By early September, the Romanian defensive campaign had yet to begin, but the Ukrainian defensive campaign had started first. The Germans seemed to turn a blind eye to the Bulgarian forces sheltering behind the defensive line and charged straight into Ukraine from Poland.
Clearly, forcing Russia out of the war was the Germans' true strategic objective. Compared to raiding Romania for grain, they could seize even more in Ukraine.
As for oil, the Germans did not need to think hard to know that even if they captured the oil fields, they would not be able to extract any oil anytime soon! The Romanians could blow up their wells, and naturally the Bulgarians could blow up theirs as well!
The German-Austro-Hungarian offensive naturally placed ever greater pressure on the Tsarist government. More than half of Lithuania and Belarus had already fallen, while the flames of war in Ukraine had reached the banks of the Goren River.
For the Russian Empire, every additional day of war meant astronomical losses. Unfortunately, the two sides still could not agree on terms. Gloom hung thick over the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg, and Nicholas II had not shown a smile in a long time.
At the political conference, Nicholas II roared, "What are the Germans trying to do? Do they think the great Russian Empire is some soft persimmon to be squeezed?
"Cede Poland, half of Lithuania, and parts of Ukraine? Do they think they've got us in the bag?"
Well, the Germans were still negotiating with Russia by the principle of asking a sky-high price and settling for a reasonable one. Unfortunately, the Tsarist government could not afford to drag things out. Every day brought reports of lost cities and occupied land; no wonder Nicholas II could no longer endure it.
Perhaps before the