Chapter 976

With the shift of Austria's strategic focus, the confusing situation on the battlefield in Central Europe suddenly became clear.

The allied forces, which had been eager to counterattack, had now completely switched to a defensive state. It was as if they were held back by the refugees. No matter how the French army provoked them, they would not come out.

There were airplanes and airships in the sky, and trenches, barbed wire, and machine guns on the ground. The French army was very helpless against such an enemy.

If they attacked, they would have to pay a high price, and it would be difficult to achieve satisfactory results.

After all, there was no technical content in trenches. If they broke through one, there would be another. It would be irresponsible for the soldiers' safety to fill in the trenches with infantry.

As long as they could win the war, any number of casualties would be worth it. The problem was that the Battle of the Rhine River was only a microcosm of the war on the European continent.

If they lost this battle, France would be finished. If they won this battle, there would be another one. If France wanted to win the war, they would have to fight three to five battles to make the anti-French alliance surrender.

If they used up all their resources here, how would they fight the later battles? Any commander knew that winning first wasn't the real deal. Only the final victor would be the real winner.

On one side was the line of defense that could not be broken through, and on the other side were the casualties that were accumulating every day. Marshal Patrice McMahon felt a lot of pressure in the command center.

"Have the anti-air weapons arrived?"

Only the army was defending the defensive line. The air force, which had the absolute advantage, still came out from time to time every day. Whether it was bombs falling from the sky or bullets flying out, it was a big problem for the French army.

Calculating the results of an airship and a plane was not eye-catching, but once this unit was magnified by a hundred times, the situation was different.

Even if the score of a single plane was only one point, it was still hundreds of casualties for the French army every day. It was not a small number after accumulating for a long time.

The blow to the morale of the army was even more difficult to make up for. In order to get out of this predicament as soon as possible, Marshal Patrice McMahon immediately asked for anti-air weapons.

Airships might have been put into military use earlier, but countries had developed anti-air weapons in advance. In fact, the power of anti-air weapons was still very limited.

Apart from the anti-aircraft cannons that had some use, the other anti-aircraft weapons were created to increase the color of comedy.

For example, the legendary anti-air rifle.

In theory, this specially developed anti-air rifle had a maximum range of up to a thousand meters, which could pose a threat to enemies in the sky.

As for its actual combat effectiveness, it was a pity that the French army had not used this thing to shoot down a single plane or airship since the European war broke out for so long.

Maybe it hit the target, but the enemy just did not fall. It could not be helped. The power of the bullets was too small. Being able to fly over a thousand meters did not mean that the enemy could kill the enemy.

The anti-aircraft machine gun that was widely spread in the future was like a myth in this era. The Maxim machine gun was a new piece of equipment. They couldn't possibly let the soldiers shoot at the sky with Gatling guns, right?

Although the hit rate was pitiable, the accuracy was still very low. Although the accuracy was low, the accuracy of the artillery. Although the accuracy rate was low, the accuracy was very low.

"The anti-air weapons have been delivered, but Marshal, I'm afraid these few hundred anti-air cannons …"

It couldn't be helped. Two million French soldiers were counting on a few hundred anti-aircraft cannons to ensure their safety. No matter how they distributed the cannons, it was impossible.

In order to fight for the ownership of the anti-air artillery, the French army was almost at war. This was a headache for Lieutenant General Amedei, who was in charge of logistics.

Patrice McMahon nodded thoughtfully. "There are not enough anti-air artillery. There is no need to distribute them to the troops for now. Gather them together with the artillery.

The enemy is in the sky, and it is impossible to distinguish them clearly. When the time came, the other cannons would fire at the same time to scare them.

As long as the enemy does not bomb at low altitude, the losses we will suffer will be within a bearable range.

You must know that the cost of air force is not low. The results of harassing us at high altitude might not even be enough for their fuel.

Didn't the country say that the production of fighter jets has already started? The problem will be solved after a while.

Right now, we should speed up the progress and do our best to create more refugees before the international community intervenes. This will increase the pressure on the enemy's logistics. "

This was the truth. Purely from an economic point of view, the cost-performance ratio of bombing at high altitude was indeed low.

Hundreds of tons of ammunition, hundreds of tons of fuel, and a large amount of maintenance costs were definitely a loss if they could only kill a hundred or eighty people.

War was about money. If they could not achieve results, no one would be able to hold on for a long time, and the frequency of bombing would naturally decrease.

No, to be exact, the frequency of bombing by the Austrians had already decreased. Most of the time, it was aircraft harassment. The frequency of airships was getting lower and lower.

The reason was, of course, logistics. The appearance of the refugee wave forced the Austrians to save ammunition and reduce logistics consumption as much as possible.

The airship troops, which were originally used to bomb the French army, were now more responsible for logistics and transportation. There were hundreds of airships going back and forth between the two places every day to ensure that the frontline supplies were sufficient.

Cost and whatnot were no longer in the consideration of the Government of Vienna. Now, Austria was moving on three fronts, water and air, trying their best to transport supplies to the frontline.

As for the international interference that Patrice McMahon was worried about, it was actually the Government of France scaring themselves.

The countries that had the ability to interfere in the war in Europe did not want to. Moreover, they were still in a "friendly match" and could not stop for a while.

The remaining countries that wanted to interfere in the war in Europe did not have enough strength. Other than shouting a few times, they had no actual ability to interfere.

…

The battlefield in Central Europe was stabilized, and the African continent was lively. Austria, who went all out, naturally had extraordinary results.

