Chapter 147
Chapter 147
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 147
Chapter Title: Balkan War (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Exactly one month had passed since the end of the First Balkan War.
And at the same time, Bulgaria declared war on Serbia, igniting the Second Balkan War.
Despite the heavy losses from the First Balkan War, Bulgaria mobilized around 600,000 troops once more, burning with ambition to crush Serbia and seize hegemony over the Balkans.
In response, Serbia, as if it had been waiting, assembled about 350,000 soldiers—100,000 more than in the previous war—to stand against Bulgaria.
Serbia was furious over Bulgaria's sloppy conduct during the Edirne siege and its greedy attempt to swallow all of northern Macedonia alone.
Bulgaria, for its part, resented that it had shed the most blood in the war against the Ottomans, yet Serbia not only failed to honor their agreements but sought to gobble up all the valuable territories.
Thus, the two Balkan nations, who had once allied and sworn to strike the Ottomans together on the same day, became mortal enemies vowing to die if they couldn't kill the other, clashing on the battlefield.
However, with Bulgaria's forces nearly twice Serbia's in size, a straightforward contest of strength favored Bulgaria heavily.
Bulgaria smirked inwardly, anticipating an easy victory, but Serbia wasn't foolish enough to face the mad Prussian of the Balkans alone with inferior numbers.
Montenegro, Serbia's second company, had already committed to fighting Bulgaria alongside it.
Now, the Serbian government's gaze turned southward.
"Prime Minister Venizelos, join us Serbs in delivering true justice to that conscienceless Bulgaria!"
"Hmmm... It's not a pleasant feeling to turn our guns on a former ally, but there's no helping it. Greece will join the war against greater Bulgaria as Serbia's ally."
"Oh! Much obliged."
"But this isn't because we covet Bulgarian territory. Greece simply couldn't stand by and watch Bulgaria betray the Balkan League's honor and stab its old allies in the back."
Serbia had lured Greece into the fight against Bulgaria using the bait of territories it had occupied.
Venizelos declared war on Bulgaria, his entire demeanor screaming that they had no desire to fight but were forced into it by Serbia.
Of course, inwardly, he shoved all the blame onto Serbia while grinning wickedly at the thought of leisurely expanding Greek territory unscathed.
With Greece and Montenegro joining against Bulgaria, Romania—which had quietly observed from the fringes of the Balkan Peninsula—began to stir its heavy haunches.
"Bulgaria has finally reverted to its old habits and stirred up trouble."
"For Romania, this is the perfect chance to seize southern Dobruja, which Bulgaria occupies."
"Indeed, for Romania's national interests, it's unavoidable. Bulgaria won't call us cowards for this."
During the Balkan Wars, Romania had sat quietly munching popcorn amid the neighbor's commotion.
And rightly so—for Romania, which shared no border with the Ottoman Empire, joining the Balkan League for the war against the Ottomans offered no gains.
But Bulgaria, right below Romania, was different.
Bulgaria held southern Dobruja, which Romania had long coveted.
"Romaniaaaaaa, you cowardly bastards—!!"
Without a second's hesitation, Romania declared war on Bulgaria.
Naturally, Bulgaria's shock at being backstabbed by the suddenly silent Romania defied full description.
"This is our chance to avenge the humiliations of the Balkan Wars. We must attack Bulgaria immediately!"
"Enver Pasha, the war just ended not long ago..."
"We'll endure that much. Are we to let this golden opportunity to reclaim Edirne and eastern Thrace slip away?!"
Bulgaria's misfortune didn't end there.
As successive Balkan states declared war and the tide turned against it, the Ottoman Empire—which had lost Edirne and vast territories to Bulgaria in the First Balkan War—began to move again.
Ismail Enver, who had boldly staged a coup to counter the Balkan League but ultimately failed to alter the empire's fate and tasted defeat, now cried for war once more, launching an offensive against Bulgaria.
Of course, allying with Serbia and Greece—more despised than even Russia—left a bitter taste, but sometimes national interest must trump old grudges.
This time, unlike the First Balkan War, the goddess of victory waved to the Ottomans.
No matter how mighty Bulgaria, the Balkan powerhouse, it couldn't handle Serbia, Montenegro, and Greece while fending off rear attacks from Romania and the Ottoman Empire.
This pitted every Balkan state except the newly independent Albania—fresh from the First War—against Bulgaria.
A 2-vs-1 might be manageable, but expecting victory against a 5-vs-1 as a non-great power was absurd.
Not even an Earth author obsessed with plot twists would ignore that much plausibility.
Moreover, Russia—the once-stalwart patron—had turned its back on Bulgaria.
Honestly, after Bulgaria threatened war over Constantinople despite Russia's warnings, then shattered the Balkan League and ruined Russia's long-cherished grand design, forgiveness would mean it wasn't Russia anymore.
Thus, Bulgaria plunged into the nightmare of not a double but a quintuple front, its First War heroics paling as it suffered defeat after defeat.
Struggling against just Serbia, it suffered counterattacks from Greece, losing territory in turn; Romania crossed the Danube to threaten the capital Sofia; and the Ottomans recaptured Edirne, advancing into southern Bulgaria.
All this unfolded in less than a month since the Second Balkan War's outbreak.
