Holy Roman Empire

Page 544

After a cold drink, Grand Duke Albrecht said expressionlessly: "Got it!

The order was passed down, ordering the engineering corps to rush to work immediately and complete the airport construction in the shortest time. "

……

Colonel Lane was shocked and said: "What, let us repair the space for the airship? Major, are you mistaken? We are not engineers."

The young officer explained helplessly: "I'm sorry, Colonel Ryan. We don't have enough engineers, and we can't recruit enough civilians in a short period of time. Now you are the only ones who have no missions."

The vanguard of Austria is naturally the main force, and there are only a handful of engineers. Most of these people are junior engineers trained in batches, mainly to solve airport and road traffic problems.

Originally, the labor issue had already been coordinated, and the German Federation provided civilian labor.However, the Luxembourg defense line suddenly collapsed, not only losing a large number of troops, but also a large number of civilians.

Most of these civilian husbands are young and strong laborers drawn from the local area. If they want to continue recruiting civilian husbands, they must have enough young and strong locals.

Finally, the glorious and great task of repairing the airport fell on the Bremen Army that had just completed its reorganization.

Not surprisingly, the Bremen Army had only one battalion. Colonel Ryan, who had the highest military rank and had combat experience, became the battalion commander without hesitation.

The order has been issued, and whether he wants it or not, Colonel Lane must accept the reality of becoming an engineer.

Not only the Bremen Legion, but also the troops that were reorganized later were converted into engineers one after another, road repairers repairing roads, and trench digging trenches.

Combat missions?

Grand Duke Albrecht said that he was not crazy yet, and he was very aware of how rubbish the combat effectiveness of this improvised motley crew was.

Not only is there no morale in the army, but even the training of soldiers is seriously insufficient.What's more troublesome is that many officers are the children of nobles who were temporarily recruited.

It is true that nobles in Germany have a tradition of serving in the army, but this does not mean that all noble children are qualified officers.

Not all states have military academies, and not all children of nobles have attended military schools. Many children of nobles have only received military education at home, and various combat experiences and concepts have remained in the last century.

Sending such an army to the battlefield can not be counted on except to increase the enemy's record.

You can cheat your teammates, but not your own people.Since these guys are willing to accept the reorganization, it means that they recognize Austria.

These people are the link between the future Austrian rule of North Germany.In order to strengthen ties with the local area, Grand Duke Albrecht could not let these noble children die in large numbers.

……

At this moment, Colonel Lane, who knows nothing, is sweating for the construction of the airport with his troops.

Looking at the large area of ​​hardened land, Colonel Lane said with great regret: "Captain Henry, it is not necessary to harden it all, it is too extravagant."

Concrete is not cheap these days, and the cost of hardening tens of hectares of land at one time is not a small sum.

Captain Henry shook his head: "It's in a hurry, in fact, the construction of this airport is not qualified at all.

However, this is also temporary, and it will be used first, and there will be reconstruction later. "

This is a fact, the airport is not finished by building a dam.It's okay to stop for a while.

"Airport, what's that? Didn't it mean repairing the grounds for the airship?"

Colonel Lane asked suspiciously.

It's not that he is ignorant, there are not many people who know about airplanes these days, and even fewer people know about airports.

Realizing the gaffe, Captain Henry replied coldly: "Colonel, you should have memorized the army's secrecy regulations, and don't ask what you shouldn't ask."

Whether "airport" belongs to the category of secrecy, Captain Henry is not sure about this issue.Anyway, no password was issued from above, and Colonel Lane was not informed of the news either.

In the case of confusion, Captain Henry would naturally not explain.As for the difference in military rank between the two sides, that's not a problem.

Didn't you see that the airport is under construction, are the captains directing the colonels?

In other places, this kind of thing is absolutely impossible, but in the field of technology, this kind of thing is commonplace.

Professional things are done by professionals, which is a major feature of the Austrian army, so the highest person in charge of airport construction is Captain Henry with rich construction experience.

After being bored, Colonel Lane turned his head directly and urged the soldiers to work, ignoring the rigid engineer.

……

Chapter 1 Seventy: The Battle of the Veterans

"Marshal, when will you hand over the broken soldiers you gathered to us?"

The German Federation, which was belatedly aware of it, still realized the issue of command authority, and General Adrian, who was not in charge of the contact, came to the door in a hurry.

Grand Duke Albrecht shook his head, pretending to be surprised and asked: "Hand over what? Don't I, the coalition headquarters, have the authority to command these troops?"

How much power the commander-in-chief of the coalition forces has is another unsolved mystery in the world.

