Britain and Germany were not prepared for an immediate war, so neither side immediately declared war on the other, but contacted their respective allies to discuss how to cooperate and assist each other in the event of war. At the same time, Britain and Germany were also carrying out various preparations in their respective countries, such as mobilizing public support and preparing war materials.

Foreign Ministry officials in both Britain and Germany continued to try to paralyze each other by pretending that a peaceful solution would be resolved and that there would be no war. Both sides know that the other will not be fooled, but they also spare no effort.

The Entente and the Central Powers convened summits one after another. On the part of the Central Powers, the envoys of Germany, Italy, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Turkish Empire met in Berlin, but because of Italy's ambiguous attitude, its position was not firm. The conflict between Germany and Great Britain did not affect the interests of the other three countries, and therefore the other three countries were not so active. This made it impossible to reach an agreement within the Allies.

The situation on the part of the Entente, on the other hand, was better.

France and Germany were old enemies, and France was bent on retaking the German-occupied heavy industrial areas of Alsace and Lorraine, so from the day the British were pulled into the water, France planned for a major war between Britain and Germany, and then Britain and France formed a coalition against Germany. France believed that the British navy was sufficient to destroy the German navy and land from the west and north of Germany, while the French attacked from the south, so that the north and south could quickly defeat Germany. Therefore, France firmly supported Britain in the war against Germany.

Russia's attitude was somewhat unresolute, relations between Russia and Germany had not yet reached the point of fighting each other, Russia only had territorial and ethnic disputes with Austria-Hungary and the Turkish Empire, Russia was more concerned with the Balkan question, hoping that the Slavs would be able to break away from Austria-Hungary. Therefore, in the military conflict between Britain and Germany, Russia did not show so actively.

As the saying goes, it's not about yourself. Neither the Allied nor the Entente could not fully agree internally, so a full-scale war between the Entente and the Allied Powers could not break out for the time being.

However, the house leak happened to rain overnight, and the third team sent by the CIA of the Chinese Empire had already started in the Balkans.

After visiting the Central Powers and the Entente countries, the Chinese Imperial Delegation to Europe, in order to further enhance the international influence of the Chinese Empire, and at the same time to test the results of the visit, proposed by the way that it was willing to help Austria-Hungary and Russia solve the Serbian problem, and to make an image of an angel of peace in order to resolve the contradictions in Europe.

The willingness of the Chinese Empire to mediate has been unanimously praised by people from all walks of life in European countries, and both the Entente and the Central Powers have seen the strength of the Chinese Empire, and they all echo it, and at the same time, in order to give an explanation to the people.

In this way, the European delegation of the Chinese Empire played the role of mediator, mediating the conflict between Russia and Austria-Hungary in the Balkans.

However, the Chinese Empire obviously did not sincerely help, and in the process of mediation, not only did not relieve the pressure on the two sides, but caused a more violent collision between the two sides. Russia demanded the right of the Balkan Slavs to read in the open, but Austria-Hungary did not relinquish control over the Balkan states, resulting in irreconcilable contradictions between the two sides.

At the time of the outbreak of the Suez Canal conflict, Austria-Hungary was holding large-scale military exercises at the instigation of the special envoy of the Chinese Empire.

As early as after the Sino-Russian War, the two German chiefs of staff, Schlieffen and Moltke Jr., met with the chief of the Austro-Hungarian General Staff, Hertzendorf, to discuss war plans against Serbia. They all believed that Russia was in great domestic difficulties and could not intervene in the Balkan war.

After the Chinese Empire was agitated by this, Wilhelm II impulsively assured the visiting Archduke Ferdinand that Germany would come to Austria-Hungary's aid if Russia intervened in the Austro-Serb conflict.

With the strong support of Germany, the Chinese Empire also expressed its willingness to provide weapons and supplies to Austria-Hungary in wartime. So Austria-Hungary was emboldened and decided to hold large-scale military exercises in Bosnia, near the Serbian border. The date was chosen on December 28, which commemorated the Turkish invasion of Serbia (December 28, 1384). The Austro-Hungarian [***] team used Serbia as an imaginary enemy in this exercise, and dispatched two corps, the purpose of which was to scare Serbia first, and then surrender without a fight.

In conjunction with the military exercises, Archduke Ferdinand and his wife, on the orders of the King of Austria-Hungary, went to Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, for a visit, in fact, a demonstration to the Kingdom of Serbia.

The third squad of the CIA of the Chinese Empire also entered Serbia and bribed the Serbian mafia organization through the Serbian anti-Austrian figure Sarajevo Police Deputy Chief Maltis as an intermediary and ordered him to assassinate Archduke Ferdinand and his wife.

The mafia only recognized money and immediately concluded the task.

