Chapter 270 Responses From Various Countries
While the war in Macedonia was in full swing, Belgrade on the Danube River remained peaceful.
Serbian King Peter I was discussing the current situation in the Balkans with his Minister of War Putnik.
When Bulgaria was besieged by Greece, Romania, and the Ottoman Empire, and the news came that the main Bulgarian army was also defeated by the Greek Macedonian Corps, the Serbian high-level officials were caught in a dilemma.
Bulgaria?
Or Greece?
"Your Majesty, according to the current situation of this war, unless a miracle happens, the Bulgarian army will be defeated. Now that the Ottoman Empire and Romania have joined the war, what is our choice for Serbia?" Putnik asked.
Seeing King Peter staring at the Balkan map in a daze and not saying a word, Putnik naturally understood the king's thoughts.
Once Greece wins and obtains the entire Macedonia region, its strength will increase greatly. As the spoils are digested, Greece will also usher in a period of rapid development. Greece, which originally ranked first in comprehensive strength among the three countries, will truly become the first power in the Balkans.
As a neighbor of Greece, Serbia will naturally face the pressure of Greece, which has grown rapidly in strength.
At that time, Serbia will be sandwiched between the two powerful countries of Greece and Austria-Hungary, becoming an embarrassing role like a buffer state, and the space for expansion will be completely compressed.
In this war between Greece and Bulgaria for the ownership of the Macedonia region, the Serbian high-level officials hope to see the defeat of the Greek side, which will be more beneficial to Serbia.
If the situation develops in this way, then Serbia's advantage of bordering Macedonia can be put to good use.
In that case, Bulgaria will get the Aegean Macedonia (around Thessaloniki) in the hands of Greece, and Serbia will not only have the opportunity to get North Macedonia, but also, in the best case, it is possible to get an outlet to the Adriatic Sea in northern Albania.
From then on, Serbia and Bulgaria, who divided Macedonia, became two major powers on the Balkan Peninsula.
Macedonia is the center of the Balkan Peninsula, and its geographical location is very important. If you want to dominate the Balkan Peninsula, this is a must-fight place.
Serbia, whose strength has greatly increased, has more confidence when facing the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which enslaved many Serbs.
The current situation is that Greece has gained a favorable position on the battlefield. If Serbia chooses Greece as an enemy and attacks the Greek Albanian Corps stationed in Skopje (the capital of North Macedonia), then the trend of this war will become confusing.
But this is not a good choice for Serbia. It takes a lot of effort, but the result of the war is full of unknowns.
After all, the Greek side has already had two new forces joined by the Ottoman Empire and Romania, and the strength of the Greek side has increased greatly.
Secondly, when the Greek and Bulgarian armies were fighting fiercely in Macedonia, the Greek Albanian Corps, which numbered 150,000, stationed in Skopje, had been carefully building defense lines, ready to respond to the attack of the Serbian Army at any time, leaving the Serbian army with no gaps to take advantage of, which was also an important reason why Serbia did not take action against Greece.
"We don't seem to have many choices. After all, only by joining the victorious side can we be eligible to obtain spoils of war," Peter I said regretfully.
Now Bulgaria can be said to have been defeated. Serbia has also joined the Greek side, and it is a good choice to cut a piece of meat from Bulgaria.
The Serbian army did not have to go to great lengths to easily obtain part of the territory from Bulgaria, which was defeated by Greece. In this way, it paid a very small price and gained a lot. It was undoubtedly a good deal.
As for the seaport that the Kingdom of Serbia has been dreaming of, it is not that there is no alternative to Northern Albania. Montenegro, a small Balkan country with close relations with Serbia, has always played the role of Serbia's seaport.
Even if it were not for the strong opposition of the two great powers, Austria-Hungary and Italy, Serbia would have chosen to merge with Montenegro after the end of the last Balkan War.
Italy and Austria-Hungary were worried that Serbia would develop into a new power on the Adriatic coast after obtaining the seaport of Montenegro, so the two countries tacitly adopted this method to curb Serbia's development.
