Just before the end of the Russo-Japanese War, far away on the other side of the earth, another war had ended. The two protagonists of this war were the Kingdom of Italy, which was considered by Bismarck but not enough, and the Ottoman Turkish Empire, which was already old and called the patient on the European sickbed.

"This war is like a battle between a weak young man and an old man who is already old. The young man is full of confidence in himself. He took a broken sword with his hand like a dead branch to try to steal the old man's legacy, but he ignored his weakness. Although the opponent is not far from a pile of dead bones, he still drags the opponent tightly, not to mention that there is a huge monster standing behind the old man." Churchill once commented on this Italian-Turkish war.

If we simply talk about the scale and impact of the war, this war that broke out earlier could not be compared with the Russo-Japanese War in the Far East. Some people even doubt that the two sides could make the war last for two years! In the ruined towns of Libya, in the vast desert, in the oasis with exotic style, the armies of Italy and the Turkish countries continued to fight. Well, it is not accurate to describe it as fighting. The way the two sides fought is more like harassment and anti-harassment. The scale is not large, the battle is not fierce, but the number of battles is very frequent.

The Italians gained the naval advantage, and the British then restricted the access to Libya from Egypt. This made the supply of the Turkish and German coalition forces in Libya more and more problematic. But at the same time, Italy was also exhausted by the 200,000 troops stationed in North Africa. The number of casualties of up to 15,000 people was terrifying, but what was even more terrifying was the supply and money consumed by the army alone overseas every day! The consumption of up to 2 million pounds per month was a fear of this country that was not very rich! This was almost equivalent to burning a dreadnought every month! Even so, the Italians controlled area still had not pushed 200 kilometers away from the coastline...

"This kind of country has no value to buy, no! It can be dragged down like this when fighting a Turkey in turmoil. I wonder if Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire go to war in the north, can Italy block the offensive of the Austro-Hungarian Empire!" In a letter to the British Army, General Xiafei's contempt for the Italian army was beyond words.

The British's attitude is gradually changing. If the British were interested in the geopolitical advantages of the Italians in the Mediterranean and the fleet that was a bit old but large, then the British should consider how valuable this fleet is! The Italian fleet is indeed quite snug, the seventh in the world. The British thought so at that time. If Italy stood on the side of the Allies, then the Mediterranean Allies fleet would be Italy and France, which would stabilize the Austro-Hungarian Navy on the opposite side. And now? The British felt that even without Italy, France would still stabilize the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Even Churchill believed that even if Italy stood on the side of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, France would still be enough to deal with Italy and Austro-Hungarian.

Logically speaking, no one thinks there are few allies during the war, but in fact, Britain and France have to consider the cost of pulling out allies. First of all, although the Italians are awkward, they also have to pay for the appearance! Historically, the French gave Italy some territorial benefits. And allowed Italy to get a share of the Austro-Hungarian Empire after victory.

In addition to territorial aspects, Britain and France also need to consider whether Italy will have the problem of importing materials or food if Italy participates in the war. If we only talk about natural resource endowments, Italy is the worst among European powers. Not only can we not be self-sufficiency, but we cannot even have basic coal and iron! Italy's foreign exchange is very limited. Once the war begins, Britain and France may also have to transfusion blood to Italy...... The French's self-sufficiency can only ensure that there is enough food, there is no problem with coal mines, and there is not enough iron ore. The British are more dependent on foreign countries. If they bear the burden of Italy, the supply of materials from the Allies will probably be even more tense.

If Russia is the object that Britain and France must fight for, and before the outbreak of the Italian-Turkey War, Italy was the object of cooperation that Britain and France tried their best to fight for, then after the Italian-Turkey War, Italy became an indifferent object. According to the French, if they want to buy this not-so-powerful country, then they must first give Italy 150 million francs to fill the treasury deficit, and then Italy may have the idea of ​​expanding its military and preparing for war. As for expanding its army to the level recognized by Britain and France, the French believe that the expense will not be less than 1 billion francs! And this cost is obviously too high, so it is better to support the Russians!

However, the long war of attrition is also somewhat unbearable for Turkey, a poor country. Although the resistance in Libya is mainly local Arab tribes and a small number of Turkish government troops, and it is also considered a nomadic cavalry, which consumes much less than the Italian regular army, Turkey's wealth is not as good as Italy, and even with German support, it is a little unbearable. What's more, Italy occupied a large number of Turkey's islands through its naval advantage and threatened them with these islands.

Finally, with the mediation of Germany and Austria, the two sides began peace talks. In the end, both sides took a step back. Italy withdrew troops from most of Libya, but retained some of its economic privileges and the right to station an army of no more than 3,000 people in Tripoli. At the same time, the islands on the Mediterranean were returned to half of Turkey. Although Turkey was a little uncomfortable with this result, it could only accept it in the end. It was naturally not easy to obtain what it could not be obtained on the battlefield at the negotiating table. Half of the islands and preserved most of Libya's sovereignty was a good ending, while the Italian Kingdom retained the most basic face. After nearly two years of fighting, it could not be said that nothing had been gained. According to the Italian Prime Minister, they at least scored a nail in Libya...

"After this war, Italy may have to be honest for several years. Their originally unenriched treasury has reached the brink of exhaustion. Otherwise, after the appearance of the dreadnought, Italy, which regarded itself as the Mediterranean overlord, would definitely follow up. But at least in the next three years, they will not be able to start construction. The Italian army is even more vulnerable." During a meeting, Prince Leopold did not hide his contempt for Italy.

"Okay, the issue of Italy is not very important to us. The Russo-Japanese War has been accepted and the Boer War has come to an end. The allied country system composed of Britain, France and Russia has taken shape. The final decisive battle is coming. The German Emperor also realized that if I want me to go to Berlin, are you still going?" Ruprecht asked.

"No need, go by yourself. After all, you represent Bavaria, not me. You go, I'm very relieved." Prince Leopold said.
Chapter completed!