Chapter 179

Since the declaration of war with the Ottoman Empire, Austria has entered a state of war. A large number of strategic materials were transported to the Balkans along the Danube, and 200,000 Austrian troops were also killed in a mighty manner.

On the surface, Austria is looking for revenge on the Ottoman Empire. The hatred between the two sides can be traced back to hundreds of years ago, and the Habsburg dynasty would have united Germany long ago if it hadn't been for the chaos of the Ottoman Empire.

This time, Franz deceived the whole world, and it was the army and the strategic materials that kept pouring into the Balkans, even if it seemed that Austria was going to kill the Ottoman Empire.

Only a few high-level officials knew that the Balkans offensive had come to an end. Austrian troops and strategic supplies had gathered in the Danube River Basin. The main purpose was to quickly deploy troops after the westward strategy was launched.

Don't the Russians still need the strategic supplies destined for the Balkans? Even though the Tsarist government had been preparing for the war for two years, it had not been able to solve the problem of domestic transportation.

Originally, the tsarist government was going to rely on shipping to solve logistical problems. They concentrated their strategic materials to ports along the Ukrainian coast, and the Black Sea Fleet escorted them was foolproof.

As a result, the plan could not keep up with the rapid changes. When the British and French navies arrived, the sea route was blocked.

At this time, allies are needed. Austria has a Danube River running through it, which can go directly to the Bulgarian region, and there are not many logistical problems in supply.

It can be said that the Danube is a treasure that God gave to Austria. Before the railway is completed, water transportation is the most reliable way.

The Danube originates from Baden, enters Austria through Württemberg and Bavaria, and enters the sea through the two principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia.

Of course, the railway can still be repaired well. After all, the Danube cannot cover all areas, and it is more convenient to have a railway that runs through the east and west.

Vienna

The Austrian General Staff, the army's request for war reports have piled up. Soldiers need military merit, and the two principalities in the Danube Basin have not fought much at all. What do you rely on to increase your ranks?

If it weren't for the high prestige of Marshal Radesky to suppress the main battle faction in the army, these messy petition reports would have reached Franz's desk.

According to the statistics of the Archives Bureau, in 1852, the General Staff Department received more than 100,000 battle reports, and the names of almost all officers and soldiers appeared on the battle reports.

A middle-aged officer held a thick document and said with a wry smile: "Your Excellency Marshal, this is the battle report sent by the 19th Division."

He doesn't know how many times this is the first time he has held documents. Since the outbreak of the war with the Ottoman Empire, the Austrian military has been gearing up for a big fight.

The General Staff Department receives a large number of battle reports and countless battle plans every day. In short, everyone was very anxious, for fear that the Russians had played too hard in the front, and they would have no chance to perform.

Marshal Radesky thought about it and said, "Throw it to the archives. From now on, you don't have to give me all these reports."

At the beginning, he was very happy, it is a good thing that the army is belligerent! Over time, Marshal Radesky became numb.

Since the successful occupation of the two principalities of the Danube, many people have regarded this war as an armed parade, as if the Ottoman Empire was broken with a single stab.

Not only the officers and soldiers on active duty were tempted, but even the playboys among the nobles were looking for connections everywhere, wanting to enter the army to gild them.

It is impossible to join at this time. In order to implement the westward strategy, the top leaders of the Austrian government are watching closely, and any negligence is not allowed to appear.

"Yes, Marshal!" replied the middle-aged officer

After speaking, the middle-aged officer did not leave, but rather rushed, as if he had something to say.

After seeing this, Marshal Radesky asked suspiciously, "Major General Lafitte, what else is there?"

"Your Excellency Marshal, the following people are angry, we are about to be unable to hold back." Major General Lafitte said nervously

Marshal Radesky said solemnly: "If there is anything that can't be suppressed, just tell them to prepare for me, and when the war is due, they don't have to worry about it.

Anyone who has an opinion will be ordered to retire and go home immediately. There is no such lawless person in the Austrian army! "

"Yes, Marshal!" Major General Lafitte replied hastily

The Austrian military does not have the following traditions, and it is not up to the officers and soldiers below to make decisions about this kind of military affairs.

If he was ordered to retire and go home at this time, he would miss out on this war, and for those who aspired to gain fame on the battlefield, it would be a big loss.

Suppressing the voice below, Marshal Radesky sighed. At this time, it is indeed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to go south to the Balkans, but unfortunately reality does not allow it.

At present, the main force of the Austrian army is operating in the two principalities in the lower Danube River. On the surface, it is to eliminate the rebels and establish effective local rule, but in fact it is not for the convenience of gathering.

Even the warships in the Austrian Navy that were able to navigate the Danube River went to the Black Sea to stand by before the outbreak of the war, and they were escorting them in the Danube River Basin at this time.

After preparing so much, we can't even give up the westward strategy in order to take advantage of the Balkans, right?

It is easy for the army to spread out, but it is difficult to gather together. With just one order, the Austrian army and the Russians joined forces to attack, and it would not be long before the Balkans were taken.

But once the Balkans were occupied, Austria

It's hard to get out of here.

Far away from the Danube River Basin, there is no waterway transportation. When hundreds of thousands of troops are assembled and transported from the Balkans to South Germany, the daylily will be sour.

Schönbrunn Palace

Franz asked with concern: "Mr. Stein, when will the construction of the main railway line in China be completed?"

The construction of the railway network in Austria started in 1849. It has been three years since the start of construction, and some sections of the plain area have been opened to traffic.

However, for the entire transportation network, it is still a drop in the bucket. Needless to say, the railway that crosses the main line of the Alps will not be able to open to traffic smoothly for another three years.

