Ch.101Romania’s Glory

# Romania

King Ferdinand I of Romania returned to his country after concluding the Anti-Comintern Pact and summit with the Tsarina.

During his absence, his wife Maria of Edinburgh, who had managed the country in her husband’s stead, welcomed Ferdinand I warmly.

“Did the Anti-Comintern Pact negotiations go well?”

To be precise, she was curious whether her unreliable husband had properly negotiated the agreement in front of the Russian hero and other leaders without fumbling, or if he had perhaps signed an agreement unfavorable to Romania.

“Indeed. The young Tsarina was quite decisive.”

Decisive, he said.

Yes. The Romanov Grand Duchess, who was much younger than Carol, their truly disappointing firstborn son, had personally commanded armies during the civil war and even managed to win back public support.

That’s precisely why Romania needed to make its position clear.

As a country positioned at the center of the Anti-Comintern Pact nations, they could not afford to appear weak and needed to maintain their status as victors of the Great War at the negotiating table.

If they showed even the slightest weakness, would Russia simply leave Romania alone after taking Bessarabia?

“Being decisive is not the issue. Britain is currently reorganizing internally and withdrawing troops from pro-British West Ukraine. If a reinvigorated Russia recovers Ukraine and then sets its sights on Bessarabia…”

Yes. That would indeed be dangerous.

Ferdinand could understand his wife’s concerns.

After all, he had built the current Romania by choosing the right side, following his wife’s advice.

At the very least, the current Romania needed to have its security guaranteed.

Their neighbor Hungary had lost Transylvania to Romania when the Dual Monarchy dissolved, and somehow Romania had also occupied Russia’s Bessarabia.

Due to the revolution and civil war in Russia, there hadn’t been much pushback yet, but the issue of sovereignty over Bessarabia could potentially lead to war.

“According to the Anti-Comintern Pact, they’ve agreed to recognize Transylvania and Bessarabia as Romanian territory.”

“Is that so?”

Maria read through the Anti-Comintern Pact document her husband had handed her.

An alliance against communist countries. It was strictly a defensive alliance against communist nations.

Well, that was fortunate.

As long as it was limited to anti-communism, Romania wouldn’t need to get involved in other matters.

However, what concerned her was that Bulgaria and Turkey would receive support from Russia for justified hostile actions against Greece as a condition for joining the Anti-Comintern Pact.

Moreover, while Transylvania and Bessarabia were mentioned, there was no mention of Dobruja, which they had taken from Bulgaria.

“Why is this so suspicious?”

“Queen, what’s the problem? We’re essentially guaranteed not to lose territory now, and as long as we don’t side with others, we won’t be attacked by neighboring countries.”

“No, that’s not it.”

Maria shook her head. Though she denied it, she did feel uneasy.

The current international relations seemed like dancing on top of something precarious.

She had a feeling that Romania’s current glory wouldn’t last long.

Though the war had ended in victory, it felt as if there was still an unfinished war.

A war in which Romania would be squeezed dry.

Maria of Edinburgh, who had become a Romanian patriot during the Great War, worried that Romania might fall back to being a semi-colony like during the Treaty of Bucharest.

The Anti-Comintern Pact was formed under Russia’s leadership, and Romania had joined for its own security, to avoid being trampled under German military boots again.

But what was this ominous feeling?

Meanwhile, their firstborn son, Carol II, was truly pathetic.

“I worry whether that womanizing Carol can properly manage the country against powerful Russia or communism.”

The queen sighed with her hand on her cheek.

Ferdinand I shared that concern.

But thinking about it now, he found the queen’s words somewhat amusing.

“Hahaha. I’m surprised you’re worried about that now. Didn’t you yourself spread your legs for another man (Romanian Prime Minister Barbu Știrbey)? You even had his child, so Carol takes after you perfectly.”

“Why bring that up now?”

Maria blushed with anger.

Yes, she admitted to the affair and having a child from it. But that was something her husband Ferdinand had already acknowledged.

She couldn’t understand why he was bringing it up again now.

“Well, why indeed? The last Grand Duchess left by Russia’s former Tsar is so dazzling that looking back now, it’s laughably ironic. What’s certain is that you have no right to criticize Carol.”

Ferdinand envied how Anastasia, much younger than Carol, was successfully leading a vast empire spanning East and West.

Unlike during the former Tsar’s time, Russians now praised the Tsarina, and the nation was united in following her like a mother. Even the incompetent Nicholas II had the mystic Rasputin, but at least his wife never had an affair or bore another man’s child.

He wasn’t sure whom Anastasia took after, but as they say, one can tell ten things from seeing one. It was clear that his son Carol’s promiscuity and behavior took after his mother.

“Tsk. Let’s stop this conversation here. I’m tired.”

Ferdinand I turned his back on his wife with a weary expression.

And.

Looking at her husband’s lonely back, Maria sighed.

Today, she was particularly reminded of her mother from Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, who had criticized her for siding with Britain, Germany’s enemy.

Soon after.

As if confirming Maria’s anxiety, the Kingdom of Hungary began conducting military exercises near the border, claiming they were for anti-communist training.

* * *

Today I was called to a meeting at the White Army Department.

Though the topic was probably obvious, I still asked the Black Baron just to be sure.

“So, what’s the status on the airborne troops?”

Yes, the airborne troops matter.

