The Chief of Staff went on to remind that "valor is a long-standing tradition of ours, and we encourage everyone to uphold this noble tradition, but we should also abide by our duties." Courage can't withstand artillery fire in this world, and those commanders who have no military literacy seem to think that they are on the parade ground, swaggering to let the soldiers march in formation, resulting in a large number of soldiers being swept down in the field by Russian machine guns. ”

"We have briefly learned about these kinds of problems on the battlefield in Hungary, and our military reform has also adjusted them. I still remember that Rudolph also displayed his unparalleled command and admirable courage at that time. ”

Everyone present knew Rudolph's glorious record of defeating a cavalry division. No one can imagine that a military academy graduate can perform miraculous feats repeatedly.

"All in all, we just lost strategically, technically and tactically, and we were at least even. We must learn a lesson and strictly implement it. We have repeatedly reiterated the importance of discipline. In war, enthusiasm alone is not enough. ”

The crown prince was a little frustrated, he had favored Brudeman before the war, but the prodigy had betrayed his trust. Because of his command, the 14th Army was completely annihilated, and the 6th Army, the 25th Army, and the 10th Cavalry Division suffered heavy losses. Thankfully, the current commander of the Third Army, Colonel-General Borojevich, is a rare master of defense.

The crown prince excitedly appealed, "Straighten out your army, retake our land, think of the great empire, our people look forward to an unparalleled victory." ”

"For the Emperor!"

"For the Motherland!"

Rudolph chanted along with the officers, but in his heart he remembered the word "Empire," the crown prince refused to say the word "Austria-Hungary", and although the rights of the Hungarians were lost, the name of Austria-Hungary remained unchanged for the sake of internal compromise. But in essence, the current empire is more like the United Austrian States, the Slavs joined the center of power, but it was not a simple triad, and the Slavs were divided into three parts: Czechs, South Slavs and Poles. The three regions had different demands and decentralized power, resulting in what was now a kind of ladder framework within the empire, in which war was exchanged for the future under the alliance of the Habsburg royal family.

The military goal of the counteroffensive was finally set. The chief of staff made a series of deployments for the Eastern Front, first of all, removing several army commanders and division commanders from their posts. Then from south to north, the defensive line was deployed along the San River valley.

"The front in the north has stabilized, and we have the ability to counterattack the Russians, but given the poor communications in Poland, the First and Fourth Armies are mainly engaged in diversionary attacks. The southern front, under the command of General Boroyevich, held back the Russian advance, but we did not have a stable strategic position, and we had to retake Lemberg, otherwise we would have to retreat to Przemyśl. ”

The chief of staff made arrangements for the troops preparing for the offensive, and Rudolph was ordered to command the 27th Division. Most of these offensive units were stationed on the front line or as reserves, but Rudolph's 27th Division had just completed training in Vienna. These units were the last elite of Austria-Hungary, and they survived the Battle of Galicia, and the formation remained intact. For example, the 27th Division, which Rudolph accepted, had 36 regiments and 50 regiments under its command, all of which were standing units of the Wehrmacht, and the newly formed 133 regiment was also composed of reservists. The 15,000-strong division was all from Austria.

According to the plan, they need to launch an offensive in a month and a half, that is, in February next year.

Before a specific battle plan was formulated, Rudolph asked the chief of staff: "As a front-line commander and former staff officer, can I express my opinion on the war plan?" ”

The Chief of Staff nodded, and Rudolph walked straight to the map.

"It is an established fact that we have fewer troops than the Russians. We will take great risks in this battle, and if we lose, Przemyśl will be surrounded, and we will retreat to the Carpathians. ”

Archduke Eugen frowned, "We still have a chance to win with all our might, and if we disperse our forces, we are doomed." ”

The crown prince reiterated: "We must attack, we must not retreat." ”

"My idea is to gather forces, not to scatter, to form a heavy fist and tear apart the front of the Russians in one fell swoop. Assault tactics are not only used in specific operations, but also at the strategic level. ”

The chief of staff drew inferences, "Previously we asked the regiments to form assault groups, but now we can form assault groups." ”

"Indeed, the offensive can choose several key offensive directions, and then open the gap, and then take advantage of the enemy's mobilization of troops, and then launch an attack on the whole front."

"There are still problems with offensive capabilities." Elmolly and his Second Army were the main force of the attack, and he was especially worried about not being able to break through the enemy lines.

Before Rudolph could answer, Viktor from the War Office gave an answer first: "In the military reform, we have designed a batch of new equipment, and according to the concept of the reform team, they have a significant effect on combat. ”

Ordnance Director Morris said: "We designed a new light machine gun based on the characteristics of the Madsen light machine gun. There is also defensive equipment, our steel helmet has been finalized, it has excellent protection against shrapnel. Now they are all produced in small quantities and are only waiting for additional orders. ”

Many people don't understand what steel helmets can do, but they have only heard that they can protect against shrapnel, which must be of great value. For light machine guns, commanders at all levels, especially front-line commanders, considered it irreplaceable, and everyone suffered from the lack of such light automatic weapons.

"I have great admiration for General Rudolph here, and we have put forward various ideas for these two types of equipment, but it turns out that General Rudolph's perception is forward-looking, and the models that are now in production are all derived from General Rudolph's ideas. He was not only a hero on the battlefield, but also a talented designer. ”

Rudolph was a little embarrassed to praise the idea of the light machine gun he copied the ZB-26, he simply came up with a quick-change barrel and a retractable tripod. In subsequent improvements, the Engineer tube shortened the barrel and air duct, eliminated the barrel heat sink, and installed a flared flame suppressor, making it more like a Bren light machine gun, but because of the use of 7.92mm rifle cartridges, it can only use a 20-round trapezoidal magazine, in order to improve firepower, the designer has developed a matching 45-round drum, but because of the weight and jamming problems, it was not accepted by the army.

As for the helmet, Rudolph copied the M35, this classic shape is very difficult to the current manufacturing level, and finally in order to facilitate production, it became the M16 during the First World War, but under the strong request of the military, the original helmet weighing 2kg was reduced to 1.5kg, which is the same weight as the British UFO helmet, and it is certain that the level of protection is far ahead. As for the French 0.7kg Adrian helmet, it is simply a spliced thick iron sheet.