Chapter 246: The Summer Crisis, Part 2 - Perfidious Lithuania
Reichstag, Berlin - 30 June 1914, 12:00 PM
"Esteemed Senators of the Imperial Diet of Rome and other guests, please welcome the Kaiser of the Romans."
The assembled senators rose from their seats and applauded as Gott erhalte den Kaiser blared from the instruments of the orchestra in the corner. The journalists got their cameras ready as Franz Joseph appeared from a side door, accompanied by Crown Prince Karl, Chancellor Bethmann-Hollweg, the chiefs of the General Staff, and all of the senior cabinet officials. It had been a long time since the Kaiser addressed the entire Diet and government for an occasion other than a petty senatorial debate or the New Year's opening of the Diet speech. It would also be the first time that the Kaiser's speech was broadcast over radio, though the primitive nature of early radios meant that not many people would have listened in.
Franz Joseph took his place at the podium and shuffled his papers. He cleared his throat and began reading, knowing full well that he was not only addressing senators, ministers, and generals, but also the Roman people as a whole.
"My fellow citizens, countrymen, Romans," he began, "For many years, I have struggled to cope with the loss of first my wife, then my son, and then my brother. Many members of my family had been killed by the despicable Black Hand terror group. I swore after my brother died that they would not take another of my family away from me."
He paused to catch his breath. The entire chamber was silent. The journalists were scribbling away in their notepads, probably wondering why the Kaiser had not used the royal "We." The senators simply stared at him, like statues.
"Two days ago," he continued, "I received news that my dearest nephew and chosen successor, Franz Ferdinand--God rest his poor soul!--was along with his wife mercilessly gunned down by a Lithuanian terrorist acting on orders from the Black Hand. Like many of you, I reacted to his untimely death with shock and horror. Many questions raced through my head. Who would become the next in line to the throne? Who is responsible for this despicable act of barbarism? How should I react? Why did this happen? The answer to the first question is simple: Franz Ferdinand's successor as Crown Prince is his nephew, Karl, who you see standing next to me. But the answers to the other questions are not found so easiliy."
He shuffled his papers again.
"It is known that the murder was carried out by agents of the Black Hand, a terrorist organization dedicated to Lithuanian nationalism. They are based in Lithuania's southern provinces, where Vilnius has allowed them to operate untouched if not support them covertly. For too long the Roman Empire, the greatest and most civilized empire that has ever graced this world, the empire blessed by God Himself, has put up with the antics and escapades of a puny little pagan Baltic kingdom which thinks it is the equal of Rome itself. For too long we have given them the benefit of the doubt when it comes to the Black Hand. No more! In killing no less than four members of the imperial family, three of them heirs to the empire itself in all of its grandeur and splendor, Lithuania, in not reining in the Black Hand when it had the chance or supporting the terror group in its operations, has crossed the line. The policy of patience with Vilnius is over. If they wish to destabilize our Reich and kill our citizens, then we shall repay them in kind. No longer will they get away with the murders of Hohenzollerns. The barbarians ruling in Vilnius shall be reminded of their place in the world. If they do not heed the reminders, then they shall be forcibly put in place. I have already tasked Chancellor Bethmann-Hollweg with discussing matters of national security with the Russian government; he shall leave for Tsarberg tomorrow. But mark my words: we will never forget this act of barbarity and treachery. We will never forget Lublin. We shall avenge Lublin!"
The senators burst into applause, and the chamber was illuminated with flashes from the cameras as journalists snapped up pictures of the Kaiser leaving the chamber.
The next day, the headlines spread word of the Kaiser's speech around the Reich. Headlines screamed "KAISER DEMANDS JUSTICE FOR SLAIN PRINCE," "REMEMBER LUBLIN," and simply "PERFIDIOUS LITHUANIA." The common citizens, still mourning the loss of their beloved prince, felt their sorrow turn into rage, a rage unlike no other, a rage directed against Lithuania. Overnight, the public became overwhelmingly patriotic and mostly jingoistic. They wanted blood. They wanted war. They wanted Lithuania to pay, for every single Lithuanian to feel the pain that each Roman citizen felt when Franz Ferdinand was gunned down. The Roman people cried out for vengeance and justice. Franz Joseph would make sure their cries would not go unanswered.
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And that's the speech update! I'll admit that I'm not that much of a speechwriter, but I hope this fits well! Anyways, the plan for the next update is that it will not be character-based and instead cover the whole month of July. Don't worry, there will be more things to cover than the actual crisis!
In addition, there are a few things I would like to discuss while I'm here. I've been thinking about plans for two future AARs after I finish the HOI3 and NWO parts of the megacampaign. One is a Darkest Hour Kaiserreich reboot of Return of the Celestial Empire, my first AAR. The second is a Vicky II New World Order Italy AAR, where I'm planning to keep the monarchy and attempt to (re)install or prop up as many monarchies around the world as possible. I'd like to know your opinion on these plans. Should I do one of them first, and which one?
