Chapter 212: Welcome to Isonzo
If there was one man throughout human history, you wanted in charge of "holding the line" it was none other than Svetozar Boroević. The man's abilities in defensive warfare were quite legendary among those historians who knew his name.
At least among those from the 21st century of Bruno's past life. And there was a reason for this. Currently, he was tasked with holding the line in the Alps, and that's exactly what he did. While Bruno had massacred Belgrade and dug in waiting for reinforcements to arrive, and for the enemy to attack in force.
Svetozar was high up in the alpine mountains, standing within his own fortifications as he gazed upon the Italian Army below, who was desperately trying for the third time this month to break through the defenses he had previously established in the region.
Among Bruno's inner circle, there were only two foreigners. And Svetozar was one of them. He had known well in advance that the war was going to break out, and because of this used his time, contacts, and resources to help prepare for it.
Having been promoted to Feldmarschallleutnant in 1908, a rank exclusive to the Austro- Hungarian Armed Forces, Svetozar used his influence to place himself in a position of command within the alpine region.
In doing so he spent the last few years building proper fortifications in the area. To eventually hold the line long enough for Bruno to take the Balkans out of commission. Once that would happen, Bruno would march his army group into the Alps and crush the Italians together with his ally and confident.
Or so was the plan, and because of this Svetozar was holding the line, even now. An artillery shell hit in the distance, yet near enough that shrapnel pinged off of Svetozar's Stahlhelm. The man didn't even flinch, as by now he was so accustomed to such explosive weaponry that he quite literally remained motionless as he continued to smoke his cigarette with a stoic expression on his face.
As per usual, artillery barrages would precede an assault, once the guns stopped firing, and the whistles started blowing, the Italians would be running up the hills straight into rifle and machine gun fire. It was only a matter of time.
Thus, all the Austro-Hungarian and German forces could do was wait. In the meantime, Generalfeldmarschal August von Mackensen, who while technically in control of the Isonzo Theater at this point, had largely delegated authority over the defenses to his Austro- Hungarian ally, walked over and spoke to the infamous Croatian General with a letter in his hand.
The letter was addressed not to the German Field Marshal, despite the nature of its origin, but instead to the Austro-Hungarian General, who only moved a muscle once he noticed the elderly man approaching him.