Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 355: The Second Schleswig War

The most bewildered by the sudden declaration of war by the Prussian government was King Christian IX of Denmark. He had no idea what was going on before the war suddenly erupted.

In 1863, Christian IX ascended the throne, and shortly after his accession, he modified the constitution to incorporate the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein into the Kingdom of Denmark. This was the cause of the Second Schleswig War in history.

In this alternate timeline, Christian IX did the same. Naturally, this sparked outrage among the people in the German territories, and the three German states issued warnings.

However, because the Paris Peace Conference provided them with legal support, and these territories did not border Austria, the Austrian government just shouted a few times and let it go.

Without Austria stepping forward, and with the support of Russia, the Kingdom of Denmark successfully annexed the two duchies.

It turned out that this gain was not so easily obtained. The Prussians swallowed their anger at the time but were actually preparing a major counterattack. As soon as the Russians were preoccupied, they struck.

The war was declared on the afternoon of October 24th, and it wasnt until October 25th that the Prussian government began nationwide mobilization. On October 27th, the Prussian army crossed the border and invaded Danish territory.

On the surface, this was completely in accordance with international law, with military mobilization starting the day after the declaration of war, making it seem like a sudden decision.

However, not every country is like Prussia, with its vast military resources. Denmark did not boast a large standing army; they only had a few tens of thousands of troops.

Normally, with the protection of Russia, this force was sufficient. But once war broke out, they could hardly cope when Prussia casually drew out several tens of thousands of troops.

Christian IX demanded, Why did Prussia start this war without any prior warning? The last Schleswig War was not long ago. Have they forgotten their lesson so quickly?

Naturally, no one answered this self-contradictory question. Without any indication, who knew the Prussians would suddenly attack?

This is a matter of mentality. With the emergence of railways, the speed of military mobilization has greatly increased. Two days is already enough for Prussia to assemble tens of thousands of troops, which is more than sufficient for this.

The Council President Ditlev Gothard Monrad advised, Your Majesty, the situation has already occurred, we should immediately mobilize the entire nation to resist the Prussian invasion.

At the same time, we must instruct our ambassadors in various European countries to engage in diplomatic mediation, especially to secure Russian support.

Christian IX nodded. Regardless of whether the government was responsible, this was not the time to assign blame. The most important thing in wartime was stability.

If the government was bewildered, the Danish populace was even more confused. How did this fighting just break out?

Normally, the standard procedure is for both countries to engage in diplomatic wrangling, exchanging verbal blows in newspapers for months or even longer. After negotiations fail, the war hawks gradually gain momentum and then find a pretext to declare war.

But this time, it is anything but normal. The Prussian government found a pretext and declared war without any diplomatic efforts.

The Danish capital, Copenhagen, is already boiling with anger. Countless Danes felt their dignity had been provoked. After all, Denmark also has a proud history. How could they tolerate being provoked by Prussian brutes?

In a bakery, several customers are murmuring to each other, and the owner, Lax, can vaguely overhear their conversation.

Rbert, the king has issued a mobilization order. Im planning to go and beat up those Prussian brutes. Do you want to come along?

Rbert confidently replied, Klfgen, have you lost your mind? Do you really think those Prussian brutes are easy to deal with? Were simply no match for them!

For now, you should stay put and wait for the intervention of the European powers. Dont forget our geographical position we control the gateway to the Baltic Sea. The Russians certainly wont tolerate Prussian brutes occupying this area.

Klfgen, feeling dissatisfied, retorted, But werent you the one who always boasted about bravery? How can you be such a coward now? The valiant Danish people shouldnt fear a bunch of brutes!

Rbert chuckled coldly, Dont be naive. The military strength of the Kingdom of Prussia is well-known to everyone.

In the last Prusso-Danish War, our forces were overwhelmed by the Prussians. Do you know that we sacrificed over thirty thousand people and still ended up losing the war?

The Prussians werent driven away by us; they were scared off by the threat of Russian force. If we had relied solely on our own strength, the Jutland Peninsula would have changed hands.

The Kingdom of Denmark has already declined. Now were just a small nation surviving under the protection of great powers. Such a war is not suitable for us.

As the two men walked further away, their voices gradually faded from Laxs ears. He had heard such conversations before. Lax, now elderly, sighed deeply. Denmark was no longer the Denmark it used to be.

Even in the First Schleswig War over a decade ago, the courage displayed by the Danes was unmatched by todays standards. Lax had personally participated in that war.

Despite heavy losses and repeated defeats, they still kept fighting. Many young men voluntarily joined the army to fight hard against the Prussians.

Despite the Prussian onslaught, they had resisted for over a year without surrendering. Now, the younger generation was placing their hopes on the intervention of the great powers.

