Chapter 907
One wave has not settled, and another has risen.
Before the Vienna government completed the aftermath of the destruction of the canal, the Central European battlefield changed again.
After 27 days of hard fighting, after paying a painful price of nearly 50,000 casualties, the French army still tore through the Luxembourg defense line painstakingly managed by the German Confederation, opening the door to the German region.
The pit teammates are also skilled. If it was earlier, Archduke Albrecht would naturally not mind the French army galloping in the German region. Anyway, the Austrian reinforcements were still out of reach, and no one could say anything.
Not anymore, the Austrian reinforcements have already arrived at the front line, and the nearest troops are less than 30 kilometers away from the Luxembourg front line, and it is impossible to justify seeing allies die.
But the rescue is not easy. You must know that these troops also have tasks. The Belgians are waiting for them to rescue them.
Unlike the German Confederation, Belgium is the real small country. The war has been going on until now, and all the young people from all over the country have entered the battle. It can be said that all the war potential has broken out.
No way, it's the location to blame. After the outbreak of the war, the weakest Belgian kingdom passively assumed the heaviest combat mission in the anti-French alliance.
Austria was too far away, and the German Confederation was slow to provide support in time. The Kingdom of Belgium could only grit its teeth, and now it has reached its limit.
Since Belgium persisted until now, Grand Duke Albrecht naturally couldn't watch them die. After the reinforcements arrived, he immediately ordered reinforcements to Belgium.
As for the front lines of Luxembourg and the Rhineland, the German Confederation has more manpower after all, and its troops are still relatively sufficient.
However, the reality is such a comedy, the crumbling Kingdom of Belgium has not collapsed, and the more powerful German Confederation was first broken through the defense line.
"Luxembourg has 350,000 troops defending the front line, and more than 400,000 German troops in the Rhineland can also support it. Why did the defense line suddenly collapse?"
Archduke Albrecht asked angrily.
It was impossible for him not to be angry. The Luxembourg defense line did not fall early or late, but it collapsed when it should not have collapsed.
The defense line collapsed a few days earlier, and the Austrian reinforcements were still on the way, so naturally there was no need to take responsibility for it; the collapse a few days later, the main force of the Austrian army came over, and they were not afraid to pk with the French.
It's not possible now. The Austrian front line has only 15 divisions. It's okay to reinforce Belgium to help stabilize the defense line.
If you want to have a decisive battle with the French, there is no hope if you don’t turn it several times. Archduke Albrecht does not think that the Austrian army can be so powerful that it is outnumbered.
Adrian, the German federal admiral in charge of the coordination, explained bitterly: "Your Excellency Marshal, this is a complete accident.
As you know, there are many countries in our country, this is the first time a joint operation between countries and countries, there are inevitably some problems in the command of the army, so..."
There is "some problem" with the command system, and it is completely Adrian who is putting money on his face.
In fact, the issue of the military command of the German Confederation has never been sorted out.
The armies of each state have independent command power, and the commander-in-chief appointed by the central government is more like the coordinator of a military alliance, and has no binding force on the troops of each state.
Even the battle plan was drawn up by representatives of the various states. Even in the event of an emergency, everyone has to hold a meeting to decide, otherwise the armies of various countries will not have a command headquarters at all.
Fortunately, the German army has always relied on the fortifications for defense, and there is not much military mobilization required, otherwise the chaotic command system would have been killed by the French.
You can escape the first day of the first year, but you can't escape the fifteenth day. The consequences of the chaotic command system broke out, and the German Confederation lost the Luxembourg line of defense as a price.
Archduke Albrecht waved his hand and interrupted Adrian Adrian's tirade: "Well, now is not the time to be held accountable, and I'm not interested in knowing about those bad things.
Now tell me where the French have hit, and the loss of troops on the front lines, or how many troops you can control? "
When the battle is lost, chaos is inevitable. In particular, the German Federal Army is still going its own way, and the situation is even more critical.
At this time, Archduke Albrecht only hoped that these guys would be able to explode their potential when they ran away, and preserve their vitality as much as possible, so as to delay the French advance in the next battle.
Adrian replied in a deep voice: "The troops on the front line have long been exhausted from the fighting for days. They suffered a sudden defeat, and many troops were dispersed.
Now we are gathering the defeated troops, and it is tentatively estimated that the loss of troops this time will exceed half.
After the enemy had broken through the line of defense, the troops marched in two directions, all the way to Belgium, all the way to the Rhineland area.
We have built a second line of defense in the Rhineland, but the incident happened suddenly and the front line was understrength..."
Having said this, Adrian stopped abruptly. There's no way, it's really embarrassing. Not only did their own defense line open, even Belgium was miserable by the German army.
