The Rise of the Empire

"There are so many people here today. It seems that this time it is really going to be serious." When Ruprecht stepped into the gate of Sanssouci Palace again, the prince also secretly thought about the lineup of this meeting. Speechless. Prior to this, although the prince communicated with high-level German officials, the scope of communication was not very large, and more of them communicated with the emperor in a private capacity. But this time was different. All the major states and the Prussian military high-level officials came. This was an official occasion. Every sentence and every decision had to be laid out, recorded, and then implemented.

The prince who had already taken his seat began to observe other people in the venue. He was sitting on the left hand side of the Kaiser. Opposite him was the German Crown Prince Wilhelm, who was the representative of the second largest state in Germany, sitting in the first row on the right hand side. .

In the second row on the left is Duke Albert of Württemberg. He represents the Kingdom of Württemberg. And is the commander-in-chief of the German Fourth Army in history, responsible for the army of the Kingdom of Württemberg. On the right hand side of the second row is a representative of the Saxon royal family. The prince is not very familiar with this person.

The representatives of the four kingdoms are in the front, and the military representatives are in the back. As the chief of the Prussian general staff, Mao Qi sits on the left hand side of the third row. He is the maker and implementer of the Prussian war plan. On the opposite side is Tirpitz, Minister of State for the Navy, who represents the German Navy.

In the fourth row on the left is the Prussian Minister of War, General Herlingen. He was also later commander of the Prussian Seventh Army. On the right is Admiral von Pohl, commander of the German High Seas Fleet. The two were from the first line of the army and navy respectively. Among them, General Herlingen was historically the commander of the German Seventh Army.

"Everyone, do you know the reason why I summoned you here? Just yesterday, the Russians broke their alliance with the German Empire. They threw away the Treaty of the Three Emperors Alliance like a rag and invested The arms of Britain and France. At this point, a noose that strangles the German Empire has been put around our necks. We have no choice but to fight against this situation! Therefore, starting today, we must prepare for this war ’” The Kaiser’s opening remarks set the tone for the entire meeting.

This meeting is definitely not for everyone to discuss, it is more like everyone discussed it, and then announced the prepared plan to the public and implemented it. Before the meeting, there was a meeting in Germany on the allocation of various rights. , The prince didn't participate much, **** can feel that the Kaiser attaches great importance to core rights, even if he has a good personal relationship with him, the Kaiser still wants to exclude himself from the highest level at this critical moment.

"In the eyes of the Kaiser, I can serve as the commander of an army group or front army, but my position in the general staff is still at the back!" The prince said in his heart.

"First of all, I need to emphasize that the size of the German Imperial Army is still too small to meet the needs of future wars. Once, General Herlingen was reluctant to expand the army because he was worried about the decline in the proportion of nobles among officers, but now, I think In other words, compared with the danger of defeat, the decline in the proportion of nobles can still be tolerated. Therefore, in the future, the German Empire must establish an imperial army system based on the establishment of 9 army groups. At the beginning of the war, we must be able to mobilize more than 1.8 million troops. Army! Among them, seven group armies will be concentrated on the eastern front, while the other two group armies will be used to guard the eastern border and support the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The specific expansion plan and establishment will be in charge of the Prussian chief of staff, Mao Qichu.”

"Secondly, the Imperial Navy may need to expand. The current fleet size is not enough to pressure the British Royal Navy, nor is it sufficient to ensure the safety of the German Empire's coastal waters and the completion of the task of controlling the Baltic Sea.

In the future, the size of the fleet will need to be expanded, and Tirpitz and Ruprecht will be responsible for the specific shipbuilding plan and naval strategy and tactics. "The army is the foundation of the military power of the German Empire, and Prussia is very proud of its army, thinking that it can do well without the intervention of others, but William II is not so confident about the navy, so they need to cooperate with the prince.

"Third, regarding the issue of armored vehicles and the air force, in order to ensure the consistency of equipment and logistical supplies, all German armies except the Bavarian Army should purchase armored vehicles from arms companies such as Krupp and Rheinmetall, while aircraft , each state is free to choose."

Although the newborn beasts have not sharpened their minions, they have already made people feel their strength. It has become the consensus of the German military high-level to equip a large number of armored vehicles to undertake detection and attack tasks. However, who will produce those vehicles is not a question A simple question. Bavaria produced a large number of slower, heavier, better-performance but expensive tanks. In the eyes of the Kaiser, they are not suitable for the Western Front, because the German army on the Western Front is larger. If they are equipped with these tanks, then The cost will be an astronomical figure. What's more, the Kaiser was also uneasy that this very important equipment was in the hands of a state.

Therefore, taking advantage of the reconciliation between the Kingdom of Bavaria and the Imperial Arms Enterprises and the opportunity to reach a sharing agreement, the Kaiser decisively demanded that all German troops except the Kingdom of Bavaria be equipped with vehicles produced by Prussian companies. Did not communicate with the prince, according to the prince's idea, at least the Kingdom of Wurttemberg should have the right to choose independently? But obviously, this time the Kaiser did not give it.

Questions about aircraft? At this time, the German high-level officials did not realize the importance of aircraft. This kind of war machine that was freed from the shackles of the earth and could soar in the air seemed to the Kaiser to be an accessory of the army. Based on the idea that the meat should be eaten by oneself and the soup can be distributed to other states, the Kaiser decisively opened a hole in the aviation industry.

"Being a king is not as comfortable as being an emperor," Ruprecht said in his heart.

"Okay then, do you have any questions now?" A moment later, the Kaiser asked politely, as if asking for everyone's opinions.

"What about the command on the Eastern Front? If the Russians launch an offensive in the direction of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Bavaria, the Bavarian Army and the Austro-Hungarian Army can coordinate and then carry out combat missions independently, but if the Russians choose to put the breakthrough direction in the direction of For East Prussia, what should we do?" At this time, it is naturally impossible for the prince to get entangled in the issue of the share of military products, and this issue is not important to the command of the Eastern Front.

Thanks to book friends Golden Crab, First Guard Tank Brigade, Wang Yao's Young Guard Rabbit, Blue Bubble Hot Spring, Bandit = Bandit Army, Fat Cow King and other book friends for their rewards~~~! And the monthly ticket support of book friends Yipin Huangshan Smoking is Harmful to Health, Shi Zun the Great, Feng Se Fantasy Emiya, ￡ Gunpowder ￡, Cyf Emperor Tank and so on~~~! New week, please subscribe and reward~~~!