There was no denying it; the Kingdom of Denmark had truly declined. Excluding the two duchies, the population of Denmark was barely two million, around 1.66 million to be precise.

Population is not everything for a nation, but without a sufficient population, that nation cannot become powerful.

In the last war, although the Prussians did not seize the two duchies, they severely wounded the vitality of the Kingdom of Denmark, leaving many still traumatized by the war to this day.

Despite their loud bravado, when it comes to actually going to the battlefield, each one of them is more cowardly than the next.

In contrast, the Kingdom of Prussia presents a different picture. Since the Prussian government issued the mobilization order, militia reserves from all over the country spontaneously gathered at designated locations.

After being forced to surrender in the last Prusso-Danish War, the Prussians were deeply resentful. They would have recklessly attacked if it werent for the Russian Bear being a bit too powerful.

The ridicule from the German lands that followed further fueled the shame felt by the younger generation of Prussians, driving them to want to wash away the disgrace of the past.

Indeed, the Russians are formidable, but the younger generation is not afraid. Like inexperienced calves unafraid of tigers, a group of teenagers in their rebellious phase believe that once the war starts, all the countries in Germany will support them.

There was some truth to this claim. the Prussian government could indeed gain the support of the various German states if it wished.

The execution is straightforward just return to the embrace of the Holy Roman Empire. As long as the Prussian government dares to do so, the Austrian government wont mind tearing up the Russo-Austrian alliance.

After all, the current Russian Empire was weak, and with Britain and France as allies, everyone could join together to kick the Russian Empire down, and then stomp on it a few more times to finish the job.

The specific strategy is to dismantle Russia, granting independence to Finland, the Baltic States, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Bulgaria, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and the Far East.

With this series of actions, the population of the Russian Empire would be halved instantly. Even if they wanted to spark a Soviet-style revolution, Comrade Lenin hadnt even been born yet.

After neutralizing one side of the threats to them, Franz wont be intimidated anymore when facing Britain and France. At worst, theyll just appease Napoleon III first, and if Italy isnt enough, theyll add the Low Countries too.

In the face of interests, any conflicts can be set aside for later. Currently, there is no deep-seated animosity between Germany and France, and when such a lucrative opportunity presents itself, its impossible not to seize it.

With the emergence of Greater Germany and Greater France simultaneously, even John Bull would be bewildered, unsure of which side to attack first. One wrong move and another hegemon will emerge in Europe.

As long as the British hesitated, allowing Austria to unite Germany, they would then stand undefeated.

A human wave tactic could even crush the French. In this era, John Bull could not organize and send millions of cannon fodder to the European continent for attrition warfare.

Undoubtedly, this was just the vision of German nationalist idealists, based on the premise that the rulers of the German states all lacked selfish motives.

This idea was a bit naive, but you cant ask too much of idealists. For now, those brave enough to take up arms and fight for German unification were outstanding talents.

The Prussian Chief of the General Staff, Moltke, has personally entered the army to command. However, its now difficult to come up with inspiring propaganda slogans since they cannot rally under the banner of German unification.

Even more troublesome is having to explain to the soldiers why they cannot use the banner of German unification. Simply stating its due to interests wont suffice; Austrias efforts to establish the new Holy Roman Empire have gained the acceptance of the majority of Germanic peoples.

The rights of the ruling class may have been compromised, but thats none of the concern of ordinary people. Since their interests havent been affected, theres even a greater possibility of benefiting from it.

Frowning at the combat reports bearing the term Germany, Moltke remarked, Change all these references. From now on, all military documents should center around Prussia. Germany is merely the name of a region and cannot represent our nation.

A middle-aged officer objected, Sir, by not using this term, are we not undermining our claim to reclaim the two duchies of Germany?

Without using this banner, theres insufficient legal basis, or one could even argue theres no legal basis at all.

They cant continue using the term Germany, and surely they cant use the banner of the Germanic people, right? This involves a broader scope; even the Danish people can be considered part of the northern branch of the Germanic people.

Directly using the banner of the Kingdom of Prussia, the people of Schleswig and Holstein wouldnt buy it. This is a unique cultural characteristic of Europe; if the terminology is changed, people wont recognize it.

However, in politics, there are no ifs. Upon realizing that there was no opportunity to unify Germany, the Prussian government decided to de-Germanize, just like Belgium, the Netherlands, and Switzerland which had established their own systems.

This is also the will of Britain and France. The most effective way to permanently prevent the unification of Germany was to divide them.

Moltke gave him a fierce glare and said, Major General Armand, I dont want to hear any excuses. Now, you just need to execute the order!