Germany does not seek survival

Faust continued, "Have you read Albert's book? He has an article in which he proposes two reasons. The first is the level of social development. According to Albert, the less educated a society is, the more susceptible it is to radical change. The more complex its internal structure, the more detailed its division of labor, and the more established its coordination mechanisms, the greater the risk of severely damaging its chances of survival if an attempt is made to radically alter their content and form through violence in a short period of time."

"The second reason is that Ebert believes that Germany has achieved a certain degree of democratization. Although the semi-feudal princes still exist and the military dominates important issues in political life, Germany's democratic life is very backward, Germany has still achieved preliminary democratization. At the imperial, state, and city levels, workers' representatives have certain democratic rights. They have their own parties, parliamentary representatives, and trade unions. Therefore, German workers will not choose the most radical way of breaking away."

Ebert believed that Germany already had a completely equal universal male suffrage system, which was more democratic than Britain. If revolutionaries wanted to call for military dictatorship or proletarian dictatorship, they might find fertile ground in a country like Tsarist Russia, but they would not be able to succeed in Germany.

Even Kautsky, who was determined to take the parliamentary line, was influenced to some extent by this argument.

Faust simply summarized the arguments of Ebert's party: Germany could not implement radical changes because it was too industrialized on the one hand and had a certain democratic foundation on the other.

In an agricultural society, where the majority of people can provide for themselves for a time with the necessities of life, the institutions of the state can be radically altered without throwing the economy and society into chaos.

However, in a complex industrial society with strict division of labor, the situation is different. People are heavily dependent on a complex public society that operates in a systematic manner. If the order collapses, the public society will also collapse, and everyone's life will be unsustainable. Therefore, in a complex industrialized society, most people will be disgusted with the great revolution like a conditioned reflex.

Sorge asked: "What do you think? Is it true that Germany does not have the soil for a great revolution?"

Faust shook his head. "Russia is an agricultural country, with only one-tenth of its population relying on industry for their livelihood. Therefore, it can tolerate temporary paralysis and interruption of industrial production. Unemployed workers can find shelter in the plains or in the Red Army. But in Germany, two-thirds of the population relies on industry and commerce for their livelihood. How will they survive? If the Great Revolution disrupts systematic large-scale industrial production, the 40 million people in Germany who rely on industry for their livelihood will indeed be in great trouble."

“The key is the system.”

Faust cast his gaze southward: "Germany is the most unique of all the industrial nations in Europe. In my opinion, it is unique in the world. Currently, the only industrial nation comparable to Germany is the United States. If Russia industrializes in the future, it will be the third such nation."

"Germany's uniqueness... I really can't imagine what Germany, the United States, and industrialized Russia have in common."

Faust smiled and said, "Comrade Sorge, think about it, where is the largest industrial area in Britain, and where is the largest industrial area in France?"

Sorge frowned. This was a very simple question, and he didn't need to think too much. "The largest industrial area in the UK is of course the London Industrial Area, and in France it is the Paris Industrial Area."

At this point, Sorge seemed to understand a little. Most industrial countries, due to economies of scale, have formed their main industrial zones centered on their capitals. Only Germany's industrial zones are special. Unlike Britain and France, Germany has multiple central cities, and the largest industrial zone is not in Berlin or its vicinity, but in the Ruhr area far along the Rhine River.

"Germany's history is indeed one of division. Because of its long history of division, far different from Britain and France, Germany has multiple industrial centers. In other words, even if Germany's national industrial production system was divided due to revolution or civil war, it would not lead to the destruction of German industry. On the contrary, Germany is one of the few countries in Europe that can maintain multiple industrial production systems despite division."

In Faust's view, among all industrial countries, the only one that can withstand the pain of division, apart from Germany, is the United States, which is large enough.

However, the largest division in American history, the Civil War, occurred earlier, before the Second Industrial Revolution, and may not be a strong enough answer to this question.

