Chapter 1907 Anxious Generals
On the outskirts of Brussels, in the barracks of Frederick the Great, in the conference room of the barracks, Crook and the others were not in the same mood as ten days ago, because just today, they received a series of news and announcements. The emperor and the parliament faction have already decided to negotiate peace. This is no surprise, as they expected.
But then, the Kaiser and the parliamentary faction jointly issued a statement that Ruprecht was the chief of the Imperial General Staff and Minister of War. Will take full charge of the Western Front! This shocked Crook and the others. It wasn't that Ruprecht's appointment as chief of staff surprised them, but that the information revealed at this point in time was really thought-provoking!
Prior to this, Bavaria's attitude towards this matter seemed to be detached. No matter what happened between the Kaiser and the parliamentarians, Bavaria did not intervene substantively except for suppressing the Polish uprising in Silesia. And it is for this reason that Crook and others have the idea of participating in politics, because no one in Prussia can control the army anymore.
However, things turned around when Bavaria convened the quasi-federal parliament. The Kaiser and the parliament faction expressed their willingness to participate, and Württemberg and Saxony also expressed their support. Then, the prince refused the military to participate in the meeting, and his attitude was self-evident , which clearly means excluding the military from the political system.
And then what? The Kaiser and Reichstag started negotiations without military participation. And hand over the military command to Ruprecht! This at least shows that they have reached an agreement on some issues. Crook and others do not know what issues they have reached an agreement on. However, Crook knows that Ruprecht came to the Western Front. First-line military affairs, and the other thing is to suppress them! If there is anyone in Germany who can crush the officer corps, then only Ruprecht!
It’s not that the Prussian Legion is inferior to the Bavarian Legion. In fact, the Prussian Legion is still stronger, but the problem is that the Prussian Legion will not listen to the officer corps on some issues. If the generals say something, the people below will listen. The parliamentary faction has been pushed back a long time ago. Most of the German army is unwilling to deal with the useful stragglers of the parliamentary faction on the land. Do you expect them to follow themselves against Ruprecht, who has a righteous name? What are you thinking?
And to be honest, even if there is a chance, Crook and others will still not use the army in their hands to resist this appointment. On the one hand, you can’t resist. This is agreed by the Kaiser and the parliament, and they represent the highest level of Germany. . On the other hand, it caused a huge disaster, so Crook and others would rather eat this bitter fruit by themselves. Perhaps Crook and Howson do have some political ambitions, but they are really not bad people.
"General, Grand Duke Albrecht is here." The words of an attendant broke the silence of the venue. Grand Duke Ruprecht, who went to the meeting with the dual identity of the Kingdom of Württemberg and the military, came to Brussels in one step, and his task this time was to appease these worried generals.
"Okay, everyone is here now, I hope this meeting can solve our doubts." Crook said to the people around him, and at this time General Howson, who had been consistent with Crook before, was sitting On Crook's left and on his right is General Pinov with a relatively neutral attitude, and General Herlingen, a die-hard supporter of the Kaiser, sits farther away. Coupled with the upcoming Albrecht, the original five army commanders gathered together again.
Everyone was uneasy. Crook and General Howson belonged to the kind of people who wanted to expand the influence of the military politically, but it was a pity that no matter whether it was the Kaiser, the parliamentary faction or Bavaria, they were excluded. Crook faintly felt that this time, Crown Prince Ruprecht came to the Western Front,
It may be to shave the two thorns of myself and General Howson.
General Pinov is also a little uneasy. He is not jumping on the issue of military intervention in politics, but the problem is that he has a bad relationship with the Kingdom of Bavaria. He said some things he dared not say in the previous meeting, but this time, come The chief of the German general staff was the heir to the Kingdom of Bavaria. This is a big joke.... He felt that he might get out of the position of legion commander earlier than Crook and Howson....
The only one with a more relaxed attitude is General Herlingen. He is a die-hard supporter of the Kaiser. Now that the Kaiser has decided to negotiate with the parliamentary faction, it means that the Kaiser’s throne is basically preserved. As a person who has clearly supported the Kaiser before, (although because of There is no assistance for various reasons.) The Kaiser should not embarrass himself, right?
Of course, there are still concerns, that is, as the Prussian Minister of War, his relationship with Bavaria was not very good.... One of the most troublesome things was the restriction on Bavaria's military expansion before the war, because at that time the proportion of troops among the various states was fixed, and if Bavaria wanted to expand its army, Prussia should also expand its army, but this buddy opposed it. , and the reason is relatively Liao Zhai, that is, after the expansion of the army, the proportion of Junker officers will decline! The final result was that the Kaiser and Bavaria rushed to accept the order to expand the army.
"I feel that the atmosphere of today's venue is quite dull." When Grand Duke Albrecht walked into the venue, he said half-seriously and half-jokingly.
"Compared with Your Excellency, we are more like a group of prisoners waiting for trial. We have either offended the Kaiser or the Parliamentarians, and there are also people who have a bad relationship with Bavaria. However, no matter what our attitude was before It doesn't matter anymore, because the three parties have reached an agreement, and we may be liquidated. In the face of political interests, we are really not that important, even if we have supported one of the factions before, but politically, they may not Will take care of us." Crook said with a gloomy face.
"Your Excellency is thinking too much." Albrecht said: "I can guarantee that before the end of the war, you will still be the generals of the Imperial Army, and you will still be the commanders of the Army Group. Preparations for a high-level shake-up."
"What everyone should do now is not to discuss what your future will be like. His Royal Highness will satisfy you. What you need now is to return to your own headquarters, and then work with your staff, army commander, and division commander to formulate the next plan. Battle plan," said Grand Duke Albrecht.
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