Starting with the smashing of Dunkirk

Chapter 197 Traitors and rebels deserve to be punished by everyone.

Prime Minister Asquith and Secretary Wharton made the above decision at a secret meeting at 10 Downing Street on the night of November 18.

The plot to instigate the Greek prime minister's rebellion and lure the Burmese army to land and assassinate the neutral king would take at least ten days to plan.

Just transporting the equipment there and getting the troops that need to land in the Greek port of Thessaloniki will take at least a week.

Transporting goods by rail from northern France to southern France takes one day, and then by sea from Marseille to Thessaloniki is a journey of nearly 2500 kilometers, or 1400 nautical miles. Even using a warship at an economical speed of 16 knots, it would take a full four days. And this is for small-batch express shipments, regardless of transportation costs.

While transporting equipment and deploying troops, diplomatic efforts must also be made concurrently.

Although Bretonnia's Foreign Minister Arthur Balfour had already negotiated with the Greeks once six months ago, back in March or April of this year,

At the time, King Constantine I claimed to be ill and did not meet with him, while Prime Minister Venizelos had already indicated that he was willing to cooperate deeply with the Kingdom of Burkina Faso, as long as Greece could obtain more territory.

Moreover, on that occasion, Prime Minister Venizelos also used his civil authority to do some substantive things for Burkina Faso in secret. At that time, it was on the eve of Burkina Faso instigating Romania to declare war on Austria, but the Romanians lacked weapons and equipment and asked Burkina Faso to provide weapons for more than a dozen infantry divisions before they would consider participating in the war.

However, Romania's coastline is all in the Black Sea, and Romanian ships cannot transport goods to the Black Sea through the straits controlled by the enemy Ottomans, so they can only rely on the Greeks for transshipment.

On that occasion, Venizelos took the lead, secretly arranging for the arms ships of the Republic of Romania to dock at the port of Thessaloniki in northeastern Greece, and then transporting the weapons from Thessaloniki to Romania by land through the neighboring country of Seville in the north.

So, strictly speaking, Venizelos and Arthur Balfour were already in cahoots. At the time, Greece was still neutral, and Venizelos's secret shipment of weapons to Romania was suspected of violating neutrality laws. If the matter were exposed and investigated, Venizelos's career would also be affected.

Of course, if we really examine international treaties and legal principles, there is still something to say about this: when the Romanians received the weapons, they were still a neutral country. It was only after receiving the weapons that they abandoned their neutrality and declared war on Austria, and then they were quickly defeated and surrendered.

King Constantine I of Greece was somewhat aware of this matter and even hinted at it to the Demanians. However, both sides were busy with other matters at the time, and the Demanians had no time to attend to Southern Europe and did not want to create another mess, so they temporarily turned a blind eye.

Constantine I also felt that it would be beneficial for him to hold Venizelos's weakness in his hands and not detonate it for the time being.

If you want to use someone's scandal to blackmail or intimidate them, the scandal cannot be exposed immediately, so that the secret can last a lifetime.

……

This time, Arthur Balfour quickly found Venizelos and got straight to the point.

"Constantine definitely knows you've been working with us, and he won't let you off the hook. Even if you did it for the country, he'll still expose your past collaborations with us to ruin your reputation."

Your only hope of becoming a national hero in Greek history books is to cooperate with us. And you know very well that the Demacians' current tactics have also greatly benefited the Ottomans. The Ottomans, who were declining year after year, may very well rise again.

The depth of the enmity between Greece and the Ottomans is self-evident. If you don't strike first and instead fantasize that neutrality will protect your territory and interests, you might end up helping the Ottomans destroy you after the Demagnesians win the world war!

Venizelos made a token struggle, indicating that he didn't actually want to go so far as to kill the king. But under continued pressure from the Britannians, he had a way out and finally relented, albeit reluctantly.

He looked like he was in a state of passive death, as if to say, "You've really made my life miserable."

"For the sake of our country and people, we must take preventative measures and strike first! Don't be fooled by the fact that the Ottomans respect our Greek neutrality now; that's only because of the threats from countries like Bohemia, France, and Russia. If those external threats disappear, leaving only the Ottomans and Greece fighting one-on-one, they will surely invade us without hesitation!"

After Venizelos returned, he spread the same message to his followers, thus unifying their thinking from within.

Moreover, Venizelos had served as prime minister of Greece for five or six years and had a strong foundation, though he lacked influence in the military. He wielded considerable power in civil and domestic affairs, and local officials largely followed his lead.

