Greece to roman road

The German army did not completely ignore the use of automobiles in military logistics. read

While Greece enjoyed peace at home, the war in Europe continued.

In the just-concluded Battle of the Marne, after the German army successfully occupied Belgium, its five army groups of one million troops invaded northern France, intending to capture Paris in one fell swoop and force France to submit.

The British and French troops, led by French Commander-in-Chief Joffre, blocked the German attempt at the Marne River.

In this Battle of the Marne River, excluding factors such as the command ability of the generals on both sides and the quality of the troops, the automobile, as an important means of transportation for logistics, also performed very well.

Among them, 20,000 trucks used by the British and French forces will be dispersed from Verdun to Paris. The army will quickly gather on the Marne River line to counterattack the German First and Second Armies.

The German army did not show any weakness. Among the 10,000 transport trucks assigned to the right wing, 40,000 were mainly used to reinforce the First and Second Army. The timely ammunition support helped it withstand the British and French counterattacks.

In this battle in which both sides suffered casualties of 600,000 soldiers, trucks on both sides became indispensable means of transportation.

These trucks carried personnel and ammunition to the front line, and then carried the wounded back to the rear. The trucks performed well in this battle and were busy until the end of the battle.

Although during the battle, of the 60,000 trucks owned by both sides, 10,000 later broke down due to lack of parts, were destroyed by the enemy, etc., but they were still more efficient than the stored-up transportation relied on in traditional military logistics. Out too much.

In traditional power-carrying transportation, mules and horses are easily frightened by guns and run away, and livestock are also prone to mass death due to fatigue when battles are fierce.

After the battle, the commanders on both sides of the front asked the rear government to replenish their trucking teams as much as possible. The rear government could only try to collect domestic trucks and hand them over to the army for use.

With the demand for trucks from both parties growing rapidly in a short period of time, rubber, an essential raw material for tire manufacturing, has also become a strategic material in short supply for both parties.

After Germany and Austria's overseas transportation was completely blocked, Greece, which still has a large amount of natural rubber reserves, became the target of Germany and Austria.

Before the war broke out, the rubber forests invested by the Greeks had already entered a period of peak production. In addition to being supplied for domestic use in Greece, they were also exported to various countries in large quantities every year.

Now that the war has broken out, as an important strategic material, the price of rubber has soared, making rubber in Greece very popular.

The Athens exchange also has rubber futures trading varieties.

In the palace of Syntagma Square, Constantine was discussing the rubber transaction with Prime Minister Venizelos.

Previously, the British and French ambassadors to Greece visited Prime Minister Venizelos and wanted to discuss purchasing the entire export share of Greek rubber, and the price given was not low.

Originally this was just a transaction, with no unusual expenditure, but the German and Austrian ambassadors to Greece also visited Prime Minister Venizelos on the back foot and asked to buy Greek rubber.

When it comes to the rubber trade between the Allied Powers and the Entente Powers, the Prime Minister certainly does not dare to make decisions privately and can only discuss it with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

Edel sat behind his desk and asked the man in front of him with interest. "Are you saying that Britain and France agree to buy all the natural rubber we export at 25 pounds per ton?"

Looking at the crown prince sitting in front of him, Venizelos replied: "Yes, the British Ambassador Richard and the French Ambassador Le Mans said it personally at the time, and they were authorized by the government, so I think it can be considered."

Currently, Greece's rubber forests in Congo produce about 200,000 tons of rubber every year, of which Greece's domestic rubber demand is only about 50,000 tons, and the rest can be exported.

After leaving 50,000 tons of natural rubber for personal use, there are also 150,000 tons of refined oil. Calculated at a price of 25 pounds, that is 3.75 million pounds.

Faced with this huge amount of money, it is no wonder that the Prime Minister hurriedly came to the Crown Prince for discussion.

The government can also obtain part of the proceeds from the transaction, which is not a small amount for the government whose fiscal revenue has been strained due to the outbreak of the war.

