Chapter 919 Christmas Offensive

Allies, it turns out, are not easy to find either. There are very few countries that are qualified to be allies with France these days, and even fewer can be allies with France because of their interests.

Alliances also need to pay attention to the principle of reciprocity. If the strength gap between the two sides is too large, it is not looking for allies, but for younger brothers.

From his heart, Napoleon IV was naturally willing to accept his younger brother. The problem is that no one is stupid, why should he be France's little brother for no reason?

Theoretically speaking, once France shows its failure, most of the British will support them in order to balance the European continent, and European countries will also stop the small actions that hold them back.

Unfortunately, this only exists in theory, and the precondition must be that the high-level governments of various countries maintain absolute rationality and do not mix any personal feelings.

Obviously, this is not possible. Politicians are human too, and they have the same emotions and desires of ordinary people. Now that you have feelings, you will be more or less affected when you make decisions.

Given the relationship between France and other countries, there are too many people who want to kill them.

Napoleon IV did not dare to gamble, even if the situation in Africa deteriorated and France was gradually at a strategic disadvantage, he could only cover the lid and pretend to be very strong to shock the European countries.

"ally?"

"Who can be our true allies?"

This is definitely a torture from the soul. Now France's ally is Britain, but unfortunately this ally is unreliable.

To sum it up in one sentence: the probability of stabbing a teammate with a knife is slightly higher than the probability of stabbing an enemy with a knife.

Of course, if the French government were a little thicker, Monaco could also be counted. But this doesn't make any sense. A seaside park can't affect the strength of the warring parties.

Under the expectant gaze of his colleagues, Foreign Secretary Karel Kadlec replied: "Your Majesty, in order to break the political passive situation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has conducted in-depth research.

The British have formed an alliance with us, and although this alliance is not very reliable, it is still necessary to stabilize them.

Since the outbreak of the war, nearly one-third of our strategic materials have been imported from Britain, and it is of great significance to win over the British.

From a strategic point of view, if we want to change our unfavorable situation, it is best to win over the Russians.

However, this is difficult to achieve. The Russian-Austrian alliance has continued for many years, and it is not realistic to want the tsarist government to suddenly defect.

In order to break up the Russian-Austrian alliance, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has made a lot of efforts, but unfortunately it still has little effect.

Although there is no definite evidence, but through some clues analysis, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs believes that an agreement has been reached between Russia and Austria. The Austrians may well have promised the Russians the interests of India.

us……"

Before Karel Cadlec had finished speaking, Napoleon IV interrupted impatiently: "My foreign secretary, stop talking nonsense.

There is an interest transaction between Russia and Austria, which is an open secret, known to all over the world.

After the Austrians occupied the Ottoman Empire, they stopped their eastward expansion. If there was no insider trading between Russia and Austria, then there would be a problem.

As for the question of India, that is what the British should worry about. You just have to tell me if it is possible to pull the Russians over.

If the Russians can't be our allies, who can?

It doesn't have to be a great power, even a second-tier country can. Even if you draw Switzerland over, I will hold a celebration dinner for you. "

This is the truth, Napoleon IV is really not a picky eater now. The bloody lesson told him that it was better to have more allies.

Just look at Austria next door. As soon as the European Continental War broke out, it pulled a group of younger brothers and formed an anti-French alliance.

Although most of them are made of soy sauce, there are so many people that they directly overwhelm France in terms of momentum.

After hesitating for a while, Karel Kadlec replied somewhat incomparably: "Your Majesty, it will take time to divide the Russia-Austria... alliance... This cannot be accomplished overnight.

We're trying to win over Switzerland, it's just...the result...not very optimistic, but we've stabilized the Swiss government and they're neutral in the war.

In order to reverse the situation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is doing the work of the Confederate countries and Colombia, who have always been interested in Austrian America, but they dare not act rashly because of the strength of Austria.

There are also the Japanese. After the Meiji Restoration, the power of that small country in the Far East grew very fast, and it was about to catch up with Belgium.

They have conflicts of interest with the Austrians in the Southeast Asian region, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is ready to win over them to carve up the Austrian Southeast Asia.

In addition, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is still wooing the Far Eastern Empire..."

Facing the emperor's questioning, he came up with a response plan in a short period of time, and Karel Kadlec admired his wit.

On the surface, as long as these allies are drawn, France can get rid of the embarrassing situation of fighting alone, and its strategic situation will be greatly improved.

In fact, everyone present knew that these were just a beautiful pancake.

In theory, winning over the Confederate countries and Colombia can not only combat the Austrian colonial system in the Americas, but also help France to import agricultural products from the two countries.

It is a pity that these countries are not the only ones in the Americas. Although the strength of the Confederate States is not weak, it is a pity that there is a feuding United States next door.

Regardless of whether you can win or not, the laborers' expedition to Austrian America is definitely not for the

Does the enemy create opportunities?

Not to mention Colombia, even if they participated in the war, it would only be a matter of two infantry divisions at most. Any more, and the Austrians will sweep Colombia again.

The Americas cannot open the situation, and the same is true of Asia. The Japanese in this age are in the stage of servile and kneeling, and they are not as arrogant as later generations.

Before the European War was decided, it was impossible for them to take chestnuts from the fire for France.

The most important thing is that they are not good enough. Although Karel Kadlec wants to brag a few words for them, he just doesn't know what to brag. In the end, he can only compare with Belgium.

Although the Austrian Southeast Asia is not the focus of the operation of the Vienna government, there are still tens of millions of people there, and it is still possible to arm hundreds of thousands of troops. If there is a fight, it is still unknown who will beat whom.

