Holy Roman Empire

The battle continued, the sun's rays had fallen sparsely, reflecting the blood-red surface of the river, and the atmosphere looked strange, like a hell river.

The raft crossing the river has been lost in the previous battles, and the enemy's position is still as stable as Mount Tai.

Even if a small group of troops completed the task of crossing the river, they were defeated by the stubborn resistance of the French army and forced to return.

This is not a deserter.According to European cultural tradition, soldiers who have run out of ammunition can surrender, and the Austrian army is no exception.

The soldiers who participated in the sneak attack had all been trained in swimming, and a Suez Canal could not stop everyone.

Besides, there are also rafts scattered and destroyed by artillery shells, just as a tool for escape, naturally there is no need to surrender.

However, the return journey was not all smooth sailing. From time to time, French soldiers shot at the river.Fortunately this year, the French army did not have large-scale machine guns, or there was no chance to withdraw.

Putting down the telescope in his hand, Colonel Boardman put aside the last fluke, his face became vicious, as if he was engaged in a fierce psychological struggle.

"Order the artillery, adjust the muzzle to aim at the opposite river bank, and replace it with solid bullets to attack!"

For the safety of the canal, from the beginning of the battle to the present, both France and Austria have been using open rounds, and occasionally solid rounds were used towards the opposite fortress.

The chief of staff on the side reminded: "Colonel, breaking the embankment on the opposite side will block the canal, then..."

Colonel Boardman waved his hand and interrupted: "That's wrong, we are only attacking the enemy's fortress. The damage to the river embankment was caused by the French deliberately blowing up before they fled."

This reason is very far-fetched, but Colonel Boardman can't take care of that much, anyway, something is better than nothing.If the headquarters can't make up their minds, let him make up their minds for the headquarters.

Political issues are not something that a colonel should consider. From a military standpoint, Colonel Boardman's order is completely correct.

As for the follow-up question, it is necessary to test the diplomatic ability of the Austrian government and how thick the government is.

After struggling for a while, the chief of staff chose to compromise.The same order, issued by different people, has completely different political influences.

"Will be out, Jun Ming is not affected."

It's not just empty talk, it also applies in Austria.Moreover, the emperor has not issued an order prohibiting the destruction of the canal. It was the Austrian government that requested the protection of the Suez Canal.

The theater command is a special organization in wartime. During the war, the military and political power on the front line was grasped. As the commander, Admiral Feslav naturally had to fully consider the issue and the government's requirements.

But the middle ranks of the army like Colonel Boardman are different. They are just loyal to the emperor and do not need to be responsible to the government.

No matter how upset the government is, it cannot bypass the emperor and directly intervene in the army.

As long as the war is won, the government can only hold back its opinions. No one in Austria can target the heroes on the battlefield for no reason.

The real risk is losing on the battlefield.

However, the enemy on the opposite side gave Colonel Boardman confidence that more than half of the defenders were natives. If this was not won, then he would have no face to get in the army.

...

As a new round of bombing began, the embankment on the opposite side gradually began to collapse under the fierce bombardment.

When the headquarters received the news, it was done. In fact, there was no choice but to bite the bullet and go down.

For this kind of ending, Admiral Feslav wanted to cry without tears. Just an hour ago, he had just sent a generator to ask the emperor whether to fill in a passage, and it happened immediately.

It was too late to withdraw. Emergency calls from the front lines were delivered as soon as possible. Now Feslav bit the bullet and sent another telegram to explain.

As for whether the instigator, Colonel Boardman, was a hero or a sinner, the question still depends on the development of the battle. Feslav has no intention of holding accountable.

Without any hesitation, Admiral Feslav made a decision: "Order the troops on the front line to stop being frightened and let me go.

Now I have only one request, to cross the river in the shortest possible time and defeat the French on the opposite side, all according to the Suez Canal."

Soldiers want to have a hard waist, but they still have to talk about their record.As long as the battle is won, these problems can only be regarded as the dust of the past.

...

In Vienna Palace, looking at the two completely different telegrams in his hands, Franz didn't know whether he should praise Admiral Feslav for his obedient or criticize him.

After thinking about it, Franz still thinks that the high-level generals on the front line should be a little more obedient. After all, you can use it with ease!

As for the self-assertive Colonel Boardman, that is not even a problem.As a pure soldier, only considering issues from the military, this is exactly what Franz wanted.

