Holy Roman Empire - Chapter 356

Chapter 356: Chapter 43: The Collapse of the Second Vienna System

The sudden outbreak of the Prussia-Denmark War instantly made the situation in Europe severe.

The Danish government requested that countries intervene in this war according to the Prussia-Denmark truce treaty and the agreements reached with the countries of the Vienna System, and to sanction the Kingdom of Prussia for breaking the rules.

Theoretically, the Danish government’s demands were supported, and the Kingdom of Prussia would be subjected to a united suppression by European nations, and even be required to pay a huge amount of war indemnities or be punished through territorial cession.

Unquestionably, due to the complex relationships among the four countries of England, France, Russia, and Austria, the Danish people’s demands were difficult to satisfy.

…

After learning from the lessons of a Near Eastern war, isolationism was prevalent within the British Government, advocating to avoid getting involved in European strife as much as possible.

The Downing Street Prime Minister’s Office was discussing how the London Government should act amidst the changing European situation.

Foreign Minister Reslin analyzed, “The Prussians suddenly provoked this Prussia-Denmark War mainly because the pressure from the three countries of Russia, France, and Austria was too great.

Bordering three major countries, and with their homeland divided in two, the Berlin Government has always had a strong sense of crisis, fearing that they would be partitioned by the three countries if they were not careful.

As early as in the 1853 Paris Conference, when discussing the division of the German Region, we suggested an exchange of territories between the Kingdom of Prussia and the German Federation Empire, but it wasn’t successful due to major divergences between the two sides.

The Kingdom of Prussia lost an opportunity to unite its homeland and had to maintain a large military to ensure the security of its territory.

Now the French covet their Rhineland region, the Austrians want to take back Silesia and the Prussian Saxon area, and the Russians have ambitious designs on Prussian Poland.

The three countries have not made a move, mainly because they restrain each other and cannot come to a consensus on interests.

The disputes between Austria-France around the ownership of the Rhineland region have always been unresolved, and similarly, disputes remain between Russia-Austria regarding the ownership of the Silesia area.

Taking advantage of the contradictions among the countries and their own not insignificant strength, the Kingdom of Prussia has temporarily managed to survive, but the crisis is far from over.

Indeed, as early as 1853, some people in our country had proposed supporting Prussia, merging the German Federation and the Kingdom of Prussia to balance power on the European Continent with four strong nations.

This plan was stillborn before it even began, as the price we would have to pay to support the Kingdom of Prussia was too great, and the effect it could have was extremely limited.

Even once this country was established, it would face a catastrophic disaster. To ensure their leadership position in the German Region, the Vienna Government might very well compromise with France and Russia in exchange for an incomplete unification of the German Region.

That is: the French would obtain the German territories west of the Rhine, Austria would give up the Italian Area; the Russians would acquire East Prussia, West Prussia, Pomerania, Posen, Silesia, and parts of Austro-Poland; Austria would unite the rest of the German Region.

To avoid the worst-case scenario, we chose the plan to divide the German Region into three, which also promoted the establishment of the second Vienna System, creating over a decade of peace and stability on the European Continent.

After the French annexed the Kingdom of Sardinia, everyone realized that the Vienna System was doomed, and the Kingdom of Prussia was the most acutely aware of the crisis.

They chose to take a military adventure at a time when the Russians were at their weakest, as they had no other choice. Any turmoil on the European Continent would inevitably drag them in.

Now the Berlin Government wants to use all the countries of Europe, including us, who do not want to see the Russians complete their reforms, to act as everyone’s tool to strike at the Russians.”

“Supporting the Kingdom of Prussia is impossible; it’s the industrial era now, where can we find markets for them?

But supporting them in striking at the Russians seems somewhat feasible. If we can use this opportunity to unite the countries of Europe to halt the Russian reform process, or even better, to split Russia, that would be perfect,” said Finance Minister Agawar.

This is a practical issue; open a history book, and you’ll know that the British have supported many countries. But in reality, such support has always been very limited, always bestowing charity with other people’s money.

Now, on the European Continent, there is no one willing to be this easy mark; the neighbors surrounding Prussia are not to be trifled with, and they would divide it before it could grow.

To put it bluntly, the cake has already been divided, and for any new country to rise, it must snatch from the old empires, something Russia, France, and Austria will not allow. The more support the British give, the faster Prussia will perish.

Navy Minister Edward objected, “It’s not that easy. If the Russians collapse so readily, they don’t deserve to be our greatest enemy.

Whether it’s the Polish Independence Movement Organization or the Kingdom of Prussia, they can only add a bit of trouble for the Russians. To crush this great empire, it would take a personal campaign from France and Austria. I do not believe that we can persuade France and Austria to join forces in oppressing the Russians at this time.

