Holy Roman Empire

The value of the air show is not only appreciation, but also the czarist government showing off its force to the outside world.It doesn't matter where the planes came from, they are there.

In a sense, being able to buy an airplane is also a manifestation of strength.You know, more countries want to buy it but cannot buy it.

Perhaps deliberately or unintentionally, during the flight show, Alexander III also invited envoys of European countries to participate, including French envoys.

According to European practice, the ally of an ally is not necessarily an ally, and the enemy of an ally is also not necessarily an enemy.

Both the Franco-Austrian War and the Anglo-Russian War were separate copies of the war and did not interfere with each other.

So when the European War was fierce, France and Russia still maintained normal diplomatic relations.

After confirming that the Russians were equipped with airplanes, the French minister immediately became concerned.Since Paris was bombed, the French government has been worried about aircraft manufacturing technology.

Facts have proved that exploring on your own is not so simple.Without technical experts in the aircraft field, the French government can only recruit a few private enthusiasts and form a grass platform R&D team with a group of mechanical engineers.

It doesn't matter if the results are not mentioned, or industrial production is not possible, the key is that the aircraft built in the laboratory are still in the primitive stage, there is no return.

It takes a lot of time to experiment and explore if you want to simply realize the free round trip and landing. Anyway, the French army on the front can't wait.

As far as Minister Albon knew, in order to develop aircraft manufacturing technology as soon as possible, the government did not hesitate to bow to the British for cooperation.

Then there is no more.Although Britain’s industrial strength is stronger, in the field of aircraft manufacturing, like France, everyone is a layman, and there is no single aircraft manufacturer in the country.

Now is undoubtedly an opportunity to obtain aircraft manufacturing technology from Austria, the same from the Russians.

Of course, the Russians do not have aircraft production technology, but they have ready-made aircraft!

Independent research and development requires a lot of time, and samples can be referenced and imitated, which will undoubtedly save a lot of time.

Regardless of the arrogance of European countries, in fact, most of the European industrial powers started from cottages, including France.

Plagiarism and imitation, Minister Albon has no pressure.The only problem is how to get the plane from the Russians.

...

"Your Excellency, this business is too tricky, it is beyond my ability."

After speaking, the middle-aged man pushed the check back.From the look in his eyes, it can be ascertained that the middle-aged man was full of deep reluctance, and he did not want to give up this check.

But there is no way, and the French are not easy to mess with. If you don't do anything if you charge money, you will leave yourself endless trouble.

"Your Excellency, you are too modest. Who doesn't know your name, there is nothing you can't do in St. Petersburg.

A trivial matter, you only need to..."

Flattery, endless flattery.In order to achieve his goal, Minister Albon also gave up the bottom line.

After speaking, Minister Albon pushed the check back and took out a blank check and put it on it.

The meaning is very obvious, as long as the target can be reached, the price will be opened.

Seeing this scene, the Duke of Olmedo's position was shaken again.Although cooperating with the French may offend the Austrians, but the French can't stand the high bids!

Although there are many people looking for him to do business, it was the first time that he received a check that he filled in casually.

After hesitating for a while, Duke Olmedo shook his head again: "Your Excellency, it's not that I don't help.

The problem now is that the Austrians are keeping an eye on them, and the people who are in charge of the maintenance of the aircraft are all Austrians. We cannot send the aircraft out of Russia under their noses.

You know Austria’s influence in Russia. Once they discover problems, the government will inevitably give them an explanation."

Although money is good, life is more important.

In normal times, a weapon is stolen from the barracks. Olmedo has a way, whether it is scrapped or retired.

But not now, the Austrians are staring too closely.In case the Austrians seized the handle, the tsarist government will definitely give Austria an explanation for the relationship between the two countries.

In this context, no matter how powerful the network is, it can't stand up.Olmedo didn't live enough and didn't want to die.

Rejected again, Minister Albon's face sank.With years of life experience, he could see that the Russian duke in front of him was not trying to raise the price, but really did not dare.

After contemplating for a while, the Minister of Arbon asked unwillingly: "Your Excellency, the people who are responsible for the maintenance are all Austrians. This situation will definitely not continue, right?

