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This Day in Alternate History Blog
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The Allies
Strike Back 1916 The Fall of Vienna A Sequel to
Invasion 1915 By
David Atwell Prelude On 18th
May 1915, with Constantinople in the hands of the Australians, the Ottoman
government had had enough… The conclusion to Gallipoli
1915 Introduction Stalemate would be the word used to
describe the situation in Europe in mid 1915. Even so, it was still the campaign
season, considering it was summer, & thus great battles were to be had. In
Belgium, the British Expeditionary Force, would try to smash their way through
the German lines around the Belgium town of Ypres. Elsewhere, centred around the
French stronghold of Verdun, the French would try the same thing against the
enemy. In both incidences, however, the British & French would fail in their respective
attacks. In a similar manner, on the Eastern
Front, the Russians, after much promise the year before, only to be pushed back
to their start line, once again went on a massive attack employing several
armies. Numbering close to one million men, the Russians were able to punch
several holes in the German & Austro-Hungarian defences. Stubborn defence,
though, by the Germans quickly slowed down the Russian advances & then,
after reinforcements arrived from the Western Front, the Germans were able to
win several great victories, forcing the Russians to, once more, retreat
forgoing all the territory recently won. The only great news for the Allies so far was the defeat of the Ottoman Empire & the entry of Italy into the Great War on the side of the Allies. But, like elsewhere, the Italians soon discovered that there was little glory in war. Instead, the Italians soon discovered that they, like their allies, got nowhere against the Austro-Hungarian armies to the north. And, like their allies, ‘stalemate’ soon came to be a common word within the Italian army. Plans & Developments Thus the only army, which the Allies had
left, & a victorious one at that, the ANZAC Army was reforming its ranks
around Constantinople. This city & European Turkish province of Thrace had
surrendered to the Allies, whilst the rest of the Ottoman Empire surrendered a
week or so later. Having said that, the Central Powers had not collapsed, due to
the surrender of the Ottoman Empire, & appeared to be as strong as ever.
Furthermore, Bulgaria had joined the Germans &, along with Austro-Hungary,
overrun much of Serbia in the process. As a result, the Allies were concerned,
not only about the plight of Serbia, but Greece could be invaded as well. Due to this situation, the French, more
so than the British, decided to act on behalf of both Serbia & Greece,
whether they wanted any help or not. Hence, instead of any reinforcements going
to the ANZAC Army in Thrace, the French landed these reinforcements at Salonika,
located in northern Greece, on 22nd June. The Greeks were far from
impressed by this landing, considering it to be nothing more than an invasion,
yet even though the Greek Army had two divisions within a days march of Salonika,
the Greeks did little about it. This had to do with the fact that the Greek
government was split on the issue. The King supported the Allies, whilst the
Greek Prime Minister supported the Germans. Thus, with the Greek government in
political loggerheads, nothing inevitably was done. As 1915 went on, the Allied Salonika
Army was enlarged to just under 100 000 troops by October. But, for all it was
worth to the Allies, it might as well not arrived in the first place. For while
sitting on their backsides in Salonika, during the first six months of
operations, the Central Powers took advantage of the situation. As the last of
the Allied reinforcements disembarked at Salonika, the Austrians &
Bulgarians launched a large scale offensive against the Serbs. Ironic as things
would develop, this offensive would work, in the end, to the advantage of the
Allies, or more importantly the ANZAC Army in Thrace. But, for the Serbs at the
time, they were far from impressed by the actions of their allies. However, before anyone even tried to do
anything for the Serbians, the Serbs soon found themselves in headlong retreat.
Having held off the Austrians for an entire year, little Serbia could no longer
offer the same defence, now that it was fighting on several fronts at once. 200
000 Serbian troops were under danger of being crushed. By the end of October the
Serbs had to be evacuated by the Royal & French Navies. Although it would
mean giving up Serbia, 200 000 more troops would become available to the Allied
Army at Salonika. Yet before the Serbs could get back into
the fight, the ANZAC Army got its marching orders. General Birdwood, commander
of the ANZAC Army, had had a mixed time since the fall of Constantinople.
