Holy Roman Empire

The change in British foreign policy soon caused a chain reaction.In the end, the French did not resist the temptation, accepted the British to join the alliance, the pressure turned to Austria.

Vienna is extremely cold this winter, and before Christmas, Schönbrunn Palace is already covered in silver.

Stepping on the snow, the squeaking sound is still so pleasing.

Franz, who is in a good mood, is not worried about diplomatic changes.Since the French dare to allow the British to join the league, he does not care about one more ally.

Originally, France and Austria were not stable. Now that there is an extra British British, Franz has seen the future of the collapse of this alliance.

Of course, the short time is still good for everyone.The alliance of the three countries of Britain, France and Austria can bring everyone's reputation to the peak, and all countries in the world will tremble under this alliance.

Stepping into the conference room, Foreign Minister Weisenberg has appeared in the room, and there is a cup of coffee on the table that emits a steam of heat. Apparently he has been here for a while.

The purpose is self-evident, naturally it is to communicate with Franz in advance, whether or not to form an alliance with the British.

Thanks to the good reputation of the British, the Vienna government's enthusiasm for forming alliances with them has not been high. Even the pro-British faction in the government does not think that the British are a good ally.

After the polite greetings, Franz asked directly: "What do you think?"

Foreign Minister Weisenberg paused for a moment, and seemed to be organizing the language. After a moment of effort, he replied: "Your Majesty, the French have compromised, and we do not need to continue to stand still.

The British joined the league, and the longevity of this alliance is destined not to be long.However, the Franco-Austrian League was originally a combination of interests, but it has only expired in a few years.

We also don't have a long-term plan to maintain the alliance. Since the British have been brought in to disrupt this, it is not necessarily a bad thing to tear up the alliance earlier."

Franz nodded, and the purpose of the alliance was to win time for peaceful development.Now that the French are brought into the pit, they are simply unable to do things on the European continent in a short period of time. The original goal has been achieved.

At this time the importance of the alliance to Austria has become dispensable.In this case, there is no need to stand still.It is also a good choice to carry out the final waste utilization and increase Austria's reputation in the world.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs continues to negotiate with the British and, as long as it does not affect the outcome of the negotiations, try to drag the alliance time to the second half of next year.

Now that the South African War has hit the present, it is difficult to end in a short time.With so much input from the bottom, we need to create an opportunity for them."

As a good leader, Franz's contribution to African nobles is still clear.For this war, many nobles tried their best.

Although the government of Vienna is paying for military expenses, the war is also mortal. The loss of the trusted private army cannot be remedied for two days a day.

Not to mention that some unlucky egg nobles fell directly on the battlefield.In any case, they all sacrificed for the national interest, and now the Vienna government needs to give them an explanation.

If they are incapable of themselves and have not been able to conquer Cape Town, then there is no way to dig their own pits, and no one will have any opinions.

If, for diplomatic reasons, the Vienna government forced to halt the war, would n’t their efforts be in vain?

If there is no military merit, there will be no rewards. If they cannot go further, they can't even recover the cost based on the military pay issued by the government.

Franz never did anything chilling.After a few months of delay, it is still very worthwhile to increase the loyalty of African nobles.

Anyway, these expenses can be recovered in South Africa ’s mineral resources.The more beautiful you play on the battlefield, the more confident you will be in post-war negotiations.

As for the decline in the local population due to the war, there is no way out. Everything has to pay a price.

Weisenberg replied: "Yes, Your Majesty. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will try to give the front line as much time as possible, and it will not be bloodless."

Now that the war is in progress, the losses on the South African battlefield are also astronomical.A total of 341,500 troops were lost on the side of the Boer Republic. Well, the fractions behind are the real casualties in Austria.

Otherwise, everyone in the Republic of Boer would have to die twice before barely getting enough people.

The British army is not much better, and there are more than one hundred thousand casualties. It is also dominated by cannon fodder.The white soldiers lost more than 20,000 people, and a large part of them were captives, and so many seven or eight thousand people died in battle.

