Chapter 293 God's Plans Are Not as Good as Mine

Palmerston, who thought he had won, was still imagining how his irreversible conspiracy would make Russia and Austria fall into the trap, but it disappeared in this farce-like reversal.

What he didn't know was that the mastermind behind all this was Franz himself. The so-called best strategy is to attack the enemy's strategy, the next best is to attack the enemy's alliance, the next best is to attack the enemy's troops, and the next best is to attack the city.

In fact, given the current situation of Russia and Austria, if the Russian bear cannot win quickly after the war, it will probably be the first to collapse.

The Austrian side only needs to keep Belgrade and Galicia, and at the same time use the terrain advantage of the Carpathian Mountains to completely block the opponent.

Even if the Ottoman Empire wants to take the opportunity to get a share, it must be prepared to "shed blood in Belgrade", otherwise it may be attacked from both sides by the Austrian army if it attacks the Batna area rashly.

Even if the coalition forces composed of Turks and Russians captured Batna, as long as the key to the Balkans is still firmly in the hands of the Austrians, the former will not dare to advance rashly, otherwise there will be the danger of being cut off from retreat at any time.

Moreover, the royal family has approved the proposal to let Archduke Karl be the commander of the Belgrade garrison.

As the most defensive commander in Austria and even in Europe, coupled with the natural barriers of the terrain and the new fortifications and fortresses built by the Austrians in the past two years, it is almost impossible to capture such a strong city in this era.

The most terrifying thing about the Balkan Key is that it is not afraid of being besieged at all; with the flow of the Danube and the convenient water transportation conditions, the enemy cannot cut it off even if they try their best.

This means that the Belgrade garrison can obtain soldiers and supplies continuously. What is even more disadvantageous to the enemy is that there is no place suitable for camping around it.

Being too close to the fortress means being exposed to the attack range of artillery and cavalry, and the natural gentle slope is a dead swamp for the attacker.

Of course, the opponent can also use cavalry to quickly transfer to a safe area, but they can hardly help the siege, not to mention the natural enemy of the trench.

If the infantry is used directly, it will be useless except for sending heads, and the setting of gentle slopes and trenches will make the attackers have no way back.

Unless the city is completely taken down at one time, the soldiers behind will have to witness a tragic scene of comrades fighting to the last man in front.

Finally, choosing to camp too far away from the city is not only lacking in threat and unable to cause mental pressure on the opponent, but also completely loses the meaning of siege.

In summary, the Austrian defense system in Belgrade is composed of gentle slopes, trenches and bastions. The design significance of the gentle slope is to make the enemy soldiers in the attack easier to be beaten, which can also be referred to as "easy to beat".

In addition, it is also a product of the development of physics and mathematics; since the defenders attack the invaders by shooting from a high position, the distance between the enemy and the city wall will become closer and closer when attacking the city.

The angle between the sight lines of both sides will also change, including the angle of the cannon. So in order to solve this situation, the fortress designers designed a gentle slope.

Because of the gentle slope, the attackers had to move along a route that was consistent with the angle of the defenders' artillery fire; even lateral movement was restricted.

This avoided the embarrassing situation where the defenders had to adjust their shooting postures all the time and even had to risk their lives to lean out and shoot because the attackers were trying to get close to the bastion.

Therefore, the defenders could always hide behind the parapets and shoot, and their own gunners no longer had to worry about the opponent's damn sharpshooters.

(The range and hit rate of artillery in this era were very limited, and artillery was often threatened by the opponent's scattered soldiers or sharpshooters. Of course, if you can hide behind the parapets or bunkers, you can greatly avoid this situation.)

For example, if the attackers are facing flat ground, the defenders' shooting is a 3D model, and when the opponent steps on the gentle slope, it becomes a 2D model.

This is a huge advantage for the opponent's defenders, because it means that soldiers and artillery can kill enemy targets more easily.

As for the attackers, no matter how agile the soldiers are, they will be as ridiculous as turtles in the eyes of the defenders.

