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Part One Twenty Years Chapter Thirteen Mutiny (3)

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    (There are many private items, many of which are my own deductions and cannot be regarded as history.)

    The political situation in Berlin was turbulent in June and July. Forced by internal and external difficulties, Kaiser Wilhelm had to sadly announce his abdication.  Imperial Army Chief of Staff Hindenburg, Regent Max, and Chancellor Friedrich von Hedlin carved up the power vacuum left by the Emperor's abdication, bypassing the Reich's battle-hardened navy and taking actual control of Berlin.

    On June 11, Prince Max took office as the regent of the empire, marking the entry of this ancient and young empire into the short-lived era of the Big Three.

    The Troika driving the empire does not mean that the empire has settled down. The so-called Big Three are just some political forces in the empire that have forcibly colluded together based on their own interests. They have no clear political program and are extremely resistant to navalism and social democracy.  Loose political alliances.  The power struggle within the empire became more intense after the loss of a much-maligned but mutually-identifiable emperor.

    The Social Democratic Party, which was expelled from the Reichstag, demanded the complete eradication of the imperial system and the reopening of the Reichstag, but said nothing about the military dictatorship of certain soldiers in the empire; the navy, small and medium-sized industrial and commercial people, and university professors had never had the determination to get involved in the turmoil in Berlin, and they only  Tirpitz came forward to form a small and medium-sized party to fight for the rights that the navy should have. As for Heidi Silem, the political leader of navalism who has the unshirkable responsibility, he cares more about the struggle for maritime supremacy.

    After ousting the emperor, the Big Three cautiously waited for the counterattack from the navy and the Social Democratic forces. However, they did not expect that the navy's ambitions for Berlin only reached a limited consensus on the navy and army's plan for the naval battle in the Orkney Islands, let alone launched a campaign.  The huge Schleswig rebellious Social Democratic Party actually lost its mind at the critical moment, let go of the military dictatorship and targeted Prince Max.

    After losing external pressure, the Big Three quickly fell into a state of internal division.  The political forces supporting the Big Three were secretly reshuffled, and political resources began to be divided, reorganized, and concentrated, gradually concentrating in the hands of the Supreme Command. Germany has a tradition of militarism since ancient times.  Soldiers are, most of the time, more trustworthy than Hedlin-style civil servants.

    Today, among the Big Three, Prince Max¡¯s position is the most embarrassing.  As the Prince of Bavaria, Max naturally received the support of some conservative officer corps and Junker landowners. The officer corps and Junker landowners believed that the blood of the Hohenzollern family would help the empire maintain its purity, and desperately wanted to support the Bavarians to become  The emperor of Germany, but the people of the empire were extremely disgusted with the imperial system, and the power of the conservative officer corps and Junker landowners was also slightly insufficient. Therefore, in the post-Big Three era, the army and government had a tendency to abandon the regent.

    After experiencing the initial glory, Prime Minister Friedrich von Hedlin was slightly unable to succeed.  Although the empire has a complete system to ensure Hedlin's rights as the prime minister of the empire.  But now it is a state of war. Germany, including many officials within the government, generally believes that limited military dictatorship is necessary. Therefore, in the face of the aggressive Supreme Command, Prime Minister Hedlin has to share the power that should belong to the government with the Supreme Command.  .  Also in the post-Big Three era, Prime Minister Hedlin has been marginalized.

    The focus of the Big Three is still the Supreme Headquarters.  It was nominally ruled by Hindenburg, Chief of the Army General Staff and Minister of War, but in reality.  Berliners are more accustomed to regard General Ludendorff, the Supreme Commander of the Supreme Headquarters, as the head of the Big Three.  Among the three giants, Hindenburg's power can be said to be the strongest or the weakest.

    Germans always use the phrase "choosing the wrong person at the wrong time to do what should be done" to evaluate Emperor William's vision of people, but Hindenburg is one of the few exceptions. "Marshal (Hindenburg) was born  "Commander", William's words that were more mocking than complimentary can be understood to mean that Field Marshal Hindenburg is more suitable to be a spiritual leader rather than a practical man with extremely high policy execution ability. Most of the time, General Ludendorff is behind it.  Hard work, day and night.  However, Marshal Hindenburg stood in front of the glamorous stage without changing his expression and openly stole the credit of his subordinates.

