Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 531 Public Opinion Offensive
Perhaps because the US government was so good at disguising itself, the British government never expected that the US would stand against Britain at this moment, and even be prepared to declare war on Britain.

Faced with such a tough stance from the United States, the British government was naturally furious. Although the British government, having just suffered a naval defeat, lacked the resources to deal with the United States, this did not mean it lacked the ability to cause trouble for the US.

If the United States were to truly stand against Britain, this would not be good news for Germany either. Therefore, an angry British government contacted the German government, hoping to receive a substantial warning regarding the Americans' foolish actions.

The reason for contacting the German government is that German immigrants are the largest immigrant group in the United States. The British and German governments still wield considerable influence in the US; even if they cannot change the US government's mind, they can certainly cause chaos within the country.

The biggest flaw of the United States compared to European powers is that the entire United States is composed of various highly powerful state governments. The power of the US federal government is not as great as one might imagine, and the state governments possess considerable sovereignty.

Besides the immense power of state governments, the contradictions and conflicts between white and black people in the United States, as well as the conflicts between different white groups, are also important factors affecting domestic stability in the United States.

Even if the British government cannot use the large German immigrant community to threaten the US government, it can still cause chaos within the US, preventing the US government from focusing on the war in Europe.

Britain even harbored greater ambitions. If the United States descended into chaos, Britain could even partition the country with Germany after the war, turning it back into a colony.

While the United States was not particularly strong militarily, its industrial and economic scale was substantial. Even if only a portion of American territory could be seized, it would be enough to compensate the British government for its contributions in this world war.

Upon learning of the British government's intentions, Germany did not hesitate and immediately agreed to the British government's request.

Germany also did not want to see the United States join the Entente Powers. If the United States was determined to help the Entente Powers, it could provide them with a large amount of funds, loans, and supplies, all of which would be used to fight against the Central Powers.

This is something the German government absolutely does not want to see, and it is also the reason why the German government is willing to cooperate with Britain to force the US government to back down.

In the days following the US and UK governments' strong announcements banning ships flying the other's flag from approaching their ports, Europe and the world have been closely watching the developments.

On the one hand, the US government accelerated preparations for war, and on the other hand, it strengthened the supervision of British and German immigrants to ensure that no problems would arise in the United States.

The US government had indeed guessed as expected. After the diplomatic conflict broke out, many American newspapers controlled by German and British immigrants suddenly began reporting on the hidden reasons behind US diplomatic support for the Republic of Ireland, and elaborated on the future situation of British and German immigrants in the US if the US joined the Allied Powers.

Such news reports quickly attracted the attention of immigrants in both Britain and Germany. Although some of the reports exaggerated the situation, the claims were actually quite reasonable.

If the United States wanted to join the Allied Powers, it had to win public support. To win public support, it had to portray Germany and Britain as the culprits of the world war and the United States as the savior of Europe.

Once Britain and Germany became the main culprits of the world war in the United States, the situation of British and German immigrants would naturally deteriorate rapidly.

Such reports pinpointed the biggest concerns of British and German immigrants, causing considerable panic among these two major immigrant groups.

These news reports drew attention from British and German immigrants, and naturally also caught the attention of the US government.

The US government, naturally, had little to say about these news reports that caused panic within the United States, and instead took a full-scale approach of blocking and prohibiting their dissemination.

Almost simultaneously, newspapers and media outlets under the control of the US government were also conducting extensive propaganda, portraying Germany and Britain as war criminals and devoting considerable space to describing their crimes on the battlefield.

The good news is that the German army did not exactly have an honorable record on the battlefield.

Leaving aside the heinous crime of being the first to use poison gas, the crimes committed by the German army in the occupied territories alone were enough for the US government to portray Germany as a criminal.

It is worth mentioning that the German army committed atrocities in almost all occupied territories and also discriminated against Western and Eastern Europeans.

The German army was extremely cruel to the people of Eastern Europe, a fact that the Poles have considerable authority to attest to. The German army arbitrarily beat, verbally abused, and executed Poles and Russians in the occupied territories, carrying out numerous inhumane massacres regardless of whether they were soldiers or civilians.

