Chapter 1136 The Terrible Wilhelm II
Berlin.
William II is in a very bad mood. First of all, in William II's view, Germany is not ready for war, and it is also facing the declaration of war by three major powers, Russia, France, and Britain. It was beyond William II's expectations.
Although William II always talks about war, William II is actually very cautious about war.
Otherwise, when Russia began to mobilize, William II would not have advised the Russian government to stop mobilization. In essence, he still did not want a military conflict with Germany.
Although there was bound to be a war between Germany and Russia, before the war, William II had absolutely no intention of starting a war now.
The culprit of this irreversible situation is actually William II himself. The reason why the Austro-Hungarian war faction headed by Conrad is not afraid of declaring war on Russia still comes from William II. ensure.
Conrad had previously asked William II about his attitude, but at that time William II did not realize the seriousness of the problem, so he wrote in his reply to Conrad: "How to deal with this matter? It’s your business, but no matter what happens, Germany will be on your side.”
At that time, William II just believed that Austria-Hungary would punish Serbia, and strong countries had many ways to deal with weak countries. Implementing sanctions, William II did not realize that Austria-Hungary would take the most radical form of war to retaliate against Serbia.
It can be said that William II was completely unaware of the military operations planned by the Austro-Hungarian Empire. However, Conrad and other Austro-Hungarian radicals had already obtained the answers they wanted from Germany.
This was equivalent to William II writing a "blank check" to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and Conrad wrote a number on this check that exceeded William II's psychological expectations, which caused Germany to be unable to move forward.
Germany was tied to the wheel of war by the Austro-Hungarian Empire to a certain extent, and it provoked three world powers at once, which made the German government even more passive.
After all, in the alliance between Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Germany had a clear advantage. Regardless of population, military, economy, industry, social stability and other aspects, Germany far surpassed the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
So, in theory, Germany should play the leading role in the alliance between the two countries, but because of William II's unintentional words, the Austro-Hungarian Empire "dominated" Germany, and Germany had to passively accept the outcome of the war. .
This feeling of being beyond control is naturally not what William II wants to experience. It also shows that there are misunderstandings in the exchanges between the two countries. Assuming that William II can listen to other people's opinions and act cautiously, it will also It would not be a "blank check" for the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Bismarck or William I would never have made such a mistake.
This also reflects the shortcomings of German politics. Wilhelm II has so much power that some of his speeches or decisions can completely bypass the constraints of the German government.
In short, challenging Russia, France, and Britain at the same time put great pressure on William II. If one-on-one, Germany would naturally not be afraid, but any one of these three powers would be a headache for Germany. .
Now the William II government can only hope that the Austro-Hungarian Empire will hold Russia back and wait until Germany defeats France before solving the Russian problem.
The second bad thing is that East Africa is "taking advantage of the situation". Now when the German government is fully focused on the war, East Africa is engaging in colonial deals with a stern face, which even makes William II The unattractive mood made things worse.
After all, from Germany's perspective, East Africa should best coordinate Germany's actions and join its own camp. If the three most powerful German countries in the world join forces, Germany will not fall into the passive situation it is today.
At that time, East Africa will move north to cooperate with the Austro-Hungarian Empire to control the Mediterranean. Relying on the strong industrial capabilities and rich resource reserves of the three countries, there will be no opponents at all.
After all, East Africa has a large amount of Germany's scarce resources, such as food, cotton, rubber, oil, metals, etc., and East Africa also has a population of more than 100 million and a relatively powerful army. The potential for war is considerable, at least Bio The Hungarian Empire was much stronger. Yes, Germany is also relatively dependent on East Africa for oil. East Africa has quietly become the world's largest exporter of refined oil and has the most powerful petroleum industry system in the world.
Not to mention anything else, as long as East Africa can stably provide Germany with sufficient material support, Germany will be more confident in gaining an advantage in the war.
Of course, Germany’s idea naturally centers on German interests, and East Africa has no idea of wading into troubled waters.
For example, the Mediterranean is not so easy to enter. Britain and France have such strong advantages in the Mediterranean that it is impossible for the Austro-Hungarian Navy to gain a say in the Mediterranean. Even if the Austro-Hungarian Empire is a little more powerful and has the ability to overwhelm Britain in the Eastern Mediterranean, perhaps East Africa may also consider heading north.
After all, Britain and France control the chokepoint from East Africa to the Mediterranean. It is almost impossible to attack from the outside. Assuming that the Austro-Hungarian navy can cooperate from within the Mediterranean, it is possible to break the establishment of Britain and France in the Mediterranean. A powerful blockade system, but the fact is that the Austro-Hungarian Navy was locked in the Adriatic Sea and had no effect, and the Austro-Hungarian Navy was so powerful that even if it broke out of the Mediterranean, it would only be encircled and suppressed by the British and French navies.
So, from all angles, it is impossible for East Africa to risk boarding a German pirate ship, which naturally arouses dissatisfaction in Germany.
However, Germany wanted something from East Africa, so it could only keep this dissatisfaction in its heart. Therefore, William II did not have a good attitude towards East Africa, but he could not blame anything.
This time East Africa's proposal to take over German colonies made William II even more unhappy. After all, Germany paid a high price to acquire these colonies.
Especially for the German Central African colonies, East Africa, Germany, Belgium, and South Germany had only signed an agreement to jointly develop Central Africa.
Now, all this will serve as a wedding dress for East Africa. It’s no wonder that William II is in a good mood! This is a family business that Germany has worked hard to build overseas and has put a lot of effort into it.
If these colonies are handed over to East Africa, it means that Germany has already begun to lose territory before the war starts. In peacetime, no one can accept it calmly.
This period of time is not a normal time for Germany, but an important time related to the crisis of national survival, so William II and the German government can only admit it with pinched noses.
Looking at the letter sent from East Africa, William II sneered in his heart, but he still asked the German government without any pretense: "What do you think of East Africa's proposal?"
Foreign Minister Artur said angrily: "East Africa is simply the scum of Germany. This is obviously a blackmail of the empire. If it had been done in the past, we would definitely have to retaliate."
As the foreign minister of the empire, Artur's attitude towards East Africa is not considered friendly. After all, in Germany's past foreign policy, it has always adopted a policy of co-optation towards East Africa, which can be said to have met a large part of East Africa's needs.
Germany naturally hopes to tie East Africa to its own chariot, so it has always been generous to East Africa, especially when East Africa vigorously developed its own industry, it provided a lot of financial, technical and personnel support. .
Adhering to this policy, the frequency of the German Foreign Ministry's dealings with East Africa is naturally quite high. Artur asked himself that in the relationship between the two countries, Germany spared no effort to support East Africa, but it did not get what it wanted. As a result, this naturally caused a lot of trouble for the German Foreign Ministry.
Even diplomats such as Artur don't like to deal with East Africa, but for the future of the empire, they still have to bite the bullet and cooperate with East Africa, which is very uncomfortable.
Of course, from the perspective of the East African government, the East African government has done absolutely nothing wrong. In addition to not meeting Germany's strategic needs, East Africa has also given Germany many positive responses, such as trade, investment, resources, etc., in terms of economy and military. The field also provides Germany with a lot of conveniences.
(End of this chapter)