In fact, the Austrian Empire had long been prepared for all this. After all, the Russian army's reputation was known to every household, and Franz had already allocated supplies to deal with it.
Yet he also had to bear responsibility for the tragedy, because Franz had been capable of preventing it from happening—but he had not acted.
However, for those Moldavians who refused to accept Austrian Empire rule and wished to become Russians, if Franz did not make them face reality, they would suffer an even crueler fate in the future.
As for why Franz could be certain that wherever the Russian army went, atrocities would occur, rather than some fish-and-water camaraderie between Slavic brothers in uniform and civilians that would unite them against the Austrian Empire?
Sorry, this was the nineteenth century. The saying "bandits pass through like a comb, soldiers like a grater" did not apply only in the East.
The so-called Gray Cattle was no joke either. Most Russian soldiers came from serfs; their social standing was already abysmally low, and they were accustomed to being treated brutally.
The officers wielded far too much power and were bound by no restraints whatsoever. Beating, abusing, physically punishing, even directly executing soldiers were everyday occurrences, and they themselves faced no punishment at all.
Russian propaganda and mobilization were equally simple and crude: directly demonize the enemy. The labels of heathen and heretic were useful, so the Russians kept using them.
This long-term propaganda had made many Russians rigid in their thinking, believing the world was either black or white. From the bottom of their hearts, they believed utterly killing the other side was necessary. They cast themselves as victims, believing every atrocity was for revenge, for justice, for making the other side pay its debts. They felt almost no