Although he had gained much fame, not to mention a promotion, he,
nevertheless since June, saw much of his army striped away to join the Allied
forces at Salonika. By September, all he had left were the 1st &
2nd Australian Divisions, 1st & 2nd ANZAC
Divisions, the Indian Division, the 2nd French Division, the 43rd
& 52nd British Divisions, & finally the ANZAC Mounted
Division. Whilst this may have appeared to be an impressive force, much of it
had dug in along the border facing Bulgaria since the Armistice with the Ottoman
Empire. Furthermore, Birdwood did not believe that he had enough troops to go
over to the offensive. The situation for the ANZAC Army would, however, change. Although he would get no more French or British units, he did get an influx of Australian & New Zealand reinforcements in late September. This also meant, though, that Birdwood would have to reorganise his army. As a result, the Australian Divisions were expanded to five, numbering consecutively from 1 to 5, a New Zealand Division was created & the ANZAC Mounted division was split to make the Australian Light Horse Division & the Mounted Division, which was made up of the New Zealanders & a brigade of Indian horsemen. Now happy with these new arrangements with his army, Birdwood had orders to attack. The
Bulgarians On the day the last Serb soldier was
evacuated in mid October 1915, the ANZAC Army went on the attack against
Bulgaria. The Bulgarians were caught unbalanced & were thus in trouble from
the very beginning. Having said that, the Bulgarians were not stupid. They
realised that, with the fall of the Ottoman Empire, that their border with
Turkey was a weakness. As a result, they had stationed four divisions along that
border in defence. The biggest problem for Bulgaria,
however, was its commitments to the other Central Powers. Austria, in fighting
with Serbia, desperately needed help. And Bulgaria was asked to provide that
help. Hence much of the Bulgarian Army, especially its best troops, were sent to
war against Serbia. As things played out, the Bulgarians did well against the
Serbs & it should be credited to the Bulgarians that victory over Serbia
took place thanks to them. As a result, though, of Bulgaria’s
commitment to the defeat of Serbia, the country had no reserve, just in case
something went wrong. The only troops of significance, that Bulgaria had, were
already posted to the border with Thrace. Ironic as it seems, even though
Birdwood could have attacked in July, as a matter of fact, could have been able
to push his way deep into Bulgarian territory. Yet, if he had done so, the full
weight of the Bulgarian Army would have come against the ANZAC Army &, like
elsewhere, stalemate would have been the case. But because of Birdwood’s
demand for reinforcements, & waiting a while to reorganise his army, the
ANZAC Army would be spared the
heaviest of fighting. Initially, even with fewer enemy troops
to deal with, Birdwood’s attack was met with tough resistance. The Australian
2nd Division, on the third day however, managed to punch a hole in
the Bulgarian defences & immediately the Light Horse & Mounted Divisions
went onto the attack. But instead of a wild dash to Sofia, reminiscent to the
dash to Constantinople, the Light Horse turned left, whilst the Mounted Division
turned right. The result of this manoeuvre resulted in a “rolling up the
line” of the Bulgarian defences. Within a day, the border areas had been
taken, & the bulk of the ANZAC Army were advancing on a wide front. At this point, when news reached Sofia
of the defeat of their border troops, the Bulgarians panicked. The Bulgarian
leadership knew full well that there was little to stop the ANZAC Army from
reaching Sofia within a week. Maybe two at most. Urgent messages were thus sent
out to the Bulgarian Army in Serbia & it soon became a race against time for
the Bulgarians. The biggest problem, though, for the Bulgarians, was the
deployment of their forces in Serbia. Considering their invasion points, the
Bulgarians were in the south of Serbia, near the border with Greece. As a
result, they were not in the best position if they were to intercept the ANZAC
Army advancing on their Capital city. Birdwood, however, knowing that a large
part of the Bulgarian Army was in southern Serbia, had made deliberate plans in
dealing with it. Having divided the ANZAC Army into several corps, he sent the 2nd
French, the 43rd & 52nd British Divisions, off to his
left in an effort to cut off the Bulgarian Army. This, the French & British
were able to do with much success along the Struma River, although the fighting
which took place was harsh. So harsh, in fact, that Birdwood had to send the New
