I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France

Chapter 715: They Know Nothing About War

Queen Mary was one of the deceived; she did not know that the declaration of war could be retracted.

After receiving Queen Mary’s telegram, Ferdinand I immediately contacted the ambassador in Vienna, and the declaration of war had coincidentally not yet been delivered.

But at this moment, Ferdinand I hesitated again.

Would it end in failure like last time?

Why did France oppose Romania’s declaration of war time and again?

Wasn’t it in France’s interest to have Romania as an ally joining the Allies?

Incomprehensible!

Even if they feared Romania’s defeat, an additional force would at least divert the enemy’s resources.

Did they really see Romania as so vulnerable?

At this moment, a telegram from Vice Admiral Averescu arrived. Ferdinand I took a look at the telegram and suddenly realized: "So that’s it, this indeed goes against France’s interests."

Standing beside him, General David asked in confusion: "Declaring war is not in France’s interest?"

"Yes, of course," Ferdinand I answered:

"France has Shire, General."

"Think about it, they can completely defeat Germany, including Austria-Hungary."

"By then, both Germany and Austria-Hungary will be under France’s control, while we claim sovereignty over Transylvania."

General David suddenly understood: "So France opposes our declaration of war?"

"Yes!" Ferdinand nodded assertively: "To be precise, it’s Shire who opposes our declaration of war."

Shire was too formidable; with only twenty thousand troops, he defeated hundreds of thousands of Germans.

If one day he controlled all of France’s forces, neither the German nor Austrian armies would stand a chance against him.

He would break through all of Germany, occupy Berlin, Vienna, and even Budapest!

So, the only ones to trust were the British.

They had no conflict of interest with Romania.

Thinking this, Ferdinand I, without informing Queen Mary, ordered the ambassador to deliver the declaration of war.

...

Berlin Wilhelm Street, German General Staff Headquarters.

The command post was deathly silent; although it was still operational, everyone looked expressionless and walked with heavy steps.

The German Army was in retreat, and preliminary estimates suggested that the surrounded units would number over three hundred thousand.

Fajin Han sank into deep depression.

Being surrounded was a significant issue, but it wasn’t the most critical.

The troops were indeed important, but with the Arden Mountains at their back, many units could escape the encirclement as long as they brought provisions into the mountains.

What he couldn’t accept was the loss of the Meuse River.

The Meuse River was a formidable barrier; henceforth, the Anglo-French forces would trap the German Army east of the river, unable to advance.

Moreover, from the direction of Belgium, Shire’s Sixth Army rendered the German Army similarly immobile.

Worse still, the supply lines were running dry; without material support, the defeat was inevitable, with no suspense at all.

At this time, rumors of negotiations had started back home.

Fajin Han was against it.

Negotiating now was tantamount to surrender; Germany would be forced to accept extremely harsh terms.

While Fajin Han was wracking his brain in despair, Colonel Moritz handed him a telegram: "General, a telegram from Vienna, Romania has declared war on Austria-Hungary, and we also discovered that Romanian troops are assembling at the border."

Fajin Han instinctively murmured, "Hmm."

Everyone wants to push the wall over; seeing the Allies about to win, of course, many small countries would seize the opportunity to join in, hoping to gain some benefits.

Let them declare war; it would make no difference...

Wait!

"What did you say? Who declared war?" Fajin Han abruptly looked up, staring at Moritz in astonishment.

"Romania," Moritz repeated.

"Are you sure? Are you sure it’s Romania?" Fajin Han looked excited, eagerly taking the telegram from Moritz.

When he saw that it indeed read "Romania," he instantly beamed with joy: "Great, we are saved! God, this declaration of war comes just in time!"

...

"You cannot win," Shire’s voice was cold: "This is not a matter of numbers but that your army is too weak."

Queen Mary’s face changed: "I don’t think so, General. You might not be familiar with our army, so you would make such a judgment..."

"I know much more than you can imagine, Your Majesty," Shire showed no mercy.

Shire stated the truth; in history, Romania was annihilated in less than four months after declaring war, and the German-Austrian forces used only sixteen under-strength divisions totaling two hundred thousand men, less than half of Romania’s total forces.

(Note: Romania mobilized a regular army of twenty-three divisions, exceeding five hundred thousand soldiers.)

Queen Mary still refused to acknowledge this. She argued: "But we all know the Allies are winning, the German Army is defeated on both fronts, they lack morale, and they don’t have enough supplies..."

"This also indicates that they have rich combat experience," Shire interrupted Queen Mary again:

"As long as they act quickly, they can seize supplies from you."

"Moreover, Your Majesty, never assume that the Germans grow weaker the longer they fight."

"For instance, does the Romanian army have fighter planes, bombers? Do you have tanks? Do you know how to use these in combat?"

Queen Mary was taken aback and hesitated: "In the battlefield, aren’t these things unnecessary?"

Shire was speechless and could only hope that Romanian generals wouldn’t think the same.

But Shire quickly realized that the reality might indeed be that way.

Even a battle-hardened general like Haig thought those things were superfluous; what could the Romanian troops, who lived in peace, possibly know?

Gallieni seemed to understand and thoughtfully nodded: "So, the German Army’s advantage is not just combat experience but also new equipment?"

"Yes," Shire replied: "The Germans have learned a lot from our engagements, now becoming mature, some even showing signs of surpassing us, such as knowing how to pair ’Upper Silesia’ tanks with ’Lk2’ tanks, utilizing their complementary strengths on the battlefield."

This was Shire’s conclusion from the tank remnants.

If not for a fire that destroyed the German First Tank Division in the forest, the outcome would have been uncertain.

Gallieni turned his gaze to Queen Mary: "Your Majesty, for so long, have you strengthened training or upgraded equipment?"

Queen Mary shook her head blankly: "As far as I know, no. In fact, our army was mobilized urgently in recent days; before that, we only had two hundred thousand men."

Gallieni looked resigned and despondent.

That meant more than half were new recruits.

Fools, they knew nothing about war and were wholly unprepared.

Yet they plunged headlong into it like moths to a flame.

And they couldn’t be stopped!