Holy Roman Empire

Fortunately, there are not many such talents. Otherwise, tens of thousands of British soldiers would go to Austria to eat and drink, and the London government would vomit blood.

As for the Sardinian army who came here to dawdle, Franz ignored it directly. This is a normal operation, and they didn't rush over with a single brain, which means that they are still the Kingdom of Sardinia and not Italy.

……

Metternich said with a smile on his face: "Your Majesty, Prime Minister Felix's trip to Berlin failed, and the Kingdom of Prussia rejected the proposal to re-establish the Holy Roman League.

In order to avoid the condemnation of public opinion, that guy Frederick William IV was very cunning and chose to delay the time, and made a high-profile declaration of respect for the choice of the German people.

Prime Minister Felix proposed to hold a referendum, but he flatly rejected it again. It seems that the Prussians are going to make trouble. "

I am not afraid of the Prussians doing things, but what I am most afraid of is that the Prussians will not do things.If the Holy Roman Empire was really rebuilt in the name of a referendum, Franz would be the one to cry.

The democratically elected emperor looks good, but in fact, it has dropped several grades in nature. It is no longer supreme. Since it can be elected, it can naturally be abolished. It is even worse than the emperor election system back then.

Regardless of whether it is good or bad for the country, it is absolutely disastrous for the royal family. Unless there is really no other way, no emperor is willing to accept this kind of elected throne.

At least Franz would not accept it. There are quite a few families in Germany who are eligible to elect the emperor. Even if they win once, they can change hands next time. The difference between the emperor and the lifelong president is only in name.

Not only is Franz unacceptable, but the Austrian government also cannot accept it. If Austria cannot control the Holy Roman Empire, what is the use of rebuilding the empire?

The Prussians were worried that Austria would limit them with this empire, but Austria also worried about not being able to control the empire.

Out of interests, once the empire is unified, the embarrassing situation of Prussia in the German region will change immediately, and the small state Congress will support them against Austria.

Of course, this kind of support can only be in the dark. It is impossible for everyone to stand up against the central government on the bright side. Most of these states will play a balance of politics, that is, let the central government with Austria as the core and the local power represented by the Kingdom of Prussia Pie, maintain a delicate balance.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Karl said uncertainly: "It is a bit surprising that the Prussians did not stand up and hold the banner of opposition. Could it be that they expect the small states to stand up and openly oppose us?"

Under the influence of nationalists, reunification has been accepted by many people. If you oppose national reunification, you will undoubtedly increase hatred.

Of course, the strength of the nationalist groups is not great now, and they can influence the government's position, but they cannot influence the government's decision-making.

If Austria waits for 30 or [-] years to raise the banner of "Reconstruction of Shinra-Peaceful Unification", it is estimated that there is a possibility of success.

"It's not clear, anyway, someone must be the leader, otherwise the plan will be successful, and the Prussian government will pay a high price if it wants to oppose it.

Now it depends on which unlucky person is fooled by them. Anyway, whoever stands up to oppose it will be hostile by nationalists in the future. "Metternich analyzed

Franz thought for a while and said, "It would be best to be Bavaria. We need the Bavarian government to stand up and oppose it. This is a suitable choice for us."

Metternich analyzed: "Your Majesty, if Bavaria is to be recruited, we must personally push it. It is estimated that the Prussians also want to push the Kingdom of Bavaria to be the first bird.

As the third largest country in the Federation, only their influence is large enough to make everyone respond collectively.

If the Bavarian government wants to win the support of the small state, then this is an opportunity. If successful, they will become the leader of the small German state. "

……

The Austrian government is discussing how to lead the Kingdom of Bavaria into the pit. In St. Petersburg, thousands of miles away, the tsarist government is also discussing the subsequent strategy.

The battle of Sofia is over, and the second Bulgarian battle has entered a new stage. At this time, they have two choices:

Either concentrate our forces to fight in the Sliven area, or occupy Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Greece first.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Aristotle Rhodes suggested: "Your Majesty, attack the Kesliven area first, clear the obstacles to the Constantinople area, and capture Constantinople in one go. At that time, Britain and France will have to retreat."

This is the quick fix, and financially speaking, the cheapest way to win the war.

The prerequisite is to be able to win. If you lose, you will lose everything. High returns also come with high risks.

