Chapter 1519: Von Seeckt’s Experience on the Eastern Front 1

Chapter 1519 Von Seeckt’s Experience on the Eastern Front 1

Hans von Seekert was a very good Prussian officer. Even though he did not participate in many battles on the Eastern and Western Fronts at the same time as in history, during the past year or so, von Seekert The performance of the lieutenant general is absolutely experienced. From the beginning of the blitz against France, he served as the chief of staff of Kruger's First Army, and then after the Bavarian Army entered the Western Front, he also served as the chief of staff of the Prussian army. The spearhead of the Legion launched a surprise attack on the French army, and then fought against the British, French, and Anzacs in the tug-of-war. It can be said that they have seen all kinds of enemies, and they have a good record.

At the same time, this buddy has a good relationship with Mackensen, the commander of the Prussian Army on the Eastern Front, so the Kaiser sent him as the commander of the "Ukrainian Army". According to the Kaiser's instructions, this unit has nothing to do with the Mackensen Army and the Bavarian Army. It is directly assigned to the Hungarian Army. It "must" accept the command of Archduke Karl. Before departure, he was temporarily promoted to lieutenant general...

Von Seeckert has inherited one of the great advantages of the Prussian soldiers - talk less and do more. This buddy completed a series of tasks such as troop assembly, material distribution and transportation in less than 60% of the scheduled preparation time, ( Of course, the so-called end point of the troop transport is the border of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, not directly to the front line) However, when he set foot on the territory of Ukraine ten days earlier than planned, he couldn't help but look back at the direction he came from, feeling that he had entered a whole new dimension.

The endless vast plains, as well as the muddy land above, the dilapidated railway lines, the lazy military depot personnel, and the extreme lack of transportation tools, supplies, etc., all of which made him feel that the friendly forces he encountered did not seem to be from this era The army, rather the army of the Franco-Prussian War....

For the lack of infrastructure conditions, von Seekert is prepared. After all, this is not a developed Western Europe. The density of traffic lines is low, and the lack of infrastructure is understandable. Even the lieutenant general has already made relevant preparations. For example, bring a lot of compressed food and reduce some unnecessary heavy equipment to deal with the bad road conditions in Ukraine. But the situation in front of him still made him feel overwhelmed, even a little frightened. Because, he found that the Hungarian friendly army he encountered was really unreliable!

The first problem is the communication problem. According to the lieutenant general's idea, even if it is not guaranteed that all Hungarian officers can communicate proficiently in German, then it is enough to provide enough Hungarian translators for the troops, right? However, it turns out that his ideas are still too naive compared with the facts.

After entering the border area and meeting the Hungarian military delegation who came to greet them, after a brief exchange, it was discovered that the delegation included Hungarians, Romanians, Poles, Slovenians, and even a person who spoke Italian. .... After the meeting between the two sides, the lieutenant general basically communicated with the head of the Hungarian delegation on the opposite side, and then a bunch of people in Hungarian costumes held a small meeting in their respective national languages... Fortunately, the overall quality of the delegation is passable.

Basically, communication in Hungarian is not a big problem. But the troops below don't have such luck and conditions!

"I can't believe that at a distance of less than 100 kilometers, we have to communicate with personnel who speak at least 3 languages ​​​​and at various military depots. In this place, you must bring at least 4 languages. At least The translation of more than 8 dialects can ensure the smooth communication, and such a person should work as a foreign language professor in the university instead of coming here as an interpreter for us!" A staff officer wrote this when reporting to the lieutenant general.

And Lieutenant General Seekert also said that he was dizzy. Before going to the Eastern Front, he had visited the generals of the Prussian Legion who came back from the Eastern Front. The will is not strong, but generally speaking, as long as there is no special adversity, they can be regarded as reliable friends. When necessary, they will give all kinds of help to friendly troops."

After getting this evaluation, Lieutenant General Seekert could lower the standard and make more preparations. However, he still got one thing wrong, that is, most of these generals came into contact with Austria-Hungary Austrians in the regiments, not Hungarians ....

Although it is also fighting under the banner of one country, although it is also a multi-ethnic country, the cohesion of the Austrian Legion is obviously stronger. From a purely linguistic point of view, all Czechs participating in the Bohemian Legion must be able to speak German, and a few Although the ethnic troops form an army alone, they must be able to use German fluently from the company commander and above, and there are much fewer obstacles in communication. Many German officers and soldiers often think that they are almost communicating with their compatriots, not with foreigners.

If the language problem is only a temporary communication barrier, then as Lieutenant General von Seekert's army traveled through the wilderness of Ukraine, he became even more pessimistic about the so-called friendly forces! The biggest feeling these troops give him is that they are lazy and like a mess of sand. Maybe their uniforms are the same, but from their words and deeds, they don't regard the surrounding Hungarian troops as their true allies! There was even such a situation, when passing by a military depot, a Russian cavalry attacked an Austro-Hungarian army composed of Croats outside the depot, while the Hungarians stationed inside the depot looked at their compatriots indifferently Died at the Cossack's saber. In the end, the passing German army pulled the Croats!

When a German officer asked angrily why the Hungarians in the military depot didn't help their compatriots, the latter's answer shocked him: "Those Croats are not peaceful, and they speak a different language from us. Things that disgust us, it would be better for Hungary if there were fewer of them."

And this is definitely a true portrayal of the current ethnic situation in Hungary. Such a war would have left the weak Hungarian government powerless, and the huge pressure will eventually aggravate the contradictions between exploitation and ethnic groups, and these contradictions After accumulation and amplification, it was even directly reflected on the battlefield. It is no wonder that when the First World War ended in history, Hungary lost more than half of its territory!

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