Chapter 263 War Response Strategy

At noon on June 19, Constantine, who lived in the Tatoi Palace, received an urgent telegram asking him to come to the Ministry of Defense building to discuss military affairs urgently.

As soon as he entered the building and went to the conference room, Constantine noticed that the staff of the General Staff were in a panic. Combined with the unusual behavior of the General Staff, Constantine had already understood something in his heart.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince" saw Constantine enter the conference room, and the senior Greek army officials sitting around the conference table immediately stood up and saluted.

After Constantine looked at everyone, he found that almost all the officers present were staff officers at all levels of the General Staff.

"Well, did the troops stationed in the Macedonian area conflict with the Bulgarians?" Constantine didn't care about anything else and went straight to the point.

"I just received a telegram from the Macedonian Corps. The Macedonian Corps clashed with the Bulgarian troops stationed in front of it. It seems that it was caused by the soldiers crossing the border," said Emmanuel, the Chief of the Army General Staff, briefly.

"It seems to be because of a, ke, dog." Emmanuil's face was a little embarrassed when he talked about the specific reason.

Although the deep-seated cause of the war between the two countries was the dispute caused by the division of territory after the last war.

But the direct fuse was a border patrol dog that crossed the border, which made Emmanuil's face a little embarrassed.

After hearing about the incident, Constantine was not at all surprised.

For this war, both Greece and Bulgaria have their own intentions, and it doesn't matter what the direct excuse is.

In order to raise war funds, Greece has been buying patriotic bonds in full swing. Such a fierce move by the Greek government cannot be concealed from the Bulgarian side.

Bulgarian intelligence personnel can understand the Greek government's war intentions even if they just read the publicly available Greek newspapers.

"Now the troops stationed on the Macedonian border of both sides are already in a state of war," Emmanuil said solemnly.

According to European war etiquette, before the war, the warring parties generally need the ambassadors of both sides to declare war on the other government.

Now it seems that Bulgaria has no intention of declaring war.

"Now the plan formulated by the General Staff still needs your decision," said the Minister of Armaments Yannis.

For this expected war, the General Staff has naturally formulated a strict battle plan.

According to the country's strategic plan, it is the job of the General Staff to prepare for the expected war.

Therefore, after receiving the telegram of the exchange of fire between the two armies, there were two copies, named "Basil" and "Red Plan".

"Now the commander of the Macedonian Corps urgently needs a comprehensive war plan," Emai Nur said anxiously.

The front-line troops are about to fight, but the senior officers have not yet been authorized by the General Staff to implement the plan. The huge army of hundreds of thousands of people will naturally be like a headless fly, not knowing what to do.

Therefore, after learning the news of the exchange of fire between the troops, Emai Nur immediately took out two battle plans from the safe.

Constantine was naturally aware of the two operational plans drawn up by the General Staff.

The staff officers headed by Emmainur asked Constantine for instructions many times during the process of drawing up the operational plans.

Although the actual supreme commander of the army was the Chief of General Staff Emmainur, in name, the supreme commander of the Greek army was the king.

The chief of general staff’s duty was only to assist the supreme commander in making decisions.

The war plan could only enter the execution stage after the king’s approval.

The two operational plans, “Basil” and “Black Plan”, had very different contents.

The name “Basil Plan” came from the name of an emperor with outstanding achievements in the Eastern Roman Empire.

The Macedonian Dynasty was the longest-lasting and most reigning emperor in the Eastern Roman Empire, and was also known as the “Golden Age” of the Eastern Roman Empire. Its founder was Basil I.

Basil II, the successor of Basil I, happened to be the emperor of the peak period of the Eastern Roman Empire in the “Golden Age”, nicknamed “Bulgarian Butcher”.

During the reign of Basil II, the north of the empire, that is, the Balkan Peninsula, was under serious threat from the Bulgarians.

After the battle with the Bulgarians, Basil II captured more than 14,000 people, of whom only 140 were left as guides, and the remaining Bulgarian soldiers were all blinded.

