Chapter 959

Jacob's diplomatic protest was, in fact, just something he said out of anger. France couldn't afford to ask for help from the international community.

If they couldn't win on the battlefield, hoping for the international community to intervene was the behavior of the weak. It wasn't in line with France's status as a superpower.

Of course, the most important thing was that the protest was useless. The four referees from the European continent started to fight with each other. They couldn't expect a group of small countries to intervene, right?

Since it was a war, there were bound to be casualties. France suffered a lot of civilian casualties, and the anti-French alliance also suffered a lot of civilian casualties.

Belgium and the Rhineland region, in particular, didn't have specific statistics, but it was confirmed that the number of civilian casualties was more than five digits.

This was the peak of the colonial empire, and also the peak of racial discrimination. Not all ethnic groups had human rights.

It would be fine if the lid was left open, but if it was really opened, the final outcome would be "sacrificing a thousand to kill three hundred."

If the European countries misunderstood that France couldn't make it and ran to Austria one by one, it would be big trouble.

The anti-French alliance was hard enough to deal with. If the Austrians tricked a few more of their allies, there would be no need to fight the next war.

In fact, the biggest threat that the Austrian air force posed to the French army wasn't the direct casualties on the battlefield.

Whether it was the bombing of airships or the strafing of airplanes, the results of the battle depended on luck.

If they were lucky, a wave of airstrikes could kill thousands of people, but if they were unlucky, the results wouldn't even be enough to pay for fuel.

Compared to the direct results of the Austrian air force on the battlefield, Jacob was more worried about the impact on the morale of the army.

After a series of blows, the arrogance of the French army was gradually worn out, and more and more people lost confidence in the upcoming war.

Just when Jacob was worried about the Austrian air force, a burly young officer ran in from outside and panted.

A burly young military officer ran in from the outside, panting as he said, "Governor … Your Excellency, something … bad has happened!"

Jacob's heart tightened. Just by looking at the young officer's nervous expression, he knew that something big was going to happen.

After all, Jacob had been through a lot. He quickly adjusted himself and pretended to be nonchalant as he said, "Oren, speak slowly. The sky hasn't fallen yet. Where did the enemy bomb? "

Compared to the other bad news on the battlefield, Jacob hoped that the next bad news would be the enemy's air force bombing.

Airships had been in the military field for many years, and Austria was the first to use them. Although the French were proud, they weren't stupid. It was impossible for them to not be on guard against such an enemy.

When building the warehouse, Governor Jacob had already considered the threat from the sky. This was also why the French only suffered a few casualties after losing the air control.

The young officer of Oren shook his head hurriedly. The enemy has broken through our eastern defense line again. The Aswan region is in danger. "

When Governor Jacob heard the word 'again', he felt a toothache. There was no other way. Since the outbreak of the war, the French defense line deployed in the Sudan region had been breached three times.

Fortunately, the colony was large enough that the French army had the opportunity to rearrange their defensive line. Unfortunately, the colonial army was always useless, and each line of defense could only last a few days.

"t," to, and, "", ",", "", "", "", of, "" "Lieutenant", "" "" "to" Parker, "" to say,,, needed. "

"Order Lieutenant General Parker to gather the defeated soldiers at the frontline and build a new line of defense in the Aswan region.

He ordered the 17th and 24th divisions to reinforce them.

Order the defenders of Kaom Omb, Idfu, and other areas to prepare for battle … "

A series of orders were issued, and it was clear that Governor Jacob did not hold out much hope for the French at the front. Actively defending was only to buy time, not to stop the enemy.

Otherwise, they could concentrate their forces to build a line of defense to block the enemy's advance, instead of dividing themselves into different regions to resist step by step and trade space for time.

There was no best strategy in this world, only the most suitable strategy.

According to the plan of the Government of Paris, the mission of the African colonial government was to defend, delay, and wait for the French army to win in Europe.

There was no doubt that Governor Jacob was carrying out this plan to the letter. Apart from the initial stages of the war, when they took the initiative to organize a few attacks, they entered a state of full defense later on.

The war in Europe was in a stalemate, and the French army was unable to break through the Rhine River defense line. The situation in Egypt became worse.

…

The Aswan region had become a battlefield. The sound of gunfire and battle cries intertwined and resounded through the sky.

Putting down the telescope in his hand, Major General Herzendorf smiled with satisfaction. After the smile, it was followed by a deep sense of sorrow.

Without a doubt, the increased role of the air force on the battlefield was also a blow to the land force.

Although the dominant position of the land force could not be shaken, the air force was rapidly developing. If there were no accidents, the country would definitely increase investment in the air force after the war.

If it was only the air force that was growing, Major General Herzendorf would be worried. After all, the air force had just started, and no matter how much it developed, it would not be able to keep pace with the land force in a short period of time.

