"And then there's the transformation of the Czech Legion! The Czech-dominated army was the second largest of the entire Austrian legions. A purely German force could hardly meet the needs of future battles, and the Czechs were an indispensable force. There is no doubt about their combat effectiveness and the level of equipment, the most important thing is loyalty, their nobles still have some loyalty to Austria-Hungary, but as the battle continues, the loss of officers, the newly promoted people can be men. The prince thought for a moment and said.

The Czechs were loyal subjects of the Habsburg royal family for hundreds of years, and after the start of World War I, the loyalty of the Czech legion was still acceptable, and the Czech officer corps, which was mainly aristocratic, began with all its might. However, with the death of the officers, the new civilian class had no feelings for the decaying empire, so their combat effectiveness and will continued to decline. And what the prince needs to do is slow down the process.

"Prop up a new class! As a complement to the nobility, then a Czech legion made up of this class was created. The prince said what he was going to do.

"It seems to be a political issue, not a military one." The Kaiser frowned slightly and said.

"Military and political are inherently separate, and we must suppress the independence of the Czechs and create a class whose interests are dependent on Germany, which I call the comprador class. Fight against the independence of the old aristocracy and stabilize Austria, the stability of Bohemia, the most important industrial base of the entire Austro-Hungarian Empire, and its stability is crucial for future wars. ”

"We can make this class an agent of the German Empire in Austria, we can give them some participation in some German investments, we can give them some commercial and political benefits. And in return, they had to support the Habsburg crown politically and militarily, maintain the military alliance between Germany and Austria, and, if necessary, take up arms against the independents! ”

"The Germans plus some Czechs almost guaranteed the stability of Austria, but what about Hungary? What are your plans? The Hungarian army did not necessarily welcome the Germans. The Kaiser thought for a moment and said.

"This is a difficult question, since Austria-Hungary became a dualist empire, Austria has been asserting its independence all the time. They think about a lot of things with themselves at the center of their minds, but that doesn't mean we don't have the opportunity to influence them. Don't forget that there are also many ethnic minorities in Hungary, and Hungarian rule is not stable. ”

"The Hungarian military and the prime minister also need an army that can overwhelm the other peoples, they need advanced equipment, they need training, they need all kinds of help, and we can provide them with it, as long as I can control their supplies. We forge this longsword for them, it needs to maintain the whole of Austria-Hungary, and if there is a dissenting heart, we can destroy it. "That's hard to do." The Kaiser said.

"A shrewd Hungarian government should understand that the existence of Austria-Hungary requires the support of Hungary, but the territorial integrity of Hungary can only be achieved if Austria-Hungary exists, otherwise without the support of Austria, Hungary may not be able to deal with the Poles, Slovaks, Slavs and Magyars at home. What we need is to find such a person and support him. ”

"Are you interfering in the politics of Austria-Hungary under the guise of military? Is it really good to calculate your future father-in-law like this? The Kaiser said with a smile.

"Only in this way can Austria-Hungary be supported, otherwise with a little pressure from the outside, the internal separatist forces can dismember the empire. After the end of the Austro-Prussian War, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was largely maintained by the political wisdom of the Austrian Emperor, but this situation did not allow it to survive the war, and help from allies was indispensable. ”

"What about military equipment?" The Kaiser remembered the question he had asked again.

"This can only be increased as much as possible within the scope of the Austro-Hungarian state, and the number of troops should not be too many in peacetime, but it is necessary to strengthen the accumulation of military reserve personnel, and a large number of personnel who have received a certain degree of reserve training are needed. In order to expand the army in wartime. ”

"The equipment can be appropriately improved, a large amount of equipment is cheaper, easy to produce in large quantities, and defensive mortars and all kinds of short-barreled howitzers can be sufficient, and the number of large-caliber heavy artillery and cannons can be appropriately reduced, after all, in medium and close combat, howitzers are not lower than cannons, and the enemy that Austria-Hungary needs to face - Russia, does not have so many heavy artillery."

"The most critical issue is the allocation of firepower, the firepower of the German Army is delegated to the division level, and our firepower can almost overwhelm all opponents at the division level. But Austria-Hungary could not arrange it in this way, and their limited heavy artillery and heavy weapons had to be concentrated in order to be effective, so I would suggest that Austria should weaken the firepower at the battalion, regimental and even division levels, so that they could concentrate and have more powerful firepower at the army level. “

"And according to this firepower distribution characteristics, I will design a tactical campaign system suitable for Austria-Hungary."

"The navy is a bit of a luxury for Austria-Hungary, if it can, Austria-Hungary can maintain an inshore fleet, and it can maintain the situation in the Adriatic Sea with mines and a limited fleet."

"Of course, there was also the chaotic military system within Austria-Hungary, and the command troubles caused by the multi-ethnic problem had to be resolved. However, this required the support of the Austrian Emperor, which, as mentioned at the beginning, began with the Germans, then the Czechs, and finally Hungary. ”

"Seems to have some truth to that." The Kaiser nodded in agreement with what the prince said, and to be honest, he did not agree with the strength of Austria-Hungary, after all, a country that was several times more complicated than Germany's political and national problems, and whose national strength was inferior to France's, was really not worth looking forward to.

"And what do you think of the Italians?" The Kaiser changed his words.

"Italians? They have always had no credibility and have taken advantage of the contradictions between powerful countries to run into trouble. And then to gain benefits, the unification of Italy is not so much a military victory as a political and diplomatic victory, the alliance between us and Italy will not have any effect at all, as long as our opponents are willing to give more benefits, then Italy will turn its back on us in minutes. The prince's words were full of disdain.

"Hehe, I hope you're thinking too much." The Kaiser said with a frown.

Thanks to the book friend Nickky's 1888 tip~~~, the author Jun at least three or four days, well, that's it! Never owe more for a large tip!! Thank you for the reward of the 1st Guards Tank Brigade of the book friends, as well as the monthly ticket support of book friends such as Crane * Crane, Xiaofeng Cold Moon, Meteor → Rain, Phantom Moon Phantom, Model Husband and other book friends~~~! Ask for recommendation and support!! (To be continued.) )