Germany does not seek survival

Faust sighed, "How could you princes and dukes possibly understand the millions of soldiers on the front lines, and how many endure the torment in the trenches? You always dream of going to the front, not because you're more valiant, but because you live a life of luxury. Even if you end up wasting your life in the trenches, you always have a way out! That's why you can be so calm and generous."

Faust did not want to ask for too much from Vasily. It would certainly be a good thing if the Habsburg royal family could be tempered by Faust into talents who would be beneficial to the future new society.

Faust stood up, walked to the window, and opened the blinds a little. The warm sunlight from the foothills of Tyrol outside shone in, stretching Faust's figure out long.

"Vassili, please get to know us better. It won't be long, at most a year, before we go our separate ways."

Vasily still didn't understand what Faust's words meant. Before he left, he thought of another thing.

"Your Excellency, Director, do you remember my cousin?" Vasily reminded him, "She's His Majesty Karl's youngest sister, Princess Agnes."

Faust was busy with official duties and had long forgotten about the little princess. Even after Vasily reminded him, Faust still frowned and tried hard to recall for a long time, but still could not remember who Princess Agnes was.

Seeing this, Vasily smiled wryly. "Princess Agnes, upon hearing that you were in Tyrol, was very eager to come to Innsbruck to reward the Allied forces. In two days, Princess Agnes will be here. She must want to see you."

Faust touched the back of his head. Where did this feudal bitch come from? Is she so familiar with me?

Without Faust knowing it, Princess Agnes had just returned to Vienna from Berlin and was looking forward to seeing her hero again every day.

Afterwards, the news that Faust was transferred to Tyrol spread like wildfire. Princess Agnes had been collecting information about Faust very seriously, so of course she would not miss this information.

The little princess was very happy. She immediately found her brother Charles I and gave a very high-sounding reason, that is, she wanted to go to the Austrian-Italian front to reward the army on behalf of His Majesty the Emperor.

If the princess could come forward and go to the front line in person, it would definitely help save the morale of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which was on the verge of collapse. Naturally, there was no reason for the young Emperor Charles I of Austro-Hungary to refuse.

After obtaining permission, Princess Agnes immediately took an express train and rushed to Innsbruck as soon as possible under the pretext of rewarding the army.

This kind of privileged behavior was one of the things Faust hated the most. Princess Agnes kept thinking about her first meeting with Faust, which was when they were riding horses in the courtyard of Charlottenburg Palace. So when she arrived in Innsbruck and got off the car, she did something very abstract -

Dressed in his best attire, he rode on horseback through the city to meet Faust.

Chapter 106: The Last Year of the Old World

Princess Agnes, wearing a long white gauze dress, sat sideways on the back of a tall, snow-white horse, trotting quickly on the streets of Innsbruck.

The princess on the horse had a beautiful face. She was only fourteen or fifteen years old. Her long platinum hair fluttered in the wind, her skin was whiter than snow, and her face was spotless. She was indeed an extraordinary beauty.

The citizens and soldiers of Innsbruck all looked at her with surprise. Everyone recognized the little princess of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Some people had heard about what happened in Charlottenburg Palace, while others heard from the tabloids in Vienna that there was some ambiguity between Princess Agnes and the war hero Faust.

So the first thing everyone thought of was that Princess Agnes was looking for Faust.

Such a pure and bright princess, riding a fast horse, comes to you and shows her courtesy. Which man would not be envious when seeing this?

But the first thing that Faust thought of was that Princess Agnes was abusing her power for personal gain. Where would her actions put Faust's heroic image?

A nameless anger had already risen in Faust's head. When he saw Princess Agnes on a white horse in front of the headquarters, the expression on his face was already ready to explode.

Princess Agnes was still dreaming of the prince and princess reuniting when Faust rushed forward, grabbed the reins of the white horse, and glared at the little princess:

"Your Highness, the German headquarters is a restricted military area. No one is allowed to enter without a German military order. You are a princess, so you are no exception. Please leave immediately, otherwise..."

Princess Agnes was surprised, but then she thought that this was because Faust strictly abided by discipline and was really a good soldier!

The little princess still had a very happy smile on her face: "It's okay, I came here to entertain the troops on the orders of His Majesty. His Majesty has already approved it, so don't worry."

Faust didn't care about the diplomatic relations between Germany and Austria and continued coldly: "Vienna's order does not allow you to command the German army! Excuse me, Your Highness, for the sake of diplomatic relations between Germany and Austria, please do not move forward."

Faust pointed to the ground and said, "If you take one more step forward, you will be trespassing into a restricted military area. I will personally arrest you according to the law."

