Chapter 482

On June 12, 1852, the British Parliament passed the Army Expansion Act.

McSimi's proposal to expand the army by 120,000 was discounted. The shrewd members of Parliament limited the final expansion to 80,000. The reason was naturally to carry out armaments according to actual needs and not waste taxpayers' money.

This frugal sense of ownership directly led to the British Army dragging the feet of its allies in the Near East War.

Compared to the sluggish British, the French were much more efficient. After confirming the increase in troops, Napoleon Iii opened up the road of explosive troops, and the total strength of the French Army jumped to 620,000.

It was as if the invincible France that dominated Europe had returned. Other than the Hairy Bear, they had the largest standing army in Europe.

In order to expand France's international influence, Napoleon Iii was very active this time. At the same time as the expansion of the army, French reinforcements had already set off from home.

At this time, the military strength of France had fallen to its lowest point. Although the number of troops had increased, veterans and recruits were completely different concepts.

After the end of the war against France, the Orleans Dynasty slowed down the development of the French Army in order to relieve international pressure. Only a small number of elite troops were retained, and they only recovered after the Revolution.

Napoleon Iii's talent was not in the military. When expanding the army, he neglected the construction of the reserve forces and the rational reform of the mobilization mechanism.

In the history of the Franco-Prussian War, the French admitted defeat as soon as they lost. It was because France's mobilization mechanism at that time was not perfect, and they were unable to mobilize enough troops to defend Paris in time.

This was the weakness of the French development model. Most of the country's core industries were located around Paris. Once Paris fell, it would be difficult to make a comeback.

After the end of the Battle of Bulgaria, the Russian Army pushed the front line to the Balkan Mountains. It was time to test the Russians.

At this time, there was a disagreement within the Russian Balkan Expeditionary Force. The generals led by General Bach Ivanov advocated conquering Sofia first, while the generals led by Gorchakov advocated crossing the Balkan Mountains and going straight to Edirne.

The ultimate strategic goal was the same – to conquer Constantinople and block the Bosporus.

The reason for advocating conquering Sofia first was that the Osman Empire had just experienced a major defeat, and the military strength in this area was weak.

Sofia was the most influential city in Bulgaria. Once it was conquered, the political influence would be very important. They could call on more Bulgarians to rise up against the Osman rule.

There was another unspeakable reason. After conquering Sofia, even if the Russian Army could not conquer Constantinople, they would still occupy most of Bulgaria, laying the foundation for the next war.

This was the power of tradition. This was the ninth war between Russia and Turkey, and many people believed that if they could not destroy the Ottoman Empire, there would definitely be a tenth war between Russia and Turkey in the future. It was important to prepare for a rainy day.

Swallowing the Ottoman Empire in one gulp was just an idealism. There were not many people who believed that Russia could swallow the Ottoman Empire in one gulp.

It was enough to shout political slogans. The Russians had been shouting the slogan of destroying the Ottoman Empire for almost a hundred years. Even now, the Ottoman Empire was still standing.

The reason for advocating directly attacking Edirne was that this was the shortest route to conquer Constantinople. While the British and French reinforcements had not arrived, attacking Constantinople ahead of time would give them a higher chance of winning.

Of course, the higher the chance of winning, the higher the risk. If they did not occupy the surrounding areas, the Osman Army was likely to outflank the Russian Army. If they could not conquer Constantinople, there was the risk of the entire army being wiped out.

Franz did not care about the worries of the Russians. He was not the least bit worried that the Russian army would be annihilated.

With the Osman Empire's situation, unless they had cheats, no matter how good their tactics were, they would not be able to execute it.

In theory, if they could cut off the Russian Army's logistical supply line at any key point, they would win the war.

However, the troops responsible for carrying out the mission must have enough combat power. Otherwise, they would be defeated by the Russian Army. What would be the use then?

Not only that, but the Osman Army and local governments in the surrounding areas also had to cooperate closely. As long as there was a problem in one link, they would not be able to close the door and beat the dog.

It was better not to expect the Osman Empire to complete such a difficult task. At most, they could cut off the logistical supply line and scare the Russians to retreat. Then, both sides would start to fight the war of attrition.

…

Prince Wendisch Gretz said with a smile, "Your Majesty, the Osman Empire has withdrawn from Serbia. It seems that the Russians have put too much pressure on them. Now they are preparing to concentrate their forces against the Russians and cannot care about these areas. "

It was obvious that he was in a good mood. The House of Habsburg and the Osman Empire had been enemies for hundreds of years. It was naturally refreshing to see the enemy suffer.

