Greece to roman road

On the afternoon of July 12, the General Staff received a telegram from the Macedonian Army. After being trapped, the Bulgarian Ivanov Army surrendered to the Macedonian Army.

Among them, the Bulgarian commander Ivanov committed suicide by drinking a bomb.

After the news reached Sofia, King Ferdinand of Bulgaria completely gave up his last chance.

In just over a month since the war started, the entire Kingdom of Bulgaria has gone from being extremely ambitious to being fearful now.

After all, before the war began, public opinion was encouraged and the Bulgarian government deliberately guided public opinion.

The current situation seems to be what the Bulgarian newspapers said. The Bulgarian army will still be like the Bulgarian War in 1885 and the Balkan War that just ended a few months ago. The Bulgarian army gave the enemy a head-on attack and then won a brilliant victory.

In the Bulgarian-Serbian War of 1885, Bulgaria defeated the Serbian invaders in the border battle with an absolutely weak force, and pushed back into Serbia. Not only did it successfully complete the goal of merging with Eastern Rumelia Province, it also established the The dignity and pride of the new Kingdom of Bulgaria.

In the Balkan War in 1913, the Bulgarian Army, as the main force, defeated the main army of the Ottoman Empire in Thrace and almost reached the gates of Constantinople.

In just thirty years, the newly independent Kingdom of Bulgaria was able to restore its territory to the historical heyday of the Kingdom of Bulgaria, and became the new overlord of the Balkans - from the northernmost part of the Kingdom to the lower reaches of the Danube River, and to the south to the Aegean Sea. , spanning the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, successfully broke through the shackles of the Bosporus at its mouth, and over time, with the development of its economy, it will inevitably become a great power in the Balkans.

The continuous brilliant victories of the Bulgarian Army made almost all Bulgarians believe that the Greek Army was vulnerable and it was only a matter of time before it was defeated by Bulgaria.

Unexpectedly, after the war started, there would be bad news on the front line one after another. Bulgaria was eager to end the war in a short time. The whole country was not prepared for a long-term war at all. After learning that the Greek army had built complete fortifications and relied on defense lines to hold on, this was completely unexpected. After the unexpected tactics, I was also panicked, because this was completely different from what the Bulgarian military had imagined.

Now the Bulgarian army has absolutely no possibility of victory. King Ferdinand I contacted the Russian government, expressed a request for an armistice to Russia, and requested Russia to act as an intermediary to mediate the war.

Ferdinand and Prime Minister Geisov (Prime Minister of Bulgaria) were probably resentful of the Allies' deception (there was almost no support for Bulgaria during the war), and in turn extended their hands to Russia.

The Russian government saw that Bulgaria, its former die-hard brother in the Balkans, turned its back on itself and was treated so miserably by other countries.

Considering that the members of the German-Austrian Allied Powers are wooing Bulgaria, in terms of national sentiment, they are all Slavs, have similar cultures, believe in the Orthodox Church, and can even communicate directly in language, as well as the role of Bulgaria's geographical location on them, naturally they are happy expressed his agreement to be the mediator.

If Bulgaria in the future can be as obedient as it was before, then Russia will have two younger brothers with similar cultures and the same race in the Balkans - Serbia and Bulgaria, once again establishing Russia's strong influence in the Balkans.

After the Russo-Japanese War, Russia, as Europe's steamroller, was completely defeated by the Japanese, causing the Russians to lose face and dignity in Europe.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Europe as a whole became the center of the world, and its power reached its peak. Except for Europe and the Americas, almost all other parts of the world were European colonies!

Needless to say, Africa. The Europeans held the Berlin Conference in 1885. The diplomats held maps on the conference table and drew a few marks on the map with pens. You have a South Africa and I have a Kenya. The army does not need to go to Africa. If you go to the local area, it will be divided up directly!

Determine ownership first, and then send some troops, even if the European countries have confirmed the sovereignty of the African colonies.

The Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Oceania, East Asia, these places are all European colonies!

You can imagine that Europeans at this time regarded places outside Europe as barbaric lands.

In the eyes of Europeans, all races other than whites are uncivilized indigenous people, ignorant, feudal and backward.

In the Russo-Japanese War of 1905, the Russians were defeated by Japan in East Asia. In the eyes of Europeans at the time, this was just like Italy's defeat by the black uncle of Ethiopia. It was an incredible thing!

