Holy Roman Empire

Suddenly, a few small black dots appeared on the horizon, and the crew of the observation deck reported back: "There is a fleet ahead, and it is heading in our direction."

Vittorio Emanuele III breathed a sigh of relief, and immediately said: "That is the ship that came to pick us up, let's approach it immediately."

After speaking, he pretended to be calm and entered the cabin.

The accompanying middle-aged man couldn't help reminding: "Your Majesty, we chose the departure route this time. Even the Austrians don't know the exact route, and there is no ship to pick it up!"

After so many years in exile, the Italian independent organization has also been severely beaten by the society, and now they don't trust anyone.

Even though he is now an ally with Austria, Vittorio Emanuele III did not accept the escape route arranged by the Austrian embassy, ​​but temporarily changed the route and boarded the Fulda.

Vittorio Emanuele III said slowly: "It doesn't matter whether there is anyone to respond, as long as someone knows that I am on the Fulda.

Now it is less than a hundred nautical miles away from the Netherlands, and there are only two British warships chasing after them. They are not capable of killing everyone on a fleet.

Once near, tell them that there is a noble king on board the Fulda.The British officers in pursuit would let us go if they weren't stupid. "

In theory, the Royal Navy dare not kill the king.But there are accidents in everything, and in this vast sea, missing a ship is not a big deal.

The matter of Vittorio Emanuele III's boarding of the Fulda was a completely temporary decision, and only a limited number of people knew about it.

Moreover, these insiders are all in London. Once the British get angry and kill them, who can prove that the British did it?

There may be clues left, but the problem is that someone has to look down, not ordinary people.

The people on the Fulda are all temporarily recruited younger brothers, and their loyalty cannot stand the test at all.It was said earlier that the British did not dare to do anything, it was to boost morale.

……

On October 1890, 10, under the escort of the Royal Navy, Vittorio Emanuele III arrived in the Netherlands.

Colonel Richard, who was chasing him, had a brilliant political mind, and made a decisive change at the critical moment, defining this trip as an escort for Vittorio Emanuele III.

As for the unhappiness that happened in the middle, it was just a small problem.Not to mention that Vittorio Emanuele III has not yet successfully restored, even if he really became the king of Sardinia, he would not be able to offend the British.

The strength is not as good as others, so he has to eat what he doesn't eat at this loss, and even shows a look of eating happily, proving to the outside world that Yingsa is friendly.

On the Western Front, after half a month of fighting, the Anti-French Alliance is already at an absolute disadvantage.

Even in local combat, Belgium still failed to counterattack in the face of the absolute strength gap.

Austrian reinforcements are still on the way, the German Federation is slow to move, the front line of Belgium and Luxembourg is already crumbling, and even the Rhineland defense line has problems.

The situation on the battlefield has become increasingly severe, and Leopold II has lost his former vigor.

"The situation is getting worse and worse for us. When will the reinforcements from Germany and Austria arrive?"

Frankly speaking, the performance of the Belgian army this time is still passing.Being able to resist the French army's attack on the battlefield for half a month with a disadvantaged force has already taken a shot.

Foreign Minister Juhl replied: "The main force of the Austrian army arrived in Baden yesterday afternoon, and the vanguard has already arrived in the Rhineland area, and it is expected to enter our country in five days.

The mobilization speed of the German Federation is slower. At present, only the western states have completed military mobilization, and the eastern states are still in progress.

However, the troops mobilized by the western states did not arrive at the front line immediately. We have communicated with the German Federal Government, and they have nothing to do with these states. "

The disunity of command is a chronic disease of the German Federation. If there were no internal problems, they would have joined the club of great powers long ago.

Leopold II asked suspiciously: "A few days ago, George I said that he would go to the front to supervise the battle in person. Why is there no movement?"

War is both a risk and an opportunity. George I will not give up easily after ascending to the throne of emperor with great difficulty.

In fact, George I's throne was unstable. Apart from Austria's covetousness, the more important thing was that his personal prestige as a monarch was too low.

This is a problem left over from history. The German Confederation is a product of a special period, an empire imposed on the German people by European countries such as Britain, France, and Russia.

Naturally, the empire created by force cannot satisfy everyone, especially for nationalists, this empire is a shame.

Under this background, the following small states will naturally not buy the account of the central government.

In order to weaken the authority of the central government and protect its own power, some people even deliberately propagated the Hanoverian traitor theory.

Newspapers openly declared that the crown of the Gotha Dynasty was a reward from the great powers for hindering the unification of the German region.

There is no way, Hannover's strength is limited, and it is unable to subdue this group of small states. In addition, the people do not support the central government, and the German Federation has been in a weak position since its establishment.

In order to change this passive situation, the two generations of German Federal Emperors have made a lot of efforts, such as: striving to develop the economy, opening up colonies, and merging the Kingdom of Prussia and a series of measures.

