Greece’s Roman Road

"Greek-Roman Road (!

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

Among them, the Bulgarian commander Ivanov committed suicide.

After the news reached Sofia, the Bulgarian King Ferdinand completely broke the last bit of fluke.

In just over a month after the war, the entire Bulgarian kingdom has changed from the original ambition to the panic it is now.

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

The status quo also seems to be as stated in the Bulgarian newspapers. The Bulgarian army will still be like the Bulgarian war in 1885 and the Balkan war that just ended a few months ago.

In the 1885 Bulgarian Serb War, the Bulgarian side defeated the Serbian invaders in the border battle with an absolutely weak force, and pushed it back to Serbia, not only successfully completing the goal of merging with Eastern Rumelia Province, but also establishing at the same time. Dignity and pride of the nascent Bulgarian Kingdom.

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

The newly independent Bulgarian Kingdom, which only took thirty years, can be restored to the territory of the heyday of the Bulgarian Kingdom in history, and has become the new overlord of the Balkans - the northernmost part of the kingdom to the lower reaches of the Danube, and the south to the Aegean Sea. , spanning the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, and successfully breaking through the shackles of the Bosphorus strait. With time, with the development of the economy, it will inevitably become a great power in the Balkans.

The successive 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 Bulgaria was defeated.

Unexpectedly, after this war, the front line was full of bad news. Bulgaria, which was eager to end the war in a short time, was not ready for a long-term war at all. After learning that the Greek army had built a complete fortification and relied on the defense line, it was completely unexpected. After the unexpected tactics, I panicked, because it was completely different from the Bulgarian military's assumption.

The current Bulgarian army has no chance of victory. King Ferdinand I contacted the Russian government, expressed a request for an armistice to Russia, and asked Russia to act as an intermediary to mediate the war.

Ferdinand and Prime Minister Gesuf (the Prime Minister of Bulgaria) probably resented the deception of the Allies (there was hardly any support for Bulgaria in the war), and turned their hands to Russia.

The Russian government saw that Bulgaria, the iron-clad younger brother of the Balkans in the past, was so miserably cleaned up by various countries after betraying itself.

Considering that the members of the German-Austrian Allies have attracted Bulgaria, in terms of national feelings, they are all Slavs, have similar cultures, all believe in the Orthodox Church, and they can even communicate directly with the language, as well as the role of Bulgaria’s geographical location on them. Naturally cheerful agreed to be the mediator.

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

After the Russo-Japanese War, Russia, as a European road roller, was completely defeated by the Japanese, causing the Russians to lose face and dignity in Europe.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, the whole of Europe became the center of the world, and its power reached its peak. Except for Europe and America, almost all other parts of the world were colonies of Europe!

Needless to say Africa, the Europeans held a Berlin conference in 1885. The diplomats held a map on the conference table and made a few gestures on the map with pens. You have South Africa and I have Kenya. The army does not use Africa. Go and divide it up directly!

First determine the ownership, and then send some troops, even if the European countries have determined the sovereignty of the African colonies.

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

It can be imagined that the Europeans at this time regarded places outside Europe as wild places.

In the eyes of Europeans, all races except white people are uncivilized indigenous people, ignorant, feudal and backward.

In the Russo-Japanese War in 1905, the Russians lost to Japan in East Asia. In the eyes of Europeans at the time, it was like Italy's defeat to Ethiopia's black uncle, which was incredible!

Upset!

Therefore, after the Russo-Japanese War, Russia lost a lot of face internationally. At the same time, due to the consumption of the Russo-Japanese War, domestic contradictions intensified, which triggered popular unrest and caused a sharp decline in Russia's strength.

It was also at this time that Bulgaria, the original Russian hard-core brother, turned against Russia.

You must know that 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 could not even beat the Japanese. What qualifications did it have to be Bulgaria's big brother? Can you cover it? Naturally, it is no longer as obedient to Russia 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 the entrusted Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1908, the Ottoman Empire made a revolution in 1908 (Turkish Youth Party), Russia was hit hard in the Russo-Japanese War, and the Balkans were two influential empires. , have no time to take into account, the Austro-Hungarian Empire directly annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina.

You know, Bosnia and Herzegovina are all Slavs.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Russia held two trump cards, Orthodox Christianity and Slavic nationalism, echoing in Eastern Europe, the Balkans and the Ottoman Empire.

Russia advocated pan-Slavism on the Black Sea coast while waving the flag of the Orthodox Church. The two neighboring empires, the Austro-Hungarian Empire (ruled by many Slavs) and the Ottoman Empire (ruled by a large number of Orthodox Christians), were deeply Its bitter.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Ottoman Empire were both multi-ethnic empires that were going downhill, and their national power was gradually declining. Wang Xiaoer celebrated the New Year, and the year was not as good as the year, and the Russians could not help but fan the flames and stare at them.

There were a large number of Slavs under the Austro-Hungarian Empire, like Poles, Ukrainians, Czechs, Bosniaks, Croatians, all of them were Slavs.