Turkey, eager to deal with the Kurds quickly, had sent officers to study airborne operations with Russia.

It was about time for some results to emerge.

“Deputy Minister of the White Army Department Mikhail Drozdovsky supervised a test on our territory, and the results show sufficient strategic value in their deployment. However.”

“However?”

“While it would be possible to occupy Kurdish villages near Mount Ararat in Turkey or Armenian villages cooperating with the Kurds, it would be fundamentally difficult to resolve the guerrillas hiding in the mountains.”

So there are still villages cooperating with the remaining forces.

They haven’t been able to occupy those yet?

Despite crushing many of them, the casualties were high, so they want to try using these airborne troops.

“I see.”

“Of course, occupying the villages that support the Kurdish soldiers in the mountainous regions would eventually lead to their collapse. But if we just drop soldiers into the mountains, the transport planes would need to maneuver over the mountains for the soldiers’ safe landing, and it’s uncertain whether the guerrillas would remain passive during that time.”

Yes, that makes sense. They might become bullet fodder while descending into the mountains.

That would certainly be unfortunate.

“There haven’t been any casualties yet, right?”

“No. But eventually, if the Turkish army deploys airborne troops, they’ll have to deal with the Kurds on Mount Ararat, won’t they?”

Yes, that would be unfortunate.

If Turkish troops jump from transport planes directly onto the mountains, they might face a terrible fate.

For all we know, the Kurds might end up clearing Turkish corpses from the mountainside.

Yes, that’s true, but there’s one issue here.

“Hmm, but you know.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The most important point here is this:

“Haven’t we spoon-fed them enough? Isn’t it Turkey’s responsibility to figure out how to deploy troops on the mountains? The Deputy Defense Minister worries too much.”

With this much help, Turkey should be grateful to us. They won’t dislike us.

Why should we be responsible for the hardships Turkish troops might face when they drop into the mountains?

“Ah, I see.”

“Whether they fall on the mountains and suffer whatever fate, that’s the Turks’ burden, not ours Russians. It’s not like Russians are dying, is it?”

Think about it logically.

We’re not sending volunteer forces with the airborne troops.

It’s the Turkish army that will live or die, not the Russian army. Why worry about that?

Turkey won’t complain to us just for showing them the method.

“Indeed, Your Majesty. Your insight is remarkable.”

“This is just common sense. So, if used in actual warfare, how should they be deployed?”

“We’ve defined it as airborne assault, with the main role being what Your Majesty mentioned: deploying troops on the ground to attack and occupy enemy forces. And, considering the development of tanks, as demonstrated in the civil war, tanks will be suitable weapons for quickly attacking and crushing enemy forces on future battlefields.”

“Yes, that sounds good. They would be effective at breaking through enemy defenses.”

“The method would involve attacking the enemy using air transport along with the rapid mobility of armored units centered around tanks.”

Oh, that sounds familiar.

See? I’m not just making this up.

Even the White Army can come up with this much without Soviet talent.

“Hmm. Have you named this theory?”

“It’s called the Deep Battle Theory.”

Deep Battle Theory. Yes, that’s good.

I wonder if Mikhail Tukhachevsky would have a role to play here.

“And Vladimir Kappel, the cavalry commander of the White Army’s Cossack Cavalry, has shown interest in tanks.”

Interested in tanks.

Hmm, it wouldn’t be bad if famous White Army generals are interested in tanks.

Plus, I’ve heard of Vladimir Kappel.

Isn’t he the one who led White Russians across the Trans-Siberian Railway?

“Vladimir Kappel, the one leading the Cossack Cavalry?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Well, as tanks develop, there will be fewer opportunities for cavalry to play a role.”

I’m actually surprised that cavalry is still being used until now.

Especially the Russian Cossack Cavalry.

One of the pillars of cavalry that performed excellently even in the 20th century. Reports indicate that Vladimir Kappel led the White Army’s Cossack Cavalry to defeat the Red Cavalry multiple times.

“That would be the case.”

“To ultimately defeat Germany, the role of tank corps will be crucial. It would be great if we could expand their scale enough to cover all the way to the Rhine.”

I don’t know how long Secretary Karl will run Germany, but it would be good to show the generation that started the revolution the sight of Germany’s downfall.

“Come to think of it, hasn’t Russia’s industrialization progressed considerably?”

“Yes. We’ve already achieved significant results, partly with Germany’s help, and our national budget has increased greatly thanks to selling resources.”

Germany was truly a godsend.

Wilhelm II’s crazy idea to use Russia as an armaments factory. He went all-in at the end and dumped it on Russia.

Russia gained many benefits from that.

The fact that Wilhelm just let it go when Russia swallowed it up suggests he saw it as compensation for Russia helping them.

“So I was just thinking.”

I had a somewhat childish thought.

“Yes, please go ahead.”

“What if we could create a massive tank corps capable of sweeping across Europe in an instant?”

An armored wave.

A massive tank corps capable of racing across Europe. Considering that the United States of Russia’s military is the Russian White Army, it would be a White Flood.

It would be good to sweep across Europe and then strike Japan from behind.

However, the Black Baron seemed to hesitate before finally speaking.

“Your Majesty, although we’ve grown stronger, we’re not at that level yet. Of course, by the 1930s, we could crush countries like Romania instantly with tank divisions.”

“I was just exaggerating.”

I know that too. How embarrassing to have facts thrown at me like that!