Holy Roman Empire

Since the declaration of war with the Ottoman Empire, Austria has entered a state of war. A large number of strategic materials were transported along the Danube River to the Balkan Peninsula. Two hundred thousand Austrian troops also killed in the past.

On the surface, Austria seeks revenge for the Ottoman Empire.The hatred of the two parties can be traced back hundreds of years. Had the Habsburg dynasty long unified Germany if there was no chaos in the Ottoman Empire.

This time Franz deceived the whole world, as well as an army and strategic materials poured into the Balkan Peninsula, even if it seems that it is to kill the Ottoman Empire within Austria.

Only a few high-level officials knew that the Balkans offensive had come to an end. The Austrian army and strategic materials were assembled in the Danube basin. The main purpose was to quickly deploy troops after the westward strategy.

Did n’t the Russians need the strategic supplies for the Balkans?Even if the tsarist government prepared for the war for two years, there was no solution to the problem of domestic transportation.

Originally, the Tsarist government was prepared to solve the logistics problem by sea. They concentrated their strategic supplies to ports along the coast of Ukraine, and it was foolproof if they were escorted by the Black Sea Fleet.

As a result, the plan couldn't keep up with the rapid changes. As soon as the British and French navies came, the sea was no longer accessible.

At this time, allies are needed to contribute. Austria has a Danube river running through it, which can be directly connected to the Bulgarian region, and the supply logistics is not a problem.

It can be said that this Danube is a jewel to Austria.Before the railway is completed, water transportation is the most reliable way.

The Danube River originated in Baden, passed through Württemberg and Bavaria and entered Austria, and entered the sea through the principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia. This is the logistical lifeline of Austria going west to South Germany and going south to the Balkan Peninsula.

Of course, the railway can still be repaired well.After all, the Danube cannot cover all areas, and a railway running through the east and west is more convenient.

Vienna

The Austrian General Staff, the battle reports in the army have piled up.Soldiers need military merit, and the occupation of the two Principalities in the Danube Basin did not involve much war.

If it was n’t for Marshal Radsky ’s prestige high enough to suppress the main battle in the army, these messy battle reports would come to Franz ’s desk.

According to the statistics of the Archives Bureau, in 1852, the General Staff received more than 100,000 combat reports, and almost all the names of officers and soldiers appeared on the combat reports.

A middle-aged officer with a thick document smiled bitterly and said: "My Excellency, this is the battle report from the 19th Division."

He didn't know how many times he had come back to the documents. Since the war with the Ottoman Empire broke out, the Austrian military began to fight hard and prepare to fight.

The General Staff receives a large number of battle reports and countless battle plans every day.In short, everyone is very anxious, for fear that the Russians will play too hard in front, there is no chance for them to show.

Marshal Radsky thought for a while and said: "Throw it to the archives. From now on, all such reports will not be given to me."

At the beginning, he was very happy, it was a good thing for the army to be warlike!Over time, Marshal Radsky became numb.

Since the successful occupation of the two Principalities of the Danube, many people have regarded this war as an armed march, as if the Ottoman Empire had been smashed.

Not only the officers and soldiers on active duty were tempted, but even the younger boys of the nobility were looking for relationships everywhere, and wanted to enter the army to be gilded.

It is only impossible to join at this time.In order to implement the strategy of going west, the top level of the Austrian government is staring deadly, and any negligence is not allowed to appear.

"Yes, Marshal!" The middle-aged officer replied

After speaking, the middle-aged military officer did not leave, but was a little rushed, and seemed to have something to say.

Seeing this, Marshal Radsky asked doubtfully, "Major General Lafitte, what else?"

"My Excellency Marshal, the following emotions are infuriated, and we will soon be unable to suppress it." Major General Lafitte said anxiously

Marshal Radsky said solemnly: "If there is anything that can't be suppressed, just tell them to prepare me for it. When they fight, they don't have to worry about them.

If anyone had an opinion, he would immediately be ordered to retire and go home, and the Austrian army would not have such an unscrupulous man!"

"Yes, Marshal!" Major General Lafitte hurriedly replied

The Austrian military does not have the tradition of following the rule of law. This kind of military affairs can't be decided by the officers and soldiers below.

If you were ordered to retire and return home at this time, you would have missed the war. For those who are interested in gaining fame on the battlefield, you will lose money.

Suppressing the voice below, Marshal Radsky sighed.This is indeed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to go south to the Balkan Peninsula, but unfortunately reality does not allow it.

At present, the main force of the Austrian army is in the two principalities of the lower Danube. On the surface, it is purging the rebels and establishing effective local rule. In fact, it is not for the convenience of gathering.

Even the warships of the Austrian navy that were navigable on the Danube River ran to the Black Sea to stand by before the outbreak of the war. At this time, they escorted them in the Danube Basin.

With so much prepared, you ca n’t even give up the Westward Strategy in order to take advantage of the Balkan Peninsula, right?

It is easy to disperse troops, but it is difficult to gather them.With only one command, the Austrian army and the Russians would attack together, and it would not take long for the Balkans to be occupied.

But once the Balkans were occupied, Austria was dragged here, and it was difficult to withdraw.

Far away from the Danube river basin, there is no water transportation, waiting for hundreds of thousands of troops to be assembled, and then transported from the Balkan peninsula to Southern Germany, the daylilies are stupid.

Schonbrunn Palace

Franz asked with concern: "Mr. Stein, when has the construction of the domestic railway trunk line been completed, when will it be completed?"

The construction of the Austrian railway network began in 1849. It has been three years since the start of construction, and some sections of the plains have been opened to traffic.