He would rather help these simple guys to deal with the aftermath, rather than turning frontline generals into politicians who look forward to the future, the latter means disaster.

Before Franz called back, everyone in the cabinet came to the door. You can tell from their faces that everyone is in a very bad mood.

It's right to think about it. The international political advantage that has been painstakingly created is now completely disrupted, and it will be uncomfortable to put it on anyone.

"Your Majesty, what happened in the Middle East theater..."

Before Wesenberg finished speaking, Franz interrupted: "Well, I already know about the Suez Canal.

At this point, these are useless, even if it is to be held accountable, it is a post-war matter.

It's a matter of urgency, everyone should think of a way later!The French are not terrible. With the Paris masters dragging their feet, even if someone in the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs finds a problem and wants to take the opportunity to do things, they will be bad things.

The trouble is the British. Don’t forget that not long ago, they were still agitating the European countries and wanting to unite countries to attack the Suez Canal.

Interests move people's hearts, the fat of the Suez Canal, everyone has long coveted.

It's just that the Suez Canal has always been controlled by us and the French, and countries have to bear their ambitions.

With this happening now, the British people's reasons for requesting international co-management are even stronger, and then it is not known how many countries will be moved by the British."

Changing the subject, Franz has learned the basic skills during his years as an emperor.Anyway, he is the emperor, and it is impossible for his subordinates not to give face, and cling to a question.

This is a time of war and internal conflicts must never erupt, so it is better to provoke external conflicts.

From the war until now, Franz can be regarded as seeing that no matter how powerful the butterfly effect is, it will not change this is a worse world.

Looking at the performance of the French, we know that they have created so many opportunities, and now they have not killed Belgium to the hinterland of the German region.

That being the case, it doesn't hurt to wrong the British again, anyway, they are still pk. with the Russians, even if they are off the court in person, it is impossible to abandon India to help the French.

Moreover, this is not necessarily wrong. In the style of John Bull, this kind of thing is almost inevitable.

Leaving the topic aside, the foreign minister who was originally angrily wanted to find bad luck in the Middle East theater had to calm down and think about countermeasures.

After a while, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Wesenberg said slowly: "Your Majesty, the British government has always been eyeing the Suez Canal, and most of them will not let go of this opportunity.

Judging from the current international situation, Belgium, Germany, Montenegro, and Greece are our allies, and they will certainly not respond to the call of the British.

Switzerland and the Netherlands are limited by their geographical location, and they should not stand in line until the outcome of the anti-French war is unknown.

The French wanted to monopolize the Suez Canal. Before the failure of the European War, the French government mostly opposed the international condominium of the canal.

In a short period of time, at best, the British have raised some public opinion, which causes us a little trouble, which is not enough to form an absolute advantage."

The international situation is still so chaotic, there are no absolute enemies or friends in the face of interests, and there are only common interests.

Russia and Austria are still allies, but on the Suez Canal issue, Weissenberg is not sure whether the tsarist government will support Austria. After all, it is impossible for the Vienna government to share the benefits of the canal with them.

On the contrary, the French who are at war, agree with Austria on this issue, and will definitely oppose the international condominium of the Suez Canal.

Prime Minister Carl: "As long as we can be dragged to defeat the French on the battlefield, none of this is a problem.

At that time, we can buy Spain and Switzerland with the interests of the French, plus the Italian states after independence and our current allies, the European continent is what we say.

However, before that, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs cannot relax its vigilance, especially since the war in Afghanistan has recently eased, and it must be more careful."

There is no way, there are no eternal friends in international politics, only eternal interests.There was no betrayal, it was simply because there were not enough chips to prompt the betrayal.

Now that Fao vie for European supremacy, the Austrian government has to be more vigilant, because there are enough chips on the gaming table.

Regardless of France, which is directly at war, Britain and Russia, who are qualified to fight for hegemony, are equally likely to jump out and pick peaches at a critical moment.

Just look at the military operations in Austria. In the African battlefields and the battle for the Suez Canal, no local troops were deployed in the past. The colonial troops were responsible for the implementation, or the troops mobilized from the African continent.

Of the more than three million troops that have been mobilized one after another, only the hundreds of thousands of troops on the southern front are really thrown into the battlefield. The remaining troops are still at home except for the reinforcement of the millions of troops in Central Europe.

