empress ch41

As 1915 drew to a close, the morning of 1916 dawned.

1916 would later be evaluated as follows:

‘The Year of Escalation.’

And its beginning was marked by the Kingdom of Romania.

The Kingdom of Romania sent the following telegram to the Romanian Embassy in Rome:

‘The Kingdom of Romania is ready.’

“Heh.”

The corners of my lips subtly lifted. The exhilaration of fitting the last piece of the puzzle.

I was feeling it now.

The Romanians’ will to participate in the war was firm, their morale was high, and the manpower they could mobilize was enormous, exceeding 500,000.

But even so, I didn’t really… expect much from the Romanian army’s capabilities.

In the armies of the distant Middle Ages, one could not ignore an army armed with high morale. But in modern warfare, it is impossible to achieve victory with morale alone.

The human spirit will eventually dry up, wear out, and turn to dust. Especially when plunged into the extreme situation of war.

Of course, with their current strength alone, they could sufficiently trample Yugoslavia. While it was possible to sufficiently trample Yugoslavia, the real problem was the newly formed, vast Eastern Front, stretching approximately 400 kilometers.

“General Falkenhayn, do you think the Royal Romanian Army is capable of waging a defensive war against the Tsardom of Rus’?”

I asked, looking at Falkenhayn, the hero who had annihilated the Tsardom of Rus’ on the Eastern Front.

His 8th Army was currently being reorganized from the Eastern Front to the Western Front Command, a measure to maintain security in the territories newly acquired through the Konrad Offensive.

He had taken the time to see me briefly at my request during that process.

“Hmm… Frankly speaking… it’s impossible. The Kingdom of Romania is, at best, an army from the late 19th century. Even though the Tsardom of Rus’ army is made up of a motley crew, they have been steadily modernizing under Western support.”

“Indeed. I see.”

I moved the black pieces on the map forward and asked.

“Then, what if we launched an offensive from the north towards Eastern Poland to draw the attention of the main force of the Tsardom of Rus’?”

“…It would be possible if there were a genius way to solve the supply problem.”

“So, it’s impossible.”

He nodded silently.

The reason the Eastern Front was hell was quite different from that of the Western Front.

It was the paralysis of supply due to the vastness of nature and the broad gauge railway.

First, regarding the broad gauge railway. The gauge width used by the Tsardom of Rus’ and the Western world, including the Empire, was different. This was partly due to the unstable ground unique to the Tsardom of Rus’, but also to cut off the supplies of invaders who invaded the Tsardom of Rus’.

One might ask, why not use horses for supply like on the Western Front? Well… it’s possible, but I didn’t want to ‘sacrifice’ valuable warhorses in such a place.

Yes. Here, the next problem arises. It is the literally ‘vast’ nature unique to the Tsardom of Rus’.

In summer, all the fertile land, including Ukraine, turns into mud, paralyzing transportation. If you ask if we can just wait until winter when the ground freezes solid… I can only say that the Russian winter, an old tradition of the Tsardom of Rus’, awaits us.

Even people wrapped tightly in fur coats can’t withstand the Russian winter. There’s no way horses exposed to it bare can endure it.

“Hmm… Advancing towards the Baltic Sea and supplying along the coast… Ugh. That was a slip of the tongue.”

Although the Baltic Fleet had the ability to easily crush the Tsardom of Rus’ and secure naval supremacy in the Baltic Sea, could it be said that it was strong enough to lavishly transport supplies to advancing allies like the British Home Fleet and Grand Fleet?

It was difficult to answer yes, even with flattery.

“So, an offensive on the Eastern Front is impossible. I understand. You may return now.”

He saluted me and left the audience chamber.

As the door closed, I looked at the air and opened my mouth.

“So, Ambassador? What do you think of the evaluation of the best general on the Eastern Front?”

“…It’s a pity.”

Why is he sulking again? I specially gave him the opportunity to receive tutoring from Falkenhayn, the best general on the Eastern Front. Shouldn’t he be honored?

