I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 595 It’s an advantage for you
Since the Kingdom of Hungary was opposed to military service, most of the soldiers serving in the Kingdom of Hungary were Austrians.

Since the Kingdom of Hungary refused to assume its obligations, it was fair to ask Austrian soldiers to fight for it.

Those who were qualified to be selected as paratroopers had relatively strong military qualities. The resistance of the town residents and train station staff was easily crushed, and this most important transportation hub on the border of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was occupied by the paratroopers.

The airborne method of warfare was so magical in 1914 that the staff at the railway station did not even have time to spread the news of the Russian airborne landing in Victoria because they did not know how to describe it.

Things like divine soldiers descending from the sky only happen in myths.

The consequences of the failure to deliver the message in time were very serious. At noon that day, a train full of reinforcements drove into the train station, catching everyone off guard.

Faced with the heavy machine guns of the airborne troops, nearly 4000 Austrian soldiers had no choice but to lay down their weapons and become prisoners.
After receiving the news that the paratroopers had occupied Victoria, Vasily immediately increased the intensity of the attack on the Austrian defense line, and the battle was still going on after nightfall.

The battle lasted until the early morning, and the isolated and helpless Austrian army was forced to surrender to the Allied forces due to heavy casualties.

After George received the news, he sent a congratulatory telegram to Vasily overnight, congratulating Vasily on his victory.

On the same day, the Serbian army was defeated in the Battle of Mir with heavy casualties.

Before the war broke out, Conrad vowed to destroy Serbia in the shortest possible time.

From the first day of invading the Kingdom of Serbia, misfortune has repeatedly plagued the Austrian army.

Potiorek divided his forces into two parts, with the Fifth Army deployed in the lower reaches of the Drina River, waiting for the Serbian attack.

The Sixth Army attacked the Serbian flank through the rugged mountain roads in Bosnia.

This plan is not bad, but it is too difficult for the Austrian army.

It is said that the Russian army is the worst army in the entire world war.

Compared with the Austrian army, the Russian army is dwarfed by the giant.

Apart from its fancy-looking military band that is proficient in all kinds of musical instruments, the Austrian army has nothing else to offer.

Since the end of the last century, the Austrian army has also begun to replace traditional single-shot black powder rifles with magazine-type rifles based on smokeless powder.

Nearly 20 years have passed, and the progress of this work has been less than one-third completed, and about two-thirds of the troops still use traditional rifles.

Although the Austro-Hungarian Empire had a world-class arsenal like Skoda, most of the artillery used in the army were old-style artillery. Not only were they not rapid-fire guns, even bronze guns were still in service.

The Austrian army had a wide variety of logistical transportation tools and they were seriously insufficient in number, so after the outbreak of the war, the Austrian army had to requisition farmers' horse-drawn carriages to transport military supplies.

The Austrian army did not have strict requirements for training. Conrad only attacked and did not defend, and the old emperor was obsessed with exercises.

The Austrian army's most serious problem lies in the officer corps.

The Austrian army treated them poorly and the salaries were meager. Those who were truly capable chose jobs with higher salaries, and only children from poor families applied to become officers, and their sole purpose was to get a job.

The mobilization of the Austrian army was equally disappointing. The officers and soldiers from Austria did not speak the same language, and those who responded to the empire's call and returned to the army were all old guys. The young and strong ones evaded military service with various excuses. There was only one doctor in a division, and there was a serious shortage of technical personnel. As the first country to carry out general mobilization for war, the Austro-Hungarian Empire did not complete its mobilization until the war broke out.

Taking the actual situation of the Austrian army into consideration, Conrad formulated a combat plan for the Balkan Army Group that was as simple as possible, so that the hope of success would be the greatest.

However, Potiorek was too clever for his own good and formulated a battle plan that far exceeded the actual capabilities of the Austrian army.

On August 8, the Battle of Mir broke out. Potiorek deployed nearly 19 people and defeated the Serbian army led by Putnik at the cost of nearly half of them being killed or wounded.

To sum up, the Austrian army is already so bad, is the Serbian army even worse?

Yes, the Serbian army is worse.

After all, no matter how bad the Austrian army was, at least everyone had a gun.

However, the Serbian army could not even guarantee that every soldier had a gun, and most of the Serbian soldiers had not received complete training. They relied entirely on their passion to fight against the Austrian invasion.

The Serbian troops participating in the Battle of Mir also suffered more than half of their casualties.

Demeter was shocked by the severity of the Battle of Mir and suggested that Brusinov's army immediately enter the Kingdom of Serbia to avoid the defeat of the Kingdom of Serbia.

"We will not receive gratitude from the Serbs if we enter the Kingdom of Serbia now."

