German Red Prince

Page 89

This extreme measure brought the tensions between Türkiye and the Arabs into the open.

These extreme actions led to a decrease in the population and a sharp decline in agricultural output in the Turkish region, both of which were vital sources of revenue for the empire, severely impacting the country's finances.

At the same time, such actions also provoked the Arab community within the Ottoman Empire. Although their uprising was suppressed and quickly failed, everyone realized that reforms had to be put on the agenda.

In response to the Arab Congress held in 19131, the Ottoman Empire made concessions, and Arabic was recognized as the second official language of the empire.

At the same time, the fragile balance within the United Progressive Committee was broken due to the increase in internal factions and the rise of many officers.

Furthermore, the betrayal of Germany, an ally of the United Progressive Committee, in the Palestinian territories led to the rise of anti-German sentiment domestically, causing the party's approval rating to decline continuously.

Subsequently, the United Progressive Committee was reorganized into the Revival Party to continue operating. At the same time, in order to change its image and win favor, it was forced to publicly break with some party members who represented the past dictatorial image.

Jamal Pasha was expelled from the party, and Talat Pasha's influence has also diminished considerably.

At this time, Mustafa Kemal Pasha, who was serving as Minister of War, dismissed the German military advisors and began his ambitious military reforms. He saw the problems in the country and knew what he should do.

Kemal promoted a series of reform movements under the slogan of Greater Ottoman Nationalism. He wanted to transform the people of the Ottoman Empire into a pure "Ottoman nation." His actions were widely praised at home and became an important basis for his expansion of power.

To avoid another Enver Pasha, the central leadership of the Revival Party put Kavitbey in the leadership position; however, this did not prevent Kemal from successfully seizing power within the party.

In 1925, he was fortunate enough to become the leader of the party and renamed the Revival Party for the second time as the "Ottoman People's Party," becoming the de facto leader of the Ottomans and officially beginning his plans.

Transforming the Ottoman Empire into a secular state would inevitably face suppression from religious forces, and the road ahead might not be smooth, but Kemal had no choice but to continue.

The war did not fail to provide the Ottomans with an opportunity; it successfully broke Britain's control over the world.

The Ottomans actually had more opportunities. Those regions that were once under British control were gaining independence. Germany didn't care about these places, and Kemal could actually unite them very well.

Newly independent Arab states did not have much fighting power and found it difficult to deal with invasions from larger countries. Therefore, it was necessary for Kemal to create a pure "Ottoman nation".

Apart from Egypt, the remaining Arab nations have not yet truly become a modern country.

They were more like tribal groups, and Kemal was dedicated to resolving and easing conflicts between ethnic groups.

In today's world where powerful nations hold sway, a weak regime without protection is doomed to perish.

If they could develop a sense of national identity, the Ottomans could incorporate them into their territory without much resistance.

By leveraging the concept of nation-states and shared religion, it's easy to gain favor with Arabs by easing tensions with them, and with a bit of luck, even the Egyptian Sultanate could be won over.

The Ottomans now only have two paths to take: either follow Kemal's line of thinking or retreat to the Anatolian Peninsula and pursue Turkishism.

The second option was obviously much easier, but how could Kemal be willing to let the Ottoman Empire be reduced to a third-rate country?

However, after listening to what that official said, I realized that I have a long way to go and that the formation of national identity is a long process that will probably take several years.

He had the soldiers guarding the city gates let the refugees in, and then he began to survey the city's situation.

Tripoli was the only port in the North African territories. If it were captured, the Ottomans would lose all of their North African territory.

Although there is another port, Benghazi, it is too far from the front lines to provide effective assistance.

How many troops are stationed in North Africa?

“There are now two divisions, totaling ten thousand men,” said the military official standing nearby.

Two divisions, totaling 10,000 men, may seem intimidating, but they are not lacking in firepower, though they are short of heavy artillery and armor.

This passive defense stemmed from the Ottomans' consistently lack of concern for North Africa.

