Chapter 1581 The War Subsides
November 14, 1934.
Budapest.
As November approached, the weather in Budapest became increasingly colder, and the situation inside the city became more chaotic. Due to the war, Budapest's external communications were cut off and supplies became extremely scarce.
On the city wall of Budapest, Emperor Rudolf kept himself together and comforted the soldiers defending the city.
"Your Majesty, it's raining. For the sake of your health, you'd better go back quickly!" Krajato, the commander of Budapest's defense, said to Emperor Rudolf.
A few inconspicuous raindrops had fallen on the two of them. Emperor Rudolf looked up at the sky. Dark clouds like black city walls had gathered together, making the already bleak Budapest look even more gloomy.
Emperor Rudolf lowered his head and said to Krajato, "Now, the soldiers still have to guard the city walls. Some of them have not slept for two or three days. How can I stay in the palace?"
After hearing what Emperor Rudolf said, Commander Krajato's cracked lips opened and his voice was a little hoarse.
"Your Majesty, the empire is now on the brink of the abyss. If even your body collapses, the empire will be doomed. You are the empire's last spiritual pillar. When that happens..."
Rudolf sighed and said, "Krajato, do you think the empire can hold on?"
Krajato was silent for a moment before he said carefully: "Perhaps when we get to the Germans, our problems will be solved."
Emperor Rudolf shook his head. “If the Germans wanted to save us, their troops in Slovakia would not have remained indifferent to Budapest.”
"Germany's intentions are easy to guess. Their troops entered the Reich only to covet our land, industry, food and population."
"By then, even if Germany achieves final victory and allows the Reich to continue to exist, the Reich will be nothing more than a puppet in their hands."
After occupying Slovakia, Germany was actually not far from Budapest. However, the German troops were not heading towards Budapest. Instead, they bypassed the city of Košice from the east and headed south to speed up the attack on eastern Hungary.
This actually explains Germany's attitude towards the Austro-Hungarian government.
Emperor Rudolf said, "Forget it. There's no point in saying this any more. If we can hold on to Budapest, then we still have the confidence to stay at the negotiation table. If we can't even hold on to Budapest, then everything else is just empty talk."
"We are definitely exhausted, but the Labour team is not much better, so the outcome is uncertain until the very last moment."
For the Austro-Hungarian government and the Habsburg royal family, holding on to Budapest was tantamount to holding on to justice. In the future, even if Germany really decided to annex the Austro-Hungarian Empire, they had to give them good treatment.
…
While people in Budapest were in panic, the coalition government forces outside the city were also in a difficult situation. The coalition government's eastern expedition commander-in-chief, Chasobour, was carrying out a new round of mobilization.
"Comrades, Budapest is right in front of us. Vienna is under great pressure now. If we can take Budapest as soon as possible, we can relieve the pressure on the entire regime."
"Hungary is about to enter winter. If we delay the war until the snow falls, the difficulty of taking Budapest will increase exponentially."
It usually snows in Budapest at the end of November, but now it is more cloudy and rainy. However, this has made the coalition government forces very uncomfortable.
The Hungarian army could at least stay in the city, but the coalition government forces were outside the city and the environment was very harsh.
There are now more than 200,000 coalition government troops in the direction of Budapest, and they are short of food and clothing. If it really snows, it will be a disaster for the coalition government troops.
Therefore, Chasobul said: "Only by taking Budapest can we turn the passive position into the active one and replenish ammunition and supplies."
"We don't have much time left. We must take Budapest within two weeks to overcome this crisis."
"I know that taking Budapest now would be a very difficult task for the forces we have."
"In terms of numbers, although we have over 200,000 brave warriors who are not afraid of bloodshed and sacrifice, it is not easy to capture a fortress like Budapest by relying on numerical superiority, even in the era of cold weapons."
"Secondly, we lack heavy firepower for sieges, which further increases the difficulty of our attack on Budapest."
"However, we have no way out. It is not in our character as Labour Party members to shrink back when faced with difficulties. Therefore, we must move forward courageously and without frowning, no matter what the cost."
Due to the development of the war in Vienna, many of the troops that were originally heading to the East were withdrawn to Vienna to participate in the Battle of Vienna.