George was uncomfortable. Whether George was willing or not, Vasily's attack would relieve the pressure on the Kingdom of Serbia.

Now the main force of the Austrian army was pinned down in Galicia by the main force of the Russian army. If Conrad wanted to prevent Vasily from taking Transylvania, he could only withdraw troops from Serbia.

Although the Sixth Army of the Balkan Corps suffered heavy losses, the Fifth Army still basically retained its complete structure.

Once the Fifth Army was transferred to Transylvania, Potiorek had no choice but to retreat.

This way, George can also give an explanation to Nicholas. "This is why I cannot serve as the commander-in-chief."

Demeter admitted that he would never be a qualified commander in his lifetime.

Then just be George's adviser.

It is very comfortable to be an advisor to George. The treatment is second to none. Although the work intensity is high, the salary is high, the benefits are good, and there is no danger. It is most suitable for a lazy person like Demeter.

Compared with Petrograd, Constantinople has a more pleasant climate. In September, some areas of Russia had already started snowing, but people in Constantinople were still wearing light clothes.

Cotton clothes prepared for the front-line troops are gradually arriving in Constantinople.

When Demeter saw the mountains of sheepskin coats in the warehouse, he was stunned by the spectacular scene. There were 11 such warehouses in total, with nearly 100 million sheepskin coats alone.

It takes at least two sheep to make a sheepskin coat.

Amur sheepskin not only comes from Khalkha, but is also purchased in large quantities from Australia. George must ensure that every soldier on the front line has at least one.

In addition to leather coats, each person also has a set of cotton coats and blankets. Winter military boots are issued separately, and the trouser legs of cotton trousers can be tucked into the boots. The index finger of the glove is separated to facilitate pulling the trigger.

"We are still not well prepared enough to issue leather gloves to all soldiers."

Alexei blamed himself, and Demeter's brow twitched wildly.

"very good already!"

Demeter was not complimenting. Leather gloves were complicated to make and were only issued to the Russian army. The Balkan army was issued cotton gloves.

Even so, George is entitled to the gratitude of the Balkan countries.

Demeter believed that only the Russian Empire had the ability to prepare such supplies.

With the arrival of winter, supplies in all countries will begin to be in short supply, especially cotton-padded clothes necessary for winter warfare.

In addition to cotton clothes, Constantinople also stored a large amount of high-calorie food, as well as coal and fuel oil necessary for winter heating.

Coal is common in the Balkans, with mines in Bulgaria and Romania.

Using oil for heating was too luxurious for European countries, especially the Allies, who were seriously short of oil and could only import it from the United States.

Southern Dobruja, which the Kingdom of Romania had captured from Bulgaria during the Second Balkan War, had fuel that the German-Austrian alliance badly needed.

It won't be long before William II takes notice.

By then, Romania will become the main attack direction of the German-Austrian alliance.

Demeter went to the port to see off the medical team that was about to go to the Romanian front.

After the outbreak of the war, major hospitals and medical schools in Amur organized medical teams to support the front line, effectively alleviating the Russian army's medical shortage problem.

George couldn't believe it, but during the Battle of Tannenberg, the Russian army had only 15 professional surgeons on the front line, which was not much better than the Austrian army that was ridiculed by the Russian army every day.

To support the front line, Nikolai even sent Alexei's personal medical team to the front line, but it still could not meet the needs of the front line.

After the Battle of Tannenberg, Alex finally accepted the fact that Russia and Germany were at war, and took the initiative to assume her responsibilities as queen. She not only organized medical training courses for the ladies of Petrograd and transformed the Tsarskoye Selo into a hospital for wounded soldiers, but also personally took Princesses Olga and Tatyana to the Tsarskoye Selo to participate in the nursing work.

Really personally involved.

Alex even cut off 12 fingers in one day.

Even the Queen went into battle personally, so Anne was not willing to be left behind. So the surgical doctors of the Vladivostok Hospital and the medical students who were already in their third year of college were organized to go to Europe to fight in the war.

Constantinople now also has training courses for providing emergency medical care on the battlefield. Women, who are at a disadvantage in military and industrial production, have been able to show their talents. They all have a pair of skillful hands that are good at needlework. Not only can they use them to sew clothes, they can also use them to sew wounds.

Constantinople was probably the place with the richest medical resources in the world at that time, with as many as 120 professional surgeons alone.

After the war broke out in the Romanian Kingdom, the number of wounded soldiers increased dramatically. It was then that Vasily noticed that the Romanian Kingdom also lacked doctors.

So there was a medical team heading to the front line in Romania.

If you have any problems, go to George. This is absolutely true in the Balkans.

Except Serbia.

(End of this chapter)