The Duke of Olmedo nodded: "Of course, we have arranged for technicians to go in and study. It won't be long before the logistics maintenance will be done by our own people.

If your minister can wait, after two or three years, you should be able to do so."

After waiting for two or three years, the day lily is cold.After such a long period of time, France's own research and development should produce results, and there is no need to spend a lot of money.

Albon asked unwillingly: "Don't your country want to copy? We can send engineers to help, decipher the technology, our two countries can share, and..."

Before Albon could finish speaking, Olmedo interrupted: "Why counterfeit? What good is this for us?"

It sounds nonsensical, but this is the truth.At the beginning, after importing Olympic equipment, the Tsarist government was also keen to introduce technology and imitate it.

However, in the face of high production costs, the Tsarist government had to accept the idea of ​​“buying is worse than making”.

Ordinary weapons and equipment are even so, not to mention aircraft.With the industrial strength of the Russian Empire, even if they can decipher the technology, they cannot achieve industrial production.

...

In the face of the ruble, Olmedo finally agreed to arrange a few French engineers to join the logistics maintenance staff.

How much can be learned secretly, it depends on the luck of the French, anyway, the Duke of Olmedo is not optimistic about the French.

Logistic maintenance and aircraft manufacturing are completely two concepts. When it is impossible to thoroughly study the internal structure of the aircraft, there is no other way than to invest a lot of time and money in experiments to deduce aircraft manufacturing technology.

Fortunately, the money invested, there will always be crowding, and the key to the problem is time.Rolling out aircraft manufacturing technology in one or two months is completely different from spending one or two years to develop aircraft manufacturing technology.

...

Snow fluttered down, and the banks of the Rhine were covered in silver.With the silence of the guns and guns, there is no smoke from the past, and it looks particularly pleasant under the soft sun.

It was another Christmas, and Marshal Patrice McMahon couldn't be happy as the soldiers celebrated with laughter.

At the beginning of the Rhine offensive and defensive war, there were only 300,000 Austrians on the opposite side, and the rest were remnants of defeated soldiers from the two countries.

After a long time, the total strength of the Austrian army exceeded 800,000. With the addition of the troops of the two countries, the disadvantage of the anti-French alliance is not obvious.

If the current situation continues, perhaps next month, the force ratio of the two sides will be reversed.At that time, the offensive and defensive momentum of the two sides will be transposed.

There is no way to fight for manpower, financial resources, materials, and industry. France is not an opponent of the anti-French alliance.

The only advantage is that the French army is the most prestigious, supported by past records, and has a psychological advantage when facing the enemy.

It's a pity that all of this was broken by the Austrians in the Battle of the Rhine not long ago.

The French army did not continue the myth of always winning and undefeated. The so-called superiority in combat power has now become a dream.

Frankly speaking, Patrice McMahon did not want to stop the war on Christmas, because it would buy a day for the enemy and further increase the difficulty of breaking through the Rhine line.

"Marshal, the Christmas party will begin in half an hour."

The guard on the side reminded.

This is the tradition of the French army, no matter when, banquet activities are indispensable, not to mention Christmas.

Originally, Patrice McMahon was going back to Paris to attend the banquet held at the Palace of Versailles, but he stayed on the front line because the road was blocked by the heavy snow last night and the trip was delayed.

Since staying here, as the leader of the front line, Patrice McMahon is naturally obligated to host the Christmas banquet, by the way to boost the morale of the army.

"I see, I will attend on time!"

After finishing speaking, Marshal Patrice McMahon closed his eyes and became refreshed.Hosting a banquet also requires physical exertion, which is also a burden for the elderly Patrice McMahon.

...

The French army is celebrating, and the coalition forces are similar.In addition to retaining the necessary personnel on duty, most of the officers and soldiers are celebrating this special Christmas.

Unlike the French army, Grand Duke Albrecht, the commander of the coalition forces, was absent, and the protagonist of the banquet became King Leopold II of Belgium.

In the command headquarters, Albrecht looked at the latest battlefield map fairly, and several high-ranking Austrian officers who were absent from the banquet were in front of him.