Foreign Minister Carl Wossel objected: "No, the Sofia battle has just ended, and the frontline troops urgently need to be repaired. At this time, there will be another decisive battle, and the pressure on the frontline will be too great.

It is better to attack the weaker areas of the enemy first, first occupy Kosovo, Macedonia, and Thrace, and unite Montenegro and Greece to attack from the enemy's flank.

Although the speed was a little slower, it was a smooth battle, just to temper the recruits and restore the combat effectiveness of the troops as soon as possible. "

Seeing that the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Foreign Affairs had finished speaking, the Minister of War was embarrassed to find that he had nothing to say.

Who do you support?This problem is not easy to solve. Before it is implemented, who knows which strategy is more reliable. Ivanovic judges from a professional point of view that it is theoretically feasible.

In fact, the outflanking and outflanking war looks wonderful, and the logistics may drag people to death. You can't count on Montenegro and Greece to provide logistics, right?

Otherwise, while occupying these places, the Russian army must divide its troops to garrison to ensure the smooth flow of logistics transportation lines.

Immediately send troops to a decisive battle, and Ivanovic also knows that this is too difficult.The troops on the front line are already tired, and if they don't improve their combat effectiveness, they won't be able to guarantee it.

After hesitating for a while, Minister of War Ivanovic analyzed from a professional point of view: "Your Majesty, the Ministry of the Army recommends mobilizing new troops, replacing some of the troops that suffered heavy casualties, and withdrawing them to the Danube River Basin for repairs. army reserve.

Immediately after the defense change, we will have a decisive battle with the enemy. Now the British Expeditionary Force is also seriously injured. We only need two main divisions to kill them.

Now we have to fight against the enemy, whoever can reinforce the front line faster will win this battle. "

There is no doubt that he does not support anyone.Ivanovic is very dissatisfied with the practice of two amateur players acting as professionals, but he can't afford to offend the two big guys.

Nicholas I was a soldier, regardless of his military literacy, he still had basic common sense, so he naturally understood that Ivanovic's suggestion was much more reliable than the previous two.

"Drop the five divisions in the Lviv area, replace the troops that participated in the Sofia battle, and mobilize eight divisions in the Moscow area to replace the heavily lost troops on the Sliven front.

Order the troops in the Ukrainian region to strictly prevent the enemy from landing, especially the Crimea Peninsula, and not let the enemy take advantage of the loopholes. "

"Yes, Your Majesty." Ivanovic replied

The advantage of having more soldiers is reflected at this time, and the Russians can mobilize reinforcements in the shortest time.

It's a pity that this benefit is somewhat pale and weak on the battlefield.Poor transportation restricted the speed of Russian troop mobilization.

The Battle of Sofia had ended for more than half a month. At this time, the tsarist government made a decision, and a lot of time was wasted. By the time these troops arrived at the front line, it was already more than a month later.

In any case, the Russians still performed well in the Sofia battle.The rule of the Ottoman Empire in the Balkans became shaky. At this time, the Sudanese government had no power to reinforce the front line.

This means that the good days of the French are over. The Ottoman Empire lost more than 30 in half a year. Now the Sudanese government is anxious to deal with the Greeks who entered Thrace, and they have no supplementary strength.

Emable Jean Jacques Pelissier discovered for the first time that the Ottoman Empire was still so important.The amount of cannon fodder was insufficient, and the French Expeditionary Force had to go up by themselves.

Wars of attrition are not fun, almost every day a regiment is disabled, this kind of loss is not so easy to bear.The front is covered by Ottoman cannon fodder. They don't think there is anything, and they know it is powerful now.

Menshikov played in a completely reckless style, launching a big attack every now and then, and after the battle, both sides were wailing.

There are 17 French expeditionary forces, and now there are only less than [-] combat power left.The rest were not all dead, nor were they all wounded, but because the troops were beaten and disabled, they had to be withdrawn for repairs.

In fact, the loss of the French army was similar to that of the British, and they both suffered more than 4 casualties, but their soldiers could bear this kind of intensity.

France has provided them with two supplementary soldiers, with a total number of 4.8, and now the total number of French troops has not declined.Emable Jean-Jacques Pélissier is still experienced, knowing how to let troops go to the battlefield in turn, and did not use a single army to death.

