Chapter 1321 Romania joins the Allies

There is no other way to compare with Russia, because the best reference for East Africa is the Russian army before the war.

Before the war, only Russia and the Far Eastern Empire had a larger army than East Africa today. Although the Far Eastern Empire had a large army, their equipment level was too poor, their combat effectiveness was worrying, and they were divided into multiple forces.

If we put aside factors such as logistics, the combat effectiveness of the Russian army before the war was still good, and the population and territory of Russia before the war were not much different from those of East Africa. Although the area, population, etc. of the United States are not bad, and even the industrial size is similar to that of East Africa, the United States before the war underestimated the development of the army, especially the US Army, which can basically be ignored.

…

When East Africa was preparing for large-scale military expansion and military reform, a little change occurred on the European battlefield again.

August 13, 1918.

Romania, which had always been "neutral" in Europe, officially announced its joining the "Allied Powers". The joy of the Allied camp, which had just received support from the United States, was instantly dispersed. This added a layer of fog to the already unclear situation in Europe.

Romania has always been the target of the Central Powers and the Allied Powers. If Romania's support is obtained, it means that the country will have nearly 600,000 more troops. Moreover, Romania's location is also very important. It is located in the heartland of the Central Powers and is also an important oil producing area.

In the previous life, Romania's joining the Allied Powers posed a huge threat to the Central Powers, putting the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Bulgaria in a passive position.

William II was even more angry and kicked the Romanian monarch Ferdinand I of Sigmaringen out of the genealogy of the Hohenzollern family.

However, history has changed this time. Romania chose the Allied camp, and the reason for this situation is also very simple. Faced with the three million morale-filled Austro-Hungarian and Bulgarian coalition forces, and the covetous Germany and the Ottoman Empire next to them, Romania had no choice but to join the Allied Powers.

The capital of Romania.

In the Royal Palace of Bucharest.

Ferdinand I is talking with the Austro-Hungarian Crown Prince Rudolf, which shows the importance of the Austro-Hungarian Empire to Romania.

The Austro-Hungarian Crown Prince Rudolf said to Ferdinand I: "Congratulations, Your Majesty the King of Romania, you have made the right choice. With your country's joining, the strength of our allies will be further strengthened, and there will be no power in Europe that can stop us."

Now Rudolf is actually the real helmsman of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Emperor Franz is basically unable to handle government affairs due to physical reasons.

But this is also normal. Emperor Franz is already very old. According to the development of his previous life, Franz should have gone to see God in 1916, but perhaps because he did not have the pain of losing his son in this life, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire did not decline like in his previous life, Emperor Franz has lived until now, but his body cannot resist the ravages of time.

In comparison, Emperor Franz's younger brother, Archduke Ferdinand of East Africa, may live longer than Emperor Franz. After all, Archduke Ferdinand is still in good health.

Ferdinand I said with a flawless smile: "Yes! Now the whole of Eastern Europe is basically the world of the Allies. Russia is now unable to take care of itself because of the civil war. Only a few small countries in the southwest of the Balkan Peninsula are struggling. We Romania also have the obligation to contribute more to the Allies."

Although he said this verbally, Ferdinand I was actually a little depressed in his heart.

Before joining the Allies, Ferdinand I actually didn't want to join the war at all, or join the war so early.

However, the Allies have ended the war against Russia. The Austro-Hungarian Empire alone has nearly one million troops returning from the Eastern Front to support other battlefields.

When the Allied forces were transferred from the Eastern Front to other battlefields, Germany and Austria obviously did not forget Romania, a neutral country.

Unlike the previous life, this time Germany and Austria were particularly tough on Romania. If Romania did not join the Allies, the Allies would directly wipe Romania off the map.

Facing the threat of the Allies, Romania did not have the confidence to refuse it in the previous life. The reason why Romania dared to refuse the Allies and finally joined the Allies in the previous life was the poor performance of the Austro-Hungarian Empire on the battlefield.

In this time and space, except for the unfavorable situation in Serbia at the beginning of the war, the Austro-Hungarian Empire quickly rectified the chaos under the leadership of Rudolf, and gradually restored the combat effectiveness of the army under the armament of East Africa and Germany. Now, the size of the army is as high as four million.

Another neighbor of Romania, Bulgaria, which is also a member of the Allies, also has a good performance on the battlefield, but its shocking mobilization ability is enough to surprise Romania, not to mention that under the armament of East Africa and the Allies, the combat effectiveness of the Bulgarian army is even stronger.

Although Bulgaria is not large in size, its military strength is also a full military power before the war.

After the end of the Eastern Front, Romania was completely surrounded by the Allies. The two neighbors were difficult to deal with, so after the Allies issued an ultimatum, Romania had no choice but to join, otherwise the former Serbia would end up like Romania.

Although the Serbian government-in-exile was still fighting against the Central Powers with the support of the Allies, Ferdinand I had no intention of leaving Bucharest.

Not to mention that Ferdinand I did not want to live in exile, even his status as a Hohenzollern family made it impossible for him to go against the Allies at this time.

In the past life, one of the reasons why Germany could tolerate Romania's early neutrality was that the Romanian royal family itself was supported by Germany. Therefore, in theory, Romania should move towards the Allies. However, in the past life, Romania happened to make an unexpected choice, which made it so. William II was furious.

As for leading Romania and the Allied Powers to the end, Ferdinand I was not that stupid. He did not think that Romania was an opponent of the Allied Powers' military power.

Just the millions of troops of Bulgaria and the Austro-Hungarian Empire distributed on the Romanian border made him unable to sleep well.

Therefore, Ferdinand I was actually forced to join the Allies, so it was normal for him to be dissatisfied, but he did not dare to show it when facing Rudolph, and even greeted him with a smile.

At this time, Ferdinand I had no other option but to lead Romania and the Allies to darkness, so Ferdinand I could only express his loyalty in front of Rudolf.

Seeing Ferdinand I's statement made Rudolph very happy. He said to Ferdinand I: "With your country joining us, our chances of winning will be even greater. Now on the European continent, France and Britain can only die." support."

"We have to completely defeat France before the Americans land in Europe. In this way, even the United Kingdom and the United States can only look across the sea and sigh, so our chances of winning are still very high."

"Originally, the German army was on par with the British and French forces. With the participation of several other countries, the situation on the Western Front battlefield will soon change, so you must be prepared."

"Romania has only been a member for a short time, so if you want to divide the spoils, you must go all out. Bulgaria has already got what it wants. If you don't work hard, in the future, Bulgaria will be the only country in the Balkan Peninsula. ”

The effect of Rudolf setting an example with Bulgaria is still very significant.

Ferdinand I immediately said with a serious face: "Don't worry, Your Highness Rudolf, our Romania will not be left behind by Bulgaria. The Kingdom's army is ready and ready to support the battlefield at any time."

The deal is done, and Romania's only option is to join the war as soon as possible, and perhaps hope to get a share of the pie, especially since Bulgaria has already acquired territory in Serbia and other regions through war.