I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 588 Barefoot on the Front Line

Because the Austro-Hungarian troops moved slowly, they did not actually put much pressure on the Kingdom of Serbia.

The situation of the Austro-Hungarian Empire is very special. The situation of this country is so complicated that it is hard to know where to start.

Although Conrad had great ambitions but little talent, he had a deep understanding of the empire. Regarding the national conditions of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Conrad once said: Hungarians are termites who are gnawing at the foundation of the empire all the time.

After the end of the Austro-Prussian War, Hungary made a proposal to Joseph I that if the Austro-Hungarian Empire allowed Hungary to join the Austro-Hungarian Empire as an independent kingdom, then the Hungarians would recognize Joseph I as the emperor of the Kingdom of Hungary.

Joseph I agreed to this proposal, and the Kingdom of Hungary became a country within the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

In 1873, the Hungarian Parliament obtained a veto power. From then on, the internal and foreign affairs of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and even military bills, had to be approved by the Hungarian Parliament before they could be implemented in the Kingdom of Hungary.

After obtaining the veto power, Hungary rushed down the road of self-destruction, savagely implementing their "Magyarization" policy and acting more and more extreme. In the end, it became so serious that it was illegal to call Joseph the emperor in Hungary and the person would be tried for treason.

Whose country is this judged?
The Kingdom of Hungary, with one-ninth of the empire's population, occupied one-third of the empire's land.

Since 1889, the Hungarian government has refused to undertake military service and drastically cut military spending, which resulted in the Austro-Hungarian Empire's war mobilization being carried out only within Austria, and the Kingdom of Hungary was completely indifferent.

Even without the constraints of the Kingdom of Hungary, Conrad already had enough troubles.

Conrad's battle plan for the Serbian campaign was for the Austrian army to directly cross the Danube and launch an attack on Belgrade.

To be on the safe side, Joseph I appointed Oscar Potiorek, the Governor of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as the commander-in-chief of the Austrian army on the southern front. As a result, since the outbreak of the war, the Austrian army has been trudging through the mountains of Bosnia, completely wasting the advantage brought by the suddenness of the outbreak of the war.

The so-called suddenness only exists between major powers.

The Kingdom of Serbia mobilized for war earlier than the Austro-Hungarian Empire and was more fully prepared.

Crown Prince Alexander, who performed outstandingly in the Balkan Wars, personally served as the commander-in-chief of Serbia, while the actual control of the army was in the hands of Radomir Putnik, who served as the Chief of the General Staff.

Putnik was able to return to Serbia thanks to the gentlemanly demeanor of Joseph I.

Putnik was on vacation in the Austrian province of Bohemia when Austria-Hungary declared war on the Kingdom of Serbia.

Putnik was arrested as soon as the war broke out.

Joseph I did not detain him, but instead arranged for a train to take Putnikson back to Belgrade.

This behavior may be a bit pedantic, but in this world filled with lies and violence, Joseph I is like a breath of fresh air, bringing a touch of color to this gray world.

But there is no need to praise Joseph, because before long he would realize how much trouble his gentlemanly demeanor would bring to the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Although the morale of the Serbian army was high, it lacked weapons and equipment. Many soldiers had to provide their own clothing. The Serbian government even searched house to house for hidden weapons and any other useful supplies.

Putnik was in poor health and could only stay on the train and command the battle using maps.

After the initial panic, the Serbian army finally withstood the Austro-Hungarian attack at the Yalda River.

Next came Putnik's counterattack.

The population of Austria-Hungary was more than ten times that of the Kingdom of Serbia, but even so, Austria-Hungary could not capture Belgrade without German help.

So George was not in a hurry at all. He wanted to make full use of this time to integrate the Balkan Alliance. Even if he couldn't make it work as he pleased, at least he would not go against his will.

After the mobilization began, the Kingdom of Serbia recruited an army of about 40 people, which was not easy for a country with a total population of only 450 million.

The Bulgarian Kingdom has recruited more than 20 troops, most of whom are veterans of the Balkan Wars who do not need much training before they can go into battle.

The Kingdom of Romania also conscripted 40 people, but like the Kingdom of Serbia, it also faced the embarrassing situation of lack of weapons and equipment.

Greece is still in a stalemate. Georgi asked the military alliance to immediately transfer military command to George. Venizelos is still hesitating. He is worried that he will be abandoned after losing control of the army.

However, the situation did not allow Venizelos to hesitate. The 13th Army led by Andrei had arrived at the Greek-Bulgarian border, and the Mediterranean Fleet had also arrived off the coast of Thessaloniki. If Venizelos continued to hesitate, his end would be miserable.

As George was sorting out the Balkans, the deadline for the "double ultimatum" finally came to an end.

