Re: Blood and Iron

Radio communications were still a new technology, one that was relatively untested on the battlefield. And they were also a form of communication that was notorious for having spotty connectivity when within mountainous regions.

Hence why most military units also typically carried a satellite phone, and at least one other form of communication during Bruno’s past life. Thus, it was understandable as they were rolling through the mountains that communications that were designed to be relayed between the front lines of the alpine theater and Berlin would suddenly go dark at a critical moment of peace negotiations.

Or, at the very least, it was plausible enough that Bruno had an excuse for outright disobedience and insubordination, two things that in this day and age would get you the firing squad if severe enough. Why had Bruno feigned these communication issues, and disobeyed his direct orders, which came from the top of the German Military and the Kaiser himself?

Because as it stood, Italy was negotiating from a rather strong position. Sure the borders had returned to their pre-war state, and they had lost hundreds of thousands of men in the conflict so far. But… They could pull the card that with this becoming the primary theater help was on the way from their allies in Britain and France.

They had not lost enough that the Central Powers were in an overwhelmingly dominant position to press their own desires from. However, if the war came to a stop after Bruno had seized Milan, Turin, Venice, and Genoa, four major cities and their surrounding regions in Northern Italy, as well as two of Italy’s most prominent ports.

Well, now Austro-Hungary and the German Reich would be in a position to make damn near any demands they desired. As such, the Germans rapidly advanced to Milan, which was the closest of their objectives, while the Russian and Austro-Hungarians within the theater deployed to the areas in which Bruno had ordered them to go.

To say that the German Army was swift was an understatement. With the power train on board their tanks, and their relative light weight. They were more than capable of maintaining speeds that were beyond that of more modern and larger armored vehicles.

Meanwhile, the distance between the borders of Trient and Milan was not all that far. As a result, it was only a few hours before the German 8th Army arrived in the vicinity of the Italian city, which had existed since it was once called Medhelanon by the celts who founded it in the 6th century BC.

By now, the people were aware of who was marching into their city the moment the army of tanks and mechanized infantry rolled up on their doorstep. But whether or not they would mount a resistance, or surrender without a fight had yet to be determined.

As the monarch of the German Empire, power to initiate and engage in diplomacy fell within the Kaiser’s power according to the constitution. As a result, he found himself in Geneva to discuss the potential surrender of the Italian Army.

In addition to Wilhelm II, Franz Joseph had also arrived. Despite being 86 years old, the man was a spry as a spring chicken. One might even say that he was not remotely looking like death was keeping an eye on him.

And why would he be? Bruno’s investment into medicine’s greatest minds had produced many miracle drugs before they were ever meant to hit the market. One of these was the invention of antibiotic. Penicillin had hit the shelves just in time for the war, and was used widely across the German Reich, Austro-Hungary, and the Russian Empire.

It had saved so many soldiers’ lives within the Central Powers that the entire team responsible for its creation was being heavily awarded by the various states where it was widely distributed. Franz Joseph was supposed to die in November of pneumonia.

But with the introduction of penicillin, and other anti-biotics being developed, the cure had been made for this disease that had been lethal throughout all of human history. By the year 2025, the treatment for Pneumonia was so common that some people were even so foolish as to even engage in activities that were counter to the healing process.

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Such as drinking heavily, smoking heavily, and of course training at a gym while trying not to cough up a lung because they were still suffering from pneumonia, idiotic as that maybe it was a disease that few people took as seriously as they probably should.

But here in 1914 it was still a lethal disease, or it should have been all the way until 1928 when penicillin was supposed to be discovered. Thus far, Bruno had done little save the lives of historical figures who were of great importance.

He did not have the means to extend Meiji’s lifespan, and his desire for intervening in Russia had more to do with his hatred of the Bolsheviks than it did saving the Romanovs from their gruesome and unjust fate.

Hell, he had already calculated the death of Franz Joseph’s plans, forgetting entirely the cause of the man’s death that was now easily fixed. In fact, it was likely that the Austrian Emperor would live to see the end of the war, unless, of course he befell some other fatal ailment.

Of course, it was not like the man knew he was quite literally a few months away from what should have been his expiration date, and because of this he was in quite a good mood, as he sat in front of the Italian King who was practically groveling before the two mighty Emperors.

Italy was the least of the great powers, and that had been proven in this war. Now Italy wanted to pull out before her homeland could be lit ablaze by the natural consequences which had followed her king’s choices.

Of course, the Italian King was in poor shape as he proceeded to initiate the negotiation, believing in error that he still had some leverage to pull in his favor.

"So tell me, what is required on my end to get you to call off your damned hounds!"

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