Chapter 337: The Prototype of a Super War

On February 15, 1889, the Austro-Hungarian Empire officially announced to the outside world that because Serbia refused to cooperate with the Austro-Hungarian Empire's behavior of capturing rebels, from this moment on, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Serbia entered a state of war.

War was declared!

When the Austro-Hungarian Empire issued an ultimatum, many countries believed that the Austro-Hungarian Empire would announce a state of war when the time for the ultimatum arrived.

After all, this so-called ultimatum is a double-edged sword. As the saying goes, the arrow is on the string and must be fired. Once a country issues an ultimatum to another country, it also means that the country issuing the ultimatum has already prepared for war.

When the other side rejects its demands, it must use war as a means to forcibly compel the other side to agree to its demands.

In the case where the ultimatum is rejected by the other side and no war is launched, such behavior will not only be ridiculed by various governments but also angrily denounced by the people within the country.

National dignity is higher than everything; for the old Emperor Franz Joseph I, this was already a war that had to be fought.

The moment the Emperor announced the war, hundreds of thousands of Austro-Hungarian Empire troops marched south in a mighty force.

It is worth mentioning that the map of Serbia at this time is not the same as in later generations. All the land north of the Danube was occupied by the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and all of Serbia's land was located south of the Danube.

This also means one thing, which is that Serbia's capital, Belgrade, was directly on the border line, facing the Austro-Hungarian Empire's southern border troops across the river.

This also made the Austro-Hungarian Empire's combat goal quite clear, which was to directly cross the river to occupy Belgrade and quickly end this war.

To be on the safe side, the Austro-Hungarian Empire decided to divide its troops into two routes. One route was the main force, launching an attack on Belgrade from the north of the Danube.

The other route of troops served as an auxiliary, attacking east from the Bosnia and Herzegovina region, flanking to the south of Belgrade.

Because Serbia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire used the Danube as the border, it led to the border line between the two countries being winding and twisting, quite like the "nine bends and eighteen turns."

As it happens, Belgrade is located on one of the bends, at the most prominent part of the salient.

Although the intersection of the two rivers gave Belgrade a better defensive terrain, for the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Belgrade was indeed within the bombardment range of the border troops.

Since it was within the bombardment range, the Austro-Hungarian Empire naturally would not be polite at all. On the day the war was launched, they launched a fierce bombardment on Serbia's capital, Belgrade, and the number of shells consumed that day reached tens of thousands.

This was still because the number of artillery pieces of the border troops was limited. As the war progressed, the Austro-Hungarian Empire would certainly mobilize a large number of artillery pieces from other regions to come and bombard Belgrade.

This also means that the bombardment Belgrade encounters in the future will be more fierce than it is now.

The Serbians certainly could not withstand such fierce shelling; the moment they were declared to have entered a state of war, they urgently contacted Russia, requesting Russia's support.

Tsar Alexander III was also stunned by Franz Joseph I's decisive declaration of war. He did not expect the war to break out at such a fast speed, and what was even more fatal was that Russia's domestic mobilization had no progress at all at this time.

Indeed, compared to Germany, the Austro-Hungarian Empire's war mobilization was relatively slow, its organizational degree was lower, and its military combat effectiveness was not high.

But the problem is, Russia also had the same shortcomings, and even Russia's shortcomings were more fatal than the Austro-Hungarian Empire's.

The combat effectiveness of the Austro-Hungarian Empire's Austrian army was still quite excellent; after all, the so-called Austrians and Germans belong to the same German people, which is a very brave and good-at-fighting ethnic group.

The Russians were not inferior at all in terms of being brave and good at fighting, but they were quite far behind in terms of national administrative efficiency, military organizational degree, logistical supply, and financial resources.

The time for the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Russia to announce war mobilization was about the same, but in the case where the Austro-Hungarian Empire had already mobilized more than 100,000 troops to launch the war, the troops mobilized by the Russian side were still few and far between.

Of course, this cannot all be blamed on the Russian government. The Austro-Hungarian Empire's capital, Vienna, is only 500 kilometers away from Serbia's capital, Belgrade, which also means that the Austrian army could quickly arrive near Belgrade in a short time.

Conversely, for Russia, Saint Petersburg is nearly 1,800 kilometers away from Belgrade, and even the border line closest to Serbia is more than 600 kilometers away.

