African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 1173 Create a problem
The main reason for the combat effectiveness of the army in the Neretva region, in addition to the tough customs of the people in the Neretva region, is also closely related to the personnel composition of the troops.

Because of the unfavorable situation in the early stages of the war, the Austro-Hungarian Empire lost most of its officer corps and standing army that it had carefully cultivated for many years. Although emergency reinforcements were carried out, the composition of the troops was complex, including Czechs, Slovaks, Poles, Ukrainians, Slovenes, Croatians, etc., making it difficult to form combat effectiveness.

The 54th and 59th Divisions do not have this problem, so compared to non-imperial main forces, the 54th and 59th Divisions can efficiently execute war commands.

Therefore, even without military training, the 54th and 59th Divisions could not have performed worse than other miscellaneous units of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

So after being scolded by Clyde, General Frank realized the seriousness of the problem.

He changed his tone and said humbly, "Captain Clyde, don't get excited. Report the situation of your division to me in detail first. I will verify it clearly and will never let you suffer any injustice!"

With Frank's assurance, Clyde naturally complained: "Now my troops have been reduced by nearly 30%, with less than 8,000 soldiers, and the loss of more than 4,000 soldiers. So far, we have not received any reinforcements, and this does not include the wounded."

"There are less than ninety artillery shells left, and there is a huge shortage of rifle bullets. There is also a shortage of medicine, horses, and artillery."

"The most frightening thing is that the food rations of our troops are far lower than those of other troops. Even wheat flour is in short supply and of poor quality. Other things such as tobacco, alcohol, and meat are not to mention..."

As Clyde continued to talk, Frank's face began to darken. He stopped and said, "Okay, stop talking. Make a list of the gaps in your division. I will fill them in two days. You don't need to participate in tomorrow's combat mission. I will send someone to investigate and give you a satisfactory answer."

After hanging up the phone, Frank slammed his fist on the table and said, "Call the quartermaster who is responsible for the supply of the 54th Division!"

Soon, a thin quartermaster wearing glasses was brought before General Frank.

"You are the quartermaster in charge of the 54th Division's supplies! Do you know why I called you here?"

The quartermaster was already lacking in confidence, and under the tremendous pressure from Frank, he collapsed to the ground.

The guards on both sides helped him up, and Frank's face looked terribly gloomy. In the late winter, a layer of fog rushed over.

"General, I was also ordered by my superiors to do this! Director Abutir instructed me to do this!"

"The quartermaster general Abutir is a Bosnian. He looks down on the 54th Division, so he intercepted the 54th Division's supplies and distributed them to other Bosnian troops. We are angry but dare not say anything!"

With the information revealed by this quartermaster, the reason why the 54th Division was treated differently was finally revealed.

Frank asked, "Who is this Abtiel? How can he be so bold?"

The quartermaster replied, "Director Abutir is a native Serb from Bosnia. His father was made a viscount by the empire because of his contributions to the empire."

Element noticed, Frank asked: "Could it be that this Abutir is in collusion with the Serbs?"

After all, as a rising star on the Serbian battlefield, the 54th Division's great achievements were accumulated on the blood of Serbian people.

If this Abutir is colluding with foreign countries and has connections with Serbia, then everything would make sense.

Of course, the quartermaster naturally did not dare to think so. He said: "We dare not have such speculation about Director Abutil. After all, he is still very powerful. His family has been operating in Bosnia for a long time. Basically, many Bosnian troops have a good relationship with their family. This is also the main reason why he can deceive his superiors and subordinates. Many officers have participated in this activity against the 54th Division..." Naturally, he can't say anything without evidence, but as Abutil's subordinate, he is also a participant, so facing Frank, a senior imperial official, he did not hide it.

From this incident, Frank also realized a lot of tricks. After all, the 54th Division not only offended the Serbs, but the more outstanding their performance was, the more of a threat they posed to their colleagues.

General Frank threatened: "Tell me everything you know, I can guarantee your safety. If you hide anything, I believe you will know the consequences!"

Frank would naturally not be afraid of the family behind Abutil. After all, Frank had greater power. Otherwise, he would not have been able to get this opportunity to redeem himself. You must know that last year's war against Serbia was unfavorable, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire lost more than 100,000 people. This loss was definitely not something that Potiorek could bear alone.

The important reason why Frank was able to stay out of trouble was due to the activities of his family in Vienna. With the help of the outstanding performance of the 54th Division and other troops in the previous three months, Frank regained the trust of the imperial high-level officials.

Therefore, whoever touches the 54th Division now would be touching Frank's military merits and would be his enemy. Therefore, Frank would definitely not let this daring Abutil go, including those officers who cooperated with him to deceive their superiors and subordinates, who would also be Frank's focus.

three days later.

The results of the investigation finally came out. Although Abutir was not a traitor to the Serbs, he was a staunch supporter of "Greater Serbia".

Therefore, Abtier used underhanded means against the 54th Division, a powerful army, and the most important thing was that the 54th Division had no backing in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

After all, its division commander Clyde was just a small battalion commander before, and it was impossible for him to have any connections with high-ranking officials of other Austro-Hungarian troops. What's more, the 54th Division was just a local force, and now the Neretva region has separated from the Bosnia region and joined the New Dalmatian Kingdom.

Therefore, Abutir treated the 54th Division as a soft persimmon that he could bully at will, and with the help of his family connections and other troops that were jealous of the 54th Division, he embezzled most of the 54th Division's supplies.

This made Frank and the Austro-Hungarian high-level officials very angry. After all, a hidden "Greater Serbia" element doing such a thing to a force that had made contributions to the empire was simply a disgrace to the imperial army.

Abtier and the Austro-Hungarian officers who cooperated with him were naturally liquidated. Rudolf personally ordered the deprivation of his family's titles and property, and at the same time took corresponding measures against the officers involved.

The 54th Division also joined the encirclement of Belgrade after receiving new personnel and supplies.

After learning that it was being plotted against by the "Greater Serbia" faction, the 54th Division directed its wrath towards the Belgrade defenders and demonstrated extremely strong combat effectiveness.

1915 3 Month 4 Day.

The 54th Division was the first to break through the city of Belgrade, breaking Belgrade's defense system and becoming the first unit to enter Belgrade in the Second Battle of Belgrade.

The 54th Division became a thorn in the side of the Serbs, which made them grit their teeth. This also meant that there would never be a relaxation of tensions between the New Dalmatian Kingdom and Serbia in the future, and the hatred between the two sides accumulated rapidly during the war.

Of course, the New Dalmatian Kingdom not only offended the Serbs, but also the Croatians. When the 54th Division was advancing triumphantly, the new conscription law revised by the New Dalmatian Kingdom did lead to resistance from some Croatians, but it was suppressed by the New Dalmatian Kingdom government, which aroused dissatisfaction from the Croatian government.

The two major Yugoslav ethnic groups on the Balkan Peninsula, Serbia and Croatia, have both had grievances with New Dalmatia, which will become a new factor in future unrest in the Balkan Peninsula.

(End of this chapter)