Previously, this area was an Italian colony, and they simply took advantage of it. However, Kemal could not let his guard down in the face of the French attack.

Kemal understood the significance behind this war; he had to prove to the entire Arab region that the Ottoman Empire was capable of guaranteeing their security and their living space.

"Two divisions are too few. I will transfer some more troops from the mainland. Don't worry about supplies, I will take care of it. During this time, you should pay attention to strengthening vigilance and surveillance, because the French may attack at any time."

Sufficient advantages must be gained before the war. France is fighting on its own soil, while the Ottomans would have to transport reinforcements across the Mediterranean.

They might be harassed by the French navy during this period, so they must act quickly.

I heard that France and Germany have reached some business agreement. Kemal expelled German military advisors, and Germany's influence in the Middle East has also affected the Ottoman Empire, so they certainly won't provide assistance. They're probably just watching the show and then continuing to reap some benefits.

The Ottomans could not sit idly by and wait for their doom. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Since the French Republic could ask Germany for help, they could ask the Commune for help as well.

The Commune never actually recognized the Republic, and the conflict between the two Frances was something that other countries could not understand.

Now that they had found the Germans, the Ottomans should not be refused help from the Commune. Compared to the Ottomans, Germany and the French Republic were the real enemies.

If the French Republic successfully takes over North Africa, their power will expand further, and the threat to the Commune will increase even more.

Although relations between the two countries are not good due to ideological reasons, they now share common interests and common enemies. Based on these conditions, cooperation seems to be possible.

Kemal was ready, and a special envoy had been sent to the commune. Now all that remained was to await the decisive battle with France.

Chapter 140 The Political Spectrum of the Commune

As the world's first successfully established socialist country, the French Commune was ideologically inclusive, and you could see all sorts of left-wing ideas there.

As a beacon of civilization, the Commune attracted exiles and believers from all over the world.

It is difficult to define specifically which ideology the communes of today are proponents of. The guiding ideology of the communes today comes from many places, including syndicalism, Bolshevism, and anarchism.

Following the victory in the civil war, Léon Jouault was elected General Secretary of the French Commune and Chairman of the Commune Workers' Congress with a high number of votes. At the same time, the Labour Party he led became the largest party in the National Committee for Public Safety.

Because the Labour Party is not as purely sectarian as other parties, it is centered on syndicalism but also encompasses the ideas of multiple ideologies.

This allows the Labour Party to attract people from different political factions, but it also leads to its bloatedness and division, making it unable to unite like other parties and causing internal problems of all sizes.

The political ideology of the Second Commune was never unified. Since its establishment, countless political factions have emerged, each with its own theory on the path France should take. This has led to different relationships between different factions due to their differing paths.

Similar factions often form alliances and establish cooperative relationships to gain a voice at the conference. The conference sometimes turns into a quarrel, and the quarrel may lead to more intense fighting.

Nowadays, the most that happens between political parties is to criticize each other in the newspapers and post their own propaganda slogans in the opposing camp.

However, before the enactment of the Law on Solidarity among political parties, security in Paris reached an all-time low, with various factions exchanging opinions in the streets using fists and sticks.

Almost every march resulted in clashes, the most serious of which involved a gunfight in downtown Paris, directly and indirectly causing injuries to about two hundred people. From then on, the Commune's control over the various political parties became very strict.

The reason for electing Leon Joao as General Secretary was a compromise between various parties. The Labour Party is a true centrist, and his rise to power would not affect any party.

The Labour Party maintains a delicate balance among the various factions because no one wants any pure political faction to come to power.

This could very well be devastating to other parties. Heresy is worse than paganism, and whichever side comes to power will be the first to completely eradicate the other factions.

However, this harmonious situation was unlikely to last much longer. When the National Committee for Public Safety voted with a 90% majority to abolish the Treaty of Versailles and announced the rearmament of France, this balance was broken.

The Labor Party's rule ensured domestic stability, but this internal compromise became a burden when faced with an enemy that posed a threat to the Commune.

