Iron Cross Fire

Even though Kuster had done something big yesterday, the top leaders of the Empire still did not react. They only gave Skoda some symbolic compensation, which they paid themselves. This made Kuster even more confused about the top leaders of the Empire.

But it didn't matter to him. After all, who would mind if someone helped to clean up the mess?

At this time, the manufacturing process of tanks was also supported by the Imperial War Department and could be widely produced. What surprised him even more was that the Empire also agreed to the manufacture of two types of tank guns, and they would produce them themselves.

There was no need to worry too much about it next. All the things that needed to be arranged were basically the same. He could go to the battlefield by the end of the year.

On October 22, almost everyone was busy that day, except Kuster who was drinking tea and slacking off.

He had just learned that the mobilization work had been launched, and 2,000 people had been recruited in just these three days, and it was expected that the task would be completed by the end of November.

The production and use of other equipment were also very good: 2 tanks (one A and one B) had been manufactured, and they were now in the experimental period. If it passes smoothly, it will be put into the front-line battle immediately; if the initial production problems are solved later, tanks can be mass-produced.

44 towed rocket launchers and 7 self-propelled rocket launchers have been manufactured, with 4,000 rocket shells in stock; currently an average of 300 rocket shells are produced every day.

210 mortars and 12,000 shells; as for the weapons used directly by the infantry, even more are manufactured.

The Imperial Headquarters promised to equip Kuster's 19th Army immediately after these equipment are manufactured. The rest will be equipped to other armies.

In the past few days, his eldest son, Vasalai, has been working diligently, constantly improving the production structure and arranging work and rest reasonably, so that the weapons production capacity is higher than when Kuster was in office.

Kuster was satisfied and disappointed at the same time. His son is very hardworking, but lacks some ideas and agility.

I hope he can grow up well here.

On November 19, Kuster's 19th Army was finally mobilized, with a total of more than 70,000 people.

According to his requirements, the Austrians alone accounted for 60,000 people; the rest of the troops were filled with people of various nationalities.

Divided into 4 divisions, according to nationality, the 3 Austrian divisions each had 20,000 people, with an average of 2,200 people per regiment. The remaining division had 10,000 people, with an average of 1,100 people per regiment.

200 people were separated from each Austrian regiment to be used as reinforcement companies and reserves.

This is how the organization was adjusted. As for more detailed allocations, they need to be adjusted at any time according to actual conditions.

After several days, on December 4, Conrad gave clear instructions: Go to Krakow and take the main attack as an independent army directly under the empire to drive the Russians down the San River.

They are leaving, it's time to go on the road and return to the Polish hell.

The last inventory of weapons and equipment was all new equipment and clothes, and even the people were new. Kuster prayed for them, praying that they could live longer so that they could continue to die.

The distance from Vienna to Krakow is a bit far, so the imperial high-level officials provided them with five trains for transporting troops.

It takes a lot of time just to get on the train, not to mention Kuster's 70,000 troops. They took half an hour to fill the train.

As the sunset approached, the last group of soldiers also boarded the train. Some officers looked back at the prosperous Vienna, sighed softly, and then boarded the last train with Kuster.

On December 6, they arrived in Krakow.

After opening the carriages, the soldiers jumped off the train and greeted the locals warmly.

But obviously, those people didn't like them very much.

As for when Kuster got off the train, the crowd cheered. There were also many flashes shining on Kuster, and it seemed that many reporters had also arrived here.

The scene was so lively that the Krakow authorities had to send out gendarmes to suppress civilians.

An older but energetic man walked out of the gendarmes, and there were many people behind him.

He shook Kuster's hand and said cordially:

"I am Joseph Ferdinand, the current commander of the Fourth Army, and my headquarters is stationed here. Welcome, Lieutenant General Kuster."

Kust asked him a few words about his well-being, and then asked a key question:

"I feel sad for General Auffenberg's departure. But I want to know, what is the current situation on our front line?"

"It's very bad. Our defense line on the San River was broken by the Russian army, and we were forced to shrink to defend in the Tarnow area. The Przemyśl Fortress was also separated and is now deeply surrounded by the Russians."

"How long can Przemyśl last? Is our organization still intact?"

"Przemyśl? Who cares? It will be taken away by the Russians sooner or later anyway. As for my army, most of them suffered casualties under the command of General Auffenberg, and they have almost no combat effectiveness. Now they are completely relying on reinforcements from the Balkan front to survive."

As an Austro-Hungarian nobleman, Joseph was indifferent and put all the blame on Auffenberg, who had left long ago.

In fact, General Auffenberg was a rare cautious senior officer in the early stages of the war.

Before the war, he was somewhat afraid of the coming of the war and was looked down upon by other imperial officers.

After the outbreak of the war, he led his army group to be cautious, but in the end he still revealed his flaws. In addition, the surrounding friendly forces retreated without authorization, and they were surrounded and lost several regiments. He was forced to resign.

After replacing the new Joseph, the top leaders thought they could reverse the decadent situation. Unexpectedly, changing the generals before the battle was a taboo in military strategy, and Joseph suffered even more serious losses. After the Battle of Galicia, it was difficult for them to have any offensive capabilities.

Seeing Kuster lost in thought, Joseph said:

"Since the top leaders asked you to launch the main attack to create a huge storm on the front line. We will do everything except manpower to help, not only me, but also the First Army.

As for the Third Army, their commander-in-chief seems to have some friendship with you, so he may help you from the flank.

There is also the Second Army, they are too far away, and they are under a joint attack by two Russian armies, so it is impossible for them to give you any support."

Kust glanced at him slowly, his eyes full of contempt, but still said:

"We need to reorganize the troops here, which may take half a day. I hope that during this time, you can provide the best service to my group of soldiers, thank you."

"Please rest assured, I can definitely do this."

Joseph handed the hat on his right hand to his left hand, then shook Kuster's hand heavily, saluted him, and left here.

window._taboola = window._taboola || ; _taboola.push({ mode: 'thumbs-feed-01', container: 'taboola-below-article-feed', placement: 'Below Article Feed', target_type: 'mix' });

Warm reminder: The website is about to be revised, which may cause the reading progress to be lost. Please save the "bookshelf" and "reading record" in time (screenshots are recommended). We apologize for the inconvenience caused to you!