Earlier, on the 29th, the mafia had placed seven assassins on the street where the Austrian crown prince was going to pass. At around 10 a.m., after reviewing military exercises on the outskirts of the city, the Ferdinands proudly entered Sarajevo City in an open-top car and drove to Sarajevo City Hall for a reception.

A long line of royal cars drove slowly through the crowded streets, and because of Maltisse, only a sparse military police and police were placed on both sides of the road. Ferdinand sat in the second car and Sofia sat to his right. Bosnian military and political axe chief Oscar? General Potiorek sat on the left, and next to the chauffeur was the attendant, Count Harahi.

When the convoy crossed the Chumurya Bridge over the Milyatska River in the center of the city and entered the Appel Pier, the first assassin who was ambushed there failed to make a move because a policeman came up and stood in front of him. Another assassin, Chabrinovich, not far away, suddenly burst out of the crowd and threw a bomb at the car in which the Ferdinands were riding.

An eyewitness said: "Due to the great duke's quick reaction and composure, the bomb did not achieve its purpose. He picked up the bomb from the seat of the car and threw it out into the street. I could barely believe my eyes. ”

When the bomb exploded, 8 people were injured, including the Grand Duke's adjutant. The police arrested a young man named Gabrino Vickers. They say he was a Serbian nationalist who worked as a typesetter in Herzegovina. It is said that he had no remorse either.

After the first incident, the procession continued to the town hall, where the Grand Duke angrily announced: "Gentlemen, it is intolerable. We came to Sarajevo for a visit, but bombs were dropped on us. "At first, the crowd in the hall did not understand what the Grand Duke was talking about, and later, when they learned that there was a man who tried to kill him with a bomb. A lot of people cheered.

Subsequently, Ferdinand planned to go to Persia to suppress him, and he was warned not to go to Bosvia, but he ignored it. A Serbian minister said that the Balkans were disgusted with Austria-Hungary. Ironically, the Grand Duke was more inclined than anyone else in the royal family to make concessions in this tense area. He had hoped to give the Slavs more autonomy and possibly even create a third monarchy in the Balkans.

On the way back, Printhis, a member of the mafia, pulled out his pistol and was about to raise his gun to shoot when a policeman not far from him spotted him and rushed up to grab his arm. At this moment, Lei Ping, an agent of the Central Intelligence Agency of the Chinese Empire, suddenly struck, like a bolt of lightning, and punched the policeman in the neck, and the policeman fainted and fell to the ground. At this time, Princip's gunshots rang out, and the Austrian crown prince and his wife were shot seven times, and they were immediately killed.

Suddenly, chaos erupted, and Rapin quickly fled the scene, while Principis was arrested on the spot.

The assassinations of the Ferdinand and his wife caused an instant sensation throughout Europe, but there seems to be an ominous reaction to these assassinations. Reports from the Holy See say that Pope Pius is seriously ill and is praying when he hears the news. He fainted and had to be escorted back to his room. Wilhelm II interrupted a horse race in the Baltic and hurried back to Berlin. Emperor Franz-Joseph fell ill, and he pleased, "Terrible, terrible, I am very sad." In London, every news item wrote: "This assassination is like a thunderclap for Europe." The Times of London said, "It makes the conscience of the world tremble." ”

The Serbian police immediately investigated the truth of the assassination, but when they found the mafia leader and followed the clues to Martis, the deputy head of the Serbian police department, they found that Maltis had committed suicide accidentally.

As a result, the conflict between Britain and Germany over the Suez Canal conflict had caused the Allies and the Entente to draw their swords against each other, and a major war was about to break out. Now that the Austro-Crarian crown prince had been assassinated by the Serbian anti-Austrian official Martis and the mafia groups supported by Britain, France and Russia, Austria-Hungary had a good excuse to go to war against Serbia. For Austria-Hungary, the last son of the Austrian emperor also hung up and became a veritable loner, he was very heartbroken and angry, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire originally wanted to maintain neutrality on the issue of Anglo-German military conflict and prevent it from getting involved in a major war, but now it seems that it is inevitable.

At this time, after three days of study and closed-door consultations with liaison officers of various countries, the International Arbitration Court was established on January 2, 1913, in Neva, Switzerland.

The Chinese Empire continued to act as a mediator ambassador, ostensibly organizing the outbreak of the European war, but in fact it wanted the European war to break out as soon as possible.

This initiative of the Chinese Empire was fully supported by Britain, Germany, France, Russia, Austria, Italy and other European countries. Then, the Chinese Empire and the six major European powers jointly formed an international jury, with China as the first international tribunal officer, and the other six European countries participated as jurors in the investigation of the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and his wife, but the jury members turned Serbia away.

The Chinese Empire's initiative to establish an international tribunal and its role as the chief official of the international tribunal was undoubtedly a political blow to European countries, and it was also a sign of the beginning of the Chinese Empire's interference in European affairs.

