In World War I, Germany maintained its superiority on the eastern and western fronts, and Austria-Hungary maintained its superiority over Serbia on the southern front but at a disadvantage against Russia. The contradictions between Germany and Britain in the struggle for overseas colonies are irreconcilable, and the contradictions between Germany and France because of the reparations for the franco-Prussian War and the struggle for hegemony over Europe are irreconcilable, but Germany and Russia and Italy have no contradictions- Russia, Germany and Austria also formed a three-hearted alliance of three emperors. Why should Germany be the enemy of Russia and Italy? Because of the irreconcilable contradictions between austria-Hungary and Russia and Italy, and the one-on-one Russia and Austria-Austria competition for the Balkan Peninsula, Austria and Italy had territorial disputes one by one and Germany sided with Austria-Hungary.
If Germany had not gone to war with Russia for Austria-Hungary, it would have been possible to crush France before Britain sent troops. It is possible to dominate the European continent and then fight Britain at sea.
On the contrary, if austria-Hungary were to lose to Tsarist Russia and collapse, Bosnia and Herzegovina would certainly be cut off and Austria would certainly be annexed by Germany. In the face of Tsarist pressure, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Hungary and Croatia would become vassal states if they did not join Germany. Why didn't Germany sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight, and reap the benefits of the fishermen instead of helping the Austro-Hungarian Empire?
In the 1904 Russo-Japanese War, not only did Britain, France, and the United States openly support Japan, but Germany also did not support its ally Russia.
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Russia, though big, has always been trapped. Vladivostok in the east freezes in winter, petrograd in the north is too narrow to be constrained by Sweden, Denmark and Germany, and the Black Sea in the south is held by the Turkish Strait. Once Lushun Dalian in the east and the Balkan Peninsula in the south, especially Constantinople, which choked the throat of the Turkish Strait, were breached, Russia would be invincible in Eurasia and Africa by virtue of its population and resource advantages. Germany beat France and England, and eventually made wedding dresses for Russia.
Between 1900 and 1910, Russian coal production increased by 121 percent, cotton production by 62 percent, exports by 112 percent, and national income by 78.8 percent.
By 1913, Russia had produced 4.9 million tons of steel, surpassing France's 4.7 million tons, while the strategically important oil production at that time reached 9.2 million tons, equal to the entire output of the Allies, far more than the German and Austrian combined 1.2 million tons.
In machine manufacturing, Russia also surpassed Austria-Hungary and France to occupy the third place in Europe.
At the same time, Russia's huge war potential and numerous colonies cannot be ignored. The country's population of 150 million is more than double that of Germany (66 million), and the land is even more vast than Germany. Its colony area was 17.4 million square kilometers in 1914, second in the world after the United Kingdom with 33.5 million square kilometers, and France at 1,060 square kilometers. Once truly developed, Germany may be incomparable
At the beginning of 1914, the Russian Minister of Defense, Sukhomlinov, and the Chief of Staff preached at an extraordinary meeting:
"Russia is well prepared for a single war against Germany, let alone a one-on-one contest with Austria."
Also in early 1914, German Foreign Minister Jago said in a letter to the ambassador to Russia that he did not want to have one
"Preventive war", but a showdown now is better than a showdown a few years later, "when Russia will surpass us in the number of soldiers, when she will build the Baltic Fleet and his strategic railway (in this case the Polish Railway on the Eastern Front)." ”
Kaiser Wilhelm II also had to express concern about his cousin Nicholas II of Russia. say:
"I expect Russia to surpass us in 1920, as soon as 1917, so we should be prepared beforehand."
Germany's only battle plan, the Schlieffen Plan, did not hesitate to commit a two-front war, that is, to boil the old enemy (France) and the new hatred (Britain) with the potential opponent (Russia). As a result, the step is too big to pull the egg, and the loss hurts the egg.