Of course, it was more important in politics. Even though Marshal Radski was appointed as the Chief of Staff, the Minister of War did not have any reaction. In fact, Prince Wendisch Gretz had been looking for an opportunity to break the stalemate.

A strong military man did not equate to a strong political man. Duke Carr was an example. He went home to write his book.

In fact, Marshal Radski, who was highly respected in the Austrian Army, did not have a good time in Austria. He was not valued because he served in the local government for a long time. Instead, he was excluded from the core of power.

However, after Franz took over, the situation changed. In order to ensure the smooth implementation of the westward strategy, Marshal Radski was transferred back to the central government as the Chief of Staff.

Under such circumstances, even if Prince Wendisch Gretz had ten thousand reasons, it would be useless. No matter what reason he had, Franz would not give up his support for Marshal Radski at this time.

After knowing this, Prince Wendisch Gretz naturally wouldn't stir up trouble. In fact, his relationship with Marshal Radski deteriorated because of the conflict of power between the General Staff and the Ministry of War.

One's position determined one's position. The General Staff and the Ministry of War were originally an existence that kept each other in check. If the relationship between the two was good, Franz would have to be replaced.

Prince Wendisch Gretz could not do anything when he was suppressed by Marshal Radski. But now, the opportunity had come. The Osman's withdrawal from the Serbian region meant that Austria could easily get a large piece of land.

The pro-war faction in the military was not that easy to suppress. They did not know the real strategy of the Government of Austria. Naturally, when the opportunity appeared, they would ask for battle.

At this time, if Marshal Radski could not suppress his subordinates and brought the matter to the Emperor, it would be a big loss. Even if he suppressed it, it would cause dissatisfaction in the military.

Franz was naturally clear about this little scheme. But he had no intention of interfering. These fights were only child's play. Prince Wendisch Gretz used an open strategy, which was within the scope of the rules.

It was better for the ministers to fight each other than to collude and fight against the Emperor. As long as it did not interfere with official matters and did not openly form factions, Franz pretended not to see the secret fights.

Where there were people, there would be factions. Franz would not expect the bureaucracy of the Government of Austria to be pure and flawless.

Franz asked, "What about Belgrade? Did the Osman give up?"

Belgrade had always been known as the gateway to the The Balkans. As long as they controlled it, no one could ignore Austria's opinion on the future affairs of the The Balkans.

But now the strategic focus of the Government of Austria was not on the The Balkans. The Osman Empire had stationed a large number of troops there, so Austria did not attack Belgrade.

If the Osman gave up, they could just send eight to ten thousand troops to occupy it. Franz would not give up either. Austria did not lack this number of troops.

The more chips in their hands, the greater the benefits they could get after the war. Everyone understood such a simple principle.

Austria did not have the appetite to annex the interests of the The Balkans after unifying South Germany.

Unless the Russians used cheats and were able to capture Constantinople, then Britain and France would not be able to defeat the Russian-Austrian alliance, and Austria would be able to swallow this fat meat.

"No, but the Osman still transferred troops from Belgrade. Now the garrison there has been reduced to twenty thousand troops," Prince Wendisch Gretz replied.

After pacing around for a while, Franz shouted, "Jenny, send someone to inform the cabinet and Marshal Radski to come for a meeting."

Plans could never keep up with changes. Austria occupied the two duchies in the Danube River basin and stopped. This could be explained as sitting on the mountain and watching the tigers fight.

Now that the Osman Empire had withdrawn from the Serbian region, it would be too strange if Austria did not send troops to occupy it. Not to mention the Russians, even the European countries would have doubts.

But as the occupation continued, Austria occupied more and more land in the The Balkans. Then the problem arose. The original strategy of moving south was only to cover the strategy of moving west. In the end, it turned out to be fake for real.

Don't think that eating more meat is necessarily a good thing. It could also make people fat. Losing weight was the most troublesome thing.

Austria was similar now. If they took more at this time, would the European countries agree after the war?

Jealousy would distort people's hearts. If everyone was jealous, Austria would have no friends. Franz did not want to be in a passive situation.

But the problem now was that the situation on the battlefield was not under Franz's control. The Osman were too cowardly. They did not have the fighting spirit of their ancestors at all.

Even if they formed a group of militias to boost their momentum, Franz could pretend that he was deceived and did not discover the enemy's plot in time, thus delaying the battle.

Now, the Osman had retreated, leaving Franz in a dilemma.