The next day, Wilhelm II summoned the German Chief of General Staff Helmuth von Moltke and his War Minister Erich von Falkenhayn in his office.

The Chief of General Staff and his uncle with the same name and surname give people completely different impressions.

Old Moltke was an orthodox Junker noble. He worked in the Junker manor when he was young, and then grew up in the army. Like many Junker nobles, he did not receive much fancy so-called "higher education".

He knows almost nothing about elegant things such as philosophy, poetry and music, but his long military life and the unique thrift and self-discipline of the Junker nobles make him appear as well-educated and polite as the gentlemen in other European countries. The price is that he always gives people a

A stereotyped impression.

Old Moltke was full of confidence and believed that the Prussian army under his command could defeat all enemies, but he was not blind. He was one of the first people in Europe to understand modern warfare. He knew that relying on courage and chivalry would make another victory possible.

Victory cannot be ushered in. The victory of future wars depends on the organization of the army, the flexibility of dispatch, and how many cannons there are.

During the Franco-Prussian War, after confirming that the troops had completed combat preparations in strict accordance with the timetable he compiled, Moltke said to the generals around him: "Gentlemen, we have won the war."

Moltke Sr. gave the German Allied Forces under the leadership of Prussia a brilliant victory. It was this victory that allowed the then Prussian King William I to be crowned the German Emperor in the Palace of Mirrors in Versailles. Together with Bismarck, he was regarded as the civil and military duo who created the German Empire.

male.

Such an old man always gives people the feeling of being full of confidence and majesty. No matter how desperate the situation is, the rock-like expression on his face cannot loosen in the slightest. Just standing there, he can make people feel...

Victory is in sight.

In comparison, his nephew Xiao Maoqi was much inferior.

The first impression given by Little Maoqi is completely unlike that of an authentic Junker noble. He has a bookish spirit about him. He has received a very good education and has very elegant interests and hobbies. His skills in playing the cello are amazing.

, and even participated in a performance with the Berlin Symphony Orchestra!

Correspondingly, Moltke did not inherit his uncle's self-confidence and iron will at all. He was a pessimist. When he was promoted to Chief of the German General Staff in 1906, his first sentence was this: "I am

People like to meditate too much and are too cautious. It can be said that I am not suitable for the position of chief of general staff."

Little Maoqi's pessimism is also reflected in his appearance. He always shrinks his shoulders and lowers his eyes, as if he is always ready to admit his mistakes to others.

William II didn't like the melancholy and negative aura surrounding his chief of general staff. He said more than once in private: "In the current situation, I need a great commander like Moltke.

Rather than a melancholy literary young man." (This sentence is made up by the author and will not be explained in detail later. In short, some words are actually said by these historical figures, and some are not. All words made up by the author will be compared.

Obvious modern flavor, everyone knows it)

William II was wearing an old version of the Prussian Army uniform today, which seemed to indicate that he was going to make some important decisions, and this made the excitement on Little Moltke's face even more intense. In the German government and military circles, the Kaiser liked to be blind.

The reputation of the conductor was very great, so sometimes senior officials would even deliberately hide certain things from the Kaiser to prevent him from "making trouble".

After exchanging pleasantries, the Kaiser got straight to the point.

"Mr. Chief of Staff, I need my troops to be ready to attack Russia immediately."

In fact, in the past six months, the German army has been gathering in East Prussia and Silesia. This posture has made all European countries believe that Germany is likely to attack Russia...,

Even William himself felt that attacking Russia was just a matter of words.

But Little Maoqi's reaction was far beyond the Kaiser's expectation.

"No, Your Majesty." Little Maoqi frowned. "We can't do this."

"Why? Our troops are already massed there. All they have to do is cross that damn border."

"But Your Majesty, we cannot attack a country as huge as Russia with just two armies and 38 divisions. The Russian army controlled by the Warsaw Military District alone..."

"Those Russian troops have been transferred to the Eastern Front to deal with the Red Army. All those Cossacks in blue have gone, and we are just some second-line troops in front of us." The Kaiser said, "We just need to attack them and defeat them."

"Even the second-line troops hiding in the bunker are constantly attacking us." Although Xiao Maoqi was pessimistic and gloomy, he was as stubborn as his uncle and difficult to be persuaded. "More importantly, Your Majesty, once he attacks

From the beginning, we have to worry about our western front. The French are always thinking about recapturing Alsace and Lorraine. They have obtained a lot of support from the Chinese through marriage. They have excellent weapons and a large number of cars.

To transport supplies, all the officers of the army have learned new tactics from the Chinese. They are gearing up and trying them out. So Your Majesty, once we start attacking Russia, we must consider the risks of fighting on two fronts. For this reason we

A nationwide war mobilization must begin.”

