Inside the Coalition Command in Belgrade, the initial fanatical atmosphere of "popping champagne" to celebrate had long vanished.
This massive counteroffensive had been underway for several days, and battle reports from the front lines were constantly arriving.
But among these reports, bad news consistently outweighed the good... especially the stalled offensive against the Kingdom of Bulgaria, which caught the military representatives of various nations completely off guard.
The representatives of Romania, Greece, and the Ottoman Empire were ashen-faced. They looked at Bulgaria on the map, curled up into a ball like a hedgehog, their eyes filled with both anger and helplessness.
They had thought it would be three burly men ganging up on a child, but who knew the child would stand up to be just as tall as them, and even holding a knife.
"We cannot keep dragging this out!"
The Greek representative was the first to break the silence. The more he thought about it, the angrier he got, slamming his pencil fiercely onto the table.
"In just three days, we have lost nearly a division in the Struma River Valley! The Bulgarians' resistance is far higher than we anticipated. Do they intend to fight to the last man?!"
Admittedly, for the brutal Western Front, the loss of a single division wouldn't even be considered much of a casualty...
But for the Balkan nations, whose mobilized forces were extremely limited, the loss of a division was enough to give them a headache for a long time.
After the Greek military representative spoke first, the Ottoman Empire's military representative added with a gloomy face:
"We have encountered extremely stubborn resistance on the Thracian border as well. The enemy's firepower configuration is nothing like border guards equipped only with light weapons; they even have heavy artillery support..."
"Where did these Bulgarians get heavy artillery? Did we make a severe misjudgment regarding their war preparations?"
Seeing the military morale wavering, Colonel James, the military representative of the Holy Britannia Empire who had been sitting in the corner smoking a cigar, finally stood up.
"Gentlemen, please remain calm."
Colonel James walked up to the map and spoke in a highly beguiling tone:
"You must realize this is a war, and since it is a war, casualties are inevitable... The reason the Bulgarians are fighting so desperately is because they know if they lose, they will have nothing left."
"But their resources are limited, and their manpower is non-renewable. As this war continues, the ultimate victors will definitely be us!"
Colonel James looked around, his gaze resting momentarily on each person's face before continuing:
"I know what everyone is worried about: supplies and attrition."
"Please rest assured. The Empire has approved a massive aid program... A convoy of transport ships fully loaded with munitions, medicine, and canned food has already set sail from the homeland."
"As long as you can maintain the offensive and continue pressing the soft underbelly of the Central Powers, these supplies will soon be in the hands of your soldiers."
"Furthermore..."
Colonel James lowered his voice, tossing out an even larger bait:
"If the war situation requires it, the Imperial Parliament is currently discussing the possibility of directly dispatching an expeditionary force to intervene in the Balkans."
These words acted like a shot of adrenaline, reigniting the light in the eyes of the representatives present.
Although everyone knew the so-called "aid" was currently just an empty promise, if the Britannians truly entered the fray personally, then this war was still very much winnable...
As for "inviting the wolf into the house" (inviting a greater danger while trying to fend off a lesser one), that wasn't something the Balkan nations could consider right now.
Therefore, the Romanians, Greeks, and Ottomans could only bite the bullet and keep fighting. After all, "sunk costs" had already been incurred; stopping now meant the three nations would suffer pure losses.
If they could keep fighting and completely annex the Kingdom of Bulgaria, there was still profit to be made...
However, while biting the bullet and continuing to order offensives, the military representatives of various nations couldn't help but feel perplexed.
That was: why was the Kingdom of Bulgaria so dead-set on standing with the Austro-Hungarian and Saxon Empires, and fighting so desperately...?
There were indeed relatively complex reasons for this.
The primary reason was actually brought upon themselves by Serbia, Greece, and Romania.
That is, after the end of the Second Balkan War, the Kingdom of Bulgaria was forced to cede most of the Macedonian region and the Thracian region it had acquired in the First Balkan War to these three countries...
Although the Second Balkan War was arguably provoked by the Kingdom of Bulgaria, this resulting territorial cession became a shared "extraordinary disgrace" for the Kingdom of Bulgaria from top to bottom, leading to soaring revanchist sentiments domestically.
