Holy Roman Empire

Even the content of the transaction was completed by everyone present.The Russian army sent troops to the European continent to help deal with the French in exchange for Austria sending troops to occupy the Cape of Good Hope and cut off the connection between Britain and India.

One family won the European hegemony and African hegemony, and one family won the British India, and the two countries joined forces to carve up the world.From the point of view of interests, both Russia and Austria have earned blood.

Foreign Secretary George: "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has already started to act, and we will find ways to undermine the further closer relations between Russia and Austria.

But this is not enough, unless the French can severely damage Austria in the European war, otherwise the Cape of Good Hope will not be safe from now on.

Things on the battlefield are uncertain. Judging from the strength on paper alone, I don't think the French have the possibility of winning the war.

Even if we fully support the French, they do not have the strength to seriously damage Austria.We must know that the current Austrian Empire is not only the world's largest industrial power, but also a giant with a land area of ​​more than 3000 million square kilometers and a population of hundreds of millions.

If you add other countries in the anti-French alliance, even if we and the French add up, it will be difficult to gain an advantage.

In this context, either we will go to the battle in person; or we will force the French to work hard and use them to consume Austria's strength.

The benefits of doing so are very obvious. The strength of both France and Austria has been weakened. No matter who wins or loses, they will not have the strength to dominate the European continent after the war. "

This multiple-choice question is easy to do. Britain just had a PK match with the Russians and lost more than [-] local troops on the battlefield in Afghanistan. It is simply not capable of continuing a friendly match with Austria.

If you don't want to work hard, you can only let your allies go.France is also a big country. If it does its best, it will be enough for Austria to drink a pot.

Once Austria's strength is hit hard, it will be time for Russia and Austria to part ways.After all, there can only be one Continental overlord, and when the fight cannot be won, there is no other way, so they are forced to give up; once new opportunities arise, no one will let go.

Colonial Secretary Primrose echoed: "The Sir's proposal is good, and I agree very much. But before that, we must first increase our troops to the Cape of Good Hope, so as not to give the Austrians a chance.

It is best to send the troops withdrawn from the Afghan battlefield to the Cape of Good Hope to dispel the ambitions of the Austrians. "

Chapter 194 The Political Induction of Surrender With Clearly Marked Prices

When the international community was in turmoil, Fao's competition around Egypt also came to an end.Facts once again prove that modern warfare can no longer be won only by numbers.

Looking at the increasing telegrams for help on the desk, Governor Jacob has begun to despair.It is impossible to have reinforcements. From the fall of the port, the French army in Egypt can only rely on itself.

Originally, Governor Jacob planned to entangle with the Austrian army for a year and a half with the strength in his hands, so as to buy time for the European continent to decide the war.Now it's less than a month, and the situation is over.

There is no way, starting from the Austrian armored forces coming online, all the strategic plans of Governor Jacob have been broken.

Facing this strange enemy, Jacob was completely stunned.The fortifications that the French army worked hard in Egypt were completely vulnerable to the torrent of steel.

Originally, it was only used to stop the enemy infantry from attacking, but now the enemy they are facing is planes, airships, and armored tanks on the ground. Instead, the infantry is supporting these iron bumps.

Needless to say, flesh and blood can't resist the torrent of steel, but all encounters in the field end in tragedy for the French army.The original army of more than [-] troops has now been smashed to pieces.

Even if the defeated troops were collected, Governor Jacob dared not order the troops to assemble, because the assembly would only make the French army lose faster.

In order to delay the time as much as possible, Governor Jacob was forced to order the troops to search for cities nearby and station in dangerous terrain, so as to avoid direct combat with the enemy's steel torrent.

Having escaped the torrent of steel does not mean that the matter is over.The French army entering the city was fine. The colonial government had hoarded supplies in advance, so they couldn’t go hungry for a while; the French army scattered outside was a tragedy. The dangerous terrain restricted the enemy’s armored forces, but they wanted to eat!

The enemy's air force is staring at them tightly, and how to deliver the supplies to these French troops has become a huge problem.

In a sense, this is not a problem. After all, Governor Jacob does not have much supplies, and without local support, he can only support it for a few months at most.

