An accession under fire

"Your Highness, Second Prince, this goes against protocol."

When Konstantin heard Eitel's words, his eyes held nothing but disbelief.

The crown prince was still alive, yet the second prince was already so impatient to usurp the throne?

This was rather too shocking for Konstantin, an old man of fifty-eight, to accept.

Eitel simply looked earnestly at this staunchly loyal royalist general, his eyes utterly serious.

"His Majesty has abdicated, and the crown prince has fled with him to seek refuge in the Netherlands."

"I am the only one who can take charge of the overall situation now. I am the commander of the Fifth Army now. Listen to my orders!"

Konstantin said nothing, merely gazing silently at Eitel before him. After a long while, he lowered his head slightly.

"Yes, Second Prince-no, Your Majesty, great Emperor of Germany."

Eitel's orders passed down through the ranks. The telegraph operator looked as though he had seen a ghost when he received them. After all, from the moment the abdication edict had arrived, the imperial family had been nothing but people afraid of death in their eyes.

They did not accept the emperor's decision to abdicate.

In their view, although the situation had reached this point, as long as brave, battle-hardened soldiers like them remained,

their great German Empire had not yet lost, and the dignity of the Prussian people remained intact.

Now, upon receiving this order, their first reaction was disbelief. Their second was that the German Empire had not yet lost!

Their respected Second Prince-no, His Majesty the Emperor of the German Empire-was still at the front.

He was still watching his brave army fight, and he would fight shoulder to shoulder with them.

Trembling slightly with excitement, the telegraph operator solemnly accepted the written order.

With excitement in his heart, he tapped out the message on the telegraph.

"I, Eitel Friedrich, Second Prince of the German Empire, will hold my accession ceremony today."

"As emperor of the great German Empire, I will remain at the front and live or die with the German Empire."

As the telegram went out, messages spread across the front, throughout the country, and through Berlin.

The dark cloud called defeat that had hung over the empire seemed to dissipate a little.

Officers and soldiers at the front rejoiced at the news, their morale soaring.

Even Wilhelm II, far away in the Netherlands, looked at the telegram in his hand and said to the crown prince with feeling, "You are not your second brother's equal."

Listening beside him, the crown prince felt somewhat unconvinced, yet his feelings were also complicated.

"Father, but if he does this, my second brother will be treated as the chief culprit after the defeat."

"He is still my brother, after all. If the war goes badly, I hope you can persuade him to come to the Netherlands."

Wilhelm II nodded and summoned a nearby servant. "Go and send a telegram saying that I support Prince Eitel becoming emperor of the German Empire."

"Also, send Eitel a private telegram for me. Tell him that if the war goes badly, he must immediately withdraw from the front and come to the Netherlands. The Netherlands is neutral. Here, at least, he can survive."

The servant nodded at the orders and withdrew.

Looking at the current state of the war, Wilhelm II let out a long sigh. "To fail on the very brink of success."

Three days after sending the telegram, Eitel held a simple accession ceremony under the eyes of all the officers and soldiers at the front.

The moment Eitel accepted the crown, everyone present burst into cheers.

"Your Majesty!"

Although he had become emperor of the German Empire, Eitel's attention was not on the crowd at that moment.

He was looking at the panel before him.

[National policy slots ×1]

[Available national policy: German Emperor Principle. Effects: German combat effectiveness +15%, domestic stability +10%, political points +0.5 per day]

[Reorganize Parliament. Effects: domestic stability +15%, political points +1 per day, talent +5%]

[Hold the Defensive Line. Effects: infantry division attack and defense +20%, manpower recovery +15%]

[Please select a national policy]

Eitel dismissed everyone and sat alone in a chair in the command post, carefully studying the national policies and their effects on the panel.

"Political points are used to unlock more national policies. Hold the Defensive Line would let us defend longer."

"Although they are all powerful, what matters most to me right now is..."

After thinking for a while, Eitel solemnly placed a national policy in the policy slot.

[National policy: German Emperor Principle has taken effect]

[German combat effectiveness +15%, domestic stability +10%, political points +0.5 per day]

"If we only defend, once our supply lines are cut, we will collapse no matter how strong our combat effectiveness is."

"Although +1 political point per day is very tempting, German Emperor Principle really is better suited to me right now."

Eitel looked at the map. The Allied forces were gathering troops, intending to launch a major offensive against Germany's Meuse River-Argonne defensive line.

"Although the American troops leading the attack have very poor combat effectiveness, a fifteen-percent increase in ours can reduce our casualties further."

"And increased domestic stability will let the front hold out longer, rather than retreating in disarray after just a month."

"Now, our army is united from top to bottom. Timing, terrain, and unity are all on my side. Americans, wash your necks and wait."

Looking at the thickest, reddest arrow on the map, which pointed toward the Meuse River Line, Eitel smiled.

Meanwhile, in the command post established by the America First Army and the French Fourth and Fifth Armies,

Commander-in-Chief Pershing was chatting and laughing with the generals around him as they faced the German positions across the Meuse River.

"We expect to commit two hundred thousand troops to this offensive, with another hundred thousand to follow."

"Two thousand seven hundred artillery pieces, along with bomber support."

"We have the advantage!"

Commander Liggett voiced his agreement from beside him, a hint of cruelty on his face as he looked toward the German positions.

"Commander-in-Chief, leave this offensive to me. I will take the Meuse River positions within three days, capture Sedan in two weeks, and cut the Germans' supply lines."

"Then the rest of the German defensive lines will collapse without us having to attack."

Just as the Americans were envisioning everything going smoothly, Gouraud and Berthelot, commanders of the French Fourth and Fifth Armies, gave cold snorts.

"The Germans are not so easy to deal with."

"I hope you do not suffer a major setback."

Gouraud regarded the American generals coldly, disdain in his eyes. They had fought Germany throughout the entire war.

No one understood the German army's combat effectiveness better than they did.

Recalling the meat grinder of Verdun, both men shuddered.

Commander Liggett merely glanced at Gouraud. "I think the Germans have beaten all the backbone out of you French."

"Just watch me take the Meuse River, you cowardly Frenchmen."

Faced with Liggett's mockery, Gouraud and Berthelot did not reply. They merely turned their heads aside.

Once everyone had returned to their own command posts, Gouraud slammed his hand down on the table. "Damn it! If Marshal Pétain were here, those American dogs would never be allowed to bark like that."

Berthelot patted Gouraud on the shoulder, a trace of schadenfreude in his eyes. "Relax. I do not believe the Germans will give up the Meuse River Line so easily. After all, Sedan is right behind them."

"Once those American dogs suffer a crushing setback, we can laugh at them."

Seemingly picturing the Americans' defeat, both men immediately began to laugh.