Chapter 10 Reactions of various countries
As the war progressed, the battlefield began to become bloody. After Prussia began its first performance, the Austrian Empire also began to show the strength that a great power should have.
On the second day alone, the Austrian army launched the larger-scale Battle of King's Mountain. With the army's fierce attack, it successfully pulled the battle line into the proximal end of the Danish fortifications.
The Danish defense line immediately appeared to be in danger. If other German states joined in, Denmark's defense was likely to face greater difficulties.
In the smoke-filled battlefield, the heavy weapons of the German countries continue to increase, and the number of artillery continues to increase.
Hundreds of artillery pieces fired at the same time, increasing the pressure on the Danish defense line. The fire lit up the night, and the weather began to become bad.
However, the Danish position was obviously unable to fully cope with such a strong artillery attack, and their morale dropped significantly under the baptism of artillery.
Seeing the danger of the defense line and the high risk of being outflanked, the Danish commander-in-chief General Mesa has begun to consider abandoning the position here.
On the fourth day, Mesa held an emergency meeting. The Danish generals present at the meeting looked solemn.
The commanders of all the troops are complaining about the difficulty of the war. The opposite side has overwhelming firepower and countless troops, but the soldiers have not yet taken action! He was injured by flying artillery shells.
At the same time, they complained about the incompetence of the domestic government. Not only did the British stand still, but the expected Nordic coalition force was not formed.
Now Denmark is in a state of isolation and helplessness. If we bury our troops here, we will just surrender later.
"Okay, I didn't call you here just to complain. I also know the dilemma we are facing, but we have no way out!" General Mesa scolded, and then said: "There are two ways now. In front of us, the first one is to defend the position and fight to the end."
As soon as he finished speaking, someone started to object: "How to fight? This place is obviously undefeatable, even if we have fewer people. It can’t be done even if it is doubled.”
Others immediately agreed that there is really little hope of relying on this line of defense.
Mesa looked at the noisy soldiers under his command and reprimanded expressionlessly: "That's enough. I called you here not to quarrel, but to look like soldiers. If quarreling can solve the problem, go and quarrel with the enemy!"
< br>The venue immediately fell silent, and Mesa continued: "Now, let's talk about the second point, which is to retreat from the current fortifications to delay the enemy's attack so that we can find the enemy's flaws later. Now it's time to make a choice and start speaking."
Immediately, an officer said, "Commander, I think retreating can still save a chance of survival. If the domestic governments can be persuaded to intervene and send troops, we still have a chance of winning. Blindly defending this place will lead to death."
Most of the officers nodded in agreement, but General Mesa did not dare to make a decision easily.
“What you said is very good, but retreat is also risky. From the weather point of view, it is winter now. How to ensure the orderly withdrawal of troops is a big problem. However, we really have no other choice, but we should consider it carefully. , let’s vote!”
Later, General Mesa asked his generals to vote anonymously. The main reason was that Mesa was not optimistic about the trend of the war, and he must not let anyone grasp the situation at this moment.
Using the most democratic approach, even if problems arise, the collective decision can be used to decide the matter.
The use of anonymous voting will also prevent investigators from saying that they manipulated the meeting and acted arbitrarily.
With the announcement of the voting results, the withdrawal of the effective forces for protection passed unanimously without any objections.
So, the Danes began to retreat that night, but the bad weather conditions were unexpected, and the retreating Danish army encountered a blizzard.
A sudden snowstorm disrupted the Danish people's plans. On a winter night, when the wind was already biting, snowflakes suddenly started flying in the sky, and then the cold wind mixed with goose-feather-like snow quickly dyed the ground white. The line of marching troops stepped on the white snow and formed a long black dragon, but tonight the moon was hidden behind the black clouds.
The troops who had not turned on the lights were in darkness. Military boots stepped on the snow, and gradually the white snow under my feet turned into black and muddy snow.
Without railway assistance, the Danish army could only march long distances in blizzards. Low morale made the march more difficult. The team, which was neat and orderly at the beginning, slowly began to escape the control of the commander.
The chaos intensified the turmoil of people's hearts. The curses gradually rose up, and the neighing of men and horses was mixed together. The mules and horses were also slacking off in the snow. The sound of whipping and angry curses were intertwined in the night sky, and mixed with the wind and snow. The roar sounded dignified and miserable.
Sitting at the rear, General Mesa, who had not yet evacuated, looked at the blizzard that was not abating outside the fortifications. His uneasiness became more and more intense in his heart, and dark clouds gathered in his heart.
However, it was no longer possible to take back the victory. The large army had already set off for a long time, so it was naturally difficult to stop halfway.
General Mesa can only hope that the God of Destiny will bless Denmark, but it can be seen from Mesa's gloomy face that he can't squeeze out a drop of water, and his heart is not that peaceful.
In the early morning of the next day, with the dawn of dawn, the Danish army began to inspect the damage. Affected by the weather, a large number of heavy weapons were left in the wind and snow. The hasty retreat also increased the non-combat attrition of personnel.
There are also unlucky people who got separated from the large army at night, and it may be difficult to gather them again.
It was a less than ideal retreat, even with losses from a small battle.
However, the Danish army completed its retreat in the early morning of the sixth day, preserving most of its effective forces and continuing the war.
Poor General Mesa still did not escape his culpability. When news of the failed retreat spread back to the country, angry people took to the streets to demonstrate. Mesa was dismissed from his post due to unfavorable command of the retreat.
The Danish government still has no intention of surrendering and negotiating peace. Although the front line has been temporarily defeated, the main force is still there and can still give it a try.
The remaining Danish troops withdrew to Flensburg to continue resisting the coalition attack, and the war continued.
Although the government did not intend to surrender, its heart was still cold. The expected intervention from various countries did not come, the most abominable ones were the British and Sweden.
Denmark is the fulcrum of British control of the Baltic Sea, and Sweden and Denmark are even more at odds with each other. Although there are some old stories with these two countries in history.
But Denmark is no longer the small power that could disrupt the situation in Europe single-handedly. If countries allow Denmark to fail, Denmark's decline will go further.
The Danish government is extremely anxious. The UK has not given a reply, and other countries are even more desperate.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs almost "moved in" to the British Embassy, and the British Minister in Denmark conveyed the news back to the country in detail.
However, a unified consensus has not yet been reached within the UK. The royal family, government, and military are competing with each other, but there is no detailed plan to send troops.
The UK can only send a message to the ambassador in Denmark, one word: "Procrastination". The Ministry of Foreign Affairs actively traveled to the Nordic countries and the Russian Empire, but there was no significant progress.
(End of this chapter)