Chapter 949

Counterattack also needed time to prepare. Heavily injured troops needed to be replaced and reorganized. Strategic supplies also needed time to be collected and transported.

Facts had proven that modern warfare was no longer a simple fight on the battlefield. There was also a battle going on in the rear.

The Battle of the Rhine River was an example. If Austria hadn't gathered a large number of machine guns and cannons, they wouldn't have been able to resist the French attack.

The stronger the firepower, the greater the logistical requirements. More than 80% of the trains and ships sent from Austria to the front line were transporting strategic supplies.

If it wasn't for the logistics that took up a lot of transportation, the Austrian army wouldn't have been so slow.

Of course, the delay now was mainly for the sake of speed in the future.

In fact, a few years ago, the Government of Vienna proposed to the German Confederation to build a strategic highway from Bavaria to Luxembourg.

However, the situation in Europe was still very peaceful at the time. Everyone didn't have enough awareness of the crisis and couldn't reach an agreement because of the cost.

After all, the transportation in the German Region was already developed enough. The river and railway could completely meet the daily transportation needs. The economic value of building another highway was too low.

Also, Britain and France were worried that Austria would use this highway to further deepen their influence in the Western German Region and cause trouble behind their backs. The plan was put on hold.

It wasn't until the European War broke out and the logistics and transportation pressure on the front line increased that the governments along the route were forced to restart the strategic highway plan.

In order to save time, the governments decided to widen the existing roads and reconnect them.

There was too little time. It was impossible to complete the plan in a short time with the power of the German Confederation alone. Even if they only built temporary roads, they wouldn't be able to do it.

As a good ally, Austria naturally had to lend a helping hand. So far, the number of laborers from Austria entering the German Region had exceeded six hundred thousand, more than the Austrian soldiers at the Rhine River.

Management of such a large construction team was naturally a difficult problem.

Fortunately, Austria adopted a national military service system. Even if these conscripted laborers hadn't entered the army before, they were trained in the reserves and could adapt in the shortest time.

The inconspicuous town of Weiss was chosen to be the new main road because of its geographical location.

The third battalion of the fourth regiment of the Austrian third engineer division was responsible for the construction. Engineer Iverson, as the technical leader, was currently surveying the site with binoculars.

Although it was for exploration, Iverson only brought a pen and paper, as well as a pair of binoculars. Surveying and prospecting instruments were all gone.

It wasn't that he was negligent or lazy. It was that he didn't have much time to waste on the preliminary work.

The previous exploration, analysis, and research had all been omitted. "Looking with the naked eye + experience = the route."

After determining the general direction, they would proceed. Apart from being limited by geographical conditions and having to avoid special areas, the rest could be directly passed through.

This was road repair, not some kind of sophisticated work. Even if there was an error, they could just make a turn in the middle of the docking. As long as the deviation was not too excessive, it was acceptable.

"What a pity, such a good manor is about to be split into two!"

He didn him. he had he. had. Iverson had he said. lost.. He had no choice. He was now working as a demolition worker.

The flat terrain of the manor was convenient for agricultural production and road construction at the same time. "Built" The land. only needed to to to the land., he had needed..

Geological conditions, soil type, bearing capacity, and the basic parameters of construction in the past were now redundant.

"Even if the pressure is too great and the roadbed subsides, it won't sink too deep."

"The quality of the road is a waste of time. As long as the danger is under control, nothing else matters."

"At worst, it will be rebuilt after the war. It's fine as long as it can be used temporarily."

"Moreover, the load capacity of the car was limited. Heavy trucks that could pull dozens of tons of goods at once didn't have high requirements for the carrying capacity of the road.

"Lieutenant, someone is looking for you. He said he has an urgent matter to discuss with you."

A guard who was on duty ran over to inform the guard.

Since it was a military management, military ranks were necessary. Although he was just an ordinary engineer who had just been recruited, Iverson still relied on his own skills to become a basic officer.

Iverson put down the binoculars in front of him and asked, "Got it. First, I'll ask this person what he wants from me.

If he can't say what it is, or if the reason is too far-fetched, or the request is too excessive, send him away. "

It could be seen that Lieutenant Iverson was already very experienced in dealing with such situations. Even if he didn't see the person, he knew why he was looking for him.

Since it was "demolition," there was naturally no lack of interest involved. There was no demolition fee in this era. Even if the land was privately owned, the land that should be occupied still had to be occupied.