Bee and Germany were forced to join the anti-French alliance, and they had no confidence to compete with Austria for dominance, and there was no clear agreement on the authority of the coalition command.

Theoretically, the power without specific agreement can be infinitely magnified.For example, now, Grand Duke Albrecht has incorporated the rout in the name of the coalition command.

Admiral Adrian tried hard to explain: "But the marshal..."

Before he could finish speaking, Grand Duke Albrecht interrupted: "No but, my admiral.

Your Excellency is well aware of how dangerous the situation on the battlefield is now.If the command is not unified at this time, do you think it is possible for us to hold the Rhine defense line?

The troops on the front line are insufficient. I have reorganized the gathered rout troops, and they are now engaged in battle, and cannot be mobilized in a short time.

To transfer the command of these troops, wait until after the war is over.You can rest assured, I won't hold on to you forever! "

Don't worry, how can you relax?

Admiral Adrian came to the door just because he was worried.In fact, the defeat on the front line was also an opportunity for the German Federal Central Government.

If the opportunity is seized and the command of the armies of various states is seized, this loose alliance will not be far from true unification.

It cannot be blamed for the slow response of the German generals on the front lines. Unlike the coalition headquarters with vaguely defined powers, the power of the German frontline headquarters was stipulated early.

Each state has independent command power, and the German command is composed of representatives sent by each state. The commander-in-chief appointed by the central government is essentially just a relationship coordinator.

The internal relations of the headquarters have not been straightened out, and the reaction is a step slower, which is also logical.

When George I decided to take the opportunity to seize power, Grand Duke Albrecht had already used the name of the coalition command to incorporate the German troops who had withdrawn from the front line.

Due to inconvenient communication, after the defeat on the front line, many frontline troops lost contact with the German command.

The officers and soldiers below don't know about the disputes at the top.Anyway, the existence of the coalition headquarters is well known to everyone, and grassroots officers and soldiers are used to obeying orders from their superiors.

In a panic, they received an order from the coalition headquarters, and most of them accepted the order.

Not only the stragglers were recruited, but the German troops who retreated from the front line were also recruited by Grand Duke Albrecht in the name of the Allied Command, including many Hannover troops.

By this time, Grand Duke Albrecht has essentially controlled most of the German troops on the front line.

If it hadn't been considered that the subsequent battle would require the cooperation of the German Federation, Grand Duke Albrecht would have gone too far, for example: forcibly taking over the command of all German troops on the front line.

Admiral Adrian bit the bullet and argued: "Marshal, the unified command of the coalition headquarters can be achieved through the alliance of the three countries. There is no need to directly command the frontline troops."

It's not that Adrian Adrian is not eloquent, it's that the relationship between Germany and Austria is too complicated, and now the German Federation has to rely on Austria to protect its own security, so he can't say a lot.

Other international alliances can also use different cultural customs and language barriers as excuses to demand independent command.

The anti-French alliance is no good, and linguists may not be able to figure out the difference between German and Austrian. Anyway, the three languages ​​of Germany and Austria can be used in common, and there is no communication barrier.

The excuse of panacea cannot be used, and words that hurt feelings cannot be said. Admiral Adrian will naturally feel uncomfortable.

Grand Duke Albrecht waved his hand and said in a moderate tone: "Okay, General. You and I are both soldiers, so we can just consider issues from a military point of view. For political issues, let the government communicate!

The most important thing now is to win this war. The immediate priority is to defend the Rhine defense line, otherwise the hinterland of Germany will become a battlefield.

What this means, you should understand.The ambitions of the French are endless, and by this time, no one can stand alone. "

This is persuasion, but also a warning.Once the French army tore through the Rhine defense line, Austria was fine, but the German Federation was the second Belgium, including the northern states.

The matter has come to this point, Austria holds the command of the army, and Adrian Adrian is powerless.

You can't encourage soldiers to mutiny, can you?If there was a commotion on the front line and the French seized the opportunity to tear through the Rhine defense line, they would really shoot themselves in the foot.

With the lessons learned from the collapse of the Luxembourg defense line, Admiral Adrian had to learn from it that the German Federation could no longer afford to lose.

……

The small episode that happened in the headquarters did not affect the progress of the anti-French war.

After occupying the Luxembourg area, the French army did not stop and continued to march towards the German area, not far from the Rhine defense line.

Frankly speaking, sticking to the west bank of the Rhine is not the best military choice, and it is far better to withdraw to the east bank and rely on the natural danger of the Rhine to build a defense line.

However, the military needs to serve politics. Shrinking the defense line to the east coast means that the anti-French alliance has admitted its previous military failures and abandoned Belgium and the Rhineland.

