Mediterranean Hegemony Road

The breeze in March blows over the earth and the fields, and the earth is rejuvenated with greenery.

In this beautiful time, Ferdinand lay quietly on the lawn, bathed in the embrace of spring, and fully felt the vitality of life.

"Your Majesty, something has happened! The Hungarians just announced their participation in the Allied Powers this morning. In the afternoon, Budapest was raided by the Germans. They have now asked us for help!" Foreign Minister Metev said calmly.

Ferdinand could see that although he was talking about something important, the joy mixed in on his face could not hide his gloating!

In order to cooperate with the German-Austrian coalition, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had communicated with the Hungarians, but the Hungarians refused to disclose the time of their actions to Bulgaria on the grounds of confidentiality, which made the Ministry of Foreign Affairs very embarrassed. Now the Hungarians have fallen. Mould, it's the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' turn to see their jokes.

Ferdinand is also not a generous person. Since the Hungarians can't trust Bulgaria, he naturally won't go to trouble. Now that the Germans have raided the capital of Hungary, it can only be considered unlucky for the Hungarians!

Anyway, Bulgaria's goal has been achieved. The Hungarian rebels and the Germans chose to raid Budapest, so the German-Austrian coalition's defense line on the Tisza River naturally collapsed.

Now the Bulgarian army only needs to cross the river, and because of the Hungarians' defections, the Austro-Hungarian Empire's defense line in Belgrade is naturally unable to hold, and the smaller half of the Austro-Hungarian Empire is about to fall!

As for the Hungarian Kingdom, do their lives matter? Anyway, they chose this path by themselves. How could such an important matter be leaked ahead of time?

Of course, if Ferdinand had paid any attention to Hungarian intelligence, he would not have been absolutely surprised.

Even if they want to defect, a few people at the top of the government need to know about it, and at most a few powerful factions in the country will know.

pity,

The Hungarian Kingdom actually held a meeting stupidly and let more than 100 people know about it. If the Habsburg family didn't even have a few die-hard loyalists, why would they rule the empire?

Now that the Austro-Hungarian Empire knows, it is natural to report the news to the Germans, at least they have to use the Germans to kill a group of independent elements!

Whether the Austro-Hungarian Empire has reached a deal with the Germans, this is not important, anyway, Ferdinand has no intention of taking care of the broken affairs of the Kingdom of Hungary!

What if the Germans occupied Budapest? Without the cooperation of the Hungarians, it is impossible for them to hold the Kingdom of Hungary.

"Ask for help? Let the Hungarians hold on, we are gathering troops, and we can definitely reach Budapest within half a month!" Ferdinand said with a smile

Not to mention half a month, even for a week, the Hungarians can't hold it, who said that their main force has been almost exhausted in the war?

Just relying on the group of rabble they assembled, trying to block the attack of more than 300,000 German troops is undoubtedly a fool's dream!

It wasn't that Ferdinand deliberately pitted them. They dug a hole and buried themselves. The Germans found it under their noses. Doesn't this explain the problem?

Even if there is the handwriting of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, but you are all ready to turn against others, don't you even know that you have sent a few more spies to watch the German army?

It is not close to the Tisza River to Budapest. If you don't take the train, you won't be able to get there in a few days. Tens of thousands of German troops have run under their noses.

Obviously, this time the Germans want to kill the chickens and warn the monkeys. Even if the Bulgarian army leaves immediately, they have to fight across the river before talking about it? Ferdinand doesn't think that the Germans have swept away the defenders on the other side!

For the Germans, giving up the Kingdom of Hungary has become a foregone conclusion, and there is no need to continue fighting with the Bulgarians!

But delay the march of the Bulgarian army and teach the Hungarians a lesson, they must do it too!

After sending Metev away, Ferdinand said to the squires: "Telegram to the Balkan Regional Command, and let them take Belgrade while the alliance is in civil strife. If conditions permit, they can also take advantage of the Bosnia and Herzegovina region."

When the Hungarians made a fuss, the life of the Allies was even more difficult. How much more than Ferdinand wanted to fall to pieces?

First, Britain and France launched a full-scale counter-offensive on the Western Front. Their purpose was very simple to hold back the Germans and make them unable to support the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

At this time, the Russians couldn't bear it any longer. On the third day of Hungary's defection, the Russians started a campaign to retake Ukraine, and the German army was in a hurry.

On the front line in Italy, Wallicot also led the Allied forces to attack Austria, and the air forces of Britain, France and the three countries plundered over Vienna!

When the Allied powers exploded, the Germans were dumbfounded. Now they can't take care of each other. What should I do?

At this moment, reinforcements are needed everywhere, and the German reserves are limited and cannot be deployed on multiple battlefields at the same time. A considerable number of people in Germany have begun to take a pessimistic attitude towards the war.

Compared with the Germans, the situation of the Vienna government is much worse. Now many of them are starting to regret it. If they had known that this kind of thing would happen, they would have jumped directly. It is better than letting the Kingdom of Hungary jump first. , much better!

The Austrian Emperor Ferdinand II also began to worry. Seeing that the Allies were about to end, what should the Austro-Hungarian Empire do?

Now the Kingdom of Hungary has switched jobs. Although they may be suppressed by the Germans, the Allies have admitted that they have joined. Politically, this is very unfavorable to the Austro-Hungarian Empire!

Who knew that the future Entente would not support Hungarian independence and dismember the Austro-Hungarian Empire? This consequence is much more serious than Bulgaria's annexation of Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, even if it is much more serious than Mao Bear's annexation of Poland!

Austrian Foreign Minister said nervously: "Your Majesty, the Bulgarians have put forward new conditions, and they also demanded that we give an answer immediately, otherwise Vienna will be turned into ruins!"