Germany itself, when it split during the Cold War, was enough to prove that the division of Germany would not lead to the destruction of German industry. Both West Germany and East Germany quickly restored their industrial systems and even reached new heights.

Russia is larger than Germany and may be able to maintain multiple systematic industrial production centers during the division. However, judging from the history of the disintegration of the Soviet Union, Russia's ability to maintain its industrial system may not be as good as Germany's. After the division of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, each country fell into a serious recession and did not recover as quickly as East Germany and West Germany.

In short, Faust believes that the views of Albert and others are certainly superior to the view that "Germany will not have a major revolution because of its national character", but they are still metaphysical and do not take into account the possible impact of subjective initiative.

However, if Albert and his party remain consistently overconfident, this would be a good thing for Faust.

Especially when the eyes of these people, whether they were royal family, princes, military, Social Democratic Party, or Independent Party, were all focused on the imperial capital of Berlin, people's attention on the empire's regions and borders was greatly weakened, which naturally left Faust with more room to maneuver.

"Germany is not Britain, nor is it France. The imperial capital cannot determine the fate of an empire. We are even different from Russia. With the two Russian capitals in hand, Russia can still exert repressive power over the entire country. But Germany, with Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Leipzig, Essen, Dresden, Breslau, Frankfurt, Dortmund... the population and economic strength of each city are not particularly prominent."

Berlin is indeed the largest city in Germany, with a population of nearly two million. However, that is also because Berlin is the capital and employs a large number of unproductive central administrative staff. Excluding this part, Berlin's economic strength is not much stronger than Hamburg, Germany's second largest city with a population of over one million.

Not to mention that although the Ruhr area does not have a single large city like Berlin, if the adjacent cities of Cologne and Essen, which form a metropolitan area, are added together, their economic strength far exceeds that of Berlin.

Sorge drove Faust to the Army General Staff. According to the original plan, Faust was going to visit Ludendorff and hope to get a letter of commission from him, so that Faust could return to the Italian troops as soon as possible.

It was still raining in Berlin that morning, a spring rain, not heavy, just a drizzle. The slogans put up by the strikers the night before were all wet by the rain. The red brick building of the General Staff was not as crowded as usual today.

After Sorge stopped the car, Faust and Sorge walked into the building and asked the guards, only then did they learn the details of the situation. It turned out that due to some emergencies, Ludendorff had already boarded a special train to the Western Front last night. Marshal Hindenburg and a large number of combat staff from the General Staff also left with him.

That's why the General Staff Building looks deserted today.

"Comrade Sorge, what day is it today?"

Sorge glanced at his watch, which displayed the date: "Colonel, today is March 20th, March 3, 1918."

Faust felt something in his heart. Now that Ludendorff had left, could he ever come back?

Without thinking too much, the General Staff was mobilized in full force, all following Ludendorff to the Western Front. There was only one possibility -

The decisive battle between Germany and Britain and France finally began.

This would also be the first death knell for the German Empire: Operation Michael.

Chapter 123: The Transfer of Petrograd

In the red brick building of the General Staff, almost everyone had left. Most of the combat staff had followed Ludendorff to the front line, probably in Brussels, the headquarters of the Western Front. Faust had not expected to meet Manstein here again.

Manstein did not go to the Western Front. He remained in Berlin, seemingly with many unfinished business. Upon seeing Faust, he smiled again. "Colonel, you should know what's going on by now. The decisive battle is imminent. The next hundred days on the Western Front will determine the fate of all of Germany."

Faust spread his hands and said, "You are not like General Ludendorff, still counting on victory on the Western Front."

Manstein glanced at Faust, but didn't answer the question directly. He simply said, "I've thought carefully about what you and I discussed earlier, regarding the royalists. Perhaps you do have a point, but what can we do? The overall situation is difficult to change."

Faust disagreed. He instigated Manstein to think of "regicide", but he did not really think that he could cause the split of the German right-wing camp with just a few words.

