"I'm sorry, Your Majesty, but negotiations with the Greeks are still slow. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 Holwig bowed his head and reported to Jochen, who was standing in front of a huge map of Europe, "There is still no unanimity within Greece, and the number of members of parliament who agree to join the coalition cannot exceed two-thirds. The Greek Army was very interested in the terms we offered, the Chief of the General Staff of the Army, Metaxas, made it clear that he would support His Majesty Constantine, and the Prime Minister, His Excellency Gunnaris, was also inclined to us, but the attitude of the Greek Navy became the biggest obstacle at present. ”

"Naturally, the seizure of a warship by the British is not enough to make the Greek Navy change its mind and make up its mind to become an enemy of the British Royal Navy, and the terms we promised are nothing more than empty promises until we finally win." Jochen turned around and expressed his surprise at the result, saying that it was impossible to convince the Greek Navy to change their entrenched British plot with his mouth alone: "It will be difficult to change their attitude, at least until they see that our chances of victory are greater." ”

Germany's offer to Greece was not ungenerous: if the alliance prevailed, the British colonies in Egypt would be divided between Germany and Greece, Germany would only need the area east of the Nile to ensure that the Suez Canal would be under German control, and the wider area west of the Nile would be given to Greece. Moreover, if the Greek Army assisted the Ottoman Empire in attacking Serbia from the southern front, Germany was willing to coordinate in the middle and give up part of the fruits of victory to the Ottomans in exchange for the annexation of Macedonia to Greece. Of course, all this was just a blank check until the Allies had completely defeated the Entente.

"It doesn't matter if there is no progress, at least the people who are leaning towards us are the majority now, and as for the remaining part of the people, they can't say anything just by talking about it, we need to take some practical action for them to see."

The promise of a partition of Egypt was, of course, a genuine empty check, and Jochen had no hope of completely defeating Britain in World War I. Trying to get their hands on Egypt and the Suez Canal would only allow Britain to make a desperate attempt to continue the war, which would not do Germany any good.

Historically, Britain completely lost control of the Suez Canal, and it was not until the Second Middle East War that the British Empire, which had completely fallen from the clouds after two world wars, was crushed to death by the two superpowers of the United States and the Soviet Union. After the end of this world war, Germany will not be as strong as the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War, even if it does not lose, and Britain will not be as weak as it was during the Cold War, so the so-called partition of Egypt was a lie from the beginning.

Although it is a deception, if it wants to deceive people, then Germany must come up with some convincing evidence.

"It will be in our interest to continue talking to the Greeks, as long as we can continue to talk." It's a good thing that the Greeks are willing to talk, and since the two Balkan wars have not been fought, there will not be a lot of voices in Greece that want to kill the Ottoman Empire, which makes the opposition to joining the alliance in the Greek parliament much smaller, at least there will not be a situation where the prime minister and the navy run to Crete to set up another government to fight against the royal family, as in history.

In fact, even if Greece now has a pro-British prime minister like Venizelos and the navy to repeat itself, the situation will not become as bad as in history. Historically, due to the betrayal of Italy, the naval power of Austria-Hungary was completely blocked in the Adriatic Sea. Venizelos had the support of the navy, but it was impossible for him to defeat the king with the support of the army and gain power. However, because the Mediterranean was completely controlled by the Allies, Venizelos was supported by the British and French armies, and thus held out until the beginning of the German defeat, so that overthrowing the king and siding with the Allies became the wisest choice for the Greeks.

But now the Greek Navy wants to support pro-British politicians in creating a separate government in Crete? First of all, ask if you can stop the attack of the Greek Army, which was escorted and landed by the German Mediterranean Fleet. The Greek Navy was not stupid, and the seizure of a battleship by the British did not make them change their attitude against the British, but when they changed their attitude and decided to confront the British, the seizure of the battleship by the British would be an excuse for them to convince the last of their opponents.

"We have to show a positive outlook, we have to make the whole world think that there is progress in the negotiations, and we are optimistic about Greece's final decision. This will make the British anxious, and the more anxious they are, the less time they have to prepare before they act, and the greater our chances of winning. Jochen instructed.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Halwig replied. Straightening up, Holwig looked up slightly at the huge map hanging on the wall, and looked at the place where His Majesty the Emperor had just looked deeply, where a big gamble would be made, and the outcome of the big gamble would affect the war situation in the entire Mediterranean, and even on the entire Eastern Front of the Allies.

It was indeed a big gamble, and a big gamble with few secrets on both sides. Jochen didn't want to take such a risky venture if he could. But without such an adventure, it will not be possible to break the impasse in the Mediterranean. The sinking of four dreadnought-class ex-dreadnoughts of the Royal Navy's Mediterranean Fleet in Alexandria will not fundamentally change the situation. If the Allies do not do anything, then the British can completely replenish the losses by drawing former dreadnoughts from China, India, and South Africa.

These slow-moving dreadnoughts did little to search for and hunt down Spee's fleet, but they had no problem maintaining the British Empire's military presence and deterrence in the Eastern Mediterranean. If it drags on until then, even if the alliance wants to make some big moves, it will have to face a situation of being caught between two sides.

More importantly, Greece's attitude would waver, which would greatly affect the energy of the Ottomans, and the cooperation of the Ottomans would directly affect how much resistance the German Army would encounter in the next move on the Eastern Front.