Without waiting for a reply from Nicholas II, William II signed a declaration of war at 1 p.m.: Due to the continued mobilization of the Russian Empire for war, Germany and Russia are now at war.

At 6 p.m., the letter of challenge was delivered to Russian Foreign Minister Sazonov through German Ambassador to Russia Frederick Pourtales.

Also at noon that day, the ambassador to Paris called French Prime Minister Viviani to inquire about France's decision.

Viviani responded coldly: France has its own interests to consider.

An hour later, France declared general mobilization for war.

Fifteen minutes after France announced its mobilization, Germany also officially began its general mobilization.

On August 8, St. Petersburg newspapers published the declaration of war, and people poured into the streets, singing "God bless Russia" and shouting "Down with Germany." In major cities such as St. Petersburg and Moscow, organizations such as the "Royalist Association" were established, calling for donations for the empire and encouraging people to respond to the empire's call and fight for the Tsar and the empire.

At 10 noon, Nicholas issued a declaration of war on the balcony of the Winter Palace.

When Nicholas and Alex appeared on the balcony of the Winter Palace surrounded by the royal ministers, tens of thousands of people gathered in front of the Winter Palace knelt down.

Nikolai shouted in a slightly emotional voice: The war will not stop until the last enemy is driven out of Russian soil!

Tens of thousands of people waved flags and chanted "Ura".

On one side of the square, someone held up a banner: Help our brothers, the Serbs!

A commercial company used a camera to record the scene for subsequent war propaganda.

After Nicholas finished his speech, he found that many people around him were crying.

Grand Duke Sergei's widow, Elizabeth, hugged Alex and whispered to her to comfort her. Alex cried especially hard.

Germany and Russia were at war, and the saddest person in the entire Russian Empire was Alex.

Nicholas didn't have time to comfort Alex. Nicholas would be very busy in the next period of time and had countless meetings waiting for him.

Neither Little Nicholas nor George were with Nicholas when he gave his public speech.

Little Nicholas supervised the battle in Warsaw, and the situation he faced was more dangerous than George's.

Although George did not have many soldiers, the pressure he faced was not great. With the Kingdom of Serbia at the front, George could prepare for war calmly.

After Germany declared war on Russia, the Russian Empire simultaneously declared war on the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the battle began.

The troops deployed by the Russian Empire on the Russian-Austrian border were the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 8th Armies.

Because Conrad mistakenly assigned the 2nd Army to the Southern Army at the beginning of the war, the Russian army's strength at this time was twice that of the Austro-Hungarian Empire's A Group.

Under pressure from Germany, Conrad had to transfer the 2nd Army to Galicia.

Russia's progress also encountered problems. When the 8th Army was rushing to the front line, more than half of the military boots had quality problems, resulting in nearly half of the soldiers having to travel barefoot.

Nikolai was furious and questioned General Danilov, who was in charge of logistics.

Danilov didn't know why this happened. The Russian military's procurement system is very complicated. Part of it comes from the Russian-European region, another part comes from the Amur region, and another part is purchased from abroad.

In any case, when this kind of problem that shouldn't have happened occurs, accountability is secondary. The key is to get enough boots for the soldiers in the shortest possible time.

Danilov suggested increasing purchases from Amur because historical procurement results have shown that the military equipment produced in Amur is of the best quality.

"Then do it. I can't let my soldiers go to war barefoot."

Nicholas was furious. Since the war broke out, Nicholas's spirit has been in a state of extreme excitement.

After the declaration of war, Nicholas was prepared to appoint himself the supreme commander of the Russian Empire and command all the armies of the Russian Empire.

This decision was strongly opposed by all the ministers.

The Tsar is sacred and his image cannot be damaged.

Now George and Nicholas the Younger are in charge of the front line. If they win, the honor goes to the Tsar; if the war goes badly, then it is George and Nicholas the Younger's incompetence.

Once Nicholas personally goes into battle, it would be fine if he wins, but if he loses, it will have an irreversible impact on Nicholas' image in the minds of the Russians.

Although Nicholas rescinded his order, his regret grew.

After the Russo-Japanese War, Nicholas repeatedly told people around him that he deeply regretted missing the Russo-Japanese War.

This is understandable, after all, it seems that George did nothing.

Danilov was troubled. Even if Amur had enough military boots, it would take at least half a month to load them and send them from Amur.

It will take at least another week to send it from St. Petersburg to Warsaw.

So for at least a month, the 8th Army will probably have to fight barefoot.

Be content.

Without George's help, the soldiers of the 8th Army would not only have to go to the front line barefoot, but they would probably also have to go empty-handed.

(End of this chapter)