Chapter 205: Just Waiting to Fall into a Trap
Vienna
Due to the impact of the Battle of Sofia, negotiations between the Austrian government and the Ottoman Empire achieved initial results, but some details were still under discussion.
Franz was not very concerned about the negotiation results. Even if the two countries signed an agreement, the possibility of it being fulfilled in the future was less than one-third.
The international situation was ever-changing. The outcome of the Near East War would directly affect Austria’s gains. From the perspective of interests, it would of course be best if Russia achieved a disastrous victory.
That would allow them to take the lead in pulling hatred and sharing Austria’s pressure. Yet would not let Russia truly soar into the skies and lose its restrictions.
The Minister of War, Prince Windisch-Gr?tz, said with a strange expression, “Your Majesty, there is a report from the Serbian front. A group of British soldiers mistakenly entered there, and we have disarmed them.”
Franz asked in puzzlement: “Surely the Near East War does not extend so far? Kosovo is still in the middle, right?”
This deviation was a bit too huge. Even with their defeat at the Battle of Sofia, Kosovo was still under Ottoman control. They could have easily requested the local authorities to provide guides.
Prince Windisch-Gr?tz handed over the battle report, and Franz glanced over it. Finally, he understood why the prince’s expression was so strange.
After some thought, Franz said, “This can be considered a good thing. We now have an additional small bargaining chip. Notify the British through the Foreign Ministry, ask them to send representatives to discuss repatriating these people.”
Without a doubt, these people would certainly be detained until after the war. Informing the British now was nothing more than telling them Austria had a group of British military officers and men in custody.
At present, these individuals may not be of much use. However, as the news of heavy casualties among the frontline British forces in the Near East War reaches the homeland and causes a sensation, the British government will have to take these soldiers seriously.
Franz couldn’t help but admire the person who came up with this idea.
What a genius! While others were struggling and hiding after becoming deserters, worrying about not being able to return home after the war, these individuals, also deserters, managed to be allowed to stay comfortably in Austria until the end of the war.
Their salaries and benefits, which the British government can’t afford to cut, will ensure they are taken back home after the war.
Fortunately, there aren’t many individuals like this. If tens of thousands of British soldiers came to Austria to enjoy the good life, the British government would spit blood.
As for the Sardinian troops who came along to enjoy the good life, Franz simply ignored them. This was normal. If they didn’t all come together, it indicated that, for now, they still considered themselves part of the Kingdom of Sardinia and not Italy.
……
Metternich’s face was all smiles as he said, “Your Majesty, Prime Minister Felix’s trip to Berlin has failed. The Kingdom of Prussia rejected the proposal to rebuild the Holy Roman Empire.
To avoid public condemnation, Frederick William IV is quite cunning. He chose to delay and publicly declared respect for the choice of the German people.
Prime Minister Felix proposed a national referendum, but it was decisively rejected. It seems that the Prussians are up to something.”
It was not the Prussians making trouble they feared, it was the Prussians not making trouble. If they were to rebuild the Holy Roman Empire under the guise of a national referendum, it would be a disaster for Franz.
An elected emperor might seem like a good idea, but in essence, it was several levels below absolute monarchy. If they could be elected, they could also be deposed. It was worse than the imperial election system of the past.
Regardless of whether it was good or bad for the country, it was undoubtedly disastrous for the royal family. Unless there was no other choice, no emperor would willingly accept an elected position.
At least, Franz would not accept it. There were many families in Germany eligible to be elected as emperors. Even if one family won once, the next time it could change hands again. By then, being an emperor and a lifetime president would only have differences in name.
It was not just Franz who could not accept this, the Austrian government could not either. If Austria couldn’t control the Holy Roman Empire, what was the point of rebuilding it?
The Prussians were worried Austria would use this empire to restrict them, not realizing Austria harbored similar worries about being unable to control the empire.
Based on interests, once the empire unified, Prussia’s awkward situation among the German states would immediately change. The small states would support them against Austria.
Of course, this support could only be behind the scenes. Publicly, no one would openly oppose the central government. These states would likely play a balancing act, that is, maintaining a delicate balance between the central government led by Austria and the local power faction represented by the Kingdom of Prussia.
Finance Minister Karl said with uncertainty, “The Prussians haven’t taken up the banner of opposition, which is somewhat surprising. Could it be that they are counting on the small states to openly oppose us?”
Under the influence of nationalist sentiments, the idea of unification has been accepted by many. Openly opposing national unity would undoubtedly attract public resentment.
Of course, the current strength of the nationalist groups was not significant enough to influence the government’s stance nor could it dictate government decisions.
