Holy Roman Empire

After finishing speaking, he turned his attention to Foreign Secretary Maclean, hoping that he could give a satisfactory answer.

It did not disappoint. Foreign Secretary Maclean gave the answer: "This time, all European countries are standing on the opposite side of the French, but they are only intimidated by the strength of the French, and everyone does not want to offend the French too much.

Even the Austrians don't want to see the French take over Italy so smoothly, and they may not interfere on the surface, but secretly the Vienna government definitely doesn't mind causing trouble for them.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has already contacted various countries, and everyone is willing to support the independence movement of the Italians and break the ambition of the French to dominate the European continent.

Austria is an exception. They fear that the Italian independence movement will spread to Lombardy and Venice, and refuse to support the Italian Revolutionary Party.

That old fox, Felix, suggested that we contact the French Revolutionary Party to encourage the French people to rise up against colonial invasion.

By the way, he also proposed to support an anti-French Spanish king to add chaos to the French.

In theory, these are all feasible, the only problem is to grasp the speed, otherwise the French will fall, and Austria will be the only one. "

Everyone is playing conspiracy, and together they will cause trouble for the French.It's just that Austria refused to stand out this time and pushed everything to the British.

Know what you know, things still have to be done.If Austria is a potential threat, the Greater French Empire is a real threat.

If action is not taken soon, there will be no place for the British in the Mediterranean.In the future, Britain's overseas trade to the Indian Ocean will also be subject to the French.

Prime Minister Benjamin sneered and said: "Let the Austrians be proud for a few days first, and they will cry in the future. Regardless of their calculations, follow the original plan to suppress the French first.

After splitting up Grand France, we are slowly settling accounts with them.The Ministry of Foreign Affairs used anti-French as a cover to make secret contact with various countries and prepare for the establishment of an anti-Austrian alliance. "

The anti-Russian alliance, the anti-French alliance, and the anti-Austrian alliance were carefully prepared by the British for the three competitors of Russia, France and Austria.

At present, the anti-Russian alliance has succeeded, and in the recent war, the anti-Russian alliance defeated the Russians in one fell swoop, ruining the European hegemony of the Russian Empire.

The anti-French alliance is not the first time, but Napoleon III changed the foreign policy of the Napoleon era and chose to make peace with European countries, which led to the delay in the establishment of the anti-French alliance.

Now the situation has changed, and the establishment of the Greater French Empire laid the foundation for the re-establishment of the Anti-French Alliance.

If it wasn't for the lack of the key link in Austria, it is estimated that the anti-French alliance will openly raise its flag at this time.Facing this alliance, it was difficult for Napoleon III not to compromise.

The anti-Austrian alliance, which has been diving, has actually been prepared by the British early on.When you open the map, you will find that Poland, Prussia, and Switzerland around Austria all have anti-Austrian tendencies.

If the situation changes, it is not impossible for the Russian Empire to stand on the opposite side of Austria; if Italy succeeds in independence, this new country will naturally be a member of the anti-Austrian camp.

It can be said that as long as the Vienna government makes a careless move, it will step into the trap set by the British and fall into a state of isolation and helplessness.

Chapter 48 Prepare for the decisive battle

The influence of John Bull in this era is still extraordinary. Although it is not as good as that of the same period in history, it is also a response to the crowd.

The Italian Revolutionary Party, the French Revolutionary Party, as long as they are organizations that can be named, have sent representatives to London.

Looking at the information in his hands, Franz's first reaction was: The British are really rich!

In other countries, not to mention whether these revolutionary organizations give face or not, just finding them is not easy.

Revolutions also lose their heads. If they were not careful, Napoleon III would have killed them long ago.The British were able to find them all in such a short period of time, unless the two sides kept in touch.

In addition to the "money ability", is there anything else that can make these revolutionaries cooperate?That's all for the Italian Revolutionary Party, Britain and France are blood feuds, why should the French Revolutionary Party pay the British?

Anyway, Franz couldn't afford the money.Instead of using it to support these mobs, it is better to invest in domestic economic construction and increase its own strength.

It’s really not that he discriminates against revolutionaries. In this era, the French Revolutionaries are white gloves of the bourgeoisie, and the value of their existence is to benefit the bourgeoisie.

Except for a few people, most of them are losers in the power struggle, fighting for their own interests.In addition to bearing the banner of the revolutionary party, they are not really revolutionaries.

