The Grand Chessboard

Albrecht: "From the current situation, the allied forces should be able to rendezvous smoothly at the Kızılırmak River next month. The first phase of the allied campaign is essentially complete.

"To better adapt to the battlefield situation and bring this war to an end as quickly as possible, Allied Command has decided to adjust its military deployments.

"Once the Ottoman Empire has been divided, the forces of each country will be reassigned.

"In the next round of strategic planning, the Russian army will be responsible for operations west of the Kızılırmak River, with the priority being the swift capture of the enemy capital—Ankara.

"The Austrian army will be responsible for operations east of the Kızılırmak River. The strategic core will be the capture of Mesopotamia, further dividing the Ottoman Empire.

"Given the heavy losses suffered by the Greek and Montenegrin armies on the battlefield, which have left them unable to undertake the next phase of operations, Allied Command has decided to cancel their upcoming combat assignments and grant them one month of rest and reorganization.

"Once the troops have completed their reorganization, the two countries' forces will be tasked with clearing out local guerrillas and maintaining stability in the newly occupied territories. Their specific areas of responsibility will be assigned later according to actual needs.

"Does anyone have any questions?"

The final question was clearly directed at Greece and Montenegro. The division of responsibilities between Russia and Austria was obviously something that had been coordinated beforehand.

Heavy losses were merely an excuse. Kicking the Greek and Montenegrin armies out of the combat order also meant they had lost their voice in the division of spoils.

Montenegrin Marshal Maxim Trentiyev said, "No problem. Our army has already lost more than six hundred men. We truly do need some proper rest and