On the Near East battlefield, the Battle of Ankara had reached a critical moment. The Ottoman forces’ resilience in defending their capital stunned the Russians. Fortunately, Marshal Ivanov was experienced in large-scale warfare. Otherwise, the daily casualties in the four-digit range would have been unbearable for most commanders. Unlike the Russo-Prussian War, which was vital to the survival of the nation, the fall of the Ottoman Empire was already inevitable. Suffering heavy losses at this stage held no real strategic value. At that moment, Marshal Ivanov stared blankly at the map of Ankara, seemingly searching for a way to swiftly defeat the enemy. A tall and broad-shouldered young officer entered and reported, “Marshal, the Ottoman government has sent representatives. They wish to negotiate—” Before he could finish, Ivanov decisively cut him off. “I will not be meeting them!” The young officer hesitated. While he believed accepting the Ottoman surrender could end the war at minimal cost, Ivanov had already made his decision. As a soldier, obedience to orders was paramount. After a brief silence, Ivanov added, “Drive the Ottoman representatives away. From now on, there’s no need to report such matters.” If the Anti-Ottoman Alliance had been willing to accept the surrender of the Ottoman elites, the war would not have dragged on this long. There were always people ready to betray the Ottoman government in exchange for their own survival. The Ottoman government’s extraordinary resistance and fierce combat performance were, in reality, a result of being left with no other choice. Ordinary people could surrender, but the Ottoman elites could not. The Anti-Ottoman Alliance sought to annex the Ottoman Empire, which meant the ruling class had to be purged. If these vested interests were not eliminated, how could the victors be rewarded? Dividing the spoils required having spoils to divide. Fueled by hatred, both the Austrian and Russian governments independently issued retaliatory orders—rejecting any surrender from the Ottoman Empire. At the Allied command headquarters, this order was further expanded and refined into two key directives: Firstly, frontline officers and soldiers were strictly forbidden from negotiating with the Ottomans in any form. Secondly, the coalition would only accept one type of surrender—lay down your weapons and enter a prisoner-of-war camp. Though the orders seemed straightforward, they effectively made surrender impossible for the Ottoman Empire. Entering a POW camp meant losing everything. For the ruling elite, this was a death sentence. With no path to survival, they had no choice but to fight to the bitter end. Even though many in the coalition command knew the orders had been excessively interpreted, no one sympathized with the Ottomans. Such was the power of hatred. Whether in Austria or the Russian Empire, the Ottomans were long-standing enemies. It was inevitable. In both nations, the vast majority of noble families with a history of over a century had deep-seated blood feuds with the Ottomans. Unfortunately for the Ottomans, the rulers of both Austria and Russia at this time were among their sworn enemies. With both national and personal grudges at play, vengeance was unavoidable. As for the heavy casualties—war always claimed lives. The Russo-Prussian War had cost millions, and everyone had endured it. Another four-digit daily death toll hardly frightened them. To the bureaucrats in the rear, these were just numbers, far less significant than the political gains at stake. … With suspicion and unease in his heart, Grand Vizier Midhat Pasha stepped into the underground palace of the Ottoman royal residence, a structure built after the last war. Having witnessed the terrifying power of Austrian airships, Sultan Abdul Hamid II had decisively ordered the construction of this subterranean refuge. To escape the threat from above, the Ottoman government had moved its operations underground after the outbreak of the Battle of Ankara. With anticipation in his voice, Abdul Hamid II asked, “How is it? Have the Russians agreed to negotiate with us?” By this stage of the war, Abdul Hamid II had come to terms with reality. After all, regicide was not a common tradition in Europe. Even in the event of a post-war reckoning, exile would likely be the worst outcome. Based on his understanding of Austria, the Austria-led Anti-Ottoman Alliance would not go to extreme lengths. It was highly possible that they would carve out a piece of land and send the remaining Ottoman factions there. The real problem, however, was that the forces attacking Ankara were not the Austrians, but the unpredictable and ruthless Russians. Midhat Pasha shook his head and said, “The Russian commander, Ivanov, harbors extreme hatred toward