The United Duchy of the Baltic was home to the Germans Baron Pierburg declared: every Baltic German must be ready for battle Hersmann arrived in Riga with Karhaushofer.
At the train station, they saw signs of the Polotic self-government and large recruitment advertisements plastered all over the platform.
Karlhaushofer said to Hersmann: "Hehe, from Berlin to Riga, it seems that from 1918 to 1914, when the war had just begun. ” Hersmann struggled to search his mind for memories of 1914, when everyone believed that the German Empire was the most powerful country in the world, with an invincible army and navy.
Second Lieutenant Hersmann, who had just graduated from the military academy, reported to the barracks in Königsberg with the mood of winning the lottery, and the streets of Berlin and Königsberg were full of cheering crowds, and there were long queues in front of each recruiting point.
Hersmann, on the other hand, fantasized that he could become a major after winning the war and win the favor of a noble girl, but most of his fantasies came true, except that the war was not won A salty cold wind blowing from the Gulf of Riga swept across the platform, pulling Hersman back to reality from his fond memories.
He smiled bitterly at Karhaushofer: "At least we can keep the United Duchy of the Baltic and not for nothing, maybe this German country will be the key to winning the next war." ” "The next war" Karlhaus Hofer shook his head, "I'm afraid it's been many years later, after the Franco-Prussian War, there should be 50 years of peace after this war."
In fact, it was only 20 years before Hersman said in his heart: If we are defeated again, you and I will have to die unless we give up everything after the war is over and go home to farm "Let's go, we have a lot to do today," said Karlhaushofer, "and we're going to have to race against the clock."
They had come to Riga for a secret meeting because the second plan of the Courland Plan had been activated, and many things had to be adjusted.
Naturally, the various parties involved in the Courland plan had to meet.
In addition, after attending this secret meeting, Hersmann had to go to Moscow in the name of the general manager of the Russian-German company to conduct difficult negotiations with Lenin.
The two quickly walked out of the Riga train station, where two German soldiers with rifles checked their documents at the exit of the station and immediately let them go.
The city of Riga, which is heavily guarded outside the train station and is full of heavily armed soldiers, has been under martial law since a few months ago.
This was done on the advice of Stasi.
At the same time, there was a ruthless repression of various Russian and Latvian and Estonian revolutionaries, while German revolutionaries were arrested and expelled.
Public opinion was also tightly regulated, and only newspapers approved by Stasi were allowed to publish them, and they were filled with content advocating war and terrible things about Russia.
Before boarding the taxi wagon, Karlhaushofer bought two copies of the local newspaper in Riga and gave one to Hersmann.
As soon as he got into the car, Hersman opened the newspaper and read it.
On the front pages of the newspapers, in thick and bold black letters, there was a sensational news: another mass arrest in Petrograd, where more than 2,000 people were arrested, 1,000 of whom were executed without any trial "Another 2,000 people were captured, just in Petrograd," Haushofer shook his head.
"If this same madman is allowed to come to power in Germany, we will all be shot" Historically, at the end of World War I and in the years that followed, there were a number of European countries that had a confrontation between the Red and the White.
However, there was no second Soviet Union, Hungary almost succeeded, and the ruthlessness of the Bolsheviks in the Soviet and Russian civil war was probably also an important reason, and class enemies like Karlhaus Hofer were vigilant "Yes," Hersman said, putting away the paper, "it's a matter of life, but it's also an opportunity for us." ” "What a chance" "Of course, it was to take advantage of the opportunity of Soviet Russia to maintain the vitality of Germany, and I think that the big men of the Entente did not want to see a wave of red revolution in the whole of Europe."
"Of course.
But there must be no sign of a red revolution in Germany," Karlhaushofer said categorically, "and whoever dares to do that must be prepared to die."
Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg were really going to do this, and so they were going to die soon.
"Of course it's not Germany, it's another country, and I think it's good to go and talk to Lenin about causing more trouble for the Entente," Hersmann and Karlhaushofer were talking to when the carriage stopped in front of a huge yellow castle house.
This was the headquarters of the German garrison in the Baltic region.
The commander-in-chief of the Baltic Defence Army, General Rudiger von der Golz, looked very stern, his facial features seemed to be carved out of granite, and his eyes were particularly sharp, like a real leader.
In the first half of 1918, he also did a major job in helping the Finnish White Guards defeat the Red Guards This earned him great prestige and was considered a suitable person to defend the United Duchy of the Baltics.
Historically, he also took on the same mission, but because of his lack of preparation and limited strength, he was defeated in Estonia, and he was not popular enough when he had already taken Latvia, otherwise there would really be a small East Germany in history.
However, on this plane, Hersmann's Courland plan was to defend the United Duchy of Baltic with an army of 100,000.
Moreover, Hersmann intended to have the Baltic Republic conclude a non-aggression pact with Soviet Russia, thus giving the Baltic republic another layer of insurance.
"Your Excellency, this is an order for the United Principalities of the Baltic States to establish diplomatic relations with Soviet Russia and to sign a non-aggression pact."
Hersmann opened a black, cross-marked folder containing a top-secret order signed by Field Marshal Hindenburg.
The establishment and signing of diplomatic relations with Soviet Russia was stipulated in the Courland Plan, but this matter could not be promoted by the Baltic Foreign Ministry, and only Hersman could do it.
And also not by order of the German Foreign Ministry, but directly by the Chief of the General Staff.
This is dictated by the current situation of secret cooperation between Russia and Germany.
Admiral Goltz's gaze swept over Hindenburg's signature, then he raised his head and stared into Hersmann's eyes: "Lieutenant Colonel, do you really think that it is necessary for the United Duchy of the Baltic to sign such a treaty with the Bolsheviks in Russia, I think you already know what they did in Russia."
"Yes, Your Excellency," replied Hersman in the affirmative, "neither the United Principalities of the Baltic nor Soviet Russia are at present intolerable to the Entente, and this will be the basis for cooperation between the two countries.
As for what the Bolsheviks did, I think they were just doing what had to be done" "It must be done, so many unarmed nobles and commoners must be shot," Admiral Goertz disagreed.
He was a traditional aristocratic officer, and of course very disgusted by the murder of Russian nobles by the Bolsheviks, and at the same time despised any killing of the common people.
"For self-preservation," says Hersmann, "most of those who were killed were the old aristocrats and capitalists who had opposed the Bolsheviks, and if they had not been thoroughly suppressed, the Bolsheviks would have failed."
Your Excellency, I think you know how the Finnish White Guards dealt with the Red Guards."
"Hmph, those people deserve it" Hersmann looked at the sharp-eyed general in front of him and said in an extremely serious tone: "If you fail in the United Duchy of the Baltic, hundreds of thousands of Germans will become slaves of other countries, and the warriors of the Baltic Defense Army will be killed and arrested like the Finnish Red Guards."
When the time comes, Woodrow Johnson, George Clemenceau and Lloyd George will also say that they will attack our warriors with the most vicious words, so it is not a problem to be vicious, the problem is that we must win, even if we act like the Bolsheviks" "Hehe, young people nowadays are becoming more and more radical, and there is not much gentry demeanor anymore."
Admiral Goltz suddenly smiled gloatingly, "But if you do too many bad things, you may be punished, and the leader of the Russian Bolsheviks will be punished, and your task will be difficult to complete." ” t1706231537: