As Austria increased its stockpiles of weapons and equipment, it also stepped up investment in developing new equipment.
For instance: tanks that crawled along as slowly as turtles, aircraft with a range of barely more than three hundred kilometers, and big, crude artillery pieces—all of these needed improvement.
In fact, as technology continued to advance, the factors deciding victory or defeat in war increasingly tilted toward weaponry and logistics.
Preparing for war did not simply mean stockpiling weapons and ammunition. Other strategic materials had to keep pace as well.
This covered an enormous range. Many supplies were essentially usable by both civilians and the military, and their production was not limited to state-owned enterprises; the vast majority came from private businesses.
To avoid arousing outside suspicion and exposing the government's strategic plans, significantly expanding material stockpiles was out of the question.
But the ones who ought to worry about this should be their enemies.
After all, Austria possessed a complete industrial chain and could supply its own raw materials. Even if it only ramped up production after war broke out, it would still be far faster than its competitors.
Preparations were preparations, but no one still knew when war would begin.
The Vienna Government had begun preparing for war because its analysis of changes in the international situation suggested that war might break out on the European Continent.
Judging from the current situation, whoever fired the first shot would push the fence-sitting countries of Central Europe to the opposing side.
Belgium might currently be close to Austria, while countries such as the Netherlands and Switzerland were also signaling goodwill toward Austria, but all of that rested on the major premise of the French Government's aggressive pressure.
In the original timeline, Napoleon III had wanted to annex Belgium and repeatedly interfered