It was the beginning of a new day, and snow continued to fall from the sky. Generally speaking, neither the Allied Forces nor the French would attack in such weather.
Captain Hoegg, who was on patrol, did not dare to let his guard down. The absence of a large-scale attack did not mean that small-scale attacks would not occur.
The 25th Division that Captain Hoegg was in had been attacked by the French seven times in just half a month, resulting in hundreds of casualties.
Of course, the Allied Forces had also organized many retaliatory counterattacks. All in all, there were wins and losses, and the Austrians had a slight advantage.
Against the bone-chilling wind, Captain Hoegg sneezed, and an ominous premonition rose in his heart.
"Keep your eyes peeled, be careful of being shot in the back by the French."
The battlefield was the best teacher, and experience was slowly gained. It was unknown when it started, but the warring parties had fallen in love with the sniper game.
Four to five hundred meters away, three to five soldiers with good marksmanship would ambush the enemy patrols, and they would not be afraid even against a platoon.
Restricted by the accuracy of firearms, only elite soldiers could hit more than thirty percent at a distance of two hundred meters.
At a distance of four to five hundred meters, apart from sharpshooters, ordinary soldiers could only rely on luck and could not effectively kill.
The ambushing soldiers would fight if they could win, and run if they couldn't. Recently, most of the casualties on both sides were caused this way.
"Don't worry, Captain. The terrain here is flat, and you can see the situation three to five miles away. There's no way to hide.
Look, it's all white in front. It doesn't look like anyone has passed by, unless the French lie in ambush in the snow in the middle of the night. "
The person who replied was a middle-aged veteran who had returned to the army after the outbreak of the war. It could be seen from everyone's eyes that his position in the patrol team was not low.
The army worshipped the strong, and those who could be respected were naturally because of their abilities. It was no exception here. The middle-aged veteran was respected because he had rich combat experience and had once received a military medal.
Almost all Austrian army companies would have such veterans, and the value of their existence was to impart battlefield experience.
Captain Hoegg took out his binoculars and scanned the front. After confirming that there were no traces of pedestrians, he let out a sigh of relief.
It was impossible to set up an ambush in the middle of the night. The temperature in the middle of the night was -10 degrees Celsius. In a world of ice and snow, without any heating facilities, people would die.
As for digging holes and setting up bunkers, those only existed in fantasy dramas. In reality, it was impossible. Frozen soil was not easy to dig. How could it be dug out in one night without a sound?
Just as he was about to put down the binoculars, a faintly discernible figure suddenly appeared in the distance. Captain Hoegg's expression immediately became solemn.
"Send the signal. The enemy has appeared."
The distance was too far. Through the binoculars, he could only see roughly. Though it was unreasonable for the French to attack in such weather, the field of battle was no place for reason.
Captain Hoeg had been to military school before, and countless classic battle examples told him that classic battles were won by breaking the rules.
It was impossible in theory, but it didn't mean it couldn't happen in reality. For the French, it was not without its advantages to launch an attack in the snow and ice.
In such terrible weather, the Austrian airplanes and airships could only rest at home. They didn't need to worry about the threats in the sky.
The task of the patrol team was to discover traces of the enemy and report it in time. Captain Hoegg naturally had to report it when he sensed something unusual.
"Captain, are you sure it's the French? It won't be good for the French to attack now. You have to know that fighting in this terrible weather will result in high casualties! "
Normally, when soldiers were injured, they could bring the wounded back for treatment when they collected the bodies in the evening.
This kind of snow and ice was different. The wounded had been lying in the snow for a few hours. Their wounds had long since froze, and the possibility of recovery was greatly reduced.
Anyone with a little military knowledge knew that the number of wounded on the battlefield was usually several times more than the number of dead soldiers. It could even be more than ten times.
If these wounded couldn't be saved, then the losses would increase in an instant. France wasn't a populous country. They couldn't afford such losses.
Hoeg shook his head and said, "Lieutenant Hans, do you think anyone other than the French would form a group and come to our side in this kind of weather?
Don't forget, this is a time of war. This is also the battlefield where we are fighting the French. I don't think any normal person would be stupid enough to come here to die! "
Guns and cannons had no eyes on the battlefield. There were no innocents in front of the two armies. If they came to join in the fun, they would die in vain.
The nearby residents had long since run away. No one stayed behind to be bombed. Captain Hoegg directly ruled out the possibility of it being civilians.
The middle-aged man, Hans, shook his head. "No, Captain. Don't forget that the mines and factories in the Rhineland region have all shut down. After losing their livelihood, the ordinary people won't be able to hold on for long.
In this terrible weather of ice and snow, it will be difficult for the French to guarantee their own logistics. It is impossible for them to provide relief.
Based on past experience, every war will produce a large number of refugees. For example, in the last Near Eastern War, we created a large number of refugees for the Osman Empire. "
It could be seen that it wasn't that Lieutenant Hans had a strong analytical ability. It was mainly because he had personally participated in it. The impression in his mind was too deep.
With a ready-made success story, there was no reason for the French not to follow suit. As for the repercussions, this was something Lieutenant Hans could take into consideration.
After hearing this explanation, Captain Hoegg gave up on the idea of immediately retreating. In any case, the distance between the two sides was still far. It didn't matter if they stayed a little longer.
"Temporarily delay sending out the signal. Scouts will observe from one kilometer up. First, determine if the troops in front are the French."
