ABSTRACT
It still remains for us to deal with the great theatre of war in the East.716 The East is not of the same vital interest to us as the Rhine and Danube lands and the events which took place there. This derives from the geographical situation itself: in the West, Italy was always the immediate target and objective of invasion and whenever [MH.II, 286] events took a serious turn, there was an immediate threat to the ruling country and the ruling nation.
