I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 597 Portal
Although the big industry is not doing well, the porcelain is still very beautiful. The porcelain of the Qing Empire was very popular in Amur. Almost all the porcelain on the market comes from the Qing Empire.

The influx of a large number of Qing immigrants brought rich and colorful Qing culture to Amur. Porcelain and silk have now become Amur's specialty products and are sold well all over the world.

Those "new rich peasants" in Siberia had never seen any good things before going to Siberia, so they were really not picky. A porcelain plate that only sold for 5 kopecks in Vladivostok could be exchanged for a lamb in Siberia.

The lambs have very poor resistance and at least half of them die in one winter.

When there is a snowstorm, the entire army is often wiped out.

What worries George is that the Yenisei River Bridge has not been repaired yet and the Siberian Railway continues to be interrupted, which has affected George's material dispatch.

Nicholas had no time to take care of the Trans-Siberian Railway, Zhilinsky suffered a disastrous defeat at Tannenberg, and although he was demoted to Paris, he left the empire a mess.

Zhilinsky and Rennenkamp were demoted, Samsonov committed suicide, the three giants of the Warsaw Military District were either killed or demoted, the First and Second Armies were annihilated, and Nicholas had to transfer the Guards to the front line to withstand Hindenburg's attack.

Hindenburg's desire to attack was not strong. The troops he had were not enough to launch a counterattack against the Russian army. He needed more reinforcements to arrive before he could launch an attack.

Seizing this rare and precious opportunity, Nicholas transferred Ruzynski, who had performed outstandingly in the Galicia Campaign, to Warsaw to serve as commander of the Northern Front.

At the same time, the mobilized troops being trained in the rear were transferred to Warsaw to reorganize the First and Second Armies.

After entering Transylvania, Vasily did not rush to advance, but stabilized the front line and waited for Andrei's reinforcements to arrive.

In the Battle of the Carpathian Mountains, the Russian-Romanian coalition forces wiped out 1.5 Austrian troops and captured 6000. George had achieved his goal of containing the Austrian army. The next battle plan would depend on the developments on other battlefields.

This idiot Zhilinsky was not only incompetent at fighting, but he was also fooled by the French.

After the French invaded Alsace, they also tried to attack Lorraine.

Facts have proved that the French army's combat effectiveness is completely unable to fight against the German army. The French 1st Army and the 2nd Army were beaten badly by the Fifth Army led by Crown Prince Friedrich in Saarbourg and Morange, and had to retreat back to the defense line, relying on strong fortresses to hide.

While "Plan 17" completely failed, the German army, which had broken through the Liège Fortress, launched an attack on the French mainland through Belgium.

The Russian attack forced Moltke the Younger to withdraw his two most elite armies from the Western Front to the Eastern Front, resulting in insufficient troops for the attack. At the most critical moment, Moltke failed and the "Schlieffen Plan" went bankrupt.

This, combined with the Russian Empire's offensive, had disrupted previously formulated plans.

Just one month after the outbreak of the World War, all the pre-war plans made by Russia, Germany and France failed.

After the failure of the "Schlieffen Plan", Moltke the Younger resigned and was succeeded as Chief of the General Staff by former War Minister General Erich von Falkenhayn.

Falkenhayn was also appointed to the post in a time of crisis. He keenly noticed that if Germany could not withstand the attack of the Russian Empire, it would be in danger of defeat.

This risk was caused by the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

The Russian and Austrian armies fought until mid-September, when heavy rains suddenly hit Galicia, causing rivers to surge and many bridges to be destroyed by floods. The Russian army was forced to stop the offensive.

In just one month, the Russian attack caused 42 casualties to the Austrian army, 10 captured, and the loss of 650 artillery pieces. After this battle, the Austrian army had lost the ability to attack alone.

The Russian army also suffered heavy casualties, including the First and Second Armies. In the first month of the outbreak of the World War, the Russian army lost more than 50 people.

The Russian army's losses were similar to those of the Austrian army.

However, the Russian army's war potential far exceeds that of the Austrian army. After losing 50 people, the Russian army still has more than 200 million troops on the front line, and the number of troops is still increasing rapidly.

Almost all of the Austro-Hungarian Empire's elite troops were lost in Galicia. If it could not get help from Germany, the Austro-Hungarian Empire might be defeated soon.

Once the Austro-Hungarian Empire was defeated, Germany would find it difficult to withstand the pincer attack from the Russian Army and the British and French Allied Forces from the north and the south.

On September 9, Falkenhayn sent the newly formed 14th Army to the Austro-Hungarian Empire and appointed Hindenburg, who had just led the 9th Army to defeat the Russian army, as commander-in-chief, with full responsibility for providing aid to Austria.

On the Austro-Hungarian side, Conrad finally fully realized the strength of the Russian army. After the Battle of Galicia, Conrad said dejectedly: "If Archduke Ferdinand were here, he would drag me out of the tent and shoot me."

The most painful memory this battle left for Conrad was that his son also died in this war.

The Galician campaign was over and the Transylvanian campaign was brewing.

