Chapter 481: Arrow on the Bowstring

When the major powers of Europe gradually disclosed their financial data from last year, even an ordinary European civilian knew that a super war was coming soon.

The reason was also very simple: no power could persist for several years under such huge military expenditure. When the powers could no longer persist, they could only use war, the only way, to stop the continuation of the arms race.

In the report of the Spanish *Sun* newspaper interviewing citizens of Spain's two major cities, Madrid and Barcelona, it could be seen that a total of over a thousand citizens were randomly interviewed, among whom over 60% of Spaniards believed that the super war would break out within 1912, over 30% of Spaniards believed that the super war would break out in 1913, and only 10% of people believed that the super war might be delayed until 1914.

It was not just the Spanish public; most of the European public had such thoughts, and even governments of European countries generally believed that the peaceful state between France and Germany could only be maintained for at most two years.

Within the German and French governments, discussions about war plans were also being conducted.

War plans of various countries were not formulated after the war broke out, but had very detailed and meticulous offensive plans long before the war broke out.

Germany's offensive plan was formulated by the former Chief of the General Staff, Count Schlieffen, claiming that it could conquer Paris in eight weeks.

The content of the plan was also very simple: Count Schlieffen boldly guessed that France would use its main force in the direction of Alsace and Lorraine; these two regions were seized by Germany after the Franco-Prussian War, and the main hatred between France and Germany was also concentrated in these two regions.

Under the premise that France mainly attacked in the direction of Alsace and Lorraine, Germany only needed to use two or three armies to defend in this direction, concentrating the remaining majority of its forces on the right wing, passing through the Low Countries, to achieve the goal of quickly conquering Paris.

In this way, the German army could not only bypass the main offensive direction of the French army but also threaten the flank of the French army in turn.

Once the news that Paris had been conquered reached the interior of the French army, the French army would inevitably disintegrate instantly, just like in the former Franco-Prussian War.

Because this offensive plan was formulated by Count Schlieffen, the offensive plan was also called the Schlieffen Plan. Although Count Schlieffen had passed away, because the one who took over as the German Chief of the General Staff was his former assistant, Moltke the Younger, the Schlieffen Plan was also continued to be used by the German General Staff as the number one plan for attacking France.

However, after all, the new German Chief of the General Staff had become Moltke the Younger; it was impossible to use the plan formulated by Schlieffen without any changes—wouldn't that make the new Chief of the General Staff, Moltke the Younger, look incompetent?

Under the insistence of Moltke the Younger, the German General Staff modified some details of the offensive plan, reducing the right wing, which originally possessed 85% of the forces on the western front, to 60% of the forces, concentrating the reduced 25% of the forces on the left wing.

Compared to the slightly crazy Schlieffen Plan, the modified offensive plan appeared much more conservative. Count Schlieffen concentrated the vast majority of Germany's forces on the western front, and concentrated the vast majority of the western front's forces on the right wing, while the forces in Alsace-Lorraine and the eastern front with Russia were extremely empty.

After the modification by Moltke the Younger, although the forces on the right wing of the western front were weakened, the forces on the left wing were also strengthened, ensuring that the western front still gathered the majority of Germany's troops.

If viewed from the perspective of later generations, such an adjustment caused Germany to lose the initiative. But for Germany at this time, it was perfectly normal for Moltke the Younger, as Chief of the General Staff, to make slight adjustments to the offensive plan.

Germany had no objections to the adjustment of the offensive plan; they firmly believed that the powerful German Imperial Army would conquer Paris in a short time, and the war would end at an extremely fast speed, just like the former Franco-Prussian War.

Within the German government, the dialogue between German Emperor Wilhelm II and the current Chancellor of the German Empire, Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg, had nothing to do with the modification of the offensive plan; the two were actually discussing the time for the war to break out.

"Your Majesty, the French government is already accelerating the expansion of its army. If there are no accidents, the war is very likely to break out this year," German Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg said to German Emperor Wilhelm II with a serious face.

The situation at hand for Germany and France was a situation where the arrow was on the bowstring and had to be fired.

