Chapter 418 End of the Eastern Front Offensive
As German Chief of Staff Falkenhayn's plan to attack the salient part of Poland from north to south was gradually progressing, German Commander-in-Chief of the Eastern Front Hindenburg and his Chief of Staff Ludendorff were also plotting their own plans.
On September 11, 1915, the German Niemann Army and the Russian Fifth Army fought fiercely in the Riga area.
Riga is located downstream of the Daugwa River and is the first barrier to East Prussia on the way to St. Petersburg.
If Riga is lost, the road to St. Petersburg will be extremely smooth, and the safety of St. Petersburg cannot be guaranteed.
As the capital of the Russian Empire, St. Petersburg’s importance is self-evident. In order to protect the security of St. Petersburg, Grand Duke Nicholas ordered to hold Riga at all costs and block the German army on the other side of the Daugva River.
Nicholas II also sent an order, requiring the defenders of Riga not to take a step back. The city is still alive, but the city is broken and the people are dead.
The German Niemann River Army is a small group army with only about 120,000 people.
The number of Russian Fifth Army is also less than the number. The total number is only slightly more than that of the Neman River Army, but it is still less than 140,000 people.
What's even more terrible is that compared to the negligible difference in numbers, the gap in weapons and equipment of the Russian army is even greater.
Among the 140,000 Russian troops, nearly 20,000 lack weapons and equipment, not even the most basic rifles.
The Germans are uniformly equipped with standard weapons and have sufficient artillery and logistics.
The results of such a battle between two armies with obvious differences are actually predictable.
In wars of this era, numbers are not that important. Compared with the number of people, more advanced weapons and equipment and more adequate logistical supplies are the key to determining victory or defeat.
But in these two aspects, the Russian army lagged far behind the German army, which also destined that the result of this war would only be a disastrous defeat for Russia.
Under heavy German artillery fire, the Russian army retreated step by step, losing the fortresses of Shaveli, Ponevizh, Mitau and Kovno. Riga was also declared defeated after the German siege for more than half a month.
Since September, telegrams from the Russians asking for help have been sent to London, Paris and Sydney almost every day.
From the initial request to the final request or even begging, the Russians were obviously panicked. They were eager for their allies to launch attacks on the Western Front and the Balkans, forcing some German troops to return for reinforcements.
Arthur and Britain and France all have the same views. They can cheat Russia, but they must not harm Russia.
In order to save this already endangered ally, Britain and France promised to immediately launch a large-scale offensive on the Western Front. Arthur also personally sent a reply to Nicholas II, saying that the Australasian army would do its best to attack in the Balkans.
On September 11, 1915, while Hindenburg launched the offensive and defensive battle of Riga, Division Commander Martin led an army of 200,000 men to launch a fierce attack on Sarajevo, the important town in Bosnia of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
This small city, which was originally not well-known, became world-famous because of the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, the crown prince of the Austro-Hungarian Empire before the outbreak of the war.
There were not many Austro-Hungarian garrison troops in Sarajevo, less than 30,000 people in total.
In fact, looking at the entire southern border of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, there were less than 400,000 defenders.
Among them, there are more than 200,000 troops on the Serbian border, and more than 100,000 troops on the Romanian border, in the southern Carpathian Mountains.
The garrison in Bosnia near Montenegro only has a strength of more than 100,000 people.
In nearly a month of fighting, Division Commander Martin had wiped out nearly 40,000 Austro-Hungarian troops, and his own losses were less than 20,000.
Compared with Division Commander Martin, Serbia and Romania are progressing much slower. Their weapons and equipment are not as advanced as the Australasian army, and the combat capabilities of the Austro-Hungarian army cannot be underestimated.
In order to break through Sarajevo, Division Commander Martin assembled hundreds of artillery pieces and launched a bombing of Sarajevo for more than ten hours.
Subsequently, a large number of Greek and Montenegrin troops launched a charge, followed closely by the Australasian army.
It is easy to understand why the Balkan army works so hard. Division Commander Martin personally promised that as long as the Balkan army performs bravely in combat, Australasia will protect the interests of the Balkan countries.
How much land the Balkan countries can occupy basically depends on the attitude of the major powers. Being able to gain support from Australasia is also a good thing for the Balkan countries.
Before Riga was captured, Sarajevo had already been captured. Division Commander Martin, with less than 200,000 troops, decided to go from Bosnia to the other side of the Danube River, unite with Serbia, and surround the Austro-Hungarian army on the Serbian border.
The Austro-Hungarian Empire had approximately 200,000 troops on the Serbian border, more than half of whom were deployed in the border areas between Bosnia and Serbia. As most of the Austro-Hungarian army near Montenegro has been wiped out, the army led by Division Commander Martin does hope to bypass Bosnia and encircle the main force on the southern border of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
On September 23, the Austro-Hungarian army began to show signs of retreat. At the same time, Serbia also received notice from Division Commander Martin and launched a large-scale attack in the border area, slowing down the retreat of the Austro-Hungarian army.
