June 27, 1914, a day that shocked the world...

The Austro-Hungarian Empire held a military exercise in its adjacent Bosnia with the imaginary enemy. Ferdinand and his princess visited the inspection. After the exercise, Ferdinand arrived in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia. On the evening of June 27, officials from Sarajevo held a grand dinner for Ferdinand and his wife. Shortly after the dinner began, a bomb exploded under the dining table next to Ferdinand and his wife. The grand couple was seriously injured. Three other people, including the grand prince's adjutant, died on the spot, and more than 20 people were injured. In the early morning of the 28th, the grand prince and his wife both died in the hospital. It was investigated that the person who placed the bomb was a Serbian chef.

For Chen Tian, ​​this news was both expected and unexpected. The fuse of the war was ignited as scheduled, and no one could stop this war; however, history has undergone a small change here, and the Grand Duke actually died in a bomb at the banquet, which may mean that history will develop in another direction from here.

In any case, this moment finally came. After 32 springs and autumns, 32 winters and summers, the boy who never gave up back then had grown up, the ambition-fulfilled young man grew up, and the passionate and impulsive young man grew up. Now Chentian is a German prince full of ideals but down-to-earth, Lisa's husband, Sasha and Andres' father, the commander of hundreds of thousands of soldiers, and the governor of millions of people, and is also the person who is ready to change the world.

On July 23, the Austro-Hungarian Empire proposed extremely harsh conditions to Serbia, limiting it to 48 hours. In order to endure humiliation, Serbia was forced to accept all other conditions except for the Austrian side sending personnel to pursue the murderer.

On July 25, Serbia issued a general mobilization order.

On July 27, France recalled its troops stationed in Algeria and Morocco.

On July 28, the Austro-Hungarian Empire formally declared war on Serbia under the pretext of not receiving a satisfactory reply.

On July 28, France issued a general mobilization order.

On July 29, the Tsar issued a general mobilization order. The Tsar's cousin Kaiser immediately stopped his journey to the North Sea and begged to the Tsar: "Don't take any reckless actions, I ask you!" Nicholas II was moved by his request and took back his general mobilization order, but he still maintained partial mobilization for the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

On July 29, George V ordered the world's most powerful British fleet to enter the state of preparation.

On July 30, the Tsar reissues a general mobilization order, and Germany demanded that Russia stop mobilization, but was rejected.

On July 31, the Royal Vienna issued a general mobilization order.

On July 31, Berlin submitted an ultimatum to Russia and France respectively. In an ultimatum to Tsarist Russia, Germany asked Russia to withdraw its general mobilization order "within 12 hours of receiving the ultimatum". The ultimatum to France required Paris to announce within 18 hours that if a war broke out between Russia and Germany, France would maintain neutrality. If France remained neutral, it would have to hand over the fortresses of Turkey and Verdun to Germany as a guarantee of neutrality and return it after the war was over. Russia did not want to respond at all, but France made a brief reply: "We must act according to our own interests."

At this time, Germany had no choice.

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Berlin, August 1, 1914.

There are thousands of people in the streets and the streets are crowded in front of the palace.

The night before, the emperor told people to "forced to pick up weapons" in his speech announcing the danger of war.

At this moment, they were waiting nervously and excitedly for the last moment to come.

At 5 pm, Germany declared war on Russia.

An officer appeared at the gate of the palace and read the mobilization order to the crowd. The German people gathered at the gate of the palace were ecstatic and sang the national anthem respectfully.

Once the mobilized button is pressed and recruited, the huge machine equipped and transporting 2 million people will start to operate. The reserve soldiers will gather at designated stations to collect uniforms, equipment and weapons, first form companies, then form battalions, and then send them to the assembly site at the neighboring border according to the scheduled railway schedule.

From the moment the order was issued, everything was running at the time specified in the scheduled time. Tens of thousands of cars and hundreds of trains were required to transport officers, infantry, cavalry, military supplies, and the timetable was ordered very finely. There were even specific regulations on how many train cars would pass through which bridge.