If they wait for another twenty or thirty years, and Austria raises the banner of “Rebuilding the Holy Roman Empire — Peaceful Unification” again, there might be a chance of success.
“It’s unclear at this point. There will always be someone leading the charge. If this plan succeeds, the Prussian government will have to pay a higher price to oppose it.
Now, it depends on which unlucky fellow they managed to convince. Whoever stands up against it will likely be despised by the nationalist factions in the future,” analyzed Metternich.
Franz pondered for a moment and said, “It would be best if it were Bavaria. We need the Bavarian government to come forward in opposition. It’s a suitable choice for us.”
Metternich analyzed, "Your Majesty, for Bavaria to be on board, we also need to push them personally. I reckon the Prussians would also want to use Bavaria as a pawn.
As the third-largest state in the Confederation, only their influence is substantial enough to make everyone respond collectively.
If the Bavarian government wants to gain the support of the smaller states, this is an opportunity. If successful, they would become the leader of the German small states.”
……
While the Austrian government was discussing how to make the Kingdom of Bavaria take the bait, far away in Saint Petersburg, the Russian government was also discussing their next strategy.
With the Battle of Sofia concluded, the second Battle of Bulgaria has entered a new phase, presenting two options: concentrate forces to advance toward Sliven, or first occupy the regions of Kosovo and Macedonia, before joining forces with Montenegro and Greece.
Finance Minister Fyodor Vronchenko proposed: “Your Majesty, it would be wise to first capture Sliven, clear the obstacles on the way to Constantinople, and swiftly take Constantinople in one go. By then, the British and French would have no choice but to withdraw.”
This was a strategy for a quick and decisive victory, financially speaking, it minimized the cost of winning the war.
The prerequisite, however, was the ability to win. If they lost then naturally this was out of the question. High returns naturally came with high risks.
Foreign Minister Karl Nesselrode objected: “No, the Battle of Sofia has just concluded. Frontline troops urgently need time to recuperate. Fighting another major battle now would place too much pressure on them.
It would be better to target the weaker areas of the enemy first and occupy Kosovo, Macedonia, and Thrace. Then join forces with Montenegro and Greece, and launch an attack from the enemy’s flank.
Although this approach may be a bit slower, it is like fighting a downwind battle. It provides an opportunity to train new recruits and quickly restore combat effectiveness to the troops.”
Watching the Finance Minister and the Foreign Minister finish their arguments, the Minister of War awkwardly realized that he had nothing more to say.
Whom to support? This was a difficult question. Before implementation, no one knew which strategy would be more reliable. Alexander Chernyshyov judged from a professional perspective that both strategies were theoretically feasible.
In practice, a flanking maneuver sounded wonderful, but logistics might become a nightmare. One couldn’t rely on Montenegro and Greece to provide logistics support, and while occupying these areas, Russian forces would have to be split to garrison and ensure a smooth logistics supply line.
Immediately dispatching troops for another major battle, Chernyshyov knew that this was too challenging. The frontline forces were already exhausted, and if they didn’t take the time to recuperate, it would be difficult to guarantee their combat effectiveness.
After a moment of hesitation, Minister of War Chernyshyov provided his professional analysis, “Your Majesty, the Ministry of War suggests mobilizing new forces to replace some of the heavily damaged units on the front lines. Withdraw them to the Danube River Basin for reorganization, and relegate them to army reserve.
After the rotation, engage the enemy in battle. Currently, the British expeditionary force is also significantly weakened, and with just two main divisions, we can defeat them.
Now, it’s a race against time with the enemy. Whoever can reinforce the front lines faster will likely win this war.”
Undoubtedly, he did not support either of the proposed strategies. Chernyshyov was highly dissatisfied with the approach of two amateurs acting as professionals, but he couldn’t afford to provoke the two bigwigs.
As a military man, Nicholas I’s military knowledge was not worth discussing, but he still had a grasp of the basics. Naturally, he understood Chernyshyov’s suggestion was much more reliable than the previous two.
“Deploy the five divisions from Lviv, replacing the units that participated in the Battle of Sofia. Then mobilize the eight divisions from Moscow to replace the heavily damaged units on the Sliven front.
Order the troops in Ukraine to strictly guard against enemy landings, especially in the Crimean Peninsula. Do not let the enemy find an opening.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” Chernyshyov answered.
The advantage of having a large number of troops became apparent at this moment, allowing the Russians to mobilize reinforcements in the shortest possible time.
Unfortunately, this advantage was somewhat impotent on the battlefield. Poor transportation and logistics constrained the speed of Russian troop movements.