On the afternoon of September 24, after the Australasian army eliminated a small number of Austro-Hungarian troops, they finally arrived in the hinterland of Bosnia. To the east is the border between Bosnia and Serbia.
The retreating Austro-Hungarian army soon encountered the Australasian army, and the two sides engaged in a fierce battle. However, the Austro-Hungarian army was obviously unable to withstand the charge of the Greek and Montenegrin armies, and the pace of retreat was blocked by the Australasian army. beat back.
You know, while the indigenous troops, Greek and Montenegrin troops launched a charge, the Australasian army quickly set up artillery positions in the rear and launched a fierce bombardment against the Austro-Hungarian army.
Although the Austro-Hungarian Empire was world-class in artillery technology, the long war consumed a large amount of the Austro-Hungarian Empire's domestic material reserves. In addition, cooperating with the German war, a large number of elite troops were transferred away, resulting in the shortage of weapons and equipment for the defenders in border areas. It was not enough, and fell behind in the artillery fire from both sides.
After the retreat failed, one can imagine the fate of this Austro-Hungarian army. Being attacked from both sides by the Australasian army and the Serbian army, and missing the best opportunity to retreat, the Austro-Hungarian army was like a turtle in a urn, with no way out.
On September 25, almost at the same time, both sides launched an attack on the Austro-Hungarian Army. More than 500,000 troops bravely charged towards the Austro-Hungarian Army of less than 200,000 people. Artillery fire and gunshots were fired one after another in the war zone. Continuously.
At this time, the Austro-Hungarian Empire did not have any reinforcements, and other armies on the southern border were either restrained by Romania or had long been eliminated by the Australasian army.
The main army is far away in Poland and it is impossible to come back in a short time.
Unless this Austro-Hungarian army of less than 200,000 men can hold out for at least ten days, its demise is only a matter of time.
On October 7, the Austro-Hungarian army held on for more than ten days and was finally destroyed and captured by the Balkan front army led by Division Commander Martin.
The Austro-Hungarian Empire's army totaled more than 198,000 people, with more than 55,000 killed, more than 118,000 injured, and more than 140,000 captured.
Including the Australasian and Austro-Hungarian troops that were wiped out at the Montenegrin border, most of the nearly 400,000 troops on the Austro-Hungarian border have been lost, and the number of combatable troops is now less than 100,000.
Such news was a devastating blow to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. As early as when 200,000 troops were besieged, the Austro-Hungarian Empire had already dispatched 300,000 troops south to support the southern border.
But the problem is that the mobilization of the army is not simple, especially when the army goes deep into the interior of Russia.
What's more, the Austro-Hungarian Empire's army also assumes part of the combat mission. If the troops are suddenly transferred, it will also be a blow to Germany's combat plan.
At this time, Germany's offensive also encountered a lot of trouble.
First, the Russian Fifth Army became aware of Hindenburg's plot to encircle the entire Shaveri area, and despite Nicholas II's order, evacuated the Shaveri area to avoid being surrounded by Germany.
Although this resulted in Germany occupying a large area of Russian territory, it also occupied the transportation hub of Shaveli.
However, Germany's plan to encircle and annihilate the Russian army on a large scale did not succeed. Although Russia suffered heavy losses, it still had the strength to fight.
At the same time, because the German army penetrated deep into the hinterland of Russia, like the Russian army, it faced logistical pressure and troubles caused by the poor primitive roads in Russia.
The logistics supply line from Germany to the war zone is very long, and the transportation in the Russian region is not convenient. As a result, the German army deep into the Russian hinterland faces poor logistics supplies.
When the supply of weapons, ammunition and artillery shells was not so sufficient, the German offensive also lost momentum.
After conquering Riga, the German ice even reached the Minsk area, but it did not cross the Tinebo River. It was as if it was discouraged and could no longer move forward.
At this time, news of the fall of the southern border of the Austro-Hungarian Empire continued to come. After communicating with Germany, the Austro-Hungarian Empire transferred most of its troops. As a result, the German-Austrian Allied Forces lacked the troops to launch an attack, and the strategy of focusing on the Eastern Front was also forced. Abort.
The German army currently does not have sufficient troops, nor does it have sufficient transportation capacity to meet the logistical supplies of front-line troops.
In addition, the battle on the Eastern Front has lasted for a long time, and the soldiers were very tired and in urgent need of rest.
After careful consideration, the German General Staff chose to stop the offensive on the Eastern Front and temporarily focus on the Western Front to prepare for the rumored possible large-scale attack by Britain and France.
Of course, the return of attention to the Western Front was only temporary. Falkenhayn assured Wilhelm II that the offensive on the eastern front would continue as long as the transport roads on the eastern front were improved.
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(End of chapter)