Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 175 Strategic Highway

Counterattacks also take time to prepare. Troops with heavy casualties need to be replaced to rest, and strategic materials also need time to raise and transport.

Facts have long proved that modern warfare is no longer a simple battle on the battlefield, and fighting is also going on in the rear.

The just-started Battle of the Rhine is an example. If Austria hadn't assembled a large number of machine guns and artillery, it would have been impossible to resist the French attack with inferior forces.

The stronger the firepower, the greater the logistical requirements.More than [-]% of the trains and ships sent from Austria to the front line transported strategic materials.

If it weren't for the large amount of transport capacity occupied by the transportation of logistics materials, the speed of the Austrian army's movement would not be so slow.

Of course, the slowness of the present is mainly for the speediness of the future.

In fact, as early as a few years ago, the Vienna government proposed to the German Federation to build a strategic road from Bavaria to Luxembourg.

It's just that the situation in Europe was still peaceful at that time, and everyone didn't have enough sense of crisis, because the relationship between costs has not been reached for a long time.

After all, the transportation in the German region is already developed enough, and the river + railway can fully meet the daily transportation needs, and the economic value of building another road is too low.

In addition, Britain and France were worried that Austria would pass this road and further deepen its influence on the West German region, causing obstacles behind them, so the plan was shelved.

It was not until the outbreak of the European Continental War that the logistics and transportation pressure on the frontline intensified, and the governments of the states along the way were forced to restart the strategic road plan.

In order to save time, the governments of various countries decided to widen and reconnect the original roads.

The time is too short, relying on the strength of the German Federation alone, it is impossible to complete this plan in a short period of time.Even if only temporary roads are built, it will not be enough.

As a good ally, Austria will naturally lend a helping hand.So far, the number of Austrian workers entering the German region has exceeded 60, which is more than the Austrian soldiers on the Rhine front.

With such a large construction team, management is naturally a difficult problem.

Fortunately, Austria adopts the national military service system. Even if these recruited civilians have not entered the army, they have been trained in the reserve service and can adapt in the shortest time.

The humble town of Weiss was selected as the new main road because of its geographical location.

The third battalion of the fourth regiment of the third Austrian engineering division was responsible for the construction of this section.Engineer Iverson, who is in charge of the technology, is surveying the scene with a telescope at the moment.

Said it was exploration, but in fact Iverson also brought paper and pen, plus a pair of binoculars.Measuring and prospecting instruments are all absent.

It wasn't that he was dereliction of duty or being lazy, it was mainly because he wanted to meet the deadline and didn't have too much time wasted in the preliminary work.

Previous exploration, analysis, and research are all omitted now. "Seeing the past with the naked eye + experience = roadmap."

Once you have determined the general direction, you can directly move forward.Except for special areas that must be avoided due to geographical conditions, other direct A's will do.

This is road construction, not precision work.Even if there is a deviation, it is acceptable to turn a corner during the docking, as long as the deviation is not too excessive.

"It's a pity, such a good manor will soon be divided into two!"

Along the way, Iverson has made countless similar exclamations.There is no way, what he is doing now is the job of a demolition worker.

The flat terrain of the manor is not only convenient for agricultural production, but also convenient for road construction.All it takes is a little leveling of the ground and compaction of the concrete.

Geological conditions, soil types, bearing capacity, and basic parameters of construction in the past are now redundant.

In the construction of roads in plain areas, even if the pressure is too high in the later stage and the roadbed subsides, it will not sink anywhere.

As for the road quality problem, that is completely overthinking. Now everything is in a hurry, as long as the danger is within the controllable range, nothing else matters.

The big deal is to rebuild after the war, as long as it can be used temporarily to meet the logistics and transportation.

Moreover, the load capacity of vehicles is limited these days, and heavy trucks that can pull dozens of tons of goods at a time are all heavy trucks, which do not require high load-bearing capacity of the road.

"Lieutenant, someone outside is looking for you, saying that there is something urgent to discuss with you."

A guard on duty ran over to let him know.

Since it is militarized management, military rank is naturally indispensable.Although he was just an ordinary engineer who had just been recruited, Iverson still became a grassroots officer with his own skills.

Putting down the binoculars in front of him, Iverson slowly asked: "Understood. First ask the person who came to see me what's the matter.

If you can't tell me what's going on, or if the reason is too far-fetched or the request is too excessive, I will dismiss them all. "

It can be seen that Lieutenant Iverson is already experienced in dealing with it.Even if you don't see anyone, you know what the person is for.

"Demolition" Well, of course, interests are involved.There is no demolition fee these days. Even if the land is privately owned, what should be occupied must still be occupied.

At most, it will give some symbolic compensation, anyway, it cannot be much higher than the land price on the market.

If the land is expropriated on a large scale, this kind of compensation may not lose money to the land owner. The problem is that it is only compensation for the land occupied by the road.

