In the early morning of May 1, 1913, the streets of Berlin were bustling with people, and countless black and oppressive Germans gathered in front of the magnificent and solemn Imperial Palace all night. the uneasiness of the breakdown of a peaceful life, the anxiety of the brutal war that has befallen them; hatred of long-cherished France, and the hope of beating the enemy...... All kinds of contradictory and opposing emotions surged in their hearts, making their faces heavy and complicated, and they remained silent for a long time. The night before, the Kaiser had already delivered a war-dangerous speech on the balcony of the Imperial Palace, saying that we would be "forced to take up arms". And the moment the sun rises, it is the deadline for Germany's 48-hour ultimatum to France!

The golden purple red sun jumped out from the eastern horizon, shining brightly.

At 8 o'clock in the morning, Germany declared war on France, as France had not replied to Berlin by the deadline for Germany's ultimatum. In 1870, what had been feared by most people on both sides of the Rhine, and which had been expected by most since 1905, finally happened. The doors of the Imperial Palace in Berlin slowly opened in front of the crowd, and a young diplomat stepped out of it; In front of the people of the Reich, he respectfully read out the Reich Government's declaration of war: "By the arrogance, greed, arrogance, and perfidy of France, the glory, dignity, and interests of Germany have been seriously damaged; In order for us to always be bathed in the light, we must take up arms and judge this group of sinners and heretics! The hatred of France overpowered the fear of war, and the high-pitched German supremacy resounded throughout the world. Vehicles full of officers sped down the linden street, shouting a call to "mobilize" to the people on both sides of the street, and the people suddenly changed from the cautious and worried Marx to the impulsive and heroic Mars. They rejoiced. Scattered in a hurry. Went to vent his anger on the suspected French spy.

The mobilization and conscription order was issued. The entire German war machine began to move with astonishing precision and efficiency. More than 1 million equally well-trained reservists began to assemble at designated military stations, received uniforms, equipment, and weapons, formed first into companies, then into battalions, and then added cavalry, motorcycles, artillerymen, armoured troops, medical units, cooking cars, repair vehicles, and mail trucks, and sent them to the assembly points near the border according to a railway timetable that made the 14,000 carriages accurate to the minute. There, they were organized into divisions, and then divisions were transferred to armies. In the end, the army group booked by the General Staff was formed, which was ready to go out on duty. After spinning the roaring propellers, Herman, the tall and muscular pilot, fastened his seat belt in the cabin; In the roaring steel assault gun, the brave armored second lieutenant Heinz was poking half out of the hatch to survey the surroundings. On the battlecruiser D-Fringel, the most powerful battlecruiser in the High Seas Fleet, the dignified and wise Major Chief of Staff Erich groaned in front of a huge chart of the North Sea; In the bumpy carriage rumbling forward, a certain herald of the Bavarian Infantry Regiment opened his gray eyes, which were as sharp as a falcon.

"This is the only solution to the growing tensions faced by the Germans, the end of the nightmare of being surrounded on all sides." When the Reich government declared war on France, the German press and media began to spread war propaganda in order to awaken the determination of the German people to devote all their strength to the war. On the front page of the day, the Berliner Zeitung happily wrote under the headline "The Well-being of the Guns": "Take action. That's where the fun comes in. The long-awaited moment of glory has finally arrived, and the French robbers who dared to humiliate Germany will only survive. The Teutonic sword of righteousness will never be sheathed. ”

In the Berlin Imperial Palace, the solemn and bright Whitehall is now crowded with countless party leaders and parliamentarians. An oil painting of William I prancing on his horse on the battlefield of Sedan, with the French flag under his horse's hooves, hangs in front of the wall of the central throne. Kaiser Wilhelm, dressed in military uniform, walked into the hall surrounded by Chancellor Holwig and several generals in rich costumes and ascended to the top of the throne. In the face of these domestic party leaders and congressional figures, William delivered an impassioned and combative war speech; He enumerated the numerous crimes committed by France against Prussia, and immediately stirred up a storm of hatred of France in the hearts of these people. "From this day forward, I do not recognize parties, only Germans!" Wilhelm raised his right hand and said in a majestic voice, "Gentlemen, are you willing to defend the dignity and glory of Germany, and to protect the legacy that the Holy Emperor has worked so hard to create?" People could not suppress the blood rushing in their hearts, and they shouted one after another: "Yes, yes! In the midst of a frenzy of excitement, all the participants, including the leader of the Social Democratic Party, enthusiastically shook hands with the democratic emperor, and ecstatic cheers resounded throughout the Berlin Imperial Palace.

