The individual
cupidity and jealousies will break forth, especially when judiciously
fostered as they were in this instance by the counter influence of
Germany and Austria. The result is well known. Servia was jealous of
Bulgaria; Bulgaria was jealous of Montenegro; Greece was jealous of
the lot and Roumania, instigated by her wirepullers, would not permit
any of them to have anything. But through sheer exhaustion and
disgust and a stoppage of Franco-Russian money we would have had one
of the finest all around throat-cutting competitions the world has
ever seen. In the meantime, the mutual jealousy and inability to
divide the spoil was beneficial to Turkey, who really lost nothing
worth speaking about, commensurate with the reverses received.
That and the breaking up of any possible coalition or federation of
Balkan States under Russian influence was just what the
German-Austrian Balkan policy demanded. A broken and prostrated
Turkey, a united and strong central Balkan Federation able to put a
million efficient fighters in the field, probably under Russian sway,
would make a vast difference to German aims and aspirations in central
Europe. A million soldiers cooperating with Russia would in the event
of a European war take practically the whole of the Austrian forces,
leaving Germany the sole care of the Russian battalions, which would
mean quite half her available fighting force, weakening her operations
by that half on her Franco and lowland border.
Pages:
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172