But for the entire transportation network, it is still a lot of money.Needless to say, if you want to cross the main railway of the Alps, it will not be able to open to traffic smoothly after another three years of repair.

For the mountain railway, Franz ’s request is not so urgent. The most important thing now is the railway from Vienna to Salzburg, which must be opened in advance.

There is no way. Under his butterfly effect, the Near East War broke out one year earlier than the historical Crimean War, which reduced the preparation time for the westward strategy by one year.

One year is enough to change many things. Vienna is only more than 200 kilometers away from Salzburg. Franz is not worried about repairing this railway in four years.

The construction conditions of the Beijing-Zhang Railway are so bad that it took less than four years to build. This section of the railway does not require manual chiselling of the Badaling Tunnel or the Huailai Bridge.

It's difficult to do in less than one year.For the sake of confidentiality, it is impossible for Franz to specifically question this section of the railway.In case of attention of interested persons, it is troublesome.Now we can only let the main railway lines of the country catch up with the construction period.

According to the plan of the General Staff, once the strategy of westward advance was launched, the Austrian army attacked in three ways.All the way along the Danube, all the way from Salzburg to Munich by land, and all the way along the Rhine into Bavaria.

I have to say that it is good to have a well-developed water system. Even from Salzburg to Bavaria, there is a Salzach River that can connect to the Rhine.

At this time, the Bavarians had not yet built the canal between the Rhine and the Danube, otherwise the battle for the reunification of the South Germany would mobilize supplies from Vienna.

Now a logistics supply point has been added-Salzburg.Therefore, before the outbreak of war, it was essential to repair the railway between Vienna and Salzburg.

Railways Minister Stein submitted a document to Franz, saying: "Your Majesty, this is the schedule for the railway construction and the estimated timetable for opening to traffic. Please look at it.

At present, major domestic railway companies have increased the construction speed.The completion of the main road will take at least two years. Among them, the one-third section will be open to traffic within the year, and some mountain railways may be delayed until 1856."

Franz nodded, and the speed of railway construction in Austria is not slow in this era. Especially after the introduction of the government's stimulus policy, several railway companies are in a hurry.

Starting from this year, the Austrian railway will usher in a traffic tide, many sections will be opened to traffic one after another, and the domestic transportation situation will be greatly improved.

After turning around and seeing the answer he wanted, Franz said with a smile: "I am very satisfied with the speed. Mr. Stein is fortunate. Now you can go busy."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

After talking about Stein, he turned away and left. It was not for his technical bureaucracy to participate in the subsequent meetings.

Franz is not prepared to train all-round bureaucrats. Most government officials are talented in one area.If you are proficient in everything, you can pack up and go home, the Austrian government does not need all-round talent.

If there is such a genius, Franz thinks that it is better to send it to scientific research, and it is too dangerous to engage in politics. Even his emperor is afraid.

After witnessing Stein's departure, Franz said: "You, if there is no accident, the Austrian railway to Salzburg can be opened to traffic by the end of the year, and the railway subgrade construction has been completed.

The original plan remains unchanged, and now there is still a delay of at least half a year. Does Mr. Metternich have any problems?"

The named Foreign Minister Metternich replied after thinking for a while: "Your Majesty, it depends on the battle on the Balkan front.

According to the information we collected, the Russian army invested 251,000 troops here. The Ottoman army has a nominal 450,000 people. In fact, there is at least one-fifth shortfall. I am afraid that the combat effectiveness is not optimistic.

If the Russians made a quick decision and conquered Constantinople before the British and French intervention, then our original plan would be difficult to continue."

Do n’t look at the seemingly larger number of Ottoman troops, but in fact Metternich is more optimistic about the Russians.The large number of troops on the Ottoman side does not necessarily mean that there are definitely more troops on the battlefield.

Now the Russians have thrown the two Principalities of the Danube to Austria. In fact, the responsibility for maintaining the stability of the rear has also been thrown to Austria. The Austrian army is responsible for the logistics and transportation of this area.

The Ottoman Empire is a local battle, but the Russians in Bulgaria are more popular.With the support of the Russians, the number of local guerrillas has exceeded five digits, and the advantages of the Ottoman local operations have turned into disadvantages.

Marshal Radsky commented confidently: "Mr. Metternich need not worry, this is a worse war.

After our contact with the Russian army entering the Balkans, we can basically determine that the combat effectiveness of the Russian army is much lower than we thought before.

First of all, the Russian army is very chaotic in the deployment of troops. The troop establishment is still in the era of anti-French war. The internal corruption of the army is serious, the weapons and equipment are backward, and the logistics system is chaotic.

Secondly, the military discipline of the Russian army is loose, and the Cossack cavalry is a group of locusts. They are all the way to scourge and fight, and they can also fight.

The Ottoman army invited French instructors to train, but only learned the fur of the French. In addition to looking like a modern army, it was actually the same old school.

On the issue of corruption, the Ottoman army is more serious. The Russians can somehow fill up the establishment. The Ottoman officers directly eat up the rates and the shortage of troops is serious.

Many soldiers were still forcibly recruited by the military officers.

Overall, the fighting power of the Ottoman army is even worse.If there is no external intervention, most of them will lose this war, but the problem of keeping Constantinople is not a big problem."

Franz approved Marshal Radsky's comments.The fighting power displayed by the Russians in the Crimean War in history is a word-rotten, and the Ottomans told everyone that there is no worst, only worse!

In general, the Russians and Ottomans were at a low point during this period.It is not just them. In fact, the same is true of the four countries of France, Austria, Spain, and Prussia. The European powers are not in the state except the British.

Under the butterfly effect of Franz, Austria was rescued, and against the background of the Russians and Ottomans, Marshal Radsky had a confident confidence.