The main factor that caused the disparity in casualties was not only the defeat of the British army at the beginning, but also the reason for Cape Town ’s offensive and defensive warfare.

On average, it now takes more than a dozen cannon fodders to be able to destroy a British soldier, and the casualties on both sides naturally increased the distance.

This situation is estimated to continue until the arrival of the Indian Colonial Corps, and then the two colonial empires came to a big PK.

The decision of senior officials of the two countries, Viscount Fickney is also informed that the rising number of casualties has shocked his colonial leader.

At this moment he admired the Russians a little bit, and was able to rely on his life to pile up. He just couldn't bear the casualties of the French and was forced to give up Constantinople.

It must be understood that the South African battlefield is filled with indigenous people, and the Russians use their own people as cannon fodder. This is not a concept at all.

As Christmas approaches, Cape Town remains still.After so many days of war, the Boer Republican Army only knocked out the British fortifications.

This is filled with tens of thousands of cannon fodder troops, continue to fight like this, the young and strong in South Africa is definitely not enough to fill.

Viktor Fickney said with some exhaustion: "Everyone knows the situation on the battlefield. I have already contacted the Congolese Governor. They promised to send 100,000 cannon fodder in the near future. The East African Governorate also agreed to send 50,000.

Farther west Africa, there is no need to count, there are not many indigenous people there, the distance is too far, and it takes too long.

Not to mention the South African region, with the exception of the indigenous tribes in the deep forests and old forests, the rest were conscripted and not much young.

It is not a way to continue to consume so much. Even if we have exhausted the hundreds of thousands of cannon fodders in our hands, and then defeated the cannon fodder troops in various places, we may not be able to conquer Cape Town.

The plan to conquer Cape Town before Christmas is now bankrupt, and the British reinforcements will arrive shortly.

At this time we need new tactics, at least to reduce the casualties of the offensive troops, otherwise it will be difficult to kill the British."

The main force's frontal attack had too many losses, and Viscount Fickney could not afford this loss, so he chose the tactics of using cannon fodder to fight attrition.

No matter how disparity the exchange ratio is, the besieged Britons will suffer.Once the loss exceeds the tolerance limit, the British will admit defeat.

Of course, this is the most ideal state. With the importance of the Cape of Good Hope, the British cannot easily stop.The war is about money and food, and if it lasts too long, Austria cannot afford it either.

Chief of Staff Jacobs thought for a while and said: "The solution is not without it, but it is used now, and it will be difficult to play a role in the future. It is impossible to end this war before Christmas."

Blind attacking is the most stupid way to do it at the beginning. That is because the logistics didn't keep up. The army had little food and couldn't keep up so many cannon fodders, so it could only be sent for consumption.

Over time, the logistical problems have been gradually resolved, and the number of cannon fodder units has plummeted, and there is no need to continue to die.

After all, there is still much need for cannon fodder in the back, and even if the British defense is torn apart, a lot of human life is required to fill up.

Viscount Fickney shook his head and said: "Don't worry about so much, just use it first. When the British reinforcements arrive, we start the second set of plans.

The British have supplemented by maritime transportation channels. This kind of tough battle has lost too much, and the chance of conquering Cape Town is already small.

In the last few days, even if the main force is pulled up, it is impossible to end the war before Christmas."

It ’s not that Fickney Viscount was reluctant to suffer casualties, mainly because the main force was limited in number and could not afford to lose.In case of heavy losses, even if the line of defense is torn, it may be pushed back by the British.

Otherwise, there is a firepower advantage that suppresses the firepower of the British. It is estimated that even the cannon fodder can't even touch the british hair.

Jacob nodded and said, "Then dig trenches to get as close as possible, and then dig tunnels to blow up enemy fortifications.

The British never thought that there would be enemies in the inland areas. Most of these fortifications were built temporarily. As long as the foundation was loosened, ordinary artillery could be solved."

