The Austro-Hungarian emperor set his sights on the Suez Canal and at the same time pulled the Germans in.

After the surrender of France, the war-torn Germans finally breathed a sigh of relief. The Russians were no longer a threat, they were mired in civil strife, the Americans were ill-equipped and arrived from the other side of the Atlantic, but the British, while successfully withdrawing nearly 1.1 million troops from the Cotentan Peninsula, had abandoned almost all of the army's heavy equipment. They lacked enough heavy artillery to defend their homeland, but fortunately, their fleet was still intact and still had the upper hand in the confrontation with the Germans.

Wilhelm II ordered the demobilization of nearly half a million soldiers of the two armies in 1917, and a large number of skilled workers were included in the list of priority demobilization, and Germany needed to restore industrial and agricultural production. The German Army was reduced in size, as was Austria-Hungary, the 10th and 12th armies were abolished, but the size of the Marine Corps was expanded, and the forces under the command of Admiral Mayer, the commander of the Marine Corps, were able to become independent armies and expand to nearly 300,000 men in three armies.

The German Balkan Army Group was reorganized, and Field Marshal Mackensen, who had a good relationship with Austria-Hungary, was reappointed commander of the Balkan Army Group, under the command of the German 9th Army and the German 5th Army, which had been redeployed from France. In order to support the Ottoman Empire, which was on the verge of collapse, the German 4th Army was urgently transferred to Turkey to reinforce the Mesopotamian battlefield.

The Austrians were clearly not in the least interested in supporting the Turks, and they intended to drag the Mackensen group into the North African theater together. The Spaniards were clearly interested enough to reclaim the sovereignty of Gibraltar, and they were full of hatred for the Americans, but it was not enough to drag them into the war. At the moment, they have no intention of risking their lives.

The Germans were more interested in attacking Gibraltar, but the Austrians were reluctant to risk attacking the fortified fortress at sea, which risked burying half of the main Austro-Hungarian fleet. Without the support of the Austro-Hungarian Navy, the Germans, apparently, could not act on their own.

Ludendorff reluctantly accepted the Austrians' plan to attack Egypt first and take the Suez Canal.

This would certainly be beneficial to the Austrians, so that their fleet would be able to enter the Indian Ocean, and the Germans would certainly not gain much.

Sir Hamilton, commander-in-chief of the British Middle East Army, was now feeling the pressure, and the 350,000 British troops under his command were shouldering the burden of resisting the entire Central Powers, and the Turks and Bulgars, although not a problem, were certainly powerless when the Germans and Austrians pointed the finger at him.

Although the strength is weak, Lloyd. Nevertheless, the Georgesian government made the decision to fight the German-Austrian alliance alone. The Americans are not of direct help at the moment, they need at least a year to rearmament, their naval capital ships are insufficient in number, and their performance is somewhat outdated.

If the British had been able to hold on for four or five years, maybe the situation would have changed, but for now, they are left to fend for themselves. Hamilton was skeptical that Britain would hold up for so long.

The Austro-Hungarian Afrika Korps, commanded by General Hovalt, was greatly strengthened and now has three panzer divisions with a total strength of 250,000 men. However, the movement of the Afrika Korps was severely limited, and the logistics of the troops could not be guaranteed due to the lack of roads and railways. From Tobruk to Alexandria, the distance of nearly 800 kilometers was a desolate desert, and the supply depended on a few small ports in between, and the troops could not even solve the problem of fresh water.

Khovalt, who was ordered to return home, told the General Staff that even with the full support of the Navy, the Afrika Korps could send up to 150,000 men in the direction of Egypt, which was beyond the limits of logistical supplies.

But these forces were not enough to defeat the British in Egypt, which still had about 30,000 French troops and 80,000 Serbian troops in the area.

The Chief of the General Staff, Field Marshal Boloyevich, and the Chief of Staff of the German Balkan Cluster, Lieutenant General Sickert, both turned their attention to the Levant. The Near East was originally under Ottoman rule, but the Anglo-French forces drove the Turkish army out of the region when the war began. But as the war progressed, especially after they had shrunk their forces, the region's defenses had become weak. It was only because of the incompetence of the Turkish army that the British and French troops in this area could not be expelled.

Compared with North Africa, Beirut and Tel Aviv in the Levant are excellent large ports, and the port throughput capacity is several times stronger than that of Tripoli. And the freshwater resources in this region, although not abundant, are much better than in the barren land of North Africa.

The North African battle plan was revised, and the main German-Austrian forces were to land in the Levant first. Then pass through the Guò Sinai Peninsula and attack the Suez Canal zone directly, and on the flank, General Hovalt's North African Corps will carry out the task of diligently attacking.

If the Levant is to be taken, Cyprus, occupied by the British, becomes the nail that must be removed first.

On October 12, 1917, a red sun rose over the sea in the east, and the fiery morning sun erupted, illuminating the sky and water in a colorful red. About fifty nautical miles northwest of the island of Cyprus, a large fleet was heading towards Rhodes against the waves. Several destroyers were maneuvering in an anti-submarine zigzag on the periphery of the fleet, on guard against possible British submarines.

"Woo-woo-woo-" The combat readiness alarm sounded on the flagship "Austria", the warship reduced its speed, and the pilot Sucker sat in the cockpit of the "Seagull" II seaplane, and with the help of Lieutenant Hoffmann, fastened the safety belt, and checked the aircraft for one last time whether the switches were in order.

Then, the plane was hoisted to the surface by a crane, and after the warship retracted the cable, Sucker turned on the motor and the propeller spun, creating a water nest on the surface. He removed his right hand from the joystick, raised two fingers, gave the ship's commander a simplified military salute popular among pilots, and closed the cockpit canopy.

He pulled the throttle wider, the cockpit trembled, the engine rumbled louder and louder, and the plane taxied forward on the water, gradually leaving the sea and flying into the blue sky.

The morning breeze whirred on the front windshield, and Sucker glanced sideways down at the sparkling sea, checked his bearings, and then flew towards the island of Cyprus with the rising sun.

At present, both Austro-Hungarian and German large warships are already equipped with seaplanes for reconnaissance missions.

In this era, the British were already equipped with two aircraft carriers, and although their combat capabilities were limited, they were still at the forefront of mankind in terms of naval technology.

The Austro-Hungarian Navy was also conducting experiments in this area, but the results were not satisfactory, and the two aircraft carriers converted from transport ships could only be equipped with less than twenty aircraft, and they were largely of little practical value.

This is the beginning of something, and the Navy will slowly enter the age of aviation.

The landing campaign in Cyprus began.

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