Bab 253: Chapter 331 Balkan Situation (5)
Compared to the occasionally mentally unstable Wilhelm II, Ferdinand wasn't much better. He was known in European royalty for his extremely vengeful personality.
Apart from the "grudges" with Wilhelm II, Ferdinand also had comical conflicts with other royals and nobles.
In 1910, during his visit to attend the funeral of his second cousin, King Edward VII of England, Ferdinand had a dispute with Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary over the placement of their carriages. In the end, the Archduke emerged victorious, and his carriage was directly placed behind the engine, while Ferdinand's was behind the Archduke's. However, when Ferdinand realized that the dining car of the train was behind his carriage, he refused to let the Archduke pass through his carriage to access the dining car.
As mentioned earlier, in October 1908, he declared Bulgaria's complete independence from the Ottoman Turkish Empire, becoming a sovereign kingdom and naming himself "Tsar." Rumors even circulated that he kept the entire regalia of the Byzantine Emperor, acquired from a theatrical costume merchant, in his wardrobe, preparing for the day when he would reclaim the territories of Byzantium under his scepter. This made other monarchs of the time, who were also rulers of the ninety-five, somewhat resentful.
In his private life, he was bisexual. Many rumors suggested that in his later years, Ferdinand frequently had rendezvous with his assistants and male servants. He regularly vacationed with a wealthy male homosexual in the famous resort of Capri, which was an open secret throughout European royalty.
This secret was exposed in 1895 by the resentful former Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Stefan Stambolov, to the Frankfurt Gazette, causing the notorious Nine Days' Scandal in Europe.
As for why this former prime minister held a grudge, it was because, after the abdication of Grand Duke Alexander I in 1886, he thwarted Russian interference and endorsed Ferdinand as the Grand Duke of Bulgaria. After Ferdinand ascended, Stambolov organized the cabinet and naturally controlled domestic politics in Bulgaria.
During his rule, he continued opposing Russia, maintained friendly relations with Turkey, and expanded Bulgaria's influence in Macedonia. He used terror tactics to deal with recurrent anti-government conspiracies and mutinies. By 1895, when Ferdinand reclaimed the throne, Stambolov was forced to resign from the prime minister position, and the scandal involving Ferdinand came to light.
In July 1895, Stambolov and his bodyguard and a friend were riding in a carriage home when they were attacked by assassins with revolvers shooting at the horses.
Stambolov quickly exited the carriage but was surrounded by several attackers with knives. He killed one assailant, but the others knocked him to the ground. Knowing Stambolov was wearing a bulletproof vest, they stabbed his head and hands. His bodyguard eventually drove away the attackers, but Stambolov, brought back home, succumbed to his injuries. As for who the culprits were, that remained "unknown."
After exchanging pleasantries, Ferdinand inquired, "Wilhelm, I heard that your forces have entered Albania?"
Wilhelm nodded. "That's correct."
Ferdinand hesitated for a moment and asked again, "So, are you planning to annex the Balkans?"
Wilhelm shrugged. "I don't actually have much interest in the Balkans. Invading Albania is merely to help our ally Italy consolidate its occupied territories. If the Balkan Peninsula countries want to remain neutral, I am willing to support that."
For example, compared to Greece's neutrality, Wilhelm had more faith in Turkey.
In the original timeline, at the beginning of 1943, British Prime Minister Churchill personally went to Adana, Turkey, to meet with the then Turkish president. Churchill directly expressed the hope that Turkey would declare war on Germany immediately so that Britain could use Turkish airfields for airstrikes against Germany. However, Turkey did not respond because, at that time, Turkey understood the situation; despite Germany facing significant losses, it could still wreak havoc on Turkey.
Churchill naturally didn't give up. The adept player of international politics, Britain, through the Soviet Union, pressured Turkey to join the fight against Germany as soon as possible. Under Soviet pressure, Britain once again sent diplomats to negotiate with Turkey, stating that if Turkey did not join the fight against Germany, once the war ended, Turkey would face a new opponent - the Soviet Union. At that time, the Allies wouldn't send troops to help. Since Turkey didn't participate in the war, Turkey would have no say in the post-war world order.