After reaching an agreement with the Britannians, Venizelos secretly left Athens late on November 24th—he knew he had absolutely no chance in Athens, because King Constantine I was not only the nominal commander of the Greek army, but also had real control over the army.

Moreover, Greek Chief of Staff General Ioannis Metaxas was also a staunch supporter of the King and had a very bad relationship with Venizelos. The Chief of Staff privately believed that the Prime Minister was a traitor.

Venizelos left Athens without making a fuss, and the next day, people at the Prime Minister's residence were still stalling for time, citing the Prime Minister's illness as the reason for refusing to see guests.

He himself took an overnight train and arrived in Thessaloniki, a port city on the northern border, on the morning of the 25th.

After a day of hasty preparations, on the morning of the 26th, Venizelos publicly raised the flag and changed sides, announcing the formation of a new Greek government in Thessaloniki and organizing the people to join the new army to overthrow the "king who was a puppet of the Demanians".

In a public speech, Venizelos declared that Constantine I's refusal to declare war on the Ottomans was not out of consideration for the nation or its people, but solely because of personal kinship—Constantine I's wife was Emperor William's sister.

Therefore, Venizelos, for the sake of the Greek people, wanted to overthrow the tyrant and lead the Greek people in declaring war on Austria!
After the flag-raising telegram was sent, on the 26th, the Britannian Mediterranean Fleet, which had been floating on the Aegean Sea outside the port of Thessaloniki, sailed into the port of Thessaloniki within a few hours and unloaded an entire corps of the Britannian Army, which consisted of three infantry divisions.

These Burkina Faso troops were originally brought to the Aegean Sea from the rear under the pretext of reinforcing the Gallipoli battlefield. However, they changed course, taking a slightly detour of over 100 kilometers, and easily arrived in Thessaloniki.

Venizelos also added a formality, stating that these troops had come at his invitation and were friends of the Greek people.

After landing, the Burkina Faso army did not clash with pro-Venizelos militias in the province of Thessaloniki. However, after only a few hours of rest, the Burkina Faso army launched an offensive southward along the coastline early the next morning, the 27th.

The Burkina Faso army even had more than 30 Rolls-Royce armored vehicles.

In Greece, where there is no war preparedness or trench defenses, armored vehicles, which are only slightly less capable of crossing obstacles than tanks, already have an exaggerated deterrent and assault power.

The Britannians marched almost as if they were on a long journey, covering nearly 100 kilometers a day. They could reach Larissa in three days and Delphi in five.

...Upon learning that Venizelos had raised his flag on November 27 and that the Burkina Faso army had invaded his homeland that same day,
Even though he was somewhat prepared, Constantine I still couldn't believe that Venizelos would go to such extremes and leave no way out.

Not to be outdone, he immediately summoned General Ioannis Metaxas, the Greek Chief of Staff, to the Athenian palace.

“General Metaxas, you know me. I have never wronged this country! But Venizelos now claims to be acting on behalf of the people to overthrow me!”

General Metaxas, a staunch royalist, answered without hesitation and through gritted teeth:

"Your Majesty! You have been too lenient, giving that traitorous minister chance after chance to repent! What is there to say now? His actions are undoubtedly treason and rebellion! The army is always loyal to you, order the suppression of the rebellion!"

Constantine finally asked, "Can you guarantee that the army has the courage to fight the invading Burkina Faso forces?"

General Metaxas did not hesitate, but his words were very skillful: "The army will absolutely fight to the death! But we Greeks are, after all, a small military country, and it will be quite difficult for us to resist the Britannian invasion for a long time on our own."

We can resist while trying to seek international aid... You know, the whole of Europe is currently embroiled in conflict. We should be able to hold Athens for a month or two on our own, but we might lose the northern region temporarily—I mean the land north of the Isthmus of Delphi.”

His subtext was clear: Why doesn't His Majesty call your brother-in-law for help?
“I will consider this matter. You should immediately organize the army to resist resolutely. After all, we are a neutral country, and some diplomatic procedures will take time, but I will try my best to get reinforcements without dragging Greece into a full-scale war.”

After receiving his orders, General Metaxas immediately took his leave and returned to the General Staff to organize the deployment of the Greek army.

After a period of quiet solitude, Constantine I chose to return to the inner palace to speak with his queen, Princess Sophie Dorothea Ulrike, about some matters.

“Call your brother and tell him that Greece doesn’t want to get involved in the war against France and Russia, but it can declare war on the Bretonnia alone. This is because the Bretonnia have just brazenly supported a group of traitors who rebelled within our country and invaded Greece.”

