At the Berlin General Staff Headquarters, Hindenburg lit a cigarette and took a drag. What he had feared most had happened after all. The Austro-Hungarian Empire's defection meant the German Empire's gravest hour of crisis had arrived!
At that moment, he was furious beyond measure at Field Marshal August von Mackensen for refusing to carry out orders. In his view, if those German troops had withdrawn into Austria to "help the Austro-Hungarian Empire defend Vienna," then the Vienna government would never have dared surrender so easily!
Of course, the likeliest outcome was that they would not even have had the chance to enter Vienna. So long as Ferdinand II was not a fool, he would never let them in.
From that perspective, Field Marshal August von Mackensen's decision had been correct as well. Before the Austro-Hungarian Empire defected, they had still been allies. If Austria-Hungary refused to let German troops enter its capital, were they supposed to storm it by force?
If they truly assaulted an ally's capital, the consequences would likely be even worse than Austria-Hungary's defection! If that happened, who would dare become Germany's ally in the future?
But he had no time to settle accounts with August von Mackensen now. The General Staff's power to intimidate these senior military commanders was steadily diminishing!
Under Ferdinand's butterfly effect, the Junker aristocratic government represented by Hindenburg had never gotten a chance to shine. In this war, every major victory the Germans had won had come during Wilhelm II's rule.
Many Germans now believed that even Wilhelm II, a mere half-baked amateur, possessed greater strategic ability than the Hindenburg Government. That was hardly good news for them!
As time passed, Hindenburg kept lowering his bottom line for ending the war. He no longer intended to claim French territory. Germany could