Chapter 130: Military Reform
"Your Majesty, what's the matter for summoning the minister at such a late hour?" Little Maoqi stood in front of William II sleepily.
From his body, William II could clearly smell a smell of alcohol. This made William II very dissatisfied, and it was confirmed that what Essen von Jonareit said before was true.
Von Falkenhain was expressionless. However, he had already received the telegram from Qin Tian, and he also knew that Qin Tian planned to use Prittwitz for surgery. In this regard, von Falkenhain agreed with ten thousand people. Prittwitz was a favorite of William II, but he was also a partisan of Little Moltke. If Prittwitz can be kicked out of the 8th Army, it will also be a major blow to Moltke.
Although, von Falkenhain didn't know whether Wilhelm II would agree to Qin Tian's request. But judging from the current situation, it is quite optimistic. He also made up his mind that once William II wanted to consult his opinion, he would fully support Qin Tian.
"Your Excellency Chief of Staff, Your Excellency Minister of War. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince sent a telegram, hoping to transfer General Prittwitz from the 8th Army, and make another arrangement. What do you think?" William II asked.
"What?" Little Mao Qi was shocked immediately, and the sleepiness on his face disappeared all of a sudden. At the same time, the drunkenness is completely gone.
Before, he applauded Prittwitz for embarrassing Qin Tian. But he never thought that Qin Tian would directly make such a request. At the same time, he also sensed Qin Tian's sinister intentions. Once Prittwitz is really kicked out of the 8th Army, he will probably be thrown directly into a idle position. In a short time, there is no possibility of gaining real power. This is also an unacceptable result for himself.
"Your Majesty, how can His Highness the Crown Prince kick out such a condition? General Prittwitz is a talented general. It is unfair to him to transfer him from the 8th Army." Little Mao Qi was extremely angry. .
King Wilhelm II didn't change his mind because of Moltke's anger. He looked at von Falkenhain.
"His Excellency, Minister of War, what do you think?" Wilhelm II looked at von Falkenhain.
"Your Majesty, what is the reason for His Royal Highness requesting the transfer of General Plittwitz?" Von Falkenhain asked.
"Oscar believes that General Prittwitz's ability is not enough to serve as the commander of the 17th Army. The future task of the 8th Army is to resist the Russian attack, which requires that every general of the 8th Army must be superior. Only with his military talents. Oscar thinks that General Prittwitz is not up to the task." William II said.
"Slander, this is definitely a slander against General Prittwitz! General Prittwitz is an outstanding general of the empire, how could he be incapable of being an army commander?" Little Mao Qi immediately jumped up.
"I don't think this is a slander. General Plittwitz's ability is indeed a problem. It is indeed inappropriate for him to serve as the commander of the 17th Army!" Von Falkenhain immediately expressed his opinion manner.
"Your Excellency Falkenhein, you are talking nonsense with your eyes open! How could there be any problem with General Prittwitz's ability? He just didn't attend the welcome ceremony of His Royal Highness, is His Royal Highness going to deal with him like this? If that's the case, it's too unconvincing!" Xiao Maoqi immediately tore off the last fig leaf with a look of anger.
William II's complexion suddenly became a little ugly. Xiao Moqi's recent behavior has made him gradually lose his patience.
"Okay, everyone doesn't need to quarrel anymore. For the stability of the 8th Army, let's temporarily transfer General Prittwitz away!" William II made a decision.
Little Mao Qi was very unwilling, but seeing the expressionless William II, he knew that even if he resolutely opposed it, it would be useless. In that case, it would make William II hate him even more.
Under the circumstances that both William II and von Falkenhain tended to support Qin Tian, even if Xiao Maoqi resolutely opposed it, it would not help. He could only watch Prittwitz being transferred from the 8th Army , the only thing that can be done is probably to find a way to find a good position for Plitvich again.
Originally, Xiao Maoqi planned to make Prittwitz a nail in the 8th Army, so as to find trouble for Qin Tian. However, it seems that Qin Tian is not easy to deal with now! Actually, he acted first and pulled out the nail of Prittwitz.
"Just wait and see, Oscar, I won't let you be so mean!" After leaving the palace, watching von Falkenhein drive away with a gloomy expression, Xiao Moqi spit out with an ugly face. these words.
The next day, Qin Tian received a telegram from Berlin. Both Essen von Jonareit and von Falkenhain had sent him telegrams informing him that Wilhelm II had decided to transfer Plittwitz away. A formal transfer order will be issued soon. This made Qin Tian heave a sigh of relief.
"It seems that William II is still on my side! However, such a thing cannot be separated. If such a request is made to William II again, he will definitely not agree to it, and he may even turn back. Come here and reprimand me." Qin Tian thought secretly.
At nine o'clock in the morning, Hindenburg and Ludendorff came. They were also very happy when they learned that William II had agreed to be transferred from Plittwitz. As for the candidate for the successor commander of the 17th Army, they proposed Leopold von Zeckert. Qin Tian thought for a while and agreed. He clearly remembered that in another time and space, Zeckert was known as the "father of the German army in World War II", which shows his ability.
Under Qin Tian's deliberate publicity, the news of Lieutenant General Pritwitz's transfer quickly spread throughout the 8th Army, which shocked the other generals. Even Prittwitz was transferred away for offending Qin Tian, let alone them. This made Qin Tian's prestige in the Eighth Army rise unprecedentedly.
It was also under such circumstances that Qin Tian started his long-planned plan, which was to reform the current military system of the German Army. The current German Army consists of squads, platoons, companies, battalions, regiments, divisions, corps, and regiments (group armies) from bottom to top. Qin Tian intends to remove the brigade as a unit and let the division directly manage the regiment. If the conditions are ripe, he also wants to remove the "army" unit, and let the legion directly command each division, so that the command system will be flattened, thereby improving the efficiency of command.
Of course, Qin Tian knew that this would cause an uproar. So, he first consulted Hindenburg and Ludendorff.