With Austria taking the blame, relations between France and Austria deteriorated sharply without any surprise, and the foreign ministries of both countries traded barbs every day.
For a time, Europe was shrouded in suspicion. Britain and Russia had clashed over Central Asia, while France and Austria had become entangled over Central Europe.
Rounding it off, it was practically the British-French Alliance facing off against the Russo-Austrian Alliance.
The continent split into two camps—this was clearly the prelude to a European war.
Belgium and Germany were the most uneasy of all. Thanks to the French pressing them step by step, they had already been forced to choose sides.
Austria's intervention appeared to have relieved their predicament, but in reality, it had pushed them onto the opposite side of France.
France, Belgium, and Germany had originally still had hope of reaching an agreement on coal exports and preventing the conflict from escalating. Unfortunately, once Austria meddled, there was no longer any possibility of reconciliation.
Driven by profit, French capitalists would not tolerate government concessions; Belgium and Germany, where nationalism had already risen, were likewise unable to yield.
The issue had fallen into a vicious cycle. No matter how it was handled, it was impossible to satisfy every side. The contradictions being temporarily suppressed only gathered strength for their eventual eruption.
In Afghanistan, the British Army, which had swept forward all the way, finally ran into trouble.
No one knew when the guerrillas had emerged in Afghanistan, but they kept attacking British Army supply lines.
Especially over the past month, not only had supply convoys been attacked, but even the main force had suffered dozens of attacks.
The losses from each individual attack were not great, but the Afghans launched far too many of them!
The British Army now did not dare