Even so, the battalion and company-level troops at the grassroots level are often defeated.There is no way to do this. After the enemy's round of attack, the companies in the front are often reimbursed.

From this point of view, the British will be far behind.Of course, this is the difference between a land power country and a sea power country.Even though Napoleon III was eliminating dissidents, he did not make small moves on these issues.

Therefore, the battle has progressed to the present, and the French still have strength. If they can repair for a month or two, let them rebuild the lost system, and they can return to their peak.

Time is a flaw, and the Russians will obviously not give them this chance. Although the casualties of the Russians are not small, the gray animals are easy to fool.

In the face of the bright future promised by Menshikov, the Russian soldiers mustered up the courage to go to the battlefield again, which is incomparable to the British and French troops in any case.

Maoxiong's serf soldiers are simple-minded and basically illiterate. You only need to promise them freedom and land, and these people can sacrifice their lives on the battlefield.

If the British and French soldiers are replaced, it is estimated that no one will take care of them.Everyone has learned it well, and this little trick can't tempt them. The most important thing is that everyone knows that there is no land in the country to develop.

Using colonial land to fool people, aren't you afraid of being blacked out?Those bloody places, where you can buy a farm for a pound, want everyone to work for it?

It’s not easy to fool you, but you have to find a way to fool you. Emable Jean-Jacques Pélissier’s decisive revenge against Russia and France boosted everyone’s morale.It was fine at first, but now the effect is not obvious.

If anyone pays attention, they will find that the French army is retreating steadily, and seems to be preparing to run away.

Emable Jean Jacques Pélissier felt bitter, this battle was of great importance, and it was related to the reputation of the boss Napoleon III, so he absolutely could not lose.

Even if you paid a heavy price, you can win a nominal victory.Since he can't afford to lose, he naturally has to consider the way out, and if it is really not advisable, he must throw the pot away!

Of course, it is better to win the war, and how much you lose still has some influence.At this time, Emable Jean-Jacques Pélissier had already regretted it. If he had known that the British were so useless, he would have rushed to a decisive battle with the Russians from the very beginning.

A miserable victory that hurts both sides is also a victory.

What's more, the boss originally wanted to eliminate dissidents and eliminate the forces loyal to the Orleans Dynasty in the army.

It's just that Emable Jean-Jacques Pélissier still had a conscience and was reluctant to let so many French lads be buried with him, so he chose the safest way of fighting, which turned into a war of attrition.

However, the resilience of the Russians on the battlefield was higher than that of the coalition forces, and then the French suffered a disadvantage.

I missed the decisive battle opportunity, even if I want to be reckless now, the state of the French army probably won't be able to do it.Emable Jean Jacques Pélissier didn't want to be a stepping stone for the Russians and make their reputation as the world's number one army power stronger.

Chapter 93 Felix's trip to Germany

The defeat on the front line intensified the internal strife in the London government. Coupled with the political scandal some time ago, Prime Minister John Russell was forced to resign.

The Whig Party was defeated in the new general election, and the Peel faction and the Conservative Party jointly formed a government, and George Hamilton Gordon stepped onto the stage of history.

The new government has a new atmosphere. For the George Hamilton Gordon government, the most important thing right now is the Near East War.

It is impossible to back down, this is related to the international status of the United Kingdom.Now is the era of the two powers of Britain and Russia. If the London government backs down at this time, it will be acknowledging the Russians, which is equivalent to acknowledging the Russians' world dominance.

Not to mention the heavy loss of interests, the British people cannot accept the spiritual blow alone.

As the leader of the anti-war faction, George Hamilton Gordon understood John Russell's difficulty. This was a war that had to be fought.

No matter how heavy the casualties are, they must be fought down.If the Russian expansion is not curbed now, the price the British Empire will have to pay in the future will be even greater.

10 Downing Street

"Everyone, it's our turn to clean up this mess. The situation on the Balkan battlefield is very unfavorable to us. According to the battle reports from the front, the coalition forces may be defeated at any time.

The question now is whether we should continue to open up a second front, or a third front. asked George Hamilton Gordon

It can be seen that Prime Minister George Hamilton Gordon's heart is not peaceful, and the few wrinkles between his brows have already betrayed his inner anxiety.

