Chapter 141
Chapter 141
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 141
Chapter Title: The Road to War (2)
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"Helmuth, you've worked hard fulfilling your duties as Chief of the General Staff all this time. From now on, continue assisting me as the Prussian War Minister."
"Yes, Your Majesty. I will continue to repay your trust in me."
A short while later.
Wilhelm II appointed Moltke as Prussian War Minister, replacing him as Chief of the General Staff.
And surprisingly, Moltke accepted it without any resistance.
After all, the Kaiser wasn't casting him out, and it was true that his health wasn't the best.
'He even looks relieved. Maybe even Moltke himself felt a huge burden trying to live up to his great-uncle's legacy.'
Moltke might have had a fragile mentality, but at least he knew his own limits.
In the original history, right before World War I broke out, when the furious Kaiser berated him for his incompetence, he had teared up, insisting he'd never once thought himself superior to his uncle the Elder Moltke.
He knew better than anyone that he lacked his uncle's talents, so the expectations from others for him to perform at that level must have been a tremendous torment.
In any case, once Moltke stepped down as Chief of the General Staff, Wilhelm II called me and Chancellor von Bülow to begin searching for his successor.
"What about General Mackensen?"
Chancellor von Bülow was the first to speak.
He recommended August von Mackensen, the "Last Hussar."
Though he had a dark mark later in life—opposing the Nazis only to accept land as a bribe from Hitler (which originally belonged to the imperial family, making Wilhelm II tremble with betrayal)—his abilities made him one of the great commanders.
Especially during World War I, alongside his eternal partner, Chief of Staff "Sphinx" Hans von Seeckt, he racked up victories on the Eastern Front and in Romania.
But the Kaiser's face soured.
"Hm, Mackensen's talents are outstanding, and I trust him too. But you can't keep a thoroughbred locked in a stable. He's suited for dashing across battlefields, not the General Staff headquarters."
"Then what about Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg...?"
"He retired this March."
"Ah, right."
Chancellor von Bülow clicked his tongue as if he'd forgotten.
Of course, I would've opposed even if he hadn't retired.
The issue wasn't his hawkish militarism.
In an empire where finding a general without militarist leanings was harder than finding a needle in a haystack, fussing over that would make governing impossible.
But Hindenburg was the main spreader of the stab-in-the-back myth, and as Weimar President, he handed power to Hitler, shattering German democracy—not to mention his age made him stubborn, clashing with me inevitably.
Ludendorff, his sidekick, was young enough for me to keep on a leash, so he'd do as long as he didn't turn hostile like Waldersee.
He'd be a headache in a different way from Moltke, with whom I'd at least maintained decent relations.
"So, Hans, who do you think would be good?"
Wilhelm II, clearly unimpressed with Hindenburg too, turned to me without further comment.
"What about Colonel-General Falkenhayn?"
I brought up Falkenhayn, whom I'd long had in mind as a candidate.
(He was originally set to become colonel-general only next year, but thanks to my pushing through Schlieffen, he'd pinned on the rank late last year.)
"Falkenhayn... That's a fine idea."
The Kaiser, who favored Falkenhayn more than anyone, smiled with approval.
But Chancellor von Bülow looked concerned.
"Your Majesty, setting aside General Falkenhayn's abilities, appointing a colonel-general as Chief of the General Staff seems a bit much, doesn't it?"
He wasn't wrong.
Who appoints a colonel-general to the army's top post?
The generals themselves wouldn't stand for it.
Von Bülow's point was reasonable on the surface, but let's not forget: this was the German Empire, and its emperor was Wilhelm II.
"Can't we just promote him to lieutenant general? Moltke was a lieutenant general when appointed, after all."
Von Bülow shot me a 'Is this for real?' look at the Kaiser's words.
I shook my head as if to say give up.
After all, in the original history, Wilhelm II had appointed the then-colonel-general Falkenhayn as War Minister—what amounted to defense minister—and the next year after war broke out, sacked Moltke and made him Chief of the General Staff.
As I've said before, our dear father-in-law pushes hard for his favorites.
Clap!
"Then it's decided. Hans, go fetch Falkenhayn."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
I bowed my head slightly in response.
And so, the next Chief of the General Staff of the German Empire was chosen.
"Congratulations on your appointment as Chief of the General Staff, General Falkenhayn."
"I've been given a heavy responsibility; my shoulders feel the weight."
The Kaiser's actions were swift.
Less than two weeks after Moltke's departure, Falkenhayn was promoted to lieutenant general and officially appointed Army Chief of the General Staff.
Of course, the older generals who'd secretly hoped for the post grumbled at the youngest-ever appointee, but the Kaiser appointing yes-men to suit his taste wasn't new, so their complaints fizzled out as usual.
"By the way, I read the report you wrote, Your Excellency."
"Is that so?"
