Chapter 203: Chapter 194: German-Russian Negotiations and Australia

Although the Russo-Japanese War seemed to be a war between the Island Nation and the Russian Empire for dominance in the Far East, in reality, the outcome of this war concerned the entire global situation.

The Island Nation suffered heavy damage, but it also gained the recognition of the Western world, being considered a strong industrialized nation.

The Russian Empire did not, as in its original history, completely lose its dominance in the Far East region.

At present, the Russian Empire and the Island Nation are in a balanced state in the Far East region. Although they have no plans for war, they have made many arrangements in the Far East region, barely maintaining their own interests.

As a result, much of the Russian Empire’s attention has been drawn to the Far East, with less attention in Europe.

This has caused dissatisfaction in France, as the French supported Russia’s war in order to have Russia quickly end it and return their attention to Europe, continuing the French-Russian opposition against Germany.

Russia’s focus on the Far East and growing closeness to Germany during the war made France increasingly unhappy and repeatedly emphasized the importance of the Franco-Russian alliance.

The situation in Europe has become increasingly chaotic. As early as April 8, 1904, Britain and France formally signed the Anglo-French Agreement, resolving the long-standing colonial disputes between the two countries and establishing a good alliance relationship.

Although the Anglo-French Agreement is not an alliance treaty and does not mention the issue of jointly resisting Germany, nor does it have any secret military clauses.

However, after the two countries resolved the long-standing colonial disputes, the only major issue they faced was the rise of the new hegemon on the European continent, the powerful and aggressive German Empire.

The signing of the Anglo-French Agreement was a cause for concern for the German Empire.

The joint action of these two countries was enough to threaten the security of the German Empire, prompting Emperor William II of Germany to immediately decide to counterattack.

Germany’s counterattack revolved around the Moroccan issue, aiming to strike France and weaken the Anglo-French Agreement.

With the signing of the Anglo-French Agreement, France became more unscrupulous in its aggression toward Morocco.

In February 1905, France proposed a comprehensive reform plan to the Moroccan government, demanding the establishment of a police system under French supervision, as well as the construction of railways and mining.

If the Moroccan government agreed, the entire Morocco would become a protectorate of France, losing its sovereignty.

Germany, which harbored similar aggressive ambitions towards Morocco, immediately intervened and instructed the Moroccan government to refuse.

To demonstrate Germany’s determination to counterattack, Emperor William II of Germany suddenly visited the port of Tangier in Morocco on March 31, delivering a provocative speech, declaring his intention to maintain the sovereignty and independence of the entire Morocco and contribute to world peace.

Of course, William II also specifically pointed out that Germany strongly opposes the special status gained by France in Morocco, calling it a barbaric act.

Subsequently, German Chancellor Bülów proposed to convene an international conference to settle the Moroccan issue and threatened France with war.

This is the famous First Moroccan Crisis in history, and one of the factors that almost triggered World War I.

The birth of the Moroccan Crisis led France and Germany to seek more support in the international community.

By coincidence, at the end of the previous year, on October 22, 1904, the Russian Empire’s Baltic Fleet sank a British fishing boat near Hull during its journey to the Far East.

This move exacerbated tensions between Britain and Russia. Britain not only lodged a diplomatic protest but also dispatched warships to track the Russian fleet.

Even among the British public, some unscrupulous capitalists and newspapers were already advocating war against Russia to comfort the dead British compatriots with a hearty victory.

What was Russia’s state at this time? Being busy with the war, the diplomacy was relatively isolated.

Apart from the limited support of its ally France, the only country willing to support Russia was Germany.

Due to its diplomatic isolation, Russia desperately needed the friendship of the German-Austrian alliance, which also promoted the possibility of Germany and Russia coming closer together.

While Australia exported large quantities of armaments to Russia, Germany also signed commercial treaties with Russia, giving substantial loans in exchange for Russia’s agreement to lower tariffs on German industrial products, resulting in a large influx of German goods and capital into Russia, strengthening economic exchanges between Germany and Russia.

At the same time, with the support and mediation of Germany, Russia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire reached an agreement to maintain the status quo in the Balkan region, greatly easing tensions between Russia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

A few days after the accidental injury incident, Emperor William II sent a telegram to the Tsar, stating that Britain intended to obstruct Germany’s supply of coal to the Russian navy. William II suggested that the two countries establish a powerful anti-British alliance to break Britain’s scheme.

