Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 509 Germany's Strategic Shift
After a series of inexplicable actions, the Italian army successfully made itself a laughing stock throughout Europe.

That month, newspapers across Europe were reporting on war news related to Italy, and it seemed that mocking the Italian army had become the mainstream opinion in Europe.

Regardless of what the Italian government and Vittorio Emanuele III thought, Germany and Austria-Hungary breathed a sigh of relief, while also mocking France and Russia for having spent a great deal of money to win over Italy.

The Central Powers and the Allied Powers went to great lengths to win over Italy. Both sides offered Italy various conditions, and the Allied Powers, which ultimately won over Italy, even went so far as to publicize this to highlight the Central Powers' lack of support due to their unjust actions.

But now it seems that Italy, which the Allied Powers won over at great cost, has not played a significant role.

Although 30 troops were sent to support the western front, what role could 200 troops play in a western front where both sides had committed more than 30 million troops?

Judging from the attrition on the western front, these 30 troops could only hold out for a month at most.

Italy's much-anticipated northern expedition against Austria-Hungary has now ended in utter failure.

After more than half a month of fierce fighting, Italy not only suffered more than 20 casualties, but was also routed by the Austro-Hungarian army, failing to occupy an inch of land.

The performance of the Italian army relieved Austria-Hungary and allowed Germany to focus on the battlefields on both the Eastern and Western fronts without having to help Austria-Hungary.

This was certainly good news for the Allies. As long as they could hold both the Eastern and Western fronts, the Allies would not lose.

However, significant internal conflicts have arisen in Germany regarding the shift in focus between the Eastern and Western fronts.

From the time Germany changed its Chief of the General Staff until Spain entered the war, Germany consistently adhered to the original plan formulated by Schlieffen, concentrating its forces to attack the Western Front in an attempt to defeat France first.

Since Falkenhayn became the German Chief of the General Staff, has Germany achieved anything on the Western Front?
No. Even though Germany suffered fewer casualties than France at this point in the Battle of Verdun, the German government has absolutely no right to claim victory.

The reason is simple: the Verdun fortress was always in the hands of the French army.

Germany and France have committed a total of nearly 200 million troops to the Battle of Verdun, with total casualties exceeding 70, of which nearly 20 German and French soldiers died on the Verdun battlefield.

Such heavy casualties forced some German officers to reconsider whether focusing their offensive on the western front was the right choice.

Before Spain actually joined the war, these officers merely questioned the correctness of prioritizing an attack on the western front.

After Spain joined the war, these people generally felt that prioritizing an attack on the western front was a mistake.

Germany has yet to defeat the French army, and now the French army has gained the support of Spain and Italy.

Even if the Italian army was of poor combat quality, it was still barely adequate for some defensive tasks. The Spanish army, of course, needed no further introduction; their combat effectiveness was in no way inferior to the elite German forces. For Germany, whose main offensive was on the western front, Spain's entry into the war was definitely bad news.

More importantly, even though Britain joined the Central Powers, it could not make up for the impact of Spain's entry into the war on the Western Front.

If Spain committed 50 troops to the Western Front, Britain would have to commit 100 million troops to the Western Front in order to barely achieve a balance.

This was merely a balancing act. To gain the upper hand and seize the opportunity to capture Paris, not only would Germany need to continuously reinforce the Western Front, but Britain would also need to commit more than 200 million troops to it.

This was clearly impossible. Germany could not transport too many troops to the Western Front in a short period of time, nor could Britain muster 200 million troops to join the Western Front in a short time.

This also means that no matter how hard Germany tries, the Western Front will at best only reach a balance in the near future.

Since the western front could no longer make much progress, should we shift our strategic focus to the eastern front and prioritize the weaker enemy, Russia?

This is not just a reflection among some German officers; it has evolved into a disagreement and conflict among the top ranks of the German military.

On April 14, 1914, with no progress made on the Western Front, the German military high command convened the Reich Military Conference at the City Palace in Berlin to discuss strategic choices for Germany's future.