"Personally, I agree there's sufficient possibility of a world war. I'm not yet sure if it'll erupt so soon, but I'll keep it in mind."
Falkenhayn continued in his usual stiff tone.
This man had talent, but his personality was like George V—zero charisma or popularity.
Reportedly, the only one who liked him was Conrad von Hötzendorf of Austria-Hungary, who'd just been ousted as Chief of Staff after clashing with Foreign Minister Aehrenthal over preemptive strikes on Serbia and Italy.
'For now, it'll be fine, but once war breaks out, this flaw will likely hobble him.'
Perhaps he'd fail to hold the post long, like in the original history.
Of course, I was already grooming a replacement in Ludendorff, so no worries.
"Within the military, many are voicing opinions on preparing for the coming great war. Especially Colonel Hutter, the senior staff officer of the General Staff, and a few others, advocating infiltration tactics using submachine guns and dedicated infiltration units..."
"My apologies. Foreign Minister, the 'guest' you mentioned is about to arrive."
As Falkenhayn rambled on about his pet topics, a Foreign Office subordinate whispered in my ear while I pondered.
I smiled apologetically at Falkenhayn.
"Sorry, General. I got so absorbed in your words that I completely forgot about my prior engagement."
"Ah, no problem. You're a busy man; it's understandable."
I excused myself from Falkenhayn and hurried to the Foreign Office.
The guest I was about to meet was, in a certain sense, more important than Falkenhayn.
"Where's the guest?"
"Waiting inside."
I nodded at my secretary's words, knocked a couple times, and entered.
There sat a middle-aged man with a rugged mustache, scowling at me.
His name: Józef Piłsudski.
Poland's independence hero and founding father of the Second Polish Republic.
And the newest chess piece in my plan to reshape World War I and its aftermath in Germany's favor.
"Pleased to meet you, General Piłsudski. I've long heard of your name and reputation."
"Spare me the flattery, Foreign Minister Hans von Choi."
Piłsudski replied curtly, his face as grumpy as it had been the whole way to the Foreign Office, ignoring Hans's beaming smile.
"I'm here because you said you wanted close talks about me and Poland."
"You sound utterly skeptical."
"If you were in my shoes, would you trust you?"
Piłsudski's sarcasm had merit.
For Piłsudski to trust Hans, Prussia and its successor, the German Empire, had spent over a century post-partition mistreating Poland and Poles.
Sure, Poles hated their blood enemy Russia most, but Germany, who partitioned Poland alongside them, had oppressed Poles just as harshly.
Especially, during the 1848 Greater Poland Uprising, Prussia crushed it militarily, annexed Posen (today's Poznań), and imprisoned and tortured countless Poles.
And the German Empire was actively Germanizing former Polish territories, flooding them with German settlers to dilute Polish influence.
Piłsudski's resentment toward the German Empire was inevitable, and Hans knew it—so he just gave a wry, bitter smile without denying it.
"I understand your attitude, General. And your distrust. But my proposal will greatly benefit you and Poland."
"Ha, benefit. That includes the German Empire, of course."
"Yes, I prefer both sides gaining, even if it means some concessions, over one losing."
With that, Hans extended a hand, inviting the still-skeptical Piłsudski to sit.
After a brief hesitation, Piłsudski sighed and sat.
He hadn't come without intending to hear Hans out, despite his doubts.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have come to Berlin.
In this situation, he and the Poles were the desperate ones.
"First, what do you make of Europe's current state, General?"
"Peace itself."
Of course, their kind of peace.
Piłsudski added that mentally, thinking of Poland suffering under Russian oppression while the great powers enjoyed good times.
"Yes. It's been peaceful, despite a few shakes. But how long will that last?"
"...What are you getting at?"
"You already know, don't you, General? War is approaching Europe. That's why you're raising Polish independence forces in Austria-Hungary, hoping to seize independence in the coming great war, right?"
"..."
Piłsudski answered Hans's pointed words with silence.
Indeed, Piłsudski was one who foresaw war among Europe's great powers, believing Poland needed an army for independence.
In 1906, with Austria-Hungary's tacit approval, he formed a paramilitary group, reorganized in 1908 as the Union of Active Struggle (Związek Walki Czynnej, ZWC), which later evolved into the Polish Legions and the new Polish Army.
(Some might wonder why Piłsudski collaborated with Austria-Hungary, one of the partitioners alongside Russia and Prussia. It wasn't for any special reason—Austria-Hungary was Russia's enemy and the least harsh toward Poles among the three, though their goodwill came with the aim of using Poles to check Russia.)
"Rest assured. Neither I nor the German Empire intends to sabotage your or the Poles' independence movement. If anything, we're closer to cheering it on."
At Hans's follow-up, Piłsudski raised one bushy eyebrow like his mustache, as if asking what he wanted.
Hans smiled warmly.
"Take the German Empire's hand. Then we'll deliver the Polish independence you and your people so desire."