On June 7, the Kingdom of Bulgaria announced its withdrawal from the war, which severely damaged the morale of the Allied Powers. An atmosphere of failure enveloped the entire Western Front. The Mediterranean Expeditionary Force marched straight into Bulgaria, posing a fatal threat to the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
As early as the middle of last year, Emperor Karl I of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was trying hard to withdraw from the war in a dignified way. However, because the fierce fighting on the Western Front was in full swing at that time, Karl I failed to do so.
At the beginning of this year, when the German army suffered a defeat on the Marne River, Karl I once again hoped to withdraw from the war. However, because the conditions of the Allies were too harsh, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was forced to stay in the Allied camp.
On June 8, the day after the Kingdom of Bulgaria announced its withdrawal from the war, Hungary suddenly announced its withdrawal from the Austro-Hungarian Empire and declared itself an independent country. The Austro-Hungarian Empire split without warning.
It cannot be said that there were no signs. The Austro-Hungarian Empire was the only dualist country in the world. A country had two capitals, two parliaments, and two sets of government agencies. It was smooth sailing, but such a country could still maintain a certain degree of centripetal force.
Once it encounters a setback, the dual system will collapse completely.
Karl I finally realized that the situation was irreversible. He was still working hard to maintain the unity of the empire and announced that the empire would be transformed into a federation. All ethnic groups could have their own national councils, regardless of the number of ethnic groups.
In a country that has been de facto divided, the king's authority has been completely subverted. No one paid attention to Karl I's last efforts. One point became a reality. The Austro-Hungarian Empire was indeed divided into many countries. The participating troops quickly collapsed, and the soldiers
Throwing down their guns and returning home, the officers were busy vying for power, hoping to hold important positions in the new governments of their respective countries. The politicians were in a carnival. The world war was not over yet, and the liquidation of the Austro-Hungarian Empire had not yet begun, but the politicians had already
Can't wait to start working.
In short, the huge and arrogant Austro-Hungarian Empire collapsed in just a few days. More than ten new governments were formed, and nearly half of the new governments hoped to join the Allies to avoid the liquidation that was about to begin after the war.
The most direct impact on Germany when the Kingdom of Bulgaria and the Austro-Hungarian Empire withdrew from the war was that Germany lost Romania's oil supply. This was a fatal threat to Germany. The Mediterranean Expeditionary Force led by Ian Hamilton had always hoped to do this.
.
The Mediterranean Expeditionary Force did not defeat the Germans openly on the battlefield, but it achieved this strategic goal because of the withdrawal of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Kingdom of Bulgaria. This seemed to prove once again that Germany had chosen the wrong allies, but back to the original Germany, Germany did not
Room for choice.
The withdrawal of the Kingdom of Bulgaria and the Austro-Hungarian Empire soon had a huge impact on the Western Front battlefield.
Before the Kingdom of Bulgaria and the Austro-Hungarian Empire withdrew from the war, the German troops on the Western Front were still able to launch counterattacks in certain areas and fought back and forth with the Allied forces.
After the Kingdom of Bulgaria and the Austro-Hungarian Empire withdrew from the war, the German army on the Western Front seemed to have its backbone broken. Everyone knew that Germany's defeat was inevitable. Many German soldiers left the trenches in despair and launched a desperate charge against the Allied forces.
They usually fell on the road of charge. The Allied forces suffered almost no casualties. When cleaning the battlefield after the war, many German soldiers had no bullets in their rifles. Those German soldiers did not seem to notice this at all.
Even if they noticed it, so what? They don't have the ability to change the entire situation on the Western Front. Those who have the ability have too much time to take care of themselves.
After the Michael Plan failed, German Admiral Paul von Sintze became the German Foreign Minister instead of Kuhlmann, who was forced to resign. Ludendorff met with Sintze immediately and admitted to Sintze that the German troops on the front line had already
It failed, but Ludendorff did not admit defeat. He hoped to withdraw the German troops into Germany to rest and use the strong fortifications built by the German army before the World War to continue to defend and strive for a chance to exit the war with dignity.
In other words, waiting for the Allied Powers to take the initiative to make mistakes in order to regain the almost impossible initiative on the Western Front battlefield.
Ludendorff said the same thing to Hindenburg before.
Xinzei has no interest in Ludendorff's plan. The war has progressed to this point, and the German army has been unable to recover. At the beginning of this year, Ludendorff still had 127 complete German infantry divisions available for mobilization. They can still continue to fight.
There are only 47 German infantry divisions left.
It seems that the German army still has spare strength, but these German infantry divisions that can still fight are basically in a situation of running out of ammunition and food. The rifles have no bullets, the artillery has no shells, and the German army cannot even guarantee the supply of military food. Such a mistake is not to mention used.
Neither offense nor defense can guarantee combat effectiveness.