us. He refused to even meet with our envoys and had them thrown out immediately. It’s safe to say that negotiations with the Russians are impossible.” Abdul Hamid II’s face turned deathly pale. The door to diplomacy had been slammed shut, and there was no mistaking what that meant. He was now forced to bear the consequences of his ancestors’ actions. Both the ruler in Vienna and the one in Saint Petersburg had every reason to want him dead. Regicide was a grave crime that would bring condemnation from the European world except in one circumstance: if the king perished on the battlefield. With a loud crash, Abdul Hamid II smashed a nearby cup to the ground and snarled, “If our enemies refuse to give us a way out, then we’ll fight to the end. Initiate the destruction plan! If we are doomed, we’ll take them down with us! Let’s all go together…” … As the Near East War entered its final stage, the so-called “Guano War” also came to an end. In the end, Chile, Bolivia, and Peru were forced to sit down at the negotiating table. The British had defended their dominance in South America through decisive action, successfully suppressing the challenges posed by France and Austria. Due to the influence of great power rivalries, the unfortunate losers of this war turned out to be Bolivia and Peru. It wasn’t for lack of support from their backers. Even after losing control of the seas, France and Austria still managed to find ways to send supplies. Unfortunately, their allies simply failed to deliver on the battlefield, losing even in a two-against-one fight. To ensure the logistics chain for their allies, Austria had even struck Colombia hard, leaving the country struggling to recover from its internal conflict. In this brutal world, power dictates authority. Since Peru and Bolivia lost on the battlefield, they naturally had no leverage at the negotiating table. Although this South American war lasted over three years, the actual casualties were not particularly high. Of course, “not particularly high” is only relative to European standards. For these three smaller nations, the losses were devastating. Chile suffered 16,000 combat deaths, while Bolivia and Peru lost 19,000 and 17,000 soldiers, respectively. Their combined casualties far exceeded historical precedents, making this the largest war in South American history. With Britain, France, and Austria all occupied with other matters, none of the great powers had the time to meddle in South America. Without foreign interference, the negotiations proceeded smoothly. As expected, Chile, as the victor, obtained the Atacama Desert, which it had long dreamed of. Meanwhile, Bolivia, the biggest loser, lost all access to the sea, officially becoming a landlocked country. The failure of Austria’s attempt in South America did not surprise Franz. Britain’s dominance as the world’s leading power was built on the firepower of the Royal Navy so shaking that foundation was never going to be easy. That said, the Austrian government did not walk away empty-handed. Bolivia, a half-dead minor ally, was of little concern, but Franz’s “covert maneuver” had been successfully executed. The South American war had provided Austria with the perfect pretext to support the Panamanian independence movement, without triggering widespread outrage among the region’s nations. At this point, Panamanian independence forces already controlled a quarter of Colombian territory and routinely overwhelmed the Colombian government’s army. And that was with the Austrian Central American Governorate deliberately restraining them. Had they gone all out, the entire country might have fallen by now. It all sounded impressive, but in reality, Colombia was never a tough opponent to begin with. The entire country barely had two million people, with whites making up less than a quarter of the population. Losing to the independence movement was inevitable, especially since the so-called “Panamanian independence forces” were merely a front. The real military backbone was the Austrian colonial troops. When fighting for their own interests, mercenaries tend to be far more motivated. The Austrian colonial government in Central America had made a simple promise: “Whoever conquers the land gets to keep it.” As a result, private colonial forces flooded in, quickly pushing the Colombian government to the brink of collapse. The so-called “Panamanian independence movement” had already reached the banks of the Magdalena River, yet it showed no signs of stopping. At this point, even Colombia itself was beginning to question reality.
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https://postimg.cc/gallery/PwXsBkC (Maps of the current territories of the countries in this novel made by ScH)
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