Admiralty Secretary James Graham replied: "Your Excellency, from a strategic point of view there is nothing wrong with opening a second front in the Crimea.

The Russians are strong, but limited by their domestic transportation, which restricts the deployment of power.Because of the early preparations, the Russians have the ability to support the Caucasus battlefield and the Balkan battlefield at the same time.

In fact, on the Balkan battlefield, the Russians relied heavily on Austria's logistical supplies, otherwise they would have been unable to fight.

If we open up a new front, we will soon exceed the limits of the Russians.Even if we can't completely win on the battlefield, we can kill them.

Now that the Russian Black Sea Fleet is finished, we are ready to attack at any time.If need be, we can turn the entire Ukrainian coast and Crimea into a battlefield and keep the Russians on the run. "

The cabinet changed, but there was no big change in the top management of the government, and the ministers of the army and navy related to the war stayed in their posts.

It is not surprising that the Secretary of the Navy supports this plan. If the second front cannot be opened, how can the importance of the navy be reflected?

Power struggles are everywhere, and it is impossible to stand aloof from the world.Although the Royal Navy has an absolute advantage and firmly suppresses the army, they still have to come out from time to time to gain a sense of presence.

"It's okay to open up a second front, but the situation in the Crimea Peninsula is a bit complicated. The climate on the island is quite different from that in the country. If an offensive is launched rashly, non-combat attrition will be very serious.

It is better to land on the coast of Ukraine first, cut off the connection between the Crimean Peninsula and the mainland from behind, and trap the Russian army on the island to death. ’ suggested War Secretary Stanley

"Mr. Stanley, aren't the main force of this attack the French?" asked the Secretary of the Navy, James Graham.

……

The battle for the offensive line has become a battle for the dominance of the army and navy.

Facts have proved that the British Navy is more powerful than the Army, so the result of this battle for dominance is self-evident.

Paris

Napoleon III couldn't stand it anymore. He could lose this war militarily, but he couldn't afford to lose it politically; he couldn't afford to lose personally if France could lose.

After receiving the notification from the British, the French government made a decision as quickly as possible and sent 20 troops to initiate the Crimean War.

After some consultations, on February 1853, 2, Britain and France reached an agreement to jointly send 12 troops to open a second front on the Crimean Peninsula.

At this time, the war on the Balkan Peninsula was drawing to a close. Under the attack of the Russians regardless of casualties, the coalition forces still failed to hold the Sliven area.

Emable Jean-Jacques Pélissier succeeded in making the Ottomans blamed. On the surface, it seemed that the Russians broke through the Ottoman defenses and then completed the outflank.

Seeing that the general situation was over, on February 1853, 2, Aimable Jean Jacques Pélissier ordered the French army to break through, and the prepared French army easily broke through the Russian encirclement.

They ran smoothly, and the coalition forces were trapped.Let alone the Ottoman army, they were directly betrayed. Less than 30 of the more than [-] troops ran out after the war.

The British were also tragically shot. They were busy reorganizing their troops to restore their combat effectiveness, but Mao Xiong came from behind, and was beaten and fled without any preparation.

When counting the losses, Major General Oliver was so angry that he couldn't speak.The failure of this battle really has nothing to do with them, but the losses on the battlefield are terrible.

Needless to say, he, the commander of the expeditionary force, has been downgraded. He can barely be regarded as a division commander. At least he has retained more than 9000 troops, right?

The rest were naturally scattered. Only God knows how many of these people died in battle, how many were captured, and how many escaped.

General Command of the Allied Forces in Constantinople

Oliver roared aggressively: "Pelissier, you bastard, you better give me a reasonable explanation, otherwise the British Empire won't let it go!"

Of course, it is impossible to give up. The British Expeditionary Force has suffered such heavy losses. If there is not even a statement, how can they explain it to the country?

"General Oliver, calm down first. The position was suddenly breached by the enemy, and we were surrounded by the enemy. We have no ability to notify you at all." Aimable Jean Jacques Pélissier forcefully explained

"Scrap, go ahead and fool the kids with such an excuse! Even if the Russians break through the line of defense, they won't be able to complete the outflank immediately. You don't even have time to send someone to notify you?