"Don't worry about the French," William II waved his hand, as if he wanted to drive away what Little Moltke just said from the office, "As long as we quickly defeat the Russian army in front of us and start to drive straight into Huanglong, the French will not

went to war because they liked neither the monarchy nor the Bolsheviks."

"But Your Majesty..." Moltke still planned to persuade William II, "Although Russia has suffered heavy losses many times, they are still strong. There are still a considerable number of Russian troops stationed in the Odessa Military District, Kiev Military District, and Petersburg Military District, and they have

It is a solid fortress and it is simply a fantasy to attack such a behemoth with 38 divisions. We must carry out general mobilization for war."

"We have new weapons," the Kaiser said.

Little Maoqi immediately retorted: "There are Russians too. We can't guarantee that the Chinese can really do what they promised."

The Kaiser was silent for a while, then took a step back and said: "Then we will carry out general mobilization for war. I don't mind signing the mobilization order."

This time, Little Maoqi was silent.

In fact, Moltke did not tell the real reason why he opposed attacking Russia.

Moltke was a loyal supporter of the Schlieffen Plan.

The core of Schlieffen's plan was to completely defeat France before Russia completed its mobilization for the war. In order to achieve this quick victory, the German army must mobilize the troops Schlieffen needed as quickly as possible, and then use a force before the French were ready.

Remember the vicious right hook that knocked France down.

This plan called for concentrating more than 90 divisions on the right wing of the Western Front within a few weeks, breaking through the defenses of Luxembourg and Belgium in one fell swoop, bypassing the French defenses, occupying Paris, and then attacking the French from the side as they deployed in Germany and France.

Troops on the border.

After Xiao Maoqi became the chief of the general staff, he split Schlifen's strategic vision into countless executable specific plans. These specific plans were composed of thousands of detailed timetables and assembly point setting diagrams. He took office.

It took nearly two years to do this work. The entire German staff invested so much energy in this area that they had no time to prepare other plans, such as a plan to attack Russia first.

Therefore, at this moment, the German high command only has a war mobilization plan in hand, and this plan is prepared for the Schlieffen Plan...,

In this era, under the constraints of transportation and communication conditions, war mobilization was a very complicated matter. Each country had a very detailed mobilization plan. Without exception, these plans were incredibly large.

Carrying out war mobilization without a plan will definitely lead to unimaginable chaos. Not only will the mobilization speed be extremely slow, but it may also give the enemy an opportunity to take advantage of it.

In other words, at this moment, once Germany mobilizes for war, it will definitely attack Luxembourg, Belgium, and then invade France. The reason is quite incredible in the eyes of people in the 21st century: because they have no other, more flexible war.

Mobilization plan.

Moltke, a pessimist, took the German stereotypes to an unparalleled extreme.

Even the Kaiser couldn't get past this nonsense.

But at this moment, Moltke had to explain all this to the Kaiser.

William II looked very disappointed. He stood up from the large horseshoe-shaped desk and walked to the office window. Through his back, Little Moltke felt the emperor's inner sullenness.

After a moment, William II turned around, and he leaned his shrunken shoulder against the grandfather clock next to the window. With an obviously frustrated look on his face, he said something very damaging to Little Moltke:

"I think if your uncle were here, he would give me a completely different answer."

This is indeed the case. Before leaving office, the old Moltke had formulated a plan. This plan required the German army to build a series of fortresses on the Western Front to defend against attacks by the French army and possible British Expeditionary Force, and then mobilize the main forces to the East.

line, attacking the Russian army that was too late to complete war preparations, and continuously putting pressure on the Russian army to force the Tsar to agree to peace talks.

This is a plan that is completely opposite to Schlieffen's plan. Even on the eastern front where they were actively attacking, Moltke believed that the German army should play the role of defensive warfare as much as possible, stop attacking before the Russian army started to counterattack, defend in place, and then defend in place.

The Russian army will fight back when they are exhausted.

However, at this moment, not only Moltke, but also the entire German high command did not know how to reproduce Moltke's plan, and the plan was completely lost.

So Moltke could only say to the Kaiser with a depressed look: "Your Majesty, I never expect that I can be on par with the great Helms von Moltke, so I can only do my best for you within my capabilities.

Possibly a good suggestion. If you are not satisfied, I am willing to give up the position of Chief of General Staff to anyone you think is suitable."

"Damn it!" William II's lips twitched nervously, "The Russians are lying in front of me like a cooked duck, and the thing that prevents me from lifting my knife and fork is not the French or the British, but my own

Generals!"

Little Maoqi didn't speak, but his face became gloomier.

"That's enough." After the Kaiser's final roar, his voice became lower and full of exhaustion. "I've heard enough. Let's wait and see what the Chinese will do first." To be continued...)...

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Chapter completed!