Hilde stretched out her slender fingers, and there was always a thrilling feeling when the black feed slipped through her fingers.
"What do you want?"
"I want to take part in the war, not stay in Berlin as a coward."
"That's just other people's opinion, my dear knight. What I want to ask you is, what do you want to gain from the war?"
"I just don't want to be seen as…
"I'm asking what you want?"
"If you don't tell me, I won't know what you're thinking."
Hilde turned around.
The ruby-like eyes looked at Prince Eitel, and those eyes seemed to look into Prince Eitel's soul.
"Okay, Hilde, I tell you, I want to be a hero, I want to be a marshal, even if I die on the battlefield, my soul can return to Valhalla. I just want to prove one thing, I am no worse than anyone else!"
"Then wait a little longer."
"Every day I wait feels like torture,"
"Do you want to be like Brother William, a nominal commander of the Fifth Army, with no one really treating you as a leader? Or do you want to be like General Ludendorff, who suddenly got lucky and encountered a brigade commander who died, and became a hero after taking over the 14th Brigade?"
Hilde was right.
Even with the identity of Crown Prince William, in a war of this scale, he was just a mascot. As the commander of the Fifth Army, he had no real power at all.
William II gave Crown Prince William a clear warning.
I have entrusted you with the supreme command of the Fifth Army. You have General Konstantin Schmidt von Knobelsdorff as Chief of the General Staff and you must act in accordance with his advice.
It can be said that William II did not give Crown Prince William any real power from the very beginning.
This was the case for William, the crown prince, let alone Prince Eitel, the second son.
Even though Ludendorff was lucky enough to take over a brigade, he was still a major general. He had worked with Schlieffen and participated in the revision of the Schlieffen Plan. As the deputy chief of staff of the Second Army, he could legitimately take over the command.
If Prince Eitel went instead, he would not be able to take over the command of a brigade just because he is a colonel.
This is also why Hilde did not go to the Western Front.
If you really go to the Western Front.
Hilde couldn't even get through the door of the Army Headquarters.
Even if Hilde is really allowed in.
That is to put Hilde there as a vase, and let Hilde go to Belgium to take a photo to express the glory of the empire.
Prince Eitel bowed his head in pain.
"That's at least better than doing nothing."
"Whether it is the Eastern Front or the Western Front, even if we win a battle, the honor belongs to the Army Group Commander.
Even if the honor is given to Brother William, do you think it is acceptable?
If you can't even get into the Army Headquarters, why would you want to get involved?"
"But wouldn't it be worse to do nothing?"
"My dear knight, you must be more patient. Power, honor, and merit are not something that can be won through struggle."
Hilde still looked completely unhurried.
"Okay, okay, Hilde, I understand what you mean, but at least tell me, how long do we have to wait?"
"Since you really can't wait, I originally wanted to wait until October 24th, but now you can wait until September 7th."
Hilde's words really confused Prince Eitel.
He originally thought Hilde would say to wait for a month or two, but he didn't expect Hilde to be so precise as to say in days.
But we can see one thing from Hilde's words.
"How long do you think this war will last?"
"No."
"Why is it November?"
"It was very long and painful."
In August 1914, the German army rampaged through Belgium on the Western Front.
The war on the Eastern Front also began.
France demanded that Russia must launch an attack on Germany as soon as possible.
In order to ease the enormous pressure on the Western Front, Russia sent the First Army and the Second Army to attack East Prussia in Germany, with a total of about 400,000 people, while Germany only had the Eighth Army on defense, with only about 150,000 people.
Two armies against one army. No matter how you look at it, the advantage is on Russia's side.
General Prittwitz, the commander-in-chief of the Eighth Army, advocated retreat, but the Supreme Commander-in-Chief Moltke the Younger, after consulting many people, believed that the Eighth Army could not retreat.
He replaced General Prittwitz with the retired General Paul von Hindenburg, and appointed Ludendorff, who was still famous in the Battle of Liege, as Chief of Staff.
Theoretically, Ludendorff is qualified to be the commander-in-chief, but he is only a major general now, and most importantly, his last name is not von.
August 22, 1914.
Hindenburg became commander-in-chief of the Eighth Army.
August 26, 1914.
The Battle of Tannenberg begins.
As one of the most famous battles in the world, the Battle of Tannenberg is not complicated.
There is a gap in command and execution between the Chinese and Russian armies.
The German army sent a cavalry division to lure out the Russian First Army, and then mobilized the entire Eighth Army to attack the Russian Second Army.
The result of this battle is.
95,000 Russian soldiers were captured and 30,000 were killed or wounded, while the Germans suffered only 3,436 deaths and 6,800 injuries.
August 30, 1914.
Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Second Army.
General Alexander Vasilyevich Samsonov committed suicide for his country.
Compared to the war itself.
More is the impact of this war.
The victory at Tannenberg gave the Allies a huge victory lap.
At the same time, Hindenburg became a hero in the eyes of the German people. He was directly promoted to general and
Step forward to become a German marshal.
Even if.
The most he did during the Battle of Tannenberg was sleep.
After all, the German people only recognize the commander-in-chief.
It is said that the real architect of the Battle of Tannenberg was General Max Hoffmann, who was only a colonel in the Eighth Army at the time.
Hoffmann remained unknown until his death.
At least compared to Hindenburg and Ludendorff, he is relatively unknown.
Including General Hermann von Francois of the Eighth Army's 1st Army, who disobeyed Ludendorff's orders twice during the Battle of Tannenberg, resulting in him being left out.
But it cannot be said that the contributions of Hoffmann and others are greater than those of Hindenburg.
The Eighth Army had dozens of staff officers, who were only responsible for making suggestions, while the highest commander was the decision maker. Similarly, if the war was lost, Hindenburg would bear the greatest responsibility.
From these we can see the embryonic form of the open and covert struggles among the German military high command.
This is also why Hield said he would not argue.
Just look at the final fate of several people in the Battle of Tannenberg.
The commander-in-chief Ludendorff was finally dismissed from the army. The brave General Francois and the designer Colonel Hoffmann were unknown, and the sleeping Hindenburg became the Field Marshal.
Ludendorff could be seen as Hindenburg's agent almost throughout the battlefields of World War I.
But this is not what Hindenburg is most famous for.
Instead, he ran for president in Germany after the defeat in World War I and appointed a man who had left a small influence in world history as chancellor.
For Hilde.
There is no point in this power struggle.
There is no need to get involved at all.
Power is given.
It wasn't stolen.
In August 1914.
In addition to the Belgian War on the Western Front, there was the German-Russian War on the Eastern Front.
And the real trigger of this war.
Austria-Hungary invades Serbia.
This is news that makes Germany feel dizzy.
August 24, 1914.
Battle of Zell.
The Allies' first defeat!
September 7, 1914.
It happened to be the day Hilde finalized.
Austria-Hungary once again launched the Battle of the Drina.
Don't support me 🙂