In addition to Kaiser Wilhelm II, the attendees of this meeting included German Chief of the General Staff Falkenhahn, numerous high-ranking military officials, and government officials.

The commanders of each army group first reported on their respective offensive situations and the general situation at the front. Then they discussed together whether it was necessary to continue the offensive on the western front or to transfer some troops to the eastern front to seek new opportunities.

Before Spain joined the war, Wilhelm II had been trying to maintain the original offensive plan through his Chief of the General Staff, Falkingham.

Even the arrogant Kaiser Wilhelm II had to admit that Germany could no longer implement the Schlieffen Plan, let alone defeat France in a short period of time.

Although Germany had become more powerful than it had been during the Prussian period, France was no longer the France of the Franco-Prussian War era.

Advances in weaponry and military concepts have led to a significant increase in the military strength of both Germany and France. Although the German army is slightly more powerful than the French army, the French army's defensive posture somewhat compensates for the difference in strength between the two armies.

This is also why Germany and France are locked in a stalemate, with neither side able to achieve its strategic objectives.

France can afford to drag things out, but if Germany continues fighting on two fronts, it won't be able to hold out for very long.

Besides the stalemate on the Eastern and Western fronts, the situation in the Balkans was also something Germany had to consider. The Balkans were now completely in favor of the Entente Powers, and Germany's important ally, Austria-Hungary, was in a precarious position.

Once the Ottoman Empire is defeated, the Austro-Hungarian Empire will have to bear the brunt of the Balkan attacks alone. The German government is uncertain how long this already heavily damaged empire can hold out.

Once Austria-Hungary was also defeated, the Central Powers would be left only Germany and Great Britain.

Although both Germany and Britain were superpowers, they were ultimately no match for the combined forces of the other two and had to swallow the bitter pill of defeat.

Faced with the current situation of the Allied powers, Wilhelm II could no longer insist on his own ideas and could only make concessions to the Junker nobles led by Hindenburg and Ludendorff to avoid deepening the internal conflicts in Germany.

At this imperial military conference, Kaiser Wilhelm II spoke first, turning his gaze to his personally appointed Chief of the General Staff, Falkenhayn, and instructed, "Chief of the General Staff, Falkenhayn, please share your thoughts." Hearing Wilhelm II's order, Falkenhayn did not hesitate and stood up, saying, "Your Majesty, the current situation of fighting on two fronts is very unfavorable to us, and we are unable to make any progress on the western front."

I believe it is essential for us to break free from the two-front war, adopt a strategic defensive posture on the stalemate in the western theater, and concentrate more troops on the eastern front to seek an opportunity to quickly defeat Russia.

The advantage of concentrating most of our forces on the Eastern Front is that, in addition to the opportunity to quickly defeat Russia, we can also help our allies in the Balkans, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Ottoman Empire.

As for the Western Front, even if we withdraw most of our troops, with the help of the British, it will still be no problem to hold onto our existing territory.

Compared to the Western Front, which had a large number of elite troops, the Russian army on the Eastern Front was generally weak and easier to deal with.

If we can win two decisive battles, we have a chance to force Russia to surrender, thus ending the two-front war completely.

Chief of the General Staff Falkenhahn's idea actually represented a concession from Kaiser Wilhelm II.

Falkenhayn was promoted to Chief of the General Staff by Wilhelm II. If Wilhelm II had not agreed to the strategic shift, Falkenhayn would certainly not have dared to express his thoughts.

Falkingham's direct expression of his desire to concentrate forces on attacking the eastern front at the meeting actually indicates that Wilhelm II has abandoned the offensive on the western front.

Wilhelm II nodded, clearly understanding the problems Germany was facing, as Falkenhayn had described.

"So what's your plan?" Wilhelm II continued to inquire.

"In my opinion, we should transfer at least 120 million troops to the eastern front, and retain only about 100 million troops on the western front."

If the British government could send 50 troops to the Western Front, it would ensure the stability of the Western Front and thus buy us more time for our offensive on the Eastern Front.