(Friends who have played Battlefield or World of Tanks should know how uncomfortable it is to rush up and down the slope.)

Secondly, the trenches of this large fortress are not the 1-1.5 meters wide and 2-2.5 meters deep soldier trenches in our usual sense.

Rather, they are large trenches 20-30 meters wide and 2-5 meters deep. The terrible thing about the Belgrade trench is that it is connected to the Danube River. If it cannot be defended, the dam can be blown up and turned into a moat.

At the same time, the gentle slope has another function, which is to keep as many attackers as possible under the defenders. Facing the fortress on the flat ground, the attackers can choose to escape if they cannot defeat it.

However, with the existence of this gentle slope, their escape has become a luxury, and the only thing left is to hope that the other side is not a butcher with red eyes.

Bastion is not a new thing, but it is also its appearance that has made Europe fight sieges for more than two hundred years, and dare not choose large-scale sieges. Of course, there were people who dared to launch a strong attack on it, such as Marshal Lannes, a famous rookie during the Napoleonic Wars. Unfortunately, he died after his legs were blown off during the battle with Archduke Charles.

To capture the bastion, you must have large-caliber and highly penetrating artillery. Obviously, the Ottoman Empire and Russia do not have this condition. The British Royal Navy is equipped with such artillery, but it takes time and luck to transport heavy artillery weighing thousands of pounds from the seaside over mountains and ridges to the city of Belgrade.

Once the war breaks out, Galicia will also become the main battlefield, but the Russians have no advantage in this area either.

Austria at this time is not the Austria-Hungary during World War I. The soldiers have no fighting spirit, and one incompetent general can kill the three armies. During this period, neither the young Archduke Albrecht nor the old general Marshal Radetzky was a soft persimmon. They all have the same characteristics. They are not only good at attacking, but also experts in using cavalry.

The second is the basis of rule. Austrian Galicia was the only two regions that did not participate in the rebellion in 1848, and the other was Tyrol. In contrast, in the Russian-controlled Poland, there were three small rebellions a year and a large rebellion every three years, which had nothing to do with the word stability.

Therefore, Austria can contact the Polish National Restoration Organization and make promises. In this way, Russia's rear will probably be restless. Similarly, the Jews, Cossacks, Caucasians (Chechens), and Siberians in the Tsarist Russia will also be ready to move.

Once Russia falls into decline, Austria can take the opportunity to raise the banner of liberating Poland and form a coalition with it to directly target the three Baltic countries and the southern Russian steppes. At that time, the Russian army will be unable to take care of itself and will be forced to sign an armistice agreement.

As for the newly opened overseas colonies, according to Franz's estimation, Namibia will be the first choice for the British, after all, the Austrians discovered gold and diamonds here. At that time, the colonization of various countries was mainly plundering mineral resources, and gold and diamonds would naturally be particularly attractive.

The so-called gate of hell is not just talk. After the British army occupied Walvis Bay, they had to face the problem of supply difficulties. At the same time, they would realize that if they wanted to make the local defenders surrender, they had to move inland.

The harsh natural environment in the local area would greatly wear down the will of the Red Shirts, and of course they would have to face unfavorable factors such as diseases, mosquitoes, and warlike natives.

The inland fortress will also be a nightmare for the Red Shirts. It is almost impossible to attack by force, and the cost of siege is the lives of a large number of soldiers.

In recent years, under the design of Franz, Albrecht and Friedrich and with reference to the opinions of Archduke Karl, the West African colonies are all centered on fortresses close to the inland, which makes the invaders' attempt to occupy the port a fantasy.

And it is undoubtedly a bad move to go deep into the interior of Africa to attack the fortress. Of course, the best way is to win without fighting, so Franz chose to clarify the interests with Milos. As a generation of heroes, the latter naturally could not be willing to be cannon fodder for the British.

So he once again used the "Prince's Head" strategy. It seems to be a self-destructive way, but it has won time and opportunities for the development and growth of Serbia.