Now that there are fewer people, the French army stationed in the city can last longer.I have to say, this is also an irony.

If it was just the collapse of the Egyptian battlefield, it would not actually cause Governor Jacob to collapse. After all, this was also expected, and he had long been mentally prepared.Even in China, he was only asked to stall for time, without fantasizing about defeating the enemy.

What really broke Jacob was the loss of hope, not only the loss of hope for the Egyptian battlefield, but also the loss of hope for France.

Jacob had personally experienced the power of armored forces.This group of iron bumps not only slaughtered infantry in field battles, but also had miraculous effects when attacking fortresses.

There may be ways of restraint, but this has nothing to do with Jacob who was trapped in Cairo.The war has progressed to the present, and the French army in Egypt has lost the power of the First World War.

"Have any of our men reached Ethiopia?"

Governor Jacob asked.

Maybe it was out of responsibility, maybe it was because of patriotism, in short, after encountering the armored troops of the Austrian army, Governor Jacob immediately sent someone to deliver the news to the country.

The telegraph network leading to the outside world has long been cut off by Austria. If the Austrian army is willing, even the telegraph network between various cities in Egypt can be cut off.

Now the only way to communicate with the outside world is to cross the Austrian blockade and enter British Ethiopia, and use British channels to deliver news.

The African continent is really too big, densely covered with jungles, and sparsely populated. In theory, as long as a person is careful, it is not impossible to avoid the blockade of the Austrian army.

What really limited the dissemination of news was the distance. It was thousands of miles from Cairo to British Ethiopia. Now these areas were in turmoil, and the chances of accidents were too high.

As Jacob's confidant and the specific executor, Major General Aristide replied: "Based on time, the messengers we sent should have entered the British territory by now.

To be on the safe side, I have dispatched more than two hundred messengers successively. Even if there is an accident in the middle, someone will complete the task.

It's just that, Your Excellency Governor, is this really useful?The enemy can use these secret weapons in Egypt, and there will only be more deployed in the European continent.

Not to mention whether the news we reported can attract domestic attention.Even if you know it in advance, I'm afraid there will be no way to solve it for a while. "

It is true that finding a problem is not the same as being able to solve it.If this threat can be resolved just by discovering the armored forces, then the armored forces will not be able to shine in the original time and space.

"Ugh!"

Governor Jacob sighed, and said helplessly: "There is no way, this news is too important. The power of these iron lumps of the enemy is not known in the country, and our troops in Central and Southern Europe are still looking for a decisive battle with the Austrian army.

You have experienced it yourself. If you are not prepared in advance, you will suddenly encounter these iron bumps in the field, and the impact will be great.

Now we can only hope that the Austrians are not ready, and that there are not enough armored forces deployed on the European continent.The domestic news received from us can attract attention.

Otherwise, this European war will be the battle of France.Lose this war, and the great French Empire will become history. "

Jacob was able to stand out from many competitors and become a high-ranking governor. In addition to his personal ability, it was more because of the trust of Napoleon IV.

It is not easy to be a close friend, in other words: his personal destiny and the destiny of the family are tied to the Bonaparte dynasty.

France may not be defeated in this European war, but the Bonaparte dynasty will definitely be finished.As a staunch supporter of the Bonaparte dynasty, Jacob naturally couldn't please him.

If it weren't for the deep bondage of interests, Governor Jacob would not choose to resist after the situation in Egypt was gone, after all, he only had one life.

"Woooooooo..."

The air defense alarm sounded again, and everyone in the headquarters became more and more depressed.Air defense is almost non-existent, the main force of European anti-aircraft artillery is not enough, and the colonial troops raised as stepmothers are naturally even fewer.

The anti-aircraft weapons assigned to the Egyptian theater are mainly anti-aircraft rifles.Although the domestic arms dealers boasted about the anti-aircraft rifles, the real value is not even comparable.

Except for the longer range and the ability to shoot directly into the air, the rest are all shortcomings, such as: low hit rate, high recoil, prone to bombing...

The air defense sirens sounded, but the expected bombing did not come.Did not hear the familiar explosion, but a feeling of uneasiness spread in the headquarters.