It is nothing to pit teammates, and Adrian is not a Virgin. The problem is that once Belgium falls, the German Confederation will not escape.
The Austrian allies did come, but the Austrian troops who reached the front were limited in strength and could not close the gap at all.
Looking at the map, Archduke Albrecht said coldly: "There will be no reinforcements. The front line is over, and the dozen or so divisions in my hands are simply unable to take care of the two fronts.
task
In a hurry, we still need to find a way to hold the Rhine River and create conditions for the subsequent counter-offensive. As for other regions, it is time to give up when it is time to give up.
Your Excellency should be aware of the importance of the Rhine River. If you do not want to see the French army galloping in the hinterland of Germany, then immediately shrink your forces and stick to it. "
Seemingly embarrassed, in fact, Archduke Albrecht was already happy in his heart.
A decisive battle with the French army in Germany and a decisive battle with the French army in France are two completely different concepts.
In addition to military gains, more important are political gains. The defeat of the German front line will inevitably awaken the crisis consciousness of the German people.
In a sense, the worse the frontline loses now, the louder the call for post-war unity will be.
In particular, the people who experienced this war in person can better appreciate the importance of a strong country.
The Little Deutschland dominated by Hannover obviously cannot meet everyone's needs. At that time, public opinion will spontaneously promote the unification of the German region, forming a general trend.
As for a group of state governments who are scheming with each other, after this war, it is almost time to recognize the reality, especially the states that suffered directly from the war, and need Austria's help even more after the war.
After a pause, Archduke Albrecht added: "By the way, the Belgian side has to explain it yourself."
Explanation, at this point, any explanation is futile. No matter how hype, it can't change the reality of Belgium being pitted.
If you don't want to lose all your money, the Belgian government can only give up most of its territory and stick to a few military fortresses.
With luck, they will be able to hold out until the main Austrian army arrives; with bad luck, they will have to go into exile.
It is conceivable that for a long time in the future, the relations between the two countries will not be better. In the following war, the cooperation between the two countries cannot be expected.
However, this has nothing to do with Archduke Albrecht. It is inevitable to make some sacrifices for the unification of the German region.
It is better to use the hands of the French to solve the force of these princes than the Vienna government to go into battle with nothing.
"Your Excellency Marshal, there is still hope of sending troops to fill the gap, and even..."
Before Adrian could finish speaking, Archduke Albrecht interrupted strongly: "Your Excellency, this is all your wishful thinking.
If the gap could be closed, the Rhineland Legion would have already acted. But up to now, they have not taken any action. Could it be that they are waiting for my order?
At this point, the most important thing is to stabilize the situation and create opportunities for the subsequent counter-offensive, rather than gamble for the possibility.
Your Excellency should know that we cannot afford to lose now. If the front line fails again, the international situation will be reversed, and the countries that originally favored us may turn to the French. "
Excuses can never be used up. Archduke Albrecht made up his mind to use a knife to kill people, and naturally he would not be persuaded.
...
At the Royal Palace of Brussels, Leopold II, who had just woken up from a nap and had not had time to wash himself, received the shocking news of the collapse of the Luxembourg defense line.
Anyone with a little military common sense knows that once Luxembourg fell, the Belgian flank was exposed to the French.
The war has been going on until now, and the Kingdom of Belgium has already exerted its milk-feeding strength, and in a short period of time, it simply cannot get enough troops to build a left-wing defense line.
"waste!"
"It's all a bunch of trash!"
"Nearly 800,000 troops, the distance can't even hold a Luxembourg, are the generals of the German Confederation eating shit..."
...
In the face of the king's incessant cursing, no one to correct the German army guarding Luxembourg, no small problems of eight hundred thousand.
"Your Majesty, the German army is retreating, and our left flank is directly exposed to the eyes of the enemy. Now we can only..."
Prime Minister August was still politically savvy and did not suggest exile until he was unsure of Leopold II's position.
Perhaps the vent just now relieved the mood, or perhaps the prime minister's persuasion played a role, and the calmed down Leopold II said in a deep voice:
"Didn't Albrecht send us reinforcements? Send these troops, they will not be waste!"
"Your Majesty, these troops will not come. The coalition headquarters just sent a telegram that Archduke Albrecht is preparing to build the Rhine defense line.
We suggest that we shrink our forces, give up unnecessary lines of defense, and only guard a few key areas, waiting for the next big counteroffensive. "
Army General Desmet replied.
"Humph!"
"Waiting for the big counter-offensive, he said it easily. Anyway, the battlefield is not in Austria, it doesn't matter how you fight.
But what should we do?
What about the six million Belgians?
Stick to Brussels, or live in exile in Austria?
…”
Leopold II raised a series of questions, which kept impacting everyone, and carried out a soul torture that was destined to be fruitless in the depths of everyone's heart.
...