It is impossible to admit defeat. The anti-French war was not only about defeating the French, but also accompanied by the attribution of European hegemony.

Austria must show its prestige on the battlefield, rather than make people feel that it was a fluke victory.

There are no natural dangers to rely on, and the coalition forces still have trenches.This stuff flourished in the Prussian-Russian War and is now widely accepted by the European world.

Grand Duke Albrecht did not dare to underestimate the French army. He dug trenches one after another, making it clear that he would use positional warfare to consume the strength of the French army.

In order to win this war, the French government also worked hard. Napoleon IV did not hesitate to invite the veteran Marshal Patrice McMahon.

Patrice McMahon and Archduke Albrecht were contemporaries, long established veterans.This anti-French war is also the pinnacle duel of two famous European generals.

……

After staring at the map for a while at the French Army Command, Marshal Patrice McMahon said slowly:

"Albrecht is famous for being good at attacking. He didn't expect to play the tortoise tactic now. It seems that the previous battle has had a great impact on him.

Austria has placed its strategic focus on Africa. Now that the Suez Canal has been blocked, the British are taking advantage of the fire again, and the domestic supply of materials has begun to be tight.

Next, our enemy is not only the anti-French alliance, but also time.If the enemy's Rhine defense line cannot be torn apart as soon as possible, then..."

Everyone's expression froze, and the triumphant expression no longer existed.Everyone is smart and knows that the old marshal is beating them.

The shortage of materials is certainly a problem, but this problem is more reflected in finances.Although the impact of this continental war in Europe was great, it did not affect the whole world.

Without the Suez Canal, there is still the Cape of Good Hope to go.Moreover, the American route is still unimpeded, and Austria can only intercept part of the sea.

Even if it is more dangerous for French merchant ships to go to sea, there are ships from other neutral countries available, but the cost is higher.

The shortage of materials is only temporary, and the market will adjust itself.As long as you have money these days, you don't have to worry about not being able to buy supplies.

Before the financial collapse of France, everyone didn't have to worry about being hungry.

"Marshal, the Austrian government chose the wrong person this time. Albrecht is best at attacking, and it can be seen now that even the defense is preparing for the attack.

But now the Anti-French Alliance is at a disadvantage, and there is no danger on the west bank of the Rhine. It is a joke to try to block us with only a few trenches.

If the enemy withdraws their troops to the east bank and relies on the Rhine for defense, we really have nothing to do with them in a short time. "

Patrice McMahon frowned: "Oudino, you still haven't changed your pride.

Albrecht is good at attacking. It is because he is famous for attacking that everyone thinks so. It does not mean that he cannot play defensive battles.

Judging from the deployment of the enemy's troops, this is a tortoise shell. Although this tortoise was injured in the front, its defensive power should not be underestimated.

But you are right about one thing, the troops of Beetle and Germany have lost their morale, and Albrecht does not have enough troops in his hands. It is a failure to stick to the west bank of the Rhine.

Now we need to race against time, as long as the Rhine defense line is torn apart before the arrival of Austrian reinforcements, the dominance of the war will fall into our hands. "

That's right, Oudino is the guy who led the expedition to attack Mexico in the original time and space.

It's just that his luck was much better than in history. He was slightly injured in an accident, and was transferred back to China to recuperate. The next one assumed the responsibility for the defeat of the war.

After being blamed, Udino was not annoyed, and said without changing his face: "Marshal, the troops are ready for battle and can launch an attack at any time.

Now the morale of the officers and soldiers is high, and everyone is still waiting to break through Vienna and capture Franz! "

In fact, the original battle plan of the French army was only to seize the territory west of the Rhine.After tearing through the Rhine defense line, the first phase of the French army's combat mission was completed.

As for breaking Vienna and capturing Franz, that was just a slogan.

European countries are not fools, and they will not watch France fight all the way to Vienna.It is estimated that the French army is still on the way to Vienna, and the British will cut off their supplies.

Unlike Austria, which is not afraid of blockade, France cannot do without the support of foreign materials, even with North Africa.

Chapter 171 The Beginning of the Disaster

The roaring artillery fire sounded, and the French army who had just arrived at the front line was taught a lesson by the anti-French alliance with artillery.

A shell fell from the sky and landed less than 100 meters from the French Army's front-line headquarters. The scattered shrapnel took away three officers who came to the meeting.

Among them was Major General Anduin Wrynn, the commander of the Ninth Division of the French Army, who was also the highest-ranked officer of the French Army since the outbreak of the war.

After receiving this bad news, Admiral Udino, who successfully captured the enemy's former commander, had a gloomy and terrifying face.