Time seemed to be silent, and no one spoke. The atmosphere in the room was extremely tense, and it was so oppressive that it was about to collapse.

"Your Excellency, this is the leaflet thrown by the enemy outside, please take a look."

The guard's voice broke the silence. After taking the leaflet and taking a glance, Governor Jacob's eyes widened. The terrified expression on his face had already betrayed his inner thoughts.

After a long while, Governor Jacob, who came back to his senses, said bitterly: "The enemy has started to threaten and lure, and the price has been clearly marked on it.

Ordinary soldiers voluntarily surrender before the battle, and each person will be rewarded with an Aegis; officers lead their troops into an organic system to surrender, and the company and platoon will increase by 20.00% on this basis, the battalion level will increase by 30.00%, and the regiment level will increase by 40.00%...

The increased rewards are freely distributed by officers, and the preservation of personal property is guaranteed. All surrendered officers and soldiers enjoy corresponding preferential treatment for prisoners of war.

If you resist, you will no longer accept prisoners after the war breaks out.There is only one chance: live or die. "

There is no doubt that this leaflet was intended to break the morale of the last French army and force them to surrender.

No one wants to die, and it is not popular in Europe to die to the end.If there is still a chance of winning, Jacob still has a way to mobilize everyone to give it a go.

Now sitting in a lonely city, without reinforcements outside, there is no hope at all, and it will be difficult for everyone to work hard.

Hearing the bad news, everyone in the headquarters had different expressions, but they quickly returned to normal, as if nothing had happened.

Major General Aristide suggested fearfully: "Your Excellency, we must immediately order the confiscation of leaflets. If the news spreads, we will be very passive."

There is no way, everyone present is sure that even if the war breaks out, the Austrian army will still take prisoners, or they will force them to desperately, but the officers and soldiers at the bottom will not think so.

Since the war has been going on, the feeling of failure has long spread in the French army, and many people do not want to continue this hopeless war.

According to the traditions of the European continent, nobles must be given preferential treatment when they surrender, but it is different for the officers and soldiers at the bottom. Working hard and starving are routine operations, and if they do not, they will be wiped out directly.

Even the Austrians will take prisoners later, but if they anger the enemy, do you still want to have good fruit?

You don't have to use a knife to kill people. Working hard day and night can also exhaust people to death.

The morale of the French army was already in a slump. At this time, the Austrian leaflets were likely to be the last straw that broke the camel's back.

Anyway, now that the overall situation has been decided, sooner or later he will have to surrender, instead of pointlessly desperately, surrendering earlier and getting a sum of money, wouldn't it be nice for him?

Jacob shook his head: "It's too late, we all got the leaflets, and the soldiers outside will only get the leaflets sooner.

At this time, the news had already spread, and it was meaningless to collect the leaflets again, except to intensify the conflict.

The promises of the enemy are very deceptive.We will not be deceived, which does not mean that the officers and soldiers at the bottom will not be deceived either.The most urgent task is to find a way to stabilize the morale of the army. "

"Tricked" and "deceived", Jacob himself would not believe these words.The enemy did offer lures, but the problem is that the bids are not high anymore.

With all the calculations, the French army in Egypt is only 50 million. Even if it is a collective surrender, the so-called acquisition fee is only 80 million Aegis. Such a small amount of money is not worth the Austrian breach of contract.

Moreover, prisoners of war are not collected for nothing, at worst, they can be added to the ransom.In the end, all expenses will still be paid by the French government.

Chapter 195 Surrender is also an Art

The dignitaries in Cairo are still making their final struggles, but the French officers and soldiers scattered outside are different.Knowing that the Egyptian battlefield is powerless, and being blocked from the back, the fool will die to the end.

The surrender conditions promised by Austria were just a catalyst. What made everyone make up their minds was that there were not many supplies in hand.

In particular, some fortress strongholds trapped in the encirclement have begun to limit the supply of food.If this continues, before the enemy launches an attack, they will be finished.

Aswan, located on the east bank of the Nile River, is just an inconspicuous small city, and it is well known because of the great uprising a few years ago.

