Chapter 904 Battle for the Canal

The battlefield has the upper hand, but Admiral Morquez is not in a hurry.

Apart from launching a symbolic attack and constantly putting pressure on the French army, the Austrian army hardly made any major moves, allowing the French to deploy troops.

Seeing the loss of fighter planes day by day, the Austrian army did nothing, Vittorio Emanuele III "sees it in his eyes and is anxious in his heart".

As a graduate of the Royal Military Academy of Sandhurst, although he has not led a soldier, Vittorio Emanuele III has no shortage of basic military literacy.

However, as a king, apart from his noble status on the surface, he has virtually no right to speak.

After repeatedly lobbying Admiral Morquez to launch an all-out attack to no avail, Vittorio Emanuele III even protested to the Vienna government for a change of commander.

Undoubtedly, such a request is naturally unsupported. The Austrian army seems to have the upper hand on the southern front, but it is not necessarily true if they are beaten.

The French are not as easy to bully as the Sardinian Kingdom, and they can be pressed all the way. The complex terrain and poor traffic in the Italian region were all problems faced by the Austrian army.

As long as the front line moves forward several hundred kilometers, the Austrian army's firepower advantage will cease to exist.

Without the firepower advantage, facing the French army occupying favorable terrain, it is bound to pay a heavy price.

This has been proved in the original time and space. After the outbreak of the First World War, the Austro-Hungarian Empire easily slaughtered Italy with only a small number of troops, but as the front moved forward, it soon lost to the terrain and logistics, and staged a tragedy of first victory and then defeat.

The conservative offensive line on the southern front was naturally tossed by Franz. In his opinion, keeping the French Italian Legion is more valuable than killing them.

Numerous cases have proved that the more the army is, the better. The more the army, the greater the consumption. Although France's strength is strong, it is also dwarfed to maintain an army of several million.

The increase of French troops in Italy is exactly what Franz wanted to see.

The Central European battlefield needs a lot of troops, the Egyptian battlefield needs a lot of troops, the southern front needs a lot of troops, and Africa needs...

Where is the French government going to get so many troops? With their population of more than 30 million, it is simply impossible to form so many troops.

To solve the problem of insufficient troops, the French government either armed the colonial natives or recruited Italians in large numbers.

In either case, the combat effectiveness of the French army will decline, and the more troops are expanded, the more the combat effectiveness will drop.

In contrast, the anti-French alliance has a much greater advantage in this regard. Although the expansion of the army will also reduce the combat effectiveness of the troops, the quality of the soldiers is high!

It can be said that every time the army expands, the balance of victory is tilted by one point to the anti-French alliance.

There are not only two major powers in the European continent, Fao, and if the war situation suddenly becomes clear, the intervention of various countries will soon be ushered in.

Countries will not watch Austria break up France, otherwise France will be torn apart as early as 1815, and there is no need to wait until now.

A quick and quick decision seems to win beautifully, but it cannot really crippling France, and what will be left is endless trouble.

Aside from winning a nominal victory, Austria had little to gain at all. Even the unification of the German region may not be possible.

Unless it is a last resort, no one wants to have an extra boss on their head.

Franz wanted a Shinra Empire that everyone cried and wanted to join, not an empire that was forcibly unified by force, with many internal contradictions, and could be divided again at any time.

As for expelling the French and liberating Italy, those are just political slogans for the Italians, and have never been the goal of the Vienna government.

Originally, it was to attract the strength of the French army, and Vittorio Emanuele III's thoughts were naturally in vain.

...

Suez Canal

When you open the map, you will know that whoever controls this golden waterway will have the initiative in this war.

Since the outbreak of the war, Austria has sent troops from Austrian Sudan, Libya, Sinai Peninsula and other regions to besiege French Egypt.

The roar of artillery fire continued, and the Suez Canal, where thousands of sails were racing in the past, was now silent.

Without the passage of ships, the port naturally went into depression. In addition to the war, a large number of people fled to avoid the war. At this moment, the port of Suez has the most French soldiers.

Unlike others, the nimble John did not follow, but expanded his tavern.

Soldiers are also human, and they also need to relax. Especially in war years, they need a channel to vent, and alcohol is absolutely essential.

The business of the tavern not only did not decline because of the war, but instead became more and more prosperous, making John more than happy.

I sincerely hope that this war can continue. It is best to fight for a long time, just like the Hundred Years War...

