Quote:
Originally Posted by Astromancer
Most of Russia's troops went to the Carpathians.
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Well, the Austrian-Hungarian Empire was another of Russia's prime targets after all. While not as strong and dynamic as Germany, this was still an entity with a population of about 50 million at the time. I am not so sure that Russia could have afforded it to entirely ignore this ally of Germany, and instead to open up an early front with the Osman Empire, a state that was still neutral at this time (although it was admittedly another target for Russian desires of conquest, especially Istanbul and the Turkish Straits), as you suggest.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Astromancer
I grant you that German arms made quick work of the few troops sent,[...]
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It consisted out of two very sizeable armies. As a matter of fact, the Russian invasion force sent into Germany seemed more than strong enough to do the job. Both the Russian 1st and the Russian 2nd Army were a good deal larger than the German 8th Army, and only because the latter actually managed to engage them separatedly (and to win each engagement) was it possible to fight that invasion off. But in early August 1914 there was no reason from the Russian point of view to expect anything but a swift and smashing victory and the successful conquest of Berlin, possibly until Autumn, certainly before Christmas. After that, the first serious German troop concentrations west of the Russian Invasion force would have stood in Belgium - Germany would have had no alternative but to capitulate.