Now, the number of coalition government troops outside Budapest is far from enough, while the number of Austro-Hungarian defenders inside Budapest exceeds 100,000.
However, a large part of the Budapest defenders were troops hastily recruited from the city of Budapest by the Austro-Hungarian government. Many of them were ordinary people before, and their combat effectiveness could not be guaranteed.
Therefore, this led to the defenders in Budapest not taking the initiative to attack, but taking advantage of the emptiness of their main force to attack the coalition government forces outside Budapest.
Of course, relying on Budapest's strong city defenses to consume the coalition government forces is indeed a safer approach. Fighting outside the city will instead lose the advantage of the defending side.
Now, the commander of the coalition government forces, Çasobür, plans to take a military adventure and storm Budapest.
In fact, it was also a helpless choice. The coalition government forces of Bohemia and Austria were defeated, which put the coalition government regime in a very passive position.
If his Eastern Expeditionary Force fails to make a breakthrough, the difficulties faced by the coalition government will only become more severe.
However, the senior leaders of the Eastern Expedition Army, such as Chasobul, knew very well that if they did not take risks, they would most likely not receive reinforcements from Vienna. Vienna was already in a state of difficulty, so their army could only rely on itself.
With the final mobilization of Çasobul, the final decisive battle between the Eastern Expeditionary Force of the United Government Army and the Austro-Hungarian defenders in Budapest will also come ahead of schedule.
November 14, afternoon, accompanied by light rain.
The coalition government forces made a desperate move and mobilized all their artillery to fire at Budapest. Under the cover of artillery fire, the coalition government soldiers began to use all means to move closer to the walls of Budapest.
The city defense artillery of Budapest immediately retaliated, firing at the artillery positions of the coalition government forces, while machine guns fired at the charging coalition government soldiers.
Large groups of soldiers fell down like corn in the fields, but the Labour fighters in the rear were not frightened at all. They continued to charge under the leadership of the Labour political commissar.
The machine gun barrels in Budapest were all red from firing and had no time to cool down, but as soon as there was a slight pause, the soldiers of the coalition government army would crawl up from the ground like a tide, fearlessly rushing towards the city wall.
This gave the defenders of Budapest a great psychological shock, but it was obvious that this human tactic did not completely destroy their fighting will.
The fighting lasted until evening, when the coalition government's casualties had reached an extremely terrible level, with nearly one-fifth of its personnel reduced, before it finally advanced to the front line of the Budapest defenders' positions.
With the help of the coalition government army engineers, a gap was blown out in Budapest with a loud bang, which immediately created a crisis in Budapest's defense line. The two sides launched a fierce battle over this gap.
However, the Budapest defenders, having lost their fortifications, were obviously unable to fight against the coalition government forces, which were blessed with faith, in close combat.
This gap quickly turned into a funnel, and the Allied government forces poured into the city of Budapest and engaged in street fighting with the defenders. By this time, the defeat of the Budapest defenders was already decided.
The defenders of Budapest did not fight to the death with the coalition government forces, but collapsed at the first touch, and a large number of soldiers disobeyed orders and left the battlefield.
Seeing that the situation was hopeless, the Budapest defense commander Krajato covered Emperor Rudolf's retreat towards the palace.
Emperor Rudolf was completely unconscious at this time. Because of the cold rain and the long-term mental tension, he finally couldn't hold on and fainted on the city wall when the coalition government forces entered the city.
"Commander, what should we do now?" someone asked Krayato.
Krajato said in a low voice, "The Emperor's safety must not be compromised. We must first get him to the palace safely. As for what happens next, we can only leave it to fate!"
The Budapest Royal Palace is actually the Buda Castle, which is also a fortress. However, this type of fortress does not play a big role in modern warfare.
In the palace, an East African intelligence officer took over Rudolf himself. He said to Commander Krajato, "General, now that the war is lost, what are your plans? If you want to leave here, we may be able to provide some assistance."
Krajato shook his head and said, "Budapest is lost, and someone has to stay and take responsibility. So thank you for your kindness. I will live and die with Budapest!"
His choice impressed the East African intelligence officers, who saluted him and then began to arrange how to transport Rudolf himself out of Budapest.
