African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 1141 Learning
Austro-Hungarian Command.

At this time, the command center had become a vegetable market, with telegrams and telephones ringing non-stop from all directions, and the telegraph operators and telephone operators shouting to report information from all directions.

Changes in the front line, troops requesting artillery support, a certain place being pushed back by Serbia, or urging for war from Vienna, etc., all kinds of messy information gathered at Potiorek's command center.

It can be said that every moment, Potiorek is receiving new information, and has to make corresponding judgments in a short time and then issue orders.

The atmosphere in the entire Austro-Hungarian military headquarters was extremely tense, and the sound of artillery fire from time to time made the headquarters seem even more depressing.

"Report to the General, the 104th Infantry Brigade under the Fifth Army has captured the town of Antale and is advancing towards the village of Moka."

Potiorek: "Very good, let them capture the village of Moka before ten o'clock and advance towards Zradipol."

"General, there is a telegram from Vienna. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is asking us about the situation on the battlefield."

Today, the entire Austro-Hungarian Empire's army is mainly led by Crown Prince Rudolf. The situation is very different from the previous life. In the previous life, because of the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, Franz could only keep an eye on every move of the war personally, which was obviously not very friendly to an eighty-year-old man.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire in this time and space was much stronger. Crown Prince Rudolf could share the pressure with Franz. Although Archduke Ferdinand was assassinated, he did not die. Although he could not directly participate in the war, he could also participate in military decision-making in the rear.

Potiorek said to the communicator: "Call His Royal Highness the Crown Prince back. My army has unimpeded access to Serbia and will reach Belgrade within three days."

So far, the war is under Potiorek's control and is developing in the direction he expected.

During this period, the Austro-Hungarian Empire had the upper hand. In addition to the local corps in Bosnia, Potiorek also had two of the empire's more elite army groups under his command.

They are the Second Army and the Fifth Army. The Second Army has four armies and five divisions, while the Fifth Army has two armies and three brigades.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire's weapons, equipment and material reserves far surpassed those of the Serbian army.

Of course, there was a big gap between the Austro-Hungarian Fifth Army and the Second Army, especially when dealing with the Serbian army, which showed obvious lack of experience.

The commander-in-chief of the Serbian campaign was Marshal Putnik, a traditional Serbian soldier who had participated in the Serbian-Turkish War twice and later in the Serbian-Bulgarian War. He had just experienced the First and Second Balkan Wars. He had an excellent resume and had been tempered by several major wars.

In comparison, Potiorek seemed somewhat mediocre. He was mainly favored by Franz and Conrad, the Chief of the Austro-Hungarian General Staff. As for the war, he first had work experience in the General Staff and later became a general of the Imperial Artillery.

He joined the Austro-Hungarian General Staff in 1879. At that time, the Austro-Hungarian Empire had no major war for him to participate in, so this was Potiorek's first time to command a large-scale war.

It now seems that Potiorek's performance was satisfactory. With the cooperation of the Second Army and the Fifth Army, the Austro-Hungarian army has entered Serbia and seized some strategic locations.

Potiorek, whose mouth was already dry, picked up the tea on the table and took a sip to moisten his throat.

The tea used in this cup of tea is obviously imported from East Africa. Since East Africa has been producing and exporting tea on a large scale, Central European countries such as the Austro-Hungarian Empire have obtained a source of high-quality and low-cost tea. And because of the distance advantage and the advancement of preservation technology, Europe can now drink green tea of ​​quite good quality.

Now it is August, which is summer in Europe. Drinking a sip of sweet and bitter green tea can greatly relieve inner anxiety and has a good refreshing effect. The entire Austro-Hungarian army is now following the new trend of drinking tea in summer and coffee in winter.

Most of the tea and coffee in the Austro-Hungarian Empire were imported from East Africa. The quality and taste of East African tea were only slightly worse than those of the Far East Empire, but higher than those of India, and were mid-range products. As for coffee, East Africa has the world's best coffee producing areas, and it is a sought-after product all over the world and there is never a shortage of market.

Of course, this is also related to East Africa’s advertising promotion. East Africa controls many newspapers and other news media in European countries such as Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which provides great convenience for the promotion of East African products.

Putting down his teacup, Potiorek picked up the flag representing the 104th Infantry Brigade and planted it in front of the position of Moka Village.

It was only then that he noticed that the members of the East African Military Observation were still around, and he said to Wang Lade: "How do you feel?"

Wang Lade: "I did learn a lot of knowledge, which cannot be learned in the classroom, or if you have not experienced a real war, many things are easy to be overlooked."

Potiorek nodded, looking like a teachable boy, and said casually: "War command is not a simple matter, but a complex art. I think you have discovered through your observations for half a day that the information you need to process is huge, and you need to master the battlefield environment in detail and remember the place names, terrain, fortifications, transportation, the enemy's army, and other conditions of every place on the battlefield as much as possible. If you are not careful, it may cause a huge change in the battlefield situation..."

It has to be said that as a person from the General Staff of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Potiorek is quite capable. He handles battlefield information very well and can remember a lot of battlefield information quite accurately.

And through this information, they can think more flexibly about changes in the battlefield situation and make corresponding decisions, which has indeed greatly broadened the horizons of the trainees in the East African Military Observer Group.

Of course, to put it bluntly, Potiorek is very good at talking on paper and can explain many issues in a clear and logical way. This is probably the main reason why he was able to gain the trust of Franz and Conrad.

However, the young trainees of the East African Military Observer Corps did not understand this. They were just freshly graduated students with a limited vision, so they were intimidated by Potiorek's words.

However, if it were some experienced veterans of the East African army, this problem would not arise. Although Potiorek's words made sense, it did not mean that he could convince many of his colleagues.

After all, the outcome of the battlefield still depends on the correctness of the decision. Although Potiorek gave a reasonable reason, it may not be the best choice, especially since the Serbian army on the opposite side has rich combat experience and the command level of those Serbian veterans is very high.

In this case, even if the decision is correct, it is impossible for the enemy to be completely led by Potiorek. They can even gain an advantage on the battlefield through their rich experience and strategic vision. At this time, it is not about who makes fewer mistakes, but who is more skilled.

Those Serbian veterans have all been tested in war and have risen to their current positions through real military merit, so there is almost no possibility that they would make stupid mistakes. In contrast, the commanders of the Austro-Hungarian army are much worse.

Of course, this situation has not yet been reflected on the battlefield. After all, the war has just begun. No matter how powerful the Serbian veterans are, it is impossible for them to judge the tactical intentions of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at once. In addition, the Austro-Hungarian Empire is powerful and can adopt more radical tactics than the Serbian army.

Of course, these are still far away from the members of the East African Military Observer Group. The skills demonstrated by Potiorek now are enough for them to learn for a period of time.

Potiorek said, "Just letting you watch really doesn't give you much experience. Now the war is going smoothly, so you can participate. I can also give you some suggestions based on your performance."

(End of this chapter)