The result is remarkable, but the effect can be said to be so-so.After all, these things cannot satisfy the appetite of nationalists.

In a sense, this anti-French war is George I's last chance.As long as you have established enough prestige in the war, you will be able to fight after the war.

"Your Majesty, the internal problems of the German Federation are too troublesome. If George I wants to gain prestige in the war, he cannot do without the support of the Kingdom of Prussia.

The problem is that after experiencing the lessons of the two Prussian-Russian Wars, the Prussian government has gradually tended to be conservative and is unwilling to continue taking risks.

Because of the political changes, the Prussian government is no longer ready to fulfill the conditions they originally agreed to.

George I is working hard to persuade the Prussian government. Judging from the current situation, there is a high chance of failure.

The main reason is that the Austrians will not give him this opportunity. Once the Vienna government intervenes, all the efforts of George I will be in vain. "

Foreign Secretary Jules explained that Leopold II wanted to cry without tears.Whether the German region is unified or not has nothing to do with Belgium.

Whether it is the integrated German Federation or the unified Shenluo Empire, for Belgium it is the difference between an elephant and a small elephant.

Elephants can't be provoked, and small elephants can't be provoked either. Anyway, they all behave with their tails between their legs, and the end result is the same.

After contemplating for a moment, Leopold II said fiercely: "Urge the Vienna government again, and tell them that if there is no more reinforcements, we will vote... It's over."

Fortunately, Leopold II reacted in time, otherwise he would have made a joke of threatening his allies with "surrender".

……

Although the reinforcements did not arrive, the officer corps had already reached the front line one step ahead.

In order to win the final victory, Franz sent Archduke Albrecht directly to the Western Front.

This is also a helpless move. It is not that Austria has no generals. The key is that the western front requires joint command.

There is no doubt that the command of the Allied forces fell into the hands of Austria.Even if the two countries want to fight, they have no confidence.

It is easy to get command power, but it is not easy to command multinational coalition forces.There is no one with enough weight to serve as the coach, but it can't hold back.

Archduke Albrecht, the most vocal in the Austrian army, became the best candidate.

The formation of the coalition army has not been completed, but the coalition army command has been born ahead of schedule, and Grand Duke Albrecht has also begun to perform his duties ahead of schedule.

The situation is becoming more and more unfavorable to the coalition forces, and the Ardennes Forest is about to be lost.Putting down the information in his hands, Grand Duke Albrecht couldn't sit still.

It seems that the current war has little to do with Austria. Anyway, it is not the Austrians who died, and no matter how heavy the loss is, it is the ally's fault.

But in fact, that's not the case.Both Belgium and the German Federation are important anti-French forces. Now they have suffered heavy losses, and the important task of counterattacking France in the future can only be resisted by Austria itself.

In particular, they still control strategic locations. Once they fall into the hands of the French army, if they want to regain them, they will have to pay a higher price later.

Chapter 161 The Osa Agreement

In the coalition headquarters, Grand Duke Albrecht frowned as he watched the troop deployment map sent by the front.

"General Desmet, is your deployment of troops in the coastal area too weak?"

There is no way, the anti-French alliance has an advantage in all aspects, but it is at a disadvantage in the navy.

The front line of the Mediterranean Sea is okay, and the French and Austrian navy is close in strength. Both countries are worried that they will be made fishermen by the British, so they dare not take the risk of a decisive battle at sea.

The North Sea area is different. Whether it is the Belgian Navy or the German Federal Navy, they are all weak in front of the French Navy.

Even after Vittorio Emanuele III left London, the navies of the two countries did not send warships to respond.

For no other reason than to dare.The French navy has already blocked the door, and the warships will never return when they leave the port.

The anti-French alliance lost its sea dominance in the North Sea area, and coastal defense became a real problem that the two countries had to face.

Belgium's coastline is not long, only 66 kilometers, but this is not something that can be defended by a few garrison regiments.

As far as Grand Duke Albrecht knew, the garrison regiments deployed in Belgium were temporarily expanded after the war.

The troop structure is: a small number of retired officers and soldiers + temporarily recruited noble officers + a group of young and strong.

It is worth mentioning that the retired officers and soldiers among them are generally over 50 years old, and the younger ones have all gone to the main force.

Officers and soldiers are also eliminated after being screened by the main force.There is no way, even if the Belgian government has been prepared, it cannot change the fact that they are short of manpower.

Since the start of the war, the Belgian government has mobilized nearly 30 troops.Not to mention the quality, the mobilization ratio and speed are the highest among the participating countries.

"Your Excellency, Marshal, we have deployed a large number of shore artillery in the coastal area. The French must pay a heavy price for landing. No commander would be so stupid to use warships and shore artillery.