Princess Agnes felt a little flustered at this. She didn't understand what Faust meant. A princess of such noble status came all the way to him. Was this the proper way for Faust to entertain guests?

Princess Agnes's originally smiling mouth began to droop to the sides: "Lieutenant Colonel Faust... I just wanted to see you... We haven't seen each other for a long time, I missed you so much..."

Faust wanted to shout loudly, "Who are you? Do you look familiar?"

He restrained himself from getting angry and started pushing Princess Agnes's white horse back.

"Your Highness, you really can't come in again. Besides, I have a very heavy workload and don't have time to see any outsiders."

"How can I be an outsider?"

Princess Agnes's tears had already begun to well up in her eyes. She looked at Faust pitifully, which made people feel sympathy and her eyes seemed particularly affectionate.

Faust's scalp tingled. He didn't like little girls like Princess Agnes, and he didn't want to cause extra trouble like the Habsburg Princess. He could only laugh and say:

"Wait until the war is over, wait until the war is over, Your Highness. After the war is over, you will have many opportunities to see me again."

Princess Agnes's face was full of sorrow and pity. She held her lips together, and looked as if she was about to cry. "It's been so long since we last met, Mr. Faust. Have you never missed me? Do you remember the letters I sent you?"

Ever since Faust became a war hero, he has received so many letters that he doesn't have the time to open and read every one of them carefully.

Faust had long ago asked Hitler to help him intercept all the letters and keep them in a collection so that he could read them when he had time.

Faust showed no mercy to the woman: "Your Highness... please leave the German camp. We will meet again after the war is over."

A big tear finally rolled down Princess Agnes's delicate face. She dismounted in despair and took two steps forward, trying to throw herself into Faust's arms.

Faust reached out his hand and pressed it on Princess Agnes's forehead to stop her.

Princess Agnes burst into tears, sobbing uncontrollably: "Mr. Lieutenant Colonel! Why are you so heartless? At least, at least, we are still friends. Even if it is to treat friends, you shouldn't be like this! Don't I have a place in your heart? Just a little bit! I remember every word you said, every look, every movement... Even in my dreams, I only see your face. I don't want anything..."

The German and Austrian soldiers around the headquarters were now stunned. They were shocked by Princess Agnes's boldness and also shocked by Faust's charm.

Colonel Kesselring scratched his hair, feeling a little dizzy. "I really want Comrade Faust to teach me. Just teach me two tricks, no, just one trick to deal with women."

Tito, with his handsome appearance, smiled and shook his head: "How can this be taught? This cannot be taught, it cannot be learned, it cannot be learned at all. Comrade Faust's method does not rely on skills, but on talent."

A princess of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Emperor's youngest sister, actually expressed her feelings so boldly and frankly. In the social environment at that time, how brave did she have to be to say this in public regardless of reputation and rumors?

Faust also thought of Princess Sissi of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Crown Prince Rudolf who had committed suicide for love. He became even more worried that he and Princess Agnes were definitely not the same kind of people.

In his heart, Faust didn't need to call her a feudal bitch for the time being. He just thought that the relationship should be cut off as soon as possible, otherwise there would be another Crown Prince Rudolf incident in the future, which would not be good for anyone.

"Your Highness, you have crossed the line."

Faust was very serious this time, pointing to a white line on the ground: "You have crossed the boundary of the military restricted area. According to German military discipline, I have no choice but to arrest you."

"what?"

Princess Agnes made an "O" shape with her mouth, but before he could react, Faust had already waved his hand. Several gendarmes hesitated at first, but then, under Faust's harsh reprimand, they finally took action and surrounded Princess Agnes.

The gendarmes did not dare to touch the little princess, so they could only surround her first, and then take Princess Agnes to the confinement room as Faust requested.

Princess Agnes was really angry now. She cried harder and louder. Faust was also very troubled. He could only send someone to contact Marshal Conrad and ask him to take this plague god away.

When other officers came to inquire about Faust's situation, Kesselring said bitterly, "Comrade Faust is truly amazing, so amazing. I can only admire him."

Faust bit his lip, not allowing Kesselring to make such jokes again: "I only care about the country, I only care about the people. The German people and the whole world are what we need to care about. The ambitions in our hearts not only transcend personal feelings, but also transcend all national and ethnic barriers. I don't have much in common with ordinary people!"

Among all the people, only Hitler could understand Faust best.

Hitler was moved to tears when he heard Faust's words: "Our cause... is the cause of liberating all of Germany. Compared with this, everything else seems so unimportant!"

The gendarmes first locked Princess Agnes in the confinement room, and then notified Marshal Conrad to come and pick her up. When he saw Conrad, Faust casually mentioned a few words to him about the little princess, making a big thing small and a small thing nothing. In order to shut Conrad up, Faust also quickly revealed the big plan.

