"General Bantner, how many troops would you need if I asked you to destroy the German army in Austria?"
The fierce protests in the country made King Ferdinand I very dissatisfied, so he planned to bypass the parliament, use the king's power, and directly order the army to march into Austria. This was very risky, of course, but if successful, the reward would be immense. King Ferdinand I could not only use this war to encroach on more Austrian land and establish great prestige for himself, but also greatly strengthen Romania, making the country under his rule even stronger.
Eastern Europe had not seen a truly powerful state for centuries and had long been suppressed by Western Europe. After the fall of the Eastern Roman Empire, much of the region had been occupied by the Ottoman Empire. Romania was liberated from the Ottomans more than fifty years ago by Russia after the Russo-Turkish War and had only since become truly independent. Such a short history made it difficult for Romania to rise quickly from the ruins; until now, it remained largely an agricultural country.
The history of the First World War showed that without a strong army, a country could only be reduced to fish on someone else's chopping block. To build a strong military, there were two paths:
1. Purchase arms from abroad to strengthen the army. Romania currently followed this path, but it was an expensive and unsustainable solution for a backward agricultural country.
2. Pursue self-sufficiency: build factories, establish military academies, produce weapons domestically, and train outstanding leaders to command troops. This long-term strategy was recognized and implemented by the mainstream powers of Europe. For Romania to become a great power and stand on equal footing with other nations, there was no alternative.
However, developing the military industry required money. Reliance on agricultural exports alone was insufficient to fund large-scale industrialization. The only way to obtain significant wealth quickly was through war: plunder, resource acquisition, and even war reparations from defeated nations.
In the past fifty years, two countries had risen in this way. Prussia, through victory in the Franco-Prussian War, quickly transformed from a small state into a major European power, even dominating France. Similarly, a backward country in the Far East leveraged reparations from the Sino-Japanese War, fueling rapid industrial growth and later achieving remarkable results in the Russo-Japanese War, eventually earning recognition among the world's major powers.
With these examples in mind, Ferdinand I sought to emulate their path. The war against Austria was the first step in Romania's rise. In his calculations, victory would allow his army to march into the Austrian capital, loot it, seize the iron and coal mining areas in the south, and demand reparations from Austria. Using the looted wealth and mineral resources, Romania could industrialize rapidly and expand further, eventually dominating neighboring regions like Bulgaria, Turkey, and the Balkan Peninsula.
The thought of this glorious future thrilled King Ferdinand I. He could not wait to witness the day when his name would be sung by the people.
General Bantner, however, was far less enthusiastic. Arriving at the border, he dispatched spies into Austria, only to find alarming intelligence: the German army had opened a passage to southern Germany, sending large supplies into Austria. Rumors suggested that the main German force, led by General Seckert—200,000 battle-hardened veterans—was advancing south. If they joined the fight, Romania would have no chance. Even without these reinforcements, Austria's expanding army posed a formidable challenge.
Still, in the presence of the expectant king, Bantner could not express discouraging truths. King Ferdinand disliked hearing anything that might diminish his prestige. So Bantner said what the king wanted to hear:
"Your Majesty, I believe that if we are given another 200,000 troops, we can defeat this enemy and occupy the southern mining region of Austria. If conditions permit, my army might even capture Vienna, the capital."
Ferdinand found this answer unsatisfactory. Asking for another 200,000 troops meant 250,000 in total—7% of Romania's entire army. Romania was a small country, with just over 11 million people. The First World War had cost the nation more than 800,000 lives, including 400,000 military casualties. Rebuilding the army had left only 350,000 soldiers. Bantner's request was simply unacceptable.
"At most, you may have another 100,000 troops, no more!" the king declared.