Zealand & Indian Divisions to reinforce the Anglo-French Corps. Nevertheless, with the Struma River Front holding, the Australians entered Sofia after some hard fighting on 23rd October. Unfortunately, for the Australians, sever street fighting would continue for a week. By then, the Light Horse & Mounted Divisions were able to isolate the city & Bulgaria finally surrendered on 1st November 1915. If, however, Birdwood thought that his army was to get some well deserved rest, he was mistaken as, although the Bulgarian Army observed their country’s surrender, the Austrians had not & were already invading Bulgaria, from across the Serbian border, to the north of Sofia. Fighting
on Four Fronts If the Austro-Hungarians thought that
they were going to be able to push the ANZAC Army out of Bulgaria then they were
in for one rude shock. With autumn making its presence felt, it began to become
cold. Furthermore, with the surrender of Bulgaria, on rather generous terms, all
five Australian divisions, not to mention the Light Horse & Mounted
Divisions, were soon heading north & stopped the Austrian advance. The next day, after the Austrians were
stopped in the north, they tried to advance from the west of Sofia in an effort
to get behind the Australian lines. This advance was also stopped, not far from
its starting point, by the Anglo-France Corps. Furthermore, Birdwood still had
the New Zealand & Indian Divisions uncommitted which meant to say that he
could attack the Austrians any time he wanted. Birdwood, however, after being
informed by the Bulgarians that it was better to get ready for winter, rather
than launch any major offensive, decided to take their advice. And, as if by
magic, Birdwood received orders from Britain to consolidate his gains made thus
far & to prepare for a coordinated offensive early next year. The Austrians, however, had no intension
of waiting until 1916 to recommence the war. They were determined to attack the
ANZAC Army now & push it out of Bulgaria. As a result, the Austrians
launched their ‘winter offensive’ all around Sofia in a manner similar to
the previous year against the Serbs around Belgrade. The results, though, were
far from encouraging. Not only were the Australians, French & British able
to hold their ground against all Austrian attacks, but, when reinforcements were
required, the New Zealanders or Indians were on call to ensure that the
Austrians never succeeded. By Christmas 1915, the Austrians had given up on
their offensive after suffering close to 50 000 casualties for no gain
whatsoever. In the aftermath of the Austrian winter
offensive, all sides remained quiet throughout January 1916. Both sides waited
for the winter to lift before recommencing their war efforts. The Allies had
spent the time productively getting ready for their major offensives. The
Western Front, for once, would go quiet from the Allied point of view. Having
said that, the Germans would launch a massive attack at Verdun in France. As
events would progress, this would keep the Germans & French preoccupied for
most of 1916. Similarly, the Russians & the Central Powers would fight it
out, which would ensure that the real Allied offensive would benefit most of
all. Known as the “Four Fronts”
Offensive, the Allies would attack, as the name suggests, on four fronts. First
the Italians would attack Austria along their shared border. Next, the Italians,
once again, would attack the Austrians in northern Albania, which had been taken
by Austria after the collapse of Serbia. At the same time as these attacks by
the Italians were taking place, the Salonika Army, made up now of French,
British & 200 000 Serbs, would attack north from Salonika into southern
occupied Serbia. And finally, the ANZAC Army would push the Austrians out of
Bulgaria & advance into northern Serbia. It was an offensive designed to
push Austro-Hungarian Empire to breaking point. Thus in mid February the ‘Four
Fronts’ Offensive began. Alas for the Italians, they got no where fast. The
Austrians, defending their own territory, were more than up to the task of
keeping the Italian Army in Italy. Only a few kilometres were gained in an
Italian effort that included over 250 000 troops. Similarly, in Albania, the
Italians were held back by a determined Austrian defence. Having said that, the
operations in Albania never amounted to numbers anywhere more than 15 000 or so
troops by either side. It was considered by both sides as a small affair. The same could not be said for the other
two fronts. The Salonika Front was a mixed affair. Attacks by the French forces
were checked, but nevertheless successful insofar as it ensured that the Serbs
were able to advance into southern Serbia with little effort on their behalf.