The problem was that Austria still had a large navy. The current international situation was very clear. After the war, the Government of Vienna would definitely increase investment in the navy to compete with the British for maritime supremacy.

In contrast, the land force was much more difficult. Everyone knew that Austria could not maintain five or six million troops for a long time. Once the war ended, disarmament was imperative.

The navy could not be disbanded, and the size of the air force was limited. Even if it was disbanded, according to convention, the airship force would be directly transferred to logistics. The real disbanded was only the land force.

With an increase and a decrease, the advantage of the land force would be offset. In the future, Austria's military structure would be balanced by the land force, navy, and air force. The land force would no longer be the dominant force.

This was what the Government of Vienna wanted to see the most. In the past decade, the navy had flourished, and the airship force was able to separate from the land force. The government had contributed a lot.

Of course, this was not without the tacit consent of the Emperor. The core of the political game was the balance of power. The Emperor did not want his subordinates to be monolithic.

As a general of the land force, he naturally did not want to see this happen. Even if Austria was a large country, the funds invested in the military were limited. The rise of the navy and air force would inevitably reduce the resources of the land force.

It was useless to know. This was an overt plot. From the day the Austrian air force was established, the new structure was already determined.

Logically, with Major General Herzendorf's rank, he should not know.

After all, the matter had not happened yet. The government was only intentionally promoting it. No one mentioned it anywhere, let alone implemented it. From the beginning to the end, no information was leaked out.

However, there was never a lack of smart people in this world. Major General Herzendorf was one of them. He had drawn conclusions from some clues.

Sometimes, knowing too much was also a kind of trouble. Major General Herzendorf was like this now. Originally, he did not believe that the air force could be strengthened. However, after witnessing the air force's combat, he had to accept the reality.

The performance of airplanes was still limited. Bombing still relied on airships. However, technology was changing rapidly these days!

Soon, Herzendorf dispelled the messy thoughts in his mind. Even if the sky collapsed, the tall ones would be the first to hold it up. There were so many big shots in the upper echelons of the land force. As a major general, it was not his turn to worry.

No matter what, Austria's geographical location had determined that it had to develop its land power. No matter what, the land force could not be less.

After all, the cake was getting bigger and bigger. Even if there were more people, each person would still get more than before.

Looking at his watch, Major General Herzendorf ordered the officer in front of him, "Pass down the order. In half an hour, the 225th Division will attack from the front. The 236th Division will attack from the right flank. The 221st Division will …"

Under normal circumstances, it was impossible for a major general to command more than twenty infantry divisions. According to the Austrian army's organizational structure, the officers at the division level were basically all major generals.

Those who were qualified to command more than three hundred thousand troops were at least at the rank of general.

However, these so-called conventions were all broken after the great expansion of the army.

Including the colonial troops, the Austrian land force had suddenly expanded from more than five hundred thousand before the war to more than six million.

Ever since the completion of the military reform, Austria's military ranks had become more precious. The number of generals was especially strictly controlled.

Before the war broke out, there were less than seven hundred people in the land force, including retired generals. The military force had suddenly expanded by more than ten times. Franz naturally could not provide that many generals.

Without military merits, it was difficult to cross the threshold of general, but there were many reserve officers at the field level. If there were not enough generals, they would use colonels to make up the numbers. Even the division commanders of some troops were assigned to lieutenant colonels.

It was an era of war. If they did not control it, there would be generals everywhere after the war.

In order to avoid the embarrassing situation where there were more generals than soldiers, Franz decisively adopted the measure of lower ranks and higher allocations. In any case, after fighting a few battles, he would be able to catch up with the military merits.

Under such circumstances, it was not strange that a major general corps commander like Herzendorf had appeared.

…

As the defense of Aswan began, letters asking for help continued to fly from Cairo to Paris. At the most, Napoleon Iv could receive three telegrams from the Egyptian governor in a day.

Not only Egypt, but other parts of Africa also sent telegrams asking for help. Even though the Government of Paris had decided to temporarily give up a large number of colonies, they were still unable to reverse the unfavorable situation on the battlefield.

The retreat of the colonial government was not an easy task. Not only did the government agencies have to move, but a large number of people also had to leave.

Other people could be abandoned, but the families of the soldiers could not be abandoned, right?

If the families of the soldiers were really abandoned to Austria, there would be no need to fight the war in the future.

In order to cover the retreat of the government agencies and the soldiers' families, the French army at the frontline still had to continue to hold the line. Therefore, the promise of reinforcements to the Egyptian governor only existed in theory.

In the end, whether or not they could be in place depended on how many troops were withdrawn from the frontline. After confirming the safety of the Algerian region, it was Egypt's turn to have extra troops.