The Commune was already in an uproar over its policy toward Germany, with some advocating for the complete destruction of Germany, others for the division of Germany, and still others for the military occupation of Germany.

The commune's army was as complex as its government, filled with supporters of various factions, and some units were simply the armed forces of a particular faction.

For example, some of the political forces that fled from abroad came to France armed themselves, which allowed them to become a considerable force in a short time.

The Soviet exiled regime was the largest foreign political force in the entire commune, with as many as five or six officers holding important positions within the commune.

With Germany's potential revenge and the impending climax of world revolution, the General Labor Union elections became increasingly crucial, and everyone realized that the next election might be a matter of life and death.

Parties with similar ideologies choose to band together for mutual support. Forming alliances can slightly increase their chances of winning the next general election, and at least until the election is decided, they can remain friends.

The Jacobin-Sorel unity front is one such alliance; although they differ in theory, the current circumstances have brought them together.

The Jacobins, led by Maurice Torres, were pure Bolsheviks, and Torres himself was a staunch follower of Lenin. His political initiatives were more radical than those of the Labour Party, and he aimed to completely transform the French Commune into a Bolshevik state.

He believed that the Russian Revolution failed because they were not pure enough, that Bukharin's path was a wrong exploration of Leninism, and that the victory of the revolution required all necessary means.

During the French Revolution, Maurice took up arms and joined the workers' armed uprising. However, when the revolutionaries consolidated their rule over France and syndicalism began to gain the upper hand, he and his followers immediately turned against their former comrades who had fought alongside them.

Although he was only a young man in his twenties, the influence of the Jacobins should not be underestimated.

Maurice believed that if syndicalism continued to prevail throughout France, the Commune would soon become a continuation of the bourgeois rule of the Third Republic.

Because of his radical views, although the Jacobins were one of the major parties in France, Maurice himself did not hold an important position within the Commune.

Both the Jacobins and the Sorel faction were deliberately sidelined from the political center because they were considered "too dangerous."

They were the most radical force within the commune, all emphasizing the need for a complete overhaul of the commune.

Despite their differences, they all advocated uniting the dispersed power, which was bound to create conflict with other factions.

However, if things continue as they are now, and the war between Germany and France drags on for more than two years, problems will definitely arise domestically.

Moreover, the Commune faced more than one enemy; the French Republic was unwilling to abandon its illusions and was always ready to move north.

The Ottomans and the Commune had made contact some time ago, but the assembly was in an uproar over whether to provide assistance to the Ottomans.

Those who agree believe this is a good opportunity to weaken the French Republic and perhaps even seize Corsica.

Those who opposed the idea argued that it was an imperialist war between the French Republic and the Ottoman Empire, and that the Commune should not provide assistance to either side.

If national interests were taken into account, the Commune had no reason to reject the Ottomans and weaken the French Republic to the greatest extent possible, which would not do them any harm.

However, from an internationalist standpoint, the war between France and the Ottomans was not a people's war, but a war between imperialist powers vying for interests in North Africa, supporting them in a way that contradicted the principles consistently upheld by the Commune.

Because of this disagreement, the meeting lasted for about three days. In the end, the commune agreed to provide aid to the Ottomans by a narrow margin. When this news came out, many people felt that their "faith had collapsed," and the newspapers began to engage in heated debates again.

The majority of those who opposed and supported Haussmann were political exiles in France. They cast the vast majority of votes against him, and they were also the most critical in the newspapers, which aroused the dissatisfaction of many French people.

This incident can be considered a flashpoint, as the disputes between the internationalists and nationalists in France have never ceased since the founding of the Third International.

When the Commune was first established, the French people enthusiastically supported the world revolution and aided countries that were still being oppressed.

However, as time went by, fewer and fewer people supported the world revolution, and more people hoped to support it "conditionally."

The French are human beings too; they need to eat. Just because they were the first to succeed in their revolution doesn't mean they should sell their possessions to help others.

