The Life and Influence of Francisco Sabatino di Arnaud Part 6: Shattered Dreams
In August 1899, Kaiser Frederick III and Emperor Humbert impress the British people through their civility and gallant behaviour. The Marquess of Salisbury greets them, and Frederick and Humbert publicly visit the ailing Queen, and wish her well. Francesco Crispi and German Foreign Minister Johann von Bernstorff accompany the Kaiser and the Emperor, and speak with the Marquess. Salisbury, Crispi and von Bernstorff resume negotiations for a non-aggression pact with the Alliance, with possibility of Britain becoming a full member of the Alliance.
A non-aggression pact is signed on August 8th, and Crispi reveals that plans for this pact had been in the works for some time. Kaiser Frederick, Prince Edward, and Emperor Humbert announce closer relations with their perspective empires on August 9th, where a lone gunman shoots Frederick. The assassin is later identified as Jacob Huckleby, a former member of the Fabian Society expelled for advocating violent demonstrations. Huckleby is killed during the attack by guards, and his remains are sent to his wife, Christa Friedlich, a wealthy Junker living in Manchester.
Kaiser Frederick�s body is viewed in London before being returned to Berlin for a state funeral, and many Britons visit the body. All alliance negotiations are put on hold, and Emperor Humbert follows the late Kaiser�s body to Berlin. Many monarchs and heads of state attend the funeral, including Emperor Humbert, Czar Nicholas, Prince Edward and President McKinley. Crown Prince Wilhelm is made Kaiser on August 21st, to the delight of the upper class. Kaiser Wilhelm II calls for a return to the old ways, and assures the German people that they are the most powerful nation in Europe.
In the Reichstag elections of 1900, the new German National Party or DNP takes control of the Reichstag, and votes not to return to the old political system, however the Junker-controlled Bundesrat almost unanimously disapproves the decision. Kaiser Wilhelm then endorses Bernhard von Bulow Reich Chancellor, who is chosen Chancellor. Immediately, Wilhelm impresses his ideas on expanding German military and economic power at the expense of foreign relations on von Bulow, and Germany begins to construct a strong navy, and expand the army.
Meanwhile, back in Italy, Annibale Sabatino gives birth to twins, one boy, Pietro, and a girl, Briana. Arnaud, because of his family and the opinions of his old friend von Bismarck, is considerably concerned at the size of the net of alliances Europe has become tangled into, and the horrible war that may occur. Arnaud begins working on a possible conference to limit the extent of the two powerful sides of Europe.
In Italian East Africa, the last vestiges of the old Ethiopian kingdom have finally been destroyed, and Abyssinia is now ruled as a colony and gives up protectorate status. The native population is beginning to accept its current position, but there are still many Ethiopians who oppose Italian rule. The Italian East Africa Company is told by Emperor Humbert to be especially hospitable to the vanquished area. The capital of Italian East Africa is moved from Massawa to Beroni in inland Masai, where Italian settlers have built a large town around the coal mines near the Tana River.
The Octavio and the Marco Aureli are commissioned on May 15th, and are added to the Marina Militaire. The forts around Nice and Venice are finished and garrisoned in the summer, and the line of forts in the Trentino and Savoy are very near completion. The forts are called Henri Brialmont�s best work. Brialmont sadly dies in July, halfway through designing the fortifications around Liege.
Kaiser Wilhelm proposes the expansion of the Kaiserliche Marine, which will build some of the most powerful warships in the world. These warships are currently under construction after being approved by the new Navy Law introduced by Admiral Tirpitz. Secretly, a new German submersible program is started to develop a class of powerful underwater vessels.
Queen Victoria dies on October 24th, to the grief of Britain and much of Europe, and Prince Edward is crowned Edward VII. Edward promises to lower tension in Europe and work to strengthen the British Empire. Arnaud immediately proposes an international conference at Rome to limit the extent and complexity of the alliance system, decrease tension and create guidelines on what will bring other nations into small conflicts.
The conference begins on the 18th of May, with representatives of most European nations attending, including King Edward VII in the audience, and they have high hopes. Arnaud presides over the conference, and the beginning issue of limiting the alliance system to Europe is agreed upon. The conference then moves on to limiting conflicts so that a large European war may be avoided. The Great Powers agree to a system allowing small regional wars to occur without embroiling the entire continent. Other nations are given protection from wars of conquest through an added provision.
However, the conference quickly deteriorates, after the Belgian delegate raises the issue of his nations assured neutrality, and Britain isn�t prepared to back the issue. No one in either alliance will consider leaving, and small nations don�t want to become second-class members of either alliance. Arnaud quickly changes the issue back to the limitation to Europe of the alliance systems and regional conflict limitations, and the Roman Agreement is signed on June 5th, by all nations promising not to extend any conflict between one alliance and another outside Europe. Arnaud did not get exactly what he wanted, but he is thankful for the Agreement.
