Chapter 139: Expulsion
Chapter 139: Expulsion
Chapter 139: Expulsion
At the same time as the start of the talks between the Bulgarians and the Serbs, Bulgaria imposed martial law on all the occupied areas, banned the movement of people, and did everything possible to block the news!
Chief of General Staff Petrov was in charge of the project, which Ferdinand designed to launch the full-scale 'departure by honor' on the south bank of the Morava River, setting a world record 'grand' project!
Literally, you can also tell what this means!
Serbia is located in the middle of the Balkan Peninsula in Europe. Most of the country has undulating hills, with hills and mountains in the center and south, while the north is plain.
To the east and west are the continuation of the Stara and Dinaric mountain chains, respectively;
The northern part of the Vojvodina Plain is part of the Central Danube Plain, with a dense network of rivers and fertile soils;
The central and southern parts are mountainous and hilly and consist of the Kosovo Basin and the Metohija Basin!
One can say that the northern region, which brings together the entire soul of Serbia, is home to the majority of the country's population!
At the end of the 19th century, the territory on the south bank of the Morava River was home to some 300,000 to 400,000 Serbs, mainly Serbs, but also a small number of Bosnians, Albanians, Croats, Bulgarians, Slovaks, Romanians, and other ethnic groups!
Undoubtedly, the main target of the 'departure by honor' is the Serbs, who account for more than 70% of the total population, and some other ethnic groups!
The plan included all Serbs and non-literate, non-rural populations of other ethnic groups in the migration! Of course, any family that had served in the war and had been wounded or killed would also be included in the migration!
Thanks to the previous mindless expansion of the Serbian army, the entire south of the Morava River, except for the Bulgarians, the young and strong men of other ethnic groups have entered the army, and now most of those left in the region is a group of old and sick!
And because of the lack of weapons and equipment, the Serbian government scrapes a lot from the civilian population, which in turn creates the basis for the 'Gift Out' program!
Due to the war, there has been a massive loss of population! Initially, it is estimated that the Serbian population on the south bank of the Morava River is still between 200,000 and 300,000 people, of which more than 90 percent need to be relocated!
In times of peace, it's definitely not easy to relocate 200,000 to 300,000 people! But during the war, it all became easier!
Doing ideological mobilization efforts? Petrov does not think that the Serbs, with such a high political awareness!
It is still most effective to use the most common method by soldiers! Crude, simple, reliable, and non-technical - talk with bayonets!
First, use military control to isolate the contacts everywhere, start moving by the river, and then gradually advance!
The first to receive care was the city of Ni, forced by the bayonet. The Serbs have set out to the north!
Due to Petrov's tight blockade of information, the first batch of Serbs, who had already reached their arrival, and the last batch still didn't know what was going on!
It is not without resistance, but there are no young people, no weapons, and their families and children dragged, dare to riot are not many people!
And Ferdinand is not stupid. In the planning of the migration, it took into account the problem of supply security!
The standard of food, so to speak, far exceeded the standard of living of the Serbs at that time! With enough food and warm clothes, people are always easily bent, and their will gets weakened!
Anyway, as long as the people are sent away, once the talks are over, the Serbian government should have a headache! For the sake of long-term security, there is no need to save on this expense!
The relocation plan is going on like crazy, and the Serbian government, far away in Belgrade, is still worried about production!
...
Paper can't cover fire. What is revealed remains revealed! When the people on the south bank of the Morava River were almost deported, the news came!
When the Serbian government received the news, it was too late! Under cover of war, the population of the south bank of the Moldova River was forced to move north, causing the definite fact of merging the territory of the southern border of Serbia!
Aleksandar I is now really anxious. Once he lost so much territory, his throne will likely be unstable!
Others are not much better. Well, before everyone held the same idea as in 1886, the Bulgarians were forced to retreat after the intervention of Austria-Hungary!
This time it was a Bulgarian invasion, not unlike the last one! The difference in strength between the two sides is so great that the people are okay with it as long as it can end decently!
But the Bulgarians did it in a way that forced their unrealistic illusions directly!
...
When he received the telegram from home, the Serbian Prime Minister in Vienna was speechless for a long time and only reacted to it at this time.
Since the Bulgarians are expelling the people of the south bank of the Moldova River, of course, it can be for nothing! You know the entire south bank area, Serbia, at least three or four hundred thousand people, who would have nothing to do with a migration!
Now it has been more than ten days, even if you find Austria-Hungary to prevent it is too late, the people have rushed over, and want to send back, but only if the Bulgarians promise!
Radoman Bovic, who had been Prime Minister for so many years, knew there was trouble and rushed to beg to see the Austro-Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs!
After stating the situation, the expected furious Minister of Foreign Affairs did not appear! Instead, he asked, contrary to regular practice, "Prime Minister Radoman, what do you in Serbia intend to do now?"
Radoman Bovic knew that things were terrible! The Austro-Hungarian attitude might have changed, but he still pretended not to know and said, "The Bulgarians' unprovoked expulsion of the Serbian population during the talks is a complete disregard for your country's warnings, and we think they must be given a little lesson!"
The Minister of Foreign Affairs rolled his eyes and thought: 'The Austro-Hungarian Empire is dedicated to wiping your ass in Serbia, we have to do everything, such a rotten minion, what to use!'
After a pause, he said with a resentful voice: "Prime Minister Radoman, is this how incompetent your government is? The Bulgarians expelled your people, and you didn't even notice?
Why not bring it up earlier? Now that so much time has passed, what they should have done has been done. As long as the Bulgarians bit the bullet that it was the people who wanted to leave in order to escape the war, to deny it, without evidence, we can't do anything to them!
You know that the current international situation is very complicated, and a single move will affect the whole world! Your government had too many chances to end the war with dignity at the beginning of the war, but you all gave up!
At this point, it's too late! The Bulgarians have gained too much advantage, and you will have to pay a greater price to end this war!
I would suggest that you agree with them as soon as possible; after all, two-thirds of your country's territory is still in the hands of the Bulgarians, and every extra day passed may cause more damage!"