African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 1247: Chapter 256: Battlefield Balance

The camp at Bitola was built on the mountainside, resembling a simple and crude temporary fortress cluster. Tarolin and his entourage returned to the camp before dark.

Later, they began interrogating the Serbian insurgent. Clearly, when dealing with such individuals, the military was best at administering torture, as they were not professional interrogators after all.

After a night of torment, the Serbian extreme nationalist finally couldn’t withstand it.

In the interrogation room, interrogator Antarell reported to Mos, the highest military officer in Bitola:

”This man’s name is Gelrovsky, a Serb from the original Macedonian region. According to his account, he intended to probe our strengths and weaknesses. It seems the Serbian remnants are quite restless.”

”Gelrovsky was a company commander in Serbia’s original 16th Division, born into a Serbian Eastern Orthodox family in the Macedonian region. His father is a local priest in Bilato.”

”Therefore, Gelrovsky has been deeply corrupted by narrow-minded nationalism since childhood. After the Kingdom of Serbia annexed Macedonia, he resolutely chose to join the army and experienced the two Balkan Wars...”

Serbian, Eastern Orthodox faithful, extreme nationalist, from a small family in the Macedonian region... without a doubt, Gelrovsky is a typical Serbian insurgent.

Mos said, ”Indeed, the Serbs are relentless in their desire to destroy us. The empire paid a great price to eliminate the Kingdom of Serbia.”

To conquer the Kingdom of Serbia, Austria-Hungary suffered over 400,000 casualties, a number that certainly includes ordinary civilians.

And Austria-Hungary didn’t really care much about the civilian casualties. After all, the situation on the Serbian battlefield was dire, merely allowing the Serbians to invade Bosnia.

Since Bosnia is a habitat for Serbs, Croats, and Ottoman remnants, the casualties in Bosnia were, in fact, beneficial to Austria-Hungary.

Of course, the substantial losses suffered by the Austrian-Hungarian army were also quite distressing, as many of the troops stationed in Bosnia were the empire’s elite.

After all, Austria-Hungary had plotted against the Kingdom of Serbia for a long time. The forces on the border between the two countries were, at the very least, above average in the imperial army. However, these elites were squandered due to Potiorek’s command errors.

In simpler terms, most of the troops in Bosnia under Potiorek’s command at the time were career soldiers.

They couldn’t be compared to the cannon fodder units hastily recruited and hurried to the battlefield now.

Fortunately, Austria-Hungary had profound resources and ultimately managed to recover the situation, but the price was quite steep.

Mos continued, ”Now, let’s not even talk about Albania and Greece. The situation within the Kingdom of Serbia isn’t good, especially with the guerrilla forces and the Serbian populace harboring them, making our days difficult.”

The guerrilla forces are currently Mos’s biggest headache. The soil in Serbia is naturally suited for guerrilla tactics.

First, ideologically, the Serbian people’s hatred for Austria-Hungary is profoundly ingrained, thanks to the Serbian government’s long-term negative propaganda against Austria-Hungary. Coupled with nationalist sentiments, the Serbians act like madmen.

Secondly, the terrain and climate of the Balkan region, being mountainous and hilly with dense forests, are naturally suited for guerrilla warfare.

This has led to continuous small-scale raids and uprisings in Serbia, even though the major battles have essentially ended.

And the situation in the Bitola area is even more complex. Mos has to be vigilant against the rebound of local forces on one front, while also guarding against the attack from foreign forces.

Although Bilato borders Greece, it is also not far from the Albanian region, both primary destinations for the Serbian forces’ retreat.

Therefore, Mos said, ”It’s impossible for the enemy to have sent only this one infiltrator. There must be more people who have penetrated our borders.”

”Considering the time elapsed, the Serbians likely can’t sit still. After all, this half year would have been enough for them to receive support from UK, France, and Germany to re-arm their troops.”

”In the coming days, we must increase patrol efforts, be alert to changes in the situation inside Greece, and also stay watchful for potential attacks from the Albanian region to the west.”

At the end of 1915, after Serbia’s fall, the Serbian government-in-exile hadn’t made any significant moves, which clearly isn’t logical.

Therefore, Mos concluded that the Serbian government-in-exile would soon take significant action, and Bitola was likely within their scheming scope.

However, Mos only had a battalion at his disposal. Of course, this doesn’t mean that the Allies have deployed few troops in the border areas. Including the brother troops, the joint forces of Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria on the Serbian border totaled up to 50,000, holding geographical advantages.

But we know our own matters. The combat effectiveness of these 50,000 allied troops is quite concerning. Most of the main Allied forces within Serbia have already deployed onto the Russian front.

Moreover, Albania and Greece are unstable factors. Nobody knows if, during this period, the two countries might join the Allies.

Forget these small countries; even the quasi-military ally of the Allies, the Ottoman Empire, remains in a state of watchful waiting.

This is mainly because the entire war scenario in 1915 had reached a stalemate, with the Allies and the Allies being evenly matched, prompting many countries to refrain from betting on a side.

Countries like Italy, Greece, Romania, and the Ottoman Empire dare not engage at this current period.

Bulgaria is an exception. Bulgari’s primary goal is Serbia and other Balkan countries. Last year’s advantage over Serbia obtained by Austria-Hungary must have unsettled Bulgaria.

Not to mention, Bulgaria is certainly looking to recover lost territories from the Second Balkan War, leaving joining the conflict as their only choice.

Of course, Bulgaria’s government naturally wants to seize this opportunity to gain more spoils in the Balkans, since if the entire task is handled by Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria won’t even get a taste of the soup.

If we delve into the battlefield situation, the Allies are still at a disadvantage due to their significant differences compared to the Allies in terms of resources and national strength.

However, the current situation is considerably better than in the previous life in three aspects. Firstly, Italy is no longer acting as a disruptive force. In the previous life, Italy’s betrayal before battle caused great trouble for the Allies.

Despite its terrible wartime performance in the previous life, Italy was still considered a great power then.

Currently, the three countries on the Italian peninsula don’t dare to bet easily, which offers Germany and Austria more room to maneuver, at least preventing Austria-Hungary from being overwhelmed.

Secondly, East Africa and the United States, as ”neutral countries,” are supplying the Allies with materials, strengthening their military potential. At least, Germany and Austria can deploy more forces on the battlefield.

Additionally, with East Africa’s presence, further arming Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire becomes possible, which is also beneficial for the Allies.

Especially for Bulgaria, already involved in the conflict, it ensures that every soldier holds a rifle, avoiding situations like Tsarist Russia’s.

In this regard, Ernst greatly admires the mobilization capabilities of the Eastern Orthodox countries. Whether Serbia, Bulgaria, or Tsarist Russia, they have all displayed strong mobilization capabilities.

In contrast, the logistical support capabilities of the Three Kingdoms are poor. In the previous life, whether in Serbia, Bulgaria, or Russia, a large number of troops were conscripted into the army without adequate equipment, a likely characteristic of Eastern Orthodox countries.

Of course, Bulgaria is somewhat special—despite its Eastern Orthodox faith, it differs somewhat from the general sense of Slavism.

Nevertheless, it’s undeniable that Bulgarian combat effectiveness is reliable, and their performance on the Russian front is similarly impressive now.