In Germany, the submersible program is viewed as too costly and is suspended. The Kaiserliche Marine believes that investing resources into submarines would hinder the construction of a surface navy. Ten new Deutschland-class battleships are laid down, expected to be completed by 1906.
Italy also announces new warships under construction. Vittorio Cuniberti, an experienced Italian admiral, announces a new kind of ship, a battle cruiser. These ships are faster than any other capital ship, and much more powerful than any cruiser. The Roma class, the first class of these ships, includes the keels of the Roma, Napoli, and Veneto, which are laid down in early June. In late June, Russia, Germany and Italy renew the Triple Alliance.
In July of 1903, the newly independent Bulgaria makes agreements with the Entente to protect it from Russian influence. In Austria-Hungary, Emperor Franz Josef requests a meeting of the Entente Powers to discuss military and political issues. During the meeting in August 1903, plans are discussed. In the event of a war in which all parties are involved, France will invade Germany through Alsace-Lorraine, and Austria-Hungary will defend the Alps region and attack Bavaria. Turkish forces will invade the Caucasus and Bulgarian troops will aid Austro-Hungarian armies in Galicia. The powers also agree that Britain must be brought into the Entente to balance power in Europe.
In early 1904, King Edward visits Paris, where he is received well by the French. After speaking with Minister D�class�, Edward expresses his fear of Germany�s growing strength under the new Kaiser, and encourages an Anglo-French military conference. Kaiser Wilhelm travels to Tangiers, and makes a powerful speech against French interests there.
After the defeat of Russia in 1905 by the Japanese, Czar Nicholas purges the army and encourages a new Alliance conference to develop and refine military plans. Russia, defeated in the Far East, now turns its eyes back to the Balkans.
In March 1905, Vittorio Cuniberti and Benedetto Brin introduce a new ship plan for the Intrepido-class of battleships. These ships incorporate a 20-knot speed along with strong armor and standardized 12-inch guns housed in 6 two-gun turrets. Two turrets are on the centerline on fore and aft, and two turrets are amidships. The inclusion of steam turbine engines dramatically increases speed as well. This ship is the culmination of Brin�s life work, and the Intrepido makes almost every other ship in the world obsolete. Two other sister ships are begun, the Invincibile and the Coraggioso.
By 1906, 1.6 million Italian citizens have settled in Masai and another 800,000 have settled in Eritrea, Ethiopia and Italian Somaliand. The booming coal and mining industry in western Masai and the Ethiopian highlands has led to the creation of steel plants and other manufacturing facilities in the capital of Beroni, the port of Mombasa, and other eastern towns. Thanks to the extensive railroad network, the Italian East Africa Company has made extensive profits exporting manufactured goods to other colonies and cash crops abroad. Emperor Humbert�s extremely liberal policies towards the natives have resulted in widespread cultivation of high-profit export crops by Masai and Ethiopians. Over the years, the New Empire movement has led Italian colonial policy towards cultural development, national pride and stability rather than pure profitability.
The Italian Native Militia, one of the most successful institutions in Italian East Africa, has brought Italian colonial troops and native Africans together and as the first twenty-year terms of service expire in 1906, fifteen thousand Masai receive Italian citizenship. The INM is renamed the Italian East African Militia, and is integrated with Italian citizen conscripts and native volunteers.
In February 1907, military leaders of the Alliance Powers meet in St. Petersburg. The plans remain nearly identical in the west, but General Stranello of the Italian General Staff introduces his plans for an Italian drive into Styria down the Drava, and the job of cutting off the Tyrol going to the Germans, who will advance down the Salzach. The Russians announce that they will devote two thirds of the army to the Galician front and the rest will go to Armenia, where they will advance into Turkey. Russian naval forces will bombard Bulgarian and Turkish ports on the Black Sea, and Italian naval forces will blockade the Adriatic and Constantinople to cut Austria-Hungary off from any Entente support.
In October 1908, Austria-Hungary officially annexes Bosnia with the support of Russia, but Austria does not aid Russia in getting concessions dealing with the Straits. Russia is humiliated, and Austro-Russian relations quickly deteriorate.
General Mantegna retires in December 1908, and is replaced by General Di Amicis. In lieu of recent European crises, General Di Amicis decides to prepare the Italian military for war, which he expects in the next five years. His first action is to militarize the Italian overseas possessions. He authorizes the enlistment of 100,000 new IEAM troops, and begins drawing up colonial war plans. He asks General Dabormida to formulate a list of defensible positions in the colonies that would make good fortification locations.