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At 11 a.m. on May 1, the French government, which had not long received the war letter, immediately declared war on Germany. The assurances of the Russian giants made them feel a hundred times more relieved, and the French Army, which had been on the verge since 1871, gave all sectors of France, including the military department, a strong confidence in the fight against the Germans. On both sides of the smooth and open Champs-Lillys, which were already crowded at the moment, a group of French officers and soldiers wearing dark blue tops with red trousers and wide hems and buttons on both sides walked in the middle of the street with neat steps, and were 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. Wearing the blue and black ribbon of the 1870 battlefield veteran, General Bonoor, who won more cheers, couldn't help but burst into tears at the moment, and his voice in his throat was slightly choked with excessive excitement. Forty-three years earlier, in the war, he had his arm broken by the Prussian army's artillery, and he experienced first-hand the great humiliation of losing the war and the cession of land with reparations, and lived every day in the torment and frustration of shame. And today, he finally waited for the moment of shame for himself and his nation; The army under his command will serve as the blade of the French army, and in one fell swoop will wipe out the group of shameless invaders entrenched in the Vosges Mountains!

The soldiers of the French cavalry regiment rode tall horses, wore dazzling iron cuirasses, and had long ponytails hanging from their helmets. The infantry were uniformly blue shirts and red trousers, rolling forward like waves. The brightly colored uniforms of the French army showed an unparalleled visual effect in the military parade, and the citizens of Paris were full of vigorous and heroic appearances as far as the eye could see; The offensive belief of revenge erupted from every soldier, turning into a fearless and majestic rush of passion. Behind them were 75-mm infantry guns, carried on flatbed trailers, which were the pride of the French army. The people and horses flowed endlessly all day long, rushing to the front line in the flowers and cheers of the citizens; Infected by this powerful and mighty military appearance, the citizens of Paris, who had never known each other, began to shake hands and hug each other with excitement, and the whole Paris had become a melting pot of military camps.

Unlike Germany and France, two old rivals who had long been ready to put each other to death at any time, drew their swords in an instant, Britain, as one of France's most important supports, dropped its chain after Germany and France declared war on each other, and it was difficult to make a decisive war decision. Throughout the day of May 1, the British Cabinet was nervous and uncertain, not knowing whether to stay out of the matter or to resolutely assume the obligations of the alliance.

Although Prime Minister Asquith, Foreign Minister Gray, Balfour, Churchill and a number of other far-sighted people in the British government realized that allowing Germany to dominate the European continent would lead to disastrous consequences, and it was necessary to provide assistance to France; However, for the sake of secrecy, the various terms of aid to France were made behind closed doors and were not known and approved by the public. The expansion of the German navy did permeate Britain with an atmosphere of fear and hostility towards Germany, but war and peaceful competition were clearly two completely different situations. Because Britain was beaten by the Boers only ten years ago, tens of thousands of British troops were buried in the battlefield, and the British people, who suffered a large number of casualties, can deeply understand the pain caused by the war than the German and French people, who have been peaceful for a long time. And because there is no Alsace in the UK, a large number of people and parliamentarians are lacking in morale; They hoped that Britain would sit back and watch the fight this time, as it did in 1870, and avoid being drawn into a brutal war.

In the face of this situation, Foreign Minister Gray took up the important task of unanimating the government and the opposition and uniting the whole country. In the War and Peace Conference in the House of Commons, he gradually made parliamentarians consider this existential crisis for Britain in terms of "British duty, British honour and British interests". By the time his speech, which had been an hour and a quarter of an hour, the entire room erupted in long-lasting applause of approval. All the parliamentarians are aware that this catastrophe will not be debaited by their own evasion; For the sake of the glory and interests of Britain, the only choice is to resolutely plunge into this war, which may cause great casualties and disasters!

In the middle of the night on May 2, Britain's ultimatum to war was finally long overdue. By this time, Russia had declared war on Germany because the ultimatum had not been answered, and Austria-Hungary had declared war on France and Russia on the basis of an offensive and defensive alliance signed with Germany. With the exception of Italy, which is still waiting to see what happens, Europe's five great powers have all been embroiled in the war over colonial disputes. The bitter contradictions between the European powers, which had been tried to cover up for decades, finally ushered in a catharsis of a general eruption. (To be continued......)