Another reason was that Bulgarian Tsar Ferdinand I harbored the ambition of establishing a "Greater Bulgaria," hoping to reclaim the Macedonian and Thracian regions, even dreaming of establishing a "New Byzantium."
As for the final important reason, it was that the Kingdom of Bulgaria had always maintained close ties with the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Saxon Empire.
Even the beginning of the Second Balkan War was marked by the Bulgarians, with the support of the Saxon and Austro-Hungarian Empires, launching the first attack against the Kingdom of Greater Serbia and the Kingdom of Greece...
And before this current Great War sweeping across Europa, the Saxon Empire and Austro-Hungarian Empire had also provided massive loan support to Bulgaria, making Bulgaria somewhat economically dependent on the two nations.
The Saxon Empire, in particular, provided substantial military aid to the Kingdom of Bulgaria.
Aside from regular munitions and supply aid, there were currently many military advisors from the Saxon Empire within the Bulgarian Army. Moreover, the vast majority of high-ranking officers in the Kingdom of Bulgaria had previously studied in the Saxon Empire.
This was also another reason why this country was known as the "Saxony of the Balkans."
Of course, the above were all "intangible" factors.
What truly bound the Kingdom of Bulgaria firmly to the Central Powers' war chariot was a series of secret agreements signed between the Saxon Empire and the Kingdom of Bulgaria to stabilize its "backyard" after the Austro-Hungarian Empire's military operations suffered disastrous defeats early in the war.
In the Treaty of Friendship and Alliance between Saxony and Bulgaria, the Saxon Empire was responsible for guaranteeing Bulgaria's territorial integrity against foreign invasion. At the same time, Bulgaria was required to provide full military assistance if the Saxon Empire was attacked by another nation...
In the Secret Protocol between Saxony and Bulgaria, the Saxon Empire guaranteed that Bulgaria would obtain all of Macedonia and part of Serbia's territory along the Morava River...
Furthermore, when the Saxon Imperial State Secretary for Foreign Affairs previously lobbied the Kingdom of Bulgaria, he also made territorial promises: if the Kingdom of Romania joined the Entente to fight, the Kingdom of Bulgaria would acquire the Dobruja region after the war;
If the Kingdom of Greece also entered the war, the Kavala region would be ceded to Bulgaria after the war.
Faced with these premium conditions offered by the Saxon and Austro-Hungarian Empires, and then looking at the other Balkan nations glaring covetously, itching to carve them up...
It was no surprise that Tsar Ferdinand I ultimately made the decision to join the Central Powers.
April 29, the 8th day since the Balkan coalition launched its offensive.
While the battle situation in the Kingdom of Bulgaria began showing signs of stalemate, the vanguard units of the Kingdom of Greater Serbia's First Army finally halted their previous "armed parade" style offensive.
Because the enemy forces that had disappeared for days finally reappeared.
The scouts dispatched by the various vanguard units of the First Army discovered that between the ridges and valleys ahead of the main army, a series of trench systems they had never seen before seemed to have sprung up overnight.
They weren't the simple foxholes or perfunctory breastworks typical of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
These trenches were dug very deep, making it impossible to see inside. The entire trench line was distributed in a zig-zag pattern, with barbed wire laid out in front.
The efficiency and professionalism of these earthworks were not something those lazy Austrians could achieve.
Even more unsettling, biplane reconnaissance aircraft painted with Iron Cross markings began appearing frequently in the sky.
They circled over the heads of the Serbian army like vultures, the roar of their engines deeply unnerving.
And far behind the defense line, several massive olive-shaped observation balloons slowly ascended, overlooking the entire battlefield from a commanding height.
An inexplicable sense of oppression began spreading through the Serbian attacking forces, because it was obvious the enemy opposite them did not resemble a routed army.
But at this moment, the arrow was already on the bowstring; it had to be fired.
Although the commander of the First Army, General Bojović, and his staff noticed the anomalies, urged on by the Coalition Headquarters in the rear and driven by the inertial thinking of "pursuing a fleeing enemy," no one dared to suggest "halting the offensive" at this juncture.