Moreover, the French offensive was too fierce, our main force was devoted to front-line operations, and there were not enough troops to deploy to the coastal areas. "

Admiral De Smet was very helpless. It wasn't that he didn't realize the danger in the coastal area. The problem was that he didn't have enough troops, so he had to take care of more important battlefields first.

Now I can only bet that the French are reluctant to use warships to bombard the shore. Anyway, as long as they persist for another week, the Austrian reinforcements will arrive.

Grand Duke Albrecht shook his head: "Your Excellency, this judgment may have been fine 20 years ago, but it is not right now.

The French can use warships as bait to expose your shore artillery firepower, and then use airship troops to bomb.

The previous battles have proved that your country's airship troops are no match for the French at all, and the sky belongs to the French for the time being.

Don't doubt the determination of the French government. Warships are not as valuable as you think. There are not a few warships dragged out by France every year for shooting. "

The combat effectiveness of airships has been proven, especially in fixed-point bombing, airships can exert greater power.

Because of the emergence of anti-aircraft weapons, airship bombing is now mostly high-altitude bombing, and the hit rate is not good. The problem is that the Belgian coast is such a big place.

Bombing two kilometers from the coastline is more than 100 square kilometers, which is equivalent to a city.Naval gun + airship, covering such a small area is no longer a problem.

As long as the French are willing to pay a certain price, landing in Belgium's weakly defended coastal areas is not a problem at all.

The value of warships is also relative.The most advanced warships are naturally very valuable, but old warships ready to be retired are different.

Especially for countries such as Britain, France and Austria that often participate in the arms race, who doesn't have a bunch of warships waiting to be scrapped?

They can't be sold in the international market, and there aren't that many training ships. Apart from pulling them out to shoot targets, they can only be dismantled and sold as scrap iron.

There is no need to feel bad about using some warships as cannon fodder.

In the view of Grand Duke Albrecht, the French did not implement the landing plan. Either the commander was too stupid to see it; or the commander was indecisive and reluctant to sacrifice...

But these are temporary, as long as the front line fails to achieve a breakthrough, the French will take this step sooner or later.

Even if the landing operation fails, the French can still contain a large number of troops of the anti-French alliance and create favorable conditions for the main decisive battle.

Among other things, the gang of princes along the coast of the German Federation were unable to send troops to join the war in order to ensure the safety of their hometown.

Admiral Desmet nodded disapprovingly: "Marshal, don't worry, we will pay attention.

Once the French launch a landing campaign, we will immediately send troops to reinforce it.Belgium is not big, so there is no time for it.

Now it is mainly due to insufficient troops that it is fully suppressed by the French.After your country's reinforcements arrive, the situation will change. "

After more than half a month of fighting, it was not without help.At least the Belgian military's fear of the French has been eliminated a lot.

Because of the relationship between the local operations, the two sides fought back and forth on the battlefield.Being at a disadvantage is just a lack of troops, and the difference in combat effectiveness between the two sides is not as great as imagined in advance.

Looking out the window, Grand Duke Albrecht did not continue to intervene.Austrian reinforcements were coming, but not to serve the Belgians.

The attitude of the Vienna government is very clear, first to encourage the Germans and the French to fight each other, and then to fight the main force after the fight is almost done.

Don't ask why, anyway, it's the emperor's strategy, so just implement it.

In this context, the speed of action of Austrian reinforcements will naturally not be fast.

Of course, Franz still had integrity and didn't go too far.

The Austrian troops still advance at a speed of [-] to [-] kilometers per day, depending on road conditions and weather.

There is nothing to say, everyone's marching speed is not very good these years, and they can advance [-] to [-] kilometers a day, which is already the standard of the elite.

It's not that it can't get up fast, the problem is that it's difficult to continue.Perhaps in the case of light vehicles and simple travel, one day you can march quickly and walk seventy or eighty kilometers in one breath.

But this speed cannot continue.Soldiers are human beings too, and when they are exhausted, don't count on combat effectiveness.

In fact, it is not uncommon in military history that the army collapsed because of the marching speed too fast.

……

Franz is hosting a welcome banquet for the arrival of Vittorio Emanuele III at the Palace of Vienna.

In the past, the relationship between France and Austria was not bad. Although Austria recognized Vittorio Emanuele III as the king of Sardinia, it was only a private talk.

Faced with this issue, the Vienna government, like other European countries, kept silent, as if they knew nothing.

It's different now, both France and Austria are fighting, so naturally there is no need to worry about the feelings of the French.

In order to create momentum for Vittorio Emanuele III and to convince the Italian people that Austria was going to liberate them, Franz had to attend the welcome banquet in person to show that the Austrian government supported the Sardinian Kingdom's bid to regain independence. political standpoint.