The Italian Revolutionary Party is relatively better. At least they are fighting for national independence. Although the internal organization is chaotic and mixed, it can be called a revolutionary party.

Since it is a revolutionary party, it is natural that it will not be able to play with the emperor Franz.In the face of national interests, it is a fallacy to talk about justice or not.

The sacred mission of funding the revolutionary party was thus handed over to the British.Originally, the Americans also played a role. In order to promote the republic, they are also working hard to spread money.

However, after the end of the Civil War, after experiencing a severe social beating, both the federal government and the Confederate government settled down and did not dare to reach out to Europe.

With the loss of a benefactor, the revolutionary momentum in Europe has dropped a lot compared to the same period in history, and the social security has obviously exceeded the original time and space.

Except for the Italian region, the Italian people who were unwilling to be ruled by the French were still rising up to resist.The French were busy suppressing the rebellion, and it is understandable that they ignored social security.

Raising soldiers for a thousand days and using them for a while, the money of the British is not so easy to get, now it is time to work for the British.

Maybe they are also voluntary. Anyway, it is not themselves who bleed and sacrifice, and the success rate is even higher with the support of the British.If they succeed, they make a lot of money.

In contrast, the responses of European countries are much more reserved.Perhaps the diplomatic activities of the French played a role, or perhaps Austria did not intervene, which gave them a different idea.

In short, everyone is condemning the French, and the slogans are earth-shattering.When it came time to take practical action, each of them seemed to have changed their minds, talking about a lot of reasons, that is, not to send troops.

Franz was not at all surprised by the choices of various countries.The French are not soft persimmons. Napoleon III has already put on a stance that he will not hesitate to fight. Governments of all countries are weighing the pros and cons, and no one wants to be the first bird.

To put it bluntly, everyone wants to be a fisherman and is unwilling to lose their own strength.In the final analysis, it is because of interests. The British, the anti-French boss, don't take the lead, so how can they expect the younger brother to work hard?

The current approach is to isolate France from all countries.To attack the French lair and destroy the Great French Empire, there is still a lack of a main force.

In this regard, the French chose a good time.Prussia and Russia are in the recovery period, and Austria has an alliance with the Paris government, and none of the remaining countries can fight.

As the situation in Europe stabilized, the situation on the African continent changed.In order to support the South African War, the British have increased their troops three times. So far, the number of British troops in the Cape Colony has exceeded 18.

Of course, after removing the cannon fodder troops, this number was directly reduced by half, even so it was still amazing.

After the Near East War, this was the battle with the most troops invested by the British.The total strength of the Austrian side is also almost the same, and Franz directly regards this war as a training ground.

No, it should be officer training camp.The regular army cannot appear on the battlefield, otherwise Austria's neutral position will not be guaranteed.

Soldiers cannot go into battle, but it does not mean that officers cannot go into battle.Taking off the uniform and participating in the war in a personal name has nothing to do with the Vienna government.

Including nobles who voluntarily participated, they are actually members of the Austrian Reserve Officer Corps. According to the rules in the German region, nobles enlisted unconditionally during the war.

Increasing the actual combat capabilities of these people is also increasing Austria's national defense capabilities.Opponents like the British are hard to find, so of course we must make full use of them.

The indigenous cannon fodder troops formed on the spot were for the officers to practice.Now many battles are conducted by the officer corps sent by the General Staff to command these indigenous troops to conduct tactical experiments.

Although these data are not representative, the final results will be completely different if implemented by different armies.

But no matter what, it is better than talking on paper.If commanding the cannon fodder troops can win the battle, wouldn't that prove everyone's commanding ability even more?

The reality is very embarrassing, more than 90.00% of the tests ended in failure.In many cases, the cannon fodder troops were defeated, and then Viscount Fickney commanded the "Boer Republic Army" to deal with the aftermath.

Now that the war has come, the combat effectiveness of the Boer Republican Army and the Austrian army is similar. They were originally trained in one system, including the source of soldiers and officers, all from the German region.

This army now has about 10,000 people, and with the addition of [-]+ cannon fodder troops, it is evenly matched with the British, which is enough to prove their combat effectiveness.

Of course, this is also related to the mixed British army. Many white troops from the colonies are actually dawdling.

In the original time and space, the Boers had fewer troops, and the British attacked with ten times their troops. Both sides fought for two or three years.If the supply of materials had not been cut off, the Boers would be powerless, and the war might continue.