The British part of the initial offensive was called off due to a
misunderstanding in the orders from the overall French commander. Furthermore, a
split began to emerge in the Salonkia Army, whereby the Serbs, having been
successful, were ordered to hold their advance until the French attacks
succeeded. Needless to say, the Serbs were less than impressed by their allies
& ignored the French order. The only real success story, coming out
of the initial stages of the ‘Four Fronts’ offensive, was that of the ANZAC
Army. Their Austrian counterparts had not been reinforced since their ‘winter
offensive’. Thus the ANZAC Army faced little opposition when it attacked in
mid February along with the other Allied Armies. As a result, even though
Birdwood had planed a rather elaborate attack, using the Anglo-French Corps to
hold the Austrian right flank down as the five Australian Divisions attacked, it
was soon discovered that this was unnecessary.
Hence the entire ANZAC Army was advancing on all fronts, ensuring the
safety of Sofia, whilst it took less than another week for all of Bulgaria to be
free of Austrian forces. Actions
in Serbia Although the Austrians had been pushed
out of Bulgaria, elsewhere their army was holding. The only other place where
the Austrians were in trouble was in the south of Serbia, where the Serbian army
had crossed the border & was moving towards the occupied city of Veles. But
it was far from certain that the Serbs would even get to Veles, as the French
were still being held up at the border by the Austrians whilst the two British
Divisions were still to enter the fight. As a result, the Serbs could be
surrounded, if they were not careful, & destroyed as a result. And the
Austrians could read the same maps as everyone else & were fully aware of
the danger that the Serbs had placed themselves. Thus, it came as no surprise
that the Austrians began to move, whatever they could spare, to the region
around Veles. A trap had been organised wherein the Serbs would have to fight a
battle almost surrounded should they continue to advance. And continue they did. The Battle of Veles
was not necessarily the most important battle to take place, during the
‘Four Fronts’ offensive, but it was important enough. It would pit 200 000
Serbs in a desperate battle against 180 000 Austro-Hungarian troops. Yet it
would be the commitment of these Austrian troops that would see a great victory
take place, eventually, over the Austrians. For as drastic as a battle it was,
it ensured that all Austrian reserves in the region had been committed to one
place, thus allowing an easier time for other Allied attacks elsewhere. The Battle of Veles began with a sudden
artillery barrage. The forward units of the Serb Army came under Austrian
attack. Soon, as the Serb Army began to spread out, forming up for battle, it
soon became apparent to the Serbs that the Austrians were, not only to their
front, but were positioned on their flanks as well. But instead of withdrawing,
the Serbs decided to make a stand, even if that stand meant they were more or
less surrounded. It is hard to comprehend the Serbians thoughts, considering the
circumstances, but the Serbs falsely believed that they were only facing, at
most, a division of Austrians. It was not until later that day, that the Serbs
realised their true situation. Nonetheless, they were determined not to
withdraw. At first there seemed to be no effect on
the Austrians by getting themselves involved with the Battle of Veles. They were
still holding back the French & Italians, whilst the ANZAC Army seemed happy
to remain in Bulgaria. This was soon to change. Although completely independent
of the Serbs movements leading up to & including the Battle of Veles, the
day after that battle started, the ANZAC Army launched its invasion of Northern
Serbia. This caught the Austrians out & foolishly, with the chance to crush
the Serbs, the Austrians had withdrawn all their reserves throughout Serbia. The result of such action meant that, if
the Allies had broken through on one of the other fronts, there would be nothing
further to stop a determined advance. And so was the situation that the ANZAC
Army discovered quite by accident. Having said that, it is not as if the ANZAC
Army had an easy time achieving a breakthrough in the Austrian lines. Quite the
contrary. The Austrians fought hard repelling several attacks until the
Australian 5th Division achieved success on the forth day of heavy
fighting. The breakthrough, however, was enough.
