Quote:
Originally Posted by TLAM Strike
Just having the Germans being forced to occupy such a massive amount of territory would be a drain on them. Plus the deeper they drive in to Russia the more territory up north (The Baltic) they need to defend from an Anbhip attack like Adm Fisher wanted to do.
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Correct. Germany had no plans to occupy Russian territory beyond the limited gains they made under Falkenstein (sp?) in 1915-16. They could well have advanced deep into the Ukraine in an attempt to secure resources or attempted a pincer maneuver with Austrian forces to trap the retreating Russians after the recapture of Przmysl, but Falk opted out because he knew the garrison drain would be tremendous and he didn't want to humiliate the Russians or threaten the Russians with occupation, thus galvanizing resistance in what he rightly judged to be a nation on the verge of making a separate peace. His only miscalculation was the Russian willingness to persist in order to secure some territory in the Balkans and Constantinople, which has been promised to Russia by the western allies. Once Serbia had been secured and the expeditionary forces sent to the Baltic region routed, however, Russia's popular and political resolve quickly dissipated.