The history of Serbia and Montenegro should start with their common ancestors-the Slavs.
The Slavs originated in the Vistula River Valley in today's Poland.
In the 4th century AD, due to the influence of ethnic invasions caused by climate change, some Slavs came to the Balkan Peninsula. They were called Yugoslavs, including Serbs and Montenegrins.
The gap between Montenegro and Serbia became very small because they both belonged to the Yugoslav nation and believed in Orthodox Christianity.
The residents of Montenegro are also called Serbs in the mountains by the Serbs.
On June 28, 1389, the Ottomans defeated Serbia in the Battle of Kosovo. Serbia lost its autonomy, but Montenegro has maintained its independence by virtue of its mountainous terrain, which is easy to defend and difficult to attack.
The Ottoman Empire's offensive was unstoppable. Historically, most of the Balkan Peninsula was under its rule, but Montenegro was an exception.
Because the valleys in the area were crisscrossed, it was not suitable for the army to carry out operations, but suitable for guerrilla warfare.
The Montenegrins took advantage of this characteristic and established a communist country with Cetinje as its capital to fight against the Ottoman Empire.
They repeatedly defeated Ottoman invasions and became the only country in the Balkans that was not conquered by the Ottomans.
After the outbreak of the First Balkan War, Serbia acquired territories such as Kosovo. Montenegro's territory extended to the north and east, bordering Serbia.
But the joy of the long-awaited reunion of the two brotherly countries did not last long. Austria-Hungary and Italy poured cold water on the two countries - prohibiting any possibility of a merger between the two countries.
"Mr. Minister of War, you can prepare to mobilize the army now. Taking this opportunity, the Kingdom of Serbia can also avenge the shame of defeat in 1885," Peter I said.
When the two of them were full of ambition and planning to take a piece of cake from the soon-to-be-defeated Bulgaria, a "rumbling" sound was heard, and the violent sound suddenly alarmed the entire Belgrade people.
When King Peter reacted, the anger in his eyes was like a volcano, and the anger filled his entire chest. With a "bump" sound, King Peter slammed his hand on the table and said fiercely: "Damn the Austro-Hungarian Empire."
It turned out that after the war in Macedonia spread, the Austro-Hungarian ambassador to Belgrade met with Peter immediately and clearly stated the attitude of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, saying that in order to protect peace in Europe and prevent the war in the Balkans from further expanding, , Serbia had better not get involved in this war.
Austria-Hungary's intention was also very clear, and it did not want Serbia to continue to expand.
Serbia, supported by Russia, was like a sharp thorn inserted into its flesh and blood, making it difficult for the Austro-Hungarian Empire to sleep and eat.
What makes the Austro-Hungarian Empire especially unbearable is that the people in Serbia still have ambitions for Austria-Hungary, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and even Bosnia.
In the Greater Serbia demanded by Serbian nationalists, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Bosnia are included.
When Peter I went to Serbia to be crowned king, he passed through Croatia. Some people even called Peter "King of the Croatians" at the Croatian train station.
In this case, Austria-Hungary naturally tried every means to curb Serbia's expansion.
The sound just now was the sound of artillery exercises by the Austro-Hungarian army stationed on the north bank of the Danube River.
After Serbia became independent, the territorial division of Serbia and Hungary was also based on the Danube River.
Belgrade is on the south bank of the Danube, which means that the capital of Serbia is always facing the threat of the Austro-Hungarian Second Army stationed on the north bank of the Danube.
Obviously, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was trying to intimidate Serbia, endorsing the words of the Austro-Hungarian ambassador and warning the Serbian army not to get involved in the Macedonian war.
"Immediately use a telegram to contact Moscow to ask Russia's opinion and whether Russia is willing to support Serbia in an upcoming conflict between Austria-Hungary and Serbia," Peter I ordered irritably.
Without clear support from the Russians, Serbia was unable to resist the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Serbia is Russia's nail in the Balkan Peninsula and has important strategic significance for Russia.
Now that the little brother is in trouble, he naturally wants to ask the big brother for help.
