Holy Roman Empire

The folks have fallen into panic, and those with a little wealth are running outside desperately.According to incomplete statistics, nearly 1.5 people left Cairo in the past week.

Not only Cairo's economy has been hit hard, but other regions of Egypt have also suffered losses to varying degrees, especially the casualties are shocking.

After analyzing the news from various places, it is initially estimated that the number of civilian casualties caused by the enemy air force attack has exceeded five digits. "

There is no way, no matter how bad the bombing is, as long as the bomb is dropped, it will always have an effect.

The troops have a limited area of ​​activity and know how to survive the enemy's bombing. Apart from the initial discomfort, the casualties of the troops behind are not too great.

Civilians are different. When encountering enemy bombing these days, everyone's first reaction is to run, and few people have air defense awareness.

As soon as they ran wildly, the number of casualties naturally went up.Especially after the Austrian aircraft began to straf at low altitude, the situation became more serious.

Slamming the table, Governor Jacob said with the enemy: "The Austrians are so despicable, how can war involve civilians!

Senior Abraham, you are responsible for collecting relevant information, and we want to expose their atrocities in the international community. "

After receiving this answer, everyone fell silent again.The diplomatic protests of these years are the last struggle of the weak, and the great powers prefer to directly resort to threats.

People naturally do not have expectations for Jacob's idea of ​​using the international community to exert political pressure.

There is no way, in this bad age, behind any colonial empire there is a dark history that cannot be seen.If it is revealed, no one should think about it.

In contrast, civilian casualties caused by war are nothing at all.Especially since the fighting site is still in Africa, the influence on the European world is even smaller.

Chapter 178 France Needs Allies

Jacob's diplomatic protest was actually just an angry statement.Asking for help from the international community, France can't afford to lose this man.

If you cannot win on the battlefield and hope that the international community will intervene, that is the behavior of the weak, and it is not in line with France's status as a great power.

Of course, the most important thing is that protest is useless.The four referees on the European continent fought each other two by two. You can't expect a bunch of small countries acting as cheerleaders to intervene in the end, right?

Since it is a war, there will inevitably be casualties.The civilian casualties in France were heavy, and the civilian casualties on the anti-French coalition side were not small.

Especially in the occupied Belgium and Rhineland regions, although there are no specific statistics, it can still be determined that civilian casualties are above five figures.

Now is the peak period of colonial empires, and it is also the peak period of racial discrimination. Not all ethnic groups have human rights.

It’s okay if the cover is not lifted, but if it is, the final outcome will be “one thousand losses to oneself and three hundred enemies”.

If the operation is not good, European countries will mistakenly think that France is dead, and they will run to hug Austria's thigh one by one, then there will be big troubles.

The current anti-French alliance is already difficult enough to deal with. If the Austrians are allowed to fool a few more allies, there will be no need to fight the following battles.

In fact, the biggest threat the Austrian Air Force posed to the French army was not direct damage on the battlefield.

Regardless of airship bombing or aircraft strafing, what kind of results can be achieved depends on luck.

When luck is good, a wave of air strikes can kill thousands of people; when luck is bad, the results are not enough to pay for gas.

Compared with the direct results achieved by the Austrian Air Force on the battlefield, Governor Jacob is more worried about the impact on the morale of the army.

After a series of blows, the arrogance of the French army was gradually worn away, and more and more people lost confidence in the next war.

Blessings and misfortunes never come singly, just when Governor Jacob was worried about the Austrian Air Force.

A burly young officer ran in from the outside and said out of breath, "Governor...Your Excellency, something...is bad!"

Governor Jacob's heart tightened. Just by looking at the nervous expression of the young officer, he knew something big was going to happen.

After all, he had seen strong winds and waves, Jacob quickly adjusted, and said as if nothing had happened: "Olen, speak slowly. The sky hasn't fallen yet, where did the enemy bomb again?"

Compared with other bad news on the battlefield, Governor Jacob still hopes that the next bad news is the enemy's air force bombing.

Airships have been in the military field for so many years, and Austria was the first to use airships in the military field. Although the French are proud, they are not stupid. It is impossible to be unprepared against such an enemy.

Governor Jacob had long considered the threat from the sky when building the material warehouse.This is also the reason why the French army only suffered heavy casualties after losing air supremacy.

Oren's young officer hurriedly shook his head: "It's not an air strike! The enemy has torn through our eastern defense line again, and the Aswan area is in danger."

Hearing the word "again", Governor Jacob only felt a toothache.There is no way, from the outbreak of the war to the present, the defense line deployed by the French army in Sudan has been broken through three times.

Fortunately, the size of the colony was large enough for the French army to have the opportunity to rearrange their defenses.It is a pity that the colonial army has always been useless, and each line of defense cannot last for a few days.

In Jacob's view, it is not so much that the French army on the front line is resisting the Austrian invasion, it is better to say that the harsh geographical conditions and poor traffic environment are slowing down the speed of the enemy's advance.

