Chapter 1321 Romania joins the Allies
There is no way to compare it with Russia, because the best reference that East Africa can get is the pre-war Russian army.
Before the war, only Russia and the Far Eastern Empire had larger armies than those in East Africa today. However, although the Far Eastern Empire's army was large in size, their equipment level was really poor, their combat effectiveness was worrying, and they were divided into multiple forces.
If you put aside logistics and other factors before the war, the combat effectiveness of the Russian army was still good. Moreover, the population, territorial area, etc. of Russia before the war were also similar to those of East Africa. Although the area, population, etc. of the United States were It's not bad, and even the size of industry and East Africa are relatively similar. However, before the war, the United States underestimated the development of the military, especially the US Army, and could basically ignore it.
……
While East Africa was preparing for large-scale military expansion and military reform, a little change also occurred on the European battlefield.
August 13, 1918.
Romania, which has always been "neutral" in Europe, officially announced that it would join the "Allies". The joy of the Allied camp, which had just received support from the United States, was instantly shattered. This adds a layer of fog to the already unclear European situation.
Romania has always been the target of wooing by the Allies and the Entente. If it gets support from Romania, it means that it will have nearly 600,000 more troops. Moreover, Romania's location is also very important. It is in the hinterland of the Allied Powers and is also an important oil producing area.
In the previous life, when Romania joined the Allies, it posed a huge threat to the Allies, leaving Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria passive.
William II was even more angry and kicked the Romanian monarch Ferdinand I of Sigmaringen out of the Hohenzollern family tree.
However, this time history has changed, Romania chose the Allied camp, and the reason why this happened is also very simple. Facing the 3 million Austrian-Hungarian and Bulgarian coalition forces with high morale, and the eager German and Ottoman Empire beside them, Romania had no other choice but to join the Allies.
Capital of Romania.
Inside the Royal Palace of Bucharest.
Ferdinand I is having a conversation with Rudolf, Crown Prince of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which shows that the Austro-Hungarian Empire attaches great importance to Romania.
Crown Prince Rudolf of the Austro-Hungarian Empire said to Ferdinand I: "Congratulations to His Majesty the King of Romania, you have made the most correct choice. With your country joining, the strength of our allies will be further strengthened, and the whole of Europe will no longer be able to The power to stop us exists."
Now Rudolf is actually the real helm of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and Emperor Franz is basically unable to handle government affairs due to physical reasons.
But this is also normal. Emperor Franz is already very old. According to the development of his previous life, Franz should have gone to meet God in 1916, but maybe because he did not lose a son in this life Because of the pain, the Austro-Hungarian Empire did not decline as it did in its previous life, so Emperor Franz has lived until now, but his body cannot withstand the ravages of time.
In comparison, Emperor Franz’s younger brother, Archduke Ferdinand of East Africa, may have lived longer than Emperor Franz. After all, Archduke Ferdinand’s physical condition is still in full swing until now. .
Ferdinand I said with a flawless smile: "Yes! Now the entire Eastern Europe is basically ruled by the Allies. Russia is now too busy to take care of itself because of the civil war. Only the southwestern part of the Balkan Peninsula Several small countries are dying, and we in Romania also have an obligation to contribute more to the alliance.”
Although he said this verbally, Ferdinand I was actually a little depressed in his heart.
Before joining the Allies, Ferdinand I actually did not want to join the war at all, or to join the war so early.
However, the Allies have ended the war against Russia. The Austro-Hungarian Empire alone has nearly one million troops returning from the Eastern Front to support other battlefields.
When the Allied forces were transferred from the Eastern Front to other battlefields, the German and Austrian countries obviously did not forget Romania, a neutral country. Different from the previous life, this time Germany and Austria have a particularly tough attitude towards Romania. If Romania does not join the Allies, the Allies will directly wipe Romania off the map.
Facing the threat from the Allied Powers, Romania did not have the confidence to refuse in the previous life. The reason why Romania dared to reject the Allies in the previous life and finally joined the Allies was the performance of the Austro-Hungarian Empire on the battlefield.
In this time and space, apart from the unfavorable war situation in Serbia at the beginning of the war, the Austro-Hungarian Empire quickly corrected the chaos under the leadership of Rudolf, and gradually restored the military's strength under the arms of East Africa and Germany. Combat strength, now, the size of the army is as high as four million.
Romania’s other neighbor, Bulgaria, which is also a member of the Allied Powers, also performed well on the battlefield, but its shocking mobilization ability was enough to shock Romania, and even more What's more, under the armed forces of East Africa and the Allied Powers, the Bulgarian army's combat effectiveness is even stronger.
Although Bulgaria is not large in size, Bulgaria's military power is now a full military power before the war.
After the end of the Eastern Front, Romania was completely surrounded by the Allies. The two neighbors were not easy to mess with and could not be messed with. Therefore, after the Allies issued an ultimatum, Romania had no choice but to join. , otherwise the former Serbia would be the end of Romania.
Although the Serbian government-in-exile was still fighting against the Central Powers with the support of the Allies, Ferdinand I had no intention of leaving Bucharest.
Not to mention that Ferdinand I did not want to live in exile, even his status as a Hohenzollern family made it impossible for him to go against the Allies at this time.
In the past life, one of the reasons why Germany could tolerate Romania's early neutrality was that the Romanian royal family itself was supported by Germany. Therefore, in theory, Romania should move towards the Allies. However, in the past life, Romania happened to make an unexpected move. The choice made William II angry.
As for leading Romania and the Allied Powers to the end, Ferdinand I was not that stupid. He did not think that Romania was an opponent of the Allied Powers' military power.
Just the millions of troops from Bulgaria and the Austro-Hungarian Empire distributed on the Romanian border made him unable to sleep well.
Therefore, Ferdinand I was actually forced to join the Allies, so it was normal for him to be dissatisfied, but he did not dare to show it when facing Rudolph, and even greeted him with a smile.
At this time, Ferdinand I had no other option but to lead Romania and the Allies to darkness, so Ferdinand I could only express his loyalty in front of Rudolf.
Seeing Ferdinand I’s statement made Rudolf very happy. He said to Ferdinand I: “With your country joining us, our chances of winning will be even greater. Now on the European continent, France and Britain can only hold on."
"We must completely defeat France before the Americans land in Europe. Even the United Kingdom and the United States can only look across the sea and sigh, so our chances of winning are still very good."
"Originally, the German army was on par with the British and French coalition forces. Things will change quickly on the battlefield, so be prepared.”
"Romania has only been a member for a short time, so if you want to divide the spoils, you must go all out. Bulgaria has already got what it wants. If you don't work hard, in the future, Bulgaria will be the only country in the Balkan Peninsula. "
The effect of Rudolf setting an example with Bulgaria is still very significant.
Ferdinand I immediately said with a serious face: "Don't worry, Your Highness Rudolf, our Romania will not be left behind by Bulgaria. The Kingdom's army is ready and ready to support the battlefield at any time."
The deal is done, Romania’s only choice is to join the war as soon as possible, and maybe there is hope of getting a share of the pie, especially since Bulgaria has acquired territory in Serbia and other regions through war.
(End of this chapter)