Chapter 946 Countermeasures
Albrecht felt that a quick victory was the way to minimize sacrifice. He knew very well that the French army at this time could hardly be said to have a strong fighting spirit. As long as Paris was captured, the entire French Second Republic would collapse.
The so-called "New Sacrilegious Alliance" of the British would collapse, and it would be difficult for the Ottomans to pose a real threat to Austria.
Archduke Karl's strategy was relatively conservative. Although the German Confederation's troops miraculously defeated a main French army in Belgium, it did not mean that those temporarily assembled troops could really compete with the French.
Archduke Karl believed that the so-called five armies of France could only make significant progress by attacking Belgium.
Only in this way could the French further invest their troops, and only in this way would it be worthwhile for Austria to concentrate its troops to fight an annihilation war, an annihilation war that was enough to end the war.
Moreover, this did not require invading French territory to maximize the guarantee that the war would not be prolonged and to avoid French retaliation as much as possible.
If the war lasted too long, there would be no winner. Austria and France would both suffer losses, which would be exactly what the British wanted.
Archduke Karl knew very well what the British were like. Although the Duke of Wellington himself had no moral problems, the quality of British businessmen, British soldiers, and especially British sailors was really not commendable.
Coupled with Franz's propaganda and first-hand intelligence, Archduke Karl had reason to believe that the war at this time was not caused by the crown in the stinking ditch, but a conspiracy by the British to disrupt the European continent.
From the perspective of future generations, it may be acceptable that the crown in the stinking ditch has extraordinary significance, but from the perspective of people at that time.
Especially from the perspective of the royal family, it was completely disgusting. Even Frederick William IV, who had a very serious liberal tendency, could not accept it, not to mention traditional aristocrats like Archduke Karl.
However, Archduke Karl also agreed with Franz's point of view that Austria and the Habsburg family could not accept this crown, but they could not be forced to give it up.
Of course, Archduke Karl did not know what the Greater Germany Plan was. He only knew that this would affect the reputation of the Austrian Empire and the honor of the Habsburg family.
Therefore, the best course of action at this time is to fight a beautiful annihilation war and make France withdraw from the war.
As for the loss of the German Confederation, this is not within the scope of Archduke Karl's consideration. Because he does not think that the Germans outside the Austrian Empire have any relationship with Austria.
Using the army of the German Confederation to consume the French troops is a matter of course in Archduke Karl's view, and it will not burden him at all.
Archduke John, who is mixed with those German nationalists, is an alien in his view. The royal family members and liberals are mixed together. It seems that they are sitting on the wrong side of the buttocks.
However, Archduke Karl has never counted on Archduke John in his life. If it were not for the latter, the former might have ended Napoleon's empire long ago.
Originally, so many years have passed, and Archduke Karl has forgotten the glory and regrets of the past.
But at this time, I heard that Archduke John ran to Frankfurt and mixed with the Jews and German nationalists in the National Assembly. When I thought of this, the veins on Archduke Karl's forehead jumped.
Except for the road to Belgium, it is difficult for the French to achieve anything in other aspects. Alsace-Lorraine is French territory. They can't just massacre their own people, right?
As for the Swiss mountains, they don't belong to the Austrian Empire, and the local conditions are not enough to support large-scale corps operations.
Just hold the main pass and send a few small troops to harass the other side's logistics. It won't take long for the French to collapse like the Swiss Free Alliance.
In the direction of the Kingdom of Sardinia, Archduke Karl once personally visited the Northwest Defense Line that the Savoy Dynasty had built for generations. He felt that as long as the Kingdom of Sardinia did not surrender, it should not be a problem to defend France for a few months.
However, even if the French broke through the Sardinian defense line, it didn't matter. His old subordinate, Marshal Radetzky, was still stationed in the northern Italian region.
Due to the need to stabilize the situation, the Northern Italian Corps recruited a large number of refugees, which was already the largest corps in the entire Austrian Empire.
With the national strength of the Austrian Empire at this time, both Archduke Albrecht's strategy and Archduke Karl's strategy were sufficient to support it.
It might not work to let these temporarily recruited soldiers go to attack cities, but it would be enough if they just defended on the homeland.
Finally, there is the French threat at sea, which is a complete joke to Austria, especially the Austrian Army.
Austria's coastline is so long and connected by railways, so the defense pressure is so small that it can be almost ignored. Although the Austrian Navy was established late, it is good at dealing with maritime invasions.
After all, the Barbary pirates were not vegetarians. They roamed the Mediterranean for hundreds of years and plundered everywhere. In order to deal with these pirates, the Austrian Coast Guard has accumulated rich experience.
The only way for the British and French fleets to threaten Austria is to send troops to land on the Apennine Peninsula. However, the Apennine Peninsula is not very suitable for combat, especially the passes from south to north are in the hands of the Austrian Empire.
In addition, the famine on the Apennine Peninsula cannot be solved by Britain and France. Once Austria's relief food is cut off, the hungry and angry people will eat the British and French coalition forces alive.
Pius IX and the Papal States were also huge problems, and the church power in France was no less than that of Austria and Spain.
Richelieu, Robespierre, Napoleon and other strongmen were naturally not afraid of them, but the French Second Republic at that time really did not have that confidence.
By that time, the civil strife would probably be even more serious, and the French Party of Order had already taken shape.
The supporters of the Orleans Dynasty and the supporters of the Bourbon Legitimacy Dynasty had united at this time, and their speed and strength of unity were much stronger than in history.
After all, Count Chambord (Henry V) took root in Switzerland first, and then Louis Philippe went east to Alsace-Lorraine, and the constant natural and man-made disasters strengthened people's nostalgia for the old dynasty.
Compared with France at that time, Louis Philippe's reign was really not too bad. Even the famous French satirical newspaper "Foolishness" published a cartoon called "The Return of the King of Ducklings" on the front page.
However, the commander of the Austrian Navy, Frederick, was not willing to be beaten passively. He had already prepared a great gift for the British and French.
It is better to cut off one finger than to hurt ten fingers. This sentence is applicable most of the time, but Franz did not just want to cut off one finger.
A great man once said, "One punch is better than a hundred punches."
It is applicable to Austria at this time. If Franz wants a stable environment to solve domestic problems and development problems, then he must hurt Britain, the world police.