The situation in the South African War is completely different this time. It is impossible for the British to block it. No matter how good the London government is at dancing sleeves, it is impossible for the Austrian African colonial government to cut off the supplies of its own people.

The cost of war is high, it doesn't matter that the emperor Franz is not afraid, what are the officers on the front line afraid of.Many people think that this is a game between Britain and Austria, which is related to Austria's hegemony in the African continent.

By the end of 1870, the casualties of the South African War could no longer be fully counted, and even the number of casualties itself did not have an accurate figure.

On the battlefield in South Africa, Franz was the greatest delegate.All officers can recruit cannon fodder troops, and the loss of the native troops has always been only an approximate figure.

Anyway, if the loss is [-], [-] can be replenished. If there is not enough recruitment in the Boer Republic, the colonial government in the rear will send people over.

On the British side, there was already a shortage of cannon fodder troops, and a large number of young and strong were sent to the battlefield. I don't know how many tribes would perish because of this.

Christmas is not far away. At this time, the "Boer Republic Army" has advanced the front line to the hinterland of the British South African colony, only more than 200 kilometers away from Cape Town.

Viscount Fickney didn't intend to procrastinate any longer, and everyone still wanted to finish the war and spend Christmas.The delay is too long, and the British reinforcements will come again, and the war will be difficult to fight by then.

Attacking from the inland areas, logistics will always be the biggest constraint. If it weren't for the few rivers in South Africa, this war would have ended long ago.

Pointing to the hand-painted military map on the wall, Viscount Fickney said: "Everyone, this is the British troop deployment map. As the front advances, the British resistance becomes stronger.

If the war cannot be ended within the year and it is delayed until the beginning of next spring, then the fourth batch of reinforcements from the British will arrive, and it will be difficult for us to capture Cape Town.

The time left for us to fight is running out.If it cannot be resolved quickly, it may be difficult to occupy the entire South Africa before the negotiations between the two countries. "

There is no way, the war has progressed to the present, and if it wants to end, one side needs to give up and admit defeat.The British are not tough guys. If they can't beat them, they will give up. John Bull has never been afraid of anyone.

It's just a local war. It's hard to say how firm the Vienna government's position is in taking South Africa, including the emperor Franz, who is only planning to take the gold mining area first.

How much land was eventually seized from the British is not so concerned.The main reason is that only when Cape Town is captured, all South Africa can maximize its military merits.

Don't look at the war that has been fought for more than half a year. Everyone has made great achievements in the war, but the actual results are very limited.

Leaving aside the annihilated cannon fodder troops, the loss of the British army will never exceed [-].Every time the two sides fought, they were only defeated but not completely wiped out, and the results of the battle would naturally fail.

This is also no way, the commander-in-chief of the British army, Governor Delphi, is an old fox. Every time, he lets the white soldiers go first and the cannon fodder troops come back.

Throwing [-] is not enough, just throw [-], anyway, the cannon fodder is worthless.These are all hidden dangers. If they escape to the gathering place of the rear residents, the damage will be great, and Viscount Fickney had to send someone to clean them up.

It takes time to catch tens of thousands of pigs, let alone people?After solving these shrimp soldiers, the main force of the British built another line of defense.

If the main force of the British army cannot be wiped out, this war will naturally not end in a short time.

A middle-aged staff officer frowned and said: "I'm afraid it's a bit difficult. We still don't have enough troops to capture Cape Town, and these native troops can't be counted on at all.

When we arrived at the port of Cape Town, the British still had naval fire support. We lacked heavy artillery in our hands, and it was difficult to conquer the city in a short time. Once the war dragged on, the situation would change again.

The latest British reinforcements can come from Ethiopia in only one week, and the local reinforcements only need one month. "

This is a practical problem. Austria has no shortage of soldiers, but the number of troops that can be put into the South African battlefield is very limited.

On the one hand, it is due to logistical reasons. The regular army is different from the cannon fodder of the natives. As long as they are given a bite to eat, they can also go to the battlefield equipped with swords and spears.

The problem of eating is easy to solve. South Africa is also rich in products. The Boer Republic can provide part, the rear can supply part, and you can also grab part.

When necessary, it is not impossible to ensure the logistics supply of the regular army, and it is not impossible to release the cannon fodder troops to feed on the enemy.