Germany did not intend to start the war, but it had to face the risk of being actively declared war upon by France. Rather than saying Germany and France wanted to ignite a war, it was better to say that both sides had reached the edge of a cliff and needed to fight to the death regardless, otherwise they would both perish.

"The General Staff has already finished modifying the offensive plan. If we must fight France, then I think now is the time," German Emperor Wilhelm II tilted his body slightly, hiding his congenitally atrophied left arm, tapped the table with his right hand, and said confidently.

The congenital physical defect made Wilhelm II sensitive and inferior, but under the premise of ascending the throne at a young age, Wilhelm II inevitably became somewhat arrogant and overbearing.

This also made Wilhelm II an extremely contradictory person. On one hand, he expressed the intention of being friendly with Britain by participating in British funerals twice (Queen Victoria, Edward VII), and on the other hand, he recklessly offended the British government and public through his own words.

Fortunately, the British Royal Family would not hold it against him because of Wilhelm II's slight words; the relationship between the British Royal Family and the German Imperial Family at this time was still relatively good.

On one hand, the current British Royal Family surname was still Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, which was a pure German surname.

On the other hand, Wilhelm II's mother, Princess Victoria, was the eldest daughter of Queen Victoria; there was a close marital relationship between the British Royal Family and the German Imperial Family.

It was these factors that created the good Anglo-German relationship. If it weren't for the fact that Germany in history frantically built a navy before World War I, making Britain feel threatened, Britain might not have chosen to help France, a country full of hatred and a mortal enemy.

"Your Majesty, should we consider the attitude of Britain and Spain? If Britain and Spain choose to intervene after the war breaks out, the situation is very likely to move in a more unfavorable direction for us," looking at the confident German Emperor Wilhelm II, German Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg said with some worry.

Regardless of how the strength of the Alliance and the Allied powers compared, as the Chancellor of the German Empire, Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg knew that Germany would definitely be the country under the greatest pressure after the war broke out.

Although Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire both needed to fight on two fronts, Germany faced France and Russia, two super powers. The Austro-Hungarian Empire only needed to face a part of the main force of the Russian army plus Serbia, a small country, and had the help of Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire, so the actual pressure was not great.

Especially on the western front, Germany needed to face the French army's offensive alone. Although France had already declined at this time, the German Empire was the most powerful country.

But the problem was, a lean camel is bigger than a horse; France was still recognized as the second-strongest land power in Europe, and Germany also needed to pay 100% caution when facing France.

What made Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg feel even more worried was that outside the two major military blocs, there were two other super powers eyeing the European situation.

As long as either Britain or Spain intervened in the European war, it could have an extremely unfavorable impact on Germany.

Precisely because of this, before the war officially broke out, it was necessary to ensure that Britain and Spain remained neutral simultaneously, or ensure that Germany could obtain support from one of them, so as to be invincible.

Hearing the inquiry from Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg, German Emperor Wilhelm II nodded, but without any worry, he smiled and replied: "We should thank the Spanish government. If it weren't for them proposing the Neutral Nations Treaty, I'm afraid we wouldn't have the full confidence to deal with the possibility of Britain and Spain intervening.

Now, under the situation where Britain and Spain have signed the Neutral Nations Treaty simultaneously, the possibility of them intervening in the European war has dropped to the lowest.

Of course, we cannot relax our vigilance because of this. Spain might not be wooed, but we can still strive for Britain.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs can contact the British government to ensure that Britain remains neutral if Spain does not intervene, and leans toward us if Spain intervenes.

If necessary, we can make concessions in terms of the navy. As long as we ensure that our war will not be interfered with by external factors, the German army will conquer Paris in a short time, and we might be able to hold a military parade outside the Palace of Versailles, declaring our strength to Europe."

Germany had great confidence in the war with France; the only thing they worried about was perhaps Britain's intervention.

The German government in history once tried to mediate its relationship with the British government, but the final result was minimal. However, they wrongly estimated Britain's choice; they originally thought Britain would remain neutral in the World War, but they did not expect Britain to stand directly on France's side. ===== CHAPTER 482 =====