Nivel's so-called spring offensive is already superficially enormous. The French army alone was numbered in the hundreds of thousands, including the British Expeditionary Force, the Balkan Coalition and the Italian Army, and the total number of troops dispatched by the Allies would be more than 3 million.

You must know that this was shortly after the Battle of Verdun and the Battle of the Somme, Britain, France and Germany had already suffered a large number of casualties, and it was already the result of the best efforts of the entire Entente to be able to dispatch an army of this size for a new round of battles.

It can be said that in addition to Russia, which was on the defensive of the five Entente powers, Britain, France, Australia and Italy all sent considerable armies to participate in this battle.

It is precisely for this reason that countries attach great importance to the upcoming war, and even see it as an opportunity to resolve it.

At present, countries are already urgently transporting supplies and ammunition to the front line, just waiting for a real all-out blow in a few months.

Because of the importance attached to this battle, the efficiency of the transportation of resources by various countries is very efficient. Even Australasia is frantically transporting supplies to the Balkans with transports and airships.

The Australasian Expeditionary Force has stockpiled two million shells, which will be used as a weapon to destroy the defenses of Austria-Hungary and Germany.

For the Central Powers, the current time in Austria-Hungary is very difficult. Even because the old emperor Franz I had just died, the government that had been relatively staunch in China to support the war gradually split into two factions, one group firmly supported the continuation of the war, and the other group believed that Austria-Hungary needed more time at present, and the importance of peace was far greater than war.

Karl I obviously did not have the prestige of the old emperor, but as Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary and King of Bosmia, Karl I did not have much say in the imperial government and the government of the Kingdom of Hungary.

Coupled with Karl I's long-standing personality and peace-loving advocacy, he was disliked by many of the main war factions, and his presence in the government was even lower.

If it weren't for the fact that the old emperor had left enough prestige in Austria-Hungary, I'm afraid that what Austria-Hungary is arguing about now is not the main war and the main peace, but the monarchy or the republic.

For Austria-Hungary, although the Anglo-French war with Germany last year was basically not implicated, the offensive of the Italian and Balkan forces on the southern border was real.

Although the Italian army was not strong in combat, the Italian equipment was not weak. Coupled with the Balkan coalition led by the more equipped and combat-ready Australasian army, Austria-Hungary was constantly overwhelmed and soon lost a large amount of territory, including Sarajevo.

Fortunately, the main direction of attack of the coalition forces on the Balkan Front was Bosnia, otherwise, the Royal Government of Hungary, which was worried about the capture of the Hungarian region, would have urged the Imperial Government to hurry up the peace talks.

No one dared to guarantee that the enemy's army would not plunder in their own areas. If the Hungarian region is really at risk of being captured, the government of the Kingdom of Hungary will definitely surrender very quickly.

Although the coalition forces of the Balkan Front chose to attack Bosnia with the main force, the Hungarian region did not have to worry about the danger of being captured for the time being.

But the problem is that Bosnia and Trieste are the only outlets of Austria-Hungary to the sea, and if Bosnia falls, it also means that all of Austria-Hungary's access to the sea is about to fall.

If there is no access to the sea, the navy will either be captured or will have to fight to the death with the enemy.

Once Austria-Hungary lost its access to the sea, it also meant that the Italian army would be merged with the allied forces of the Balkan Front.

This was a fatal blow to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, not only in Hungary, but also in Austria.

With the successive defeats of Austria-Hungary on the southern front, the shortcomings of the previous Austro-Hungarian repressive policy in Yugoslavia were gradually revealed.

A large number of Bosnians of Serbian origin, at the call of Serbia, took up their spears and joined the revolt against Austria-Hungary, rapidly increasing the strength of the Balkan front.

Even in areas that were not yet patronized by the Balkan coalition, there were many uprisings of the Yugoslavs against the tyranny of Austria-Hungary.

Especially after the death of the old emperor Franz I, these people did not have much good opinion of the new emperor Karl I.

Austria-Hungary's only option at the moment was to turn to its powerful ally, the German Empire.

It is worth mentioning that shortly after Karl I succeeded to the throne, he removed the head of the Austro-Hungarian General Staff, Conrad, from his post.

In fact, Conrad's various campaign decisions since the outbreak of the war have been very good, but his self-righteous attitude is not popular with Karl I.

