Greece to roman road

"Enver Pasha, the biggest problem for the Ottoman Empire today is actually public morale, which has dropped to an extremely low level."

"The Ottoman Empire has never been in such urgent need of a victory to prove itself as it is today."

After Prime Minister Venizelos arrived, Enver sat alone in the back garden, with a sad expression on his face, echoing Venizelos's words.

Just as Venizelos guessed, Enver is one of the few leading militants in the Ottoman Empire so far. Ever since the news of the war between Bulgaria and Greece came, Enver believed that this was the Ottoman Empire taking back the territory of Thrace. Perfect timing.

Especially after the news came that the Macedonian defense line of Bulgaria's 400,000-strong army attacking Greece was frustrated, Enver became even more certain of this.

The military information returned by the border soldiers also confirmed his judgment. The Bulgarian soldiers stationed at the border were continuously transferred after the war with Greece.

Initially, the Bulgarian army deployed about 100,000 people in Eastern Thrace. According to intelligence estimates, the current number is only 40,000 to 50,000.

The next day, Enver came to the residence of his trusted Grand Vizier, Sayyid Halim Pasha, just as he always did.

The newly appointed Said only felt a headache when he saw Enver coming again: "Enver Pasha, for the sake of Allah, the current Ottoman Empire can no longer withstand even a small war. We We have enough troubles already.”

"The liberals plotting a coup, the damn Armenian radicals, the Arab political groups demanding autonomy, the government's empty finances, oh my God, Enver Pasha, the Ottoman Empire has been ravaged miserably enough, don't drag her with you. Went into the flames of war."

"Enver Pasha, I don't want to be like Serfkot (the former Grand Vizier who was killed for signing the Treaty of London) and be assassinated at the high gate by the angry people."

The Grand Vizier of Surfkot was directly assassinated by the angry people because he signed the Treaty of London after his defeat.

In addition, this defeat also cost the Ottoman Empire a huge price.

In the Treaty of London, the Ottoman Empire ceded 60,000 square miles of land and lost nearly 4 million subjects.

One thing Venizelos said is absolutely right. The morale of the entire Ottoman Empire has reached its lowest point.

"Enver Pasha, if the Ottoman Empire suffers another military defeat, the empire will be destroyed."

Said Grand Vizier looked at the unwilling Enver and said impatiently: "Or are you planning to point a pistol at my head and force me to agree to your military action?"

"Your Majesty the Grand Vizier, the Bulgarian army is currently fighting a fierce battle with the Greek army and has no time to take care of East Thrace. This is the best time for us to regain our territory. Once the two countries decide the winner, there will no longer be such a good opportunity. , In this way, the Ottoman Empire really lost these territories," Enver said regretfully.

Seeing that Said still had the same attitude as before, opposing any military adventure, the helpless Enver could only say bitterly: "If the people in power don't have the guts to make sharp and decisive decisions, then I will do it myself."

Enver held the position of Minister of War, nominally in charge of all Ottoman armies. In addition, Enver also had this high prestige in the army.

Therefore, if Enver privately mobilized his troops to launch an attack on the Bulgarian troops stationed in East Thrace, it was entirely possible for him to do it.

After that, Enver stopped staying, turned around and left in a hurry.

Seeing Enver walking away in anger, Said, who was originally angry, gradually softened his expression, as if the two of them had never had a fierce quarrel.

Said's butler, Carters, stepped forward and said, "Your Excellency, Grand Vizier, Enver Pasha is so reckless and dares to mobilize the army privately. Should we stop him?"

Said was silent for a moment and said calmly: "Enver is a soldier and has an impulsive personality. There is no need to stop him."

"The number of soldiers stationed by Bulgaria on the border continues to decrease. For the Ottoman Empire, it is indeed a good opportunity to regain its territory. However, military operations are too sensitive in the current Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire can no longer afford a failure."

"If he fails, put all the responsibility on him. He mobilized the army without telling the Grand Vizier. In any case, I don't know about it at all," Said spread his hands and said.

"What if he really succeeds? After suffering humiliating defeats again and again, the Ottoman Empire has won a great victory. The entire Ottoman Empire will rejoice, and his prestige will be even more outstanding," Butler Carters asked .

A smile appeared on the corner of Said's mouth: "If he succeeds and the Ottoman Empire's army regains its territory, wouldn't it be a good thing for me as the Grand Vizier?"

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After leaving Constantinople, Prime Minister Venizelos took the cruiser Esmeralda to Romania, and arrived in Constanta on July 1, where he visited the leader of the Romanian Conservative Party who had been waiting here. He is also the current Prime Minister of Romania, Bretianu.

"Prime Minister Bretianu, you already know the purpose of my coming to Romania," Venizelos said straight to the point after the meeting.

“The expansion of the Bulgarians in the Balkans has seriously threatened the security of neighboring countries.”

"If Bulgaria really wins this war, how will Romania, as a neighbor of Bulgaria, deal with itself?"

As a Balkan country, Romania is not a good one.

It is no secret that Romania has ambitions for Bulgaria’s Dobroga.

At the meeting, the Romanian government demanded a territorial compensation from its neighbors' profits, said to be a reward for Romania's neutrality in the war.

During the talks held in London after the last Balkan war, Romania, a country that did not participate in the war, did demand a share of the spoils.

Before the First Balkan War, the two countries had a disagreement over the sovereignty of Silistra, which was located in South Dobroga and had a majority Bulgarian population, but Romania wanted to occupy the town.

Finally in 1879 an international commission formed by the great powers allowed Romania to occupy only the Arabian Tarbia fortress overlooking Silistra, but not the town itself.

