and then on France three days later. The three-day interval is not because the Germans forgot something, but a true reflection of the psychology of the German General Staff."
Perhaps many people scoff at the performance of the Russian army in the war, but it must be said that the Russian army has always ranked first on the list of threats to Germany. One of the reasons for the outbreak of World War I was that the German officer corps demanded war, thinking that the future would be more unfavorable to Germany!
So who was this war against? Serbia? Obviously not. France? Obviously not. No matter from the perspective of population, military potential, strategy and tactics, France is definitely not a match for Germany in a one-on-one fight. Britain? Maybe, but that is a naval matter, and the conflict of interests between Britain and Germany is not that great. Diplomacy can resolve most disputes. Moreover, Tirpitz's shipbuilding competition has obviously failed. It is impossible to defeat the British by waging war at sea.
Who was Germany mainly targeting in this war? There is only one answer: Imperial Russia! The fact that Germany's main force was placed on the Western Front does not mean anything. On the contrary, the Western Front was the British and French forces against the German army, while the Eastern Front was the entire Allied forces besieging the Russian army.
France is certainly a big player in the Allied Powers, and the Russian army was far from being a weakling in World War I. As the real core of the Allied Powers, the Franco-Russian alliance was doing its best to win, while Britain was obviously much more cunning, and its contribution was definitely the bottom of the Allied Powers.
However, no matter how cunning Britain is, it cannot be as cunning as the United States this time. The Ottoman Empire's entry into the war two months in advance will have a huge psychological effect on the German army, which is already fighting hard.
But on the United States side, it gave Sheffield another opportunity to mock Britain.
As the lifelong enemies of the British Empire, the slave owners would not miss any opportunity to embarrass the British.
One night later, Sheffield had just walked out of the room when he heard the bodyguard leader bring a shocking news, "Boss, I just received news from Rome that Italy has declared war on France and the Russian Empire."
"Hmm? Hmm!" Sheffield was stunned for two seconds, then said with a strange expression, "Very decisive, not like an Italian."
(End of this chapter)
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