The streets of Belgrade were a constant reminder of what had once been and what would never be. The fog of mustard gas had long since been purged from the city, and its inhabitants were buried in mass graves outside of its boundaries.
Over a hundred thousand people had died here if you included the elements of the army who stood in its defense, as well as the citizens located within. Their souls were forever tortured by the miasma of poison which choked their lives out of existence and with no warning no less.
From the highest king, to the lowliest rat, not a single being, human or otherwise had been spared the extermination that had taken place here. But months had passed since then, and the war in Serbia had come to an end as the year 1914 came to its final weeks.
Kaiser Wilhelm II, Emperor Franz Joseph I, Tsar Nicholas II and King Constantine I of Greece all sat together in the same room across from the representatives of the temporary military junta which at this moment were the de-factor rulers of the Kingdom of Serbia.
The only other people present in the city were soldiers of the Imperial Powers, who had since branded themselves as the Central Powers with Greece’s entry into the war, as Greece was not an Empire, and instead a minor power throwing their weight in with the big three European Imperial Dynasties.
Thus bringing things full circle, as the faction which Germany had been a part of in this life, was rebranded with the same name as it had in his past life. The only other person privy to these discussions was none other than Bruno himself, who stood in the corner with his newly pinned medals.
The ribbon of his Iron Cross first class, was worn with the clasp of the Knight’s Cross with Swords of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, which consisted of a golden crown with cross swords pinned to the fabric that was adorned across his top button.
In addition to this, Bruno had his Iron Cross First class pinned to his left breast beneath his heart, and the multitude of German military medals above it. Whether that was his initial China Medal from his participation in the Boxer Rebellion, his Iron Cross Second Class, or his Cross of the Iron Division Second class.
These awards were all pinned precisely where they should be beneath his greatcoat, which covered their brilliance. The only other visible award was his Cross of the Iron Division First Class, which hung from the neck beneath his collar and proudly displayed the insignia of his rank as a Generalfeldmarshall.
Bruno sat silently on the windowsill, smoking outside of its open panes, which allowed the cold snow and winter air into the room, while the various leaders argued about terms of surrender. Serbia stood proudly, albeit foolishly as they debated with their conquerors about appropriate terms of surrender that benefited them.
Apparently too stupid, or more accurately proud to admit they had no actual means to continue this armed conflict and had been thoroughly trounced by Bruno and his Thunder Run.
As a result, the Serbian host openly, and blatantly squabbled with the leaders of the Central Powers, who were trying patiently to convey to these stubborn old fools that they had lost. “Completely unacceptable! Serbia is to become a territory of the Hungarian Crown? I won’t have it! After everything you have done here, do you really think that we will just let you have your way? I would rather die than admit defeat! So you better just-” ƒreewebηoveℓ.com
Shocked filled the room as a thunderous echo ranged throughout it, spurring the armed guards of the German Reich to lower their weapons searching for the culprit.
Bruno simply lowered his Mauser C96 and holstered it, the bullet having been precisely aimed to shoot the cigarette out of the hands of the Serbian General who had dared to espouse such nonsense, and in doing so causing the man to thoroughly soil his trousers.
Bruno’s gaze was cold as he stowed his pistol away and took a long drag off of his own cigarette before thoroughly explaining his thoughts in the most murderous tone he could muster.
“If you all wish to die this can be arranged. Your Army is broken, your lands are conquered, your people have wholly submitted to the rule of the Habsburgs, who I might remind you, you provoked with unwarranted murder of their presumed heir!
You have nothing left, except for your damned pride! And if that means I have to kill a few stubborn old fools in order to resolve this matter without having to gas another town, then I am sure the mass graves I have dug outside this city can accommodate a few more corpses…
After all, your capital, which we now sit within was thoroughly exterminated under my order. Did you senile old bastards seriously forget who you were dealing with here?”
Kaiser Wilhelm II wanted to chastise Bruno for his rather wanton use of force, especially the unpermitted discharging of a firearm within his presence. But honestly, the man’s murderous aura was so frightening even he felt slightly intimidated by it, despite knowing it was not the least bit directed at him.
Franz Joseph damn near had a heart attack upon hearing the random gunshot, and Tsar Nicholas II simply gazed upon Bruno with a look that consisted of a mixture of surprise, approval, and pride.
Needless to say any resistance these doddering old fools who called themselves the current rulers of Serbia had left remaining quickly crumbled when Bruno reminded them he was the butcher of this city.
The peace treaty, which guaranteed Serbia’s disarmament, occupation, annexation, and complete and total surrender had been signed by both parties. The nation was thoroughly annexed by the Habsburgs within their lands under the authority of the Hungarian Crown. Though honestly, Bruno doubted these gains would last for very long, frankly put, Austro- Hungary was doomed to collapse within the coming decades regardless of whether or not they ended up winning this war.
At the end of the day, different religions, cultures, and ethnicities could never inhabit the same land for long without bloodshed occurring. Austro-Hungary was a multi-ethnic, multi- cultural, and multi-religious society, and because of that it was doomed to burn.
In fact, Bruno doubted it would survive another two decades before violence erupted within the nation’s borders, especially with the annexation of Serbia, which only added to this internal strife. The war would likely be very bloody, as it had similarly been when Yugoslavia, the successor state to the Austro-Hungarian, fell apart during the 1990s of Bruno’s past life.
And this was perhaps the biggest middle finger in the history of the region. The state which the Young Bosnians and Black Hand wanted to create as an independent state lasted fewer years than the Austro-Hungarian Empire they sought to destroy.
That is, unless you included the interwar years before the region fell apart and was invaded and annexed by various powers, before once more gaining their independence under a completely different banner and ideology.
Frankly speaking, Bruno doubted in this modern era, any pan-Balkan state could exist for a century, let alone longer. It was too diverse of a region, with too many reasons for its people to kill one another. God, culture, nation? Those were the three things humans fought over most, aside from perhaps resources.
And believe me, when it came to civil wars, resources mattered very little. With all of this in mind, Bruno saw the Annexation of Serbia by the Austro-Hungarian Empire as its final death knell. Even if he managed to prevent the treaty of Trianon from occurring in this life, as it had
in his past.
Austro-Hungary, as a political entity, and the Habsburg rule over the Balkans would come to a brutal and bloody end within the coming decades. It was simply inevitable, and inevitability was the strongest magic of all.
Thus, despite the tolls extorted upon Serbia for starting this war, or perhaps even because of it, Bruno was not the slightest bit happy with today’s events. As he knew, all too soon, there
would be another war for him to fight.
And that was not even the second world war, which may or may not occur during this timeline depending on how the result of this Great War. No, the coming war would be one to secure the House of Habsburg, and perhaps ensure its peaceful unification with the remainder of
Germany.
But in order for this to become a reality, Bruno would first have to win this current global conflict, and because of that, Bruno made none of his actual thoughts on how Serbia was being treated known to any of the men who could have altered the treaty. He simply ensured that Serbia surrendered.
And he had done so to remind the negotiations and the parties present that ultimately, at the end of the day, might was right. One simply could not protest their mistreatment when they started a war they were simply incapable of winning.