The Austrians, knowing that they had no reserve to speak of, began to fall back
across the entire front line in an effort to establish a new line along the
Morava River in central Serbia. The ANZAC Army, though, quickly followed the
Austrian retreat, but several rearguard encounters with the Austrians ensured
that the ANZAC Army was slowed enough to ensure that the Austrians had
established their new defences along the Morava River. Unfortunately for the Austrians at Veles,
the success of the ANZAC Army, meant that they no longer enjoyed a complete
advantage over the Serbs who had endured a week of constant attacks.
Furthermore, the Allies had acted, albeit slowly, when it became apparent that
the Serbian Army could be surrounded & destroyed. On the forth day of the
Battle of Veles the two uncommitted British Divisions had arrived &
positioned themselves on the Serbian flanks. As a result, it was now impossible
for the Austrians to envelop the Serbs & this was besides the fact that the
Austrians discovered that they did not have enough men to carry out an
envelopment anyway. Nonetheless, the Serbs had carved out a salient for themselves in a manner not too dissimilar to what the British had done at Ypres in Belgium. Unlike at Ypres, however, the Austrians, now well outnumbered, thanks to the arrival of the two British divisions, were soon under attack by the same army they tried to destroy. Furthermore, considering the changes in the circumstances, their own forces holding up the French, on the border with Greece, were now in threat of being surrounded themselves. The
Collapse of the Austrian Army The end of March 1916 was far from a
great picture for the Austro-Hungarian Empire. At the beginning of the year,
everything appeared to favour the Austrians, although in actual fact that was a
mirage. Now that significant military pressure had been brought to bare against
the Austrians, things soon changed. Having said that, the Austrians were still
holding back the Italians on two different fronts, but the same could not be
said elsewhere. And things were about to get worse. Whilst the struggle for Veles continued,
the Austrians were finally forced to give way to the French around Lake Doiran.
This struggle had been going on since mid February, but as the situation around
Veles began to favour, more & more, the Allies, the Austrians had little
choice other than withdraw. Far more importantly for the Austrians, it meant
that they would have more troops than the Serbs & British at Veles since the
battle there had started. Such movements of Austrian troops may
have helped the situation at Veles, but they were still in trouble against the
ANZAC Army. Having pushed the Austrians back some 50 kilometres, the Austrians
were able to establish their defence line along the shores of the Morava River
in central Serbia. This was of a significant natural feature & a problem for
the ANZAC Army to cross whilst defended. The Austrians, however, had kept open
the bridges that crossed the river at the Serbian city of Nis. Considering
Birdwood had little other choice, he decided to concentrate his efforts there. The Battle of Nis would become a street
brawl, such was the intense house to house fighting that eventuated. The
Austrians had kept the city as a bridgehead just in case they could
counterattack the ANZAC Army at some future date. Birdwood, on the other hand,
was after the bridges & as a result had to take on the Austrians defending
the city. For three days, the five Australian Divisions were committed to the
fighting. Finally, on 14th March
1916, the Australians were able to take the city &, far more importantly,
the bridges over the Morava River. Furthermore, the ANZAC Army went immediately
onto the attack, with the Light Horse & Mounted Divisions, exploiting the
gap thus created in the Austrian defences. Again the Austro-Hungarian Army was in
retreat, but this time their southern forces were threatened with envelopment
from the north by the ANZAC Army. Still, the Austrians retreating from the
Morava River line tried to make several stands, but none of these were
successful. Either the Allied horsemen were too fast, & quickly overwhelmed
the defenders, or they were surrounded & forced to surrender. Either way, it
meant the situation for the Austrians at Veles, even though they may have had,
for once, outnumbered the Serbs & British fighting there, was now far too
precarious for them to remain & began their retreat. Alas for the Austrians, the rot had set
in. Now in danger of coming under heavy attack, from several directions, all
discipline in the Austrian Army began to dissolve. The withdrawal soon became a
rout as the ANZAC Army advanced from the east & the Serbian Army, now free
of the Austrian defence around Veles, was advancing quickly from the south. In
support, all the while, the French & British Salonikan forces followed the