In fact, Emperor Rudolf himself had originally planned to live and die with Budapest, but unfortunately he fainted, which gave the East African intelligence agency an opportunity.
Archduke Ferdinand of East Africa had personally instructed that Emperor Rudolf must be taken to East Africa even if he had to be kidnapped. Now that Emperor Rudolf himself was in a coma, this actually facilitated the work of the East African intelligence department.
They disguised Emperor Rudolf as an ordinary person and transported him to a temporary airport that had been prepared long ago. The airport was located in a private estate near the imperial palace. Then, the East Africans carried Rudolf onto the plane and took the Austro-Hungarian emperor away from Budapest.
…
On the second day after the fall of Budapest, Germany further accelerated its offensive against the Coalition Government. In the direction of Vienna, German artillery and the Coalition Government exchanged bombardments. However, the German firepower was not enough to suppress the Coalition Government forces in Vienna.
The German army that attacked Vienna came all the way from the eastern mountains of Austria, so it would take time for the baggage they carried to reach the city of Vienna, and they did not carry much heavy firepower.
In terms of firepower, the German troops in Bohemia are accelerating their southward advance, and by then the German troops will have completely gained the advantage in firepower.
At the same time, the German army in Slovakia also began to move south and rushed towards Budapest. After confirming the fall of Budapest, the German army finally stopped hiding its ambitions.
Now, as long as Germany speeds up the elimination of the Austro-Hungarian Labor Party, it will be able to officially take over the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Of course, Germany does not need to care about the missing Emperor Rudolf. After all, the Austro-Hungarian government is completely finished, and even if Emperor Rudolf is alive, he will not be able to play much of a role.
Germany's sudden move put pressure on the Greater Austrian coalition government. At the end of November, Germany officially took over the entire Bohemian region, and the road from the north to Vienna was no longer blocked. However, in Budapest, the Labor Party was once again attacked by the German army from the Slovak direction before it could even warm up.
In just less than five days, Budapest fell into the hands of the German army. At this moment, the only remaining coalition government was the isolated city of Vienna. Once the coalition government in Vienna was eliminated, it would mean that there would be no armed forces in the Austro-Hungarian Empire that could resist the Germans.
While the Germans were advancing rapidly, the Italian campaign against Venice officially began at the end of November. In Venice, the Austro-Hungarian defenders showed a tenacious fighting spirit.
After all, the war between the Budapest defenders and the coalition government forces was a civil war, so the Budapest defenders' will to resist was not very firm.
The Austro-Hungarian garrison in Venice was completely different. They regarded the Italians as invaders, so they insisted on fighting the Italian army until the last moment. Despite the disparity in strength between the two sides, they managed to hold on until December, when Italy finally broke into the city of Venice.
At this time, the Austro-Hungarian defenders still insisted on fighting street battles with the Italian army, which caused the river water in Venice to turn red. It was not until the end of December that Italy completely controlled the entire city of Venice, but the fighting in the Venice area was still not over.
When Italy was attacking Venice, the Battle of Vienna also broke out at the same time. The military factories in Vienna received special attention from the German Air Force.
This caused a serious shortage of weapons and ammunition for the coalition government forces in Vienna. At the same time, food supply was also an important problem. Vienna had become an isolated city with a population of over one million and was simply unable to sustain long-term combat.
These problems resulted in the coalition government in Vienna being completely unable to resist the German attack. On December 12, Vienna fell and the German army announced the occupation of Vienna.
With the fall of Vienna, the Austro-Hungarian puppet government supported by Germany was formally established, and it cooperated with the German army to accelerate the occupation of other regions.
Except for Yugoslavia and Venice, other areas were basically taken over by the German army within a month.
At this time, Britain and France began to take action. They began to mediate the war within the Austro-Hungarian Empire and asked Germany, Italy and Yugoslavia to sit down and negotiate.
The intentions of Britain, France and Germany were very clear. The core of the intention was to preserve Yugoslavia and thus separate it from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The second was to urge Italy to recover Lombardy and the entire Venice so that it could prevent Germany from entering the Adriatic Sea.
Although Adolf wanted to take over the entire Austro-Hungarian Empire, he now had to consider the attitudes of Britain and France. After all, Germany was not ready to go to war with Britain and France, and his four-year plan was still in its infancy.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com