As for the Far Eastern Empire, let's take a nap. They are still busy fighting with each other, and they have neither the mood nor the courage to join in the fun.

"Since the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has made a plan, then implement it as soon as possible. I am here waiting for your good news!"

At this point, Napoleon IV's expectations have long since fallen to the bottom. Although these potential allies are tasteless, who makes France lack allies now?

Anyway, something is better than nothing. Don't expect them to contribute much to defeating Austria, at least help raise the flag, disgusting Austrians.

After a pause, Napoleon IV added: "The core of our strategy is still on the European continent. The focus of the work of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should also be placed on the European continent.

Whether it is the British or the Russians, as long as they can pull a family into the water, the embarrassing situation we are facing will be completely reversed.

It's really not possible, you can still agitate the Nordic Federation. Don't the Danes miss the Schleswig-Holstein duchies, so give it to them.

There are also states within the German Confederation. You can also do your work. You don’t ask them to defect, but just ask them to slack off. "

No matter how low the success rate, Napoleon IV didn't mind giving it a try. Who made the French army not show its due combat effectiveness?

The autumn wind swept the leaves as promised, but the wind picked up, but the wind was not in the right direction, and the leaves were rolled into the house.

...

France was on the move, and Austria was not idle either. Under the instigation of the Vienna government, the Russian army launched attacks on Afghanistan again and again.

The temptation to occupy Afghanistan and open the gateway to India before the end of the European War is too great.

It made many senior officials of the tsarist government addicted to it and could not extricate themselves at all.

Visible benefits are not comparable to ethereal promises. Let the British and French talk about it, the Russians feel that it is more reliable to capture India.

Of course, the most important thing is that the Afghan region has been occupied by the Russian army, and the victory is about to be won.

As long as the Afghan region is occupied, the next battle will be easy to fight. There is no need for government agitation, and the officers and soldiers will happily march into India.

If the tsarist government is willing, it can follow the example of Austria to open up overseas colonies, and let the nobles bring their private army to solve the problem.

When robbery for himself, Mao Xiong's combat effectiveness can definitely be bursting, and it is simply not something that lobster soldiers can stop.

It is no exaggeration at all. As long as the Russian army annihilates the main force of the British army in Afghanistan, the British will not be able to replenish it in a short time. Without the British army, the Indian colonial army is a joke.

...

"To occupy Afghanistan before Christmas, which idiot ordered this?"

In the Russian army headquarters, Admiral Oginets looked at the order in his hand and cursed in disbelief.

It is true that the Afghan war has reached a critical moment, but the more this time comes, the more intense the enemy's resistance will be.

The Russian army was able to advance smoothly. In addition to being willing to take human lives, the more important thing was that the British army's logistical supply line was too long, and it was attacked by Afghan guerrillas every now and then.

According to the statistics of the Russian army, nearly two-thirds of the British army's strategic materials will disappear in transit.

Whether it was killed by the Afghan guerrillas or divided up by the domestic bureaucrats, this question is for the benevolent to see the benevolent and the wise.

In short, this is a good thing for the Russian army. Restricted by logistics, the British air force on the front line had powerful firepower, but it was unable to explode with full force.

In this context, even with natural dangers to rely on, the British army was beaten back and forth.

In order to maximize the military exploits, it is naturally impossible for Admiral Oginets to report the specific inside information.

In the eyes of the tsarist government, all the Russian troops were not afraid of sacrifice, not afraid of difficulties and obstacles, overcame difficulties along the way, and wrote a triumphant song of victory with blood.

There are two sides to everything, and a series of victories, while stimulating the ambitions of the tsarist government, also drained their patience.

Some people can't help but want to occupy Afghanistan before Christmas and add luster to the annual festival.

Hearing Admiral Oginets' curse, the middle-aged officer who delivered the telegram hurriedly reminded: "Your Excellency, Commander, this is an order from the Ministry of War. The cabinet's opinion is attached to it, which is equivalent to a domestic consensus."

No calamity, this is it. Admiral Oginets dared to scold the domestic bureaucrats because his own status had risen to the same level as the domestic bigwigs.

If nothing else, after winning this war, Admiral Oginets will

Will be promoted to marshal.

And it's not that kind of stuff, and after Marshal Ivanov, another big guy in the Russian army.

No emperor likes to be monolithic, and the harder Admiral Oginets scolds, the happier Alexander III will be.

Admiral Oginets can scold, but it does not mean that everyone can listen. If something happens later, causing a high-level conflict, maybe it's okay to scold people, and the guys who listen to them are likely to be affected by Chiyu.

In a sense, this is essentially standing in line. If there is no opening to stop it, it means accepting Admiral Oginets' point of view.

It doesn't matter if there is a backstage, and if there is no backstage, it may become a victim of political struggle at any time.

"Humph!"

After a cold drink, Admiral Oginets decisively cut off the idea of ​​continuing to curse. There is no way, there are too many people involved, I really can't afford to offend.

It doesn't matter how you scold you when you don't know, but if you know it, you must pay attention to self-discipline. This is politics.

"Call the War Office back and we'll launch the final offensive as soon as possible, but the logistics can't keep up.

To occupy the whole of Afghanistan before Christmas, we need at least 1.2 billion rounds of ammunition, 3 million shells..."

The typical lion opens his mouth wide, but there is no way. Admiral Okinets had no confidence in occupying Afghanistan before Christmas, so he had to find a good excuse first, so that he could easily shirk the responsibility after the mission failed.

This is also the basic skill of Russian generals. Almost every high-level commander of the Russian army is a master of shirking responsibilities.

The lack of strategic materials has always been the only way for the Russian military to respond to domestic urgings. As long as this killer move is taken out, the government will have nothing to say.