Chapter 139: The Balkan Wars

Transylvania is rich in mineral resources, including lignite, iron, lead, manganese, gold, copper, natural gas, mineral salt and sulfur. Steelmaking, chemicals, textiles, animal husbandry, agriculture, winemaking and fruit cultivation are the main industries in the region, and timber is also a valuable resource.

At the end of the First World War, the 14-point program proposed by US President Wilson in Berlin became a powerful basis for the exercise of the right to self-determination by the Romanian communities in Transylvania, who rallied to declare their annexation to Romania. In March 1919, Hungary firmly refused to agree to bring Transylvania under Romanian rule and decided to declare war on Romania. In April 1919, the Hungarian army began to attack Transylvania along the Someš and Mureš rivers, and at the same time, Romania also began to send armed forces to meet it, and the two armies fought fiercely on the border between the two sides in Transylvania.

It was not surprising that Hungary was an old ally of Germany, and Romania was not surprised, but the fact that the Hungarian army, now preoccupied with its own affairs, turned its guns and attacked the French border guards on behalf of the Germans, immediately caused the Romanian military to think deeply.

The Romanian attacking force that had advanced to the Tisa River had to be temporarily halted, and at the same time, the troops that had reached the outside of the Hungarian capital, Budapest, also stopped their attack. It is a very harsh fact that even if Romania captures Budapest, the capital of Hungary, through bloody sacrifices, once Germany and Hungary return to Transylvania, Romania will not only lose Budapest, but will once again face a fierce battle with even greater casualties.

Rather than desperately gaining and losing their lives, the Roman army was well aware that attacking Budapest would probably outweigh the losses, after all, the Wehrmacht's combat strength was also there. However, the Romanian army was also unwilling to give up its immediate benefits, and although it was somewhat restrained in its offensive under the pressure of the possible joint efforts of Germany and Hungary, it still occupied most of the southeastern part of Hungary and was unwilling to retreat.

In Berlin, a quarrel between German Chancellor Stresemann and French Chancellor Clemenceau was underway. U.S. Vice President John? Calvin? Coolidge and British Prime Minister Lloyd? Georges was forced to form a united front to unify their understanding and tone, and to separate the German and French prime ministers for discussions, with a view to reaching a rapprochement as soon as possible. Stresemann and Lloyd? George's communication was not a big problem, but the conversation between French Prime Minister Clemenceau and US Vice President Coolidge was a brainstorm, and the two banged the table and roared at one point.

Clemenceau came up with the relevant clauses of the "Berlin Peace Treaty" to force the international community to threaten Germany to abide by its commitments, while Coolidge demanded that France take into account the overall situation, take care of Germany's current economic development needs, and take the initiative to calm down the domestic situation.

The old French Prime Minister Clemenceau also knew that at the beginning of the Berlin peace talks, the international community at the beginning of the peace talks had some unfair terms because of the intention to suppress Germany's fanaticism, while the United States and Britain only cared about their own post-war harvest and did not really shoulder their post-war responsibilities was the cause of this incident. Although Coolidge did not fully agree with Clemenceau's theory, in the face of the deteriorating situation in Europe, he must not make some minor adjustments after obtaining the consent of the domestic vote as a supplement to the terms of the "Berlin peace talks."

In the end, the leaders of the four countries sat down again for pragmatic consultations, and the French side stated that the Lorraine issue could be put on hold for the time being, but that Germany must withdraw its heavy troops west of the Rhine and that the border guards should return to the requirements of the "Berlin peace talks."

Germany played a leading role in the emergency, but the ultimate goal was not just for the sake of a small place like Lorraine, but to be disappointed that the promises made during the peace talks between the United States and Britain had not been fulfilled. Stresemann described Miller's trip to the United States as a beggar's trip, and the Americans' style of doing things according to their own preferences not only did not solve the urgent needs of Germany's economic development, but on the contrary became a catalyst for this incident. And Earhart? Mr. Milch's trip to Siam was also not smooth, and was plagued and obstructed by the British government at every turn, and even Siam had to rely on the snort of the British Empire to restore diplomatic relations with Germany.

The problem is very clear, and it can be seen from the debate in Germany and France that it is precisely because the United States and Britain think too much about their own interests and ignore the feelings of other countries that this has led to the sudden occurrence of the situation.

The representatives of the four countries sat down again and discussed calmly, and in the end, Lorraine maintained the status quo, France temporarily stopped reclaiming 60% of the mineral deposits, and as a positive response to the situation, the United States and Great Britain were forced to agree to open the door to the import of raw materials for German production, and the results of the four-party reconciliation were used as a supplementary text backup to the "Berlin Peace Treaty", and since then, the war that almost affected the whole of Europe again has been temporarily brought under control.

After the Quadripartite Rapprochement in Berlin was reached, the Hungarian army withdrew from the German Eifel Plateau and returned home along the banks of the Main and Danube rivers through Austria. Eric was very grateful to Hungary for its military cooperation, not only took the initiative to bear all the expenses of this military operation, but also carried out a major renewal of Hungary's old weapons, which can be said to be a great joy for everyone.

