The Austro-Hungarian Emperor turned his eyes to the Suez Canal and pulled the Germans in. ← Dingdian Novel, 2+3wx

After France surrendered, the Germans, who were plagued by war, finally breathed a sigh of relief. The Russians were no longer a threat. They were trapped in the quagmire of civil strife. The Americans were inadequate and rushed from the other end of the Atlantic Ocean empty-handed. However, although the British successfully withdrew nearly one million troops from the Cotton Peninsula, they discarded almost all the heavy equipment of the army. They lacked enough heavy artillery to defend the land. Fortunately, their fleet was still intact and still had the upper hand in the confrontation with the Germans.

William II ordered the demobilization of nearly 500,000 troops in two armies in 1917, and a large number of skilled workers were included in the list of priority demobilization, and Germany needed to restore industrial and agricultural production. The German Army was also in the reduction of scale, Austro-Hungary. The 10th and 12th armies were abolished, but the scale of the Marine Corps was expanded. The troops commanded by Admiral Mayer, the commander of the Marine Corps, was able to form an independent army and expand to three armies with nearly 300,000 troops.

The German Balkan Army Group was reorganized, and Marshal Markens, who had good cooperative relations with Austro-Hungary, was once again appointed as the commander of the Balkan Army Group, with the 9th German Army Group and the 5th German Army transferred from France. In order to support the Ottoman Empire, the German 4th German Army was urgently transferred to Turkey to reinforce the Mesopotamian battlefield.

The Austrians were obviously not interested in supporting the Turks, and they planned to drag the Markens into the North African battlefield together. The Spaniards were obviously interested in taking back the sovereignty of Gibraltar, and they were full of hatred for the Americans, but this was not enough to drag them into the war. At present, they had no intention of taking risks.

Relatively speaking, the Germans were more interested in attacking Gibraltar, but the Austrians were unwilling to take risks in attacking this heavily defended fortress at sea, which was likely to ruin half of the Austro-Hungarian main fleet. Without the support of the Austro-Hungarian Navy, the Germans obviously could not take action on their own.

Rudendolf helplessly accepted the Austrians' plan to attack Egypt first and take down the Suez Canal.

This is certainly beneficial to the Austrians, so that their fleets can enter the Indian Ocean, and Germany will definitely not gain much.

Sir Hamilton, commander-in-chief of the British Middle East Army, is now feeling extremely stressed. The 350,000 British troops under his command are burdened with the burden of resisting the entire Allies. Although the Turks and Bulgarians are not a problem, when the Germans and Austrians point their fingers at him, these people will definitely be unable to resist.

Although the Lloyd George administration made a decision to fight the German-Austrian alliance alone. The Americans did not provide any direct help at present. They needed at least one year to reorganize their armaments. Their naval battleships were insufficient in number and their performance was a bit out of date.

If the British could hold on for 4 to 5 years, the situation might change, but now, they can only support themselves. Hamilton doubts that Britain can hold on for so long.

The Austro-Hungarian African Legion commanded by General Horvault was greatly strengthened. It now has three armored divisions with a total force of 250,000. However, the African Legion's movements were greatly restricted. The lack of roads and railways allowed the troops' logistics to be guaranteed. From Tobrook to Alexander, nearly 800 kilometers of distances were desolate deserts, and the supply had to be relied on a few small ports in the middle, and the troops could not even solve the problem of tamsui.

Hovart, who was ordered to return to China, told the General Staff that even with the full support of the Navy, the African Legion could send up to 150,000 people to Egypt, which was already beyond the limit of logistics supply.

But these troops were simply not enough to defeat the British troops stationed in Egypt, and there were about 30,000 French troops and 80,000 Serbian troops in this area.

Marshal Boloevic, Chief of Staff of the General Staff, and Lieutenant General Sikte, Chief of Staff of the German Balkan Cluster, both turned their attention to the Levant region. The Near East was originally under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, but after the war began, the British and French coalition forces drove the Turkish army out of this area. However, as the war progressed, especially after they reduced their troops, the defense in this area had become very weak. However, due to the incompetence of the Turkish Army, the British and French troops in this area could not be expelled.

Compared with North Africa, Beirut and Tel Aviv in the Levant region are both excellent ports, and the port throughput capacity is several times stronger than that in Tripoli. Moreover, although the freshwater resources in this area are not abundant, the situation is much better than that in North Africa in barren lands.

The North African combat plan has been changed again, and the main force of the German and Austrian coalition will first land in the Levant region. Then, through the Sinai Peninsula, directly attack the Suez Canal area. On the flank, General Horvart's North African regiment will perform the task of restraining the offensive.

If you want to take down the Levant, Cyprus, occupied by the British army, became the first nail to be removed.

On October 12, 1917, a red sun rose from the sea in the east, and the fiery red sun blew out, illuminating the sky and water in a colorful red color. On the sea about fifty nautical miles northwest of Cyprus, a huge fleet was sailing towards Rhodes Island in the direction of the waves. Several destroyers were performing anti-submarine zigzag maneuvers on the outside of the fleet, taking strict alert, and guarding against possible British submarines.

"Woo-Woo-Woo-Woo-Woo-" The battle preparation alarm on the flagship "Austria" sounded, and the warship lowered its speed. The pilot Sukel, in the cockpit of the Seagull 2 ​​seaplane, tied the safety belt with the help of Lieutenant Hoffman, and checked for the last time whether the various switches of the aircraft were normal.

Then, the plane was swayed to the sea by a crane. After the warship retracted the cable, Sukel hit the motor, the propeller rotated, forming a water nest on the sea. He left his right hand away from the joystick, raised two fingers, gave the commander on the ship a simplified military salute that was very popular among pilots, and then closed the canopy.

He pulled the throttle a little wider, the cockpit was shaking, the engine rumbling became louder and louder, the plane glided forward on the water, gradually leaving the sea and flying towards the blue sky.

The morning breeze whirred on the front windshield, Sukel looked down at the shimmering sea surface, confirmed his position, and then flew towards the rising sun toward the island of Cyprus.

At present, large Austro-Hungarian and German warships are equipped with seaplanes for reconnaissance missions.

In this era, the British had already equipped two aircraft carriers. Although their combat capabilities were limited, they were still at the forefront of mankind in terms of naval technology.

The Austro-Hungarian Navy is also conducting experiments in this regard, but the effect is very unsatisfactory. The two aircraft carriers modified with transport ships can only be equipped with less than twenty aircraft, and they are basically of no practical value.

This is always some beginning, and the Navy will slowly enter the aviation era.
Chapter completed!