In just half a month, the Government of Vienna sent seventeen divisions of reinforcements to the Egyptian battlefield. This put the French army, which was already at a disadvantage, into a passive position.

Looking at the mountain of telegrams in front of him, Governor Jacob didn't even have time to reply to them before he received a new piece of bad news.

As the Austrian army launched an all-out attack on the African continent, the Algerian region, which was in the rear, now became the frontline. The Algerian colonial government detained the reinforcements that were originally planned to reinforce the Egyptian region.

"Damn Anatole, idiot, can't you grow some brains? Once the Egyptian region falls, we will be completely in a passive position in this war … "

It was not only Governor Jacob who cursed endlessly. Everyone present, no matter which faction they belonged to, showed a united hatred for the enemy.

According to the plan, after the French army completed its strategic retreat on the African continent, there would be 300,000 reinforcements to reinforce the Egyptian battlefield.

Although these troops were not the main force and their combat power was not much stronger than the indigenous troops, having reinforcements was better than having no reinforcements.

Even if they could not reverse the current situation on the battlefield, at least they could make the Egyptian battlefield last longer. For everyone, as long as they could hold on until the end of the war in Europe, it would be a great victory.

Unfortunately, all this was now a dream. In the absence of reinforcements, the defeated soldiers in the Egyptian region would not be able to hold on for long.

Lieutenant General Artil, who was in charge of the Suez defense line, said indignantly, "Governor, let's complain to the government! If everyone learns from the Algerian colonial government and acts recklessly and disregards the overall situation, who can protect France? "

The enemy had already crossed the Suez Canal. If it were not for the fortress, the canal defense line would have collapsed long ago.

Anyone with a little military knowledge knew that once the Suez Canal defense line collapsed, the flat delta behind it would not be able to hold on.

Not only did the Egyptian region fall, but the Suez Canal had completely fallen into the enemy's hands. Even if the canal was damaged and it would take time to repair, the overall strategic passivity was still created.

The Austrian Empire, which spanned across Europe, Asia, and Africa, was absolutely terrifying. Even if France won the European war, they could not do anything to this monster.

…

In the Palace of Versailles, before the Egyptian governor's protest telegram arrived, Napoleon Iv was angered by the actions of the Algerian colonial government.

If they could not provide reinforcements to the Egyptian region, then they should have said so earlier. What was the point of doing this at the critical moment?

If it was not confirmed that Algeria was still under France, Napoleon Iv would have suspected that they had defected to the enemy.

It was obvious that the sudden disappearance of the reinforcements that should have set off was a fatal blow to the Egyptian war zone, which was in the midst of a storm.

It was not popular in Europe to fight to the death. If there were no domestic reinforcements, and there was no hope of victory, the interest groups in the Egyptian region might surrender to Austria.

Loyalty was not something that could withstand the test. No matter how strict France's control of the colonies was, the sense of belonging of the people was not as strong as that of the natives.

"What did that idiot Anatole say?"

It could be seen that Napoleon Iv was really angry. Using this tone to describe the governor he had appointed was definitely the limit of his tolerance.

Prime Minister Terence Burkin, whose face was flushed red, replied, "Anatole explained that the situation at the front line was urgent. The troops that had withdrawn from the front line were caught up by the enemy halfway and suffered heavy losses after the battle.

The reinforcements that had been promised to the Egyptian region have now been lost by more than half. In addition, the enemy's vanguard has been directed at the Algerian region, and they have no ability to reinforce the Egyptian region.

In order to ensure the safety of the Algerian region, Anatole has issued an emergency mobilization order to recruit all the French youth in the colony.

At the same time, a telegram was sent to the country for help, seeking military and material support. If there are no accidents, we are about to lose Africa as a raw material source. "

Regardless of whether everyone was willing to believe it or not, it had already happened. There were heavy losses during the retreat, and the strategic contraction plan was not fully implemented. The Algerian region was about to become a battlefield.

In this context, even if the Government of Paris forced the colonial government to send reinforcements, it would not have any effect.

Unlike other colonies, the Algerian region had always been the focus of France's operations, and the local interest groups had become the general trend.

At the moment of crisis, everyone had to protect their own interests first. In the face of interests, the overall situation had to be pushed back.

Suppressing the dissatisfaction in his heart, Napoleon Iv asked, "Without these reinforcements, how long can the Egyptian region hold out?"

Confidence could not be worn down. If everyone's expectation of the French army before the war broke out was 100 points, now it was only 80 points at most.

A quick battle and defeat Austria in a short period of time to win the war was only a beautiful idea at the beginning of the war.

Now Napoleon Iv had increased the time to win the war from the initial two months to a year. Before the French army completely gained a strategic advantage, the Government of France could not tolerate the fall of the Egyptian region.

After hesitating again and again, the Minister of War, Luskinia, answered with uncertainty, "The initial estimate is that it can hold out for three to six months, but recently the Austrians have increased their troops in the Egyptian region. How long the Egyptian theater can hold out still depends on the enemy's investment."

This answer was tantamount to no answer. Austria's investment in the Egyptian region was uncontrollable, which meant how long the French army in Egypt could hold out was also uncontrollable.

"Your Majesty, send more troops to the Egyptian region! We must let the frontline troops see hope, otherwise … "

Halfway through his sentence, Prime Minister Terence Burkin could not continue. There was no other way, the rest of the content would be too demoralizing.

As a politician, it was okay to think in secret, but some words really could not be said out loud.