In fact, it can also be attacked directly with artillery, except that heavy artillery is required.The number of heavy artillery in the army of the Republic of Boer is limited, and it is impossible to take account of it while suppressing the enemy's firepower.

This is an inadequate estimate in advance. It is assumed that the cement in the Cape Town area is limited, a large number of reinforced concrete fortresses cannot be constructed in a short time, and the number of heavy artillery prepared is not enough.

The Viscount Fickney wanted to end the war before Christmas, which was based on the premise that the British did not build a modern fortress, and did not expect that the old fox of Delphi was prepared in advance.

Having just rushed to the gate of Cape Town, they were greeted by rows of temporarily built bunker fortresses.Although it was not perfect, it also shattered the dream of Viscount Fickney's quick decision.

Now the combat objectives have changed, and Viscount Fickney no longer dreams of ending the war before Christmas, but consumes as much of his troops as possible before the arrival of British reinforcements.

In order to implement the second set of plans to lure the enemy deeper, change the battlefield and then conduct a decisive battle.

The biggest problem with the second set of plans is that the British must dare to come out, otherwise, it would be useless to deploy more.

This requires enough reinforcements from the British to bring enough confidence to the Governor of Delphi, and it is only possible for this bird of surprise.

The pressure is now on for the British in the city to ask the London government for reinforcements.The more reinforcements there are, the more likely the British will be in the middle.

The question of whether there are too many enemies and choking will not be considered by Viscount Fickney at all.

The British can increase their troops, as can Austria.On the African continent, the British have little chance of winning.

Viscount Fickney made the decision without hesitation: "Then try it first and see the effect."

...

Perhaps God does not like war. South Africa is particularly hot this summer.The sun is like a fireball, the ground is scorching, the air is sultry, the ground is hot and hot, people feel hot feet when walking on the ground.

The hot summer day brought great trouble to the siege army.If it wasn't for the wind blowing from time to time to bring a trace of coolness, I don't know how many people will get heat stroke in the hot sun.

Major Hanks, who was commanding the troops, reached out and wiped the sweat from his forehead, cursing helplessly, "This damn ghost weather."

The roaring artillery sounded again. This was a signal of attack. Without any hesitation, Major Hanks immediately urged: "Give me up now, you gangs should get together."

While talking and kicking at the same time, not only Major Hanks but also some black officers acted at the same time.

About a quarter of an hour passed, and this team of Ugly people gathered.It took another quarter of an hour to work. With the help of the black officers, Major Hanks barely sent the force to the battlefield.

Major Hanks is desperate for this cannon fodder.Anyone who is a little more motivated is an officer. The officer's role is to assist in the management of this cannon fodder unit, and there is no need to personally charge into the formation.

War is the best teacher. After experiencing the baptism of blood and fire, Major Hanks has completed the transformation.

At the beginning, he also planned to train this cannon fodder to serve as the main auxiliary corps.

After all, an untrained cannon fodder has too little combat power to take on real combat missions. The army of the Republic of Boer also needs an auxiliary corps with a certain combat effectiveness, perhaps advanced cannon fodder.

Facts have proved that Hanks is not a military god, and has no power to turn decay into magic.After two months of trying, he was forced to give up his original fantasy.

Since there is no training value, it can only be sent as a primary cannon fodder.Every day, an ordinary offense is launched, if it dies, it will be over a hundred, and it will continue to repeat this unskilled work alive.

As long as an Englishman is killed, he can be upgraded to an officer, provided that he can come back alive and bring back as evidence of war.

Such lucky people are only a few, most of them fell on the road of charge, and some of them fell on the battlefield while killing the British.

After a delay of more than half an hour, this unit with no future launched an offensive against the enemy under the deterrence of the War Corps.

The scene of flesh and blood is no longer able to make Major Hanks impressed, and now he only cares about one thing, that is to estimate the results.

In the end, in blood and fire, I do not know how many young Austrian officers have been baptized and have grown up.