Bulgaria now had only one choice left.
"We... will make peace."
Bulgaria ultimately bowed its head to the anti-Bulgaria coalition led by Serbia.
Its heart boiled with reverse-flowing blood, but continuing meant it might end up divided into five.
Sacrifice comes after survival, after all.
And so, in February 1913, the Treaty of Bucharest was signed in Romania's capital, bringing an end to the Second Balkan War that had once again rocked the Balkans.
As a result, Bulgaria lost all territories gained in the First War and had to cede southern Dobruja to Romania as well.
"What about Greece?"
"We'll take just the coastal areas of western Thrace. Taking too much territory would be too harsh on Bulgaria."
Meanwhile, Greece—long a faithful servant of Germany and Britain—abandoned Macedonia per Hans's orders not to provoke Bulgaria excessively, playing the benevolent victim to the end.
"At least Greece is better than those Serbian bastards."
"Indeed. It's disappointing that our Mediterranean outlet slipped away again, but we might preserve the rest..."
This spared Bulgaria a slight sigh of relief, but only briefly.
"Is that so? Then Serbia will take all of Macedonia."
Because the tactless Serbs snatched even the territories originally meant for Greece.
This deepened Bulgaria's rage toward Serbia, while Greece scratched its head in gratitude for Serbia playing the perfect villain.
Thus, the Balkan Wars came to an end.
Yet no one dared say the Balkans had regained peace.
The two wars hadn't brought harmony but only amplified discord and tensions among the Balkan states.
Of course, the Russian Empire had the most reason to weep.
Its plan to check Austria-Hungary via the Balkan League and bring the entire peninsula under Russian influence lay in tatters. Now, the only state left with real sway in the Balkans was Serbia.
Bulgaria, once aided to independence, had blundered catastrophically, escaping Russian influence and approaching Germany with a vow to kill Serbia at any cost. Montenegro was Serbia's sidekick, and Greece had been a German-British spy from the start.
Romania leaned pro-Russian but was geopolitically ill-suited for Russian designs on the Balkans.
Thus, the Russian Empire was trapped betting everything on Serbian coins.
This would lead to Russia's downfall, but unfortunately, it remained oblivious.
"Now, only the Sarajevo incident remains."
I murmured to myself in the empty office, staring at the world map, then closed my eyes and reflected on everything I'd done so far.
All preparations were complete.
The German Empire had forged an alliance against the Russo-Bulgarian pact, drawing in not just Austria-Hungary but also Britain, Greece, and Bulgaria.
For simplicity, let's call our side the Entente Powers and the Russo-Bulgarian alliance the Central Powers from now on.
Hmm, names that already scream world war victory.
The one regret was failing to prevent Italy's likely defection from the Triple Alliance, but that was within expectations.
Even if Italy sided with France, it'd probably just hole up against Austria-Hungary at the Isonzo.
"America will probably stay neutral in Europe's war like in original history, barring any sudden shifts."
Unless Woodrow Wilson flipped to a hegemonic imperialist like Theodore Roosevelt overnight, it was certain.
Besides, America's entry into World War I stemmed from German blunders like unrestricted submarine warfare and the Zimmermann Telegram.
And America's neutrality would lean toward our Entente anyway.
Like a wayward son who still harbors some filial piety and can't forget his mother— with Britain on our side, the WASPs dominant in U.S. politics would favor the Entente.
'Plus, German-Americans hold the second-largest share in U.S. society after the British-descended.'
Though German-Americans, like the Dutch-descended, assimilated quickly into Anglo culture, making ethnic distinctions nearly meaningless.
"Anyway, diplomacy is smooth, tanks entered production late last year, air force is advancing steadily, Moltke's been replaced with Falkenhayn as Chief of Staff, and the deception ops against France are going well."
No way they'd screw this up after I grabbed them by the collar and set it all up.
'If they lose the world war after all this, they're not human—they're subhuman.'
I still believed our Prussian soldier uncles had human-level strategies, unlike Hitler's.
If they disappointed me, who knows what I'd do.
"Foreign Minister! Big—huge trouble—!"
As I savored my iced Americano leisurely, my ashen-faced secretary burst in without knocking.
"What's all this commotion? Did someone die?"
"Yes! Something happened in Sarajevo!"
Drip—
What had I just heard?
I stared blankly at the secretary, unable to even swallow the Americano in my mouth.
"An assassination?"
"Whew, yes. A Serbian extremist in Sarajevo targeted Archduke Franz..."
The secretary tried to speak, but his words didn't register.
I steadied my pounding heart and turned to the calendar on the wall.
It clearly read June 23, 1913.
Too fast.
With the Balkan Wars accelerated, Sarajevo had no reason not to be, but this was ridiculously early.
'Whew, calm down, Hans. Everything's done. Nothing changes.'
"I must see His Majesty immediately. The world will shake. The death of Archduke Franz Ferdinand is no small matter."
"Pardon? Archduke Franz Ferdinand is alive."
"???"
What now?
"No, you just said Franz was assassinated..."
"The one assassinated in Sarajevo wasn't Archduke Franz Ferdinand. It was Emperor Franz Joseph!"
"?????"
No, that Franz wasn't that Franz...