After withdrawing 120 million troops from the western front, our forces on the eastern front will reach approximately 260 million. We can then join forces with the Austro-Hungarian army to launch a general offensive against Russia and seek opportunities to defeat the main Russian forces.

In addition, the hundreds of thousands of troops currently resting and recuperating in our country can also serve as reserve forces to support the battlefields on both the eastern and western fronts at any time.

If the western front can be held, then these hundreds of thousands of troops can be deployed to the eastern front, further increasing our troop strength.

"If we can capture St. Petersburg, or besiege hundreds of thousands of Russian troops, then the Russian army will have no choice but to negotiate with us, thus forcing them to withdraw from the war," Falkenhayn continued.

Falkenhayn's plan was quite audacious, considering that there were more than 200 million troops on the Western Front, and he wanted to transfer about half of them to the Eastern Front at once.

France would not be withdrawing troops, which meant that the Allied powers would have the upper hand in the future situation on the Western Front, and no one could guarantee that the remaining German troops could hold the front.

If the situation on the Western Front were to collapse due to troop withdrawals, it would be a huge blow and a disaster for Germany.

Wilhelm II nodded and turned his gaze to Hindenburg and Ludendorff, the generals in charge of the Eastern Front who had already gained considerable influence, and asked, "General Hindenburg, what do you think?"

If 120 million troops were transferred from the Western Front to the Eastern Front, could the Eastern Front achieve results quickly enough to force the Russian government to withdraw from the war?

Wilhelm II did not object to drawing troops from the western front, but only on the condition that there be results on the eastern front.

It would be clearly unnecessary to risk drawing troops from the western front if nothing was gained on the eastern front.

Germany today needs to seek change, but the change must be beneficial. Wilhelm II does not want blind changes to lead to drastic changes on two fronts, thereby accelerating the collapse of the Central Powers.

Therefore, before transferring troops from the western front, it is necessary to determine whether the eastern front will be able to achieve results.

Upon hearing Kaiser Wilhelm II's inquiry, Hindenburg, the chief commander of the Eastern Front, stood up and said with a smile, "Your Majesty, I have already reported on the situation on the Eastern Front."

Because of the Russian army's numerical superiority, although we occupied a large area of ​​land, we were never able to turn our advantage into a victory.

If we could mobilize 120 million troops to the Eastern Front, it would significantly reduce the Russian army's numerical advantage. With similar numbers, our army's combat effectiveness would be several times that of the Russian army.

I can assure you that as long as these 120 million troops can reach the Eastern Front in a short time, we will defeat the Russian army quickly, force the Russian government to withdraw from the war, and thus avoid a continued two-front war.

As the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Front, Hindenburg had long dreamed of this day.

Even before Falkingham became the German Chief of the General Staff, Hindenburg and Ludendorff had been advocating for a strategic shift in Germany, focusing their attention on the Eastern Front.

Although the Eastern Front would face an enemy with a much larger territory and a larger population, Russia's overall strength was significantly weaker than that of France.

More importantly, Germany concentrated more troops on the Eastern Front, and as the Commander-in-Chief of the Eastern Front, Hindenburg's status was naturally higher, and his influence was greater.

Hindenburg was quite ambitious. He felt he was qualified to compete for the position of Chief of the General Staff of Germany. It was only through Wilhelm II's forced appointment that Falkenhayn, a man with virtually no experience, became the Chief of the General Staff of Germany.

The achievements of the German army since Falkenhayn became Chief of the General Staff proved that Wilhelm II's choice to appoint him was a mistake, and Falkenhayn himself did not have much ability.

Now that Wilhelm II has finally chosen to back down and agree to Hindenburg's long-proposed plan of defending the west and attacking the east, Hindenburg sees this as an excellent opportunity.

Even if no results can be achieved on the Eastern Front in a short time, it is necessary to make bold statements first and gain the support of Wilhelm II and other high-ranking military officials.

As for the rest, the army has all gone to the Eastern Front. Are we supposed to let Wilhelm II and the General Staff decide the outcome?

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(End of this chapter)