"Perhaps it's just the enemy's rearguard trying to buy some time." Many Serbian officers consoled themselves with this thought.
On the afternoon of April 29, as sharp charge whistles pierced the sky, tens of thousands of Serbian soldiers wearing gray-green uniforms leaped out from temporarily dug foxholes and trenches.
Shouting the slogan "For Greater Serbia," they charged forward with fixed bayonets like a muddy gray-green torrent.
And then they slammed headfirst into the three-tier trench defense line constructed by the Saxon Imperial Fifth Army, which had "graduated" from the trench warfare of the Western Front...
The Serbian soldiers' dense infantry charge tactics had been tried and tested during the two Balkan Wars.
Even in the early stages of this current Great War, when fighting the invading Austro-Hungarian forces, it showed excellent results.
It was just that back then, the enemy was the decaying Austro-Hungarian army, or the relatively poorly equipped and tactically inferior Bulgarian and Ottoman armies.
Back then, courage and bayonets could often decide the outcome of a battle.
But now, after the warring parties on the Western Front had sacrificed hundreds of thousands, even millions of lives, the paradigm of war had completely changed.
Behind that meticulously constructed three-tier trench defense line opposite them, the soldiers of the Saxon Imperial Fifth Army watched all this coldly.
Many of them had been slaughtering Gauls and Britannians in the mud of the Western Front just months ago.
Perhaps the Saxon heavy machine gunners back then might have stopped firing and begged the enemy to retreat, appalled by their suicidal charges into the muzzles...
But now, after going through that hellish tempering, they had completely transformed into emotionless killing machines.
When they saw the Serbian soldiers densely packed together on the exposed flat ground outside the trenches, charging at a trot, they couldn't help but recall the Gallic soldiers they encountered on the Western Front in the early days of this war.
This familiar sight made the primary gunners at the various MG08 heavy machine gun emplacements sigh inwardly... while simultaneously, once the enemy entered effective range, they reflexively pressed the firing mechanisms of their heavy machine guns, not even needing orders from their respective commanders.
As the attacking wave composed of Serbian soldiers poured into the zone about 500 meters from the first trench, the originally dead-silent defense line suddenly awakened.
"Da-da-da-da-da"
Amidst the heavy gunfire and the sizzling of cooling water in the water jackets, these heavy machine guns sprayed death at a rate of 500 rounds per minute. An intersecting crossfire network instantly wove an insurmountable barrier in front of the positions.
The Serbian soldiers charging at the front fell in rows, as if hitting an invisible wall.
The muffled sounds of bullets tearing through flesh and the screams of the dying were instantly drowned out by the dense gunfire.
"My God... what kind of firepower is this?!"
On a slightly elevated earthen slope in the rear, the division commander of the 1st Division, 1st Corps, First Army of the Kingdom of Greater Serbia, observing the battle through binoculars, was trembling in both hands.
He watched helplessly as the most elite regiment of his 1st Division launched wave after wave of battalion-level attacks in less than twenty minutes, only to fall on that open ground like wheat harvested by a scythe.
The Serbian soldiers didn't even get a clear look at the enemy's faces before they were riddled with bullets flying from nowhere.
"With firepower like this, why did they retreat in the first place?"
This question flashed through the mind of the Serbian 1st Division commander.
Based on the terrifying firepower the enemy opposite them had displayed in just these short 20 minutes, they could have entirely held their previous defense lines; there was no need to retreat.
So why had they retreated such a long distance in one go over so many days?
Before the Serbian division commander could figure this out, hair-raising shrieks came from the sky.
"Whoosh!!!"
The Saxon Imperial Fifth Army, also known as the "Crown Prince Army Group," naturally received priority in terms of equipment.
Therefore, aside from the First Army deployed constantly on the Western Front, the Fifth Army Group was also the first unit to be re-equipped with 150mm howitzers.
After the Serbian offensive had continued for some time, the 150mm howitzer groups deployed in the rear also opened fire.