"We have carefully studied your Po River plan, Marshal."

Faust offered a decoy. "After discussion, the Germans are increasingly convinced of the Marshal's military prowess. The Po Plan is truly a brilliant idea. While its execution is extremely challenging, the Germans have the means to accomplish it. We believe that with only minor modifications to the Po Plan, the German-Austrian coalition can achieve its goal of reaching the Po River."

Marshal Conrad immediately became excited: "I told you so! But no one believed me. Those idiots in Vienna, with their intelligence, really find it difficult to understand the battle plan I proposed."

In fact, within the Greater German Group, Faust was not completely convinced by the ideas of Rommel and Kesselring.

Faust also understood that he was not a military genius, and his military talent was definitely far inferior to that of Rommel and Kesselring, who were proven to be true military geniuses in history.

But under the technical conditions of World War I, relying on pure infantry troops, that is, relying on the infantry's two legs, Faust really doubted whether a "Cannae"-style victory could be achieved.

Ludendorff won a brilliant victory similar to the Battle of Cannae at Tannenberg, but that was a defensive "Cannae", while Conrad wanted to fight an offensive "Cannae".

In the same approach of encircling the two wings and annihilating the enemy forces in the center, the requirements for troop mobility in defense are definitely lower, while in offense, the troops need to be very fast.

When the German army was fighting against Tsarist Russia, the Russian battlefield was so vast, but since Tannenberg, the German army had never been able to achieve a Cannae-style victory in an annihilation battle.

The Gulf of Riga Operation, in which Faust participated, was somewhat close, but the Gulf of Riga Operation relied on the navy to complete a rapid flank encirclement. Even so, tens of thousands of Russian troops escaped in the end.

Unless, the German army found a way to have a maneuver method similar to that of armored forces in an era when armored forces did not yet exist.

car?

That definitely wouldn't work. Although the French relied on Paris taxis to save France in the Battle of the Marne in 1914, both the German and Austrian armies were now short of cars, and the Alps on the Italian-Austrian front also lacked roads that could accommodate many cars.

But in front of Marshal Conrad, Faust still acted confident of victory: "The German army has fully discussed this matter, and our officers have conducted numerous war games. All of them prove that your plan, old Marshal, is exceptionally brilliant. It is both unexpected and feasible. Once implemented, it will inevitably bring about a glorious victory."

Marshal Conrad was in a good mood, so he no longer cared about the "little matter" of Faust putting Princess Agnes in confinement. Later, even when Vienna asked about this matter, Marshal Conrad helped Faust cover it up, which was considered a good friend.

Faust made another request: "During this period, we have been conducting a thorough investigation of your 11th Army. In addition to discovering many deserters who were not on the inventory list, we also found that many officers violated regulations and made mistakes such as extending their leave without authorization..."

Faust looked up at the ceiling. "These mistakes aren't particularly serious, but they've certainly had a negative impact on the morale of the entire army. What do you think we should do?"

Marshal Conrad waved his hand. "Do whatever you wish. If anyone asks, just say it was my decision. Lieutenant Colonel Faust, today you are me and I am you. We are one in Tyrol. I will shoulder all political responsibilities for you. I only want one thing: to launch the Battle of the Po River as soon as possible."

The Battle of the Po River was such a major event that it was impossible for the Austrian 11th Army to launch it unilaterally. At the very least, Conrad's fantasy plan had to be shown to the German General Staff.

Faust was also in a dilemma. If he really submitted Conrad's absurd plan to Ludendorff, based on Faust's understanding of Ludendorff, Master Lu would never approve of this plan.

It seems that the only way is to revise Conrad's plan and make it more realistic and feasible.

Faust tried his best to fool Conrad and make him believe that the German army had always approved the old marshal's version of the plan.

By the end of the battle, even if the truth was revealed, Faust had already taken the opportunity to take over the grassroots management positions in many key positions in Tyrol, and he also purged the 11th Army and placed a large number of his own people in it.

Even if he falls out with Marshal Conrad, Faust will not suffer any loss.

What's more, after the battle, Faust estimated that it would not be long before the entire World War I ended.

Yes, today is already mid-September 1917. Midsummer is far away, and the autumn scenery in the Alps is magnificent. Faust can imagine that the winter here will be very cold.

The firewood chopped by villagers around the Tyrolean mountains is piled outside the doors, burned for heating in winter. The wood will then transform into white clouds in the chimneys and float out from the roofs. The snow-capped mountains will greet this drifting silver with a quiet silvery white, and then the two silvery whites will merge and cling to each other in mid-air until the world of 1917 slowly comes to an end.