However, the loss of benefits brought about by road construction is not limited to the occupied land.Many manors are divided by roads in the middle, and instantly become tasteless.

Want to reason, sorry it's war time.Everything must be compromised for the war, and all issues must be discussed after the war.

Not everyone has a big picture, and not everyone is willing to contribute.In order to reduce or transfer losses, there are naturally many people who seek relationships.

Those who can come to him are not ordinary people. In the beginning, Iverson also attended many banquets in order to build a good relationship with the local power faction.

However, he soon gave up. The land annexation situation in the German region is already very serious. No matter how the road is located, it will inevitably damage the interests of some people.

After all, this is a strategic highway, and the area it occupies is naturally not small.Compared with the original two-three-meter-wide road, it is now directly increased by five or six times, all of which will occupy land.

To get rich, build roads first, which is not applicable in Germany.The local economy is already good, and the original roads are sufficient to meet daily transportation needs.

The strategic road being built now has seriously damaged the interests of landowners in essence.

Just like the manor in front of us, once it is divided into two by the road, not only will the area be reduced, but the management cost will also be greatly increased, and the value will naturally drop sharply.

If the Luxembourg defense line collapsed, Lieutenant Iverson would still consider whether to sell the land owner for a favor, and find a way to detour from the marginal area.

It's not going to work now, and the higher-ups are urging the progress repeatedly, so naturally it will come as quickly as possible.As for follow-up issues, that is the state government's own business.

……

"Lieutenant, here is the wine I brought for..."

Before the old man finished speaking, Iverson interrupted: "Sorry Mr. Will, you should know that the Luxembourg defense line has fallen, and now the Rhine defense line is also in jeopardy.

For the sake of the overall strategy, the higher-ups ordered that most of the road sections be connected within two months, and we ran out of time. "

Naturally, the Rhine defense line is not in jeopardy, but when it comes to demolition, it must be in jeopardy.

If there is no pressure, who can guarantee that the owners of these lands will not be blinded by profit and deliberately prevent road construction.

The old man replied bitterly: "Lieutenant, I understand these reasons. Once the French break through the defense line of the Rhine, this place will become a battlefield, and no one can survive alone.

But I am a vineyard, once the road passes through the middle, it will definitely affect the quality of the grapes.

Let's take a detour from the side, and the distance will be increased by less than one kilometer. The terrain here is flat, and it won't take much time! "

It is inevitable that the road passing through the middle of the vineyard will affect the quality of the grapes.Among other things, the noise of light vehicles and the dust flying on the road will affect the growth of nearby grapes.

Grapes are not easy to preserve. These days, vineyards mainly sell raisins and wine. If they only enter the low-end market, it doesn’t matter if the quality of the grapes is poor.

In order to enter the mid-to-high-end market, anything that may affect the quality of grapes is fatal to vineyard owners.

Iverson shook his head: "Sir, I'm very sorry, I really can't help you with this. I personally suggest that you negotiate with the local government as soon as possible to minimize the loss.

Perhaps in your opinion, detouring a few hundred meters to pass through the adjacent land can minimize economic losses and will not increase the workload much.

But don't forget that the land next to it is also owned by the owner.The owner of the land certainly does not want similar things to happen to him.

If the owner of the land complains to the army, I will go to a military court for this obviously malicious encroachment and targeting. "

Austria is preparing to unify the German region, so naturally it cannot act indiscriminately.Everyone can understand that the construction of strategic highways requires land occupation, but the premise is that it must be as fair as possible.

Even if there is a detour, it is only possible for the land owner to coordinate first and everyone has no objections.

The old man nodded helplessly: "I'm sorry, I have made it difficult for you. The road cannot be diverted, so just move to the side and pass by the edge of the manor.

Don't worry about the increased workload, I will organize my own staff to help, and the construction progress will not be affected. "

"It's just a slight offset, it doesn't involve land disputes, and it doesn't affect the construction progress. I think there is no problem!"

Lieutenant Iverson didn't deliberately make things difficult, and he was still happy to sell favors as long as it didn't affect the mission.

The local officials responsible for coordinating and communicating on the side also breathed a sigh of relief. Similar things have happened countless times.If the problem can be solved without conflict, it can be regarded as a happy ending.

Chapter 176 The Egyptian Crisis

When the Central European battlefield has reached a stalemate, the Egyptian battlefield has also reached a critical moment.

Since the Austrian army put down its political burden, the natural barrier of the canal has changed from a natural moat to a thoroughfare, and it is no longer an obstacle to the advancement of the Austrian army.

After the hand-to-hand combat, the problems of the French army were gradually exposed.

There is no way, France has limited manpower, and it is impossible to inject power into Egypt without restriction.The number of main forces is insufficient, so the colonial army can only make up the number.

Although they all look similar in appearance, their combat effectiveness is vastly different.

