Chapter 1142 Mostar Parliament
As an old-timer, Potiorek personally guided the East African Military Observer Group. However, the battlefield was changing, and Potiorek soon became unhappy.
Because of the Russian threat, Imperial Chief of Staff Konrad transferred the Second Army, which was the most elite force in Potiorek's hands. The departure of the Second Army directly caused the entire Serbian front to fall into a disadvantage. Potiorek Orek's so-called "art of command" was revealed.
Serbia withstood three offensives by the troops commanded by Potiorek, switched from defense to offense, and took the initiative in the war. The situation suddenly took a turn for the worse.
Even the East African Military Observer Corps, a neutral organization, was not allowed to evacuate to the rear with Potiorek's command.
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Southwest Bosnia, Mostar.
With the outbreak of the war between the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Serbia, the entire Neretva region became turbulent due to reasons close to the front line.
As the capital of southwestern Bosnia, Mostar has also entered a state of war readiness at this time. It is an important node for the transportation of materials on the front line of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
The Bosnian region is dominated by mountainous terrain and is far away from the core area of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, making it difficult to transport most supplies from the mainland via land.
With the development of East Africa, the Neretva region has the dual advantages of sea transportation and railways. Weapons from Bohemia (Czechoslovakia) of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, industrial products from Austria, and materials from East Africa can all be reached through the Ploce seaport. Neretva, then by rail to Jablanica in the east, and finally by water and road to the front.
This made the Kingdom of Dalmatia and the Neretva River region of Bosnia become "weirdly prosperous" at this time. A large number of materials and soldiers landed from the port of Ploce, driving a prosperous war economy.
The local government of Mostar must make corresponding decisions in response to this anxious change.
"Now Mostar has almost turned into a barracks. The influx of a large number of soldiers is a disaster for local security and stability, so we must organize law enforcement teams and formulate wartime laws to restrict the movement of soldiers throughout the Neretva River region. behavior to prevent them from disrupting local order and production activities," Li Yue, a member of the Mostar Local Assembly, said at the Mostar Assembly.
Compared with East Africa, the Chinese in the Neretva region have retained more of their naming habits. After all, this is not East Africa, but a multi-ethnic country with weak centralization like the Austro-Hungarian Empire, so Mosta You have great power.
"I agree with Congressman Li Yue's suggestion. There have been three disputes between the army and the people this month. This has never happened before. We do not fully trust the quality of foreign troops." Croatian Congressman Kledovic seconded road.
Although East Africa has infiltrated the Neretva region into a sieve, there are still many Croats living here, so the influence of Croats in the Mostar government is still relatively large.
There are definitely some conflicts between Chinese immigrants and Croats, but their attitudes are consistent when facing outsiders, especially the "strictly disciplined" Austro-Hungarian army. No one wants to leave their fate to others.
This distrust between nationalities and regions existed widely within the Austro-Hungarian Empire, especially in the southern regions where Austro-Hungarian control was weak.
Speaker Hipper asked at this time: "Then in what name should we negotiate with the military?"
After all, the army and local government are two systems. Of course, there are local troops in Mostar, but now the local troops in Mostar have moved to the front line and have been formed into a new German-speaking army by Potiorek. Unlike the Ottomans and Croats, the Serb army was composed.
Mostar and its subordinate areas can be said to be the only area in Bosnia where German is popularized. Even the local Croats still use German as their daily spoken language due to factors such as education, administration, and the language environment. It can be said that it is the most popular place in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Germanized Slavs.
The German-speaking regiment formed by Potiorek consisted of three regiments, one of which was temporarily formed after the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand. It had about 10,000 people, almost the strength of a brigade.
As for the first two regiments, they were formed before the war in accordance with the Austro-Hungarian Empire's military service system. Because of the large population of the Neretva River, they accounted for a relatively prominent proportion in the Bosnian local army.
The Central Army of the Austro-Hungarian Empire can be roughly divided into two parts: the German-speaking Army and the Hungarian-speaking Army. It is quite unusual for such a purely German-speaking Army to appear in Bosnia.
Now, Mostar serves as a transportation hub in southwestern Bosnia, gathering troops from Venice and Austria in the empire.
These troops are not bound by Mostar, so there was a scene at the Mostar Parliament.
In response to Speaker Hipper's question, Li Yue said: "The number of troops in Mostar is now as high as 20,000. The sudden emergence of so many troops puts great pressure on us. Mostar will definitely continue to receive more troops in the future. There are many military transits, so we should plan a military area to separate the military from the citizens."
Mostar is a node where the Austro-Hungarian Empire supports the Serbian battlefield, so as long as there is a war in the Serbian direction, more troops will definitely be assembled here and then transported to the front line.
Among the major powers in the world, the Austro-Hungarian Empire has relatively poor organizational capabilities. Therefore, in order to complete the dispatching task, if the army is not integrated, it will be just a bunch of mobs.
"In this way, military operations will not have a big impact on the urban area. Of course, as a city supporting the army, Mostar must also do a good job in cooperating with the military area, such as building a number of temporary consumption places in the military area, supplying supplies supply points to minimize the frequency of soldiers entering urban areas.”
"At the same time, the city government dispatched personnel to form a temporary organization responsible for negotiating with the military and handling disputes. In order to restrain the military, our system used part of the tax revenue to form local pickets to specifically respond to emergencies."
Kledovich also added: "I think the north of the train station is suitable for a barracks. After all, the imperial army relies on the railway system for mobilization, and Mostar train station is already a certain distance from the city because it was built not long ago. In this way It’s also helpful for their transfer.”
"It's just that the general army is definitely not willing to go. After all, there is still a large undeveloped forest there, so the city government organized personnel to clear that area and build some temporary facilities, including hardened roads, temporary barracks, and water and electricity systems. , public toilet.”
"When the remaining troops enter Mostar, we will arrange them there. All this work should be completed within three months, so we should mobilize the citizens and act quickly."
Hipper: "Very good, then urge the city government to complete these tasks. If there is anything else that needs to be added, everyone can put it forward."
Mostar's parliament was very efficient. Just one day after the meeting, the city government began to take action to prepare for the separation of military and civilians throughout the territory.
No one can be too careful about the discipline and quality of the European army. After all, the Neretva region is one of the few wealthy areas in Bosnia, and it can be ranked at an upper-middle level within the entire empire.
During the operation in Mostar, other parts of the Neretva region also began war mobilization under the planning of East Africans.
After all, Mostar is the local capital, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire will still send people to keep an eye on it. There are many people and many things are difficult to carry out.
Therefore, activities in the Neretva region in East Africa can only be carried out elsewhere. According to the East African government or Ernst's pessimistic expectations for the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Neretva region must always be prepared for unfavorable frontline wars.
After all, the relationship between the Neretva region and Serbia is not very good. It is a completely alien residential area for the Serbs, and it is also one of the accomplices of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the war. If the war on the front line of the Austro-Hungarian Empire is unfavorable, then there is a lot of potential here. It could become a battlefield.
