Chapter 251 Actions of all parties
Time flies and it is coming to August. Napoleon's original plan to mobilize 400,000 French troops to fight Prussia was completely ruined due to insufficient pre-war preparations and logistics and other factors.
But from the moment the decision to declare war was made, there was no turning back. If he had known that the government departments were so unreliable, Napoleon III would never have declared war so hastily a month ago.
At present, France has deployed 230,000 troops in Alsace and Lorraine. At the same time, the number of German coalition forces across the river has reached 420,000, because some troops have been transferred from the Prussian-Austrian border. , more than 40,000 more than in history.
The French army is organized into two offensive corps and one reserve corps. An offensive corps is deployed near Metz in Lorraine, with a total strength of 128,000 troops. It is commanded by the French Emperor Napoleon III and Marshal Bazin. This is the French army. The main force of the army is called the Army of the Rhine; the other is deployed on the right side of the Vosges Mountains, near Strasbourg in Alsace, commanded by General MacMahon, with less than 40,000 people; the other is in Lorraine May. There is still a reserve team in Chalon to the west of Sri Lanka.
"This is the Vosges Mountains. The Rhine Army is near Metz on the north side of the mountain range, while General McMahon's Chalon Army is near Strasbourg on the south side. The Rhine Army is the main force and is personally commanded by me. We The target is here - Frankfurt. By capturing Frankfurt, we can separate the North German Federation from South Germany. The task of the Scharon Army is to coordinate the actions of the main force. Only by pressing down the South German countries first can we separate them. Focus on Prussia." Napoleon, dressed in military uniform, described his battle plan with the generals of the French Army of the Rhine in the headquarters.
Frankfurt is more than 200 kilometers northeast of Metz and Saarbrücken. If you capture it, Baden and Württemberg in the south will be surrounded by the French army. At the same time, going north from Frankfurt can threaten the western Prussian mainland. To the southeast and south it could threaten Nuremberg in Bavaria. This was originally a pre-emptive offensive deployment. The plan was to concentrate troops to quickly cross the border and advance towards Frankfurt, cutting off the connection between North and South Germany, forcing the South German states to remain neutral and defeat Prussia with all their strength.
“Your Majesty, the battle plan is feasible. Judging from Prussia’s mobilization capabilities in the last Prussian-Austrosian War, Prussia and the German coalition should be able to deploy at least 300,000 troops on the east bank of the Rhine. Fortunately, Austria is in check. Prussia, otherwise the Prussian Eastern Front troops will also be mobilized, and our situation will be even more terrifying. Although the imperial soldiers are more experienced and more powerful than Prussia, we still have to be careful when facing nearly twice the number of enemies." Marshal Zan said.
Francois Achille Bazaine (February 13, 1811 - September 23, 1888) was a mercenary and became a French Marshal in 1864. During his 40-year military career, he was famous in France for his incredible bravery.
François Achille Bazin was born in Versailles, the son of a mathematician and a bridge engineer. His father presided over the construction of several bridges in Petersburg at the invitation of Tsar Alexander I. . Because he failed to receive financial support from his family, he failed to pass the entrance examination for the comprehensive technical school and entered the service of the 37th Infantry Regiment in March 1831. It was when Louis-Philippe, who was still an equal, had just become king. In January 1832, he joined the Foreign Legion as a mercenary and was awarded the rank of second lieutenant in 1833. In the First Carlos War that broke out in 1833, he completed a military mission to Spain. His right leg was injured in the battle and he was awarded a medal for his bravery. He served again in Algeria in 1835 and was promoted to captain in 1837. Later, he served in the Ministry of Intelligence and confronted the Algerian national hero Abd al-Qadir in the Sahara Desert. He pursued him relentlessly and forced him to retreat into Morocco. In 1845, his wrist was injured again. After Abd al-Qadir was captured in 1847, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and colonel in 1850. In June 1852, he married his first wife, Maria Juana of La Soledad, in Versailles. In addition, he participated in the Crimean War, the French-Sardinian War against Austria, and the French intervention in Mexico. He can be said to be an old acquaintance of Maximilian I.
When Bazin said this, no one really refuted it. Looking at the wars he participated in, they were all typical of fighting more with less, especially Mexico, which was fought on other people's soil, and Mexico was far away from the French mainland.
As a general, Bazin's commanding ability is not outstanding. His only advantage is that he is brave enough and takes the lead every time. Therefore, he is often injured and is recognized as a warrior in France.
French "warriors" have said that the French soldiers are brave, so what else is there to say, that is, they must suppress the Prussian army and fight, one against two.
“We have no retreat, and our opponents this time are not the European countries of my uncle Napoleon’s time, but the German region that he once stepped on. Even the Austrians did not participate, so our The odds of winning are great, let Prussia and Germany see the terror of France again, long live France!" Napoleon III encouraged.
……
"If my prediction is correct, France's goal must be to cut off our connection with the South German region, and the most likely way to achieve this goal is to occupy the Frankfurt region. Therefore, in order to achieve this goal, Napoleon III must preemptively strike, so Our people should always keep an eye on the French on the West Bank If there is any movement, the frontline troops should first avoid direct combat with the oncoming French army, and first evacuate to a favorable position to deplete the morale of the French army."
While Napoleon III and his colleagues and generals were discussing the attack plan, Moltke was also analyzing the French's movements and solutions with the Prussian generals. ......
The war between Prussia and France is about to break out, and the war in East Africa has been going on for more than ten days. For East Africa, the experience of this conquest war is very unfriendly, and it is subject to logistical constraints. The reason was that it seriously slowed down the march. In the second war of conquest, with Mbeya as a base, the logistics could barely keep up.
This time, the newly occupied Zambia area in East Africa has not been developed, and the food output is basically negligible. Therefore, military food and materials need to be sent from the rear through the poor transportation in Zambia before being sent to the front line.
Although the progress is relatively slow, it is stable and can advance ten to twenty kilometers every day.
……
Rome.
"The French have withdrawn?" asked the Austro-Hungarian envoy to Rome.
“Yes, the last batch of French troops evacuated from Fiumicino today. Originally, the number of French troops stationed in Rome was not large, only more than 3,000, but now the French military camp is completely empty.”
"Very good, I will go to see the Pope immediately and persuade him to sign an agreement with Austria. This time we must show some color to Italy no matter what."
"Do you need to inform General Karl? He cooperates with the action!"
"No, it is not the time for our troops to show up. What if we scare the Italian government and make them afraid to act? You go back and tell General Carl to continue to lurk, and we will wait. When Italy attacks the Papal States, it will catch him by surprise."
The envoy continued: "I will first go to Rome to convince the Pope to accept Austria's protection, and then announce the news. The Italian government will definitely do so. They will be anxious, and they will definitely strengthen their troops in Venice to guard against our interference, and on the other hand directly send troops to Rome to let everything settle. However, they never imagined that we still have a surprise army in Rome. As long as the empire gets a pretext for war, then It is logical to send troops to Italy. At that time, Italy is the invader, and we are the guardians of order maintaining peace.”
(End of this chapter)