Germanic Empire: Please call me Wilhelm III

Franz Joseph I directly used his power and influence to quickly announce the crown prince of Austria-Hungary. This made many of the previous schemes of the Germanic Empire unsuccessful.

Of course, Franz Joseph I certainly succeeded. But this is through his personal influence.

If he can live for another ten or eight years, there may be no problem, and he will be able to escort the new Crown Prince Karl.

But alas, he is already eighty-four years old. Under such circumstances, how long can he escort Grand Duke Karl?

Once he went to God, what would happen to the future Austro-Hungarian Empire? At Archduke Karl’s age, with his seniority and prestige, it was simply impossible to suppress the states of Austria-Hungary. Even the entire Austro-Hungarian Empire could fall apart. In this way, the expectations of Franz Joseph I still cannot be fulfilled.

Of course, Franz Joseph I was also gambling that he would live longer. In this way, all problems will be solved. But alas, this time it was he who was too confident.

“Auguste, why did Grandpa do this to me? I am his granddaughter, and my father is his son! The throne of the Habsburgs originally belonged to me. But he would rather give the throne to Karl than give it to me! “Empress Elizabeth Marie, upon learning of Franz Joseph I’s decision, immediately left Viena and returned to Berlin.

August and Elizabeth Mary have been married for five years, and she is twenty-one years old. Moreover, he had already given birth to a daughter to Auguste.

“Mary, perhaps His Majesty Emperor Franz Joseph I wanted Austria-Hungary to last forever. However, he does not seem to see that there are many contradictions in the current Austro-Hungarian Empire. Germans made up just over a third of the Austro-Hungarian population. Union with the Hungarians was needed to make up the majority of the population. In other ethnic groups, the signs of division are becoming more and more obvious. With the prestige of His Majesty Emperor Franz Joseph I, he was able to barely survive. If he died, the whole Austro-Hungarian Empire would collapse. August said.

“Austria-Hungary has been like a chronically ill patient, which has been merged into high temperatures. Grandfather, he could not let the entire empire go to an end just for the glory of the Habsburgs. If Austria-Hungary could merge with the Germanic Empire, it would be a powerful empire that would dominate all of Europe. “Empress Elizabeth Mary undoubtedly approved of the merger of the Germanic Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

In her opinion, in this way, all the problems of Austria-Hungary could be solved.

After the merger, the total population of the new Germanic Empire will reach 130 million, second only to the Russian Empire. Moreover, the Germans would make up the vast majority of the new empire.

Coupled with strong industrial and military strength, this will make the entire empire in a stable state and will become even stronger.

“Forget it, Mary. Since His Majesty Franz Joseph I has made his choice, then respect his choice. When there is a crisis in Austria-Hungary in the future, let’s find a way! August said.

In short, August was determined to annex Austria-Hungary and would never allow them to continue to exist.

Queen Elizabeth Mary nodded and said nothing more.

After marrying August and becoming the empress of the Germanic Empire, she was already thinking completely about the interests of the Germanic Empire and her children.

And this is often the tradition and practice of royal families throughout Europe.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire appointed a new crown prince, which certainly made the nobility in the country very unhappy. But under the suppression of Franz Joseph I, no one dared to have an objection.

At the same time, Austria-Hungary had something more important to do, that is, to declare war on the Kingdom of Serbia. On the one hand, it is to avenge the death of Ferdinand. On the other hand, it was to fulfill the goal of the expansion of the Austro-Hungarian Empire into the Balkans and realize their ambition to dominate the Balkans.

On July 26, Emperor Franz Joseph I summoned the top officials of the Empire, and Crown Prince Karl also attended the meeting. Franz Joseph I had already begun to train Archduke Karl, hoping to make Archduke Karl grow up quickly.

“Gentlemen, judging from the present situation, the Kingdom of Serbia has not accepted our ultimatum, they have been perfunctory to us, delaying time and buying time for their backers to prepare for war. We can no longer tolerate the Selvians. Therefore, I have decided to attack the Kingdom of Serbia immediately after the deadline, destroy them by force, and achieve our strategic goal! Franz Joseph I ordered.

“Yes, Your Majesty!” The ministers of Austria-Hungary all answered.

“Is the Imperial Army ready?” Franz Joseph I asked.

“Your Majesty, the 1st, 2nd and 6th Legions of the Imperial Army have been deployed to the southern border and are ready to hit the Danube and attack the Kingdom of Serbia. The other corps, the 3rd, 4th, and 5th armies, were ready for battle. These forces would be deployed to the eastern defensive line to defend against the Russian Empire. In addition, more armies are being formed. “Report of the Chief of the General Staff of Austria-Hungary, Marshal Baron Herzendorf.

Franz Joseph I nodded: “In this battle, we must win and let the whole world see our strength.” Even if the Russian Empire, the Gallic Kingdom and even the Empire of the Sun Never Set will declare war on us, we have nothing to fear. The Germanic Empire will support us. They will never watch us being defeated! ”

The ministers of Austria-Hungary nodded repeatedly.

This time the Reserve Princes incident did not seem to affect the friendly relations between the Germanic Empire and Austria-Hungary.

Of course, everyone knows that this is only superficial. Because the two countries have a common enemy, they need to cooperate sincerely in the following time so that they can defeat a strong enemy and win future wars. Therefore, both countries will focus on the big picture.

As for whether there will be other situations after the war is won, no one knows. Of course, if this battle is lost, neither the Germanic Empire nor the Austro-Hungarian Empire will end well.

On 28 July, Austria-Hungary officially declared war on the Kingdom of Serbia.

The three legions of Austria-Hungary, 600,000 men, began to attack the kingdom of Serbia. The Kingdom of Selvia was fully mobilized to resist the invasion of Austria-Hungary.