This is a leisurely move. If successful, the German right-wing camp will definitely be greatly weakened, because the royalists and republicans on the right will attack each other. Even if it fails, it will not affect the development of the National Socialist Party itself in the south.

Faust simply pulled an application form from his pocket and said, "I'm here at the General Staff to apply for a transfer. Can Lieutenant Colonel Manstein help me with this?"

"Transfer..." Manstein nodded slightly, "You mean transfer back to the Italian battlefield?"

Faust nodded. Ludendorff's Michael Plan has been launched. The German army is transferring a large number of troops from the Eastern and Southern Fronts to the Western Front to participate in the decisive battle.

The three chasseur regiments controlled by the National Socialist Party were all mountain troops, unsuitable for decisive battles in the plains of the Western Front, and were not within the scope of this mobilization.

Similarly, Ludendorff looked down on the combat effectiveness of the Austrian troops in the divisions of the Austrian 11th Army, where the National Socialist Party was currently developing influence, so he had no plans to transfer the Austro-Hungarian army to the Western Front to participate in the war.

These troops can remain in northern Italy for the time being.

In addition to the southern front, the same is true on the eastern front. The German army's elite troops are being transferred westward, while vassal troops such as Pilsudski's Polish Corps are being left in Eastern Europe.

If the decisive battle on the Western Front had been a complete victory, Ludendorff's reckless deployment would naturally not have been a problem. However, once the Western Front was defeated, the German army's deployment on the Southern and Eastern Fronts would have appeared too weak.

Manstein put his hands on his hips and said, "Colonel, I can help you get the transfer order, but you should also do me a favor."

"What kind of help? It's a serious matter. I can't help you with that kind of help."

Manstein chuckled softly. "No, no, you misunderstood. It has nothing to do with the important matter. The truth is, after the German army occupied Petrograd, we seized most of the Russian Baltic Fleet. As you know, the Imperial Navy is not under the jurisdiction of the General Staff, and we have never been allowed to interfere in naval affairs. However, this time, most of the Russian warships we captured were controlled by the Army."

Because Germany built the High Seas Fleet in the name of the Empire after its unification, the High Seas Fleet belonged to Germany, not to Prussia like the Army. The General Staff of both sides had jurisdiction over the Army but could not interfere with the Navy. The Navy was under the charge of its own Naval Staff.

In Germany, because the army was extremely strong, the navy had not been prominent in the past few years. The gap between the army and the navy was huge, so there were not many major conflicts between the army and the navy like in Japan later generations.

But in recent times, after Ludendorff became the dictator of Germany in the name of the Army General Staff, he began to interfere in the navy many times, causing the two sides to gradually become unhappy.

Since the navy had always resisted the influence of the General Staff, Ludendorff remembered the Russian Baltic Fleet captured by the German army. He wanted to use these warships controlled by the army to build a new fleet completely controlled by the Army General Staff.

Manstein said, "General Ludendorff had actually issued several orders before. He requested that the navy cooperate with the army's Michael plan and attack the English Channel at the same time to quickly block the British navy's support for the European continent."

Faust raised an eyebrow and said, "After the Battle of Jutland, the High Seas Fleet probably wouldn't dare to take the risk of dispatching again."

Manstein nodded. "That's right. The Navy flatly rejected General Ludendorff's request. They believed that a risky attack by the High Seas Fleet would only result in heavy losses. General Ludendorff was furious. He believed that even the annihilation of the High Seas Fleet was worth a small advantage on the Western Front. But the Navy, of course, disagreed."

Many thoughts immediately flashed through Faust's mind - no wonder the German Navy was the first to launch the November Revolution. The Kiel sailors fired a cannon, which started the countdown to the end of the German Empire.

Manstein took Faust's application form and said, "I'll help you get the transfer order now. Colonel, do you think there is any way we can keep the navy if Germany loses the war in the future?"

Faust glanced at Manstein and said, "You really are worried about the country. If Germany is really defeated, what's the point of worrying about the whereabouts of the navy?"