The only fly in the ointment is that many French soldiers do not have alcohol, and they lose themselves after a few glasses of wine, and fights often occur.

Accidental injury is inevitable, people may be able to escape, and the tableware, tables, chairs and benches in the tavern will suffer.

Just now, John dealt with a brawl. Said to deal with it, in fact, all he did was to notify the officers to come and lead people.

It is very unfortunate that the client this time is a poor man again, and he has searched all over his body, but he still has not even a franc.

No money is no money, except for self

Aside from admitting bad luck and being forced to agree to a moratorium on compensation, John was actually powerless.

This is the front line, and one day these unlucky bastards will receive a boxed lunch. Dead people don't need to pay their debts.

If it was just these losses, John didn't have to care. The wool comes from the sheep, and because of the war, the price of Suez Port has long been in the sky.

What really worried John was the situation on the battlefield. There is no need to go out to inquire about the news, just listening to the conversations of the drinkers, he can analyze three or five points.

So-and-so troops suffered heavy casualties, so-and-so survived the catastrophe, so-and-so was unlucky...

Whether it is necessary to keep it secret or not, after a few glasses of wine, I shake it out.

The speaker has no intention, the listener has intention.

The battle for the Suez Canal is still going on, and John cannot judge the final outcome, but it is an indisputable fact that the French army suffered heavy casualties.

Port Suez is also a front line. Once the Austrian army takes this place as a breakthrough, the business of the tavern will not be able to go on.

Although John loved money, he cherished his life even more. On the battlefield, guns and guns have no eyes. If you are not careful, you will see God.

The Paris government has issued a national mobilization order, and in times of crisis, the Egyptian governor has the right to conscript all Frenchmen in the territory.

As early as a week ago, the governor of Egypt issued a call-up order. According to the regulations, John should have entered the barracks to report.

But there are exceptions to everything, and privilege is everywhere. With the help of Fran, John successfully escaped military service on the grounds that he was infirm.

It's a pity that if you hide in the first year of the first year, you may not be able to avoid the fifteenth. With many years of life experience, John can be sure that once the situation on the battlefield deteriorates, the colonial government's recruitment efforts will further increase.

Maybe even the physical examination step will be omitted at that time, as long as the arms and legs are not missing, they must go to the front line.

This is also the reason why the rich leave the port of Suez. Everyone is a person with status, how can they fight for their lives on the battlefield?

Although everyone has confidence in France, they have high hopes for the mainland, not the Egyptian colonial government.

Before John could make up his mind, the war spread to the port of Suez. The Suez Canal is still too narrow, and at a distance of just a few hundred meters, it is impossible to get out of the range of the artillery.

As the booming sound continued to sound, artillery shells that fell from the sky began to swept across this emerging city, as if a meteor shower had fallen.

Without any hesitation, John joined the fleeing army. Starting tonight, the city has officially become a military port.

...

"Fick, you idiot. I asked you to prepare a boat. It's just a few pieces of junk. It might sink in the water. What's the use?"

A middle-aged officer roared at his subordinates, and it could be seen that he was really angry. Originally prepared to attack the port of Suez, but when they got there, they found that there was no ship at all.

Fick's young officer hurriedly explained: "Colonel, you can't blame me. The Suez Canal is too narrow, and the enemy's artillery can cover it all.

At a distance of a few hundred meters, any gunner can hit it. The big boat can't hide at all, we can only make do with some rafts.

But you can rest assured that the large French ship on the opposite side was also destroyed by us, so there is no need to worry about them launching a sneak attack. "

After listening to this explanation, the middle-aged officer's face became more and more ugly. There are not enough ships, just relying on a pile of rafts to cross the river, the difficulty can be imagined.

Unlike other regions, the Sinai Peninsula is not a good place. If the Vienna government had not implemented land fallow early, relocated the population, and curbed the expansion of desertification, it is estimated that even the drinking water of the troops could not be provided locally.

Except for the garrison of a few strongholds, the Sinai Peninsula is no man's land. There are no people, and it is impossible to find a solution to the ship problem locally.

As for sending ships from the mainland, it is easy. The problem is that before the ships enter the canal, they will be destroyed by enemy fire.

It is not too simple to hit a ship at a distance of two or three hundred meters. From this point of view, even if there is a boat, the crossing of the river will not be smooth.