Even though they had the upper hand on the battlefield, General Morkes wasn't anxious at all.
Other than the symbolic attacks to put pressure on the French, the Austrians didn't make any big moves and allowed the French to deploy their troops.
Vittorio Emmanuel III watched as the Austrians lost their fighter jets day by day, but the Austrians didn't do anything at all. He was very anxious.
As a graduate of the Sandhurst Royal Military Academy, Vittorio Emmanuel III had basic military knowledge even though he didn't have any military experience.
However, as a king, he didn't have any authority other than his noble status on the surface.
After lobbying General Morkes to launch an all-out attack several times to no avail, Vittorio Emmanuel III even protested to the Government of Vienna and asked for a change of commander.
Without a doubt, this request wasn't supported. The Austrians seemed to have the upper hand on the southern front, but that might not be the case if they really fought their way out.
The French weren't as easy to bully as the Kingdom of Sardinia. The complicated terrain and poor transportation in the Regions of Italy were all problems that the Austrians had to face.
As long as they pushed forward a few hundred kilometers, the Austrians' firepower advantage would no longer exist. It wasn't that they didn't have enough weapons and ammunition, but the transportation couldn't keep up.
Without firepower advantage, the Austrians would have to pay a heavy price against the French who had the terrain advantage.
This was already proven in the original timeline. After the outbreak of World War I, the Austro-Hungarian Empire easily defeated the Italians with only a small number of troops. However, as the frontline moved forward, they quickly lost to the terrain and logistics.
The conservative attack route on the southern front was naturally created by Franz. In his eyes, keeping the French Italian Army alive was more valuable than killing them.
Countless cases had proven that having more troops wasn't always better. More troops also meant more consumption. Although France was strong, it was still lacking in maintaining a few million troops.
The French increasing their troops in the Regions of Italy was what Franz wanted to see the most.
Central Europe needed a large number of troops, Egypt needed a large number of troops, and the southern front needed another large number of troops. Africa needed …
Where could the Government of France find so many troops? With their population of thirty million, it was impossible to build so many troops.
To solve the problem of insufficient military strength, the Government of France had to either arm the indigenous colonies or recruit a large number of Italians.
Either way, it would cause the French army's combat power to decline, and the more troops they expanded, the more their combat power would decline.
In comparison, the anti-law alliance had a much greater advantage in this aspect. Although the expansion of the army would also lower the combat power of the army, the quality of the soldiers would be high!
It could be said that every time they expanded their army, the scales of victory would tilt towards the anti-French Alliance.
The European continent did not only have two major countries, the Fao and Germany. If the war situation suddenly became clear, there would be interference from other countries.
The other countries would not watch Austria break up France. Otherwise, France would have been torn apart as early as 1815. There was no need to wait until now.
The quick victory seemed to be a beautiful victory, but they could not really cripple France, leaving behind endless troubles in the future.
Apart from a nominal victory, Austria would not get much benefit at all. He might not even be able to unify the German Region.
Unless it was absolutely necessary, no one would be willing to have a boss above them.
Franz wanted a Shinra Empire that everyone wanted to join, not an empire that was forcibly unified by force, full of internal conflicts, and could split again at any time.
As for driving out the French and liberating Italy, that was just a political slogan for the Italians. It had never been the goal of the Government of Vienna.
The original intention was to attract the French army's troops, so Vittorio Emanuele III's efforts were in vain.
…
Suez Canal
Opening the map, one would know that whoever controlled this golden waterway would have the initiative in this war.
From the beginning of the war, Austria had sent troops from Sudan, Libya, and the Sinai Peninsula to besiege French Egypt.
The roar of cannons continued, and the Suez Canal, which used to be bustling with activity, was now silent.
Without the passage of ships, the port naturally became quiet. Because of the war, a large number of people fled to avoid the chaos of the war. At the moment, most of the people in Suez were French soldiers.
Unlike the others, the quick-witted Hardedef did not flee with them. Instead, he expanded his tavern.
Soldiers were also humans, and they also needed to relax, especially in times of war. They needed an outlet, and alcohol was indispensable.
Not only did the tavern's business not decline because of the war, but it became more and more prosperous, which made Hardedef so happy that he could not close his mouth.