"Order Lieutenant General Parker to gather the broken troops on the front line and build a new line of defense in the Aswan area.

Order the No. 17 Division and the 24 Division to go to reinforcements immediately.

Order the defenders in Kom Ombo, Edfu and other areas to prepare for battle..."

A series of orders were issued, and it can be seen that Governor Jacob has no hope for the French army on the front line.Active defense is just to buy time, not to expect them to hold off the enemy.

Otherwise, it is to concentrate efforts to build a line of defense to block the enemy's front, instead of preparing for war in different regions and resisting step by step, exchanging space for time.

There is no best tactic in this world, only the most suitable tactic.

According to the plan of the Paris government, the task of the African colonial government is to stick to it, delay time, and wait for the French army to win victory in Europe.

There is no doubt that Governor Jacob is strictly implementing this plan.Except for the ambitious and active organization of several offensives at the beginning of the war, they entered a state of comprehensive defense later on.

However, the plan did not change quickly, the European war was at a stalemate, and the French army was unable to break through the Rhine defense line, and the situation in Egypt became worse.

……

The Aswan area has now become a battlefield.The sound of gunfire and shouts of killing intertwined, resounding through the sky.

Putting down the binoculars in his hand, Major General Herzendorf showed a satisfied smile.After laughing, there is deep sadness.

There is no doubt that the increased role of the Air Force on the battlefield will also have an impact on the Army.

Although the dominant position of the army cannot be shaken now, the air force is developing rapidly. If there is no accident, the country will definitely increase its investment in the air force after the war.

If only the air force is growing, Major General Herzendorf is still worried. After all, the air force has just started, and no matter how it develops, it will not be able to keep pace with the army in a short period of time.

The problem is that Austria still has a large navy. The current international situation is very obvious. After the war, the Vienna government will definitely increase its investment in the navy and compete with the British for maritime supremacy.

In contrast, the Army is much harder.Everyone knows that Austria cannot maintain an army of 600 million for a long time, and once the war is over, disarmament is imperative.

It is impossible for the navy to be cut down, and the air force is limited in size. Even if it is cut down, the airship unit will be transferred directly to logistics according to the usual practice. Only the army will be cut down.

With one increase and one decrease, the advantages of the army will be offset. In the future, the military structure of Austria will be that the army, navy and air force check and balance each other, and the army will no longer be the dominant force.

This is what the Vienna government wants to see most. The navy has developed vigorously in the past ten years, and the airship force can be separated from the army and become an independent army. The government has made great efforts.

Of course, the emperor's acquiescence is also indispensable behind this.The core of the political game is power checks and balances, and the emperor does not want his subordinates to be monolithic.

As an army general, I naturally don't want to see this happen.Even if the Austrian family has a big business, the funds invested in the military are limited. The rise of the navy and air force will inevitably divide the resources of the army.

It's useless to know, this is a conspiracy in the first place.From the day the Austrian Air Force was established, a new pattern was doomed.

Logically speaking, at the level of major general Herzendorf, he shouldn't know.

After all, it hasn't happened yet, the government is only promoting it on purpose, and no one has raised it in any place, let alone implemented it.From beginning to end, no news has flowed out.

However, there will never be a shortage of smart people in this world. Major General Herzendorf is one of them, and he has drawn conclusions from some clues.

Sometimes knowing too much is also an annoyance.Major General Herzendorf is like this now. Originally, he still didn't believe that the Air Force could grow, but after witnessing the Air Force's combat, he had to accept the reality.

Now the performance of the aircraft is still limited, and the bombing depends on the airship, but the technology is updated quickly these days!

Soon Hetzendorf dispelled the messy thoughts in his mind. The tall man would bear the ground first when the sky fell. There are so many big men in the top ranks of the army, and it's not his turn to worry about it as a young general.

In any case, Austria's geographical location determines that land power must be developed, and no matter what, it must belong to the army.

After all, the cake is getting bigger and bigger, even if there are more people sharing it, each person still gets more than before.

Looking at his watch, Major General Hetzendorf ordered the officer in front of him: "Send the order, half an hour later the [-]th Division will launch an attack from the front, the [-]th Division will launch an attack from the right flank, and the [-]st Division will attack from the front." from……"

It is impossible for a major general to command more than two dozen infantry divisions to fight under normal circumstances.According to the establishment of the Austrian Army, officers at the division level are basically major generals.

Those who are qualified to command more than 30 troops in combat must at least start as generals.

However, these so-called conventions were all broken after the military expansion.

Counting the colonial troops, the Austrian Army suddenly expanded from more than 50 before the war to more than 600 million.

Since the completion of the military system reform, Austrian military ranks have become more precious, especially the number of generals has been strictly controlled.

Before the war broke out, there were less than 700 people in the army, including retired generals.The strength of the army suddenly expanded by more than ten times, and Franz naturally couldn't get so many generals.

Without military exploits, it is difficult to cross the threshold of generals, but there are many school-level officers in reserve.If there are not enough generals, the colonels are used to make up the numbers, and even the division commanders of some troops are assigned to lieutenant colonels.

