On August 12, 1914, the Tiergarten district in the heart of Berlin was so crowded that almost the entire city of Berlin gathered here to wait for the final declaration of the Reich Government.

All the sounds in the Reichstag were transmitted through loudspeakers to the square in front of the Reichstag and to every corner of Germany via radio waves, as never before in the history of the Reich.

"For more than a month, Germany has been trying to reconcile the contradictions with the utmost restraint and sincerity, and the people of the Reich, the Reich Government and I personally have all eagerly awaited the continuation of peace. The German government did its utmost diplomatically to avert a catastrophe. The Emperor's voice echoed throughout the square, throughout Berlin, over Germany.

From Schleswig in the north to Bavaria in the south, from the Rhine in the west to East Prussia in the east, all the Germans who could hear the voice of the emperor stopped, put down their work and gathered in the square, under the loudspeakers and in front of the radio, listening quietly, as if at this moment the whole of Germany stood still, and all of Germany became silent except for the impassioned voice of the emperor.

"Our prayers for peace have been brutally trampled on, our enemies wish nothing but to destroy us, and when we long for war not to expand and for their neutrality, we have been mercilessly rejected! While the envoys with our sincerity were still on the way, we received their declaration of war! ”

All Germans knew who His Majesty the Kaiser was talking about, and at this moment all Germans were united in their hatred, and the flames of anger burned in the chest of every German.

"This is the greatest crisis since the establishment of the German Empire! Our enemies are incomparably stronger, and the German nation is facing a much greater crisis than the Franco-Prussian War 44 years ago! This is a war that is vital to the life and death of the entire German nation! Our enemies are eager to destroy our country! Destroy the fruits of our 44 years of construction! Trample on the dignity of countless ancestors who threw their blood to let the Germans obtain! Break the backbone of the Germans who have managed to straighten it with great difficulty! There is no compromise in this war! No back-down! There is an abyss behind us, and we have no way out! ”

The Emperor's voice continued, and a small commotion began to appear in the otherwise calm crowd. It implies that there is a dark tide surging under the calm surface at this moment, and it may turn into a monstrous wave at any time!

"All the German people! No one can get away with this war! Only fight to the end! Only sacrifice to the end! in order to win the final victory! Any compromise, concession, or stay out of the matter will be a doom for the German nation! ”

The speech has come to an end, and everyone is waiting for His Majesty the Emperor's final verdict.

"I declare a state of war emergency in the German Empire, and that all the German people must contribute their all their strength to this battle for life and death! Any act that undermines the war of the Empire is considered treason!

The German Empire began a full-scale war against Russia and France! Long live Germany! ”

The Emperor's voice was gone, and everyone remained silent as if they hadn't yet realized that the speech was over. After a while. The crowd began to roll like boiling water, and the unease of the outbreak of war, the fear of the end of a peaceful life, the anger of being bullied, the hatred of the enemy, the desire to beat the opponent, the expectation of the benefits to be obtained after the war were thrown out at this moment, and all emotions were turned into one word and shouted by everyone: "Long live Germany!" Long live Germany! ……”

In the halls of the parliament, there was no party affiliation at this moment. There was no force, and all the parliamentarians were applauding the emperor's speech. Jochen, dressed in a military robe, draped in purple with golden epaulettes, and wearing a richly decorated brass Prussian helmet on his head, with a sword hanging from his waist, stepped down from the podium of the parliament, and was greeted by the Imperial Prime Minister Machar: "Your Majesty, the speech is excellent! All of Germany is cheering for you, Your Majesty. Mashal praised from the bottom of his heart.

Jochen's face was now less excited than it had been on stage. "I know many people are looking forward to this day, but we can't let such voices become the mainstream of society. The government wants to control this voice. Our propaganda should focus on the fact that we have been invaded, that this is a war of resistance of the entire German nation, a war that cannot be lost, just as we did 44 years ago during the Franco-Prussian War. ”

Germany needed to portray itself as a victim of aggression, and that this war was a great and sacred Great Patriotic War, so that it could continue to rally the conviction of the whole population to continue the war after the initial war fever had cooled. Only in this way can we implement a tougher policy at home and squeeze out the last vestiges of war potential.