The rebels blew up the "Aswan Dam" and flooded the delta downstream, which aroused the attention of the European media and became famous all over the world.

learn from mistakes.After the suppression of the rebels, the Egyptian colonial government deployed heavy troops in the Aswan area, and the humble town of Aswan became an important military location.

After the outbreak of the European War, in order to avoid repeating the tragedy of the flooded delta, the French once again increased their troops to the Aswan region, with a total strength of more than [-].

With strong troops, the defenders in the Aswan area smashed the Austrian attack many times.It's a pity that this is of no use. Large-scale wars cannot be reversed by the gains and losses of one city and one place.

As time went by, the surrounding friendly forces fell under the guns of the enemy one after another, and the French army in the Aswan area gradually became a lone army.

……

Aswan French Army Headquarters is full of stars at the moment, and basically all the high-level French officers who can come are here.

"The defenders of Kom Ombo surrendered five days ago, and the enemy's encirclement network has been completed. The situation in other areas is not optimistic. There will be no reinforcements. What should we do now?"

No one is willing to take on the political disaster of surrender, and Lieutenant General Armand, the coach of the Aswan garrison, is no exception.

In order not to go to a military court after the war, generally speaking, the best way to deal with this situation is to make a collective decision and take responsibility together.

"Your Excellency, Lieutenant General, the orders given to us by the officers and gentlemen of the theater commander's headquarters are to stick to Aswan, without considering the actual situation at all.

Up to now, we have suffered more than [-] casualties, and the total force has dropped from [-] at its peak to [-] now.

What's worse is that our reserves of strategic materials are insufficient, medicines are basically almost exhausted, and weapons and ammunition can support one more battle at most.

In order to reduce food consumption, we even expelled civilians in the jurisdiction.But this is still not enough, even if it is rationed according to the minimum standard, it will last for a month at most.

We simply do not have the conditions to stick to the Aswan area.Even if the enemy does not attack, we will starve to death before long. "

The population of Aswan is limited, and there will be only about [-] people here in later generations, let alone now.When war broke out, the army outnumbered civilians.

As a cotton land in France, the Aswan region is no exception. A large amount of farmland is used to grow cotton.

It doesn't matter in ordinary times, but it is a tragedy in wartime.Even after the civilians were expelled, the defenders still could not raise enough food.

There is a shortage of various strategic materials, so the life of the quartermaster is naturally difficult.Other quartermasters are eating and drinking, but as the quartermaster of the Aswan garrison, Major General Altir is about to become bald.

Within a few days of the good days, the enemy cut off the logistical supplies.Not to mention fishing for oil and water, how to fill the stomachs of soldiers has become a problem.

It's not that Artier is conscientious, in fact, he is also a standard French quartermaster, and he is absolutely relentless when it comes to making money.

The reason for stopping now is that on the one hand, they are worried about the mutiny of the soldiers. This is a precedent. The French army has no tradition of starving to death and not making trouble.It doesn't matter if you don't eat well, if you don't eat enough, you will turn your face in minutes.

On the other hand, he knows that to make money, he must first ensure that he has life.Now that the war has progressed, Major General Artil has lost confidence in the Aswan defenders.

If you can't win, the final result is nothing but annihilation or surrender.Major General Artil has no honorable determination, he is only a quartermaster, and he is not responsible for the defeat and surrender.

Regardless of the Austrian army's promise to guarantee the safety of personal and property, if it really becomes a prisoner, the huge amount of wealth will be a reminder.

In the war years, it is normal for people to die, especially if they are prisoners of war, and no one will bother.

Major General Altir's net worth is not low, whether he can keep it is still unknown, if there is more, he will become a fat sheep, so naturally he dare not take risks.

Those who can sit here are all smart people. Everyone understands Major General Altir's intentions. The logistics can't support it, which is undoubtedly a good excuse for surrender.

As for whether the logistical pressure is so great, whether it is really out of ammunition, or whether it is about to run out of cooking, this question is not important at all, anyway, everyone defaults to it.

A middle-aged military officer echoed: "Major General Artir is right. Now we really do not have the conditions to defend the Aswan area. If there is no reinforcements and logistical supplies, it is only a matter of time before the Aswan area falls.