African Nationhood

Belgrade is located in the heart of the Balkan Peninsula, at the confluence of the Danube and Sava rivers.

It is bounded to the north by the plain of the middle reaches of the Danube River, the Vojvodina Plain, and to the south by the Shumadiya Hills, an extension of the Laoshan Mountains.

The water and land transportation route between the Danube River and the Balkan Peninsula is an important contact point between Europe and the Near East. It has very important strategic significance and is called the "Key to the Balkans."

The Chinese and Serbian allied forces advanced very quickly in Serbia, mainly due to the rapid advancement of a small number of elites, while the large troops and baggage were still behind.

Prince Regent Alexander I took the initiative when he broke the blockade of Pristina (now the capital of Kosovo).

He said that he wanted to help arrange follow-up military resources for South China and called on the people of the country to resist the Austro-Hungarian Empire's garrison. To put it bluntly, this guy was afraid of death.

However, the regent still arranged for Peter Bojovic, the Chief of General Staff of the Serbian Army, to serve as the commander-in-chief of the Serbian Army in the coalition, responsible for coordinating the tedious affairs during the march.

Zheng Tong, who was in charge of the former army command, didn't care about these trivial matters. What he needed was that the Serbs could cooperate with him to achieve South China's strategic goals.

Zheng Tong was only the commander of the former army. The commander of the South China Expeditionary Force this time was Lieutenant General Qu Sangqian. He himself had already arrived in Salonika.

After the Chinese-Serbian coalition forces entered Serbia, they advanced too fast. He gathered the troops in the rear and will soon come to Belgrade to take command.

The reason why Qu Sanggan was asked to take action this time was because of his own wishes.

He is not young anymore and it is time to retire soon.

He took the initiative to propose to Chairman Shi that he wanted to fight in the European battlefield.

Chairman Shi did not stop him, but just told the veteran to take care of himself. Qu Sangqian nodded in agreement.

……

Most of the soldiers and personnel sent by Nanhua in the southern European battlefield are already in place. Belgrade in front of them cannot stop the Nanhua Expeditionary Force for long.

Shi Hong's Liaison Department, which was previously stationed in Sarajevo, set off from Sarajevo after receiving the news.

The remaining city was taken over by King Nicholas I of Mendnegro.

These two cities were not given away for free. Shi Honglian sold this city to him together with Ragusa (now Dubrovnik, Croatia) for 20 pounds.

Nicholas I gritted his teeth and took the two cities, and at the same time asked Nanhua to leave some weapons for them.

These weapons cannot be given away for free. Xue Yingxiong directly left the weapons that were unused (captured weapons and artillery) and difficult to take away with Nicholas I.

He settled the account with the king and spent another 80 pounds on the old king.

The two sides agreed that Nanhua had the right to stay in this territory before the end of the war.

The old king couldn't ask for it. After all, he still had to rely on Nanhua's reputation to frighten the two cities he had just recovered.

The arms purchased by the old king were enough for him to arm three reinforced divisions, and he began to worry about where to recruit soldiers.

After all, Mendinegoro was a small country with few citizens. Before the outbreak of World War I, he killed 6 soldiers.

After being bulldozed by the Austro-Hungarian and German forces, the male citizens of Mendnegoro withered drastically.

However, the territory increased, which made Nicholas secretly happy for a long time.

……

On April 4, Shi Honglian rushed to the city of Belgrade with more than 18 people lightly armed.

Qu Sangqian arrived before them. Since Belgrade was more important, Commander Qu decided to hold a combat meeting to sort out the direction of the attack after capturing Belgrade.

Therefore, the commanders of various armies who were notified gathered together and held a meeting.

……

Qu Sangqian sat high on the throne, and dozens of legion commanders sat obediently in the tent in complete silence. Qu Sangqian looked at Shi Honglian, Shi Quan'an and Xue Yingxiong, "Commander Shi Honglian, please tell us about your situation in Sarajevo."

Shi Honglian nodded, "Yes, Commander Qu."

“We stayed in Sarajevo for more than half a year, and the situation there was a bit awkward.

In my opinion, the Austro-Hungarian Empire had four fatal weaknesses:
1. There are many ethnic groups in the country, each working in their own way, causing serious internal strife.

2. The armaments are backward and the concepts are outdated.

3. The upper layer and the lower layer are seriously isolated.

4. Soldiers’ fighting will is seriously divided.

The first point is that there are several ethnic groups in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, such as Czechs, Hungarians, Croats, Germans, Bosnians, etc. Each of their ethnic groups is incompatible with each other, operates independently, and has serious internal conflicts.

The transmission of military orders in battle often requires the commander to be proficient in several languages, otherwise it will be impossible to convey the command from top to bottom.

Without smooth communication, it is natural that the combat effectiveness of the army cannot be guaranteed.

Second point, by observing the captured Austro-Hungarian equipment, I found that they were still using bronze cannons. Even such bronze cannons could not meet the needs of the front-line troops.

In addition, the soldiers of the Austro-Hungarian Empire didn't know how to dodge when they saw us throwing smoke grenades and flash grenades. At the same time, they had no idea about our submachine guns and semi-automatic rifles.

They thought that after firing a shot, they had to pull the bolt and reload. Little did they know that we often used this outdated knowledge to harvest the soldiers of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Another time our soldiers used a flamethrower. They stupidly watched our soldiers spit out huge flames before they realized how lethal this thing was.

The third point is that the life gap between the upper class and the lower class in the Austro-Hungarian Empire is huge. We are in Sarajevo, which is just a small town with more than 100,000 people. The richest man lives a very luxurious life. Even we are surprised when we see it.

But the common people at the bottom of their lives lived in very poverty, similar to what we lived in the Qing Dynasty before.

When our soldiers were stationed there, local women often sneaked around the military camp and sold themselves, just in exchange for some food.

Before we left, I heard the mayor there complain that many women in their city were pregnant. Life here is so hard and there are so many mouths to talk about, what should I do?

The fourth point is that only some ethnic groups in the Austro-Hungarian Empire were loyal to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, such as the Croats and the Germans. They were all loyal to the empire and had very strong fighting capabilities.

Other ethnic groups are very average, and may even surrender as soon as the fighting begins.

Through the above points, I can conclude that the national destiny of the Austro-Hungarian Empire is worrying, and it is likely to fall apart after this war. "

Qu Sangqian was quite surprised to hear that his men were observing so carefully.

Before he came here, Chairman Shi also talked about similar topics. It was based on these points that Chairman Shi concluded that the Austro-Hungarian Empire was the best weak persimmon among the Allies.

……

Shi Honglian's words were very insightful, allowing other newly arrived army commanders to understand the situation here, and also deepening the officers' understanding.

Through comparison, they can deeply appreciate the advanced nature and degree of development of Nanhua.

With comparison, we can love Nanhua even more and be loyal to Chairman Shi.

"Well, the commander of the Red Alliance Army is right. I can see that you are very attentive. You can write some materials and give them to me later.

I will have someone publish it in our national defense newspaper so that the soldiers and officers in the country can know about it. "

Shi Honglian's lips curved slightly and he nodded softly, "Yes, thank you, Commander!"

Qu Sangqian waved his hand and continued: "Next, let's talk about the attack on Belgrade. Which of you will talk first?" (End of Chapter)