Tsar Nicholas II, due to the current tense relationship between Britain and Russia, quickly agreed to the treaty and asked Emperor William II of Germany to send the draft proposal for both parties to study the formal treaty.

The first clause of the draft explicitly stipulates that if one of the two imperial powers signing the treaty is attacked by a major European power, the other country must use all its army and navy forces to provide support.

When necessary, Germany and Russia should also take joint action to remind France to fulfill the obligations it undertook in the Franco-Russian Alliance Treaty, which is to help Russia in war.

The first clause of this treaty directly bound Russia and its ally France to Germany’s war chariot, and Germany’s purpose was also clear.

However, the final negotiations of this treaty soon came to a deadlock because of whether it was necessary to pass through France for approval.

Russians believe that this draft involves France and that Russia has an alliance with France, so they feel it necessary to go through France’s scrutiny and consent before signing.

Taking into account the hatred between France and Germany, the French would basically not agree to this draft; therefore, Germany insisted on either having no treaty or not informing France.

Germany’s attitude aroused Russia’s vigilance, and its current diplomatic environment was critical, so it was also unwilling to lose the support of its ally France.

The deadlock was broken because of the mention of a new country name, Australia.

In fact, William II did not expect that Australians’ attitude would change. He only mentioned Australia to test the Russians’ attitude towards the Far East.

Unexpectedly, the Russians were still brooding over their defeat in the Far East and were already looking forward to accumulating strength to resume the war with the island nation and retake the hegemony of the Far East in the coming years.

In May 1905, one month after the end of the Russo-Japanese War, Russia and Germany resumed negotiations on the German-Russian alliance, and the progress of this round of negotiations was accelerated.

The reason the Russians were so anxious was that Russia’s internal strife had already become apparent during this war.

The origin of Russia’s internal strife can be traced back to a particular event.

Starting from the 15th century, individual or collective petitions had been established as a way for people to express their dissatisfaction towards the Tsarist government.

Even in current Russian society, such unique traditions continue.

In 1904, inspired by the liberal movement, the legal Russian trade union organization, “St. Petersburg Factory Workers’ Assembly,” decided to submit a petition as an independent entity, with the content completed by Father Georgi Apollonovich Gabon, the leader of the Assembly.

In December 1904, four workers who participated in the Assembly at a St. Petersburg factory were fired by their supervisors.

This seemingly common issue in Russia resulted in the most serious crisis of the time.

The four dismissed workers requested the restoration of their work, but the factory management, rude and aggressive, not only ignored them but also provided a sarcastic reply: “Go back to your assembly, and let them support you!”

The Workers’ Assembly appealed against this, but in the end, the appeal failed.

In January 1905, the Assembly began organizing strikes.

The next day, the strikes began spreading from that factory to other factories. Just three days later, more than 10,000 workers had joined the strike.

Due to the repeated rejections of the workers’ requests by various factories, the scope and intensity of the strikes continued to expand, even affecting other regions of the Russian Empire.

Finally, Father Gabon and the Assembly’s leadership believed that they should bypass the officials and capitalists, and directly express the workers’ dissatisfaction to the highest authority – the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and even to the Tsar himself.

With the majority’s consent, the Assembly decided to use the opportunity of the strikes to submit the petition directly to the Tsarist Government.

Within a few days, the petition was completed and made public, distributed to all sectors of society.

At the same time, the total number of striking workers in the capital region of the Russian Empire had reached over 150,000, and threatened surrounding areas.

The initial intention of this parade composed of workers was to protect the interests of the workers, but the highest authorities regarded them as revolutionaries and disrupted peace, and they used the military for brutal suppression after warnings proved ineffective.

The enormous sacrifices made on the day of the parade angered the workers of St. Petersburg, and they built up barricades to confront the military police.

The crisis was not only in St. Petersburg, but protests and strikes also broke out in other parts of Russia, deepening the conflict between the Tsarist government and the working classes.

Of course, the crisis in Russia was not limited to this, and prior to this event, the vast majority of the Russian populace supported the Tsar.

This was because the Tsar had always maintained the image of a kind-hearted father figure treasured by the Russians, and so he was supported by the majority of the Russian people.

However, this bloody event turned the Russian people against the Tsarist regime and led to a series of subsequent revolutionary events.