African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 1134: Internal Disputes in the Austro-Hungarian Empire
While the East African government was anxiously waiting for the situation in Europe to change, Vienna was hesitating. Franz and the ministers of the Austro-Hungarian Empire had a completely different attitude towards the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand than in the previous life.

The assassination of Archduke Ferdinand in his previous life triggered a war largely because of his status as the crown prince, but Archduke Ferdinand now does not have this status.

This put Archduke Ferdinand in an awkward position in the political situation of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The reaction of the Austro-Hungarian newspapers and other news media to the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand was not as strong as in his previous life.

Inside the Schönbrunn Palace, Franz sat on the sofa, tapping the documents on the table with a gloomy face. His brows were furrowed, and everyone around him held their breath, waiting for the emperor's instructions.

After a long while, Franz finally spoke: "Ferdinand was assassinated in Sarajevo. This is a serious provocation to the empire. What attitude do you think we should adopt in negotiating with Serbia?"

Conrad, Chief of Staff of the Imperial Army, said: "We should severely punish Serbia. This is a provocation to the dignity of the empire. The funds behind the activities of the Black Hand Organization are entirely provided by Serbia. Now that Archduke Ferdinand has been assassinated, Serbia cannot escape the connection."

As a hawk, Conrad had always supported the war and advocated a defensive war against Serbia, so it was not surprising that he advocated this.

The fact that a strong nationalist like Conrad could hold a high position in the imperial politics was naturally closely related to his ability. Conrad played an important role in the modernization of the Austro-Hungarian army.

Naturally, his opinion could not determine the empire's final strategy, and Franz was naturally aware of Conrad's extremism.

So Franz turned to the Crown Prince and asked, "Rudolf, what do you think?"

The Imperial Crown Prince Rudolf was finally past the age of rebellion, and this also led to his participation in the imperial government.

Rudolf frowned and said, "I don't completely agree with the Chief of the General Staff. I think we must fight a war with Serbia, but we must be fully prepared."

Conrad frowned when he heard the crown prince's denial. After all, the old emperor was old, and if a war broke out, Rudolf would most likely be the person in charge of the war. If he disagreed with him, it would definitely not be a pleasant experience.

However, Rudolf's next words did not completely deny his idea, which made Conrad's brows relax slightly.

However, he still said: "Your Highness the Crown Prince's worries are totally unnecessary. The gap between Serbia and us is still very large. We are confident that we can completely defeat Serbia in the war."

Rudolf said: "I don't have a good impression of Serbia, but this does not mean we should underestimate the enemy."

"During the First Balkan War alone, Serbia mobilized more than 200,000 troops, and in the Second Balkan War, Serbia also performed well. This means that Serbia has accumulated at least 200,000 veterans with rich combat experience and a group of officers with good military capabilities."

"Although the empire is powerful, it is also under great pressure to face an army of more than 200,000 soldiers with rich combat experience. Serbia's performance in the Balkan War also shows that Serbia has great potential in the two wars. Through the two wars, Serbia has accumulated high morale. If we have a contemptuous attitude towards such an army, it will inevitably have adverse effects."

"Moreover, Serbia has aroused the sympathy and even support of many Slavs in Bosnia and Croatia by promoting the concept of 'Yugoslavia'. The assassination of Ferdinand was planned by the Serbs in Bosnia, which means that the imperial army is likely to be stabbed in the back when it enters Bosnia, which is not conducive to the development of military operations." "Finally, if we go to war with Serbia, it will inevitably lead to interference from the international community. Britain, France, Russia and other countries may give Serbia support to consume us. Among them, Russia may even declare war on us. In that case, the situation we face will become even more passive."

Conrad said: "Your Highness, you are worrying too much. We have received Germany's assurance that as long as Russia declares war on us, Germany will not stand idly by. It is definitely risky for us to deal with Russia alone, but if the two German powers join forces, Russia will definitely have no way to deal with us."

Conrad was a typical supporter of Greater Germany, so he did not hesitate to refer to the Austro-Hungarian Empire as a German country. Of course, this was also related to his work experience.

As an important person in charge of the imperial military and the main driving force behind the military modernization of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, he was bound to feel disgusted with the Hungarian Parliament. After all, Hungary had always opposed the expansion of the imperial army, and the military modernization promoted by Conrad was bound to be subject to financial restrictions. So let alone Conrad, in fact many military personnel were dissatisfied with the Hungarian Parliament.

Rudolf did not become complacent because of Germany's support. He said: "We cannot blindly trust Germany. It is true that Germany's military has a tendency to become the first in Europe, but Germany is also facing pressure from France. In recent years, France has been thinking about revenge on Germany, and France and Russia have a close relationship. Therefore, it is impossible for Germany to fully support us. They will be dragged down by France."

"And the Imperial Army is far less powerful than Germany's. As a world military power, Russia is fully capable of withstanding the pressure from our two great powers at the same time."

"Today, the Empire's military expenditure has long been at the bottom among the major European military powers, and our army has been at peace for a long time. If we go to war with Russia, it is difficult to predict the outcome."

The controversy over the war within the Austro-Hungarian Empire ultimately had to do with the unavoidable issue of Russia, so the conversation between the two men unconsciously shifted to the topic of Russia.

Rudolf went on to say: "If we go to war with Russia, we must be prepared for a long war, which means we must prepare the army. After all, Russia's ability to bear war is higher than that of the empire. Every time Russia intervenes in a dispute between European powers, it will almost always be a protracted war."

"In recent years, all countries have been frantically expanding their armies. Only the Empire has been at the bottom of the list in terms of military support for various reasons, even lower than East Africa and the United States. It is highly doubtful whether we are capable of supporting a long-term war."

"The form of war today is completely different from that of the last century. Every major country has a huge army of hundreds of thousands, equipped with more lethal and powerful weapons. In addition, every major country has a huge reserve force, which is not our advantage."

As a multi-ethnic country without a dominant ethnic group, the Austro-Hungarian Empire had a population of over 50 million, but the combined population of the two core ethnic groups, Germans and Hungarians, was less than 40%, which inevitably had a serious impact on the Austro-Hungarian Empire's military reserves.

Rudolf went on to say: "We can take the Balkan War as an example. The Balkan Alliance alone mobilized millions of troops in the two wars. Wars between major powers are obviously more brutal. We are facing a million-strong Russian army. If we go to war at this time, we will inevitably be at a disadvantage."

After all, the Austro-Hungarian Empire not only had to face pressure from Russia, but it also certainly could not ignore Serbia and Italy, which would disperse its military forces to a certain extent.

As for the Austro-Hungarian Empire, there were also problems with the internal command system and logistics system due to language and ethnic issues, which Rudolf pointed out one by one.

Both the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Russia had serious ethnic problems, but the situation in Russia was much better than that in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. At least Russia had a main ethnic group, and the language and customs of Ukraine and Poland were similar, which was far from being as different as the ethnic groups in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

(End of this chapter)