Bulgarian Empire

The actions of the Allied Powers with great fanfare naturally cannot be hidden from the Germans, but how to deal with it is a problem. \u00261t;/p\u003e

Once the Allied Powers work on the east, west, south and south fronts simultaneously, life will be difficult for the Allies. Now the Austro-Hungarian Empire is obviously unable to contain the Bulgaria and Russia at the same time, even if it is alone, it will be difficult for the previous one! \u00261t;/p\u003e

In line with the principle that those who can do more work, it is natural for the Germans to do it themselves, and then the problem arises. Firstly, the German troops on the third front will be insufficient, and secondly, the logistics supply will be difficult to guarantee! \u00261t;/p\u003e

Falkenhain, the chief of the German general staff, has returned to Berlin, and his successor is Marshal August von Mackensen, the famous German general. \u00261t;/p\u003e

Falkenhayn suggested: Your Majesty, the Russians are disabled now, at least they can't cause us trouble in winter; if it's just Bulgaria, the Austro-Hungarian Empire should be able to handle it, and we should concentrate our forces to make breakthroughs on the Western Front, as long as We can break through Paris, and we can force the French out of the war!\u00261t;/p\u003e

Obviously, Falkenhayn, who had just won a big victory on the Eastern Front, still hopes to continue to replicate this miracle on the Western Front, playing a 1:2 or even 1:3 exchange ratio, and using brutal casualties to force the French to withdraw from the war. \u00261t;/p\u003e

However, his proposal did not win the support of the German Supreme Command. Prime Minister Theobaden von Bethmann Hollwig questioned: Your Excellency Chief of Staff, how can you be sure that we will launch a full-scale offensive on the Western Front? After that, the Russians will not launch a counterattack?\u00261t;/p\u003e

Even the Russians don't need to make much effort, as long as they cooperate with Bulgaria, the Austro-Hungarian Empire will not be able to withstand it. Our allies are now extremely weak. If the frontline regeneration is defeated, collapse may occur at any time! \u00261t;/p\u003e

What if we were not capable of defeating the French before Austria-Hungary collapsed? \u00261t;/p\u003e

And even if we break through Paris, do the French still choose to continue the war? Are we going to keep fighting? So who can tell me when this war will end? \u00261t;/p\u003e

The meaning of the prime minister in black is obvious. The strategic goals that Germany has formulated now are beyond the capabilities of the country, and the strategic goals must be lowered! \u00261t;/p\u003e

Falkenhayn sneered and said, Then what is the prime minister's opinion that can allow us to win this war?\u00261t;/p\u003e

Bateman Holwig said calmly: Peace talks, use diplomatic means to end the embarrassing situation we are facing now! \u00261t;/p\u003e

The Allied Powers are not monolithic either, we can have separate peace talks with them to end this war! \u00261t;/p\u003e

This is not the first time that peace talks have been proposed. The Germans have even contacted all countries in private, but the conditions between the two sides are too far apart to reach an agreement. \u00261t;/p\u003e

This time Batemann Hollwig raised it publicly here. Obviously, his peace talks are completely different from the previous private negotiations. Germany must make concessions and show sincerity! \u00261t;/p\u003e

William II asked blankly: How to talk about it? What is the bottom line? \u00261t;/p\u003e

Negotiations are not that simple, and it also involves major domestic interest groups, making concessions in any direction will damage the interests of one or several interest groups! \u00261t;/p\u003e

Therefore, even if William II was very interested in peace talks, he could not show it.

Caused a backlash from domestic interest groups! \u00261t;/p\u003e

After a moment of silence, Bateman Holwig said calmly: Before the peace talks, we must first learn from the British, and clearly distinguish who is our main enemy, who is our secondary enemy, and who is our second enemy. Who is our potential enemy! \u00261t;/p\u003e

To deal with our main enemy, we must suppress it to death, and there is no possibility of easing up; when dealing with secondary enemies and potential enemies, we can compromise or even cooperate in the short term! \u00261t;/p\u003e

Wilhelm II's complexion is very bad now, and Batemann Hollwig is obviously accusing him of his previous foreign policy, which caused the current embarrassing situation because he didn't distinguish between the primary and the secondary! \u00261t;/p\u003e

After a pause, Bateman Holwig continued: Actually, we already have an answer to this question. Our main enemy is the French, our secondary enemy is the British, and our potential enemies are Russia and Bulgaria. !\u00261t;/p\u003e

Therefore, we can now compromise with Russia and Bulgaria, which have little conflict with our interests in the short term, and exchange interests in exchange for their withdrawal from the war. \u00261t;/p\u003e

The Russians' current asking price is not high, they just ask to maintain territorial integrity, which we can fully satisfy them! \u00261t;/p\u003e

Bulgarians charge slightly more, but it's within our reach! \u00261t;/p\u003e

For example: We can tacitly divide up the Ottoman Empire between Bulgaria and Russia, and allow Bulgaria, Russia, Austria and Hungary to divide up Romania. As a transaction, the Russians will cede a piece of land from Russian Poland to us as compensation! \u00261t;/p\u003e

Other areas have returned to the borders of the pre-war countries, so that we can take into account the interests of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Bulgaria, and the Russian Empire at the same time, and we can end the war on the Eastern and Southern Fronts first! \u00261t;/p\u003e

After Bulgaria and Russia withdraw from the war, we can negotiate with the British Empire. We can promise to abandon the large navy plan in exchange for the understanding of the British, and then jointly carve up the French colonies! \u00261t;/p\u003e