Faust knew that the October Revolution in Russia was not in October. The October Revolution was in October of the Russian calendar. According to the Gregorian calendar, it was actually in November, but it was not far away.

On the Eastern Front, the German army has re-launched a large-scale offensive against the Tsarist Russia's Provisional Government. One army crossed Lake Pskov, targeting Petrograd. Another army set out from Warsaw, aiming directly at Minsk, the capital of Belarus. Another army is said to be approaching Kiev.

The progress made by the German army in the past two months and the Russian territory occupied are almost equal to the total progress made in the past three years. If this momentum continues, Faust is really worried. What if the German army really occupies Petrograd before the October Revolution? What should he do then?

Faust increasingly felt that because of his activities and the existence of the National Socialist Party, world history was rushing in a direction that he could no longer predict.

In that turmoil, 1917 was about to end.

1917 years.

This will be the last year of the old world.

Chapter 107: Dreaming Back to 1940

In the mountains of Tyrol, in a mountain villa on the outskirts of Innsbruck, the weather is fine and the snow falls early in the mountains, starting in October.

Snowflakes fell on the cornflowers in the courtyard of the villa. Several eagles circled high in the sky, and their occasional calls were so distant that their voices were heard from afar.

There was a gentle knock on the door of a study in the villa. Faust looked up from the manuscript he was writing. His personal guard Vasily went to open the door. A young man in military uniform stood outside.

He saluted Faust sitting in front of the desk vigorously, then his tense body relaxed again, and he walked into the study with a smile on his face.

Faust stood up and stretched his body. "Guderian! It's you again! You've come to me several times to ask for a meeting. What do you want to talk about this time? Is it about the Po Plan again? I've already told you that Conrad's Po Plan is a pipe dream. Just deal with it perfunctorily and don't take it too seriously."

Guderian was an outlier among German officers. Compared with most German officers who were known for their rationality, rigor and conservatism, Guderian's character was adventurous. He was a talented and easy-going person. He had been in the Grossdeutschland Regiment for only a short time, but he already had a good relationship with others.

In this regard, Rommel and others could not compare. Rommel was the type who was strict with himself and others, while Scherner was the type of person who was rational to the point of being a little cruel. Kesselring had the best popularity, but he was not as casual as Guderian.

Guderian looked at Faust's somewhat helpless expression and burst out laughing again. "Director, you're absolutely right. This time I'm asking for a meeting because I've revised the Po River Plan and drafted a new one. I'd like you to review it. This time, it's definitely very feasible."

Guderian also had a stubborn side. Although Rommel and Kesselring were both somewhat interested in the Po Plan, they also admitted that the German army lacked a fast enough mobile method to reach the Po River, so in the end, like Faust, they were more inclined to perfunctorily appease Marshal Conrad.

Only Guderian heard the news of the Po Plan from somewhere, and after that, he spent every day working on Conrad's Po Plan, trying to turn this very bold and fantastical plan into one that was both bold and reasonable.

Guderian had submitted sixteen revised plans to Faust before, and this time it was plan number seventeen.

Faust didn't even glance at it. He took the plan from Guderian and put it on the table.

"Captain Guderian, I don't want to judge you as a reckless gambler right now, because no one can predict the future. Maybe in a few decades you'll win big."

Guderian was confident: "You haven't seen it yet, so to speak like this is also reckless, Your Excellency. Recklessness is closer to courage than cowardice."

Faust reluctantly opened the Po River Plan No. 17. Unexpectedly, the first page Faust opened made his eyes light up.

"Is this the solution you came up with?"

Guderian straightened his back. "It's easy to get stuck in a rut. We always think that to execute the Po Plan, we must have a method of maneuver that can move quickly over mountain roads. In fact, this is not the case. The Italians have always disdained the 11th Army, considering it a weak Austrian unit. They don't believe the Austrians will launch a major attack from the Tyrol Mountains. Therefore, they have almost no defense of Arcero, the exit of the Tyrol Mountains."

Guderian was so excited that he picked up a red pencil from Faust's desk and began to draw on the back of the map:

"Once we successfully cross the Tyrol Mountains and capture Arsiero, the entire Po River Plain will be open to the German army. The difficulty ahead isn't in crossing the mountains; on the contrary, that's nothing to worry about. The difficulty lies in the fact that from Arsiero to the north bank of the Po River, the entire route is a vast, open plain with convenient transportation. This will facilitate our movement, and the Italian army will be able to mobilize reinforcements quickly to stop us."

"One of the most significant reasons for the stalemate on the Western Front is that both our forces and the Allies have too many reserves. The speed at which our troops can break through the enemy lines simply cannot keep up with the speed at which the reserves can reinforce them. As a result, breakthroughs are rare because the reserves can always fill the gaps in time."