Therefore, at this time, Germany could not put on a militaristic face of looking forward to the coming of war, even if the German army on the Western Front would immediately surprise the French first, it must insist that it was the French who declared war first, and Germany was forced to respond to the war.

Walk out of the Houses of Parliament. Seeing the arrival of His Majesty the Emperor, the people in the square began to chant "Caesar!" Caesar! Caesar! ……”。 Looking at the German people waving their hats and shouting "Caesar", Jochen's heart was full of heaviness. The longing for war is the embodiment of the frenzy of nationalism throughout Europe, and no one but himself realizes what a brutal war it will be.

A similar scene played out in Paris. At this moment, France, which took the lead in declaring war on Germany, has become a sea of deception and joy, and the great moment has finally arrived to flank Germany with the Russians and completely eliminate the shadow that has been entrenched over the heads of the French for 44 years!

On the Champs-Élysées, the well-groomed French soldiers were showing all the citizens of Paris the belief that France would win. The brass buttons on the dark blue uniforms are shining, the red trousers are bright and shiny, and the leather military boots are sonorous and powerful on the street. The heroic French soldiers at this moment interpret what is the glory of soldiers and the romance of war.

After 44 years of humiliation and resentment, all walks of life in France were full of confidence and desire that their army would be able to beat the Germans, and everyone in Paris at this time was cheering for the French army!

So this exciting and exhilarating scene came behind the scenes in Barbara? W. Tuchman's "August Fire" is condensed into the following words: French officers and soldiers walk in the middle of the street with neat steps, singing with affection: "This is Alsace, this is Lorraine." This is our Alsace! Ahh When the last word was sung, the song suddenly turned into a cheer of victory.

A similar scene was played out throughout the French land, and countless young French men in military uniforms rushed to the front line in a steady stream of flowers and cheers from the people, and the joyful atmosphere was like a beautiful drama.

This atmosphere also infected the top brass of the French Army, who were optimistic that if France and Russia joined forces, they would easily defeat Germany in a matter of weeks.

"We can mobilize 1.5 million troops in 10 days, and the Russians say they can mobilize 800,000 troops in 13 days, which means that in 2 weeks the Germans will face a two-front attack of 2.3 million troops! And our army is superior to the Germans in quality, and the main strategic goals of Plan No. 17 are Alsace and Lorraine, a war to regain our lost homeland, so the morale of the soldiers is very high, so our army will win! Victory belongs to France! "Joseph, Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Military Council of the French Army and Chief of the General Staff? Xia Fei was full of confidence at this time: "What we need to do now is to urge the Russians to attack East Prussia as soon as possible." ”

"I understand, on the Russian side, I will continue to find a way to exert pressure." French War Minister Adolfo? Messimi responded: "But most of the Germans' 6th and 7th armies in the Alsace-Lorraine area are integrated divisions and standing divisions, so the Germans now have nearly 300,000 troops to fight in this direction, and if the Germans attack first......

Messimi was also convinced of the Army's judgment, and the movement of German troops in the Alsace-Lorraine area and the increase in trains all proved that the Germans were about to make a big move on the Western Front. The problem now is that the Germans have two army groups stationed in Alsace-Lorraine, while the French army on the other side is mostly a defensive force of border fortresses, although there are quite a few of them, but they cannot be used as offensive forces. If the 17th plan is to be carried out to launch an attack, the French army will need time to gather more troops, and if the Germans attack first, at this time, it may disrupt the deployment of the French army, so Messimi is a little worried.

"Then they will be battered on our defensive lines, and the Germans will not be able to overcome the border fortresses that we have been building vigorously since the Franco-Prussian War. The Germans were exhausted in front of the fortress, and at this time our mobilized troops would strike at the Germans head-on according to Plan No. 17, and then attack Alsace and Lorraine in one fell swoop, and after the most effective 6th and 7th armies were destroyed by us, the Germans would no longer have troops in the Alsace-Lorraine area that could stop our attack. Xia Fei said with a smile.

"Tomorrow you will rush to the front, and hope that everything will go well, so that we can be ashamed of our blood, and let those Germans taste the bitter wine of defeat too!" Messimi personally poured a glass of champagne for the commander-in-chief of the French army, whom he had picked up with one hand: "For victory, for France." ”

"For the victory, for France." The beard on Xia Fei's fat face curled slightly. (To be continued.) )