Potiorek added to the encounter: "When two armies meet, only bayonets and blood can lead to victory. ”

Rudolph scoffed, and wanted to refute it, but he was afraid of refuting the general's face. It seems that in this era, it is not only the arrogant generals of France who believe in charges and bayonets.

Crown Prince Ferdinand spoke: "The way of war has changed, and countless performances have proven that the firepower of modern warfare is incredible. ”

Rudolf added: "The two Balkan wars are the best proof of this, Bulgaria was not brave and good at fighting, but lost to the joint suppression. ”

Potiorek was the Governor of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the chief of the General Staff Conrad's greatest rival. He drew up a military exercise against Serbia on June 26 and 27, 1914, and invited Archduke Ferdinand to observe it. As a result, on the 28th, there was a big deviation in the security work in Sarajevo, when Portiorek looked in shock at the Grand Duke and his wife, who were fatally injured in the back seat of the bridge car. Unfortunately, Princip did not kill the Governor-General, and in the next three invasions of Serbia, the incompetence of the Balkan commander-in-chief was completely exposed, and from mid-August to the end of 1914, Austria-Hungary lost a total of 270,000 men in the Battle of Serbia, while the Serbian army suffered only 160,000 casualties. Eventually, Portiorek was removed from his post by the emperor, kicked out of the army, and lived until 1933 in Kraforgen.

The Governor's enthusiasm seemed to be doused with a bucket of ice water, and he muttered: "In the past, at military exercises held in König-Gretz, the Imperial staff proclaimed, in front of the foreign military attachés present, that the aim of the Imperial army was to "avoid a repetition of the König-Gretz tragedy", but the Imperial Staff soon reunited from the admiration of firepower to the traditional bayonet. The reason is also simple, because the empire cannot afford the cost of firepower. ”

It's all the fault of the lack of money, Rudolph was secretly annoyed. In terms of overall national strength, when the war entered the era of World War I, large-scale general mobilization had replaced the standing army as the decisive force, and Austria-Hungary had a huge population of tens of millions, which made it at least not inferior in military strength. Austria-Hungary's military industry is also quite developed, in fact, after the defeat of Austria, Austria also began the industrial revolution, railway construction and industrial development have entered a high-speed period, to the end of World War I, from the main economic data, such as steel production, coal production, railway mileage, etc., although there is a gap between Russia in some places, but far behind Italy. Austria's military industry in the Czech Republic and shipbuilding in the southern coastal region gave Austria a large and complete military industrial system, and the Austro-Hungarian navy built its own dreadnoughts, enabling it to compete with the Italian and Russian navies. With the help of Germany, Austria-Hungary also established its own officer corps and staff system, and reformed the army, and at least until 1914, Austria-Hungary was still a considerable deterrent to the surrounding countries.

If you think about it carefully, if in the trench warfare on the Western Front, under the fierce firepower of the two armies, the gap in artillery is indeed fatal, but in the movement war on the Eastern Front, the role of artillery will be greatly reduced, and it is even inferior to intelligence and timing.

Information? Occasion? Investigation! Plane!

Rudolph had a flash of inspiration, compared to the bloated, huge artillery system, the creation of an aviation force may be a new option.

Rudolph threw bricks and stones at the right time, "Maybe we should not be obsessed with how to defeat the enemy in terms of artillery, but more should think about counteracting this disadvantage, saving money, and using it in key places." ”

The effect of these words was good, and everyone's attention was attracted and they fell into deep thought. Rudolph's purpose has been achieved, he is only responsible for the beginning, and if no one in the head of the room thinks about it, Austria-Hungary will not lose the war in vain.

Franz Konrad von Herzendorf, Chief of Staff of the Imperial Army. He embraced social Darwinism, and he was more of a Great Germanic than that. He was extremely opposed to the Hungarians' privileges within the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and was eager to take the Balkans and destroy Serbia, the most evil country in the world.

As a close confidant of Crown Prince Ferdinand, Conrad was appreciated by the future Emperor of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Archduke Ferdinand, for his advanced thinking and vitality in the army. Conrad then bypassed 46 officers of higher rank than him and became chief of the general staff of the Austro-Hungarian army. But his command ability seems to be evident in later wars, and we will feel that Conrad is doing map work rather than commanding the army, and it is difficult to deal with all kinds of unexpected situations in the war.

All in all, Conrad is a wizard staff officer, but he is definitely not a good commander.

"To deal with artillery, we need to make a surprise attack, find the enemy's weak points, focus on breakthroughs, and a full-scale attack will only cause unnecessary casualties."

"I think our chasseurs and cavalry are up to scouting." Boroyevich said.

Conrad shook his head, "But they can't get to the rear after all." ”

Seeing that the argument seemed to be developing towards raid tactics, Rudolph hurriedly stopped the conversation.

"Aircraft, now aviation technology can already support reconnaissance missions, and the development of shooting technology also provides a guarantee for the authenticity of intelligence."