These soldiers who were blinded, led by 140 people, lined up in a long line and returned to Bulgaria.

It is rumored that these miserable Bulgarians caused great panic in the Bulgarian villages on their way back.

Therefore, this plan named "Basil" is naturally an active offensive operation plan since it is named like this.

The purpose of this operation plan is to actively attack Bulgaria's strategic depth and kill Bulgarian soldiers on a large scale.

Even if Bulgaria cannot be destroyed like Basil II, it must be completely hit hard, so that it can no longer pose a threat to Greece and make Greece the overlord of the Balkans.

Compared with the "Basil" plan, the "black plan" is much more conservative.

This doesn't even look like a military plan, but more like a defensive plan that Greece would choose when attacked to keep the enemy out of its borders.

The "Black Plan" is a passive plan, the main purpose of which is to use the complete fortifications to defend and wait for an opportunity to counterattack.

Within the Greek army, these two combat plans have mixed reviews, and some officers support them.

The Greek General Staff system was established in imitation of the German Army. Just like the German Army, the senior officers of the army, without exception, have served in the General Staff.

Therefore, for the combat plan formulated by the General Staff, the senior officers of Greece, even if they do not fully know the content, are still clear about the plan.

Most officers, especially mid-level officers, still prefer the "Basil" plan. The iron-blooded and decisiveness in it naturally satisfy the Greek officers who have experienced war.

And this can avoid the war from being prolonged and a quick victory. After all, Greece's financial resources are not rich and cannot withstand the consumption of a long-term war.

A passive defensive plan like the "Black Plan" naturally does not meet the preferences of a group of hot-blooded soldiers like soldiers.

"Beep-beep-beep", Constantine's fingers kept tapping on the table, and he was a little hesitant in his heart.

"What do you two think?" Constantine asked the Minister of Armaments Yannis and the Chief of General Staff Emmanuel.

After a long period of contemplation, the Minister of Armaments Yannis raised his head and said decisively: "I still think it is more appropriate to adopt the black plan."

After that, Constantine turned his eyes to Emmanuel.

Emmanuel, who also hesitated for a long time, said slowly: "The black plan is indeed more appropriate and less risky."

Although the "Basil" plan sounds exciting and more in line with the psychology of middle and lower-level officers, the top leaders still prefer the conservative black plan.

The reason why the two people are surprisingly in agreement is that Basil's plan, a head-on offensive plan with Bulgaria, will be a miserable victory even if it can win.

After the first two wars, the three people, including Constantine, have realized that the mode of war has changed.

Especially in the Macedonian Campaign that just ended, the heavy losses suffered by the Macedonian Corps when attacking the fortresses and trenches defended by Ottoman soldiers made the two clearly see the huge casualties that would be suffered when attacking the enemy's well-defended fortifications.

Most of the casualties in Greece in this war were incurred in the process of attacking fortresses and trenches.

Especially as the Minister of Armaments, Yannis, who has been dealing with various army weapons for many years, has a more acute sense of the evolution of war weapons.

Under Constantine's guidance and reminder, Yannis even organized several small-scale military exercises to verify the huge advantages of trench fortifications proposed by Constantine in defense.

After seeing the intricate trenches that spread throughout the depth of the defenders, as well as the shining barbed wire and the combined defense means of the Maxim machine gun, the visiting Greek army officers all took a breath.

In the trench warfare mode, the defenders have a huge advantage over the attackers.

Whether it is the Maxim machine gun that can weave an impenetrable metal storm firepower network when firing, or the rapid-fire cannon with unprecedented firepower and great significance in the history of artillery development, or the fixed metal bullet breech-loading rifle with the same obvious increase in firing rate, all make Yannis, the Minister of Armaments, feel sorry for the soldiers of the army.

Letting the soldiers charge with their flesh and blood is more like asking them to die!

It is precisely with this understanding that the General Staff will formulate the "Black Plan" to adopt a defensive strategy to deal with Bulgaria's war plan.

