Chapter 314 Unreliable Allies

From Berlin to Uzhhorod, the distance is not far, a few hundred kilometers. At the same time, there is no direct railway connection. Qin Tian can only go all the way by car.

Major General Ludendorff, chief of staff of the 8th Army, did not act with him, but rushed to the front with the staff. The only one who rushed to the front line with Qin Tian was Brigadier General Manstein, the deputy chief of staff and chief of operations. Brigadier General Hoffman, the former deputy chief of staff and chief of operations, has been promoted to major general and served as the chief of staff of the 9th Army.

The crown prince of the German Empire arrived in Uzhhorod, and the generals of the Austrian army, as well as Crown Prince Karl and Archduke Friedrich who arrived here first, all went to greet them. Although Crown Prince Karl was somewhat unhappy, he could not show it under the persuasion of Grand Duke Friedrich. After all, the current occupation is not good for the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the Crown Prince of the German Empire came to help them.

"His Royal Highness Oscar, welcome to Uzhhorod. His Majesty the Emperor is very grateful to the German Empire for lending a helping hand to support us at this critical moment." Crown Prince Karl's face was full of smiles. However, if you look closely, you can tell that it's clearly a hypocritical smile.

Qin Tian was a little puzzled, not knowing why Crown Prince Karl had such an expression. However, he didn't take this to heart. In Qin Tian's eyes, Crown Prince Karl is just a lucky guy. If Franz Joseph I's son hadn't committed suicide and Archduke Ferdinand hadn't been assassinated, it would have been out of Karl's turn to become the crown prince of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

In addition, in another time and space, Crown Prince Karl's performance after succeeding to the throne was also extremely bad. As the emperor of one of the two great empires of the Allied Powers, he was so focused on peace that he had no determination to continue the war and defeat the enemy, and this caused the Allied Powers to lose miserably in this war. Of course, the end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was even more miserable. After the defeat, the Austro-Hungarian Empire disintegrated directly, split into multiple countries, and became a small second- and third-rate country, completely removed from the powers. And Karl's own fate is also a tragedy.

In another time and space, Karl loves peace. After succeeding to the throne, he tried several times to make the Austro-Hungarian Empire withdraw from the First World War by secretly suggesting to the Allies. France negotiated peace, but because he refused to cede any of the Habsburg lands to Italy, the behind-the-scenes activities completely failed. And when his efforts to support France's claims to Alsace and Lorraine were exposed, his reputation was badly damaged both in Germany and at home, and Austria was placed in an embarrassing position. At the end of World War I, the Austro-Hungarian Empire fell into civil strife and chaos. U.S. President Woodrow Wilson proposed a fourteen-point agreement, advocating the independence of the nations of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. On October 14, Karl convened the Royal Parliament, accepted the 14-point agreement, and agreed to establish a federal state with autonomous governments of various ethnic groups. But the reforms quickly got out of hand, and national self-governments declared full independence one after another and withdrew from the First World War. The republicans in Austria finally rejected the monarchy.

On November 11, 1918, Karl announced: "I officially renounce participation in any political affairs, but I will not give up the throne." The next day, the German Austrian Republic was established, and Karl was forced to leave Vienna. In March 1919, he went into exile in Switzerland. In April, the Austrian Parliament announced the abolition of Karl's throne. In 1921, Karl tried twice to restore the place with the help of Hungarian conservatives, but failed because he did not get the support of the Hungarian head of state, Admiral Horthy Miklos. Exiled to Madeira Island, he lived a life of extreme poverty. In 1922, Karl died of pneumonia at the age of 34.

Therefore, in Qin Tian's eyes, Crown Prince Karl is a completely tragic character. If he hadn't changed history and saved the Austro-Hungarian Empire from the danger of defeat, the life of Crown Prince Karl would have been a coffee table full of cups and utensils!

After some brief pleasantries, Qin Tian and Brigadier General Manstein attended the luncheon prepared by the Austrian Army Command. Although the situation on the front line is very critical, the lunch prepared by the Austrian army is very rich. From this, it seems that they don't have any worries about the current situation at all.

After lunch, Qin Tian was arranged to rest in the lounge. Although Qin Tian was a little displeased with this, he never showed it.

Besides, Austria-Hungary is now the only ally of Germany, and it is also the most important ally. In any case, the German Empire can no longer lose this ally. At least, this ally cannot be lost until Germany has won a decisive victory. Therefore, even if Qin Tian was dissatisfied, he would not explode.

"Boom!" There was a knock on the door.

"Come in!" Qin Tian said.

"Your Highness!" Brigadier General Manstein walked in.

"Sit down, what's the matter?" Qin Tian asked his favorite general with a pleasant face.

In Qin Tian's plan, Manstein's talent in combat staff will be brought into play bit by bit. In the future, he even hopes that Manstein can serve as the chief of staff of the German army.

"Your Highness, the generals of the Austro-Hungarian Empire don't seem to be in a hurry! Don't they know that the Russian Southwest Front Army has regrouped 4 armies? In addition, there is another Russian Army Army that will arrive soon At that time, they will have to face the attack of more than one million Russian troops." Manstein was a little puzzled.

After the Northwest Front Army of the Russian Army was wiped out, the Southwest Front Army of the Russian Army was paid more attention to. Each group army has a full-scale group army with more than 300,000 troops. Once the five armies of the Russian Southwest Front Army are all gathered, it will be a huge army with nearly 1.5 million people. On the Eastern Front, the Austro-Hungarian Empire only had three armies, with a maximum of one million soldiers. Moreover, they were continuously defeated by the Russians in the previous battles, with great losses, and the combat morale of the troops was also very low.

"It seems that the generals of the Austro-Hungarian Empire pinned their hopes on us. The burden on our shoulders is very heavy!" Qin Tian said a little speechlessly.

Manstein's face was also ugly. He also discovered that the ally of the Austro-Hungarian Empire seemed unreliable! Originally, they cooperated actively, but now, as long as they don't back down, they have to thank God for blessing.