Whether it was the war in Libya or the upcoming American election, Bruno had kept a close watch on world affairs. War was coming, and much quicker than he had previously thought it would. And it was perhaps because of this that he was now in close communication with allied generals who he could trust had a level of competency.
Russia was not particularly well known for its brilliant military commanders. Even Marshal Zhukov, who was praised for the victory over the Wehrmacht in the Second World War of Bruno’s past life, had about as much subtlety and nuance as a blacksmith’s hammer.
But in the Great War, there was one General who stood above the rest among the Stavka, which was the name for the Russian Empire’s military high command. General Mikhail Alekseyev was also a man Bruno had some friendly ties to.
Having served beneath his command during the Russian Civil War, which in this life had occurred much earlier than in the previous timeline, Bruno often found himself one-upping the man in a game of chess when they were not on the battlefield.
Mikhail also had a great degree of respect for Bruno, so much so that he had described Bruno as being “A rare quality among military officers, insofar as he was one of the few generals in human history who preferred standing on the front lines of war with the soldiers beneath his authority rather than safely commanding his troops from afar.”
Because of this, he was one of Bruno’s confidants, especially after the formal alliance known in this timeline as the Union of Imperial Powers was forged through Bruno’s hard-fought and painstakingly manipulated efforts on the global stage.
Currently, Mikhail was sitting in Bruno’s home, along with another familiar face, a man who Bruno considered to be the only intelligent and competent general that Austro-Hungary could muster in its defense.
Svetozar Boroevi? was a Croatian general in the Austro-Hungarian armed forces and was one of the finest defensive military leaders of the war. He was also invited to Bruno’s home, and the two men had kept in touch ever since Bruno’s first foray into the lands of the Habsburg Dynasty.
While Bruno had foresight given to him by experience from a life set one hundred years from now, he did not make the mistake of believing his knowledge was both infallible and without peer. Instead, he very much liked to hear the opinions of history’s greatest tactical minds, of which he did not consider himself among the prestigious ranks.
Instead, Bruno sat with a cigarette in one hand and a stein of beer in the other as he and the two Generals spoke together at his personal table. They had come a long way at his request, and if Bruno were to personally extend an invitation to anybody, it meant something big was happening.
He was, after all, not the sociable type, preferring to live secluded among his own loved ones rather than putting on lavish social gatherings for what he considered to be a social class primarily filled with parasites leeching off the accomplishments of their greater forbearers. Thus, when they saw his family’s seal on the letter, the two men were quick to make the time to visit Berlin and speak with a man who seemed destined to change the world as they knew it, that is, assuming he had not already done so.
One would not guess by the civilian attire that these men wore, but they were three of the greatest strategic minds within the Imperial Powers, and when Bruno spoke, it was clear that the other prominent generals by his side listened to his every word as if he were some voice speaking on behalf of divinity.
“I’d like to extend my appreciation to the two of you. You both made time to come to my humble abode and on such short notice, nonetheless. It is with this in mind that I promise not to waste your time, as I understand it is just as valuable to you as it is to me.
I’ll be frank… This war in Libya will spark our greatest fears in no more than three years. By mid-1914, Europe will be at war. I am certain of it, and I regret to inform you both that the entire world will be dragged into hell with us.
My reason for inviting you both here was so that we may jointly come up with a strategy to defeat our enemies in the most efficient way possible. I won’t lie to you, the Kaiser and his staff have a plan in motion should war erupt.
But no plan survives wholly intact after making contact with the enemy, and because of this, I wanted to speculate with you both about what we will do when the gunfire begins…”
This meeting was quite frankly teetering on the edge of treason. Even among allies, revealing critical strategies on the precipice of a major war was not exactly kindly looked upon by those in power. Even so, Bruno needed to know whether or not Austro-Hungary and Russia were ready for what awaited them all within less than half a decade.
And because of this, Mikhail was quick to speak up. Ensuring that they all vowed secrecy during the conversation they were having. It was, after all, taking place in Bruno’s personal office, which was soundproofed. The only witnesses to this discussion were the three of them, as Bruno had expressly forbidden any interruption during this time, unless it was an absolute emergency.
“Before we speak… I want a vow, upon whatever oaths you two hold sacred, that not a word of this discussion will leave this room. As far as the Tsar knows, this is a social gathering among friends, and I would prefer to keep it that way.”
Bruno nodded his head with an equally severe expression on his face, placing his hand over his heart as he swore that he would not under any circumstances leak the details of this conversation to anyone, not even those he trusted with his life.
“I, Bruno von Zehntner, swear upon the continued health and prosperity of my family and my fatherland, that I shall never say a word in my life about what we are about to discuss here today unless first given express permission by the two of you to do so, even if I should be personally interrogated by my family or my Kaiser.”
Similar oaths were taken by the other two generals, who both had as severe of an expression on their faces as they did so, before finally the conversation between them began. Mikhail was the first to speak up, asking the question that both he and Svetozar were so desperate to
know.
“So, what exactly is this plan of yours, and what role do we play in it?”
The conversation was a lengthy one, and that was just the first part. To put it simply, Bruno’s plan was more detailed than the official one adopted by the Kaiser and his General Staff. After all, they did not necessarily know exactly who they would be fighting and under what
circumstances.
But Bruno more or less had an idea. He started by discussing the fortifications built in the west to halt any French invasion of Germany. Britain’s potential joining of the war would be counteracted by sinking their ships in the Atlantic with the U-boats Germany was already producing, and would have hundreds of by the outbreak of the war.
Leaving the French to effectively send wave after wave of men to their deaths against German border fortifications, and in doing so, buy the bulk of the German Army time-time to push into Serbia and Italy with their allies in the Russian Army.
Hence, why Bruno had spent half a decade investing in an infrastructure project that substantially updated the railways between the three neighboring empires. Russian, German, and Austro-Hungarian troops could be effectively mobilized and deployed to the borders of Italy and Serbia at record speeds.
In addition to this, Bruno had marked Romania as a potential adversary. The King of Romania had yet to take an official stance and would die within the first year of the war, leaving a relative as a potential wild card.
Bruno had tried to intimidate the young man into not entering the war, and instead working to supply oil to the Imperial Powers, but this had yet to bear fruit, and such a small encounter years prior may not have held the same level of dread today as it had then.
Nevertheless, after hearing all the lengths Bruno had gone to on his own to prepare for the march south, both Mikhail and Svetozar looked at Bruno as if they were incredibly lucky to be on his side, before beginning to speak of the extensive preparations their respective nations
had made.