The Battle of Sofia had ended over half a month ago. By the time the Tsar’s court had come to this decision, massive amounts of time had been wasted. By the time these troops arrive at the front lines, more than a month would have passed.
Regardless, the Russian performance in the Battle of Sofia was satisfactory. The Ottoman Empire’s control over the Balkan Peninsula grew increasingly precarious. At this point, the Ottoman government had no strength left to reinforce the front lines.
This signified the end of the good days for France. In half a year, the Ottoman Empire had suffered losses exceeding three hundred thousand. Now, the Sultanate was busy dealing with Greece invading Thrace, without even spare capacity to supplement its forces.
Aimable Pélissier discovered for the first time how crucial the Ottoman Empire was. With insufficient cannon fodder, the French expeditionary force had to shoulder the burden themselves.
A war of attrition was no joke. Almost every day, a regiment would be crippled, and such losses were not easy to bear. Previously, they were relying on Ottoman cannon fodder, so they didn’t think much of it. Now, they realize how horrifying the situation has become.
Menshikov adopted a completely reckless approach, launching major offensives every few days. After each battle, both sides were left in a state of mourning.
Out of the 170,000 French expeditionary force, only fewer than 100,000 remained combat-effective. The remaining didn’t all die or turn into casualties but their units had been so severely damaged that they had to be withdrawn for reorganization.
In reality, the French losses were similar to the British, both suffering casualties of over 40,000. However, with a larger army, the French could withstand such heavy losses.
France had provided them with two rounds of reinforcements, totaling up to 48,000 troops, so the overall number of French forces had not decreased. Aimable Pélissier had experience and knew to rotate units on the battlefield, avoiding wearing down a single unit.
Even so, at the company and battalion levels, their formations were frequently shattered. This was unavoidable when enemy offenses landed on them, often wiping out the first few leading companies.
From this perspective, the British were far behind. Of course, this is the difference between a continental power and a maritime power. Even when Napoleon III was purging dissidents, he did not engage in any petty maneuvers on these issues.
Therefore, at this stage of the war, the French still had considerable strength. If given one or two months to regroup and rebuild the lost units, they could return to their peak form.
Time, however, was a limiting factor, and the Russians were unlikely to provide them with such an opportunity, despite their own significant casualties. The Russian soldiers were easy to fool.
In the face of the promising future promised by Menshikov, Russian soldiers once again summoned the courage to step onto the battlefield, a trait that the British and French forces could never match.
The Russian Bear’s serf soldiers had simple minds and were mostly illiterate, only needing promises of freedom and land for them to be willing to sacrifice their lives on the battlefield.
In contrast, if it were the British or French soldiers, none of them would even listen. Everyone has become astute. These little tricks won’t tempt them, and the crucial point was that everyone knew there was no land to be had back home.
Trying to hoodwink them with colonial land was just asking for trouble. In those godforsaken places a pound could buy a whole farm’s worth of land. Yet the government still expected them to die for that?
While it was difficult to persuade them, they still had to find ways to persuade them. Aimable Pélissier decisively brought out the enmity between Russia and France to stir up morale. That worked initially, but the effects were negligible now.
If anyone paid attention, they would notice the French army gradually falling back, seemingly already preparing to retreat.
Aimable Pélissier was extremely frustrated inside. This battle was of great significance, directly related to the prestige of their leader, Napoleon III. Therefore, losing was absolutely unacceptable.
Even if they had to pay a heavy price, achieving a symbolic victory was still worthwhile. Since losing was not an option, he naturally had to consider an exit strategy, and in case it was truly unavoidable, he must find someone to blame!
Of course, winning the war would be even better, as the extent of losses still had some impact. At this point, Aimable Pélissier regretted not going all-in for a decisive battle against the Russians, especially since the British turned out to be so useless.
A pyrrhic victory, with both sides suffering losses, would still be a victory.
Moreover, their leader originally intended to eliminate dissidents, eradicating forces loyal to the House of Orleans. Even if they returned with a pyrrhic victory, it would still be a significant achievement.
However, Aimable Pélissier, with a lingering conscience, was reluctant to let so many French youths be buried. Therefore, he chose the safest approach, leading to a war of attrition.
Unfortunately, the resilience of the Russian forces on the battlefield was superior to that of the allied forces. This resulted into the French suffering losses.
Missing the opportunity for a decisive battle, even if they wanted to take a risk now, the current state of the French army would likely not surpass that of the Russians. Aimable Pélissier didn’t want to become a stepping stone for the Russians, allowing them to enhance their reputation as the world’s leading land power.
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