The last monarch of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, who became famous in later generations, did not hesitate to completely dash the last hope of saving the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

The ability of the chief of the general staff of Conrad is still very good, and he has repeatedly fought the attacks of the Italians in history, allowing Austria-Hungary to survive for more time.

Some historians and military strategists even consider him to be a brilliant strategic genius, limited by the weak military power of Austria-Hungary.

Now, of course, none of these discussions have become meaningless. Chief of the General Staff Conrad was demoted to commander-in-chief of the Trentino front and moved away from the top of the Austro-Hungarian military.

In the imperial palace in Vienna, Karl I was looking at the battle report in his hand with a panicked face. The battle report pointed out that the Italians and the Balkan coalition forces were moving frequently, and a large-scale campaign was expected to be launched in a short time, and the staff was requested to prepare in advance.

If it was only the Italian attack, Austria-Hungary would have been able to withstand it.

If it is also mixed with the attack of the Balkan coalition, especially the Australasian army, at least a sufficient number of German troops will be needed to defend against their attack.

But the problem was that the Germans sent only one army group to the Austro-Hungarian support army, since the previous battles of Verdun and the Battle of the Somme were drawn two corps.

At present, there are only three corps left in this group army, and the total number is only about 150,000.

The Balkan front currently has a total of 800,000 combat troops, plus more than 500,000 Italian troops, adding up to 1.3 million combat troops.

At present, the total army of Austria-Hungary is only about 1.5 million, and it is pinned down by Russia and Romania with 400,000 and 200,000 respectively, plus the strength of defense in other areas, the real army that can be used does not exceed 800,000.

Even with the addition of the German army group, the total number of troops that Austria-Hungary could mobilize would not exceed 1 million, and it also lacked the corresponding weapons, equipment and supplies.

"Your Excellency Chief of Staff, is there any good solution to the dilemma we are about to face?" Karl I looked to the new chief of staff of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Waldsteden, and hoped that the general, who had just been promoted by himself, would have a good opinion.

"Your Majesty, we are able to muster less than 800,000 troops, and it is difficult for us to defend ourselves against the offensive of the Italian and Balkan fronts. In addition, the current front-line army lacks supplies, because of the frequent defeats that lead to the collapse of the army's morale, it is difficult to achieve better results in defensive battles. Said the Chief of Staff of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Wald Steiden.

Knowing that the Austro-Hungarian Empire is a multi-ethnic country, the proportion of the population of any one of our ethnic groups is predominant.

This also led to a wide variety of nationalities that made up the Austro-Hungarian army, including Germans, Hungarians, Bohemians, Italians and Yugoslavs.

A small number of elite armies are mostly composed of Germans, and the combat capability of these armies is at a first-class level.

But there are also a significant part of the army composed of chaotic multi-ethnic groups, and communication with each other is a problem, and the commander's orders are not better communicated in the army.

With the defeat of the Austro-Hungarian Empire again and again, it was difficult to guarantee that the soldiers of these other nations would remain loyal to the royal family and the empire.

The Bosnians and Italians, in particular, were clearly more loyal to Serbia and Italy than to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which encroached on their territory.

Although the Austro-Hungarian Empire had 800,000 troops to mobilize, there were definitely no more than 500,000 troops that could really be trusted.

If the army of those Bosnians and the army of the Balkan front were to exchange fire, I am afraid that the surrender of these Bosnians would be unstoppable.

Therefore, the first thing that Austria-Hungary had to do was how to avoid a head-to-head confrontation between the armies of these minorities and the enemy.

"Your Majesty, I propose to carry out a certain scale of defense with the southern German army. If I could have changed at least 15 to 20 divisions with the German army, the problems I faced would have been alleviated to some extent. Walder Steiden suggested.

It is definitely more reliable for the Germans to fight against the Balkan front army and the Italians than the Austro-Hungarian army against these people.

First, multi-ethnic chaos in the Austro-Hungarian army was already a serious problem, and second, the combat capability of the Austro-Hungarian soldiers was far inferior to that of Germany.

But it was precisely because of this that Karl I had some worries: "Your Excellency Chief of Staff, will the Germans really agree to our request?" You know, there is still a big gap between the combat effectiveness of our army and the German army, and it is not good for the Germans to do so. ”

"They will, Your Majesty." Waldsteden said firmly: "If the Germans do not want to see us withdraw from the war because of defeat, they must accept our demands." We are fighting not only for ourselves, but also for the Allies as a whole. ”

Austria-Hungary is currently Germany's only ally, and the only member of the Central Powers other than Germany.