Queen Sophie Dorothea said there was no problem and soon called her brother, Emperor William:

“Brother, the Britannians invaded Greece this morning… We cannot immediately declare war on any country other than Britannia, but we need reinforcements.”

When Emperor William received his sister's call, he took it very seriously. He didn't even wait for the General Staff to make any arrangements; instead, he first thought about which of the Demacian troops were on the southern front.

The closest forces to Thessaloniki were likely the advisory group and a small number of model troops stationed in the Ottoman Empire, but the Ottoman Empire and Greece had a long history of enmity, and sending troops directly from there could easily cause misunderstandings.

Ultimately, Emperor Wilhelm decided to call Field Marshal Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Balria, who was in charge of the southern front, and ask him to see if there were any other troops that could be sent there without much sensitivity.

"The empire now needs a small force that can be deployed to Athens immediately to ensure that Venizelos will not resort to desperate measures and send small groups to infiltrate and assassinate the king and queen. After all, the situation is still unclear, and the situation in Greece has only just been assessed. We do not yet know how many enemies there are or where they are located."

Marshal Rupprecht received the call at midnight on the 27th, when the siege of Poltava was at its most intense.

Marshal Rupprecht, amidst his busy schedule, organized his thoughts and then presented the Emperor with a plan:
"On the southern front, apart from the Ottoman garrison, the closest empire is to Athens the mountain division in Trieste, which is the unit that defends Italy for the Oreos along the Trieste and Isonzo River lines. It was originally drawn from our 6th Army."

I just inquired about the situation. They were just rotating shifts and had withdrawn from the front lines. They're currently resting in the port of Trieste. However, the Adriatic Sea is blockaded by the Italian navy, so the Oreo fleet can't leave Trieste to engage in a decisive battle with Italy. Therefore, sea transport is unlikely.

We can only airlift about a regiment of personnel by airship initially; the rest will have to be gradually advanced by ground forces, entering northern Greece from Bulgaria. However, our 6th Army simply cannot spare the necessary troops to reinforce Greece immediately.

We are currently encircling a force of over a million Russa troops, a matter of great importance. I assure you, once the encirclement north of Kiev is complete, even if the enemy within the encirclement has not yet been annihilated, I will certainly spare at least several corps to repel the Greeks and the Britannians of Gallipoli!

Emperor William: "How many more days will it take to close the encirclement around Kiev?"

Marshal Rupprecht: "...I'll do it as soon as possible, I promise I'll send the main force over as soon as we're all together!"

Emperor William: "Alright, as long as we make sure nothing goes wrong in Greece. Also, the Greeks don't want to go to war with any of the Entente powers other than Britannia, so keep an eye on the paperwork these next few days. The regiment we sent earlier, process their discharge first, and then have them volunteer to support Greece, just like they did in the Boer War a decade or so ago."

"As long as Greece is saved, these people will return to their units after the battle, and everyone will be promoted one level."

Marshal Rupprecht: "Yes, Your Majesty!"

So, early the next morning, Marshal Rupprecht contacted the troops resting in Trieste:

"Lieutenant Colonel Walter Model? You should quickly complete your discharge procedures. From today onwards, you will not be active duty personnel for the time being. You will be employed by the King of Greece as a mercenary security force to assist the Greek army in defending Athens, the Isthmus of Delphi, and the port of Piraeus."

Within half a month, the main force of the empire will be divided and sent south to reinforce Greece, and together with the Greek army, they will launch a pincer attack from the north and south, and at the same time annihilate the Bury army on the Gallipoli Peninsula.

Your mission is to ensure that nothing happens to Greece before the main imperial forces arrive. After the battle, you will be a colonel. The airship unit will fly to Trieste today to pick you up. You will take off before nightfall and arrive in Athens at dawn.

"They've already started urgently building airship mooring towers in Piraeus port, and I remember you were among the first to follow Lelouch's men. You participated in the airborne assault on the Dunkirk coastal defense batteries, right?"

Lieutenant Colonel Model: "Yes, Marshal! In February, I accompanied Commander Lelouch on a parachute landing at the Maroleban Fortress, captured the fortress, and withstood a full day of counterattacks from the ANZACs."

Marshal Rupprecht: "Then let's do a good job, with the same spirit we had when we completely blocked the Burkina Faso army at Dunkirk!"

Model accepted the order and immediately completed the temporary retirement procedures and security employment contract. He then led a reduced mountain regiment by airship to Athens.

(End of this chapter)