I smiled as I looked at the Romanian ambassador who emerged from behind the curtain.

“It’s unfortunate… but if your country participates in this Great War, your army will not be able to withstand the flames of the Eastern Front head-on. Our army also does not have the leeway to act as a shield for your army.”

“Ugh…”

He wanted to retort, but he, who was broad-minded enough to be dispatched as an ambassador to the most powerful country in Europe, would have vaguely known. That Falkenhayn’s words were not wrong at all.

“Of course, I personally highly value the Romanian army.”

Compared to the armies of satellite states whose morale had plummeted, the Royal Romanian Army was an army united under the name of nationalism.

“But apart from that, the reality is not easy.”

He made a face as if to say, what does a kid who just became an adult know about reality. Hmm. If I combine my previous life and previous iterations, I’m easily over 30 years old.

Anyway.

“Well. There is a way to solve this…”

Thud. I moved all the yellow pieces on the map south.

“First, please deploy all your forces towards the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.”

“Then the Bessarabia area will be empty…”

“Don’t worry about that.”

It’s embarrassing to say this, but cleaning up the messes made by allied countries is an old tradition of our Empire.

“Our Imperial Army will take charge of the Eastern Front.”

The Imperial Army, which had been mobilized, could ‘immediately’ pour an overwhelming amount of supplies into the front lines, surpassing the Tsardom of Rus’.

If we deploy the Guards Division stationed in Vienna and the divisions that will be newly created this time… it is possible to sufficiently fill the front lines that will newly increase with Romania’s participation.

“But in order to block the offensive of the Tsardom of Rus’, the Imperial Army needs to be stationed inside the Kingdom of Romania in advance… Wouldn’t the Allied Powers notice our country’s participation if that happens?”

That’s right. The Allied Powers would definitely notice the Kingdom of Romania’s participation.

But here, a very simple solution appears.

“Just have the Imperial Army wear the uniforms of the Royal Romanian Army.”

Yes. The Imperial Army stationed in Romania is not the Imperial Army. They are just the Romanian army made up of ‘Romanian youths who speak German suspiciously well’.

“…Then how will you solve their armament?”

That’s a good point. If they speak German suspiciously well and are armed with weapons used by the Imperial Army… wouldn’t that definitely attract the attention of the Allied intelligence agencies?

Of course, there is also a simple solution for this.

“Say you imported weapons from the Kingdom of Hungary.”

Currently, the Imperial Army and its satellite states all share the same weapons. This is due to ‘economies of scale’.

“The modernization of the Royal Romanian Army is an urgent matter, so it wouldn’t be strange to order weapons from the Kingdom of Hungary.”

Of course, if the Imperial Army is the one armed with those weapons, wouldn’t that be a losing contract for the Kingdom of Romania? Of course, that makes sense. He also has a slightly displeased expression at my words.

“Of course, all the weapons used by the soldiers ‘belonging to the Romanian army’ will be returned to the Kingdom of Romania.”

“Indeed… Then there is no reason for us to refuse.”

It seems we have finally reached an agreement. He and I smiled at each other and shook hands.

That night.

A train carrying a suspiciously large number of young men entered the Kingdom of Romania.

“Everyone, shut up and move quietly.”

They were wearing Romanian military uniforms. They were armed with weapons that Romania had imported from the Kingdom of Hungary this time. And they were… speaking German.

But no one noticed anything strange.

They were, at least on the surface, unmistakably Romanian soldiers. At least on the surface.

The commander of the 17th Army, Karl von Wenninger, smiled as he looked down at the ‘Romanian soldiers’ moving in perfect order.

‘At first, I was unhappy with the fact that I, as an Imperial soldier, had to wear the uniforms of the Romanian bastards…’

Now I was satisfied with that fact.

Today, the Kingdom of Romania was peaceful as well.

I don’t know how long this precarious peace will last.

The flames of war were approaching the Kingdom of Romania slowly but surely. All that remained was an opportunity to light the fuse.