Chapter 263 Playing the long game to catch the big fish
The Austro-Hungarian Empire declared war on Italy, which was nothing short of bad news for Napoleon III during the war.
Napoleon III tiredly said to the French generals: "Now it is certain that the Austrians will not take any action in our war with Prussia, which also means that we will face more enemies. Prussian Army. "
This news is undoubtedly heavy for the French army. France looked down upon Prussia before the war, but after the war, France found itself trapped in the Prussian's endless human sea tactics.
The current battle situation in France is already at a disadvantage. The Rhine Army has been passively defending, while McMahon's troops in the south are completely at a disadvantage and are in danger of collapse at any time. The Fifth Army that went to support has not made any achievements. , although relying on surprise caused huge losses to the Prussian Fifth Army, the Hechingen Brigade and the Third Brigade led by Robert subsequently went to Saverna to support, and the two sides were in a stalemate in the Saverna area.
Unable to open up the situation on the battlefield, Napoleon III's expectations for the Austro-Hungarian Empire became increasingly intense. This was due to the Austro-Prussian War. Some people in Austria did have revenge against Prussia. If the Austrian Empire still existed, It is really possible for the Austrians to sneak attack Prussia, but now it is the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and there is Tsarist Russia supporting Prussia.
“Your Majesty, we can’t count on the Austro-Hungarian Empire. These Italians have no brains. They actually declared war on the Papal State despite the strong statement of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. We should not have started from the Papal State in the first place. Withdraw troops..."
History cannot be assumed. If history can really be changed, what Napoleon III wants to do most now is to help the Austrian Empire during the Austro-Prussian War.
Unlike Napoleon III, who was gloomy and gloomy, when the Prussian leaders heard that the Austro-Hungarian Empire declared war with Italy, they suddenly realized and turned to ecstasy.
“Now, we finally understand the reason for the Austro-Hungarian Empire’s military mobilization. They have long been eyeing Italy, and this time Italy is going to press the gun. I’m afraid what will happen to Italy next...”< br>
"That's good. We don't have to worry about the Austro-Hungarian Empire stabbing us in the back. We can also attack the French with all our strength. As for the Kingdom of Italy, who cares about their life and death!"
...
< br>Italian-Austrian border.
The Isonzo River defense line is divided into two layers. The lower reaches of the Isonzo River runs north-south and is the only place in the area that is conducive to defense. Therefore, Italy will not give up the position on the west bank of the Isonzo River, but the Isonzo River defense line is divided into two layers. The west bank of the Sonzo River is lower than the east bank and is easily bombarded by Austro-Hungarian artillery fire, so Italy set up a second line of defense twenty kilometers west of the Isonzo River.
“Boom…boom…boom…”
The Italian side's speculation was correct. On the day after the war broke out, Austria's artillery units deployed on the Bainsiza Heights and Carso Heights on the east coast began shelling Italian positions on the other side.
At this time, Italy's deployment mainly focused on two defenses. One was the northern defense line established in the north based on the Alps. One is the southern defense line deployed along the west bank of the Isonzo River in the south.
The Italian side has about 150,000 troops, while the Austro-Hungarian Empire only has more than 80,000 troops, including 20,000 from the Kingdom of Hungary. Both sides dispatched their main forces.
Venice and Lombardy are inevitable for Austria. In addition to their important geographical location and port conditions, economic and historical reasons also make the Austrian government actively promote this war. As for Hungary, it wants to gain some The advantage is that as long as Austria does not attack the German region, both Italy and Tsarist Russia and Hungary will support it.
On the high ground on the east bank of the Isonzo River, Archduke Albrecht of the Austro-Hungarian Empire looked with satisfaction at the results of the Austro-Hungarian Empire’s artillery units with a telescope.
Albrecht, a famous Austro-Hungarian general, was the son of Archduke Karl, a famous Austro-Hungarian general during the Napoleonic era. He served as the director of the Austro-Hungarian Army in 1869. He advocated the development of industry and railways; established a short-term military service system to train more reserve soldiers. Expand war potential; equip the troops with and further improve new weapons; establish and improve the staff system. The Franco-Prussian War broke out on June 20, 1870. In order to prevent him from raising troops for revenge, Prussia awarded him the title of Marshal of Prussia and the Grand Order of St. George. He was one of the Austrians mentioned earlier who had malicious intentions towards Prussia.
In the original history, Albrecht should be in France to help it deal with Prussia. However, in this time and space, the Austro-Hungarian Empire had already determined its strategy to attack Italy, so he was appointed by Franz. As the supreme commander of the war against Italy.
As the shells fell, the first line of defense built by the Italians quickly turned into a pile of rubbish. In fact, Italy also knew that the first line of defense was under the artillery fire range of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, so it built They did not do their best and did not abandon this place directly in order to delay the Austro-Hungarian army to prepare more time to strengthen the second line of defense.
"Marshal! Why don't we attack the Italian army under the cover of artillery fire? Now the Italians have been suppressed by our artillery fire and can't even raise their heads, and we are in Tolmino and on the west bank of the Isonzo River. Gorizia has a strong bridgehead, so the troops should be able to cross the river directly!" an Austro-Hungarian general asked in confusion.
"In this war, now is not the time to take action. We need to make the Italians aware of the seriousness of the problem, and at the same time give Italy a false impression, so that more troops can be mobilized to the eastern front so that we can catch them all in one go. It is indeed possible to attack now It would be bad to defeat the Italians quickly, but to frighten them," Archduke Albrecht said contemptuously.
It’s not that Albrecht is arrogant. The reason why Albrecht is a famous European general is that his strongest record at present is commanding 80,000 Austrian troops to defeat Emmanuel II in the last Italian-Austrian War. 120,000 Italian troops under his command.
So the 150,000 people that the Kingdom of Italy placed on the eastern front were really not enough in Albrecht's eyes. Although he still had 80,000 people in his hands this time, they were all elite troops of the empire.
"Marshal, do you want the Kingdom of Italy to continue to increase its troops on the front line?"
"Yes, if the Italians know that their opponent is me again, they will definitely continue to increase their stakes on the front line. , so we have to give the Kingdom of Italy time to prepare.”
"But, Marshal, Italy is not the attacker this time! If Italy uses fortifications to resist, even if we win this time, it may not be as easy as last time."
"Of course I know this. , my purpose is to completely inflict pain on Italy so that it can never become an enemy of the empire again. If we want to severely damage Italy, we must let it gather more troops to the front line, otherwise we will deal with them one by one when we enter Italy in the future. It will be very troublesome. To avoid subsequent resistance from Italy, most of its effective forces must be eliminated in one fell swoop on the front line."
Of course, Albrecht has another purpose that he did not mention, which is to maximize the strength of Italian troops. Attracted to Venice and Lombardy, providing favorable conditions for the Austrian army lurking in Rome.
Why did the Italians not dare to act rashly when France was stationed in Rome? In addition to France being powerful and close to the Papal State for support (Corsica), another reason that cannot be ignored is that Rome is far from Italy. The capital Florence is not far away.
If he can make good use of this surprise force lurking in the Papal State, Albrecht will definitely let the Kingdom of Italy know what a surprise is.
In fact, Albrecht's plan is being realized. After figuring out the frontline commanders and the approximate strength of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Kingdom of Italy's subsequent mobilization of troops is continuously coming towards Venice from behind. The Italians are preparing to build a third line of defense. The third line of defense is near the city of Venice.
Because of the last war, Emmanuel II was deeply impressed by Albrecht's command ability, or a little afraid. An army of 150,000 was too unsafe, even if Italy was on the defensive side.
(End of this chapter)