In order to avoid the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean and the pressure to take its next step on land, Jochen finally restrained his desire to maintain the status quo, made up his mind to take this gamble, and used all means to push the gamble to start as soon as possible.

But even with his decision, Jochen's mind still popped up from time to time with thoughts such as "forget it", "there is no need to bet so much", and "the situation is much better than in history". Because judging from the cards in the hands of both sides, their hands are obviously at a disadvantage.

The Mediterranean Fleet of the German Navy and the Navy of the Kingdom of Croatia-Slovenia will be dispatched, with 3 dreadnoughts, 19 former dreadnoughts as the core, 16 cruisers and more than 20 destroyers, which is a huge force to be reckoned with in the Mediterranean. But they still have a huge numerical advantage in the face of enemies.

In the assessment of the General Staff of the Navy, in the worst-case scenario, the full strength of Britain and France in the Mediterranean would be close to 30 capital ships, 4 armored cruisers, more than a dozen light cruisers, and at least an equal number of destroyers.

And in order to lure the British into the bait, the fleet had to dedicate a part of its forces to make a feint. If the British and French really had a direct stud, then the Germans' plans would have failed completely.

The hole cards in the hands of both sides were clear, and in such a big gamble in which the strength of both the enemy and the enemy was basically determined, the general actions were basically transparent, and from the very beginning they were destined to go head-to-head with the enemy who was superior in numbers, so there were many voices of opposition within the Navy General Staff from the beginning.

The moderates, led by Admiral Boer, believed that submarines were effective in strangling the Mediterranean route, and that over time, more submarines would appear in the eastern Mediterranean. The range of submarine activities, which is affected by geographical disadvantages, can also be solved by the construction of the latest ocean-going submarines designed for operation in the Atlantic, and there is no need to make a big gamble with the entire surface fleet.

As long as fleet power remains, German deterrence in the Mediterranean will be maintained. As long as the Strait of Ortrante is held, the British will not be so stupid as to force their way into the Adriatic Sea, haven't they had enough of the lessons of the previous forced entry into the Gulf of Helgoland?

And it is impossible for the British to maintain a huge fleet in the eastern Mediterranean for a long time, and in the end they can only leave a part of their forces and return to the western Mediterranean, and the situation will return to the state at the beginning of the war, and the British forces left in the western Mediterranean can only continue to exist, and it is impossible to make any big moves against the German fleet with complete strength. And the strengthening of its own submarine forces can continue to bleed on the routes of the British Empire, so that it is more secure.

As for the attitude of Greece and Italy, with the two sides still maintaining a stalemate, it is not foolish to choose to side with the British until now. Moreover, the unscrupulous intrusion of the British and French fleets into the western Mediterranean is equivalent to a slap in the face of the Italian Navy, which will only lead to a stronger smell of gunpowder between Italy and Britain and France.

But if the gamble loses, the whole situation will be reversed, and now the good fortune of the Eastern Mediterranean will be gone, and Italy and Greece may become direct rivals. Therefore, such a battle plan seems to them to be simply too big and inappropriate.

However, Tirpitz shouted at the meeting: "The fleet is not to be put in the harbor to see!" "If the risk fleet can't take risks, then it's better to use the money to build the army!" ”

Montecucuri has also repeatedly stressed that the worst-case scenario is unlikely, and although the total Anglo-French forces in the Mediterranean may be as high as 30 capital ships, most of them are French, and a significant number of them are old pre-dreadnoughts. If you really want to bring these old ships out in one go, it will only slow down the speed of action of the entire fleet.

Once their deception plan succeeded, it would be impossible for the British and French fleets, which had bitten the bait and were bent on annihilating the main force of the German Mediterranean Fleet, to carry these burdens.

In this way, the size of the enemy, who would actually go head-to-head with the German fleet, should be within a bearable range, and it is not impossible to fight. And if this big gamble is successful, then the entire Eastern Mediterranean will fall under the control of the Alliance, and the ensuing chain reaction will even affect the course of the entire war.

And considering the worst-case scenario is only to avoid unnecessary losses for the fleet without a corresponding plan. If this is the case, it will be a big deal if it is converted into a passive war-avoidance approach suggested by the moderates. The big deal is that all the victories won before are equivalent to being lost, and the cowhide that the empire has blown out to control the eastern Mediterranean has been blown out.

As for the attitude of the Italians and the Greeks that could turn to the Entente? If the empire doesn't do anything, won't they fall to the Entente? Neutral? Neutrality means that you can fall to the enemy at any time! Rather than get the worst possible outcome after a long wait, take the initiative to force them to their side! Either your own people or your enemies! There are no intermediate options!

Tirpitz and Fischer agreed on the attitude towards Greece, and imperialism was really a.

The two sides were deadlocked, and in the end, the support from the emperor allowed Tirpitz to win, and the crazy plan began to be implemented.

"Everyone can guess each other's cards clearly, but in the end, who will win depends on who plays the cards in the better order." Turning his gaze again to the area between Malta and Crete on the map, Jochen said to himself: "If a naval battle could be decided by just looking at the cards, would Nelson still have such a crazy double column charge formation at Trafalgar?" ”

His gaze slowly moved, and finally stopped at the position of the British, as if asking the British, as if he was asking the British, "I have pressed all the chips, will you follow?" ”