The Austrians have always maintained the Russian-Austrian Alliance, fearing to become a target of Russian invasion, even at the cost of allowing Russian influence into the Balkan Peninsula.

They share too many borders with the Russians; unless the Austrians can be convinced that they can cripple Russia, the Vienna Government is unlikely to take risks.

I suggest limited involvement, just enough to cause trouble for the Russians. Solving the Russian problem in one fell swoop is highly unrealistic; we don’t need to take that risk.”

Foreign Minister Reslin said, “I also support limited involvement, we can provide loans and arms to the Kingdom of Prussia and the Polish Independence Organization, there’s no need to personally enter the fray.”

The Russian Government seemed to have encountered problems, yet the Tsarist army had not been thrown into disarray. The troops annihilated in the Polish region were just recently conscripted local Poles, they could not truly represent the real strength of the Tsarist army.

“If we can deplete part of the Russians’ strengths this time, disrupt or delay their reform process, then we can consider it a success.”

…

In Paris, the French government had almost made the same decision as the British, providing money, weapons, and even volunteers, but they would certainly not deploy troops themselves.

Even Napoleon III made preparations to profit from the turmoil, only, his target was not the Russians, but the Prussians, who were still reluctantly considered allies.

The successful annexation of the Kingdom of Sardinia had sparked the ambition of the French. Capitalists who could not tolerate the insufficient coal supply and were forced to import at high prices were constantly agitating the government to make a move on the Rhineland region.

The power of capital was immense, under the onslaught of money the French government was inevitably influenced. Not taking action, that was because Napoleon III was lucid, aware of the limits of other nations.

Do not think that the joint defense treaties among nations were a joke. If they really overstepped the line, it might well trigger another Anti-French Alliance.

With an eighty percent chance of such an outcome, Napoleon III naturally wouldn’t take the risk. Even if he were to make a move, he would have to drag others into the water with him, sharing the international pressure.

Supporting the Kingdom of Prussia now was just to bolster the Berlin Government’s morale. Regardless of victory or defeat, the French could profit from the situation.

If by chance the Prussians were to topple the Russians from their position as the supreme power on the European Continent, they would reap a huge windfall.

As for whether the Kingdom of Prussia would become too powerful, that was not even in Napoleon III’s considerations. Expansion required territorial opportunities.

If the Prussians dared to annex Russian territory, it is likely that all the European nations would support their righteous action. It would simply be a cause for celebration.

The prerequisite was to survive the retaliations of the Tsarist Government; otherwise, all benefits were temporary and destined to be lost.

…

Unquestionably, the decisions of England and France declared the collapse of the Second Vienna System. With the two leading nations breaking the rules, how could it possibly be sustained?

After the stance of England and France was clear, Franz naturally would not choose to insist on a thankless effort; after all, this system had already served its historical purpose.

With over a decade of development, the strength of Austria had undergone earth-shattering changes, enough to withstand the turmoil in Europe.

The only great power insisting on the system was now the Russian Empire, and they continued to maintain it because the provisions of the current Vienna System were in their favor.

For instance: On the topic of the Prussia-Denmark War, the Tsarist Government could use the agreements reached through the Second Vienna System as a legal basis to strike at the Kingdom of Prussia.

With a legal basis in hand, the direct consequence was that European public opinion largely supported the Kingdom of Denmark. This war was deemed by the public as Prussia’s invasion of Denmark.

Due to public opinion pressure, England and France’s support for Prussia was limited to behind-the-scenes; apart from the German Federation and Austria, all countries condemned the Prussian Government openly.

Not condemning the Prussian Government does not mean supporting them. After the previous Prussia-Denmark War, the people of the German Region lacked confidence in the Prussian Government.

The Munich Daily attacked the Prussian Government as a robber, accusing them of deploying troops to Denmark for plunder in order to escape a financial crisis, and not at all for the sake of defending German sovereignty.

This was the leftover data from the last Prussian-Denmark War, with pictures and facts, proving organized looting by the Prussian Army.

No explanation was necessary; the armies of European nations were all like this at the time. Only those that did not loot in their own country could be considered to have strict military discipline.

The Vienna Daily directly commented: The Prussian Government was out of money again and was getting ready to use the Prussia-Denmark War as a pretext to scam donations.

Those who were duped had the most say, many still had fresh memories. Despite more than a decade passing, the Prussian Government was often dredged up to be flogged by the masses again.

In accordance with public sentiment, the Vienna Foreign Ministry issued a declaration of neutrality right away. Support was out of the question; there wasn’t even verbal support.

The Prussian Government did not even dare to shout the slogan of defending German sovereignty, and German nationalists were extremely dissatisfied.

Those originally inclined to support the Kingdom of Prussia in reclaiming the Two Principalities were now backing out. Many feared that Prussia’s actions were aimed at a complete break with Germany, intending to form their own system like Switzerland and the Netherlands did.