I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 591 Cold-blooded George
Germany declared war on Belgium after declaring war on Russia and France.

Since Belgium and Britain were also allies, Britain kept its promise and declared war on Germany.

After declaring war, France implemented Plan 17 and invaded Alsace before Germany launched its attack.

The content of Plan 17 was to dispatch four armies on the Franco-German border to attack Germany from the north and south, and recover Alsace and Lorraine, which were ceded to Germany after the Franco-Prussian War.

Due to the alliance between Britain and Belgium, the French believed that Britain would not allow Germany to invade Belgium, so Joffre did not deploy troops on the Franco-Belgian border or build fortifications.

So the French were once again cheated by the British.

The French have been cheated by the British countless times in history. If it weren't for the British meddling, France would have unified Europe long ago.

However, the French did not learn their lesson and still believed in Britain's promise.

All I can say is that he died a worthy death.

At this time, Germany's mobilization had just begun, and the French invasion of Alsace gave Zhilinski an illusion. He hoped to attack the German army from the north and south with the French army before Germany completed its mobilization. Even if he could not defeat Germany, he would make the German army unable to take care of itself and eliminate as many of the German elite as possible.

"We are making good progress. Germany has not participated in any war since the Franco-Prussian War. Our soldiers have been tempered by the Russo-Japanese War and the Balkan War and are very experienced. We also have more advanced weapons and are stronger than the German army."

Little Nicholas was so carried away that he brought George a gift, a heavy machine gun captured by the Russian army in East Prussia.

"Why do you think planning is child's play?"

George was very angry. Little Nicholas and Zhilinsky were gambling with the fate of the empire.

"Plans can't keep up with changes. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

Little Nicholas was stubborn. He said that at least half of the purpose of giving George a gift was to show off. If you can do it, I can do it too.

Not right either.

George defeated the congenitally stunted Japan and the corrupt Ottoman Empire.

What little Nicholas is about to defeat is the powerful Germany.

George didn't think that little Nicholas could easily defeat the German army.

Germany has never lost a foreign war since the days of Bismarck.

Although the German army had indeed been out of combat for a long time as Nicholas the Younger said, and its equipment lagged behind that of the Russian Empire, Germany had a well-trained officer corps and a complete staff system, which the Russian Empire did not have.

To George's disappointment, Nicholas did not give George full support on this issue.

Because Germany adopted a protective attitude towards Austria-Hungary in the conflict between the Russian Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Nicholas had long been dissatisfied with William II.

For the sake of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Germany did not hesitate to launch a general military mobilization and declared war on the Russian Empire. Nicholas' dissatisfaction with William II reached its peak.

Nicholas hoped to demonstrate his determination to William II through Nicholas the Younger's attack.

If William II had stopped at the brink, the war could have been stopped.

"Even if William wanted to stop the war, the German generals would not agree. Once the war started, it would only end with one side being completely defeated."

George reminded Nicholas not to have any more illusions.

This time, what William II was betting on was not family ties, but the destiny of the country.

Launching a war to expand Germany's living space was not just the desire of William II alone, but the common wish of all Germans.

"Then we will completely defeat Germany. We have gained access to the Black Sea. It's time to break the blockade of the Baltic Sea and the Mediterranean Sea!"

Little Nicholas is so full of confidence that even George doesn't dare to be so kind to him.

Due to the relationship between the Russian Empire and Denmark, the blockade of the Baltic Sea was meaningless to the Russian Empire, and the warships of the Baltic Fleet could enter the North Sea at any time.

The two ends of the Mediterranean Sea are the Suez Canal and the Strait of Gibraltar, both controlled by the United Kingdom. Breaking the blockade of the Mediterranean Sea means facing the British Royal Navy head-on.

On land, George, the First Lord of the Admiralty, was afraid of no one.

If facing the Royal Navy, George would need some prerequisites.

The Royal Navy currently has a total tonnage of 271.4 million tons, with a fleet spread all over the world. The largest Home Fleet has 22 dreadnoughts and super dreadnoughts, 5 battlecruisers, and more than 200 cruisers and destroyers.

Even heavy cruisers, or armored cruisers, are not listed separately here.

In addition, after the outbreak of the war, Britain also formed a Channel Fleet consisting of 17 pre-dreadnoughts. The total tonnage of this fleet alone exceeded the total tonnage of the Russian Empire's Baltic Fleet.

To deal with the Royal Navy, George would need another 10 aircraft carriers and 1000 aircraft.

Like Nicholas, Peter of Montenegro was present at Ferdinand's coronation.

Nicholas hoped that George could give appropriate assistance to the Slavs in the Kingdom of Serbia. He did not want to see the Kingdom of Serbia conquered by the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

"Haha, George, do your job and take good care of our Slavic brothers."

Little Nicholas gloated over George's misfortune, and a new nickname had begun to spread in Petrograd - Cold-blooded George.

