Chapter 490: Changing Commanders Before the Battle

Setting aside the minor incident of gas warfare, the situation on the Western Front remains quite tense. After the failure of the Battle of the Marne, the German army was unwilling to accept the failure of the Schlieffen Plan and instead committed even more troops to launch an offensive against Paris.

The French army is not to be trifled with either; they possess sufficient determination to defend Paris and have erupted into fierce combat with the German army between the Marne and the Ainahe.

While the German army was still launching offensives on the front lines, a quarrel broke out within the German High Command in the rear.

The then-Chief of the German General Staff, Moltke the Younger, sought an audience with Kaiser Wilhelm II after the Battle of the Marne concluded, bringing with him bad news: the complete failure of the Schlieffen Plan.

The original intent of the Schlieffen Plan was to rapidly organize an army of over a million to capture Paris before the French could mobilize, thereby forcing France to surrender quickly.

Yet now, not only is Paris safe, but the German army has suffered a defeat at the Marne; the First Army has sustained heavy losses, and the Second and Third Armies have also suffered massive casualties.

Under these circumstances, the Schlieffen Plan has completely collapsed, and the German High Command's plan for a lightning war has essentially fallen through.

As the Chief of the General Staff of the German Army, Moltke the Younger certainly understands what the collapse of the Schlieffen Plan signifies. Germany is currently fighting a two-front war; once the dream of a quick victory vanishes, Germany will have to bear the immense pressure of a two-front war alone, and the final result seems to be nothing but defeat.

Although Moltke the Younger is unwilling to admit it, the current outcome of the war has bloodily demonstrated a fact: his modifications to the Schlieffen Plan were entirely wrong.

Because Moltke the Younger reduced the number of troops in the Low Countries, the mere three German armies were simply unable to capture the French capital of Paris in a short time.

If there had been even a few more German troops in the Belgian region, even just one more army, the result likely would not be as it is now.

Precisely because he knows it was his own redeployments that led to the failure of the war on the front, Moltke the Younger is pale-faced; he traveled to the palace with extreme reluctance to see Wilhelm II and deliver the news that the Schlieffen Plan had failed.

How could Kaiser Wilhelm II accept such an outcome? Upon hearing that the Schlieffen Plan had collapsed and that Germany was forced into a war of attrition, Wilhelm II angrily questioned: "My Chief of Staff, please tell me why the Schlieffen Plan failed?"

Hearing Wilhelm II's inquiry, Chief of the General Staff Moltke the Younger had a complex expression; he could hardly tell the Kaiser directly that the failure of the Schlieffen Plan was entirely his own fault, could he?

Although the current result is what it is, when the Schlieffen Plan was modified, there were not many people in the German military and High Command who opposed it.

Now, although it has been confirmed that modifying the plan was a mistake, Moltke the Younger does not feel that he should be the one to take the blame.

This was merely a normal strategic misjudgment; could it be that others would not make mistakes?

Watching the complex-faced, silent Moltke the Younger, how could Kaiser Wilhelm II not understand his thoughts?

For Wilhelm II, he absolutely cannot accept the failure of the war, much less the collapse of the Schlieffen Plan, because this would shake the morale of the German military to a great degree.

Seeing that Moltke the Younger was unwilling to take responsibility, Wilhelm II said angrily: "My Chief of Staff, please tell me, under your command, does our Western Front still have any chance of victory?"

Even if we fight to the last man, we must never accept the outcome of a German defeat. If you cannot lead the armies on the Western Front to victory, then leave the position of Chief of the General Staff to someone more capable."

Wilhelm II's words were already an open ultimatum; in the current situation, it was essentially a forced order for Moltke the Younger to resign.

Moltke the Younger certainly knew that he could not lead the Western Front armies to victory. Having now lost the trust of Kaiser Wilhelm II, there was naturally no need to continue clinging to the position of Chief of the General Staff.

Consequently, the next day, German Chief of the General Staff Moltke the Younger resigned to Wilhelm II citing poor health. Wilhelm II quickly agreed to Moltke the Younger's resignation request and immediately appointed Minister of War Falkenhayn as the new German Chief of the General Staff.

The change in the candidate for Chief of the General Staff caused quite a stir within the German military. Many high-ranking military officials did not expect that Moltke the Younger, who had been deeply trusted by Kaiser Wilhelm II, would step down so quickly.

What was even more unexpected was that Wilhelm II agreed to Moltke the Younger's resignation request almost instantly, as if without a moment's hesitation.

Compared to Moltke the Younger, who became famous thanks to his uncle, Field Marshal Moltke, the current Chief of the General Staff, Falkenhayn, does not have such a high status within the German military.

Falkenhayn was born in 1861 and is only 52 years old this year, which is relatively young among the high-ranking military brass.

More importantly, despite Falkenhayn being promoted to the rank of General in the German Army due to his appointment as Chief of the General Staff, he was merely an ordinary Major in Germany just ten years ago in 1903.

It took only ten years to go from Major to Major General, then he was quickly promoted to Lieutenant General after the outbreak of World War I, and then, because he was appointed by Kaiser Wilhelm II as the Chief of the General Staff of the German Army, he was promoted again to the rank of General.

Falkenhayn's speed of promotion during this period can certainly be called fast; he could even be called the officer with the fastest rank promotion within the German military.

This is equivalent to Falkenhayn taking only ten years to go from Major to General, leaping from an inconspicuous low-to-mid-level military officer to the top of the military, where he can decide the strategic plans of the German army.

The reason for Falkenhayn's rapid promotion actually has little to do with his ability. If one were to open Falkenhayn's resume, one would find that he did not participate in any important battles; from joining the army until his promotion to Major in 1903, he relied basically on seniority for his promotions.

As time reached the 20th century, the intensifying conflict between the two major military blocs led Germany to accelerate its preparations for war.

Falkenhayn also officially entered the eyes of Kaiser Wilhelm II and was rapidly promoted within the last ten years, counting as a confidant of Kaiser Wilhelm II in the military.

The reason for appointing Falkenhayn as the new German Chief of the General Staff was actually a power balance by Kaiser Wilhelm II.

With the collapse of the Schlieffen Plan, the German military has split into two factions.

One faction is led by the original supporters of the Schlieffen Plan; they still support concentrating forces to attack France, looking for opportunities to complete the Schlieffen Plan once again.

Another group of officers believes that since the Western Front can no longer achieve significant results, it would be better to focus their energy on the Eastern Front.

The Russian army on the Eastern Front is weak and incompetent; if they could achieve significant results on the Eastern Front and force Russia to surrender, Germany could refocus its energy to deal with France.

Because Germany concentrated most of its troops on the Western Front, there are more officers who support the former. But after the collapse of the Schlieffen Plan, the officers on the Eastern Front also began to make their voices heard; they hope that Germany can put more energy into the Eastern Front, as doing so would also allow them to earn more military merit.