Obviously this is blackmail by force, but do they dare to bet? Theoretically speaking, now the Allies can throw hundreds of tons of bombs into Vienna every day as long as they want, and maybe in two months, Vienna will really become a ruin!

On the issue of air supremacy, even if the Germans are powerless now, otherwise they will not be suppressed by the British and French air forces on the Western Front!

When the quality gap is not large, quantity is the key factor in determining the outcome of the war. Obviously, the Allies have an absolute advantage in this regard!

By 1917, the industrial capacity between the two major alliances had been completely unbalanced. It can be said that for every aircraft the Allies built, the Allies could build two or three!

Who said the United States has become the arsenal of the Allies? The Entente, which was already dominant in industry, now has an even bigger advantage!

Aohuang asked coldly: "What kind of conditions did they put forward?"

The Minister of Foreign Affairs said hesitantly: "The Bulgarians demand that we give up all of Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. In return, they will oppose the dismemberment of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, try to ensure the territorial integrity of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and give up claiming compensation from the Austro-Hungarian Empire! "

Ferdinand II still said in a cold tone: "They are going to annex Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. What else are they talking about to keep the territorial integrity of the Austro-Hungarian Empire?"

After speaking, the indoor temperature seemed to have returned to the cold winter and twelfth lunar month. After a moment of silence, Ferdinand II said coldly, "Promise them!"

Obviously, he was very reluctant to accept this condition, but finally decided to compromise. The reason is very simple. With the defection of the Kingdom of Hungary, whether in Serbia or Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Austro-Hungarian Empire cannot hold back!

If you want to stay and fight the Bulgarians to the death, apart from increasing casualties, the Austro-Hungarian Empire will not gain any benefits.

Instead, it's better to trade some benefits. If nothing else, this world war has already been a victory for the Allied Powers, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire will inevitably be divided up after the war. In the end, it will depend on the Habsburg family's methods!

Of course, this is just a deal used to fool the country on the surface. In fact, the two royal families have already reached an insider deal.

For example: if the Allies win, the Kohari family will try their best to keep Ferdinand II's throne, and at the worst, one of his crowns; in return, the Habsburgs will guarantee the Kohari family in Austria-Hungary. The industry of the empire is not lost.

Another example: If the Allies win, the Kohari family will transfer all the property of the Austria-Hungary Empire to the Habsburg family in exchange for the Habsburgs' efforts to keep Ferdinand's throne.

...

This is also a matter of no choice. Before the war broke out, Ferdinand began to transfer his property. Unfortunately, before he knew it, his industry had grown and penetrated into many industries. It is not so easy to retreat. .

It is necessary to cut the meat in the waist, and even so, it is not able to sell much. Who made Ferdinand ignore that before the outbreak of the war, the European Big Six had been swept by the economic crisis?

So this transaction appeared. Anyway, the strategy formulated by Ferdinand tried to keep the Austro-Hungarian Empire as much as possible, which is not contradictory to this transaction!

The king is also a human being, so naturally he also has to consider personal interests and family interests! As a veteran aristocrat in Europe, whether it is the Kohali family of the Gotha dynasty from Ferdinand, or the Habsburg family are all experts in this regard, otherwise they will not become the top family in Europe!

This is just a small episode, the most important thing is that Ferdinand II agreed to give up Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, which means that Bulgaria can pay a small price. You can complete the great cause of unifying the Balkans!

Of course, the battle must continue to be fought, and a full set of dramas must be done, otherwise, if the Germans are ganged up, the Germans will not let Austria go!

On March 12, 1917, 800,000 troops were dispatched from the Bulgarian Balkan theater, and two groups of troops detoured from the Kingdom of Hungary to outflank Belgrade.

On March 2o, the Austro-Hungarian troops besieged in Belgrade laid down their weapons and surrendered to the Bulgarian army.

From the outbreak of the war in 1915, the two-year Belgrade battle has finally come to an end.

This battle was the largest battle on the southern front, with the longest duration and the largest number of casualties.

By the end of the war, the Austro-Hungarian Empire had paid a total of 1029,000 casualties, including 168,000 dead, 287,000 disabled, and 368,000 captured; the Bulgarian side paid a total of 895,000 casualties, of which 7.6 died. 10,000, 95,000 maimed, and more than 3ooo captured.

The fall of Belgrade, the world is in an uproar again, and many people are predicting when the Allied countries will end!

Before everyone could recover from the news of the end of the Belgrade Battle, on March 26, the Russians won the Ukraine Battle on the Eastern Front again, and almost took back the entire Ukraine!

Well, this Eastern Front battle is just a passing game. There are less than 300,000 German troops in Ukraine. In the face of the attack of more than two million Russian troops, it is natural to retreat strategically, but this does not prevent the Russians from winning. This war!

Immediately afterwards, the Bulgarian army began to swept the Serbian area again, and then approached the Bosnia and Herzegovina area. Facing the siege of a million troops, the Austro-Hungarian army in the Bosnia and Herzegovina area naturally had to retreat strategically!

The war between the two sides continued until April 11, when the Austro-Hungarian army retreated to the Croatian area, and the Bulgarian army stopped its pursuit.

During this period, the Allies were not without gains, for example: Marshal August von Mackensen was not old, the Hungarian rebelled on March 1st, and the rebellion was extinguished on March 4th. The hopes of the Hungarians were dashed in just three days!

Because the time was too short, the Bulgarian reinforcements had to cancel the reinforcement plan before they reached the halfway point. Although there was no plan to reinforce them, it still seemed to be enough!

Then the support soldiers went straight from Hungary to outflank Belgrade, ending the protracted battle!

With the entry of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the last remaining piece of the Balkan Peninsula was also taken into the hands of Bulgaria. After a thousand years, the Balkan Peninsula was unified again!

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