With Bruno now officially holding the highest rank in the German Army, he was given operational command over the Balkan Theater. At the same time, August von Mackensen was redeployed to the Western Front to hold the line until Serbia, Montenegro, Italy, and the Ottoman Empire could be knocked out of the war entirely.
With the Ottomans choosing to get involved in the conflict, both Austria-Hungary and Russia deployed additional field armies along the Russian border with the Turkish Caliphate, seeking to dismantle them as a power once and for all now that there was no longer a reason to keep them around.
In doing so, the three European nations of the Imperial Powers each split their forces across at least three theaters. The Germans held the western line by themselves, while also sending men into Italy and the Balkans.
The Austro-Hungarians divided their army into the Alps, the Balkans, and the Caucasus. As for Russia, they were simply fighting in the Balkans and the Caucasus, but had sent a considerable number of troops to the Balkans to aid their western allies.
It was a race against time to see who would reach Belgrade first, and Bruno wanted to be that man. Despite the extensive infrastructure projects the three Empires had invested in as a joint venture, they were all but useless once marching into Serbia.
This was where Bruno had the advantage. Even after being pulled back by the Kaiser for his promotion and medal, Bruno was still operating with off-road 3.5-ton trucks as transportation not only for supplies but also for his infantry and artillery.
While the rest of the world was currently relying on horses and carriages for their logistic networks, Bruno’s army had a straight shot to Belgrade and reached the Serbian capital far quicker than anyone could have anticipated.
Within a fortnight, the German 8th Army, along with the accompanying 11th and 2nd Armies, had surrounded Belgrade entirely. But Bruno did not immediately give the order to lay siege to the city. Instead, he waited until a representative of the Serbian Crown reached out to him. After three days of waiting in trenches dug outside the city, Bruno finally received the response he wanted. A messenger marched into his siege camp and found Bruno, covered in mud as he helped establish his army’s fortifications, as if he were just another enlisted soldier within the rank and file.
The man could hardly believe that the figure standing before him, covered in mud and grease, was a general of the highest order. Were it not for the distinctive crossed batons on Bruno’s greatcoat shoulder boards and the red and black collar that identified him as a
Generalfeldmarschall, the Serbian General, whose coat was immaculate, would have assumed he was being pranked.
After taking several moments to collect himself, the snobbish officer addressed Bruno with an unearned air of arrogance.
“Well, it would appear you have reached our capital quicker than we anticipated. Since the King and his family still remain in their palace, we have no choice but to seek terms. What do you offer?”
For the last eighteen hours, it had rained nonstop in the region. As a result, Bruno’s ungloved hands, covered in mud, were shivering as he reached into his pocket and lit a cigarette.
His habit of smoking to calm his nerves had increased since the war began, going through an entire pack a day by now. Even though he knew it was bad for his health, he continued to do so. He exhaled a plume of smoke from his lungs before motioning towards the city.
The words he spoke were not directed toward the Serbian General but rather to Erich, who stood by Bruno’s side, equally unkempt in appearance.
“Tell the men to equip their masks. Who knows if we’ll be affected by the gas with the way the winds are blowing. Then tell the Artillery Corps to load the shells marked ‘Mustard Gas’ and to keep firing until the city is completely lifeless…” freewebnoveℓ.com
Knowing that Bruno was choosing to disregard an attempt at surrender and instead destroy the capital of Serbia and the Serbian Royal Family within it, Erich wore a sadistic grin as he saluted his commanding officer before rushing off to relay his orders to the necessary departments.
As for the Serbian General and his host, they immediately broke into outrage at Bruno, initially half-believing that the man was merely bluffing to extract the best terms of surrender possible.
“Have you gone mad!?! According to the Hague and Geneva Conventions, what you are suggesting is a war crime of the highest magnitude! You will be dragged into court and executed if you actually go through with such a barbaric act! Only a madman would negotiate in such a crass manner!”
Bruno flicked his cigarette into the Serbian General’s face, catching the man entirely off guard. This gave him the time to withdraw his Mauser C96 from its holster, where he immediately pointed it at the head of the Serbian General, speaking the words that would later become infamous in the annals of history, as what truly happened here on this day would take decades to uncover.
“Who will drag me to court? There’s no crime if you don’t get caught, and I don’t see any witnesses…”
After saying this, Bruno pulled the trigger, instantly splattering the Serbian General’s brains onto the muddied floor of his siege camp. Bruno then shifted his muzzle toward the general’s host, gunning them down before they could properly retaliate, as they had been caught off guard by the thunder of the German guns that began to batter the capital of Serbia.
With the death of the Serbian delegation and the convenient disposal of their corpses, it was as Bruno said there were no witnesses to the fact that the Serbians had tried to surrender to the German Army.
Thus, Bruno did as he suggested to his troops, reaching into the container strapped across his waist, holstering his sidearm, and pulling out his gas mask, which he quickly donned over his face.
He gazed upon the distinctive mustard-colored gas as it spread through every corner of the city, which had stood for thousands of years. Why bother using explosive shells to dismantle such a beautiful piece of history when chemical weapons would achieve the same result and leave the architecture intact?
The official story initially reported about the “Siege of Belgrade” was that the Serbians utterly refused to surrender, despite being completely surrounded, outnumbered, and outgunned by the German Army.
Given the Serbians’ mass conscription, Bruno was left with two options: risk the injury and death of potentially hundreds of thousands of his men, or simply gas the city into submission.
Nobody except Bruno and Erich knew the Serbians had tried to surrender, and as a result, while Bruno was condemned internationally for taking such excessive and brutal actions, he would not be taken into international court for war crimes.
Instead, he would gain the newest of his many nicknames, and perhaps the most terrifying: “The Butcher of Belgrade.” A fitting name, given that he had obliterated every soul within the boundaries of the Serbian capital.
Of course, the result was that what remained of the Serbian and Montenegrin Armies would fight with everything they had to resist the Imperial Powers and their occupation of the now- leaderless Kingdom, turning the Balkan Campaign into an affair that would last several months longer than it otherwise might have.