Constantine said as he looked at Xiang who was obviously moved. "Now we are not in a hurry to reply to the British and French ambassadors. After you go back, pass the news that Britain and France want to buy Greek rubber to Germany and Austria, and say that Britain and France want to package and buy all the natural rubber exported by Greece."

As soon as Venizelos heard this, he knew Constantine's intention, which was to allow the two sides to compete directly.

As colonial powers, Britain and France had a large number of rubber fields in the rubber-rich tropical areas. After the war began, the domestic industrial production of the two countries was also affected due to mobilization. There was certainly no shortage of rubber.

The reason why the two countries made a request to Greece to purchase rubber was purely because they did not want Germany and Austria to obtain scarce industrial raw materials.

The overseas blockade of Germany and Austria was completely blocked by the Allied Powers, and the source of overseas natural rubber was completely cut off. Naturally, they were anxious to buy it.

Rubber is a necessary material for manufacturing aircraft, warships, automobiles, tractors, harvesters, water conservancy and drainage and irrigation machinery, medical equipment, etc.

It is said that in order to meet domestic demand for rubber, Germany is already studying the technology of synthetic rubber, but it is only for a short time. It will definitely be too late in a short time.

The two countries do not produce rubber. Now Germany and Austria can only rely on trade from neutral countries to obtain some rubber to ensure their own consumption.

Therefore, after learning the news, Germany and Austria must rush over to stabilize Greece.

What the two countries most want to see is that all of Greece's rubber export share can be packaged and returned to China.

Sure enough, as Constantine expected, the day after Constantine asked Prime Minister Venizelos to deliver the news, German Ambassador Bas and Austro-Hungarian Ambassador Beryl rushed to see the crown prince.

Constantine, who had been waiting for the two ambassadors at the palace for a long time, immediately asked his attendants to invite them in.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince, it was previously reported that Britain and France want to buy all the natural rubber exported by Greece. Is the news true?"

After showing diplomatic etiquette, the Austro-Hungarian ambassador Belial eagerly asked about Constantine.

Faced with the inquiry from the Austro-Hungarian ambassador, Constantine said unabashedly: "Yes, the British and French ambassadors came to see the palmist before and wanted to buy all the natural rubber exported by Greece. Now we are considering it."

After hearing Eder's reply, German Ambassador Bass stood up and said: "Your Highness, Germany and Greece have always had a close relationship, and the royal families of the two countries are related by marriage. So I hope that Your Highness can consider the relationship between our two countries." Deep friendship rejects malicious competition from Britain and France. You must know that there is no shortage of rubber in both countries. Britain and France have a large number of rubber forests in Southeast Asia where rubber is produced."

Constantine was also amused by Ambassador Bas's words. Business is business, and they are still talking about friendship. There are only interests between countries.

Constantine replied calmly: "But the price offered by Britain and France is too good for us to refuse."

After hearing the words of the crown prince, Ambassador Bass, who was mainly responsible for this meeting, knew that the critical moment had arrived.

Faced with the Crown Prince's directness, Ambassador Bas also gave the conditions between the two countries: "We believe that the current rubber price is unreasonable, and the price of Greek rubber should be increased to ensure the interests of Greece."

He glanced at the Austro-Hungarian Ambassador Beryl, and after receiving the ambassador's response, he continued: "Our two governments have decided to increase the price of rubber exported from Greece to us to 32 pounds per ton."

Regarding the conditions of Ambassador Bas, Constantine did not give a specific reply: "Thank you to both countries for their support to Greece. I still need to discuss this matter with the Prime Minister. I cannot reply to you directly now. I hope the two ambassadors will forgive me."

In response to the crown prince's words, both ambassadors replied: "No problem, we will understand your country's difficulties."

Both Ambassador Bass and Belial knew that now was the beginning of the competition between the two sides for this vital source of raw materials for Germany and Austria.

They are here in a hurry just to delay Greece from agreeing to the conditions of Britain and France in advance.

The prices given to them by the two governments still have room to increase.