So in this period when various nationalisms are supreme (the great ideals of Greece, the Great Serbism of Serbia, the Great Bulgaria of Bulgaria, etc.), Romania does not care about the local ethnic composition. As long as there are Romanians in this place, that is it. territory.

The reason why Bulgaria wanted the territory of Macedonia was also related to the fact that it ceded part of the territory of Dobroga to Romania.

Sofia believes that Bulgaria’s lost territory must be redoubled to make up for it.

For these reasons, Venizelos was very confident in persuading the Romanian army to attack Bulgaria.

Bretianu said helplessly: "Romania is paying attention to the war between Greece and Bulgaria in Macedonia. From Bulgaria's perspective, of course we do not want Bulgaria to win, but Bulgaria has the support of Germany and Austria. We Romania, as Germany's Allies, but it is difficult to attack Bulgaria directly."

"Prime Minister Venizelos, the Germans have great influence in Romania. In fact, most of the funds behind Romania's oil exploration come from Germany."

Romania owns the largest oil field in Europe. In 1913, Romania's oil production accounted for about 3.2% of the world's total production.

Romania's rich oil resources have a strong attraction for Germany, which lacks oil producing areas.

Before 1900, British capital dominated Romania's oil industry. After that, with the rise of German capital, German plutocrats replaced Britain's position in Romania's oil industry.

Thinking of this, Venizelos feels lucky that the oil fields in Ferry, Greece, are of low quality.

The oil fields in Ferry, Albania, are not very attractive to European imperialist countries due to their high sulfur content, viscous oil, high extraction costs, and small annual production.

If the oil field in Ferry City is an oil field with high-quality crude oil, I am afraid that Greece’s right to control Albania will be questioned by various countries.

Venizelos did not believe Bratianu's words. I am afraid that Romania wanted to wait for the war situation in Macedonia to become clearer. It would be better to wait until Bulgaria could no longer support it, so that it could gain benefits without having to mobilize troops. .

"The territorial conflict between your country and the Austro-Hungarian Empire has destined that Romania cannot become a member of the Allied Powers. As the Prime Minister of Romania, you should be very clear about this," Venizelos said.

There are a large number of "Romanians" living in Transylvania. After the unification of Romania, the Wallachians living in Transylvania identified more with Romania in terms of national sentiment, rather than Hungary, which had long ruled there for nearly a thousand years. .

The discord between Romania and Austria-Hungary over Transylvania undoubtedly provided favorable support for the Entente to win Romania away from the Central Powers.

It is impossible for Germany to offend its most important ally, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, for the sake of Romania.

This is obviously impossible.

"Prime Minister Bretianu, Bulgaria has no defensive force at all along the Danube River. As long as the Romanian Army sends a small army, you can cross the Danube River without any hindrance and march into Sofia," Venizelos advised.

Bulgaria, with its tight military strength, probably believed that it was a country close to the Allies. At the same time, Germany and Austria had made political commitments. Ferdinand did not station any troops in the direction of the Danube River.

"Dobroga is a river plain on the lower reaches of the Danube River, and it is close to the Black Sea. Once it gets this Dobroga, Romania will not only get a piece of land with rich water and grass, fertile land, but also expand Romania's coastline."

The territorial division between Romania and Bulgaria is based on the Danube River, which is the boundary river between the two countries.

However, at the estuary where the lower reaches of the Danube River merge into the Black Sea, the Danube River meanders all the way north, which results in Romania's Black Sea coastline being very narrow.

This is also an important reason why Romania is jealous of Dobroga in the lower Danube River.

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In the end, Enver, who did not receive an order to attack, finally privately mobilized a cavalry regiment and an infantry regiment, crossed the newly drawn border, and marched towards Edirne.

On July 8, when the Ottoman army approached Edirne, it encountered only weak resistance, which allowed Enver to easily lead the army into Edirne.

Facts have proved Enver's guess correct. Bulgaria, which is competing with Greece for Macedonia's ownership, simply does not have enough troops to defend Eastern Thrace.

In order to put pressure on the Ottoman authorities to support their claim to take the opportunity to regain the territory of Thrace, Enver happily accepted an interview with a British reporter on the day he entered Edirne.

Overnight, the news that General Enver had recaptured Edirne spread throughout the streets of Constantinople with the help of newspapers.

This also shocked the European diplomatic community, because Enver's move meant that the Ottoman authorities tore up the just-signed London Treaty and declared war on the Bulgarian authorities.

After the news came that Enver's army had entered Edirne, the Romanian authorities did not hesitate at all and sent troops across the Danube River to attack Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria that had no defense, and join the team that besieged Bulgaria.

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"The trenches are so terrible." Only now did Ivanov truly understand the cruelty of trench warfare!

In the past, when looking at war history, saying that Prussia defeated France in one battle at the Battle of Sedan seemed passionate, but there was no specific feeling.

But now, Ivanov really feels it, and after seeing the battlefield again, he feels very intuitive and terrible.

The piles of corpses piled up on the battlefield are proof, and the display of blood and flames is the most intuitive.

"Can the Nizhniytarovs defense line really be captured?" A thought popped into Ivanov's mind.

In more than ten days, Ivanov's army sacrificed 50,000 troops. If the fight continues, how many more days can it last?

Although a lot of the cannon fodder black natives on the opposite side also went away, the Greeks took advantage of the internal lines to quickly reinforce each other's troops, and the Bulgarian army instantly ran out of ideas.

"Withdraw first, and then leave some troops on guard. The main force will rest temporarily. At the same time, report the situation on the battlefield to the base camp. The Kavala Army needs support, and diplomatically we must also get rid of the current predicament. We have caused enough trouble. It has shaken the foundation of the Kingdom. If Germany fails to fulfill its commitments, this war may cause the Kingdom of Bulgaria to suffer heavy losses."