Weapons and ammunition must be provided from the rear, and this supply line is very long.Some of them went to the Congo area, and the other part was sent by the Nile River via Egypt.

On the other hand, the war was fought in the name of the Boers after all.For the small Boer Republic, it is already against the sky to have [-] troops, and it would be unreasonable to have [-] troops.

Although the big powers are shameless, the Vienna government is not so thick-skinned.If it really offends the British, everyone will feel bad.

Now the two sides are still playing games within the scope of the rules of the game. If they are defeated on the battlefield, it can only prove that the British army is not capable of fighting.If you are incompetent and want to start a war, then don't blame others for revenge.

Viscount Fickney coaxed: "It's not easy to fight, we still have to fight. I think everyone wants to see that the post-war summary says to annihilate [-] British troops and capture British South Africa.

Instead of writing about smashing the British conspiracy against the Boer Republic, annihilating [-] enemy troops, and forcing the British to admit defeat!

After winning this most critical decisive battle, it is not a problem for everyone to want to be promoted.If we stop now, most of us can only get one reward order. "

……

Chapter 49 Friendship Witness

The younger brothers have a fighting spirit, and Franz is happy to see it succeed.Success or failure is irrelevant, the most important thing is this kind of positive spirit, which deserves to be encouraged and carried forward.

Austria is now also a big business, and the fault tolerance rate has greatly increased.The success or failure of the South African War has nothing to do with the overall situation of the country.

Of course, it is better to succeed, and it can crush the ambitions of the British in one fell swoop.In order to prevent the British from having unrealistic fantasies after gold mining, another war broke out.

The colonists of these days have no resistance at all in the face of interests, and only after experiencing failures do they know that the sky is high and the earth is strong.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Karl submitted a report to Franz, and said with a sad face: "Your Majesty, this is the military expenditure for the last two months of the South African War. The total is 1248.6 million Aegis."

There is nothing wrong with the saying that war is a beast that eats gold.It's just a local war, and it consumes more than 600 million Aegis every month on average. If it's a full-scale war, it will be fine.

It is impossible to save military expenses. The weapons and ammunition for the Laoshi expedition are all transported from China, and the transportation cost alone is not a small expense.

In fact, the current military expenditure is already considered low.At least the cannon fodder troops do not need Franz to pay a salary, nor do they need to pay pensions, otherwise this number will increase several times.

But no matter how economical they are, these people still have to dress and eat, and getting rid of outdated muskets, knives and spears is also costly.

Franz looked at the report, and the expenditure of 10,000+ cannon fodder troops accounted for about 20.00% of the total military expenditure, and the rest was the expenditure of the tens of thousands of "Boer Republic" troops.

Although it is to defend the country, military pay is still indispensable.Including the aristocratic private army who brought their own dry food, they all have a military salary.Pensions are also issued in accordance with the standards of the Austrian regular army, without discrimination.

Franz did not save money in this regard, and he personally vetoed the government's money-saving plan.Theoretically, without giving money, nobles can also be recruited to fight. You only need to divide up the spoils after the war. This is how the European continent has been played since ancient times.

But Franz knew that times had changed.Occasionally recruiting fief nobles to fight is okay. After a few more times, the emperor probably won't be able to call anyone.

Loyalty cannot withstand wear and tear, and people's hearts will change.If the war is won and there is enough spoils to share, then it's fine.

If the war is costly and the spoils are not enough to make up for everyone's losses, there will be a lot of complaints.If you suffer a loss once, the next time you will be obedient and rebellious.

Naturally, the South African War did not have the problem of insufficient loot, and there was everything from the gold mines.But in this way, the government has nothing to do.

The aristocracy contributed money and efforts to fight it down, so why should the government intervene?At least during the tax holiday period stipulated by colonial law, the Vienna government had no way to benefit from it.

Thinking in another way, without knowing that there is a large amount of gold buried underground, few nobles dare to invest so much.

The monthly expenses of more than 600 million Aegis, even the last top nobles of the Shenluo Empire, cannot afford this risk.

In case the money runs out and the war is not over, you can only cry yourself.This kind of negative teaching material has appeared many times in the European continent. Many noble lords had wars with others, and they ran out of money just halfway through the fight.

The ancestors of the Habsburg dynasty had it before, and they were all emperors, and they were forced by their creditors to dare not go home.Of course, the main thing is to save face too much. If they really refuse to pay back their debts, what else can a few businessmen do?