Chapter 237: Who Dares Wins
The order was given, the Allied Expeditionary Force sent to the Balkans to aid the Serbian Provisional Army was commanded to march south and attempt another assault against the Greek Trenches built which were hastily constructed on their borders with Serbia beginning at the start of the July Crisis.
To put it simply, the Greek Army was putting its all into holding the line, while raising more troops in anticipation of a second campaign against the Turks. Their hope was that the enemy would be caught by the Germans before their defenses broke against the wave of the Allied Onslaught.
Luckily for them, they had a man who, while cautious in nature, was by no means reserved for leading the combined Imperial Army sent to the Balkan Theater. For Bruno there was a phrase, first attested in the 18th century by German sources.
The phrase consisted of three words later adopted by the British Special Air Service in English as their motto, and in many ways, it was a motto which Burno lived by. "Wer wagt, gewinnt" Or in the English tongue, "He Who dares wins..."
A simple phrase, but one which emphasizes the need to take opportunities that present themselves even if they are a risk. One could never gain ground and conquer while playing defensively. Risks were necessary to achieve victory.
He who was dedicated solely towards a cautious and defensive approach, whether two aspects of war, business, romance, or life itself would never prosper. Risk was a part of life, and only the man who dared to take the opportunity presented to him would win in the end.
The war Bruno saw it, he was facing an armed force, of mostly conscripts and some 30,000 trained soldiers. The enemies he was facing numbered close to a million in totality, even with the surrender of those who had presented themselves to him in exchange for leniency on the Serbian people.
Bruno had the ability to advance beyond his allies with 300,000 men, it would be more but the other 500,000 of Germany's soldiers in the Balkans were currently teaching Montenegro a very valuable lesson on why one does not start or join a war they are utterly incapable of winning.
And because of that, Bruno was limited to a single Army Group. Even so, this was a motorized Army Group supported by armored reconnaissance units. He could easily pierce the gap between him and Serbia, catching them and their allies in between the Hellenic Army at the Greek border, and slaughtering them to the last man.
However, to do so, Bruno would need to take a risk. He would have to advance beyond not only his Austro-Hungarian and Russian Allies, who were not only slow as they marched on foot and on horse. But were also the majority of his forces, many of which were tasked with occupying every town they encountered.
In addition to this, Bruno would have to march beyond the capability of his logistical capabilities. History had proven time and again, the General who sought a quick finish to a conflict by advancing beyond his means of resupply ultimately suffered the consequences of such a reckless yet bold decision.
However, on the rare occasion it bore fruit, and finished a war, or at the very least a campaign, in a much quicker time than it otherwise would have been and with much shorter casualties sustained. Because of this, Bruno found himself in a difficult situation.
On the one hand, victory was guaranteed even if he took a cautious and measures approach towards the war. Waiting on his Austro-Hungarian and Russian Allies to march with him to certain victory.