German Emperor William II organized his army into eight armies, of which the 1-7th army gathered along the derby, the German-French border, and the Eighth Army, the East Prussian Army of Chentian, was responsible for resisting the Russian attack on the Eastern Front.

East Prussia was also quickly mobilized, and 100,000 reserve troops were all assembled in Cornisburg within three days. The 4 infantry corps (corps), 1 armored army, 1 cavalry division, and the direct air force of the Legion were all fully staffed, and 246,000 people were ready to go to the battlefield at any time.

The Baltic squadron, which has 2 cruisers, 16 destroyers, 4 seaplane aircraft carriers, 2 aircraft carriers, 24 submarines, 13 torpedo boats, 35 patrol gunboats, and 273 various aircraft, also took action. Cruisers, destroyers, and submarines opened their ports and began to patrol the Baltic waters between Germany and Sweden, and turrets and torpedo boats patrol the coast of the Gdansk Gulf.

In the dock of the Konnisburg shipyard, there are still four destroyers that are about to be completed, one large aircraft carrier, 17 submarines, four torpedo boats, and six gunboats.

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At 7 a.m. on August 2, the 16th German Division entered the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.

At 7 pm on August 2, German Minister to Brussels Bello submitted an ultimatum to Belgian Foreign Minister Davignon:

Germany received reliable intelligence and France's intention to invade Germany through Belgium's border was undoubtedly confirmed. The Belgian army could not be expected to prevent the French army from advancing, so it was necessary to take precedence according to the needs of self-defense to prevent such hostile attacks. If the Belgians regard Germany's entry into Belgian territory as a hostile action against itself, Germany would deeply regret it. If Belgium could maintain good intentions, Germany would guarantee that it would withdraw from its territory immediately as soon as it was concluded to ensure the sovereignty and independence of the Belgian Kingdom.

If Belgium issues arguing against Germany through its territory, it will be regarded as an enemy country, and its relationship with it will be decided by "guns and cannons."

Belgium must make a "unmated reply" within 12 hours.

Belgian Prime Minister Brockwovilli held a cabinet meeting that night. Finally, the government made a decision to resist Germany "to safeguard Belgium's dignity", and the king agreed.

At 7 a.m. on August 3, Belgium submitted a reply to the German ambassador, saying that if the Belgian government accepts Germany's advice, it "will sacrifice its national dignity and betray its obligations to Europe." Therefore, it will "resolutely resist any violation of its full strength by all means within its sphere of power."

On August 3, Germany declared war on France because France refused to be "neutral".

At 6 a.m. on August 4, Germany declared war on Belgium.

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On the morning of August 4, when the German troops were advancing towards the Belgian border, it was raining heavily in Berlin.

Members of Congress gathered in the Capitol to listen to the emperor's decree. There was a large painting in the building, which depicted German Emperor William I and Field Marshal Moltke leaping on the battlefield with his head held high and his horse. A soldier in front was covered with a French flag under the emperor's horse's hooves.

Members of Congress lined up to enter the palace and sat down in the Whitehall. The German Emperor walked in quietly accompanied by several generals, waited to get on the imperial throne and began to read the speech.

He wore a helmet and held the hilt of the sword with one hand.

"We drew our swords and unsheathed our hair, and had a clear conscience."

He said that the war was initiated by Serbia with the support of Russia, and then recorded Russia's crimes, which aroused a burst of "shameful" shouts.

After the speech, the emperor shouted: "From today, I will not recognize the party, but only the Germans!"

Then he asked the leaders of all parties to come forward and shake hands with him if they agreed with him. In the "crazy excitement", all party leaders obeyed, while the others present burst into ecstatic cheers.

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At 8 a.m. on August 4, the first wave of earth-gray waves rushed across the border between Germany and Belgium at Gemmerich, 48 kilometers from Liege, and Belgian soldiers opened fire from the outpost.

On August 4, Britain declared war on Germany due to the German invasion of Belgium.
Chapter completed!