The situation was slightly better for the people of Western Europe, as it was the most prosperous and developed region in Europe, and the German army's actions could easily be spread around the world.

While the number of massacres perpetrated by the German army in the occupied territories of Belgium and France was not large, they did occur. Particularly when targeting partisans in these territories, the German army often adopted a "better to kill a thousand innocent people than let one guilty person go free" principle, carrying out large-scale massacres of the surrounding civilian population.

In addition to massacring civilians in the occupied territories, the German army also burned down a large number of universities, libraries, and municipalities in Belgium and France, destroying a large number of books, literary works, and works of art.

In addition, German troops raped a large number of women in the occupied territories, using them as toys for their amusement.

Whether on the Eastern or Western Front, the situation on the battlefield was extremely brutal. Large numbers of soldiers endured immense pressure due to the cruelty of the battlefield, and this pressure eventually needed to be released.

Because the operations were not going well, this pressure could only be vented on ordinary people in the occupied territories. Rape of local women had become commonplace in the German army, and the bustling streets of Brussels, the capital of Belgium, had even been turned into red-light districts specifically for the pleasure of the German troops.

These atrocities alone, along with some other evidence, are sufficient to establish the guilt of the German army in its burning, killing, and looting. The US government is not afraid that the public will not believe it, because these atrocities were real and widespread within the German army.

This is why propaganda needs to be seven parts fiction and three parts truth. Even if someone wanted to go to Europe to verify, the information they would receive would only be that the atrocities committed by the German army were real.

The US government would not readily reveal that, in reality, most European armies of that era were alike, and the atrocities committed by the German army were also prevalent in the Allied forces.

American media did not deny that atrocities also occurred within the Allied forces, but because the reports only concerned German atrocities, the American public did not actively associate them with the possibility that similar acts might have occurred within the Allied powers.

The American public would only think that the German army committed such atrocities and that they were definitely not a glorious player in the war.

Therefore, it was only natural for the US government to stand against the German government and join the Allied Powers. Fighting against a German army that had committed such atrocities, the US was undoubtedly the benevolent savior, meaning that the US government's choice was entirely correct; the only ones who were wrong were the Anglo-German immigrants who supported the US and British governments.

Compared to the speculative claims made by newspapers controlled by British and German immigrants, the statements made by a large number of newspapers controlled by the US government are clearly more credible.

On the one hand, these newspapers provided photographs when reporting the news, which indirectly corroborated the atrocities committed by the German army. On the other hand, the US government had been preparing for this propaganda campaign for a long time, and the news reports from various newspapers spread throughout the United States almost simultaneously, attracting the attention of a large number of Americans.

Compared to the small-scale efforts of British and German immigrant newspapers, this kind of media campaign in the United States is a real media offensive, instantly igniting public opinion within the country.

This has backfired on the British and German governments. They had hoped to use the influence of British and German immigrants to destabilize the situation in the United States.

But as the US government suddenly gained control of public opinion, the British and German immigrants who had tried to stir up trouble suddenly became the target of public criticism.

Numerous newspapers began to speculate whether the British and German immigrants were supported by the British and German governments, and what their intentions were in manipulating public opinion in this way.
Is the US government trying to distance itself from the Allied Powers, led by the righteous France and Spain, or is it attempting to muddy the waters in the US and try to split or even annex the country?
Under the manipulation of the US government, major American newspapers and media outlets quickly fabricated numerous charges against British and German immigrants and the British and German governments behind them.

The reputations of the British and German governments instantly plummeted in the United States, putting British and German immigrants in a very awkward position. While they weren't exactly universally reviled, the influence and status of these two immigrant groups in the US suffered a significant decline.

Having successfully used public opinion to incite hatred towards Britain and Germany, the US government stopped pretending and immediately revealed its ambitions.

On the one hand, the US government extensively publicized the atrocities committed by the British and German governments during the war, while portraying the Allied powers, such as France and Spain, as victims.

On the other hand, the U.S. government announced that it would act as a civilized nation and do its best to aid countries and people suffering in the war.

