War Palace and Knee Pillow, Austria’s Destiny

Vienna, Schönbrunn Palace.

Metternich was shocked by the news that Archduke Albrecht was leading an army. Also disappearing were his escorts, Franz's Royal Dragoons, and the thousand elite troops drawn from the garrison near Vienna.

It is extraordinary that these five thousand men dare to attack Belgium and the Netherlands; according to common sense, no matter how well-equipped this army is and how brave the soldiers are, this move is the same as sending death.

Another point is that as a member of the royal family, Albrecht leading the army to the expedition has other meanings - it represents the attitude of the royal family.

Although Metternich tried to suppress bellicose remarks through public opinion, the spectacular scene of thousands of officers and soldiers boarding the train at the railway station was clearly captured by the citizens of Vienna.

This is more lethal than a hundred thousand newspapers, not to mention that the flag of the German Confederate Volunteer Army is simply a magic weapon for swindling.

Austria itself has a tradition of volunteer soldiers; now, the news that soldiers from all over the world responded to the call and set off for Luxembourg in groups soon spread to other German states, and the locals followed suit so much that the government wanted to Can't stop it.

Albrecht was an impulsive but not reckless young man. The reason why he acted so resolutely was because Archduke Franz was behind the plan, which made him so unhesitating.

"His Royal Highness, what exactly did you say to Archduke Albrecht? Do you know? You have triggered an armed conflict in Europe. Originally this was a war within the German Confederation, but now our country is also involved. "

Metternich had a very helpless expression. This sudden change obviously made him very embarrassed. It seemed that the smart student had not convinced the teacher before.

"I just told him that soldiers are valuable and quick."

Franz answered frankly that since he could not convince the other party of his judgment, he should prove it with actual actions.

"But now we are going deep alone. Once Archduke Albrecht is defeated and captured, it will be a political disaster for the empire."

Metternich spoke earnestly. He still admired Franz's previous strategy of combining vertical and horizontal directions. Although it seemed unreasonable, it still had some maneuverability.

But it was extremely stupid to act rashly at this moment, which really made him feel very regretful. Is the empire really going to fall into the hands of a reckless man?

However, what appears to be a naive diplomatic strategy and seemingly reckless recklessness are actually a combination of punches.

However, Franz was not interested in starting a new conversation with an old man who was nearly seventy years old at this time, so he replied calmly.

"Prime Minister, the way you want to avoid political disaster now is neither to complain nor to question me. Instead, you should fully support Archduke Albrecht's actions."

Metternich was inevitably a little unhappy when a child said this, but due to the identity and situation of the other party, he really had no time to delay and must fully support this reckless and stupid war.

"I also want to solemnly remind you that Britain is indeed very powerful, but it is not invulnerable. If you don't even have the courage to challenge, you might as well swim to the other side of the channel and become a British person."

Franz's slightly sarcastic words made the old prime minister stop in his tracks, but he still did not choose to look back and left directly.

After Metternich walked away, Franz turned to the darkness and said, "Archbishop, there are 1.6 million German-speaking Catholics in Belgium. If they are unwilling to live in the Netherlands, I hope they can reach the Empire safely. You can do it ?"

"Educating the world and protecting believers is the responsibility of the church, and we will do our best."

Franz nodded, not expecting that at this critical moment, the most unreliable person would be the most reliable.

Due to the activities of the church, the resistance of the people in Belgium was not fierce.

Of course, Franz also briefly explained to Archduke Albrecht the three major disciplines, the eight points of attention, preferential treatment of prisoners of war, etc.

Franz was not the same kind as the gambling-loving Showa advisers and Junkers officers. Regardless of whether Albrecht wins or loses, the goal of knocking the mountain and shaking the tiger has been achieved, and the rest is garbage time wrangling.

Of course, he didn't think his uncle would have any surprises. If he could still be defeated by an unsuspecting opponent while taking advantage of the right time, place, and people, then he might as well pack up and give up the fight for hegemony.

Assembling carefully selected elite troops in the country, equipped with the most advanced weapons at the moment, relying on the tactics of rapid troop transport to attack unsuspecting enemies, coupled with a large amount of detailed and detailed intelligence, even if the Belgians asked God to put on a steel helmet, they would fight Not winning this battle.

To an eagle-eyed few, this was the first time railroads were used in war.

According to common sense, it would take 1-3 months for the German Confederation to mobilize and increase its troops; such a large-scale operation to Luxembourg would take about two months; and another 1-2 weeks would be wasted for unified scheduling and assignment of tasks.

(At this time, Austria's forced march speed was 15 to 20 kilometers per day, and the forced march speed was 30 to 40 kilometers per day, but most of the time the march speed was about 10 kilometers.

During the Battle of Solferino, which was the Second Italian War of Independence, the Austrians also achieved the miracle of marching 1.5 kilometers per day. )

With the empire's transportation capabilities at this time, there is no problem at all in delivering 3,000-4,000 soldiers to Luxembourg every day. It is not impossible to double this number if we go all out, but that will affect the economy and trade.

However, this number is exaggerated when extended to the entire German Confederation, which can deliver more than 20,000 troops every day.

Therefore, in a very short period of time, hundreds of thousands of volunteers from the German Confederation gathered in the Luxembourg area.

After Franz and his men reviewed the information and investigated, they found that although France has 150,000 troops in the north, only General Jean Durde's 20,000 troops could rush to the front within a week. Other troops wanted to enter France. It takes at least half a month than the border crossing.

Theoretically, the French should not send troops to go deep alone. After all, there is a hidden danger that the risk is too high; and after their troops are assembled, they will suddenly find that the number of opponents exceeds their imagination, and there is a high probability that they have already completed the attack. set objectives.

By that time, unless the French are crazy, it will be too late to intervene. After all, the hundreds of thousands of troops entrenched in Wallonia and Flemish are not for nothing.

From another perspective, even if the French really fought with the German Confederation regardless of the consequences, the Russians and British would not share their fate with it.

At this moment, the Russian economy is already bound to the Austrian market, and the two sides are separated by the Carpathian Mountains. The Russian army is obviously insufficient to fight in Poland. It may take three years to mobilize troops from southern Russia and Siberia. months or even half a year.

As for the Anglo-Saxons, they were born merchants; they would most likely turn against their neighbors across the sea and confiscate the French colonies. This is the best choice for Britain, and even the unification of the Netherlands cannot threaten their interests.

Prussia and Austria are both land powers, and they are both members of the German Confederation. The two sides are in a competitive relationship. Although this move weakened France, it also made the military power of Europe more balanced.

(At this time, Prussia and Austria were inferior to France both economically and militarily.)

However, the development of the war did not exactly go according to Franz's estimation. The appearance of Jean Duld and Old Moltke's gambling tactics changed the situation.