There is another reason that gives Ludendorff hope. Since the beginning of summer, the impact of the American influenza on the Allied Powers has become more and more serious. Ludendorff has received news that at least 500,000 Allied troops have been affected by the American influenza.
Many troops are experiencing increasing non-combat attrition, and some troops are in better condition. For example, the Southern African Expeditionary Force, which has ample medical supplies, has only over a thousand people hospitalized due to the American influenza pandemic.
This situation is also not recognized by the new policy. Although the Allied forces were severely affected by the American influenza, Germany was also affected. Hundreds of thousands of people have died in Germany due to the American influenza. Ludendorff also knew about these situations, but Ludendorff was unwilling to
admit.
Xinze and Ludendorff seemed unable to communicate, and their exchange ended with Ludendorff fainting.
Xinzei immediately sent someone to send Ludendorff to the hospital for treatment, and announced that Ludendorff could no longer serve as the German Chief of Staff due to physical reasons.
When the news was announced to all of Germany via radio, the Germans cheered.
Ludendorff believed that all of Germany was his enemy, so he did not tell anyone after he was discharged from the hospital, and fled Germany quietly in disguise. Later, Ludendorff went to Sweden, and some people said that Ludendorff went to southern Africa.
Ludendorff finally withdrew from the stage of history, but the world war was not over yet. On the second day after Ludendorff was hospitalized, Prince Marx of Baden, known as the outstanding royalist liberal in the empire, succeeded Hertling as the German Prime Minister. Baden
After taking office, the prince immediately sent a signal to the Allies through the Queen of the Netherlands for peace negotiations to end the war.
An accident also occurred during this period. On April 20, a young German submarine commander commanded his submarine to launch an attack on the passenger ship "Leinster" that regularly traveled between England and Ireland. Two torpedoes hit all
HMS Leinster sank quickly, killing 470 people, including 135 women and children.
This almost affected the little glimmer of peace that had just appeared. In the days that passed on April 20, almost everyone was terrified, lest the war would continue again because of the sinking of the "Leinster".
At this time, Winston maintained great restraint. Although the submarine officer who launched the attack on the "Leinster" was not blamed in any way, Winston still firmly instructed Edward Gray and Prince Marx of Baden to promote the start of peace negotiations.
On the Western Front, Winston also telegraphed Rock, hoping that the British Expeditionary Force would not attack the German army for the time being, but would maintain a certain degree of pressure on the German army.
How to maintain pressure on the German army without attacking?
Winston's telegram confused Rock's staff. They did not understand the true purpose of Winston's telegram. If they did not understand the relationship between Winston and Rock, the staff even thought it was Winston's telegram.
Deliberately causing problems for Rock.
The staff didn't know what Winston wanted to do, but Rock definitely knew.
The last time Winston and Rock met, Rock already knew the attitude of Winston and George V towards Germany. A Germany as completely divided as the Austro-Hungarian Empire was not in the interests of the British Empire, so Rock wanted to
Put pressure on the German troops, but you cannot continue to weaken the German troops, and you must preserve some vitality for the German troops.
This task was a bit difficult, so Rock called the frontline commander back to Yamin for face-to-face instructions.
"That is to say, we still have to fight, but we will no longer invest ground troops. If we have nothing to do, we will send planes to drop a few bombs and drive the tanks around. The artillery troops can also conduct training in the name of combat - if the German army takes the initiative to
We surrender, then do we want to accept it?" Don Juan, commander of the Second Cavalry Division, was in a very unhappy mood. If Roque gave Don Juan a truly unrestricted authorization, Don Juan would really have the confidence to lead his troops to Berlin in one go.
Roque said nothing and looked at Don Juan with a slightly dissatisfied look.
Don Juan, who was so eloquent, immediately became restless.
"Thank you, Lord, for your understanding. We are indeed unable to attack now. The troops are advancing too fast and too far away from the logistics base. The supplies cannot be sent to the front line in time. God is also helping the Germans. It started raining ten days ago. We
It is very difficult to advance now, the Germans have blown up bridges and railways, and road traffic is a mess-" Chief of Staff Haydn Alexander was smarter. The same words, expressed in different languages, had completely different meanings.
Roque nodded with satisfaction. Don Juan and Haydn Alexander exchanged looks with different meanings. Don Juan's eyes were full of gratitude, while Haydn Alexander's eyes were full of contempt.
That is to say, under Roque, a general like Don Juan can get sufficient space to display his skills. If it were a commander who was small-minded and not big-hearted, a person like Don Juan would have to visit the warehouse every minute.
"We have now built twelve prisoner of war camps, but it seems far from enough. Many prisoners of war are malnourished and diseases are rampant in the prisoner of war camps. We need more professional management." Julian Bean actively suggested, like Paul Coker.
, Julian Bean is now considered a direct descendant of Rock, and within the British Expeditionary Force, Rock's authority is unshakable.