The Rise Of Australasia

Chapter 532: Chapter 417: The Eastern Front Offensive Ends

While the German Chief of Staff Fakinhan's plan to attack the Polish salient from the north and south was gradually underway, the Commander of the German Eastern Front, Hindenburg, and his Chief of Staff Rudolph Anderson were secretly plotting their own plans.

On September 11, 1915, the German Nieman River Group Army and the Russian Fifth Army Group engaged in fierce battle in the Riga region.

Riga is located downstream of the Douglas River and is the first barrier to East Prussia on its way to Saint Petersburg.

If Riga were lost, the subsequent road to Saint Petersburg would be extremely smooth, and the safety of Saint Petersburg would be at risk.

As the capital of the Russian Empire, the importance of Saint Petersburg is self-evident. In order to protect the safety of Saint Petersburg, Archduke Nicholas ordered that Riga be defended at all costs and that German troops be blocked across the Douglas River.

Nicholas II also issued an order demanding that the defenders of Riga not retreat a single step, declaring that their fate was tied to the city's: if the city fell, they would perish.

The German Nieman River Army Group is a small-scale army group, with a strength of only around 120,000 people.

The Russian Fifth Army Group also does not have full force, with only a slightly higher total number of soldiers than the Nieman River Army Group, but still less than 140,000 people.

What's worse, the gap in weapons and equipment between the Russian army and the German army is even more pronounced than the relatively insignificant gap in numbers.

Out of the 140,000-strong Russian army, nearly 20,000 people lack weapons and equipment, and even the most basic rifles are not readily available.

In contrast, Germans are uniformly equipped with standard-issue weapons and have ample artillery and logistics support.

When such clearly mismatched armies fought, the outcome was predictable.

In the wars of this era, numbers were not so significant. Rather, more advanced weapons and equipment and more abundant logistical support were the key factors in determining victory and defeat.

However, in these two aspects, the Russian army lagged far behind the German army, which also determined that the result of this war would be a disastrous defeat for Russia.

Under the fierce shelling of the Germans, the Russian army retreated step by step, successively losing Shafri, Bonyevich, Mito, and Kovno fortress. Riga also declared its fall after being besieged by the Germans for more than half a month.

From September, the Russians sent almost daily telegrams for help to London, Paris, and Sydney.

From their initial demands, to their later requests and even pleading, the Russians were clearly panicking. They urgently hoped that their allies would launch an offensive in the Western and Balkan regions, forcing some German troops to return for support.

Arthur and the British and French had the same view: they could abandon Russia, but they couldn't hurt Russia.

In order to save this endangered ally, Britain and France promised to immediately launch a large-scale offensive on the Western Front. Arthur personally replied to Nicholas II, stating that the Australasian army would make every effort to attack the Balkan region.

On September 11, 1915, while Hindenburg was launching the Battle of Riga, Brigadier General Martin led an army of 200,000 and launched a fierce attack on Sarajevo, the strategically important city of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in Bosnia.

This originally less famous small city became famous worldwide before the outbreak of war due to the assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand, Crown Prince of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Meanwhile, the main force was far away in the Polish region, unable to rush back in a short period of time.

Unless the Austro-Hungarian Empire's army of fewer than 200,000 troops could hold out for at least ten days, its demise was only a matter of time.

On October 7, after holding out for over ten days, the Austro-Hungarian Empire's forces were finally wiped out and captured by the Balkan Front forces led by Brigadier General Martin.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire's forces numbered over 198,000, with over 55,000 killed, more than 118,000 injured, and over 140,000 captured.

Along with the Austro-Hungarian Empire's forces previously wiped out by the Australasian forces along the Montenegro border, nearly half of the Empire's border forces of nearly 400,000 had been lost, leaving less than 100,000 combat-ready troops.

This news was a devastating blow to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. As early as when the 200,000-strong force was being besieged, the Austro-Hungarian Empire had already redeployed 300,000 troops to support the southern border.

However, the problem was that mobilizing the army was not simple, especially when the forces were deep within the Russian territory.

Moreover, the Austro-Hungarian Empire's forces were also undertaking some combat tasks. If they suddenly withdrew troops, it would also be a blow to Germany's operational plans.

At this time, Germany's offensive also faced significant trouble.

Firstly, the Russian Fifth Army Group detected Hindenburg's plot to encircle the entire Shafri region, and, despite the orders of Nicholas II, evacuated the Shafri region, avoiding being surrounded by the Germans.

Though this led to Germany occupying large areas of Russian territory and captured the Shafri transportation hub.

However, Germany's plan to encircle and annihilate the Russian forces on a large scale was not successful, and although Russia suffered heavy losses, it still had the strength to fight.

At the same time, the German forces had advanced deep into the Russian heartland, and like the Russian forces, were facing the pressure and difficulties caused by Russia's poor infrastructure.

With the supply line from Germany to the combat zone being extremely long, coupled with the inconvenient transportation in the Russian region, the German forces advancing deep into the Russian territory faced terrible logistical support.

With insufficient supplies of ammunition and shells, the German offensive also lost momentum.

After breaking through Riga, the German icebreaker even reached the Minsk region, but did not cross the Tineber River. Like a punctured balloon, it could no longer move forward.

At this time, news of the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire's southern border continued to arrive, and after communicating with Germany, the Austro-Hungarian Empire withdrew most of its troops, causing even fewer soldiers to be available for the German-Austrian alliance to launch offensives, and the strategy of focusing on the Eastern Front was forced to be suspended.

Currently, the German Army did not have enough troops or adequate transportation capacity to meet the logistical needs of the frontline forces.

Moreover, the battles on the Eastern Front had been going on for an extended period, and the soldiers were extremely exhausted and urgently needed rest.

Upon further consideration, the German General Staff decided to stop the offensive on the Eastern Front temporarily and shift its attention to the Western Front to defend against the rumored large-scale British and French offensive.

Of course, the focus on the Western Front was temporary. Major Fagan assured William II that as soon as the Eastern Front's transportation routes improved, the offensive on the Eastern Front would continue.