France also has its own national interests. In order to aid the world revolution, the funds that should have been spent on national construction each year were used elsewhere. This incident has changed the minds of some French people.

These foreign exiles, with their detached and indifferent attitudes, will they feel grateful to France if their countries were to successfully revolutionize one day? Or will they simply take it all for granted?

Compared to international spirit, national sentiment is clearly more popular. Many French people feel insulted and believe that France should not be so generous in helping other countries. They think France should now pay more attention to its own interests.

Valois seized this opportunity and began to act. He was never an internationalist; he was always concerned with France's own interests.

As a student of Sorel, his ideas were more radical. The United Front was organized by Valois, and he had a keen political sense that he had noticed the current situation.

Faced with the growing threat from Germany, the Commune did not want to play the hero; its priority was to protect itself.

The French mindset is changing, and so is French politics.

Chapter 141 Armored Grenadiers

Rommel's guard company has been reorganized several times and is now the size of a battalion.

Thorne's plan was to gradually expand their forces, which were the largest armed force he controlled.

He plans to expand this force into the most elite army unit in all of Rhineland in the future.

Before the 1930s even arrived, the atmosphere in the world was already somewhat off. After the conflict between Germany and France, the world seemed to suddenly become restless.

A few days ago, the German Emperor personally visited Eastern Europe. Poland, which is under military occupation, has not yet surrendered, and the counterinsurgency war is causing Germany a major headache. Ukraine is also plagued by bandits and robbers.

Although Russia is currently under a pro-German regime, anti-German sentiment within the country is rising, and one day someone might seize the opportunity to step into the limelight.

The relationship between Austria-Hungary and the Balkan states was also not normal. After the war, Austria-Hungary restricted Serbia's military and annexed nearly half of their territory. It was unknown when this Balkan powder keg would explode again.

Needless to say, in North Africa, a war between the French Republic and the Ottoman Empire was inevitable, and regardless of who won or lost, it would have a huge impact on the local political situation.

All signs indicate that war is imminent and the time for peace is drawing near.

Rommel's guard company had been expanded into a guard battalion, an expansion that often puzzled him. They called it a guard battalion, but who were they guarding? Darmstadt wasn't an important place, and there were no important figures there.

Prince Thorne hasn't come back since he gave them his last instruction, but the scale of the operation continues to expand, and the weapons they are currently equipped with are nothing like those intended for second-line troops.

The new combat uniforms are very popular and are indeed more aesthetically pleasing than the previous ones. Although they look a bit strange when paired with a helmet, the steel helmet is very protective, but soldiers still feel uncomfortable wearing it.

This type of helmet was not widely used in the Rhineland. During regular training, soldiers would usually switch back to the M16 model helmet, as they believed that the M16 model helmet was the perfect match for their uniform.

It's not wartime now, so it's fine for them to be a little vain. But if we were really on the battlefield, I doubt we could get an M27 from them even if we exchanged ten M16 helmets.

The guard battalion usually had nothing to do in Darmstadt; they just did their daily training as before. However, they could sense from their daily lives that Darmstadt had completely changed.

Thorne had previously issued a whole host of new regulations, which were all good for the residents, but the steps were indeed a bit too big, and it almost brought the already impoverished city to a standstill.

Fortunately, a considerable amount of money had been collected from the mayor and factory manager, which filled the huge hole, and Thorne was finally able to consider things for a while before making a decision.

This city has become Thorne's stronghold, and he must manage his territory well because the Kaiser has begun arresting people all over Berlin about the Commune.

The Free Workers' Union, Germany's largest workers' union, has also been under close scrutiny recently, as Wilhelm does not want anything to happen to his own country before taking action against France.

Thorne learned a lot about the Berlin area from Adolf's letter. The last professor's defection had a huge impact, and William later investigated almost all the professors in Berlin.

For now, all we can do is advise Adolf to be careful, because Heydrich has been getting busier and busier lately, and William has already begun to extend his reach to the other two kingdoms.