The Chinese Imperial Political Axe took the opportunity to set up an international tribunal, increased its political influence in Europe, and quickly completed the task of instigating a major war in Europe.

After consultations between the Chinese Empire and other countries, the results of the trial came out in just three days. 17 people, including Printhis, a Serbian man, were convicted of the assassination of the wife of the Archduke Ferdinand, the crown prince of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and at the same time, Martis, a senior Serbian political official, was also suspected of instigating the murder.

Austria-Hungary was determined to use this as a pretext to completely destroy Serbia. The Austrian emperor consulted Germany, and Kaiser Wilhelm II said that it was now, or never. And Moltke Jr., chief of the General Staff of the German Army, also said that for the Allies, the sooner the war, the better.

Germany's pledge to give its full support to Austria-Hungary in its military action against Serbia greatly boosted Austria-Hungary's confidence.

And the Entente group is also active. On 5 January, senior British officials visited Russia and France in succession to pledge to fulfill the military obligations of the alliance. France, on the other hand, was very good at manipulating that France was neutral on the Balkan issue, which gave Germany the illusion that France did not want to be immediately involved in the Balkan war. In fact, France had secretly reached an agreement with Britain and Russia, and the purpose of this move was to lure Germany into going to war first.

In this way, both the Entente and the Central Powers had their own agendas, and the excuse that Austria-Hungary had got its wish finally came.

Austria-Hungary decided to use this as an excuse to provoke a war and annex Serbia. Germany strongly supported the actions of Austria-Hungary, and Russia expressed its support for Serbia.

On January 7, 1913, Austria-Hungary sent an ultimatum to Serbia, giving it 48 hours to reply. The content of the ultimatum is extremely harsh, demanding that all anti-Austrian activities be stopped, that officials and civilians who engage in anti-Austrian propaganda be punished, and that other Serbian political officials involved in this matter be extradited.

Serbia was a lamb sacrificed by the Entente, ignorant of the true purpose of Britain, France and Russia, and foolishly believed in the Entente's promises.

On 8 January, Serbia replied rejecting all Austro-Hungarian demands, citing its exclusion from the International Tribunal. On the same day, Austria-Hungary and Serbia broke off diplomatic relations, and Austria-Hungary began military mobilization.

The next day, after learning of the military mobilization of Austria-Hungary, France made a request for mediation with Germany, pretending to avoid war.

The German Emperor Wilhelm II immediately convened a royal council to discuss countermeasures. At the meeting, the arrogant Germans believed that if they were neutral with France, then Germany should also be neutral, and let Austria-Hungary and Russia resolve the contradictions themselves. Because Serbia is a Slavic state, once Austria-Hungary invades Serbia, the Russian Empire, which is also a Slavic country in the north, will declare war on Austria-Hungary. As soon as Germany then needed to declare war on Russia in order to protect the Allied Austro-Hungarian Empire. However, Germany was not the only one who formed a faction, and France, Russia's accomplice, would certainly launch an attack on Germany.

If Germany intervened, it would be attacked by two powerful countries from two fronts, and fighting on two fronts has always been taboo, so Germany hoped that Italy could help. Unfortunately, Italy declared neutrality under the pretext of France, and also declared neutrality, and did not join the war, which made Germany very annoyed.

However, Germany could not offend Italy at this time, and had to continue to tolerate Italian neutrality.

Fighting on two fronts, Germany could not afford to fight. Therefore, as early as 1905, Germany developed the Schlieffen Plan. According to the Schlieffen Plan, Germany's goal and purpose were very clear, that is, to solve the Western Front problem in a short period of time, and to use superior forces and a wide range of interspersed encirclement to eliminate France as soon as possible, so as to achieve its strategic goal.

However, when Moltke Jr. became chief of the German General Staff, questions were raised about the Schlieffen plan. The Schlieffen plan required a bypass of the French fortifications and an attack on France in the opposite direction through Belgium, which required a very fast assault force and the ability to supply over long distances. This is not possible with the current German capacity.

If France adopts the defensive tactics of clearing the fields and taking the camp step by step, delaying the speed and time of the German offensive and lengthening the German supply line will put Germany in danger. Because that would buy Russia valuable time to mobilize for the war, send troops to attack East Prussia, and threaten the security of the capital Berlin.

Therefore, Moltke Jr. revised the Schlieffen plan, reduced the assault force, and transferred it to the Eastern Front to deal with the Russian threat. The Schlieffen Plan was a very risky plan, with the destruction of France and the destruction of Germany. It was precisely because of Schlieffen's insistence that Kaiser Wilhelm II was replaced by Moltke Jr. as chief of the General Staff.