The U.S. government decided to provide a large amount of supplies to the victims of the war, including France, Spain, Russia, Italy, and other Allied countries, and to provide these countries with low-interest loans totaling $10 billion.

Although the US government did not choose to join the Allied Powers directly, the attitude revealed by these decisions is already very clear: the US has decided to stand behind the Allied Powers.

Faced with the aggressive moves by the United States, Britain and Germany knew they could no longer change the US government's choice.

After the United States decided to provide loans and aid to the Allied powers, Britain and Germany announced the end of their trade cooperation with the United States and imposed a comprehensive embargo on the United States.

The British government also stated that it would not allow any ship flying the American flag to approach Ireland. If the US government remains obstinate, then all American ships heading to Ireland will face an attack from the British Navy.

For the US government, which had already made up its mind, the British government's threat was naturally not taken seriously.

The US government ordered warships to escort transport ships to Ireland and other Allied countries, hoping that the British Navy would fire on the US fleet first.

In this way, the United States would have sufficient reason to launch a war, and one in which the public would enthusiastically enlist.

Aggressive wars and defensive wars are different, and the US government is well aware of this, which is why the US government has not yet declared war.

Carlo was quite pleased with the farce unfolding within the United States. In his view, the worse the relationship between the US and Britain, the easier it would be to control the future global situation.

If Britain is not significantly weakened in the war, it will remain the leader of Europe, replacing Spain in confronting the rising powers of Germany, Russia, and the United States.

The worse Britain's relations with these countries become, the more at ease Carlo is with the future world situation.

After all, Spain had already revealed too many of its trump cards in this world war. If European countries were greatly weakened, countries like the United States and Russia might unite against Spain in the future, which was something Carlo did not want to see.

While the farce unfolded in the United States, Spain was not idle either, sending even more troops to the Balkans.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire had endured a long period of siege by the Allied powers, and it was time to send it away.

The reason for keeping the Austro-Hungarian Empire intact was twofold: firstly, to prevent the war from ending too quickly, and secondly, to maximize Spain's interests.

The Balkan states suffered ravages of war, and their domestic industries and military production were severely damaged. Every day the fighting continued in the Balkans, Spain needed to supply the Balkans with weapons and equipment for another day.

These weapons and equipment were not given away for free to the Balkan countries. Spain made a huge profit from every arms order, which is why Carlo never ended the Balkan war.

The situation in Russia is now showing signs of collapse. If the war in the Balkans is not ended soon, the outcome of the entire world war is truly uncertain.

Therefore, after careful preparation, Carlo, together with the other Allied powers, launched a final offensive against Austria-Hungary, determined to defeat it within months and force it to withdraw from the war.

Compared to Britain and Germany, Austria-Hungary was clearly the easiest to deal with. Firstly, Austria-Hungary's military strength was not strong. Although Austria-Hungary was not weak among the great powers, it was clearly inferior to the elite armies of the Balkan countries plus France and Spain.

Secondly, the Austro-Hungarian Empire faced numerous internal problems, more acute than those of Britain and Germany.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire was a dual monarchy, and there were inherent conflicts between the imperial government and the government of the Kingdom of Hungary.

The current war is mainly focused on the Hungarian border. As long as the situation on the front line collapses, the conflict between Hungary and Austria will definitely intensify. This is also a major breakthrough for Carlo to resolve the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Following their successive victories in the Battle of the Somme and the Battle of the Atlantic, the Allied powers' confidence in victory reached its peak.

On the Balkan front, the Balkan states also intensified their offensive against Austria-Hungary, attempting to defeat it as soon as possible and then divide the Balkan Peninsula.

The turmoil in Russia is actually good news for the Balkan countries, because it means that the two major powers closest to the Balkan Peninsula are no longer able to interfere in the situation there.

France and Spain were thousands of miles away, leaving only Italy as a threat. However, Italy performed poorly in the war, and compared to the previously renowned Austro-Hungarian Empire and Russia, the threat posed by a small Italy to the Balkan countries was clearly insufficient to make them tremble with fear.

(End of this chapter)