To speak human language, it is very difficult for the Russian army to cross this 600-kilometer distance to go to Serbia for support. Unless the Russian army could cross Romania, but this journey also has a distance of nearly 500 kilometers.

Judging from the current situation, it is very difficult for Russia to provide effective support to Serbia in a short time. Compared to going to Serbia via Romania, directly launching an attack on the Austro-Hungarian Empire's Galicia and Lodomeria regions might be a better means to reduce the pressure Serbia faces head-on.

But the problem is, once Russia launches an attack on the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the war could evolve into a war between powers of a larger scale at any time.

Currently, Russia's standing army has about 670,000 people, which is the most in all of Europe. Once Russia joins the war, in order to cope with Russia's pressure, Germany will certainly join the war to help its ally.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire's standing army only has about 260,000 people, but Germany's standing army has as many as 500,000 people. The number of troops of these two countries combined is not inferior to Russia's, which also means that this war will evolve into a long-term war of attrition.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire and Germany are both countries with quite powerful industries; although Russia's domestic materials are more abundant, its economy is relatively poor.

If it continues to be consumed, it is really hard to say who will win and who will lose. This also made Alexander III somewhat hesitant; he was not very clear whether his interference in this war was a wise decision.

It is worth mentioning that Russia at this time had already been strengthened in centralization by Alexander III. Tsarist Russia itself was an autocratic country, and after strengthening centralization again, various powers were already added to the Tsar alone.

The head of the Tsarist Russian government was not elected by the people but was personally appointed by the Tsar and possessed complete power of appointment.

In other words, the Prime Minister under the Tsarist Russian system was just an assistant to the Tsar's governance. The Prime Minister did not have much autonomous power and could only be reduced to a political tool for the Tsar to exercise his own power.

Since he could not ask the Prime Minister for his opinion, Alexander III could only look at the high-level members of the Russian army.

The good news is that after the Russian army experienced the Russo-Turkish War, its combat effectiveness had indeed improved quite a bit. Although the final outcome of the Russo-Turkish War was that Russia did not obtain many benefits, Russia itself was on the winning side of this war.

The victory of the war also created many promotions for military generals. There were still many high-level military members Alexander III could ask, and among these people, there were not only royal family members but also talents who truly promoted based on military merit.

The attitude of these high-level military members was relatively consistent, which was to support this war. This is actually the status quo of most countries; after all, the military relies on military merit for promotion, and if there is no war, it means the largest promotion channel is closed.

After asking several military generals in succession and obtaining the opinion that they all supported this war, Alexander III finally made a decision. On February 16, 1889, the second day after the Austro-Hungarian Empire announced the declaration of war on Serbia, the Russian government also announced the declaration of war on the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

The reason given by the Russian government was that Russia, as the protector of the Slavs, has the responsibility and obligation to protect the safety of all Slavic compatriots. The Austro-Hungarian Empire's blind declaration of war on Serbia is immoral, and the Slavs should unite to resist the Austro-Hungarian Empire's aggression.

On the day of launching the war on the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Alexander III ordered the front-line troops to launch an attack on the Austro-Hungarian Empire's border.

The main purpose of doing this was to interfere with the Austro-Hungarian Empire's strategic preparations, forcing them to withdraw a portion of their troops to guard their own border line.

Although the Austro-Hungarian Empire's 200,000-plus standing army is not small in number, compared to Russia, this giant, this number is clearly not enough.

Moreover, at this time, more than 100,000 Austrian troops had already gathered on the border line with Serbia, which also means that the Austrian army on the Russian-Austrian border actually had less than 200,000 people.

The number of troops Russia stationed on the border line was more than twice that of the Austro-Hungarian Empire's troops; once Russia started attacking the Austro-Hungarian Empire's border, the Austro-Hungarian Empire would inevitably fall into a disadvantage.

This is also the reason why the old Emperor Franz Joseph I had always wanted to lean toward Germany and establish an alliance with it. After the Austro-Prussian War, the Austro-Hungarian Empire's main enemy had changed from Prussia to Russia.

Although the Russian army's combat effectiveness could not compare to the Austro-Hungarian Empire's army's combat effectiveness, judging from the number of reservists and the total number of troops, even if the Austro-Hungarian Empire could achieve a 1:2 damage ratio, the one gaining an advantage on the battlefield would still be Russia.

On the Austro-Hungarian Empire side, when Franz Joseph I received the news that Russia had declared war on him, although the old Emperor's face was calm, his tightly clenched hands betrayed him.