Guided precisely by the observation balloons, these big guys delivered a textbook interdiction barrage.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Massive explosions shook the earth. Every 150mm shell that fell left a terrifying crater on the ground.
The Serbian follow-up units that were still charging were instantly swallowed by a sea of fire.
Severed limbs and mud were hurled high into the air. The entire battlefield seemed to transform into purgatory.
This was fundamentally not the war the Balkan nations were familiar with...
"Stop the attack! Quickly, order the frontline to stop the attack!"
The division commander of the 1st Division finally broke down. He realized he had sent his troops into a meticulously designed slaughterhouse.
But it was too late to retreat now.
The Saxon artillery fire began to extend rearward, cutting off the attacking troops' route of retreat.
The Serbian soldiers pinned down in front of the positions were caught between a rock and a hard place. They could only lie desperately among piles of corpses, praying to God to let them survive the next second.
The clamor of the battlefield turned into a muffled, distant drone in the air dozens of meters behind the three lines of trenches.
Suspended in the gondola of a massive artillery observation balloon hovering behind the defense line, Saxon Imperial Crown Prince Georg held a pair of binoculars, looking down with a complex expression at the land shrouded in gunsmoke below.
The wind was a bit strong, making the gondola sway slightly, but this didn't affect the Crown Prince's focus.
In his vision, the plain that should have shown a hint of green in early spring had now turned grayish-brown. Densely packed grayish-green spots—the corpses of Serbian soldiers—covered the front of the positions like shattered fallen leaves.
"Your Highness, the wind is too strong here, and it is not safe."
Standing beside him, Major General Schmidt von Knobelsdorff, Chief of Staff of the Fifth Army Group, advised with some concern.
Major General Knobelsdorff had naturally tried every means to dissuade the Crown Prince from personally visiting the front lines and ascending the artillery observation balloon.
But he obviously couldn't overrule His Highness the Crown Prince, and ultimately had no choice but to accompany him in the balloon.
"Rest assured, Lord Schmidt. This isn't my first time on an observation balloon."
Crown Prince Georg watched the scene through his binoculars. The grayish-green tide was still charging the trench defense line wave after wave. However, intercepted by the "Western Front-certified" trench crossfire network, hardly anyone could make it past two-thirds of the distance.
Although this was not the first time the Crown Prince, who had fought on the Western Front, had seen such a sight, he still couldn't help but sigh: "What a tragic sight. Although they are the enemy, I must admit, the courage of these Serbian soldiers is admirable..."
"This is war, Your Highness."
Major General Knobelsdorff's tone was calm, carrying the cold hardness unique to a professional soldier:
"The defensive pressure right now is much lower than we anticipated... The armies of the Balkan nations, whether in equipment levels or tactical literacy, have a clear gap compared to the Gauls and Britannians we faced on the Western Front."
"Therefore, for the Fifth Army Group, which has been baptized by the purgatory of the Western Front, if the enemy continues this level of attack, we won't even need to mobilize our reserves."
Crown Prince Georg lowered his binoculars and nodded, but the worry in his eyes hadn't completely dissipated.
He picked up a tactical map from the gondola detailing the disposition of both sides, then pointed to the locations on the two flanks: "I'm not worried about the front. What I'm worried about are those Austro-Hungarian troops on the flanks... Even though Field Marshal Conrad solemnly swore they had completed reorganization, the losses they suffered at the hands of the Serbians last year are still vivid in our minds."
"If they fail to hold, our flanks will be exposed."
"This is indeed a risk, but please rest assured, Your Highness..."
Major General Knobelsdorff replied confidently:
"Our reserve forces are deployed at key nodes on the flanks, and the Armored Knights are ready to launch counter-charges in these two directions at any time. This is precisely to deal with sudden emergencies caused by our allies."
Georg nodded slightly, then changed the subject, asking the question he cared about most: "What about Colonel Morin? Any news?"
At the mention of Morin, Major General Knobelsdorff's somewhat cold expression immediately became lively, even carrying a hint of excitement.
"According to the last encrypted telegram received earlier, the instruction unit has already successfully completed their opposing infiltration by battalion units."
(End of Chapter)