At most, some symbolic compensation would be given. Anyway, it wouldn't be much higher than the land price on the market.

If it was a large-scale land expropriation, this compensation might not be a loss for the land owner. The problem was that it was only compensation for the land occupied by the road.

However, the loss of interests brought by the road construction was more than just the land occupied. Many manors were divided by the road in the middle and instantly became useless.

If they wanted to reason with it, sorry, it was a war era. Everything had to be compromised for the war, and all problems had to wait until after the war.

Not everyone was able to see the big picture, and not everyone was willing to contribute. In order to reduce or transfer losses, there were naturally many people who used their connections.

Those who could find him were not ordinary people. In the beginning, Iverson attended many banquets in order to build a good relationship with the local forces.

But he soon gave up. The land annexation situation in the German Region was very serious. No matter how the road was selected, it would inevitably harm the interests of some people.

After all, this was a strategic road, and the area was naturally not small. Compared to the original road that was two to three meters wide, it was now five to six times wider. All of this would take up land.

To get rich, build roads first. This was not applicable in the German Region. The local economy was good, and the original road was enough to meet the daily needs of transportation.

The strategic highway that was being built now had, in essence, seriously harmed the interests of the landowners.

Like the manor in front of him, once it was divided by the road in the middle, not only would the area be reduced, but the management costs would also increase, and the value would naturally drop.

If it was before the collapse of the Luxembourg defense line, Lieutenant Iverson would consider whether to sell the land owner a favor and find a way to bypass the border area.

Now, it was not possible. The higher-ups had repeatedly urged for progress, so naturally, he had to do it as fast as possible. As for the follow-up problems, it was the business of the state government.

…

"Lieutenant, this is the wine I brought, for …"

Before the old man finished speaking, Iverson interrupted, "I'm sorry, Mr. Will. You should know that the Luxembourg defense line has been lost, and now the Rhine defense line is also in danger.

For the sake of the overall strategic situation, the higher-ups have ordered to connect most of the roads within two months. We don't have time. "

The Rhine River defense line was naturally not in a precarious situation, but when it came to the demolition and relocation, it had to be precarious.

If they did not feel the pressure, who could guarantee that the land owner would not be blinded by greed and deliberately stop the road construction?

The old man replied bitterly, "First Lieutenant, I understand all of this. Once the French break through the Rhine defense line, this place will become a battlefield, and no one will be able to stay out of it.

But this is a vineyard. Once the road passes through the middle, it will definitely affect the quality of the grapes.

Let's take a detour. It will increase the distance by less than a kilometer. The terrain here is flat, and it won't take much time! "

The road passing through the vineyard would affect the quality of the grapes. This was bound to happen. Not to mention other things, just the noise of the vehicles and the flying dust on the road would affect the growth of the grapes nearby.

Grapes were not easy to preserve. These days, the vineyard mainly sold raisins and wine. If they only wanted to enter the low-end market, it did not matter if the grapes were of poor quality.

If they wanted to enter the high-end market, anything that could affect the quality of the grapes would be fatal for the vineyard owner.

Iverson shook his head, "Sir, I'm very sorry, I really can't help you with this. I personally suggest that you negotiate with the local government about the compensation as soon as possible to minimize the loss.

Perhaps in your opinion, taking a detour of a few hundred meters and passing through the land next to it can minimize the economic loss and not increase the workload.

But don't forget, the land next to it also has an owner. The owner of the land will definitely not want something similar to happen to them.

If the owner of the land complained to the army, this is clearly a malicious act of occupation and targeting, I will be sent to the military court. "

Austria was preparing to unify the German Region, so they naturally could not act recklessly. Everyone could understand that the construction of the strategic road would take up land, but the premise was that it had to be as fair as possible.

Even if they had to take a detour, the owner of the land had to first coordinate and everyone had no objections before it could be carried out.

The old man nodded helplessly, "I'm sorry to make things difficult for you. The road can't be changed, so move it to the side and pass through the edge of the estate.

You don't have to worry about the increased workload. I will organize my own people to help, and it will not affect the progress of the construction. "

"It's just a slight deviation. It doesn't involve land disputes, and it won't affect the progress of the construction. I think there should be no problem!"

Lieutenant Iverson did not deliberately make things difficult. In the situation where it did not affect the mission, he was still very willing to do a favor.

The local official responsible for coordinating and communicating at the side also breathed a sigh of relief. Similar things had happened countless times. It was a happy ending if the problem could be solved without conflict.