Montenegro
Since the outbreak of the Near East War, this tiny country had boiled over. It completed nationwide mobilization at the first opportunity, with men, women, old, and young all taking the field.
The Montenegrin people were proud. They were the only people on the Balkan Peninsula who had never bowed to the Ottomans, and for centuries they had stood on the front line of resistance against the Ottoman Empire.
This was a nation where every citizen was a soldier. Without any need for government coercion, the people voluntarily took up weapons and returned to their units.
Skadar lay right before them. No one knew how many times the Montenegrins had fought their way here before, but this time was different—they had an excellent chance of victory.
Not long ago, they had successfully joined forces with Austria in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Their shortage of weapons and ammunition had been resolved, and the Montenegrin army's combat strength had risen sharply.
Montenegrin Army Headquarters
Commander-in-Chief Mirkov said solemnly, "We have just received word from the Foreign Ministry. Holstad Armory is sending people over to test a batch of weapons.
"Lasrich, take a company and ensure the safety of our Austrian friends. Nothing must happen to them."
Mirkov had no choice but to be cautious. Every rifle and every bullet in the Principality of Montenegro was now supplied by Austria.
Austria had replaced the Russians as their most important ally—without equal.
At a time like this, when Austria asked to test weapons on the battlefield, they naturally could not refuse.
For the impoverished Principality of Montenegro, never mind how good the weapons were—having something to use was already a blessing. By testing weapons for Austria now, they could obtain a batch of weapons and equipment for free. In their eyes, that was a