As long as this is done, there will be one Frenchman left, and they will definitely not reject our armistice negotiations, then we will win this war! \u00261t;/p\u003e

After finishing speaking, Batemann Hollwig chose to shut up. He knew that his proposal would not be so easy to pass, which meant that the Germans had to give up a lot of benefits they had already obtained. \u00261t;/p\u003e

This also means that he stands on the opposite side of the three major interest groups of the German financial sector, the navy, and the Junker nobles, and it is as difficult as heaven to pass! \u00261t;/p\u003e

Sure enough, Hindenburg retorted: In other words, we will fight this war for nothing? Not only will we not gain any benefits on the Eastern Front, but even our greatest enemy, France, will be kept?1t;/p\u003e

We paid such a high price and fought this war to let you politicians sacrifice the interests of our allies in exchange for peace. Is such peace useful to the great German Empire? \u00261t;/p\u003e

Batemann Hollwig didn't answer, but just gave Hindenburg a cold look. The meaning was very clear. He was reminding Hindenburg not to forget that the materials were soldiers of the German Empire, and he couldn't just stand on the side of the Junker nobles. Consider the problem from a standpoint! \u00261t;/p\u003e

Perhaps aware of this, Hindenburg chose to shut up after finishing speaking, and never spoke again. His class position made him have to oppose this peace talk, but he had to admit that this is the easiest way to get the German Empire out of the predicament at the moment! \u00261t;/p\u003e

The Minister of the Navy, Alfred von Tirpitz, spoke. He could not make the slightest compromise on this issue. This is related to the future of the German Empire Navy. As a staunch supporter of the theory of sea power, he believed that Germany must There must be a fleet that matches the national strength! \u00261t;/p\u003e

Mr. Prime Minister, if we have to give up the sword in our hands for the sake of peace, how can such peace be guaranteed? 1t;/p\u003e

Even if we have reached an agreement with the Allied Powers now, they can still form an alliance to encircle the empire in the future. Can we continue to compromise? \u00261t;/p\u003e

Besides, aren't the lessons of this war not enough? If it weren't for the limited strength of our navy, would the British be able to block our supplies? \u00261t;/p\u003e

If there is no material blockade, we have won this war! In order for the future of the empire not to be threatened by others, it is impossible for us to accept such a humiliating peace! \u00261t;/p\u003e

Batemann Hollwig still did not refute. Everyone knows these truths, but there is one point that everyone does not pay attention to, that is, the German Empire does not have such a strong national power! \u00261t;/p\u003e

Wilhelm II was very disappointed. Although he also thought that these conditions were a bit harsh for the German Empire, he hoped that someone could support the peace talks. After all, the war has been going on until now, and the prospects are getting less and less optimistic. \u00261t;/p\u003e

Batemann Hollwig was not surprised by the military's opposition. He just hoped to get the support of the government. If the government could fully support it, he could also persuade William II to force the peace talks. \u00261t;/p\u003e

Finance Minister Carl said with a wry smile: Everyone, we have been running a fiscal deficit for more than ten years. Everyone knows what this means! \u00261t;/p\u003e

In addition, as far as I know, the domestic strategic material reserves have also dropped to the lowest point since the start of the war. If the military hadn't gained something in Russia this time, maybe we would be hungry now! \u00261t;/p\u003e

The Minister of the Interior cooperated and said: Yes, our grain reserves have reached a very dangerous number. If the military hadn't brought back more than five million tons of grain from Russia this time, we would have had a hard time this winter! \u00261t;/p\u003e

Everyone knows that we are a food-importing country, importing millions of tons of agricultural products from overseas every year. Since the outbreak of the war, we can only import part of the food from a few neutral countries, and we have to face vicious competition from the Allies! \u00261t;/p\u003e

Due to the war, domestic grain production continues to decline, and now our annual grain deficit is more than three million tons. If the war continues, this number will continue to increase! \u00261t;/p\u003e

It's not just that we are short of food, even the Austro-Hungarian Empire has a food shortage, and their annual food shortage is more than one million tons! \u00261t;/p\u003e

Not to mention the Italians, their food shortage is even worse than ours, I don't even know how they will survive this winter! \u00261t;/p\u003e

The Minister of Logistics added: Not only is there a shortage of food, but other strategic materials are also in short supply. Limited by raw materials, our military production has almost reached its limit! \u00261t;/p\u003e

But this number is not enough to support the war consumption on the front line. Our weapons and ammunition reserves have dropped to a very dangerous number, unable to support three battlefields at the same time! \u00261t;/p\u003e

...\u00261t;/p\u003e

Everyone understood that the prime minister in black was forcing the palace, and he had already bet his political life. If he could not persuade the major political factions to jointly suppress domestic interest groups, then his position as prime minister would be over. \u00261t;/p\u003e

In this regard, everyone has to admire his courage, daring to stand on the opposite side of so many interest groups, even if the war is over, he will not have a good life. \u00261t;/p\u003e

Now the decision-making power is in the hands of Wilhelm II. If he dares to fully support Batemann Hollweg's peace talks plan, then relying on the influence of the royal family in the army, he has a high degree of confidence to pass this resolution. ! \u00261t;/p\u003e

Of course, if it fails, the consequences will be very serious. The army may take over the regime, and the royal family and the government will be emptied! \u00261t;/p\u003e

...\u00261t;/p\u003e

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