Anna's health has completely recovered. It is almost December, and heavy snow fell in Warsaw. The heavy snow lasted for several days, and the earth was covered with a layer of silver, and the temperature dropped sharply.

On November 27, Anna took the train back to Moscow. Along the way, Anna felt colder and colder. When she heard that the German army had stopped attacking, she had to sigh: Russian winter is really awesome.

......

Germany, East Prussia. In Marinburg, the general command of the "Oriental Legion", Hindenburg and Rudendolf were enjoying the glory of victory: Hindenburg became the marshal of the army, and Rudendolf was promoted to general. "Annihilation of an army of the Russian army" made such a great victory that "a perfect pair of commanders" reach the pinnacle of life.

In addition to the 6th Army, the "Oriental Army" also has the 8th Army. But compared to Hindenburg and Rudendolf, the commander of the 8th Army, Pritwitz and his chief of staff, seemed extremely mediocre. During the entire siege, Pritwitz had no idea at all. Soon, the 8th Army became a subordinate of the 6th Army and served as a non-offensive main force. During the entire battle, Pritwitz completely became a supporting role.

However, the German army did not go smoothly on the Western Front. Because the German army was defeated in the Battle of the Marne River, Moltke was dismissed. In order to offset its influence, newspapers promoted the "winner of the Eastern Front" in a full page. Hindenburg became a famous "wise commander" overnight. The "Hindenburg fever" was set off in the country. Berlin took the lead in building the Hindenburg memorial pi. Many street squares were named after Hindenburg, and many universities awarded him the title of honorary doctor. Various commodities named after Hindenburg appeared on the market.

The rewards from the Supreme Command were more than these. On November 20, Hindenburg was appointed commander-in-chief of the "Oriental Legion", with him commanding all the troops on the Eastern Front, and Rudendolf served as the chief of staff.

All of this was seen and hated by the officers of the 8th Army. In fact, Hindenburg was just a puppet, and all military operations were planned by Ludendolf. When they first met at the Hannover station, Ludendolf reported to Hindenburg on the car the situation of the 6th Army and some instructions issued. Hindenburg listened patiently for 15 minutes, said, "I have no better idea. I think I can do it like this." Then he went to bed. In this way, he had completely adapted to the role he should play from the beginning.

Hindenburg was happy to be a hand-off manager. He believed that one of his main tasks was to "make the intelligence of Chief of Staff, almost superhuman energy and unremitting enthusiasm to fully utilize, and create conditions for him if necessary."

However, Hindenburg was a veteran after all, and he still knew the basic military strategy. After discussing with Rudendolf, Hindenburg ordered the entire army to stop advancing, defend on the spot, consolidate his position, and continue to attack in the spring of the following year.

...........

Calmness is only temporary, and Anna knows that the Germans are brewing a larger attack, and the upcoming 1915 will be the most difficult time. At the summary meeting held at the end of the year, Anna sounded the alarm for the ministers and generals through Grand Duke Mikhail.

Pointing to the huge combat map, Mikhail slowly explained, "Gentlemen, the current situation is more beneficial to us. As long as we defeat the Turks, we form a large encirclement with our British, French and Italian allies, and it will be completely completed. By then, time will stand on our side.... However, one thing is that next year will be a difficult year, and the Germans will likely attack our country with all their might. For this reason, it is necessary to implement the "Austria" plan."

"Give up the whole of Poland?" exclaimed War Minister Denikin.

"Yes, General, this was planned before the war began. If Germany attacked our country, our army would abandon Przemisher, Lemburg, Ivangorod, Warsaw, Brest, Verno and Riga, wait for the opportunity to launch a counterattack in the winter, as in 1812," said Anna.

After hearing Anna's words, Denikin felt a little distressed, "But, our army's advantage is very obvious at present. Although it was defeated by the German army in the northwest, this will not affect the entire situation. If the entire Poland is abandoned, it will be..."

"It is impossible to change." Anna picked up her pen and drew a fork in the Polish region on the map. "The work of strengthening the walls and clearing the fields is already underway. Even if the Germans occupy this place, they will only get a piece of ruins. It will be impossible to rebuild and restore it in one or two years. At the same time, our army will build a defense line in eastern Poland and try to block the German attack as much as possible. In short, one word, drag it down!"

.........

At the end of 1914, the Western Front and Eastern Fronts were temporarily calmed down. Anna quickly used this short time to concentrate her troops against Ottoman Türkiye.

Even though his vitality was severely damaged, the Austrians still could not forget to annex Serbia. From September 8 to 16, 1914, the Austrian army invaded Serbia for the second time and occupied the bridgeheads on the Delina River and Sava River.

On November 5, 1914, the Austrian army launched its third attack and captured Valevo on the 15th. On the 29th, the Serbian army abandoned the capital Belgrade and retreated 32 kilometers east of Valevo.

But soon, Russian reinforcements arrived. In December, the Russian coalition launched a counterattack and drove the Austrian army out. Then, according to Anna's order, the Balkans immediately concentrated in Bulgaria to attack the only small piece of European territory left in the Ottoman Empire. At the same time, the battle against the Gallipoli Peninsula against the Ottoman Empire was in the works. As the advocate of this battle, British Navy Secretary Winston Churchill personally visited Russia to discuss the issue of joint combat between the British and Russian navy.

Anna is not very interested in this historical celebrity. A fat man and a fat man who loves to smoke are extremely annoying. Navy commander Kolchak was assigned by Anna to discuss combat plans with Churchill.

The British and French were not very reliable. Anna knew that the battle planned by Britain and France not only wanted to force Turkey to withdraw from the war with Germany, but they also wanted to seize the extremely important strategic Dardanelles and the Bosphorus before Russia, and then control the connection between the Eurasian continent. Moreover, this battle is likely to fail, even if history has changed slightly.

"Even if you cannot force Türkiye to withdraw from the war, you have to take this opportunity to completely drive the Turks out of the Balkans. Russia will control the entire Balkans!" Anna thought so.

;
Chapter completed!