George can ignore little Nicholas.

George still needs to explain Nicholas' question.

"The Kingdom of Serbia has not handed over military command to me. How can I convince other Balkan countries to send troops to the Kingdom of Serbia and fight for the fate of the Kingdom of Serbia?"

George was also hesitating whether to change his plan.

The Russian army has invaded Germany, which means that George's previous plan has failed. It is not surprising that Zhilinski can win.

If Zhilinski was defeated, George would launch an attack on Austria-Hungary, involving the German army's actions, dispersing the German army's strength, and forcing the German army to reinforce Austria-Hungary.

In this case, George doesn't have much time left.

"George, if you marry Alexandra to Peter's son Alexander, Peter will give you the command of the Serbian army."

Nicholas offered to act as a matchmaker, but that was not what George wanted.

Alexandra was indeed old enough to get engaged, and Alexander was indeed not married.

Alexander married Ferdinand's second princess Maria in 1922.

"Don't even think about it. I will never trade my children's marriages!"

George turned into a crazy father who doted on his daughter.

"Oh, what about the marriage of Boris and Elizabeth?"

Little Nicholas felt a little uncomfortable. As a member of the royal family, it was totally wrong for him not to have this awareness.

"Polis and Elizabeth's marriage was based on affection."

George did not view the marriage of Boris and Elizabeth as a transaction.

"Well, if you don't want to, forget it—"

Nicholas was not interested.

Ferdinand had been thinking about Alexandra before.

Now Peter is thinking about Alexandra again. It seems that the daughter of Grand Duke Yuriev is indeed very popular.

Nicholas has four daughters, none of whom is married yet.

Someone had proposed to Princess Olga before.

There hasn't been a single marriage proposal in the past two years.

This is not just because of hemophilia.

"George, why don't you put Peter under house arrest? You can still take command of the military of the Kingdom of Serbia."

Little Nicholas gave George bad advice.

"Now that the Kingdom of Serbia is in front of us to draw fire, I have plenty of time to adjust my deployment. Isn't this good?"

George is truly Cold-blooded George.

After the mobilization of the Kingdom of Serbia, the size of its army reached 40. If George could bring these 40 troops under his command, then George could now counterattack the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

If not, then these 40 troops are a time bomb.

Vasily took the initiative to report to George on the mobilization situation of the Kingdom of Romania. At present, the Kingdom of Romania has mobilized 30 people. Together with the 12th Army led by Vasily, Romania can also mobilize 40 people.

However, Romania's lack of weapons still exists.

George subconsciously gave Nicholas a dissatisfied look.

Nicholas was confused and didn't know what George's eyes meant.

The music started and the coronation ceremony officially began. The guests stopped communicating and turned their eyes to Ferdinand and his wife who were walking into the hall.

Ferdinand was dressed in military uniform, with his beard and hair neatly trimmed. There was no expression on his face. Although ascending the throne was a good thing for him, his uncle, the old king, had just died, and any happy emotion at this time was inappropriate.

Ferdinand's wife Mary was the granddaughter of Queen Victoria. She and Ferdinand married in 1893 and had six children.

Due to time constraints, the coronation ceremony procedure was simple. After the Archbishop put the crown symbolizing the king on Ferdinand's head, Ferdinand officially became the King of Romania.

Afterwards, Ferdinand gave a speech. He first thanked the guests who came from all over the world to attend his coronation ceremony, and especially thanked Nicholas. Then Ferdinand declared war on the Austro-Hungarian Empire on behalf of the Kingdom of Romania, bringing the coronation ceremony to a successful conclusion.

In the evening, Ferdinand held a banquet in the palace to thank the guests who came from afar.

Little Nicholas hurriedly boarded the train back to Warsaw before the banquet began.

After the outbreak of the war, Zhilinski's progress was smooth and he did not encounter any stubborn resistance from the German army.

Zhilinsky was delighted and ordered Rennenkamp and Samsonov to speed up and advance into the heart of Germany.

As army group commanders, both Renningkamp and Samsonov were inexperienced. Renningkamp had spent most of his previous military career as a staff officer and lacked experience in commanding troops in combat.

Samsonov also only commanded a division and never commanded an army group in combat.

The most important thing is the lack of contact between the two men. After being appointed as army group commanders respectively, the two men never exchanged telegrams, which is simply incredible.

Under Zhilinsky's urging, the 1st Army and the 2nd Army were seriously out of touch. The elite troops from the Guards rushed to the front, while the newly mobilized troops were in chaos and slow, and could not keep up with the speed of the Guards.

After Ferdinand's coronation ceremony, Nicholas the Younger received news that William II had replaced General von Prittwitz, who had performed poorly since the outbreak of the war, with the experienced Hindenburg as commander-in-chief of the German Eighth Army.

Zhilinski was about to be in trouble.

(End of this chapter)