The armed conflict between Germany and France was effectively contained, and the result did not exceed Romania's expectations, but it was still somewhat disappointing. With the rapid return of the Hungarian army, the land dispute between the two countries escalated again.

The Hungarian army took the initiative in the area south of Budapest, and the German improved MP19 9mm submachine gun was extremely powerful.

The Hungarian army was in an arc on the front line with three main divisions, and the main force of the A101st Division advanced from the northern town of Eger to the south; The A103rd Division advanced eastward from the southwestern city of Wisprém, while the A102nd Division attacked head-on, and at about 10 p.m., the battle began one after another. The Romanian army is very aware of the strength of the opponent, but does not have enough understanding of the German weapons and equipment, after the two sides exchanged fire, the situation has become one-sided, because Romania has experienced the catastrophe of the two Balkan wars, especially after the heavy blow of the German General Mackensen during the First World War, the vitality has not recovered, the Hungarian new force took advantage of the weakness of the Romanian army without heavy weapons, and adopted a multi-point breakthrough and a full-line follow-up method, and soon firmly controlled the initiative on the battlefield.

The exchange of fire between the two sides was unprecedentedly fierce, and the Romanian army underestimated its strength and was clearly inferior in firepower, so it had to leave behind countless corpses and wounded to retreat to Solnok and Kecskemét respectively, and resist with the help of deep trenches on the periphery.

At dawn, the Hungarians, in the form of a small surprise attack, took advantage of the victory to capture the city of Séksard in the south of Budapest and the city of Niregihazo in the northeast, and formed a pincer encirclement of the Romanian incoming army.

The situation was very favorable for Hungary to regain its domestic territory, but the replenishment of the army was very limited, and the weapons and equipment were only carried with them when they returned from Germany, and there was no subsequent growth, and for a time it became a strong force. The Romanian army was almost overwhelmed by the Hungarian front army, suffered heavy losses, and was forced to retreat to the outer trenches of Solnok and Kecskemét, not daring to take the initiative to attack. For several days in a row, the two armies infiltrated each other on a small scale and constantly attacked each other's command organs, but because neither side was able to defeat the enemy in a single battle, a long-term confrontation formed.

On September 21, 1919, Vice President of the United States, John ? Calvin? Coolidge returned to China and reported to President Woodrow about the four-nation rapprochement between the six parliaments in London and Berlin. Wilson gave a detailed briefing. At this time, Wilson suffered from headaches from time to time, and after hearing about Coolidge's situation, he was even more dissatisfied with the efficiency of the US Congress and its cautious approach to the issue of German energy exports, and even made foul remarks on many occasions.

On the 25th, with the efforts of all parties, Woodrow? President Wilson conscientiously compiled an "Introduction to the International Situation" with the main purpose of winning congressional support for multilateral cooperation between Germany and the United States. In this lengthy overview, Wilson expounds at length the importance of Germany on the European continent and also analyzes the current Eurasian policy of the United States.

In fact, if the United States loses the support of Britain, it will not be able to control the European market, and in the same way, if it loses Germany, it will also lose the market on the European continent. During the speech, Wilson suddenly felt lightheaded, fainted again on the podium, and was in a highly comatose state. This sudden change caught the US political arena by surprise, and the country's internal and external affairs basically fell into a state of semi-paralysis.

News of Wilson's illness and hospitalization soon reached Berlin. Adrian quickly summoned Defense Minister Walter? Feng? Brauchitsch and told him that it was time for Germany to thank Hungary.

On September 28, military trucks loaded with advanced German weapons and equipment marched in a long line on the road to Budapest, Hungary, and the German 3rd Cavalry Division also entered Austria from the Bohemian Pass and drove straight to the front line of the Hungarian battle. The most dramatic scene was the arrival of five Type III MBTs from Frankfurt in the southeastern city of Dresden, passing through the Czech capital Prague along the Elbe Valley, and then heading south to the Hungarian front.

The German Empire's preparations for war began before the First World War, because the German military strategists have always believed that speed is the key to victory, therefore, on the eve of the First World War, Germany raised and stockpiled a large number of excellent horses by subsidizing farmers, and the location of the horses was numbered and registered in detail, which made the war at the beginning, Germany requisitioned horses at a very fast speed, only in the first week of the war, more than 710,000 horses were recruited, although the cruel war attrition was great, But it still has the premier cavalry units on the continent.

The trucks of the German Federal Transport Army and the ranks of the 3rd Cavalry Division stretched for several kilometers, and the mighty and mighty army soon passed through the Austrian Empire and entered the Hungarian border. The straight military uniform, bright flag, shining steel knife and neat pace attracted the people of Germany, Austria, Hungary and other countries along the way, and was extremely favored along the way.

Rumors that Germany would no longer intervene in the Balkans were once again shattered, and Eric? Adrian's war myth woke Romania up again, and the Hungarian troops, after being effectively replenished, quickly unfolded, and the vanguard of the A101 unit moved to a town about thirty kilometers north of Solnok; The A103rd and A102nd Divisions pressed forward, and their forwards had already begun to engage in a fierce exchange of fire with the Romanian vanguard. The 3rd Division of the German Federal Cavalry made a detour to the south, ready to cut off the retreat of the Romanian army......