The crown prince became interested and asked, "Why not an airship?" ”

Rudolph smiled dumbly, "The cost of the airship is even more difficult for us to bear, not to mention, the survivability and limitations of the airship are a big problem in the battlefield." ”

Conrad supported Rudolph's point of view, "In combat, we need to be at all times, up-to-date intelligence, and future wars cannot be separated from offense." ”

He is worthy of being a war-torn and a clamor for preventive war.

The crown prince agreed with him, but it was not of a high nature, and it was probably the plight of the army that deepened his anxiety about the Hungarians.

I saw that the crown prince issued an order to the chief of staff: "Immediately concentrate talents in aviation, train relevant personnel, and form our aviation force." ”

Without waiting for Conrad to reply, he added, "This army belongs to the Royal and Royal Local Defence Forces of Netania, and is financed by the Austrian government, and does not need the support of the Imperial Government and Parliament." ”

"In addition, armament reform needs to be carried out immediately, at least partially in the Reichswehr."

After the arrangement, the crown prince seems to ignore Rudolph as the proposer, and the direct figure Conrad seems to be interested in Rudolph.

At the ball, Conrad approached Rudolph and asked, "Have you ever been exposed to aviation knowledge when you studied in Germany?" ”

Conrad was the right person. After greeting His Excellency the Chief of Staff, Rudolph said, "Germany is a world leader in aviation technology, and if our aviation units want to develop, we can actively cooperate with them." We don't need to develop on our own, we only need to introduce the technology of their Fokker aircraft under the premise of a military alliance, and I believe that they will not be stingy. ”

Aviation technology is the easiest way to open distance, until the First World War to design the aircraft was trial and error, except for Germany, everyone is using thinner and thinner wings - faster is not bad - but do not know that the leading edge of the wing is thick, the lift is large and the climb is fast, there is no concept of balancing the lift, drag, and speed.

Conrad thought for a moment, "That's how it should be. When the Germans arrive, you'll have to take a look, and this may be about the future of the Reich. ”

Rudolph gave a military salute and accepted the order of the head of the staff.

It can be seen that the chief of staff, who is now full of ambition, is in high spirits. He offered to order two glasses of brandy.

Raise a glass, "For the aviation of the Reich!" ”

Rudolph also raised his glass, "For the aviation of the Reich!" ”

The ball was a social occasion, and Rudolph had no interest in devoting himself to it.

And the chief of staff had no intention of leaving.

"The footsteps of war never leave, right?"

Rudolph nodded, "The situation in the Balkans is unstable, and the ridiculous Balkan alliance is so fragile that Tsarist Slavism may not be imported there." ”

"Serbia is our enemy, they collude with Tsarist Russia and stand in our way."

"Can we really defeat the Serbs? To be exact, there is Russia behind them, and if there is a war with Serbia, Russia will definitely join. ”

"......", Conrad was speechless. But after thinking about it, "our main forces can quickly crush Serbia, and in Galicia and the Carpathians, Germany will hold Russia back together with us." ”

Rudolph agrees, but the problem is that the rapid defeat of the Serbian ring has gone wrong. The so-called First Serbian Campaign of the Austro-Hungarian army is simply nothing to describe, the more than 20 divisions of the Austro-Hungarian Balkan Army Group are third-rate troops, and from August 1914, these troops, under the command of the same third-rate commander, the former military governor of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Potiorek, attacked Serbia twice, and were defeated by the combined Serbian and Montenegrin forces, and until September 1915, they still maintained the posture of confrontation across the border river. On September 6, 1915, with the ambition of revenge, Bulgaria officially joined the Central Powers and entered the war. The German Field Marshal von Murray, who beat the Russians to the brink of misery. Mackensen once again assumed the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Balkan Army Group. In the Second Serbian Campaign, the Allied forces swept away the entire Balkan continent and achieved the strategic goal of connecting with Turkey, which played a great role in promoting Turkey's participation in the war.

Rudolph's direct understanding of the Serbian campaign was that Bulgaria, the eastern Prussia, together with Prussia, helped Austria-Hungary win the victory.

"Humility is our virtue, and we should never underestimate others." Rudolph spat out an aphorism.

Conrad: "It is indeed irresponsible to entrust victory to others. ”

Rudolph: "The army is our first and last guarantee, and reform is urgent. ”

Conrad didn't answer, "The military has been asking for grants, but the parliament is always discussing and arguing, and we can only come up with plans." As for the solution, perhaps we can only wait for the crown prince. ”

Rudolph didn't know if his words meant anything, but he immediately thought of the Trinity Empire, or even the Danube Federation.

"Let's think about the aviation of our defense forces first."

Rudolph's thoughts were interrupted, he picked up the crystal clear goblet, looked around at the brilliance, and unconsciously felt that behind the glitz, there was a piece of ruin. In the midst of the sprinkling of defeat, a fragile empire is struggling to hold on.