The Rise Of Australasia

However, the attitude of European allies, especially Italy, in directly refusing Russia's request for assistance, made Nicholas II very dissatisfied. He even complained directly in a telegram to the British and French, saying that Italy was a weak and incapable fence-sitter, only considering its own interests.

In order to save face for Italy, the British and French did not respond, but based on Italy's performance in the war, Italy would not enter the core circle of the Allies after the war.

Though the United Kingdom and France provided timely material assistance, Nicholas II also understood that what Foreign Minister Alexei had previously said about Britain and France covering all the costs of the battle was a fabrication.

Although this battle was a huge success, relieving enormous pressure on the Western Front, and even directly leading to the shift of Germany's strategy to the east.

However, this was good news for Westline countries represented by Britain-France-Australia and Italy, but not for Russia, which was struggling on the Eastern Front.

This battle consumed more than half of Russia's ammunition reserves, directly leading to a shortage of weapons and ammunition for the Russian frontline forces.

It just so happened that Germany launched a large-scale attack at this time, directly leading to heavy casualties for the Russian Tenth Army Group.

With such a huge responsibility, the Tsarist Government needed someone to take the blame. Regardless of whether Minister Alexei had made any mistakes before, the public's anger needed a bearer, and the government's fault needed a scapegoat.

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At the new Imperial Conference, in front of all Cabinet Ministers and military Upper Echelons, Nicholas II officially announced the dismissal of Foreign Minister Alexei from his position and initiated an investigation into him.

Minister Alexei's forehead was covered in cold sweat, but no one dared to stop Nicholas II's orders.

After ordering the Prime Minister to temporarily serve as Foreign Minister, Nicholas II looked at Archduke Nicholas, asking, "Can the military hold back the German offensive before the allies' assistance arrives?"

"No problem, Your Majesty," Archduke Nicholas decisively answered. "The new Army Group has already reached the front line. As long as there are any soldiers on the front line, it is impossible for the Germans to step over the front line and enter our territory."

Well, that statement sounds pretty normal. Before the Germans enter the country, the army will retreat, ensuring that there are no living people left on the front lines.

As the Russians were desperately waiting for the material support from the allies, on the side of the Allied Nations, Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire were already planning their next offensive.

Of course, the plan was put together by the Germans. As for the Austro-Hungarian Empire, if it wasn't absolutely necessary, they were no longer considering an attack.

At the moment, the casualties of the Austro-Hungarian Empire were severe, with their losses even approaching those of the Russians and exceeding them.

Among all the Powers, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was the only one that had not only lost a large part of its main army but also lost a large piece of territory.

If Germany had not shifted its strategy in time, and now devastated a Russian Army Group, thus attracting a portion of the Russian forces for the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the empire might have already been discussing how to surrender.

This binary-state nation was destined not to come together in unity when a crisis loomed.

In fact, after the occupation of Galicia by Russia, the Hungarian Government had repeatedly requested assistance from the Vienna Government, asking them to deploy more troops along the Hungarian border and even directly drive the Russians out of Galicia to maintain stability in Hungary.

But at this time, the Vienna Government had the will but not the strength. The failure of the Battle of Galicia had cost the Austro-Hungarian Empire hundreds of thousands of troops, with only a few main forces remaining to face the joint attack of Italy, the Balkan Nations, and Russia.

If it hadn't been for the fact that the Italian Army was just too weak, the Austro-Hungarian Empire might have already been discussing the terms of war compensation.

May 21, 1915, Vienna, Austro-Hungarian Empire Conference.

"Your Majesty, this is Germany's counteroffensive plan. The Germans have already transferred their main force to the Eastern Front, intending to quickly defeat the Russians and let them withdraw from the war to alleviate our pressure on the Eastern Front. However, this counteroffensive plan requires our cooperation.

Conservatively estimated, we need to deploy 500,000 troops." The Austro-Hungarian Chief of General Staff, Conrad, handed an action plan to the old Emperor Francis and whispered.

If it were at the beginning of the war, deploying 500,000 troops would not be a problem for the powerful Austro-Hungarian Empire.

But now it is in the middle of the war, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire has suffered a lot of casualties. The total number of troops is just over 1 million.

Excluding the 100,000 garrison troops on the Austronesian border and the 300,000 troops on the borders of Bosnia and Serbia, the remaining Austro-Hungarian troops fighting Russia amount to just over 600,000. The German action plan requires the deployment of 500,000 troops, which constitutes the vast majority of the Austro-Hungarian Empire's available forces.

Old Emperor Francis took the document without checking it hastily, rubbing his brows and asking, "How many troops have the Germans prepared? What is their tactical plan? How do we need to cooperate?"

At present, for the Austro-Hungarian Empire, deploying 500,000 troops is tantamount to a last-ditch effort. If this German-planned campaign fails and the Empire suffers more casualties, it is very likely that the Empire will be destroyed.

Although the Austro-Hungarian Empire can still recruit troops domestically, it would be impossible for these new recruits to form combat capabilities without six months of training.

Furthermore, as the Austro-Hungarian Empire continues to suffer defeats in various wars, the Austrians are coping well, but the Hungarian people no longer support the war.

Hungarians are already dissatisfied with the massive war funds they have paid, and if they are forced to contribute money and resources, the Austro-Hungarian Empire may disintegrate.

"Your Majesty, the Germans have amassed more than 1 million troops on the Eastern Front border. In the next two months, at least 200,000 troops will arrive at the front. If we can deploy 500,000 troops, the total number of our allied forces will exceed 2 million, suppressing the Russian forces in terms of numbers.

Germany will break through from the East Prussian region and the Cilicia region, and they hope that we will follow the Carpathian Mountains northward, directly encircle the Russian army in Poland and Galicia, and annihilate them all. Some of the Russian forces in these areas are the absolute main force of Russia.

If they are eliminated, the war on the Eastern Front will be won," Major Conrad said confidently.

From a numerical perspective, this battle plan is viable. The Germans claim that they have obtained information about the Russians' lack of supplies. If this is true, breaking through and encircling the Russian armies in Poland and Galicia has hope.

With 2 million German-Austrian coalition forces fighting against less than 200,000 Russian forces who lack logistics supplies, victory can be planned with a foolproof strategy.

Francis I did not rush to agree but frowned at the military's frontline troop distribution map and fell into deep thought for a long time.

But this seems like an excellent opportunity to defeat the Russians, but the problem is that if the Russian main forces escape and are not defeated, it would be a blow that the Austro-Hungarian Empire cannot afford.

It's like a high-stakes gamble; if you win, everyone is happy, but if you lose, it could lead to the destruction of the country and the family.

After a long while, Francis I smiled bitterly and nodded his head, ultimately agreeing to the German plan.

This is the last chance for the Austro-Hungarian Empire to turn the tide and the most hopeful opportunity to win the war so far.

As it stands, the Austro-Hungarian Empire has no other options. If it does not join Germany in severely damaging or even defeating Russia, it will not be able to withstand the joint offensive from Italy, Russia, and the Balkan nations for long, and failure is just a matter of time.

Unless the Austro-Hungarian Empire can organize at least 1 million more troops, it will not be able to stabilize the current battlefield situation.

But the problem is that training and organizing 1 million troops would take at least half a year, and under current circumstances, the Balkan nations and Russia will not give the Austro-Hungarian Empire half a year to develop.