Chapter 55: The Russian Revolution Continues
As Bruno was entertaining his family at their yearly gathering and spending the next week designing machines that would usher in a new era of warfare. Russia was in chaos. The initial rioting undertaken by Marxists after the failures of the Russian Army in Manchuria, as well as the massacre of violent protesters by Imperial troops had turned into a full scale revolution. Armories were looted by the Marxist rebels, the so called Red Army, while the Tsar tried his best to maintain peace and order through the use of absolute force. Funny thing about using force to suppress the people when they were venting their grievances through violence. It often times had the opposite effect as intended.
For every Marxist killed in the revolution, the papers, or at least those that were printing underground after the Tsar began to suppress the press for inciting revolution, spun tales of peaceful protesters being bayonetted in the streets by Tsarist loyalists known as the "Black Hundreds."
This sparked outrage not only in the Motherland, but abroad as well as foreign interests such as private corporations with sympathies towards Marxism began to funnel in cash flow to the rebels so they could secure more arms from the international black market.
There were also several other wealthy individuals who, for reasons other than being communists supported the Bolshevik revolution, such as being anti-Monarchist, pro- democracy, or outright just hating the Tsar for personal reasons.
Blood flowed through the streets as the Black Hundreds, alongside forces of the Tsar stood off against the various revolutionary groups. All of which had some ties to Marxist philosophy.
The cruelty which these Loyalist Militias engaged in when it came to suppressing suspected Marxists only further brought sympathy to the communists by the common man. And because of this, the moment that Bruno returned to his post at the Central Division of the German Army's High Command he found that the Kaiser was standing in the main office, conversing with his Field Marshals.
Men such as the Chief of Staff Alfred von Schlieffen, and the infamous Field Marshal August von Mackensen voiced their opinions on the Russian Revolution. Both of which were at odds on how to handle the matter. Alfred von Schlieffen saw this as an opportunity to weaken the Tsar and the Russian Armed Forces.
By now, it was starting to appear that a major war would break out between the Great Powers sooner or later. This fear had been in the minds of German strategists ever since the Franco- Russian alliance was formed in 1894. But it would not be until a year later where the Schlieffen plan was formed to counter this.
The Schlieffen plan of course resulting in abject failure during Bruno's past life at the Second Battle of the Marne, which resulted in years of brutal trench warfare on the Western Front. Fundamentally, the Schlieffen plan was created to knock France out of the War early by marching German troops through Belgium so the focus of the German military could be centered on a single front with Russia.
This obviously did not go as planned, instead provoking the UK to join the war. Only further adding to the death, despair and chaos of the Western Front. Something that would eventually lead to the defeat of the Central Powers in 1918.