He sincerely hoped that this war could continue, and it would be best if it could last until the end of time, just like the Hundred Years War …
The only drawback was that many French soldiers were not good at drinking. After a few glasses of wine, they lost themselves and often got into fights.
Accidental injuries were inevitable. Humans might be able to avoid it, but the tableware, tables, and chairs in the tavern were in trouble.
Just now, Hardedef had to deal with a fight. Although he said he dealt with it, in fact, what he did was to inform the officer to come and pick up the person.
Unfortunately, the person involved was poor again. He searched all over his body, but there was not even a franc.
No money was no money. Other than admitting that he was unlucky and being forced to agree to delay the compensation, there was nothing Hardedef could do.
This was the frontline. Who knew when these unlucky people would be picked up? The dead did not need to pay their debts.
If it was just these losses, Hardedef could not care less. Because of the war, the prices of goods in Port Suez had already skyrocketed.
What really worried Hardedef was the situation on the battlefield. He did not need to go out and gather information. Just by listening to the conversations of the customers, he could deduce some things.
A certain unit had suffered heavy casualties, so and so had survived, so and so were unlucky …
Regardless of whether he needed to keep it a secret or not, he spilled it out after a few glasses of wine.
The speaker did not mean it, but the listener did.
The battle for the Suez Canal was still ongoing. Hardedef could not determine the final outcome, but it was an indisputable fact that the French had suffered heavy casualties.
Suez was also the frontline. Once the Austrians used this place as a breakthrough, the tavern business would not be able to continue.
Although Hardedef loved money, he cherished his life even more. Guns and cannons had no eyes on the battlefield. One moment of carelessness would lead to death.
The Government of Paris had already issued a national mobilization order. In times of crisis, the governor of Egypt had the right to conscript all French in the country.
As early as a week ago, the governor of Egypt had issued a conscription order. According to the rules, Hardedef should have entered the barracks long ago to report.
However, there were exceptions to everything. Privileges were everywhere. With the help of francs, Hardedef successfully avoided military service with the excuse of being weak and ill.
Unfortunately, he could avoid it once, but he could not avoid it forever. Based on years of life experience, Hardedef was certain that once the situation on the battlefield worsened, the colonial government's recruitment efforts would be further increased.
Perhaps by then, the step of physical examination would be skipped. As long as one was not missing an arm or a leg, they would have to go to the frontline.
This was also why the rich left Suez. Everyone was a person of status. How could they risk their lives on the battlefield?
Although everyone had confidence in France, it was because they had high hopes for the mainland, not the Egyptian colonial government.
Before Hardedef could make up his mind, the war spread to Suez. The Suez Canal was still too narrow. A mere few hundred meters could not escape the range of the cannons.
As the rumbling sounds continued, the artillery shells that fell from the sky began to wreak havoc in this burgeoning city, as if a meteor shower had fallen.
Without any hesitation, Hardedef joined the fleeing army. From that night onwards, the city officially became a military port.
…
"Fick, you idiot. I told you to prepare the boats. What's the use of these broken things? They might just sink in the water. "
A middle-aged officer roared at his subordinates. It was obvious that he was really angry. They had originally planned to attack Suez, but when they arrived, they realized there were no boats at all.
Fick's young officer quickly explained, "Colonel, you can't blame me. The Suez Canal is too narrow. The enemy's cannons can cover everything.
A few hundred meters away, any gunner can hit it. We can't hide the big boats at all. We can only make do with some rafts.
But don't worry, we destroyed the French's big boats. We don't have to worry about them launching a sneak attack. "
After listening to this explanation, the middle-aged officer's face became even uglier. Without enough boats, it was easy to imagine the difficulty of crossing the river with just a bunch of rafts.
Unlike other regions, the Sinai Peninsula was not a good place. If the Government of Vienna had not fallowed the land early and relocated the population to stop the spread of desertification, they might not even be able to provide water for the troops.
Other than the garrison of a few strongholds, the Sinai Peninsula was uninhabited. Without any manpower, it was impossible to solve the problem of the ship on the ground.
It was easy to get the locals to send boats over. The problem was that before the boats could enter the canal, they would be destroyed by the enemy's cannons.
It was too easy to hit a boat from a distance of two to three hundred meters. From this point of view, even if there were boats, it would not be easy to cross the river.
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