If Austria-Hungary withdrew from the war, it would not be as simple as Germany fighting alone.

First of all, the number of Allied powers was only one, a five-fold gap compared to the five major powers of the Entente.

Secondly, even such a great power as Austria-Hungary could not withstand the attack of the Entente, and which country would help Germany?

As long as Austria-Hungary surrendered, it was only a matter of time before Germany surrendered in the eyes of other countries.

As a staunch ally of Germany, Austria-Hungary has long been bound to Germany in terms of interests.

The surrender of Austria-Hungary would have dealt a severe blow to Germany, both at home and abroad, which the Germans absolutely did not want to see, and would not sit idly by.

Hearing Waldstayden say this, Karl I nodded reassuringly, and then asked solemnly: "Your Excellency Chief of the General Staff, please tell me truthfully, what are the chances of us winning this war?" ”

"Your Majesty, I dare not deceive you. At present, the probability of victory for the Allies is less than 30 percent, and it can only happen if Britain and France make a major strategic mistake. In addition, if the United States can strongly support us and find a way to get Russia out of the war, and plot against either Italy and Australasia, it may be possible to win the war head-on. Walderstayden thought for a moment before replying with a wry smile.

The Allies were cut off from overseas supply lines by the Entente, which was equivalent to the Entente taking control of the lifeblood of the Allies.

Unless the Allies were able to end the war in a short time, there was little hope of a final victory in the war.

Karl I nodded with such a look, and finally asked, "What if it's just us?" I mean, excluding the Germans, how likely are we to achieve a partial victory and end this war? ”

"If we do not rely on the Germans, Your Majesty, the probability of our victory will not exceed ten percent. It would have been fine if it had only been the Italians, and we would have faced an attack from the Australasian army, as well as the damned Balkan coalition forces, and the Russian army holding us back. We cannot defeat them on our own, and it is impossible to make peace alone on the premise of victory. Walder Städen continued.

"So, is it almost certain that we will lose this war?" Karl I breathed a sigh of relief as if relieved, and involuntarily said: "To continue the war is to lose, and perhaps to face the risk of being vassalized by the Germans after the war." You know, we are now fully dependent on the Germans, and without the Germans we can't do anything. So is there still a need for this war? Even if we win in the end, it will not be us who will achieve the fruits. ”

Hearing Karl I's rebellious remarks, Waldstaydon's face changed, and he hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, you still don't say these things lightly, it is easy to be used or even impeached by that group of damned guys in the government. ”

If it was the old emperor Franz I, even if he directly insulted the government, he did not have to worry about the government's impeachment.

After all, the old emperor has enough prestige in the empire, and his position is easily unshakable.

But Karl I was different. As the emperor who had just succeeded to the throne for more than two months, Karl I had no cronies in the government, and in the military he had only just supported Walder Steiden, who was loyal to him, as the new chief of the imperial general staff.

Under the premise that the military has not yet been fully loyal to itself and the government has not completely recognized itself, if such anti-war and anti-government policy remarks are frequently mentioned, it is very likely that Karl I's prestige in the government will be greatly damaged, and even directly overthrown by the government's group.

And Walderstedon, who was single-handedly promoted by Karl I, obviously did not want to see his thigh in the back lose power.

"Don't worry, Your Excellency Chief of Staff, I'm just talking. Who wouldn't want to see the Empire triumph if they could? Karl I smiled and patted Walderstayden on the shoulder, pausing the topic that was very taboo for Waldsteden.

Although Karl I was a pacifist, at least his mind was not confused to an extreme.

Although the Entente attack put Austria-Hungary in crisis, it was also an opportunity for Austria-Hungary.

If the Germans could be used to win the war and stabilize the southern border, Austria-Hungary would have enough confidence to negotiate with the Allies and try to gain peace with little to lose.

For the current Austro-Hungarian Empire, it is definitely more cost-effective to be able to withdraw from this war at a smaller cost than to continue the war.

If the war had not been ended sooner, Karl I even believed that sooner or later the people at home would overthrow the government and overthrow him, the newly enthroned emperor.

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(End of chapter)