    Ludendorff is also an ambitious military strategist, so an unfair combination cannot last long.  At the beginning of the war, Ludendorff, who did not have the status of a Junker noble and could not get a quick promotion, had to "depend on the obnoxious old guy" Hindenburg to realize his ambitions.  After taking office as the Imperial Demand Director, Ludendorff finally obtained the rights he had dreamed of.  The total war made the entire empire look at him with admiration. At this time, the banner of Hindenburg was no longer important.  By June 1917, Ludendorff was no longer satisfied with controlling everything behind the scenes. He was tired of the so-called political interference in the military. He manipulated the long-sleeved munitions director to oust the emperor in one fell swoop, and tried his best to bring the empire into high efficiency.  on the path of militarism.

    So in the post-Big Three era, the Supreme Headquarters, which replaced Charlottenburg Palace as the heart of the empire, was also riddled with internal contradictions.The nominal number one figure in the military and the actual number one figure are already incompatible with each other.

    After ending the limited cooperation before and after the emperor's abdication, Ludendorff had planned to put aside Prince Max and Prime Minister Hedlin, and put Hindenburg on the throne of power and vacate him.  Although Field Marshal Hindenburg looks like a mediocre old man most of the time and behaves indifferent to the world, everyone knows that this is just the old fox's disguise.

    In the eyes of the officer corps, Hindenburg was an incompetent and pitiable old man who was often overshadowed by the aggressive munitions director. But in fact, the reason Hindenburg endured was simply because Ludendorff could still obtain for him.  Honor, the military strongman has not yet touched his bottom line.  The Imperial Army Chief of Staff must not accept an unchecked political environment.  The lack of constraints means that he who lacks ability will be completely marginalized.

    At this time, the emperor is no longer around, and the only ones who can restrict Ludendorff from using brute force are only a few people:

    Albert, the leader of the Social Democratic Party, has been operating in the empire for many years. His influence has penetrated into all aspects of imperial politics. This can be seen from the unprecedented intensity of the Schleswig Rebellion. It is a pity that the values ????of Hindenburg and Albert exist.  There is a huge gap and there is no reason for the two to come together.

    Naval leader Heidi Sealem has many supporters. He has just led the Empire's battle-hardened navy to another great maritime victory, sinking more than 20 British battleships and sinking and capturing four American battleships in one go. The people of the Empire are against him.  The love of Hindenburg and Ludendorff has reached its peak, and Hindenburg and Ludendorff combined are not as prestige as Sillem alone. Unfortunately, Hindenburg cannot count on this person.

    In the three naval political storms, the Army and the Navy have forged a lot of hatred. In Sealem's view, Hindenburg and Ludendorff are basically the same species. If Sealem is forced to make a choice between the two,  , this purely professional soldier is more likely to choose to side with Ludendorff. After all, Ludendorff is more capable than Hindenburg.

    Since he could not unite the navy and the Social Democratic Party, Marshal Hindenburg could only retreat behind the scenes and secretly contact the Regent Max and the Imperial Prime Minister Hedlin in order to protect himself.

    At this moment, Ludendorff took action.

    "Whether it is the citizens' demonstration in Berlin or the intensifying rebellion in the north, it indicates the end of the imperial system. Whether it is a constitutional monarchy like the United Kingdom, a presidential system like the United States, or a parliamentary system like the French, in short, this country needs some changes. His Majesty William  When they abdicated, Prime Minister Mr. Hedling, His Majesty the Regent Max, and Marshal Hindenburg had plans to change the empire's political system. Now Germany has reached a critical moment when it has to take action, so I suggest that the empire reopen parliamentary elections at the end of this month.  , the people will elect a Constituent Assembly to decide the future of our Germany!"

    On July 1, 1917, Ludendorff published a "Letter to the German Compatriots" through the Berlin News Agency. The Supreme Command, the Juncker Consortium, the Rhine Consortium, the Iron and Steel Association and other industrial trusts immediately announced their support for the Munitions Director. A sweeping  And the storm that will profoundly affect Germany has taken shape!  (To be continued.)
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