Greece to roman road

Once a basic industry like the steel industry has to suspend production due to lack of raw materials, it will be like a domino, and a series of chain effects will occur on the Greek economy.

In this way, the second Moroccan crisis caused the situation across Europe to become extremely tense.

The changes in the situation in Europe caused the balance of power principle established after the Napoleonic War in 1815 to be broken and replaced by the Entente Powers composed of France and Russia, as well as the Allied Powers of the German, Austrian and Italian Alliance.

For some time afterwards, Constantine had been paying attention to the direction of this crisis.

On June 11, 1911, Constantine received a notice from the Royal Palace in Syntagma Square to participate in the State Council.

When Constantine entered the conference room, he saw all the Greek military and political leaders with solemn expressions and unsmiling looks. He felt a thump in his heart, secretly thinking that something big had happened again.

King George, who personally presided over the meeting, looked around at everyone and saw that everyone had arrived. He solemnly said: "According to the reaction of the Greek ambassador to Rome, Italy seems to have recently launched an attack on the Ottomans' only remaining territories in Africa, Tripoli and Cyrenaica. , signs of use of force.”

"According to observations, the Italian navy and army have begun to gather in southern Italy, and the signs are already obvious."

King George's words were like sparks igniting dynamite, and the entire conference room became noisy. This explosive news shocked everyone.

The crisis in Morocco, negotiations between Germany and France are still ongoing, and the effects of the turmoil in Europe caused by tense relations between the two countries are already showing.

"Is there going to be a war?"

"There will be another war in Europe!"

In fact, it is no wonder that everyone is so surprised, because once a war actually breaks out between Italy and the Ottomans, it will be the first war between major European powers since the Russo-Turkish War in 1878.

Since 1878 to the present, peace has been maintained between the major powers in Europe.

"Has Italy obtained permission from Britain and France?" Prime Minister Alexandros asked in disbelief.

Italy is the weakest among the great powers. It lacks all kinds of industrial resources except for people. Without the permission of Britain and France, it has neither the courage nor the material foundation to use force against the Ottoman Empire without authorization.

"Although I don't know the specific details, it is obvious that this is the result of the instigation of Britain and France. Of course, Italy itself has the intention of expansion," Constantine said.

Seeing everyone looking at him in confusion, he explained: "Britain and France have obviously united and reached an agreement on dealing with Germany. This has been obvious in the crisis caused by Morocco."

"Italy is an ally of Germany. The two countries have signed a treaty, and the Ottoman Empire is a quasi-ally of the Germans. Over the years, Germany and the Ottomans have had close relations, with close economic and trade exchanges. Germany helped the Ottoman Empire build railways and assisted The Sudan formed a new army, and it was clear that the Germans intended to win over the Ottoman Empire as an ally."

"So, Germany should feel very embarrassed at this time, right?"

"There is tension between quasi-allies and allies, so who will Germany support?"

Thinking about William's current predicament, Constantine felt a little sympathetic to him. The diplomatic pressure exerted by Britain and France was very heavy.

"Yes, as the leader of the Allied Powers, Germany is in a dilemma at this time," Venizelos agreed.

Germany is the mainstay of the Allied Powers. Wouldn't it be a huge loss of face if it couldn't manage its own little brother?

Once Italy goes to war with the Ottoman Empire, Germany's international reputation will be hit no matter what the outcome of the war.

In fact, this is far more than a cosmetic issue, but actually affects the position of each country.

Convince Italy not to attack the Ottomans?

This is almost impossible.

The original purpose of Italy joining the German-led Allies was for colonial expansion.

In 1881, Italy was frustrated in its competition with France for Tunisia. France directly sent troops to occupy Tunisia. Italy, which was weak compared to France, had no one to help and support internationally and was isolated. It learned a painful lesson. In order to resist the pressure of France and avoid being left alone during future colonial expansion, Italy joined the Allies.

However, in the subsequent Italy-Ethiopia War, as an ally, Germany did not give Italy support. Italy lost to Ethiopia's black uncle, and naturally it was dissatisfied with its ally Germany.

This time, Britain and France encouraged Italy to attack the North African territories of the Ottoman Empire, Libya (Libya was later called, and it is still Tripoli and Cyrenaica). This was a temptation that Italy could not refuse.

As for Germany's persuasion to Italy not to use force against Libya, Italy will definitely sneer at this statement: The reason for accepting you as my eldest brother is for colonial expansion, and now you are preventing my expansion, so what do I want you as my eldest brother to do?

The reason why the Ottoman Empire got closer to Germany was to introduce new powers, balance the influence of Britain and France in the Ottoman Empire, and use barbarians to control barbarians to ensure their own security.

After the rise of Germany, relations between the two countries continued to get closer, especially after the Shabab revolution in Turkey. Germany's influence in the Ottoman Empire could not be increased.

Once Germany was unable to provide the much-needed help to the troubled Ottoman Empire, Germany's capabilities would be re-examined within the Ottoman Empire.

Therefore, this move by Britain and France - encouraging Italy to attack Libya, alienated the relationship between Germany and its allies, and hit Germany's Achilles' heel.

Venizelos lamented: "This blow hits the Germans' weakness exactly."

King George frowned and said: "So, once there is a war between Italy and the Ottoman Empire, the Ottoman Empire will not have any foreign aid?"

Constantine responded to the king by shaking his head firmly.

Seeing this scene, Navy Commander Kontoriotis said worriedly: "Without foreign aid, the Ottoman Empire will never be Italy's opponent."

"Based on this, Tripoli and Cyrenaica will fall into the hands of the Italians in the future."

"Although it is a barren desert, the strategic location is very important. It is separated from Sicily in southern Italy by the Tunisian Strait. The Italian Navy can easily cut off the Mediterranean routes."

There were sighs in the conference room.

On the route from Congo to Greece, the Tunisian Strait is a must-pass.

"Not only that, once Italy gets Tripoli and Cyrenaica, Italy's territory will appear to be semi-encircling Greece." Constantine stood up and pointed to the map of Europe hanging on the wall behind King George.

Cyrenaica is located just south of the Greek Peninsula, only a hundred kilometers away from Crete.

Coupled with the boot-shaped mainland of Italy, to the west of Greece, Italy surrounded the Greek territory from the west and south.

As the commander of the Greek Navy, Kontoriotis feels extremely heavy. As a result, the Greek Navy will be under tremendous pressure from the Italian Navy.