Re: Blood and Iron

With Bruno now officially holding the highest rank in the German Army, he was given operational command over the Balkan Theater. At the same time, August von Mackensen was redeployed to the Western Front to hold the line until Serbia, Montenegro, Italy, and the Ottoman Empire could be knocked out of the war entirely.

With the Ottomans choosing to get involved in the conflict, both Austria-Hungary and Russia deployed additional field armies along the Russian border with the Turkish Caliphate, seeking to dismantle them as a power once and for all now that there was no longer a reason to keep them around.

In doing so, the three European nations of the Imperial Powers each split their forces across at least three theaters. The Germans held the western line by themselves, while also sending men into Italy and the Balkans.

The Austro-Hungarians divided their army into the Alps, the Balkans, and the Caucasus. As for Russia, they were simply fighting in the Balkans and the Caucasus, but had sent a considerable number of troops to the Balkans to aid their western allies.

It was a race against time to see who would reach Belgrade first, and Bruno wanted to be that man. Despite the extensive infrastructure projects the three Empires had invested in as a joint venture, they were all but useless once marching into Serbia.

This was where Bruno had the advantage. Even after being pulled back by the Kaiser for his promotion and medal, Bruno was still operating with off-road 3.5-ton trucks as transportation not only for supplies but also for his infantry and artillery.

While the rest of the world was currently relying on horses and carriages for their logistic networks, Bruno's army had a straight shot to Belgrade and reached the Serbian capital far quicker than anyone could have anticipated.

Within a fortnight, the German 8th Army, along with the accompanying 11th and 2nd Armies, had surrounded Belgrade entirely. But Bruno did not immediately give the order to lay siege to the city. Instead, he waited until a representative of the Serbian Crown reached out to him. After three days of waiting in trenches dug outside the city, Bruno finally received the response he wanted. A messenger marched into his siege camp and found Bruno, covered in mud as he helped establish his army's fortifications, as if he were just another enlisted soldier within the rank and file.

The man could hardly believe that the figure standing before him, covered in mud and grease, was a general of the highest order. Were it not for the distinctive crossed batons on Bruno's greatcoat shoulder boards and the red and black collar that identified him as a

Generalfeldmarschall, the Serbian General, whose coat was immaculate, would have assumed he was being pranked.