For the mountain railway, Franz's requirements are not so urgent. The most important thing now is the railway from Vienna to Salzburg, which must be opened in advance.

There is no way, under his butterfly effect, the war in the Near East broke out a year earlier than the Crimean War in history, which made the preparation time for the westward strategy less than a year.

One year is enough to change a lot of things. Vienna is only more than 200 kilometers away from Salzburg. Franz is not worried about building this railway in four years.

The construction conditions of the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway are so bad that it has only been built for less than four years. This section of the railway does not need to be manually drilled through the Badaling Tunnel, nor does it need to erect the Huailai Bridge.

It will be difficult to do with less than a year of work. For the sake of secrecy, it is impossible for Franz to specifically ask about this section of the railway. If it attracts the attention of interested people, it will be troublesome. Now we can only let the main railway lines across the country catch up with the construction period.

According to the plan of the General Staff, once the westward strategy was launched, the Austrian army would attack in three directions. All the way along the Danube to fight, all the way from Salzburg to go overland to Munich, and all the way to enter Bavaria along the Rhine.

I have to say that a developed water system is good. Even from Salzburg into Bavaria, there is a Salzach River that can connect to the Rhine River.

In this era, the Bavarians have not yet built the canal between the Rhine and the Danube, otherwise the South German reunification battle will be able to mobilize supplies from Vienna.

Now a logistics supply point has been added - Salzburg. Therefore, before the war broke out, it was very important to build the railway between Vienna and Salzburg.

Railway Minister Stein submitted a document to Franz, saying: "Your Majesty, this is the schedule of the railway construction and the estimated timetable for the opening of the railway, please take a look.

At present, the major domestic railway companies have increased the construction speed. The overall completion of the main road will take at least two years, of which the third section will be open to traffic within this year, and some mountain railways may be delayed until 1856. "

Franz nodded. The speed of railway construction in Austria is not slow in this era, especially after the government's stimulus policy was introduced, several railway companies are rushing to the construction period.

Starting this year, the Austrian Railway will usher in a wave of traffic openings, and many sections will be opened to traffic one after another, and the domestic transportation situation will be greatly improved.

After flipping through it and seeing the answer he wanted, Franz said with a smile, "I'm very satisfied with this speed, Mr. Stein is fortunate, and now you can go to work."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

After speaking, Stein turned around and left. The next meeting was not something he, a technocrat, could participate in.

Franz is not prepared to cultivate a generalist bureaucracy, most of the government officials are proficient in a certain aspect. If you are proficient in everything, you can pack your things and go home, the Austrian government does not need a generalist.

If there is such a genius, Franz thinks that it is better to send it to do scientific research. It is too dangerous to engage in politics, and even the emperor is afraid of him.

After watching Stein leave, Franz said: "Everyone, if nothing else happens, the railway from Austria to Salzburg will be open to traffic before the end of the year, and the construction of the railway subgrade has been completed.

The original plan remains unchanged, and now it will be delayed for at least half a year. Is there any problem with Mr. Metternich? "

The named Foreign Minister Metternich thought for a while and replied, "Your Majesty, it depends on the battle situation on the Balkan front.

According to the information we have collected, the Russian army has invested 251,000 troops here, and the Ottoman army has a nominal 450,000 troops. In fact, the shortage is at least one-fifth. The combat effectiveness may not be optimistic.

If the Russians take a quick turn and conquer Constantinople before Britain and France intervene, it will be very difficult to continue our original plan. "

Don't look at the appearance that the Ottoman army is more numerous, but in fact Metternich is still more optimistic about the Russians. The large number of troops on the Ottoman side does not mean that there must be more troops on the battlefield.

Now the Russians have left the two principalities of the Danube to Austria, and actually the responsibility for maintaining the stability of the rear has also been left to Austria, including the logistics and transportation work in this area, which are all done by the Austrian army for them.

The Ottoman Empire fought on the mainland, but unfortunately the Russians were more popular in the Bulgarian region. With the support of the Russians, the number of local guerrillas has exceeded five figures, and the advantage of the Ottomans in local combat has become a disadvantage.

Marshal Radesky commented confidently: "Don't worry, Mr. Metternich, this is a bad war.

After our contact with the Russian army entering the Balkans, it can basically be judged that the combat effectiveness of the Russian army is much lower than we thought before.

First of all, the Russian army is very chaotic in its troop configuration. The troop formation is still in the era of the anti-French war. The internal corruption of the army is serious, the weapons and equipment are outdated, and the logistics system is chaotic.

Secondly, the military discipline of the Russian army is lax, and the Cossack cavalry is a group of locusts. They go all the way to harm the road, and they can fight against the wind.

The Ottoman army was trained by French instructors, but only learned the fur of the French, which is actually the same old fashion as it looks like a modern army.

On the issue of corruption, the Ottoman army was even more serious, and the Russians were able to make up for it.

Many soldiers are still forced into the army by the officers, and they are drawn to make up the number. I don’t have any expectations that they can have some combat effectiveness.

In general, the combat effectiveness of the Ottoman army was worse. If there is no external intervention, they will probably lose this war, but it is not a big problem to hold Constantinople. "

Franz agrees with Marshal Radesky's comments. The fighting power shown by the Russians in the Crimean War in history is just one word - bad, while the Ottomans told everyone that there is no worst, only worse!

In general, both the Russians and the Ottomans were at a low point during this period. Not only them, but also the four countries of France, Austria, Spain, and Prussia. Except for the British, the European powers are collectively absent.

Under the butterfly effect of Franz, Austria was rescued. With the help of the Russians and Ottomans, Marshal Radesky had confidence.