I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 584 Mobilization
George really didn't expect that the Austrians would be so tough and dare to mobilize when the Russian Empire had such a huge advantage.

This is not surprising, however, as the current Chief of the Austro-Hungarian General Staff, Franz Conrad von Hetzendorff, has vowed to avenge his boss, Archduke Ferdinand.

Conrad's father was a cavalry colonel and his mother was the daughter of the famous Viennese artist Kubler. In 1906, Conrad defeated his competitors and, on the recommendation of Archduke Ferdinand, became the Chief of the General Staff of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Many people say that Conrad was a talented conductor, and he might be, but Archduke Ferdinand was the most rational person in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

As the Chief of Staff of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Conrad had almost no strategy. From 1906 to 1914, Conrad proposed 25 combat plans against the Russian Empire and the Kingdom of Serbia, all of which were vetoed by Archduke Ferdinand.

The internal conflicts in the Austro-Hungarian Empire were extremely serious. Conrad hoped to make the Slavs in the Austro-Hungarian Empire more obedient by destroying the Kingdom of Serbia.

Archduke Ferdinand hoped to ease the internal conflicts of the Austro-Hungarian Empire by improving the status of the Slavs, so the two-yuan system became three-yuan system.

Archduke Ferdinand made it clear to Conrad on many occasions that the Austro-Hungarian Empire must never go to war with the Russian Empire.

After the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, no one finally opposed Conrad's plan.

With the Germans' instigation, the Austro-Hungarian Empire finally opened Pandora's box.

“Are the Austrians crazy?”

Nicholas was very angry. He had just spoken to William II a few days ago, and both of them said that the situation had not deteriorated to the point where it had to be resolved by war.

George believed that Nicholas really thought so.

As to whether William II was fooling Nicholas, only he himself knew.

Conrad chose the time very well. He didn't mobilize earlier or later, but just when Boris and Elizabeth were engaged. He was so shameless.

This is understandable.

Although Conrad's name contains the word "von", which symbolizes nobility, this "von" did not come from a legitimate source. It was not inherited from the family. Instead, he was qualified because his grandfather married a noble lady.

This does not mean that we can place too high demands on Conrad's morality.

"We should also mobilize against the Austrians!"

Ferdinand was very angry. Today was a good day for his daughter, but the Austrians sent him a provocation.

"Correct! Serbia is ready for war!"

King Peter I of Serbia was very happy as he had finally waited for this day.

King Nikola of Montenegro frowned as his country was also on the front line of the war.

Georgy looked at Nicholas and said that if the Russian Empire began to mobilize, the Kingdom of Greece would mobilize.

"I will give Vienna 24 hours. If Austria-Hungary stops mobilizing within 24 hours, I can pretend that nothing has happened."

Nicholas calmed down and did not order mobilization immediately.

The Russian Empire is different from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. If the Russian Empire begins to mobilize, it will definitely trigger a series of chain reactions.

Everyone knows that the Austro-Hungarian Empire is strong on the outside but weak on the inside, and what this country is best at is using mobilization for blackmail.

If Germany ignored the mobilization of the Russian Empire, it could face catastrophic disaster.

The Russian Empire was capable of defeating Germany.

There was no possibility that the Austro-Hungarian Empire would defeat the Russian Empire.

Although George was angry, he did not lose his mind.

Regardless of whether Austria-Hungary's mobilization was a tactical blackmail, this day would come sooner or later.

Nicholas did not stop in Adrianople and returned to St. Petersburg overnight.

George convened a meeting in Adrianople to unify the steps.

The Balkan League as a whole, if Serbia and Austria-Hungary go into a state of war, then all Balkan countries will declare war on Austria-Hungary.

Although the strength of each country is uneven and some are strong while others are weak, George requires all countries to go all out and obey the decision of the alliance once war breaks out.

August, on behalf of the Kingdom of Bulgaria, was the first to speak out in support of George's request.

The king and the crown prince all looked at August with unfriendly eyes.

All the troops of your Bulgarian Kingdom were sent by George, so they will definitely not oppose George's decision.

Obeying the alliance's decision means handing over the command of the army to George. Although George is a military god, this request still makes people feel uncomfortable.

Although the kings were weak in front of George, they were absolute gods in their own countries. They had the final say and always decided the fate of others. They never put their lives in the hands of others.

During the Balkan Wars, Valdemar handed over command of the Bulgarian Kingdom's army to Brusinov, and then Valdemar was deposed.

If all the military command was given to George, then if he disliked someone, it would be a matter of a word.

George remained silent, waiting for the kings to make a decision.

"George, the army of the Kingdom of Montenegro is under your command!"