Like the complex terrain of the Bosnian mountains, the roads in the Carpathian Mountains are also rugged and difficult to travel. In order to allow heavy equipment to pass through the Carpathian Mountains to Transylvania, Vasily had to recruit civilians from Romania to repair the roads in the Carpathian Mountains.

The Austrian Fifth Army moved quickly, arriving in Transylvania within a week of receiving the order.

The total strength of the Fifth Army was less than 10, and it was unable to compete with the Twelfth and Thirteenth Armies. Conrad had to launch a second round of general mobilization for war.

This is a bit funny. Strictly speaking, the first round of mobilization of the Austro-Hungarian Empire had not yet ended, and the second round of mobilization was hastily launched, which made Austria's dissatisfaction with Hungary reach its extreme.

If the Kingdom of Hungary actively responded to the call of the Empire and recruited more soldiers, Conrad would have enough troops to deal with Galicia, Serbia, and Romania at the same time.

The Kingdom of Hungary became increasingly resistant to the second round of mobilization.

It would be fine if we couldn’t defeat the Russian Empire, after all, the Russian Empire’s strength is obvious to all.

Vasily is the descendant of a military god, and behind him is George, the contemporary military god. It is understandable that he could not defeat the Russian-Romanian coalition forces. After all, the gap in military strength between the two sides is too big.

It is a shame for the empire that it cannot even defeat the Kingdom of Serbia.

For the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Kingdom of Hungary was just a parasite.

Since the Austro-Hungarian Empire is unreliable, why not find another host?
So George's headquarters welcomed a special guest, Count Nagykároly from the Kingdom of Hungary.

Károly was born in Budapest, the capital of the Kingdom of Hungary. He was a descendant of a prominent family. In 1901, Károly was elected as a Hungarian parliamentarian as a member of the Hungarian Liberal Party. Soon after, he joined the Independence 48 Party and has served as the party's leader since last year.

Károlyi opposed the Hungarian government's policy of dependence on Austria and advocacy of war, and advocated breaking away from Austrian rule and safeguarding national independence.

Before the outbreak of the World War, Károlyi was visiting France. When he learned that the Austro-Hungarian Empire had declared war on the Kingdom of Serbia, Károlyi angrily withdrew from the Hungarian Parliament and no longer held any position.

Károlyi George was able to support the independence movement of the Kingdom of Hungary and safeguard the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Hungary.

In return, Károly promised to lead Hungary to join the Balkan League after the independence of the Kingdom of Hungary and fully support the Russian Empire's rule over the Balkan League.

George was amazed, the world was so magical, there were all kinds of people.

As a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Kingdom of Hungary only enjoyed rights without assuming any obligations, and sucked blood from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, being a recognized vampire.

Now that the Austro-Hungarian Empire is on the decline, are they planning to replace it with the Russian Empire?
George had nothing to say to such a person, so George called Ferdinand's brother Nicholas over and asked Nicholas to talk to him.

Nicholas has been very happy these days. George has promised to help the Romanian Kingdom obtain Transylvania after the war, which means that Romania's area will be expanded by about double.

One of Károly's demands was that George maintain the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Hungary.

This means that after the Kingdom of Hungary becomes independent, Romania will return Transylvania to the Kingdom of Hungary.

Nicholas looked at him with disdain. Anyone who looked at such a person for even a second longer would think his eyes were dirty.

They can make wishes so confidently. Do they really think that all countries in the world can be as tolerant of Hungarians as the old emperor of the Austro-Hungarian Empire?

"Count Nagykároly cannot represent the Kingdom of Hungary. His so-called joining of the Balkan Alliance means that we must first help him become the King of Hungary, and then the Kingdom of Hungary will join the alliance?"

Nicholas was curious, if such a good thing really happened, could I go? I would be more obedient than him.

"I'm afraid that's the case—"

George actually had no objection to helping Károly become King of Hungary, but this was different from accepting the Kingdom of Hungary.

The Kingdom of Serbia alone was enough to give George a headache.

If there is another Hungarian Kingdom, it would be easier to dissolve the Balkan Alliance.

As for becoming king, it is almost impossible for Karoy to do so. Only members of the royal family in each country are qualified to be candidates for king. Karoy is only an earl and his status is not high enough.

"Then let him die!"

Nicholas didn't want to bother with Karoy at all. He was just a speculator.

George did not expect that the Austro-Hungarian Empire would be defeated so quickly. Only one month after the war broke out, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was already on the brink of extinction.

Looking back to a month ago, Conrad was full of energy and wanted to pull the Kingdom of Serbia and the Russian Empire into a fight together.

Unexpectedly, after the battle, the true colors of the Austro-Hungarian Empire were exposed, and only a few elite troops were left. Not only was Transylvania invaded by the Russian coalition forces, but Galicia was also almost completely occupied by the Russian Empire.

Conrad is now overwhelmed and has no ability to fight back.

Germany's newly appointed Chief of the General Staff Falkenhayn could not sit idly by and watch the Russian Empire occupy Galicia, because Galicia was also the gateway to Germany's industrial area Silesia.

(End of this chapter)