Serbs. By the beginning of April 1916, Serbia, Montenegro &Albania had been cleared of the Austrians. Even the small Austro-Hungarian Army in Albania had to flee before being surrounded by the Allied armies swarming across Serbia to the Adriatic Sea. But even so the Allies were successful, the war was still ragging elsewhere, & the Austro-Hungarian Empire was still in the war. Furthermore, summer had merely begun. There was still at least four more months of good weather left. Needless to say, it was decided to continue the ‘Four Fronts’ offensive to the walls of Vienna itself. The
March on Vienna The decision in mid-April to march on
Vienna was not an easy one. The Allies, especially the Serbs, had mixed affairs
of their own. The French were neck deep with the huge German offensive at
Verdun; the British had begun a large offensive against the German Invasion Army
still lodged on home soil; whilst the Serbs were busy consolidating their return
to their country. Only the ANZAC Army seemed to be free to offer any attack
against the Austrians, & even though the Austro-Hungarian Army was a mess,
it was still enough to hold back the ANZAC Army. Quickly, however, events took place
which would change Allied thinking. The first was the successful British attack
on the German Invasion Army. Having
gained few supplies, since the beginning of 1916, the Germans had basically been
starved out & forced to surrender. This, in turn, meant that well over 350
000 British troops were now free to serve on other fronts.
And inevitably that meant against Austria. The French, too, were
beginning to get the measure of the Germans at Verdun. Although they could not
release any more troops, for operations against Austria, it did mean that the 70
000 troops already in Serbia could stay. Just as importantly, the Italians agreed
to enlarge their “Albanian Army” to 100 000 troops & allow it to be
seconded to Allied efforts against the Austrians. Furthermore, the Italians also
agreed to open a new offensive against the Austrians in the north of Italy. And
finally, the Russians sent 50 000 troops to join the Salonika Army which meant
that the Salonkia Army, although made up of troops from three different nations,
had 320 000 troops at its disposal. Thus, on 15th May 1916, the
largest offensive to take place on the southern front, witnessed four Allied
armies, numbering nearly one million troops, attack Austro-Hungarian territory
for the first time. From the Italian border to east of Belgrade, the Allies
attacked en mass. The Austrians had little answer in several areas, except along
the Italian front line, where massive defences, built up since 1914, saw the
Italians repealed after several horrendous attacks. Similarly, the Serbs around Belgrade
were not overly successful either, even though they threw close to 200 000
troops into the initial attacks for little gain. The Salonika & ANZAC
Armies, though, in the centre of this long front, supported by the Italian
Albanian Army, were far more successful in their attacks. Using massed
artillery, the cannons from all three armies smashed the Austrian defences to
pieces. Well over 500 000 allied troops then advanced overwhelming the 80 000
Austrian defenders. Soon, within a week, the three Allied armies had advanced
over 100 kilometres with little resistance. This, however, was about to change as
the Allied Armies began to approach Zagreb. The local Croatians,
being long term subjects of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, were still
somewhat loyal to their masters. This also included the armed forces, of whom
many gladly fought therein. As a result, stiff opposition took place that slowed
up the Allied advance. Yet, regardless how brave or stubborn the Croatian
soldiers tried to be, there were far too many Allied soldiers to stop. Where
there was one strong point to deal with, the Allies simply moved around it &
staved the Croatian soldiers out. As a result, by early June, Zagreb was
peacefully taken as the governor of the city feared that any resistance would
result in its destruction. Not long after taking Zargreb, the
Allied armies were once more on the move. The Italian Albanian Army was more or
less left behind to garrison the area, but it was soon on the move in order to
take advantage of the situation. Moving east, its objective was to reach the
Italian border &, in doing, open up a direct route from Italy to the Allied
operational areas throughout the Balkans. The Austrians, fearing being
surrounded, helped the Italians in this endeavour, by withdrawing voluntarily
from Trieste. As it was, the Austrians seemed to have given up fighting, now
that large Allied Armies were free to operate throughout their Empire. Yet if the Austrians thought that they
could use their troops to stop the Allied advance on Vienna, they were mistaken.