Nicholas had no choice. If George did not provide protection for Montenegro, Montenegro would definitely not be able to withstand the attack of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

George smiled and nodded, and decided to invite Nicholas to stay in Constantinople for a while after the meeting.

The Kingdom of Montenegro was too small. Unless George sent the Amur Corps to Montenegro and Austria-Hungary to consume their power, it would certainly not be able to hold on.

Amur's three divisions are George's trump cards. Only at the most critical and decisive moment will George put these three divisions into battle.

The ace troops built with a lot of money certainly cannot compete with the cannon fodder of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. So the Kingdom of Montenegro must be abandoned. The only thing George can do is to ensure that Nicholas can return to Montenegro to be his king after the war.

In another time and space, after the end of World War I, due to the demise of the Russian Empire, Montenegro was annexed by the Kingdom of Serbia, and Nicholas went into exile in France.

"George, Greece will always be your loyal ally—"

Georgy was smart and he did not forget how he came to the throne.

If it weren't for the support of the Russian Empire, Georgy would have no chance of becoming the King of Greece.

Giving command of the army to George was something Georgi wanted more than anything else.

The command of the Greek Kingdom's army was not originally in the hands of George, but was controlled by the military alliance.

By giving George command of the army, he could take the opportunity to weaken the military alliance's control over the Greek army.

Only then will George have the chance to truly become the King of the Kingdom of Greece.

Although Ferdinand did not speak, everyone knew the position of the Kingdom of Romania.

George finally looked at Peter, who had not yet expressed his opinion.

If the Kingdom of Serbia had not been obsessed with "Greater Serbia", the situation would not have deteriorated so rapidly to its current level.

From this perspective, although the Kingdom of Serbia should not bear the main responsibility for the world war, it also played an important role in promoting it.

Peter himself came to power through a coup.

If the command of the Serbian army was handed over to George, Peter would be handing his life over to George.

If you don't pay it,

George didn't need to target anyone. He just had to sit back and watch when Austria-Hungary attacked Serbia, and Serbia was doomed.

"We are not at war yet, and Austria-Hungary has not declared war on us—"

Under such circumstances, Peter I actually still wanted to resist, which was something George did not expect.

"Ah--"

August sneered.

The Second Balkan War was mainly caused by the conflict between the Kingdom of Bulgaria and the Kingdom of Serbia.

You have to know that before that, the Kingdom of Bulgaria and the Kingdom of Serbia had just fought side by side in the First Balkan War, and then they went to war.

During the Second Balkan War, after the Serbian Kingdom captured the cities or villages of the Bulgarian Kingdom, they would kill anyone who dared to resist, loot all the property, insult the women, and even burn down the houses. Their behavior was even more brutal than the Ottoman Empire's army.

Comparable to the British Army during the Second Boer War.

This is why Augustus would rather cede territory and pay compensation than invite Polis to be the King of Bulgaria.

Peter I's dream was to establish Greater Serbia.

August's dream is revenge.

"You killed the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary. Do you still imagine that the Austro-Hungarian Empire will just be gone?"

George was really curious. Serbia had already offended the Russian Empire. If it angered George again——

How brave Peter must have been to offend both the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Russian Empire at the same time.

"The Austrians have no evidence that the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand was related to the Kingdom of Serbia."

Peter thought he was flawless.

"Does evidence really matter—"

George didn't know what to say.

When the Austrians tried to reason with Serbia, Serbia killed Archduke Ferdinand.

Now that Austria-Hungary was about to use force against Serbia, Peter suddenly started presenting evidence.

What did you do earlier?

"Of course it's important. Without evidence, Austria-Hungary has no reason to start a war. Mobilization doesn't prove anything. This isn't the first time Austria-Hungary has mobilized."

Peter's tone gradually became firmer, as if he had found some kind of confidence.

Row!
Since he was unwilling to hand over power, George did not force him and immediately announced the end of the meeting.

The next day, George held a second meeting, but this time he did not invite Peter to attend.

On the morning of the same day, the Russian Empire formally issued an ultimatum to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, demanding that the Austro-Hungarian Empire stop mobilization within 24 hours, otherwise the Russian Empire would implement reciprocal retaliation.

What Nicholas did not expect was that shortly after the Russian Empire issued the ultimatum, William II immediately sent Nicholas a telegram asking the Russian Empire not to retaliate against the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

What a familiar scene!
But this time, Nicholas did not succumb to the demands of his cousin in Berlin.

24 hours later, Austria-Hungary did not stop mobilizing.

On August 8, the Russian Empire officially began mobilization.

(End of this chapter)