The battlefield in Africa did not seem to be important and would not affect the final outcome of the European war. The Government of France did not pay much attention to it.

On the contrary, the African colonies provided France with one-third of the industrial raw materials and one-fifteenth of the agricultural products. It was of great strategic importance to France.

From the beginning, the Government of France attached great importance to the African continent. However, their strength in the African region was limited, and they were facing a war on two fronts. In a short period of time, they had no ability to invest a large number of troops in the African colonies.

Forced to do so, the Government of Paris deliberately pretended to be indifferent, making the outside world think that they did not pay attention to Africa, and not that France could not win against Austria in Africa.

There was no other way, this was politics. The complicated international situation determined that France must continue to be strong. Any hint of fatigue could cause a chain reaction.

Faced with the worsening situation in Africa, Napoleon Iv finally could not sit still. The defense line at the Rhine River had not been broken. If Africa fell first, it would be a big problem.

Not to mention the losses that France suffered from the fall of Africa. From a strategic point of view, once France fell, Austria would almost be able to unify the entire African continent.

At that time, even if the French army broke through Vienna, the war would continue. There was no other way. The capital was too strong, and there was no reason to admit defeat.

Even if they kept losing on the battlefield, Austria could rely on the consumption of resources and drag France to death.

With the Prussian war as a lesson, Napoleon Iv had to consider the terrible consequences of the fall of France in Africa.

"The situation in Africa has completely collapsed. What is the Ministry of War going to do?"

The Minister of War, Luskinia, blushed and replied awkwardly, "Your Majesty, our disadvantage in Africa is too obvious. Even if we send reinforcements from the country, it will be difficult to turn the situation around.

Right now, we can only carry out a strategic retreat and concentrate our forces to protect the most important Egypt and Algeria. We can only temporarily give up the other areas. "

It was impossible to increase the number of troops. The war in Europe had consumed almost all of France's strength. They did not have the ability to carry out a laborious expedition.

Even if the Ministry of War gritted their teeth and gathered hundreds of thousands of troops, what about the logistics and supplies?

One had to know that the cost of a laborious expedition was much higher than the cost of fighting at home. French Africa was not as deep as Austrian Africa.

After the outbreak of the war, the Government of Vienna only invested weapons and medicine in the African battlefield. The other strategic supplies were handled by the local governments themselves.

If it was French Africa, the colonial government would not be able to afford such a large expenditure. The ability of the indigenous people to create wealth could not be compared to the Austrians.

Napoleon Iv's face darkened. Obviously, this explanation did not satisfy him.

If they could defend the most important Egypt and Algeria, it would be acceptable. The problem was that the Egyptian region was about to be lost as well.

When he opened the map, he knew that France's territory in Africa was shrinking day by day. Based on the current speed, there would be nothing left for France in Africa in a year and a half.

"Is that all?"

Faced with the Emperor's interrogation, Luskinia's forehead was covered in cold sweat. There was no other way. This question was too difficult.

"Your Majesty, although the deterioration of the situation in Africa cannot be reversed, it will not collapse immediately.

No matter what, we still have nearly a million troops on the African continent. It is still possible to stall for time.

As long as we win the European war, the Austrians will have to return what they have taken with interest. "

"A million troops", if it fell into the ears of people who did not know the situation, it would probably scare a lot of people.

Unfortunately, everyone present was in the know and knew very well what kind of people those troops were. If the colonial troops had half the combat power of the main force, the situation would not have collapsed so badly.

Napoleon Iv waved his hand. "Enough, I don't want to listen to these clichés anymore.

Everyone knows that the European war is the key to victory. The premise is that we can win the war on the European continent.

If the stalemate continues like this, once French Africa falls, what do I have to fight against Austria? Should I count on the British? "

It was not that Napoleon Iv was impatient, but the situation on the battlefield was too bad. The African war was a crushing defeat, and the European war was not going well either.

As time went by, Austria invested more and more troops in the Rhine River defense line, and the French's hopes of breaking through the defense line were getting lower and lower.

For this war, France had bet too much, and they could not afford to lose now.

After hesitating for a moment, Luskinia slowly said, "Your Majesty, we need allies. We need real allies, not the British who will stab us in the back at any time! "

This was a lesson learned in blood. Anyone who flipped open the history books would know that most of the time, France was fighting alone.

Many times, they clearly had the strength of the strongest country on the European continent, but they were besieged by the enemy.

It was not that no one noticed this problem, but it was mainly because by the time they realized it, all the countries on the European continent had been offended.

Now was no exception. Napoleon Iv also yearned for allies, but he could not find any!

If he had not been forced into a corner, he would not have conspired with his mortal enemy, the British.

…