Having said that, it was not at all easy for the Allies as the Salonika Army
soon found itself in a massive engagement to the north of Klagenfurt just within
Austria proper. A large Austro-German army had been formed in order to protect
the Austro-Hungarian Empire from being overrun. Furthermore, instead of only
facing Austrians, the Salonika Army also discovered that a large German
commitment was also present. As a result, the Salonika Army was well & truly
stopped, with little hope of further success. Alas for the Austrians & Germans, their commitment to stopping the Salonika Army also meant that the ANZAC Army was allowed to advance unimpeded. For as the Salonika Army was engaged around Klagenfurt, the ANZAC Army was able to, via the right flank, enter Austria proper via Graz & continue to Vienna, arriving on the outskirts on 29th June. Immediately, an defence was offered to the ANZAC Army, but after a brief exchange, the Austrian forces soon withdrew rather than have their beloved city destroyed as the result of heavy combat. Aftermath The surrender of Vienna, however, did
not mean the Austro-Hungarian Empire had likewise done the same, even though it
was obvious to everyone that its days were numbered. Still, the Great War was at
its height & appeared to be far from over. Now that the Germans themselves
had joined in the fighting on the southern front, it was now possible that the
armies of Austro-Hungry may be able to hold on long enough for the allies to
lose their momentum. Furthermore, with the loss of Vienna,
the armies of the Empire might find renewed vigour & energy, not to mention
find the motivation in a war which they had clearly believed that they had lost.
There were still one million soldiers that Austro-Hungary could muster, &
when well led, they were far from useless. The Austrians had held back the
Italians & likewise done reasonably well against the Russians. Now that the
Germans were coming to their aid in the south, there was no reason why Vienna
could not be recaptured from the ANZAC Army, & the Allies pushed out of the
Austro-Hungarian Empire altogether. Needless to say, the war was about to get worse. Bibliography Texts Adam-Smith, P. The Anzacs, Melbourne, 1978. Haythornewaite, P. J. Gallipoli 1915, London, 1991. Hickey, M. The First World War - The Mediterranean Front 1914-1923, Oxford, 2002. Jukes, G. The First World War - The Eastern Front 1914-1918, Oxford, 2002. Laffin, J. & Chappell, M. The
Australian Army at War 1899-1975, London, 1982 Lomas, D. First Ypres 1914, Oxford, 1998 Lomas, D. Mons 1914, Oxford, 1997 Martin, W. Verdun 1916, Oxford, 2001 Perrett, B. Megiddo 1918, Oxford, 1998. Internet Baker, C. British Army Units and Formations, (http://www.1914-1918.net) Derall, G. & DiGiulian, T. Warships1, (http://www.warships1.com/) THE
AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN ARMY 1914-18, (http://www.kitzbuhel.demon.co.uk/austamps/dixnut/index.htm) Austro-Hungarian Land Forces 1848-1918, (http://www.austro-hungarian-army.co.uk/) Wars of the British Empire & Commonwealth, (http://www.regiments.org/milhist/wars/intro.htm) The World At War (http://worldatwar.net/)
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