Compelled, Turkey agreed to Britain's request but hoped for some flexibility on when to officially declare war against Germany. At the same time, Turkey indicated that it needed some essential military assistance and quickly submitted a list to Britain, including 126 of the latest Spitfire fighter planes and 500 tanks, as well as at least 70,000 tons of fuel.
Britain reluctantly agreed.
However, by November, the Turkish leadership had not reached a consensus on entering the war. Nevertheless, Turkey played a rather dark game at this time. They felt that if they joined the war, Germany would immediately take care of them. So they decided to wait until Germany could no longer take care of itself before taking action. This idea achieved consensus within Turkey.
After receiving British supplies, Turkey clearly stated that it would join the war against Germany but requested a more lenient timeline. With this approach, Turkey smoothly obtained those weapons and was working hard to train its soldiers. As Britain struggled, Turkey was still training soldiers. It was only on February 23, 1945, that Turkey officially joined the war against Germany, but by then, Germany had almost run out of wars to fight.
Wilhelm actually hoped that Turkey, in its ignorance, would stand with Britain. In that case, he would have an excuse to attack and seize Turkey, including the strategically crucial Turkish Straits known as the "throat of the world."
It's essential to note that the Turkish Straits serve as the gateway from the Middle East, North Africa, and Southern Europe to the Black Sea. This unique geographical position makes it a highly contested area, holding significant military value.
Unfortunately, with Turkey's sly nature, unless Germany was nearing defeat, it would staunchly adhere to neutrality.
"If Bulgaria wishes to maintain neutrality, that's not an issue. As long as they don't engage in hostilities or unfriendly dealings with our adversaries, we will support them."
In the original timeline, in March 1941, King Boris III of Bulgaria reluctantly joined the Axis powers.
After the outbreak of the Soviet-German War, King Boris III found a convenient excuse for himself: Bulgarians had a deep emotional connection with Russia, making it unsuitable for them to fight against Russia. Other various excuses included: his army's equipment was not suitable for modern mechanized warfare (which made sense); his soldiers, mostly farmers, couldn't fight far from their homes (although they could deal with guerrillas in Macedonia). Additionally, the Bulgarian army needed to stay on the border to guard against possible Turkish attacks, coupled with domestic anti-guerrilla warfare and the anti-Allied landing plans in the Balkan Peninsula.
In any case, the Germans accepted King Boris's explanations, and the Bulgarian army did not deploy to the Eastern Front against the Soviet Union. Instead, they stayed in the Balkans to deal with guerrillas. However, the performance of Bulgarian officials was abysmal. In Macedonia, locals quickly became disappointed with the new officials' brutality and corruption, and Bulgarians became as unwelcome as the Serbs. In Thessaloniki, there wasn't even a honeymoon period, as armed resistance erupted rapidly. As the war progressed, many Bulgarian soldiers deserted, hiding in these two regions. These two territories became the greatest threats to Bulgaria's stability.
Domestically, King Boris III's reputation remained relatively unaffected. While the economy didn't improve significantly, it didn't get worse either. In 1944, the impact of air raids and guerrilla warfare could be mostly overlooked. Although German troops were stationed in Bulgaria, it was still meager compared to World War I. Even after the Battle of Stalingrad, due to Boris's resolute refusal to allow Bulgarian forces to participate in the Eastern Front, Bulgarians were not as shaken by the massive bloodshed as their neighbors, the Romanians.
After all, Ferdinand had abdicated for many years, and he no longer handled affairs. This time, he visited Wilhelm purely to inquire about the situation. Seeing Wilhelm not particularly concerned about the Balkans, he stayed for a while and then left.
On the other hand, after some bargaining, Eden finally reached the final agreement with the Soviet Union and returned to London.
Churchill sighed with relief. "Great! When can they deploy troops?"
Eden replied, "They need to make some preparations, but they should be ready to deploy by the end of November at the latest."
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