Moltke Jr.'s plan was to strengthen the eastern and western fronts, slightly lean towards the western front, and prepare to return to the eastern front to face Russia after defeating France on the western front. Germany was counting on Austria-Hungary and hoped that Austria-Hungary would be able to resist the Russian [***] team together with the German army on the Eastern Front. Because in terms of troops, the strength of the German Eastern Front plus the strength of Austria-Hungary was enough to withstand the Russian [***] team. Therefore, the strategy of the German Eastern Front was to defend first and then counterattack.

While Germany was developing its military plans, France was not idle. The French side believed that Germany could not be defeated by land, so the French idea was to use the strong fortresses to hold back the German [***] team, let the huge Russian army attack Germany, force Germany to draw more troops to fight Russia, and finally France took the opportunity to counterattack Germany.

For a long time, France had been preparing for a large-scale expansion of its positions, including large fortresses such as Belfort, Epinal, Tours, Verdun, etc., which constituted the main support points for defensive positions. This position could be garrisoned by a large number of French troops in various ways, which made the offensive very difficult.

It can be said that the war tactics of the two major military blocs are very in place, each has its own specific purpose, and they are all very feasible tactical and strategic plans, but during the war, the plan does not change as fast as the plan, and whether or not the plan can be successfully completed depends on the actual combat results and is affected by other uncertain factors.

Three days later, Austria-Hungary completed preparations for military mobilization and declared war on Serbia. Since Austria-Hungary had begun to secretly carry out military mobilization, by the time war was declared on January 12, Austria-Hungary had mobilized 2 million troops.

According to the battle plan drawn up by the Austro-Plenum General Staff in 1911, the Austro-Hungarian [***] squad was to be carried out according to three plans: C, Q, and X. In Plan C, Austria-Hungary will fulfill its obligations with Germany and will launch an all-out war against Russia, and the main forces of Austria-Hungary will be concentrated on the Galician front, cutting off Russian Poland in a far-reaching and roundabout way, cooperating with the German army on the Eastern Front, concentrating three million troops, and defeating the Russian [***] team. This plan was insane, so Austria-Hungary would drain all its forces and fight Russia to the outcome.

Plan Q was a compromise plan, which was also to cooperate with the German offensive on the Eastern Front, detour to the Russian Polish region, and mobilize 1 million troops to fight against the Russian army with the German army. At the same time, 800,000 troops were mobilized to attack Serbia, and only a weak Balkan Army Group was maintained against Serbia and Montenegro.

According to the plan of Plan X, Austria-Hungary only fought against Serbia, and then used the Balkan Army Group and the Royal Hungarian Infantry Army Group to attack Serbia and Montenegro with overwhelming superiority in strength, and the Royal Austrian Infantry Army Group maintained a defensive posture against Russia.

It can be said that if the Austro-Hungarian Empire's battle plan had been perfectly coordinated with Germany, the Entente would have been defeated by the German-Austrian forces within three months. However, the arrogance of the German Emperor Wilhelm II led to the fact that this nirvana was not brought into play.

At the time of the mobilization of Austria-Hungary, Germany was also mobilizing, but it did not develop into a full-scale general mobilization. Russia, on the other hand, is engaged in a national mobilization. To this end, Kaiser Wilhelm II sent a telegram to Emperor Nicholas II of Russia, demanding that Russia stop military mobilization. He said that Germany did not want war with Russia, that they were relatives and should not turn against each other.

When Nicholas II received the telegram from Wilhelm II, he was so moved that he immediately abandoned the national mobilization. And replied to Wilhelm II, saying that he did not want war to break out.

However, Wilhelm II believed it and still did not get Germany to fully mobilize. Although Nicholas II ordered the mobilization to be stopped, when the order was passed down, Russia had already completed the mobilization, and the efficiency it had never had made Nicholas II dare not believe that it was his army, so at the instigation of the Russian [***] side, Nicholas II's idea of war burned again.

With Russia secretly completing its military mobilization, Germany did send the wrong signal to Austria-Hungary that Russia would not interfere with Serbia, and Austria-Hungary could safely send troops.

So, on January 13, Austria-Hungary could not wait to carry out Plan X and launched a full-scale attack on Serbia.

At the forefront was the Austro-Crarian Balkan Army Group, a third-rate army, twenty-two divisions, belonging to the local city guards, next to the Serbian border on the river.

Since Serbia is a small country of only 3 million people, the mobilization force is only 400,000, which has reached the limit. In order to defend the country, Serbia did not hesitate to blow up the only bridge over the boundary river to prevent the invasion of the enemy.

At the beginning of the battle, the Austro-Hungarian Balkan Army, under the command of the same third-rate commander, the former military governor of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Potirek, attacked Serbia twice, and was defeated by the combined Serbian and Montenegrin forces.

(To be continued)