Published at 13th of February 2023 07:00:29 AM

Vienna, General Staff of the Austro-Hungarian Army. Karl I came here personally to understand the development of the battle situation. After all, this battle is directly related to the life and death of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, as well as his own destiny. Therefore, he is very concerned about the development of the battle situation.

"Your Excellency the Grand Duke, Your Excellency the Chief of Staff. I have already contacted the Americans. The Americans said that their navy will set off in the near future to the eastern Atlantic Ocean to cooperate with us in fighting the German Navy. As long as our army can hold out for a month, The U.S. Army will appear on the battlefield. You know, the total strength of the U.S. Army has now exceeded two million. If mobilization is carried out, the U.S. Army's strength can be further increased. By then, we are likely to defeat Germany Human!" Karl I still looked very optimistic.

In Karl I's view, even if the Austro-Hungarian Empire could not beat Germany, but if it persisted for a month, there would be no problem at all. After all, in continental Europe and the whole world, the Austro-Hungarian Empire is the second military power after Germany!

However, the expressions of Archduke Friedrich and Baron Marshal Herzendorf were very solemn. They are obviously not very optimistic about this battle. Although, it seems a bit shameful to admit that the Austrian army was not even sure of blocking the German attack for a month. But facts are facts and must be admitted. What's more, this is related to the life and death of the entire Austro-Hungarian Empire!

They didn't know why Karl I agreed to the American request without discussing with them. If they had expressed their affection in advance, they would definitely not agree to the conditions agreed by Karl I.

"Your Majesty, we will try our best to stop the German attack." Baron Marshal Herzendorf said.

In such an extremely unfavorable situation, he didn't dare to guarantee it. After all, this time the enemy is the overlord of the world!

Karl I couldn't help frowning, how he wished to hear an affirmative answer. However, Baron Herzendorf's answer was still very conservative, which made Karl I a little dissatisfied. He even made up his mind that after this crisis passed, he must find an opportunity to replace Baron Herzendorf Marshal and replace him with an obedient person. In this way, he can better control the army of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. If you can't even control the army, how can you be regarded as an emperor!

"Report, the German army has crossed the border and entered our country." A staff officer reported.

"What? Bastard, **** the Germans, they actually invaded the Austro-Hungarian Empire. We must not let them go so easily!" Karl I roared angrily.

"What is the specific situation?" Archduke Friedrich asked.

"Your Excellency, the German army dispatched two armies and entered our border from Bavaria in two routes. At present, the German army is marching towards Vienna. In addition, two German army armies have entered the Kingdom of Bohemia." Staff officer The officer reported.

"Four armies, 800,000 people. The Germans actually mobilized so many troops at once!" The expressions of Archduke Friedrich and Baron Marshal Herzendorf became very ugly.

Although, the total strength of the German Army is undoubtedly more than two million. However, excluding the two armies that are fighting in Australia, they have been stationed in India and France, as well as the troops on the Eastern European Plain. There were not many troops that Germany could use. Now, Germany has used four army groups in one move, obviously doing its best.

The Austro-Hungarian Army wants to defeat the 800,000 German troops, the difficulty may not be ordinary!

However, Karl I seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

"His Excellency, Grand Duke, Chief of Staff. The Germans only dispatched 800,000 people, and we have an army of 2 million. We will definitely defeat the Germans this time!" Karl I said excitedly. The heart that he had been hanging on for a long time finally returned to his stomach at this moment.

"Your Majesty, although we have two million troops, after deducting the troops stationed all over the country, the troops we can use are actually not many, at most only one and a half million. Even with twice the German army strength, but it may be very difficult to defeat the Germans." Baron Marshal Herzendorf explained.

After all, the combat effectiveness of the German army is much stronger than that of the Austro-Hungarian Army. Even with nearly twice the force advantage, it may not necessarily be able to win.

Karl I frowned suddenly, as if he was a little dissatisfied with the combat effectiveness of the Austro-Hungarian Army.

"In this case, let's mobilize further. We need more troops to defeat the Germans! Within three months, we are enough to expand the army from two million to four million!" Karl I said.

With a population of 40 to 50 million in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, if mobilization is carried out, there is not much problem in arming an army of 4 million. However, this also takes time. Whether the Austro-Hungarian Army can last for such a long time is undoubtedly very difficult to say.

At this moment, bad news came.

"Report, the army of the Kingdom of Bohemia voluntarily let go of the border and surrendered to the Germans. Now, the Germans are driving straight into the Kingdom of Bohemia!"

"What? How could this happen?" Everyone, including Karl I, was stunned. They never expected that such a thing would happen just after the battle had just begun.

"Damn, what does the Grand Duke of Bohemia want to do? Is he going to betray the empire? Isn't he afraid that the empire will send him to the gallows?" Karl I was very angry. For the first time, he felt that the situation seemed to be out of his control. In other words, it was beyond his control.

The faces of Archduke Friedrich and Baron Marshal Herzendorf were also very ugly. The betrayal of the Kingdom of Bohemia undoubtedly caused the Austro-Hungarian Empire to lose almost one-fifth of its strength. The battle has just begun, and so much power has been lost. This makes them how to fight against the Germans next!

The bad news is far more than that.

"Report, the Chief of Staff of the Hungarian Army, Baron Tobres, issued an order requiring all Hungarian troops to stay in the barracks and not to go out."

"what?"

Everyone was shocked by this news. Hungary is one of the most powerful states among the many states of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. If the Kingdom of Hungary remains neutral, it will directly cost them more than one-third of their strength!