Manstein snorted slightly, then said seriously, "Even if Germany is defeated once, it will not sink forever. In a generation, we can rise from the ruins. If we can preserve the High Seas Fleet... the next generation of Germans will still have a chance to dominate the seas."

Faust said, "Let's not talk about France for now. Britain definitely wants to destroy the High Seas Fleet. Besides, the General Staff can't command the navy, and you're not a navy officer, so there's no point worrying about it."

"Is there nothing that can be done?"

Faust stared at Manstein for a long moment, then slowly said, "It's not that there's no other solution. If Germany's defeat is inevitable, and the High Seas Fleet can be forced to withdraw to the Baltic Sea, Britain might not dare to pursue it deep into the Baltic Sea for a while... In a year or two, no one knows what the situation will look like."

Faust's words made Manstein ponder for a long time.

Manstein muttered to himself, "It will be difficult for us to convince the navy... Besides, hiding in the Baltic Sea won't last long. When the dust settles, the British will definitely demand these warships back."

In Faust's opinion, most of the warships in Germany's High Seas Fleet will definitely become obsolete in the future and will not have much value in retaining them.

If we really have to talk about warships worth preserving, they are probably only the Bayern-class battleships, the King-class battleships, and the five battlecruisers.

If the German Navy wants to make drastic measures to survive, it would be best to find a way to prioritize preserving the five battlecruisers. All other warships are expendable.

After discussing this, Manstein still did not intend to directly help Faust solve the transfer issue. He finally talked to Faust about another matter.

"The Russians have officially signed an armistice with us."

"Oh? What are the specific terms and conditions?"

"The Russians have almost accepted all of General Ludendorff's demands. Courland, Belarus, Poland, and Ukraine all want independence, and a Cossack state will be established in the Don River region. The Finnish issue has been put on hold for now, but as far as I know, General Ludendorff has already mobilized an expeditionary force to land on the Hanko Peninsula to assist Baron Mannerheim, the leader of the White Russian army in Finland."

"The Russians accepted the cession of the Don River region. I never expected that."

From this perspective, because Faust assisted the German army in achieving the victory in the Gulf of Riga, which enabled the German army to capture Petrograd, this Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was more harsh than the original Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in history.

Manstein said: "In return, the German army will return Petrograd to Russia. This will boost Lenin's prestige. Although Soviet Russia suffered huge losses, they lost territories that they were unable to regain. At least in the peace treaty, they regained Petrograd at the negotiation table."

The German army originally had a plan to hand over Petrograd to the counter-revolutionary White Army in Russia, but this idea was abandoned because they considered that the White Army was supported by the Allied Powers and if the White Army defeated the Soviet government, it would likely force Russia to re-enter the war.

But the entire transfer process is still destined to be full of undercurrents.

Because since Lenin moved from Petrograd to Moscow, with the secret cooperation of the German army, most Bolsheviks left Petrograd, and the power they had maintained in this big city for a long time no longer existed.

On the contrary, the Allies did not intend to abandon Russia just like that.

There was a rumor that the Allies were secretly organizing an army to land in the northern Russian port city of Archangel and try to march to Petrograd from Archangel.

In addition, there are many other rumors.

“There are rumors that the Entente might organize an uprising in Petrograd, and immediately launch an uprising after we hand the city over to Russia to help the White Guards capture the city. There are also rumors that the Czech Legion, supported by the Entente, might also plot to attack Petrograd.”

The Czech Legion was an army organized by the Tsarist government mainly composed of Czech prisoners in the Austrian army, similar to the Polish Legion organized by Germany.

After the collapse of the Russian army, the Czech Legion is now a rare large force in the heart of Russia that has preserved its military morale and troop organization.

During the chaotic period when the German army was handing over Petrograd to the Soviet Union, if the Czech Legion had taken the opportunity to attack, it is hard to imagine what kind of chain reaction would have been caused.

