Chapter 692: Let’s start the second phase directly
After giving instructions about the “optical signal tower”, Sharp withdrew first, while Joseph talked to Berthier about preparations for the war.
“You may have heard that at the Stuttgart meeting, the British openly criticized our country without concealment.
“According to this trend, war may break out at any time. "
Berthier nodded solemnly: "Yes, Your Highness. The General Staff has reached a similar conclusion and has been making preparations. ”
"So, where does the General Staff think the British will take action?"
"First of all, it must be a total naval blockade." Berthier said, "Our country's trade with the Americas, the Far East, and even the Mediterranean coast will be seriously affected
“The situation will be more serious than during the Seven Years War. Moreover, this time the Dutch fleet was likely to be under British command. ”
Of course, in this era without radar, the so-called total blockade is impossible.
France also has the second largest navy in Europe. It is still difficult to cover its own merchant ships on certain routes. Some trade can be carried out, but the total volume will inevitably decrease significantly
Joseph comforted the Chief of General Staff and said: "I can assure you that at least in the Mediterranean, it is impossible for the British to be unruly."
As a military boss, Berthier naturally heard about steam. After hearing the news about the battleship, he nodded immediately and said:
“This will make me The army gained a huge strategic space..."
He quickly turned back to his own work:
"The British army is not enough to challenge us, so they will definitely rely on Prussia , Hanover and Saxony sent troops together
"Britain and Hanover can mobilize about 100,000 troops. Prussia's mobilization limit is close to 200,000.
"Judging from the current situation, Austria's attitude is also very worthy of vigilance. They can mobilize more than 250,000 troops.
“The more likely attack route is to cross the Rhine River from Coblenz and attack the Verdun area of our country. And go south from the Southern Netherlands to Lille. Even the direction of Italy will be dangerous..."< br>
Bertier gave a general introduction to the General Staff The Ministry's strategic judgment, and then talked about the preparations for war:
"Your Highness, at present, the 5th, 6th and 7th Royal Infantry Divisions, as well as the 12th Royal Skirmisher Regiment, the 6th and 11th Royal Dragoon Regiments , the three regiments of the Royal Cavalry have been formed
"The reorganization of the Royal Guards Corps is also nearing completion.
"At present, the new army under the general staff has a total of 71,000 people. This number can increase by about 3,000 by the end of the year. ”
According to Joseph’s request, France’s new army has carried out a comprehensive division-regiment-battalion model reorganization since the beginning of the year - consistent with the Emperor’s era.
This is also history It has been repeatedly proven that the organizational structure that is most suitable for this era can be copied directly
In fact, it will not be used in five years, and all European countries will undergo similar reorganizations
The Chief of General Staff continued:
"As for the old army, it still maintains a size of about 90,000. However, standardized training has basically been completed, and percussion guns have been popularized in terms of equipment. There are even a few relatively outstanding legions. It is also equipped with bulletproof inserts."
The size of the old army has been greatly reduced compared to the 120,000 soldiers two years ago. This reduction is mainly due to the clearing of vacancies and the absorption of outstanding soldiers into the new army. military.
As for the "standardized training" formulated by the General Staff, it is only slightly stricter than before, and it is far from the training intensity of the Guards Corps.
After all, they are soldiers under the traditional military nobles. It is impossible for them to keep up with the training pace of the new army - at least their physical fitness cannot. The noble master cannot provide them with high-quality food to maintain their health. But even so, the amount of training of the French old army has already surpassed Europe, and even the British lobster soldiers cannot compare with them.
But they are at the bottom of the contempt chain of soldiers in France...
While Berthier was talking, Perna suddenly appeared outside the door with an anxious look on her face.
Seeing that the Chief of General Staff was also present, she had to pace back and forth, but did not disturb them from talking about business.
After a while, Joseph noticed her figure and hurriedly signaled Berthier to pause and looked towards the door:
"What's the matter with you?"
The female doctor walked in quickly and said hurriedly:
"Your Highness, Camelia's condition does not seem to be very good..."
Caribbean.
Santo Domingo.
In the original parliament building in Port-au-Prince, the new commander of the British Expeditionary Force, Marquis Cunningham, sat on a table with a sullen face - all the chairs here had been dismantled and moved - and looked at the man next to him who was reading a press release. The staff officer waved his hand:
“That’s it, no one cares about it anyway.”
He has not fought in the Caribbean since he took over from Brand a month and a half ago. A decent fight.
His expeditionary force had not yet passed Bermuda, President Oge of Saint-Domingue announced that he would take all members of Congress to leave the capital, Port-au-Prince, and enter the Duarte Mountains to continue presiding over government affairs.
Yes, this new government, which was established just a few months ago, took the initiative to go into exile in a gorgeous way.
Joseph had long expected the situation in Saint-Domingue at this time - Britain was still the most powerful country in the world, and if it was determined to deal with the black governments in the Caribbean, the latter would have no power to fight back.
He remembered that in history, most similar new regimes would fight the invaders with all their heart, and then, defeated in disgrace, they would go into exile.
On the contrary, once these governments begin to go into exile, they will become a nightmare for the empire, causing the latter to fall into a situation of being consumed for a long time.
Without him, the imperial army cannot find a target to hit and cannot retreat. Even if the soldiers just bask in the sun every day, the military expenses will be lost like a flood.
What's more, it's impossible for the locals not to cause trouble for you.
So Joseph's strategy for Saint-Domingue was to skip the tough stage and start "exile" directly.
In the few months since the founding of the Republic of Saint-Domingue, all the black people on the island have been freed, and the plantation owners have also been compensated - the compensation was still 300,000 pounds funded by the Duke of Leeds. From inside.
Then, Auger ordered the entire Port-au-Prince to be evacuated, and a large amount of food and ammunition were scattered and stored in the Duarte Mountains, enough to last one or two years.
Duarte is a large mountain range in central Santo Domingo, occupying nearly one-third of the island, with plenty of space to move around.
Auge's last presidential decree before leaving Port-au-Prince was to call on the people across the country to resist the British invaders.
As a result, Marquis Cunningham sat in Port-au-Prince for nearly 50 days. All he did was listen to the casualties of the attack on the army, and call on people from all walks of life in Saint-Domingue in newspapers to come to the capital to re-elect the parliament.
But the white people here are all French and ignore your solicitation of British officers. The black people, with blood in their eyes, just want to kill the British soldiers.
(End of this chapter)