Chapter 188 You Can't Dig Your Own Pit
Schönbrunn Palace
Prince Wendischgritz marked the retreat route of the Ottoman army on the map, and then a large group of Austrian government looked at the map in a daze.
Yes, he was in a daze, and was stunned. Anyone who learns the details will be surprised at what the Ottoman Empire is doing now.
It is very normal to shrink the defense line, but what the Ottomans did this time was obviously too much.
It is understandable to abandon the northern plains of Serbia. A flat river could not stop an attack by the Austrian army, but the southern mountainous area, the Kosovo region, and the Bosnia and Herzegovina region, why were these areas abandoned all at once?
Even if only a small number of troops are left, a group of militiamen are organized, and the advantage of the terrain can also delay the speed of Austria's advance.
If the momentum is not right, you can still go up the mountains and down the grass and attack the Austrian logistics line. It can be said that this is the most basic military common sense.
I dare not say that in other regions, at least in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, there are still a large number of supporters of the Ottoman Empire.
Give up, just give up, why leave Belgrade in the middle? No matter how important this city is, if all directions are given up, can a lonely city still be defended?
Anyway, Franz couldn't understand what medicine the Ottomans bought in the gourd, whether it was military or political, it should not be done like this.
This is the same as that, give up... almost.
Thinking that his IQ is not enough, Franz asked, "Who can tell me what the Ottomans are trying to do?"
Metternich guessed: "Your Majesty, it may be that after the defeat of the Bulgarian battle, the Ottoman government panicked and wanted to concentrate its forces against the Russians, which was a hasty decision.
Most of the unfortunate people who stayed in Belgrade were losers in the struggle for power in the Ottoman Empire and were pitted by political opponents.
Even now Belgrade may not have 20,000 troops. Maybe it is a group of crooked melons and jujubes, deliberately put there to die. "
It is not surprising that these things happened in the magical country of Ottoman. The Sudanese government's performance is not bad, at least they did not leave the capital to run away, they are still organizing the army to fight against the Russians, and what they have given up is only to "turn out the barbarous land".
Everyone nodded their heads one after another. The normal logic made no sense, and it could only be the Sudanese government that had a problem. It seems that in everyone's impression, they are at this level.
It can only be said that the Sudanese government has done too many stupid things, and adding one more thing is not so unacceptable. As one of the two wonderful empires in the world, it would be a problem if it didn't do something ridiculous.
Franz waved his hand and said, "For the time being, the Ottoman government has lost its mind. What should we do now? Should we send troops behind the Ottoman army to recover our homeland, or find an excuse to stay put?"
Don't ask why it has become the recovery of the motherland, just look at Franz's long list of titles, and you can always find a legal basis if you look carefully.
It doesn't matter if it's a bit far-fetched. This thing was originally used as a fig leaf to prove that Austria did not launch a war of aggression, but was recovering its homeland.
The Habsburgs were too old, too gifted for marriage, and left behind a bunch of titles.
These places, even if they were not ruled by the Habsburg dynasty, were ruled by the families that once married, and they can always be verified as long as they are needed.
Franz did not expect European countries to admit that as long as they could fool some of the locals, or to provide an excuse for the Austrians who wanted to take refuge.
There are a lot of hypocritical people in this world, and everyone wants to save face. It is a good reason to set things right and restore orthodoxy.
At present, the two principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia are advancing very well, and those who are willing to join Austria have recognized the orthodox status of Franz.
Those who are unwilling to take refuge in Austria are naturally the remnants of the Ottoman Empire, and they are the targets of the attack. With the help of the Leading Party, they have almost been suppressed.
The successful ruling experience can be replicated, since it is possible to use the Austrianized Romanians to rule Romania, it is also possible to use the Austrianized Serbs to rule Serbia.
Seemingly thinking of something, Franz added: "Declare in advance that Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina are not within our target range this time.
Austria doesn't have such a good appetite and whatever the end result, we won't be annexing these regions this time! "
Prime Minister Felix said: "Your Majesty, we have reached this stage, and we must do a full set of dramas.
Arm a group of reserve troops and take over the territory abandoned by the Ottomans. Even if we have to give up in the future, we can still fight for our interests at the negotiating table. "
In order not to disperse the main force, what can be used at this time is the reserve force. The number of reservists in Austria is huge, and it is very easy to dispatch tens of thousands of people out.
The combat effectiveness of these units is limited, and they may suffer losses against the British and French coalition forces, but they are still not cowardly when they encounter the Ottoman army.
Franz can proudly say that the training of the Austrian reserve troops is better than the regular army of the Ottomans.
Chancellor Karl shook his head and said: "It's not that simple, the Ottomans are prepared.
According to the information we received, the roads and bridges in these areas were destroyed by the Ottomans. They also destroyed farmland, burned food and supplies that could not be taken away, and finally forced a large number of young men to leave.
we occupy
In these areas, no supplement can be obtained locally, and even labor for road maintenance is difficult to find.
Even we have to take out a lot of food to relieve the war refugees, the Ottomans are ready to hold us back.