In addition to the change in the war mode due to technological progress, Bulgaria's army strength should not be underestimated, which is also an important reason why Constantine vetoed the "Basil Plan".

In the last war, Bulgaria's total population was less than 4 million. In order to deal with the threat of the Ottoman army, 600,000 people were recruited to serve in the army.

This ratio is simply jaw-dropping.

If Bulgaria's soldier recruitment ratio is extreme in a state of war, then it is incredible that in peacetime, the Bulgarian Army retains a standing army of 500,000 people.

Constantine was surprised by the Bulgarian army's aggressiveness.

In contrast, even if the population of the newly acquired territories in Greece after the war is added, the population has reached 6.15 million. In the case of active preparations for war, the current number of the Greek Army is 350,000, and the Congolese Corps, which is mainly composed of 150,000 Congolese blacks and officers are Greeks.

If the population of Congo is also counted, the population of the Greek side is 26 million.

According to the data obtained by Greek intelligence personnel, the total population of Bulgaria reached 5.2 million after obtaining new territories and population.

According to the consistent nature of the Bulgarians, compared with the 600,000 conscripted soldiers in the last war, this number has increased again and may reach 850,000!

And according to the assessment of the General Staff, the Bulgarian Army has strong combat effectiveness, smart and capable officers, and brave and fearless soldiers. It is indeed the most powerful army in the Balkans.

Whether it is the Bulgarian-Serbian War in 1885 or the Balkan War that just ended, the Bulgarian army has proved its combat effectiveness.

In the Bulgarian-Serbian War of 1885, the Serbian army had an absolute advantage, but was still pushed back to Niš by the Bulgarian army.

In the Balkan War that just ended, the main force of the Bulgarian Army fought a decisive battle with the main force of the Ottoman Empire in Thrace.

The Serbian and Greek armies were only responsible for Macedonia, a side battlefield.

There were a large number of German officers in the Ottoman army, and almost most of the Ottoman officers had received complete German officer training.

Especially after losing to Greece in the 1896 war, the Ottoman Army learned from its mistakes and made a lot of changes, and the army was full of German weapons.

Krupp's cannons and Mauser rifles were basic equipment in the new Ottoman Army.

Especially after the revolution in the Ottoman Empire and the Young Turks came to power, the pro-German atmosphere in the Ottoman Empire became more and more intense, and the status of German instructors in the army was once again improved.

Even in this situation, the Ottoman Army was still defeated by the Bulgarian Army.

In short, the Bulgarian Army is indeed an opponent that cannot be underestimated and is not easy to deal with.

This is also the reason why the General Staff agreed to formulate a conservative plan such as the "Black Plan".

On the one hand, according to the evaluation of the General Staff, the defenders are more advantageous in the battle.

On the other hand, the abnormally high mobilization rate of the Bulgarian Army is also an important reason for Greece to adopt the black plan.

The high mobilization rate does give the Bulgarian army a numerical advantage, but at the same time, the extremely high mobilization rate has also become the fatal weakness of the Bulgarian army.

Under such mobilization efforts, Bulgaria has almost collected all the strong men in the country into the army.

What is the concept of such mobilization efforts?

It is equivalent to three out of every eight men joining the army!

According to general military common sense, such a large army on the front line generally needs the same number of logistics personnel to ensure the front-line supply of the army.

In this case, the price paid by the Bulgarians for their extremely high mobilization rate is that domestic production activities are almost completely interrupted.

Therefore, according to the calculations of the General Staff, instead of hoping to spend huge casualties to defeat the large and powerful Bulgarian Army head-on, it is better to adopt a delaying defense tactic and wait for the enemy to collapse internally.

This is also the main reason why the General Staff formulated the black plan based on defense.

"Your Highness, even so, please ask the Prime Minister to be proactive in diplomacy and try to help Greece win over more enemies of Bulgaria," Emmanuil said.

Even so, in order to reduce losses and increase the chance of success, Constantine also intends to use diplomatic means to win over more helpers, increase the number of his allies, and attack Bulgaria from multiple sides in order to reduce losses and increase the chance of success.