Conrad, the Chief of General Staff of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, deployed the Second Army on the north bank of the Danube River, making Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, always on guard.
······
Moscow, Russia
After receiving Peter I's request for help, Nicholas II immediately convened a meeting of ministers to discuss how to respond to Serbia's request for help.
"The current situation is obvious. Greece went to war with Bulgaria, and now it has attracted Romania and the Austro-Hungarian Empire to join the war. This has caused restlessness throughout Europe," Nicholas II said first.
"Once this war continues to expand in scope, I am afraid that the position will cause a war that will sweep across Europe. So, how should we restore Russia's little brother Serbia?"
Nicholas II looked over his various ministers with a scrutinizing gaze.
With the whole of Europe divided into two groups, any spark may become the fuse that ignites the explosives.
If the Austro-Hungarian Empire is involved, then Germany, an ally, is inseparable. The situation in Europe is such an interrelated whole.
"After the last Balkan War, the Germans blatantly dispatched officer corps to help the Ottoman Empire reorganize its army. This was obviously a German infiltration into the Ottoman army. Especially after the revolution in Constantinople, almost all the people in power in the Ottoman Empire now It is a person who has been trained by Germany, and it seems that the German embassy now represents the supreme will of Constantine, which is a blatant offense to the Russian Empire," said Foreign Minister Samzonov.
"If this situation continues to drag on and German power is allowed to expand and penetrate into the Ottoman politics and military, it won't be long before the Ottomans become a puppet of the Germans. The longer it is delayed, the more detrimental it will be to the Russian Empire."
“I think the Serbs should be supported, even at the risk of war”
The Minister of Agriculture, Krivoshein, and the Minister of War also sided with him and echoed his views.
The war faction constituted the majority in the Council of Ministers.
But in the end, Kokovtsov, the chairman of the Council of Ministers, asked a question: "Whether Britain and France will side with Russia once war breaks out."
"Secondly, is the Russian army ready for war?"
There was a moment of silence in the conference room. Samsonov, as the foreign minister who was most familiar with the national situation, analyzed to everyone: "Under what circumstances can the Russians start a war? First of all, the premise of Russia's declaration of war on Austria-Hungary is that Germany does not stand on the side of Austria-Hungary. If Germany is determined to stand on the side of Austria-Hungary, then Russia must ensure that France and Britain must stand on the side of Russia."
"Only in this way can we ensure victory in this war"
"If this premise is confirmed, then it will be clear under what circumstances France and Britain will support Russia."
"The treaty signed between France and Russia is a mutual defense treaty. Only when France or Russia is invaded by Germany can the two countries attack Germany. And the real meaning of this treaty is to prevent France from being invaded by Germany again. For most of the time after the conclusion of the Franco-Russian Treaty, France actually did not encourage Russia to take risks in Europe. In other words, France hopes that Russia will protect France from being invaded by Germany, but is not willing to take the initiative to attack Germany for Russia.
"If the Russians take the initiative to launch a war against Austria-Hungary, Germany will undoubtedly be involved in this war of the German nation. But how difficult it is for France and Britain to stand on the side of Russia when Russia takes the initiative to attack. "Nicholas I said indifferently.
Foreign Minister Samzonov replied: "So, France will definitely stand on the side of Russia, but Britain is not sure."
"As for Britain, Edward Grey (British Foreign Secretary) has repeatedly reiterated that he has no treaty obligations to France and Russia, and he has no agreement obligations to Russia."
Britain has never publicly stated in any diplomatic occasion that it has joined the Allied Powers. In other words, once France and Russia go to war with Germany and Austria, Britain has no obligation to take the initiative to join France and Russia.
Only when Britain judges that joining France and Russia is more in its own interests will Britain join.
"At the same time, the Russian army has not yet completed the harsh war preparations that are sufficient to support the involvement of the whole of Europe. We still need time, so now we have to appease our Serbian brothers and let them be patient for a while," said Nicholas II.
No one knew that the war that swept across Europe almost broke out ahead of schedule because of the war in Macedonia.