The contradiction between the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Russia had also lasted for a long time, and Franz Joseph I knew this enemy, Russia, quite well.

Once Russia announced its participation in this war, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was no longer the protagonist of the war. Next, it had to rely on its allies; only if Germany was willing to join the war and help the Austro-Hungarian Empire would the Austro-Hungarian Empire have the possibility of winning this war.

"Send a telegram to Berlin, requesting the German government to fulfill the alliance treaty and help us resist the Russian army." Franz Joseph I was silent for a long time, and then issued his order to the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Immediately after, the old Emperor looked at the two Prime Ministers of Austria and Hungary, and then said indisputably: "This war is of vital importance to us, and I do not want to see any phenomenon of infighting in the war.

Gentlemen, winning this war and eliminating the Serbians is the top priority. If we win this war, the vast land of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia can be left for you to divide.

But if we lose this war, not only Croatia, but even parts of Hungary could be lost.

Now we have the same goal and the same enemy. Only by cooperating sincerely can we win this war and ensure that we will not be the final losers.

God will bless us; the only ones who can be the winners are the Habsburgs!"

Like Alexander III, the German side also faced the choice of whether to join this war.

If it were in the era of Wilhelm I, in fact, there would be no such quarrel within the German government at all. Bismarck was the undisputed person in power in the Wilhelm I era, and his diplomatic policy also received strong support from Wilhelm I.

It is a pity that the German Emperor at this time was ultimately Wilhelm II.

Bismarck was indeed highly respected, but he was only the Prime Minister of the German Empire. German Emperor Wilhelm II was the master of this country; when the royal power and the Prime Minister's power produced a high degree of conflict, under the premise that the Emperor's candidate could not be changed, the only thing that could be changed was the Prime Minister's candidate.

On February 17, 1889, German Emperor Wilhelm II personally ordered the government to prepare for war.

A few hours later, the German Minister of Foreign Affairs summoned the Russian Ambassador to Berlin, and then expressed to the Russian government: "We are certainly unwilling to tear up the Reinsurance Treaty, but when your country's army sets foot on the land of our ally, we will be forced to take up weapons to defend peace."

The Russian side clearly had expected Germany's participation in the war long ago. The Russian Ambassador did not show a surprised look; after the German Minister of Foreign Affairs expressed a relatively tough posture, the Russian diplomatic Ambassador just nodded flatly and then said: "Tsar Majesty is also unwilling to have a war with your country, but the future can only be decided by God.

The sovereignty of the Slavs cannot be invaded, and we are willing to face the attack of any strong enemy for Serbia."

A meeting broke up in discord, and the news that the talks between Germany and Russia had broken down soon became the headline of various European countries.

At this time, the governments and people of various European countries had a thought they had never thought of before, which was that Europe might trigger a super war they had never experienced before.

Currently, two powers, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Russia, have already joined it; will the third power be far away?

In fact, in order to cope with the pressure of Russia, this strong enemy, Franz Joseph I, besides contacting his most powerful ally, Germany, also contacted his secret ally, Italy, and his in-law ally, Spain.

For Gao Da, he also faced a difficult choice at this time.

Spain could join this war and become a participant in a possible super war. Spain could also stay out of it and watch the entire process of the great war with focused attention from the perspective of a bystander.

For Gao Da, the choice had actually already been made.

Spain does not mind joining a super war, but there is absolutely no need to fight to the death with the Russians for Serbia.

To put it bluntly, Spain has no interests on the Balkan Peninsula, nor is it worth fighting a great war with Russia for the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

If this war is won, Spain will not obtain many benefits. But if it is lost, the Golden Age that Spain has managed so hard will not only vanish into smoke but may also face large reparations and industrial shrinkage.

This also destined Gao Da's attitude; even if they are in-law relations with the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Spain will not personally enter the field.

Of course, Gao Da will not be stingy with support in terms of materials. If the Austro-Hungarian Empire is willing, Spain can certainly become the Austro-Hungarian Empire's arms supplier.

Who wins this great war is not that important to Spain; what is important is which countries are the participants in this great war.

For Spain, if Britain and France could both interfere in this war, that would be the best news.

Only after all European powers have entered the field will Spain consider entering the field personally. After all, there is still the British Empire, isolated outside the European continent, watching the situation of this war; before the British express their clear attitude, Gao Da will not foolishly charge into battle for the British.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 338 =====