In January 1909, the Intrepido is launched, and news of its design starts a worldwide change in battleship planning. The Intrepido breaks speed records of other ships her size, and packs a stronger punch as well. The Dreadnought is launched by Britain three months later, and is seen as a weaker version of the Intrepido.
The Italian General Staff officially changes their Austro-Hungarian war plans to include the Stranello Plan. The Second Army will advance to Lienz, and then fight down the Drava, with the Hohe Tauern Range protecting the right flank. The objective will be Klagenfurt, and then Graz.
In 1910, Eleutherios Venizelos becomes Prime Minister of Greece, and his policy includes closer relations with the Triple Alliance. Venizelos acknowledges that his nation cannot defeat the much larger Ottoman Empire without outside help, and sets up an alliance with Serbia and Montenegro.
General Dabormida retires in 1910, and the military command of Italian East Africa is given to General Vincenzo Loma. General Loma places native Masai Colonel Feda Digane along with Italian Masai Colonel Guiseppe Grismaldi in joint command of the IEAM.
The Morocco issue again becomes important as a German gunboat is sent to Agadir in 1911 to protest French interests in the region. Franco-German relations deteriorate quickly, and Europe is on the brink of war. At the last minute in closed negotiations, Germany consents to the French declaring a protectorate over the area, and the crisis diminishes.
Bulgaria, in light of recent revolutions in the Ottoman Empire by the Young Turks, issues a demand to Turkey that Macedonia be given autonomy on July 28th 1912. Greece, Serbia and Montenegro support the demand on August 11th, but Turkey refuses. Tensions grow until October 15th, when Bulgaria declares war on Turkey. The rest of the Balkan coalition declares war on the 22nd.
Late in the month, Bulgarian forces are defeated at Edirne by a large jumble of Turkish forces scoured from all over the Empire. However, elsewhere coalition forces win decisive victories over the Turks throughout European Turkey. On November 26th, Turkey sues for an armistice. In peace negotiations, Turkey refuses to accept any treaty offered, and resumes operations on January 19th.
Greek forces capture Ioanna and most of Albania, and Bulgarian forces capture Adrianople in February and March. Finally on April 27th, Turkey signs an armistice. In subsequent negotiations in London, the major European powers and the war nations agree on a peace treaty. The Treaty of London gives all Turkish territory outside Thrace to the coalition, and most of the Aegean Islands to Greece. Bulgaria is given territory on the Aegean coast, and Serbia is awarded most of Macedonia. Albania is made independent, and Greece gains Ioanna, Salonika, and southern Macedonia.
The new incidents in the Balkans have created new tensions between the nations of Europe, and Arnaud begins pushing again for a second Roman Conference.
Kaiser Wilhelm finally has his enormous naval building program completed, and at huge cost, Germany has the second largest European navy, to Britain. The Reichstag also approves funds for the expansion of the German Army to 800,000 active peacetime troops.
In 1913, the Second Balkan War commences, and the forces of Romania, Serbia and Greece march against Bulgaria. The war ends badly for Bulgaria, and the nation loses almost all of its concessions from the First Balkan War. The Bulgarian Army, victorious on the field, is forced to surrender by a weak leftist government and economic hardship at home. Vasil Radomirov, a nationalist hawk becomes the Prime Minister and promises the Bulgarian people that they will have their revenge when the time is right.
The French pass their Three Year Law in late 1913, and Britain begins negotiating with France to sign a non-aggression pact. On February 7th 1914, the Anglo-French Entente is signed, the British non-aggression pact with Germany and Italy is repudiated, and plans are begun for Britain to become a full member of the Entente.
After a game of tennis with his son Pietro, Arnaud discovers an unsightful large lumpy mole on his neck and calls in his personal physician to go about removing it surgically. The physician is alarmed at its size, but removes it, and insists on a blood sample.
Finally, in May 1914, the Second Roman Conference begins. Due to the recent strains in relations between the two factions in European diplomacy, almost everyone is eager to make some sort of agreement to lessen strain. A committee is formed to create one document that will create stability in Europe. Progress goes well, as all sides agree to include terms of limiting causes for war with members of each opposing alliance. In mid-June, the topic changes to actually disband parts of each alliance. After nearly two months of negotiations, nearly everyone agrees to a motion to reconvene in one month to allow a break. Stability in Europe is close to actually becoming a reality, and the rest is just the formality of signing the breakthrough Roman Agreement.
All of the hopes and dreams of Arnaud and other peacemakers are shattered when on June 25th, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sonia are assassinated at the hands of a Serbian activist in the streets of Sarajevo.