Only a few years after the Egyptian rebellion, French rule was not so secure.Watching the dog-eat-dog in France and Austria, the Egyptian people really have no interest in mixing it up.

If it weren't for being held on the back of the neck by a gun, the Egyptians would never be willing to go to the battlefield as cannon fodder.

Inside the Governor's Palace in Cairo, Governor Jacob stared at the map solemnly.From the brightly colored small arrows, it can be seen that the current strategic situation of the French army is very pessimistic.

If it weren't for the strength of the French navy to defend the coastline of Egypt, it would really be surrounded by the enemy now.

Not surrounded, not far from being surrounded.Encountering the enemy's siege on three sides, the power of the Egyptian colonial government alone must not be able to sustain it.

After a while, Governor Jacob turned around and asked, "When will the domestic reinforcements arrive?"

If you can't win, you can only ask for help from home. Anyway, France has suffered a crushing defeat in the entire African battlefield. It is not embarrassing for the Egyptian colonial government to ask for help.

"Your Excellency, the Ministry of War rejected our request for help and ordered us to use the fine traditions of the French army to overcome difficulties..."

Before the middle-aged officer could finish speaking, Governor Jacob removed the documents on the desk in front of him and roared, "Enough is enough, no need to continue."

"Damn bureaucrats must have smashed their brains on women's stomachs, forgetting even the most basic military common sense.

Three-year-olds know what Egypt means to France.Once the Austrians occupy Egypt, they will wash their necks and wait to be slaughtered!

......"

If you look at the map of Eurasia, you will know that Egypt not only has the most important golden canal in the world, but also the last obstacle preventing Austrian Africa from connecting with the mainland.

Once the Egyptian region fell into the hands of Austria, a giant that far surpassed any empire in history appeared.

At that time, France will be in danger. With its strong manpower and material resources, Austria can kill any enemy.

Anyone with a little military common sense knows about such an obvious problem, and it is naturally impossible for the Ministry of War not to know about it.

The problem is that knowing the problem does not mean being able to solve it.The best way is naturally to send troops to reinforce Egypt, but reinforcement is not a child's play.

The enemy is Austria, not an indigenous tribe, and simply increasing troops is meaningless.While increasing the number of troops, it is also necessary to ensure the firepower of the troops, or else it will be a thousand miles away.

The stronger the firepower, the greater the material consumption.France has invested more than 150 million troops on the Central European battlefield, and more than [-] million troops on the southern front. At the same time, it has to provide logistics for millions of African colonial troops, including Egypt.

This kind of logistical pressure is already a replica of the original space-time war.Even though France is far bigger than the original time and space, and can mobilize more manpower and material resources, the nannies of the Allied Powers are not in place!

The only British ally, did not sell kidneys to aid law like the original time and space.Now people are still drinking coffee leisurely at home, watching a big drama called Europa Universalis.

Of course, taking advantage of the fire to make war fortune is also an essential operation.From the outbreak of the war to the present, the tariffs between Britain and France have increased by 50.00%[-], and the export of strategic materials has directly doubled.

Not buying?

It doesn't matter!

After leaving this door, there are all my shops behind.

You can figure it out for yourself, anyway, there are only a few industrial powers these days, and what they do is to monopolize the business.

The war has progressed to the present, and the French government has endured a series of problems such as substandard quality and transaction delays while enduring the purchase of materials at high prices.

If the war continues, it is not the battlefield that can lead to the defeat of France, but the finances and logistics.

In order to break through the defense line of the Rhine as soon as possible, the Paris government has just decided to increase the front line, and the reinforcements originally planned to be sent to the Egyptian area naturally fell through.

Seeing that Governor Jacob was almost venting, the middle-aged officer added: "Your Excellency, the country has decided to shrink the colonies in Africa. It is going to temporarily abandon Niger, Mali, Senegal, Mauritania and other regions.

After shrinking the colonies, the troops in these areas will retreat into the Algeria area to hold on.The War Office indicated that twenty infantry divisions could be brought in for reinforcements if we needed them. "

Governor Jacob is very aware of the situation in Africa. The so-called temporary abandonment is actually just a fig leaf.

Most of these areas border on Austrian Africa, and they were severely beaten by the Austrian army as soon as the war broke out. The scene was that miserable.

Even if the line of defense is not shrunk, it is only a matter of time before it falls.The Paris government can't even take care of Egypt, so it is naturally impossible to build a defense line stretching thousands of miles for North Africa.

Colonial empires are crumbling, and for a colonist like Governor Jacob, it's utterly broken inside.

Of course, this is barely good news for the Egyptian region.Regardless of the combat effectiveness of these reinforcements, at least it proves that the country has not given up on them.

Although this result cannot satisfy Governor Jacob, in the absence of a choice, it is better to have reinforcements than to have no reinforcements.