Chapter 124 Berlin Police

Faust still believes that the current situation is actually more favorable to the Soviet Union than history.

Although Lenin was forced to sign the treaty, the situation of the Russian army at this time was far more embarrassing than in history. Both the Tsarist Russia and the Provisional Government fought the war so badly. How could the White Army have the face to accuse Lenin of ceding land for peace?

Not to mention, after Lenin ceded territory, he at least got Petrograd back.

However, the Russian situation is that the Soviet Union can suppress the world by holding the two capitals. In history, the Soviet Union has always ensured control over the two capitals of Moscow and Petrograd. Therefore, no matter how the situation in other places changes, Lenin can always sit back and relax. Now the situation in Petrograd, one of the two capitals, is still unclear. This is what Faust is most worried about.

No matter how worried he was, Faust was in Berlin and he couldn't fly to Petrograd or Moscow to help Lenin.

God helps those who help themselves. With the talents of the Bu party heroes, Faust believed that they would not be trapped by this.

Finally, there is Manstein.

Faust still couldn't figure out Manstein's true thoughts. As the last successor to Prussia's 200-year military tradition, he was no ordinary person and must be a character that should not be underestimated.

"Lieutenant Colonel Manstein, do you have any other requests?"

Manstein's expression was a half-smile. "Colonel, I believe that Western civilization is incapable of achieving the true revival of the German nation. If defeat is inevitable, then, on the ruins of this defeat, no matter which path we take, I hope to shake hands with you again when we meet again."

Faust felt that if he left this time and returned to Berlin next time, or if he met Manstein again next time, their positions would definitely not be the same as they were today where they could sit together and have a good conversation.

"I promise you..."

Manstein was satisfied only after receiving this answer. Although they were both colonel-level officers, Manstein's rank of lieutenant colonel was actually that of a lieutenant colonel on the combat staff. He had a small rank but great power, and he easily helped Faust get the transfer order.

Faust received the transfer order from Manstein again, which allowed Faust to return to his troops on the Italian front and continue to serve as deputy director of the Training Directorate of the German-Austrian Allied Forces in Tyrol.

Manstein smiled and said, "Ludendorff has taken away almost the entire General Staff. No one cares about such trivial matters anymore. Goodbye, Colonel Faust. I hope that when we meet again, Germany will still be prosperous and great."

Faust folded the transfer order carefully and put it in his pocket. He waved goodbye to Manstein one last time: "I hope so."

After saying that, Faust turned and left. Outside the General Staff building, Sorge opened the car door for him and prepared to drive Faust back to the apartment. However, the car had not yet arrived at the apartment. As soon as it drove to the intersection, Faust realized something was wrong. He asked Sorge to stop the car quickly, got out of the car and looked from a distance. He saw a large group of police blocking the way downstairs of the apartment building.

police?

Faust was also a little surprised.

They were not soldiers or military police, but policemen.

In a flash, Faust thought about it quickly. If the General Staff was worried about Faust, or if Manstein was the informer, it should be ordinary troops or military police who came to arrest him, definitely not the police.

Since they are police, it means that the group of people who surrounded the apartment are not military.

Is it the Social Democratic Party or the Imperial Government?

Faust frowned. He originally wanted Sorge to drive him to the train station immediately and leave Berlin directly, but after thinking about it carefully, he decided to find out what was going on first.

Faust led Sorge forward. Sorge took off his military cap and rushed to the police team, angrily demanding, "Which police station are you from? This apartment is owned by the army. It was arranged by the General Staff for Colonel Faust to live in. You actually blocked the colonel's residence. What do you want to do? Do you still have the Imperial Army in your eyes?"

The leader of the police, a tall, fat man wearing the black pillbox hat of the Berlin Police, introduced himself to Faust:

"Colonel, I'm Sergeant Gannett of the Berlin Police Department. I admire you greatly. It's war heroes like you who defend Germany. However, I have orders from my superiors, so I have no choice but to do this. I hope you can understand our difficulties."