Upset!

Therefore, after the Russo-Japanese War, Russia lost face internationally. At the same time, due to the attrition of the Russo-Japanese War, domestic conflicts intensified, triggering popular unrest and causing Russia's strength to decline sharply.

It was at this time that Bulgaria, a die-hard brother of Russia, turned against Russia.

You know, in the original Bulgarian army, almost all the middle and senior officers were Russian officers, and the command of the Bulgarian army was naturally in the hands of the Russian tsar.

After the Russo-Japanese War, Bulgaria saw that Russia couldn't even defeat the Japanese. What qualifications did it have to be Bulgaria's big brother? Can it be covered? Naturally, they no longer obey Russia's advice as before.

Therefore, after the Russo-Japanese War, Russia's influence in the Balkans plummeted.

The most direct proof is that the Austro-Hungarian Empire directly annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina under its entrustment in 1908, the Ottoman Empire had a revolution in 1908 (Turkish Youth Party), Russia suffered heavy losses in the Russo-Japanese War, and the two originally influential empires in the Balkans , had no time to care, the Austro-Hungarian Empire directly annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina.

You know, the Boch area is full of Slavs.

At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, Russia held two trump cards, Orthodox Christianity and Slavic nationalism, which echoed in Eastern Europe, the Balkans and the Ottoman Empire.

Russia advocates Pan-Slavism on the Black Sea coast while waving the banner of Orthodox Christianity. The two surrounding empires, the Austro-Hungarian Empire (which rules many Slavs) and the Ottoman Empire (which rules a large number of Christians who believe in Orthodox Christianity) are deeply affected by it. Its bitter.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Ottoman Empire were both multi-ethnic empires in decline, and their national power was gradually declining. Wang Xiaoer's New Year celebrations were worse each year, and the Russians could not be tolerated there to fan the flames and look at them with eager eyes.

There were a large number of Slavs under the rule of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, such as Poles, Ukrainians, Czechs, Bosnia, and Croatia, all of whom were Slavs.

The Russians tried their best to promote Pan-Slavism. If they had succeeded, the Austro-Hungarian Empire would have been torn apart.

Also as a hostile country to Russia, the situation of the Ottoman Empire was even more miserable.

Due to special historical reasons, the Ottoman Empire ruled a large number of Orthodox Christians, accounting for almost half of the people of the Ottoman Empire.

Orthodox Christians who were impoverished under the Ottoman Empire generally believed (probably for religious reasons) that there would be an Orthodox emperor who would rescue them.

From all indications, the Russian Tsar met these conditions.

Combined with the declining national strength of the Ottoman Empire, naturally many believers are willing to believe in the Russians, such as Armenians.

(From this point of view, it makes sense for Russia to regard itself as the successor of the Roman Empire)

In the Balkans, there are a large number of Slavs who believe in Orthodox Christianity, such as Serbia and Bulgaria. In the eyes of Russia, which advocates expansion and is obsessed with earth, is there any place more suitable for expansion than here?

If Russia hadn't performed so poorly in Japan and Russia, how could the Austro-Hungarian Empire, an empire ridiculed as "ragdoll imperialism", have the guts to annex the Bohemian region where a large number of Slavs lived.

Russia also actively began to carry out reforms after the Russo-Japanese War. In recent years, it has achieved remarkable results and its strength has recovered. Naturally, it wants to restore its previous influence in the Balkans.

Therefore, the request of King Ferdinand I of Bulgaria was taken by Nicholas II as an opportunity to restore Russia's influence in Bulgaria, and he naturally happily agreed.

The relationship between Russia and Greece has always been good, both politically and economically.

There is a close relationship between the royal families of the two countries. Constantine's mother, Queen Olga of Greece, came from the Russian Romanov royal family.

Moreover, both countries are Orthodox Christian countries.

There are a large number of Greek merchants engaged in trade along the Black Sea coast. For example, in Odessa, Ukraine, a large number of Greeks have settled.

In the original historical time and space, Crown Prince Constantine led the Greek army to fight against the Ottoman Empire in 1897. As a result, he was defeated. The Greek royal family faced the risk of losing the throne and was denounced by the Greek population.