Now is the age of war, if you don't control it, there will be no generals flying all over the sky after the war.

In order to avoid the embarrassing situation where there are more generals than soldiers, Franz decisively adopted measures of low rank and high allocation.Anyway, after fighting a few battles, he will catch up with his achievements.

Against this background, it is not surprising that a major general army commander like Herzendorf appeared.

……

With the start of the defense of Aswan, letters of pleas for help continued to fly from Cairo to Paris. At most, Napoleon IV could receive three telegrams for help from the governor of Egypt a day.

Not only Egypt, but also telegrams for help from other parts of Africa.Even though the Paris government has decided to temporarily abandon large areas of colonies, it still has not been able to reverse the unfavorable situation on the battlefield.

The retreat of the colonial government was not an easy job either. Not only did government agencies have to be relocated, but a large number of people also had to leave.

Others can throw it away, but the soldiers' families can't throw it away too, right?

If the family members of the soldiers were all thrown to Austria, there would be no need to fight the following battles.

In order to cover the retreat of government agencies and soldiers' families, the French army on the front line still has to continue to stand up.Therefore, the reinforcements promised to the Egyptian governor only exist in theory.

Whether it can be in place in the end depends on how many troops have been withdrawn from the front line.After it was determined that the security of the Algerian region could be guaranteed, it was Egypt's turn to have surplus troops.

Regardless of the fact that the African battlefield does not seem to be very important, it does not affect the final outcome of the European war, and the French government does not pay much attention to it.

In fact, on the contrary, African colonies provided France with one-third of industrial raw materials and one-fifteenth of agricultural products, which was of great strategic significance to France.

From the very beginning, the French government attached great importance to the African continent.However, their strength in the African region is limited, and they are facing a two-front battle at home. They simply cannot invest a large amount of troops in the African colonies in a short period of time.

Out of desperation, the Paris government deliberately pretended to be indifferent, making the outside world think that they did not pay attention to Africa, not that France could not win against Austria in Africa.

There is no way, this is politics.The complicated international situation determines that France must continue to be strong, but any sign of weakness may trigger a chain reaction.

Faced with the deteriorating situation in Africa, Napoleon IV finally couldn't sit still.The Rhine defense line has not yet been broken through. If Africa falls first, the fun will be great.

Not to mention the loss to France caused by the fall of Africa.From a strategic point of view, once French Africa falls, Austria will almost unify the entire African continent.

At that time, even if the French army breaks through Vienna, the war will continue.There is no way, the capital is too strong, and there is really no reason to admit defeat.

Even if it keeps failing on the battlefield, Austria can rely on its resources to drag France to death.

With the lessons learned from the Russo-Prussian War, Napoleon IV had to consider the horrific consequences of the fall of French Africa.

"The situation in Africa has completely collapsed, what is the Ministry of the Army going to do?"

Minister of War Luskinia blushed, and replied with a little embarrassment: "Your Majesty, our disadvantage in the African continent is too obvious, even if we send reinforcements from the country, it will be difficult to reverse the situation.

Right now, we can only carry out strategic contraction, concentrate our forces to keep the most important Egypt and Algeria, and we can only temporarily abandon other areas. "

It is impossible to increase the number of troops. The European war has consumed almost all of France's strength, and there is no ability to carry out expeditions.

Even if the Ministry of the Army gritted its teeth and gathered hundreds of thousands of troops, what would happen to the logistics supplies?

We must know that the cost of labor expeditions is far greater than that of local operations, and French Africa is not as deep as Austrian Africa.

After the war broke out, the Vienna government’s investment in the African battlefield was only weapons and medicines, and other strategic materials were handled by the local government itself.

In the case of French Africa, the colonial government simply could not afford such a large expenditure.The ability of the natives to create wealth is simply not comparable to that of the Austrians.

Napoleon IV's face sank, obviously this statement did not satisfy him.

If you can keep the most important Egypt and Algeria, then it is acceptable in front of you. The problem is that the Egyptian region is about to be lost.

Open the map and you will know that France's territory on the African continent is shrinking day by day.According to the current speed, in a year and a half, there will be nothing to do with France on the African continent.

"Is that all?"

Facing the emperor's soul torture, Luskinia's forehead was covered with cold sweat.There is no way, this problem is too embarrassing.

"Your Majesty, although the deterioration of the situation on the African continent cannot be reversed, it will not collapse immediately.

In any case, we still have nearly a million troops on the African continent, and delaying time can still be done.

As long as we win the European War, the Austrians will still have to pay back what they eat with interest. "

If the "million army" falls into the ears of the uninformed, it is estimated that it can scare many people.

It's a pity that those present are all insiders, and they know very well what those troops are.As long as the colonial troops have half the fighting power of the main force, the situation will not collapse so badly.

Napoleon IV waved his hand: "That's enough, I don't want to listen to these clichés anymore.

Everyone knows that the European war is the key to determining the outcome, provided that we can win the war on the European continent.