Chapter 1134 Internal Disputes in the Austro-Hungarian Empire

While the East African government was anxiously waiting for changes in the situation in Europe, Vienna was hesitant. Franz and the ministers of the Austro-Hungarian Empire had a completely different attitude towards the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand than in previous lives.

The assassination of Archduke Ferdinand in his previous life triggered a war. A big reason for this was that Archduke Ferdinand in his previous life was a crown prince, but now Archduke Ferdinand does not have the blessing of this identity.

This put Archduke Ferdinand in an awkward position in the political situation of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. News media such as newspapers in the Austro-Hungarian Empire did not respond as strongly to the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand as in previous lives.

In Schönbrunn Palace, Franz was sitting on the sofa, tapping the documents on the table with a gloomy expression. His brows were furrowed, while the people around him held their breath, waiting for the emperor's instructions.

After a long while, Franz finally spoke: "Ferdinand was assassinated in Sarajevo. This was a serious provocation to the empire. What attitude do you think we should adopt in negotiating with Serbia?"

Conrad, the Chief of General Staff of the Imperial Army, said: "We should severely punish Serbia. This is a provocation to the dignity of the empire. The funds behind the Black Hand organization are entirely provided by Serbia. Now that Archduke Ferdinand has been assassinated, Serbia cannot do without it. "

As a hawk, Conrad had always supported the war and advocated a defensive war against Serbia, so it was not surprising that he advocated this.

The ability of a strong nationalist like Conrad to occupy a high position in the imperial political situation was naturally closely related to his abilities. Conrad played an important role in the modernization of the Austro-Hungarian army.

Naturally, his opinions cannot determine the empire's final strategy. Franz naturally understands Conrad's extremeness.

So Franz turned to the crown prince and asked: "Rudolf, what do you think?"

The Imperial Crown Prince Rudolf has finally passed the age of rebellion, and this has also led him to start participating in imperial government affairs.

Rudolf frowned and said: "I don't completely agree with the Chief of General Staff's view. In my opinion, the war with Serbia will definitely be fought, but we must be fully prepared."

Conrad frowned when he heard the crown prince denying himself. After all, the old emperor was old. If a war broke out, Rudolf was likely to be the person in charge of the war next. If he disagreed with him, it would definitely not be the case. Pleasant experience.

However, Rudolph's next words did not completely deny his thoughts, which made Conrad's brows relax slightly.

However, he still said: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's worries are completely unnecessary. The gap between Serbia and us is still very wide. We are confident that Serbia will be completely defeated in the war."

Rudolf said: "I do not have a good impression of Serbia, but this does not mean that we should despise our enemies."

"During the First Balkan War alone, Serbia mobilized more than 200,000 troops. In the Second Balkan War, Serbia also performed well, which means that Serbia has accumulated at least more than 200,000 troops with rich combat experience. veterans, and a group of officers with outstanding military capabilities.”

"Although the empire is powerful, it faces a lot of pressure from more than 200,000 experienced troops. Serbia's performance in the Balkan Wars also shows that Serbia's potential in the two wars is not small. Through the two wars, Serbia has We have accumulated high morale. Facing this kind of army, if we have a contemptuous attitude, it will inevitably have adverse effects. "

"Furthermore, by promoting the concept of 'Yugoslavia', Serbia aroused the sympathy and even support of many Slavs in Bosnia and Croatia. The assassination of Ferdinand was planned by the Serbs in Bosnia, which also meant that the imperial army entered Bosnia. , it is very likely to be stabbed in the back, which is not conducive to the development of military operations.”

"Finally, if we go to war with Serbia, it will inevitably trigger the intervention of the international community. Countries such as Britain, France, and Russia may give Serbia support to consume us. Among them, Russia may even declare war on us because of this. In that case, we will face The situation will be more passive."

Conrad said: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is overly worried. We have received a guarantee from Germany that as long as Russia declares war on us, Germany will not stand idly by. It is definitely risky for us to deal with Russia alone, but if two major German powers join forces, Russia There is definitely nothing we can do.”

Conrad was a typical supporter of Greater Germany, so he did not shy away from describing the Austro-Hungarian Empire as a German country. Of course, this was also related to his work experience.

As an important person in charge of the imperial military and the main driver of the military modernization of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, he would inevitably feel disgusted with the Hungarian Parliament. After all, Hungary has always been opposed to the expansion of the imperial army. The modernization of the army promoted by Conrad will inevitably There are financial constraints, so let alone Conrad, in fact many military personnel are not satisfied with the Hungarian Parliament.

Rudolf was not complacent because of Germany's support. He still said: "We cannot be superstitious about Germany. It is true that the German military has a tendency to become the first in Europe, but Germany is also facing pressure from France. In recent years, France has been thinking about Germany wants revenge, and France has a relatively close relationship with Russia, so it is impossible for Germany to fully support us, and they will be dragged into France. "

"And the imperial army is far less powerful than Germany. Russia, as a world military power, is fully capable of withstanding the pressure between our two great powers at the same time."

"Today, the imperial military expenditure has long been at the bottom among the major military powers in Europe, and our army has been in a state of peace for a long time. If we go to war with Russia, it is difficult to predict whether we will win or lose."

The disputes about the war within the Austro-Hungarian Empire ultimately had to discuss Russia, the unavoidable mountain, so the conversation between the two unknowingly shifted to the topic of Russia.

Rudolf continued: "If we go to war with Russia, we must be prepared for a long war, and this means that we must be prepared for the military. After all, Russia's ability to bear war is higher than that of the Empire. Every time Russia’s involvement in disputes between major European powers will almost always be a protracted war.”

"In recent years, all countries have been frantically expanding their armies. Only the empire has been at the bottom in terms of military support for various reasons, not even as good as East Africa and the United States. Whether we have the ability to support a long-term war is a very questionable question. "

"The form of war today is completely different from that of the last century. Major countries almost always maintain huge armies of hundreds of thousands, equipped with more lethal and powerful weapons, and each major country also has huge reserve forces. This is not what we advantages.”

As a multi-ethnic country with no dominant ethnic group, the Austro-Hungarian Empire had a population of over 50 million, but the combined population of its two core ethnic groups, German and Hungarian, was less than 40%. This would inevitably pose a huge threat to the Austro-Hungarian Empire’s military reserves. causing serious impact.

Rudolf continued: "We can take the Balkan War as an example. The Balkan Alliance alone mobilized millions of troops in the two wars, and wars between major powers will obviously be more cruel. We are facing millions of Russian troops. If the army goes to war at this time, it will definitely be at a disadvantage. "

After all, the Austro-Hungarian Empire not only had to face Russian pressure, Serbia and Italy certainly could not ignore it, which would disperse its forces to a certain extent.

For the Austro-Hungarian Empire, there were also problems with the internal command system and logistics system due to language and national issues. Rudolf pointed out these one by one.

Both the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Russia had serious ethnic problems, but the situation in Russia was much stronger than that in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Russia at least had a dominant ethnic group, and the languages ​​and customs of Ukraine and Poland were in common, which was far different from the various ethnic groups in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. That makes a huge difference.