The Greeks who lost the war wanted to hold the royal family responsible for the defeat, overthrow the royal family, and establish a republic. Tsarist Russia, considering Queen Olga's relationship, gave diplomatic support to the Greek royal family.

Also on the afternoon of July 12, Prime Minister Venizelos was visited by the Russian ambassador, who clearly expressed Russia's intention to mediate the war between Bulgaria and Greece.

Athens Ministry of Defense Building

"Tell me, how should we respond to the Russians' request for mediation?" Constantine consulted Greece's top military and political leaders.

"Negotiations are definitely necessary, but now it will take some time for the Macedonian Army to fully realize the intended goals of this war," Chief of General Staff Emmanuel responded.

For Greece now, the most important thing is to completely occupy Bulgaria's territory along the Aegean Sea and curb Bulgaria's development.

It's just that the Macedonian Army has just completed the encirclement and annihilation of the Ivanov Army. It has been fighting for more than ten days, and the whole army is already exhausted.

After the surrender of the Ivanov Legion, the entire legion almost relaxed and is now stationed in Kavala. Although the legion commander Manujianaski did not order repairs, everyone relaxed after the fierce battle.

As for Bulgaria's territory on the Aegean coast, there is also Western Thrace.

Alexandroupolis, the capital of Western Thrace, is still more than a hundred kilometers away from Kavala.

Moreover, Alexandroupoli, like Kavala, is also a small seaside port city.

If it cannot occupy this place, then Greece's purpose of depriving Bulgaria of seaports to contain Bulgaria will be bankrupt.

This is also the cunning part of the Bulgarians. They originally wanted to take a defensive position after the Ivanov Army withdrew to Kavala, firmly guarding the garrison in Kavala, and then request mediation from the powers. In this way, even if Bulgaria was defeated, due to Kavala Vara is still in the hands of the Bulgarian army, so Bulgaria can still keep Kavala, an important outlet to the Aegean Sea.

It's just that the Macedonian Legion's tactics exceeded the expectations of Bulgaria's top brass.

The Bulgarian army requested a truce at this time because they wanted to preserve Western Thrace while the Greek army had no scruples.

Without actual occupation by the army, it is conceivable that in the subsequent negotiations, Greece's desire to claim Western Thrace will basically be opposed by all countries.

After the victory in this war, Greece's comprehensive strength has ranked first among the Balkan countries, and its prestige has been great. The great powers naturally want to balance the national strength in the Balkans, and do not want to see Greece being the only country in the Balkans.

In the negotiations, Bulgaria, which is on the weak side, must be favored, while Greece, which is on the rise, must be suppressed.

Moreover, it is impossible to obtain territory that was not obtained on the battlefield at the negotiation table.

Thinking of this, Constantine also had a headache.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince, no one is more suitable for such a task than our navy," said Greek Navy Commander Kontoriotis.

"Our navy's warships are currently patrolling the Aegean Sea, not far from Alexandroupolis, the capital of Western Thrace. As long as our navy carries some Marine Corps soldiers..."

Before Commander Kontoriotis could finish speaking, Arms Minister Giannis interrupted him: "According to the information sent back by our intelligence personnel, although there is no main Bulgarian army stationed in Alexandroupolis, It’s not that there is no soldier defense at all. After all, it is a port, and Bulgaria still attaches great importance to it.”

"No matter how powerful your navy's warship is, it will never be able to land ashore."

"The Marine Corps alone may not be able to match the small Bulgarian defenders. You navy should not get involved."

"After all, the Marine Corps is not a professional Marine Corps. The number of marine troops is not large. If they are reluctantly dispatched in a hurry, I am afraid there will be heavy casualties."

Just kidding, the Army finally won the war after wasting so much effort and successfully surrounded and annihilated the main force of the enemy's Army in Kavala.

The navy had nothing to do from beginning to end, and made almost no contribution except a few bombardments on the Aegean coast.

After the battle was over, the navy took action directly. Wanting to harvest the fruits of victory, it directly sent warships to accept the spoils?

It's quite a beautiful thought.

The Bulgarian navy was very weak and had only a few torpedo boats. Therefore, after the war began, the Greek navy was only responsible for patrolling in the Aegean Sea and almost did not participate in the war.

As soon as Kontoriotis, the commander of the Navy, opened his mouth, Arms Minister Giannis became anxious.