But in fact, we are not ready to continue the war. In addition to bringing a heavy financial burden to us to occupy these areas, we can only wait for the benefits to be obtained at the negotiating table after the war.
I don't think the benefits at the negotiating table will make up for what we're spending now. It's better to support a local regime, anyway, we are not going to annex here. "
In the face of the Ottoman Empire's tactics of killing eight hundred enemies and losing three thousand, Franz had to convince them.
After all this tossing, even if they keep these areas in the future, they don't want to govern stably.
Of course, it can also be said that they had foresight and knew that the Balkans would not be preserved, so they simply gave up and concentrated on defending the core areas along the strait.
Since you have to give up, of course you can't leave good things to the enemy. If it weren't for the fact that the city was built of stone and couldn't be burned, they would have learned from Dong Zhuo's children's shoes and set fire to the city.
Prince Wendischgritz objected: "No! It would be better to leave these areas in the hands of the Ottomans than to establish a local regime.
In the hands of the Ottomans, they are unpopular, and we can take it back at any time. If they are independent, it will be easy to annex these areas in the future, but it will be difficult to rule them.
The territory of the European continent has basically stabilized. The only place we can continue to expand is the Balkans. This road must not be blocked.
This is related to the long-term development of Austria in the future. Once the overseas colonial strategy is blocked, we can only seek expansion in the Balkans.
In this era of great world wars, we are sailing against the current. If we do not advance, we will retreat. The future development space must remain. "
After listening to Prince Wendischgritz's explanation, Franz's eyes lit up. Sure enough, people who can leave a great reputation in history have their own advantages.
The military capability of Prince Wendischgritz may only be considered average, but he is very accurate in the strategic vision of national development.
Especially the sentence, "The future development space must stay", is very classic in Franz's opinion.
In a capitalist economy, if the road to external expansion is blocked, it can only rely on internal development. This means that external plunder turns into internal exploitation, and then disaster is about to come.
Why did the Germans challenge the world order in history, is it really because of ambition?
The reality is very cruel, Germany has developed to the limit, and there are only two fates waiting for them if they do not start a war:
Either domestic conflicts intensify, revolutions break out, and wealth redistributes;
Either artificially compress the development speed, use extraordinary means to survive the crisis, and then slowly decline.
Neither of these two fates is acceptable to the German government. In the absence of both industrial raw materials and commodity sales markets, in order to gain space for continued development, they chose war.
"Militarily speaking, taking Belgrade is very important to Austria's national defense and security. If you master the city of Pannonian Plain, it will be safe." Marshal Radesky analyzed.
The Pannonia Plain is distributed in Hungary, Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Serbia, and Ukraine. The surrounding area includes Slovenia and Bosnia.
This is the granary of Austria, and it is of great strategic importance. Occupying Belgrade not only solved the military threat from the Balkans, but also turned passive into active, and strategically became capable of attacking, retreating and defending.
Putting such a strategic location in the hands of the Ottomans, Franz was very relieved. The declining Ottoman Empire did not have the courage to do things. It would be difficult to say if it was replaced by a new Balkan country.
Historically, the Balkan countries have staged flower-style killing methods one after another. If this little brother who supported him stabbed Austria in the back at a critical moment, it would be fatal.
Franz did not dare to gamble on their integrity. All the kindness and righteousness in the face of national interests are empty, and only interests are real.
A great Serbianism will make the new regime part ways with Austria and become an inextricable mortal enemy. It is impossible for Franz to send half of Austria to his younger brother, right?
Franz said righteously: "Serbia must not establish an independent state, no matter what the cost, we cannot allow a great power to rise in the Balkans, if there is, it can only be Austria.
If I had to choose, I would rather have the Ottomans occupy the Balkans, or carve up the Balkans with the Russians, than see them independent.
Austria is a multi-ethnic country, and now it is a critical moment for official national integration. The establishment of any independent country may bring uncontrollable consequences.
Nationalism in the Balkans is just emerging and we cannot give them room to grow, at least for Serbs and Romanians to be independent.
Otherwise, you can think about what the Serbs and Romanians in the country will think when an independent Serbia and Romania emerge. "
The butt decides the head. Perhaps Franz sympathized with the Balkan countries in his previous life, but it doesn't exist anymore.
In this era of meat-eating, everyone is trying their best to strengthen themselves. There is no right or wrong, only profit.
Thinking from another perspective, the struggles of the Balkan countries in history are very tragic, but the conflict of interests is too serious
Now, concessions are death, so you can only fight.
Unfortunately, because they focused too much on immediate interests, all the Balkan countries failed in the end, and no country achieved their goals.
It doesn't matter if other ethnic groups in the Balkans are independent and established. Anyway, there are not many in Austria, except Serbia and Romania. The two ethnic groups together are close to 9%.
Finally, the prelude to assimilation was kicked off. If there were two independent countries, and if nothing happened, then the only thing Franz could do was to pack all these people back to the two countries.
Franz couldn't do such a brainless thing. He did not forget that in history, the Austro-Hungarian Empire supported the independence of Serbia and Romania, and then buried himself in the pit he dug.