It stands to reason that as long as these troops are sent out, the current combat needs can already be met.However, the follow-up mobilization work is still in progress.

Of course, there are concerns about the French overwhelming and losing the front line, but there are also factors of distrust of the Russians.

...

The government's decision has not affected the battle on the front line.There is no turning back when I open the bow.

It took too much time to fill the Suez Canal by shelling. In order to speed up, the front-line troops had to face the threat of enemy artillery to fill the river and build land.

Colonel Boardman frowned as he watched the black-smoky car hit by enemy artillery.

You must know that cars are rare objects. In addition to the large preparations of domestic main forces, overseas troops only have a small amount of equipment in the logistics department.

The garrison in the Middle East is fortunate, because it produces oil itself, Austria also has a refinery here, and the fuel supply is convenient, so each regiment has a car company.

However, this is limited to the pre-war period. Starting from the large army expansion, this good thing is over.

Newly produced military vehicles have to give priority to local troops, and few have been allocated to the Middle East theater.

Without any exception, the infantry division of Colonel Boardman was also expanded from a regiment before the war to a division.

Other weapons are available to open the warehouse, and the number of cars is still the original car company, mainly used to transport logistics materials.

Seeing these babies just fell on the battlefield, Colonel Boardman's heart was dripping with blood.

After hesitating for a long time, Colonel Boardman seemed to have made a difficult decision and said fiercely: "Order the car company to suspend operations and wait for the evening!"

There is no way, the goal of the car is a little too big, and on average, one car will die bravely after three or five runs.

As long as the victory can be won, no amount of loss is worth the car.The problem is that at the current rate, the car company will die before the Suez Canal is filled.

It is fine to wait for follow-up reinforcements, but the problem is that time has passed.At the same time, the troops that launched the reclamation operation were not only the division of Colonel Boardman, but the Austrian army attacked more.

Anyway, the defeat of the French army will also blow up the canal, and fill in a few more roads, which is not a big deal.

"Colonel, stop now and rely on animal transportation alone. I am afraid it will be difficult to complete the task first." The chief of staff reminded.

As the first unit to blow up the Suez Canal and initiate a river reclamation operation, if it fails to fill in a road in time for the army to cross the river, Colonel Boardman will really have no bright future.

"There is no way. The target of the car is too big to escape the enemy's artillery attack. The enemy has built perfect fortifications, and we cannot destroy their firepower points in a short time.

If we persist, our losses will be very large.Unlike these exiled criminals and laborers, the car company is a technical force. If the seeds are lost, there is no way to supplement it."

Thanks to Franz's grand green strategy, a large number of criminals are exiled to the Middle East every year, and these guys are naturally converted into labor when the war breaks out.

Labor is Austria's precious wealth, but once the word "criminal" is added, its value plummets instantly, from precious "wealth" to social "cancer".

...

The French army headquarters in Cairo, since the news of the Austrian army filling the river, Governor Jacob's mood has become worse.

Originally, he planned to seize the Sinai peninsula, occupying all of the Suez Canal, and establishing a magnificent military exploit for France.

It's a pity that the plan has not changed fast. As soon as he took action, the Austrian army on the African continent killed him. For a while, Egypt fell into an embarrassing situation of all enemies.

Facing the enemy like a wolf and a tiger, the troops on the border could not resist, Governor Jacob had to shrink the defense line while drawing reinforcements to the front line.

It became inevitable to draw troops to the front line of the canal.After all, a major turmoil broke out in Egypt a few years ago, and the population loss was serious. Even if Governor Jacob wanted to be aggressive, he did not have enough youth.

Originally, Governor Jacob also hoped that the Austrian army would be afraid of international pressure and would not dare to easily destroy the so-called "eternally neutral Suez Canal."

As long as it lasts for a few months and waits for the home country to decide the victory or defeat, the Egyptian region won.

It is a pity that the deterrence of the tiger skin of "international pressure" is too low. After a few days of delay, it was pierced.

Bad heart, bad heart, Governor Jacob still has some confidence in the canal defense line he runs. Even if he can't defeat the enemy, he won't be able to break through in a short time.

"Order the troops on the front line of the canal to rely on the fortifications to defend on the spot, hit the enemy head-on, and hit the French army..."