If the Russians tried so hard to promote Pan-Slavism, if they were to succeed, the Austro-Hungarian Empire would be 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 population of the Ottoman Empire.

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

From all indications, the Russian tsars fit these conditions very well.

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

(From this point of view, it does make sense that Russia sees itself as the successor of the Roman Empire.)

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

If it weren't for Russia's poor performance in Japan and Russia, how could Austria-Hungary, an empire ridiculed as "ragdoll imperialism", have the courage to annex the Bosnia and Herzegovina region where a large number of Slavs live.

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 former influence in the Balkans.

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

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

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

Moreover, the two countries belong to the same Orthodox country.

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 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, the battle was defeated. The Greek royal family faced the risk of losing the throne and was punished by the Greek population.

The Greeks who lost the war should make the royal family responsible for the defeat, overthrow the royal family and establish a republic, while Tsarist Russia, taking into account the relationship with Queen Olga, gave the Greek royal family diplomatic support.

Also on the afternoon of July 12, Prime Minister Venizelos was visited by the Russian ambassador, who made it clear that Russia wanted to mediate the war between Bulgaria and Greece.

Athens Ministry of Defense Building

"Everyone, how should we respond to the Russians' request for mediation?" Constantine asked the Greek military and political leaders.

"Negotiations must be negotiated, but it will take some time for the Macedonian Legion to fully achieve the predetermined goals of this war," Chief of General Staff Emanuel responded.

For the current Greece, the most important thing is to completely occupy the territory of Bulgaria's Aegean coast and curb Bulgaria's development.

It's just that the Macedonian Legion has just completed the encirclement and annihilation of the Ivanov Legion. It has been fighting for more than ten days. The legion is already exhausted.

After the surrender of the Ivanov Corps, the entire regiment was almost relaxed, and is now stationed in Kavala, although the regiment commander Manu Giananaski did not order repairs, but after the fierce battle, everyone relaxed.

And Bulgaria's territory on the Aegean coast, as well as Western Thrace.

Alexandroupolis, the capital of Western Thrace, is more than 100 kilometers away from Kavala.

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

If it cannot occupy here, then Greece will be bankrupt by depriving Bulgaria of seaports for the purpose of containing Bulgaria.

This is also where the Bulgarians are cunning. They originally thought that after Ivanov's army withdrew to Kavala, they would take the defensive and firmly guard the station in Kavala, and then ask the foreign powers for mediation. Walla is still in the hands of the Bulgarian army, so the Bulgarian side can still keep Kavala, an important Aegean estuary.

It's just that the tactics of the Macedonian Legion exceeded the expectations of the Bulgarian high-level officials.

The Bulgarian army asked for an armistice at this time, just to take advantage of the flawless scruples of the Greek army and retain Western Thrace.

Without the actual occupation of the army, it is conceivable that in the next negotiation, Greece will basically be opposed by various countries if it wants to claim Western Thrace.

After the victory of this war, Greece's comprehensive strength has already ranked first among the Balkan countries, with great prestige. Naturally, the major powers want to balance the national strength in the Balkans, and do not want to see Greece's dominance in the Balkans.

In the negotiation, we must favor the weaker Bulgaria, while suppressing the flourishing Greece.

Moreover, it is unlikely that the territory that is not obtained on the battlefield will be obtained at the negotiating table.

Thinking of this, Constantine also had a headache.

"His Royal Highness, no one is more suitable for such a task than our navy," said Kontoriotis, commander of the Greek Navy.

"Our navy's warships are now patrolling the Aegean Sea, not far from Alexandroupolis, the capital of Western Thrace. As long as our navy carries some marines, it will be..."

Before Commander Cantoriotis could finish speaking, the Minister of Armament Ioannis interrupted him: "According to the information returned by our intelligence personnel, although there is no main Bulgarian army stationed in Alexandroupolis, it is It’s not that there are no soldiers to defend it, after all, it is also a port, and the Bulgarian side still attaches great importance to it.”

"No matter how powerful your navy's warship is, it can't go ashore after all."

"Relying on the Marine Corps alone, I am afraid it is not the opponent of the small Bulgarian defenders. Your navy should not get involved."

"After all, the Marine Corps is not a professional Marine Corps, and the number of marines is not large. If they are forced to dispatch in a hurry, I am afraid that there will be heavy casualties."

Just kidding, the army spent so much effort~www.wuxiax.com~ finally won the war and successfully surrounded and wiped out the main army of the enemy's Kavala side.

The navy was just doing nothing from start to finish, contributing almost nothing except a few shellings along the Aegean coast.

After the battle is over, the navy will directly take action, want to harvest the fruits of victory, and directly send warships to receive the spoils?

I thought it was beautiful.

The Bulgarian navy is very weak, with only a few torpedo boats, so after the war, the Greek navy was only responsible for patrolling the Aegean Sea and hardly participated in the war.

As soon as Cantoriotis, the commander of the navy, spoke, the Minister of Armament Giannis became anxious.

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