Soldiers are very fast on the battlefield. Although you can't attack on Christmas, it doesn't mean you can't do anything at Christmas.

"I just arrived at the armored unit. Have you settled it?"

Undoubtedly, the major event that caused the Austrian military's high-level collective to absent from the banquet was the armored unit that had just arrived.

The movement of the armored forces is not small, and it is impossible to avoid the eyes of the French in normal times.Christmas can be regarded as the only opportunity.

In order to hide their deeds, the Austrian army also carried out a series of camouflage.

For example, the number of cars on the front line has been increased, and occasionally they have deliberately made noises to numb French ears.

In order to reduce the risk of exposure, the armored forces did not drive over directly, but were transported directly to the front line by diverting the waterway.

A middle-aged officer replied loudly: "Marshal, please rest assured that the armored units have been scattered and arranged in several camps prepared in advance. I personally went to check them.

The location of the camp is relatively remote, and the troops patrolling the surrounding area have been replaced by ours a week ago.

There are also car transport troops nearby as cover, as long as they don’t get in close contact, most people will not find it."

Fortunately, the French airship force was killed. Otherwise, it would be really difficult to hide an armored force.

Although the armored forces are almost invincible in these years, if they are exposed in advance, the French will be prepared and it will be difficult to do their best.

It is difficult and difficult to deal with armored forces, simple and simple.As long as a few more pits are dug on the path of the armored forces, the speed of the armored forces can be retarded.

An armored unit that has lost its speed is actually a powerful army, and it is difficult to play a strategic role.

Receiving a positive answer, Grand Duke Albrecht nodded and added: "Secrecy must be done well. It is declared that these camps are arsenals and no unrelated personnel are allowed to approach them.

For the sake of safety, it is not necessary to notify the two countries of the arrival of the armored forces.

Our strategic goal this time is to leave most of the main force of the French army, and to maximize the destruction of France's vital forces.

It is not easy to do this.So we must take advantage of the armored forces to beat the French by surprise.

If the French were to react and shrink the main force back to the country, this war would be difficult to fight."

This is a fact, it is much easier to fight the French on the Rhine than it is to fight them on the French mainland.

Among other things, it will be much easier to catch the defeated soldiers after winning the war.The German people would not cover the way of the French soldiers, but they were greeted by the encirclement of the People's War.

An older officer said in confusion: "Marshal, are the armored units really that powerful?

With just over two hundred tanks and over seven hundred armored vehicles, I want to severely damage the main force of the French army. I'm afraid some..."

There is no way, the armored forces are subject to the strictest secrecy, even among the top ranks of the Austrian army, they are "only heard by the name, but not visible."

Except for a few officers who have watched armored military exercises, no one knows how powerful the steel torrent is.

Grand Duke Albrecht knew that this was not just a question from one person. Most of the people present doubted whether the armored forces could severely damage the French army.

After all, the total strength of the French army on the opposite side is about to exceed two million.Just such a small amount of armored troops, scattered among the vast crowd, is really not enough.

"Fredrich, you are the commander of the armored force, now it is up to you to explain to everyone the combat method of the armored force!"

Nepotism is indispensable everywhere, and the Austrian army is no exception.The Habsburg family is the biggest household.

Including the rise of Grand Duke Albrecht, he also took advantage of this relationship. Otherwise, he would not have been so easy. After the death of Marshal Radsky, he would become the first member of the Austrian army.

To his nephew and heir to political resources, Grand Duke Albrecht never concealed his intention to support him.

Of course, the most important thing is that Frederick can make it.There are also many members of the Habsburg family, and if there is no ability, Albrecht will not be able to support.

In essence, the purpose of supporting Friedrich is to strengthen the royal family's control over the military.

This political and military pattern has lasted for hundreds of years and is one of the important means to protect imperial power.

For details, please refer to the period of Ferdinand I. The emperor was unable to govern for decades, and the imperial power of the Vienna Palace did not decline.

It is also the reason why Franz was able to quickly control the situation after he took office.From beginning to end, the army did not break away from the control of the royal family.

...