The underestimated strength of Austria-Hungary surpassed that of the Japanese Qing
In Europe before World War I, Austria-Hungary was a presence to be reckoned with, and as one of the world's major powers, its strength should not be underestimated. However, because people do not have a deep understanding of it, it is often believed that it did not perform well in World War I and is a soy sauce existence.
In fact, Austria-Hungary was not a weak army, but one of the world powers, and its overall strength was far superior to that of Japan.
The Austro-Hungarian Empire is the second largest country in Europe by area, second only to Tsarist Russia in terms of land area. Its population is huge, with more than 52 million, more than the United Kingdom, France and Japan.
In addition, Austria-Hungary has abundant natural resources, before World War I oil production ranked first in Europe, coal production ranked fifth in the world, grain production in the world sixth, is a real European and even world-class power.
The Austro-Hungarian Empire was a powerful country with a large population, abundant resources, and fertile land. Its degree of industrial and economic development is second only to Britain, France and Germany, and even higher than **.
The total industrial output of the Austro-Hungarian Empire accounted for 45%, GDP accounts for 75%, the total economic volume exceeds that of Italy and Japan combined, and even exceeds **.
The Austro-Hungarian Empire produced many industrial products in the world, such as its pig iron production of 23810,000 tons, three times the size of Japan and Italy combined, showing its strong industrial strength.
In addition, the Austro-Hungarian Empire had a well-developed infrastructure, with more than 40,000 kilometers of railways, second only to the United States, Russia, Germany and the United Kingdom, and even more than the old industrial power France.
The level of urbanization in Austria-Hungary reached 258, much higher than Japan and **. Therefore, the strength of Austria-Hungary was far greater than one might think.
The Austro-Hungarian Empire was a strong country and a strong military. The Austro-Hungarian Empire ranked fourth in the world in terms of steel and munitions production, and the Škoda Arsenal was world-renowned and was known as the largest arsenal in the world at that time.
Before the outbreak of World War I, Austria-Hungary already had more than 500,000 standing soldiers, and after the outbreak of World War I, its army rapidly expanded to more than 3 million in a short period of time, demonstrating its strong military strength and war potential.
On the Eastern Front, Austria-Hungary performed valiantly at the beginning of World War I, and it can even be said that it suppressed the offensive of the first world. Had it not been for Germany's two-front war, Italy's betrayal, and its many opponents, Austria-Hungary might not have been at a disadvantage.
Despite the multiple pressures, Austria-Hungary managed to defeat Serbia and Romania in the confrontation with the two great powers, ** and Italy. They even wiped out 500,000 Romanian troops with just one hand, and the ** army that came to Romania's aid was wiped out, and they fled back to the country in a hurry.
Some believe that Austria-Hungary was weak in combat, but in a multi-front battle, their 100,000 troops managed to withstand the attack of a million-strong Italian army and held out for several years.
I have to admit that Austria-Hungary is not a war scumbag. Despite the heavy losses suffered in World War I, the Czech, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary and many other countries from the Austro-Hungarian Empire still have strength that cannot be ignored.
Therefore, we can say that Austria-Hungary was a truly world-class power, far superior in strength to Japan and the Qing dynasty.