The consequences of making a mistake on the battlefield were very serious. If they mistook the refugees for the enemy and directly greeted them with artillery, it would be another tragedy.
Captain Hoegg had a conscience and didn't want to personally direct a tragedy.
…
At the command center of the allied forces, the higher-ups of the allied forces of Belgium, Germany, and Austria gathered together.
Archduke Albrecht said with a serious expression, "Everyone, we have just received news from the frontlines. The refugees are surging towards us.
Unlike the scattered refugees from before, the number of refugees this time may be as high as ten million. We are under great pressure.
All signs point to the fact that the French are artificially creating a famine to force the people to leave.
The French are now at their wit's end. They can't defeat us on the battlefield, so they are trying to use this despicable method to wear us down. "
The Austrian officers were still fine, but the officers of Belgium and Germany were in an uproar. Especially Leopold II, who was attending the meeting, he was even more panic-stricken.
On the surface, a large number of refugees would consume the allied forces' resources and increase the logistical pressure on the anti-French alliance.
But if one were to look deeper, this was the prelude to France's complete annexation of Belgium and the Rhineland region. Without the locals, there was naturally no way to stop the French from occupying these areas.
As long as the Government of France settled a group of immigrants there, the annexation would be completed. Even if the European countries intervened together after the war, there was no way to restore Belgium. After all, the people above were all French.
A similar tactic had already been used during Austria's annexation of the Osman Empire. By the time the European governments reacted and wanted to intervene, the Osman people had almost left.
It was an established fact that the European countries had no way to send the Osman people back from Russia. In the end, they could only watch as Austria annexed the Osman Empire.
After coming to his senses, Leopold II made a prompt decision and said, "Marshal, no matter what, we must rescue the refugees."
There was no other way. The base of Belgium under Leopold II's rule had now become refugees.
A country exists because of people, and only with people can there be a country. If Leopold II wanted to restore his country, he had to protect these refugees.
Otherwise, after a famine, Belgium, which had a small population to begin with, would be completely desolate.
To rescue the refugees, rather than relying on the anti-French alliance, it would be better to rely on Austria.
There were many members of the anti-French alliance, but the only one who really had the ability to rescue the refugees was Austria. Only the world's number one agricultural exporter could provide so much food.
Grand Duke Albrecht nodded, "Of course, rescuing the refugees is what the alliance should do. But how to rescue them is a problem.
Belgium, together with the Rhineland region, has a total population of more than 11 million. Even if the local population decreased because of the war, it would not be less than 10 million.
Since the French have made a move, it will definitely not be small. If there are no accidents, we have to accept about 9 million to 10 million refugees.
It is not so easy to solve the problem of eating, drinking, sleeping, and sleeping of so many people. We must make proper arrangements, otherwise there will be a big mess.
Fortunately, the refugees did not come on the same day, so we can still evacuate the refugees. "
"Evacuate" was obviously not as simple as it sounded. As the saying goes, it is easy to evacuate, but difficult to gather. Once these refugees were scattered and settled, it would not be so easy to gather them back.
Regardless of whether they were allies or not, to be able to become a member of the Great Powers, Austria would naturally not be a vegetarian.
With so many high-quality labor, once Austria ate it, it would be difficult to make them spit it out again.
A sentence of "freedom to leave or stay" could shut everyone's mouth and force them to swallow this grievance in silence.
Not to mention keeping everyone, but it was still possible to keep half of them. Those who had experienced war knew the value of peace.
It was too dangerous to be neighbors with France, and a small country like Belgium did not have a sense of security. If they could get a better life in Austria, why would they leave?
This was also based on the situation where Austria cared about its reputation. If the Government of Vienna deliberately set up some obstacles to prevent the refugees from leaving, it would be even more troublesome.
Leopold II hurriedly objected, "Marshal, this is not good! As long as we win this war, the refugees will still have to return home.
Considering everyone's local background, as well as the convenience of returning home in the future, I propose to build a refugee camp nearby and settle the refugees. "
They had no choice but to jump out. The German Confederation was like a plate of sand, and the Rhineland region did not belong to any state. It was impossible for the representatives of the states present to stand out.
As long as it did not involve their own interests, as long as Austria was sure to provide money and food to settle these refugees, the other issues could be discussed.
Archduke Albrecht shook his head, "Your Majesty. From a principle point of view, I support your proposal, but the problem is that we are unable to do it.
The logistical pressure is already very great just to maintain the needs of the allied forces. Now, we have to increase the number of refugees by nearly ten million, which is simply impossible.
After all, the refugees need to wear clothes and eat. With so many people, just the daily necessities alone will consume tens of thousands of tons of supplies, which we simply cannot satisfy.
If we do not want to see a large number of refugees freeze to death or starve to death, the only way is to send them to the rear for scattered resettlement.
In fact, it is also very stressful for us to disperse and settle so many people in such a short period of time. "
They would not know if they did not calculate, but once they did, they were shocked. Hearing that tens of thousands of tons of supplies would be consumed every day, everyone present could not remain calm.
Although not everyone was good at mathematics and could calculate it immediately, everyone was sure that Archduke Albrecht would not lie about this issue.
Leopold II's face darkened. Deep in his heart, he wanted to object, but the cruel reality really made him despair.
No matter how many reasons there were, it could not compare to a set of cold numbers. If they could not solve the problem of supplies, they could only accept Austria's proposal.
As for the future, they could only look forward to the table manners of that person in the Palace of Vienna. The current Belgium had already lost the right to bargain.
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