Chapter 263： put a long line to catch big fish

Chapter 263 Putting a long line to catch big fish

The Austro-Hungarian Empire declared war on Italy, which is bad news for Napoleon III in the war.

Napoleon III said to the French generals wearily: "It is now certain that the Austrians will not take any action in our war with Prussia, which also means that we will face more Prussian troops."

This news is undoubtedly heavy for the French army. Before the war, France was relatively contemptuous of Prussia, but after the fight, France found itself caught in the endless crowd tactics of the Prussians.

France has fallen into a disadvantage in the current battle situation. The Rhine Army has been passively defending, while the McMahon's troops in the south are completely at a disadvantage, and there is a risk of collapse at any time. The Fifth Army that went to support did not make any achievements. The Prussian Fifth Army caused huge losses, but because of the Hechingen Brigade that went to Saverna to support it and the third brigade led by Robert, the two sides were in a stalemate in the Saverner area.

The situation could not be opened on the battlefield, and Napoleon III’s expectations for the Austro-Hungarian Empire increased day by day. This was due to the Prussian-Prussian War. Some people in Austria did have revenge on Prussia. If the Austrian Empire still exists, It is really possible for the Austrians to attack Prussia, but now it is the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and Tsarist Russia supports Prussia.

"Your Majesty, we can't count on the Austro-Hungarian Empire. These Italians have no brains. They even declared war on the Pope against the strong statement of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. We shouldn't have withdrawn from the Pope..."

History cannot be assumed. If history can really be changed, what Napoleon III wants to do most now is to give the Austrian Empire a hand during the Prussian-Austro-Prussian War.

Different from the gloomy clouds of Napoleon III, the high-level Prussians after hearing the declaration of war between the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Italy suddenly realized and turned into ecstasy.

"Now, we have finally figured out the reason for the military mobilization of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. They have been eyeing Italy for a long time. This time, Italy is still hitting the gun. What will happen to Italy next, I am afraid..."

"That's good, we don't have to worry about the Austro-Hungarian Empire stabbing us in the back, and we can attack the French with all our strength. As for the Kingdom of Italy, who cares about their lives!"

…

Italian-Austrian border.

The Isonzo River defense line is divided into two layers. The lower reaches of the Isonzo River run north-south and are the only place in the area that is conducive to defense. Therefore, Italy will not abandon the position on the west bank of the Isonzo River, but the terrain on the west bank of the Isonzo River is relatively The east bank is low and is easily bombarded by the artillery of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, so Italy set up a second line of defense 20 kilometers west of the Isonzo River.

"Boom...boom...boom..."

The Italian side’s speculation was correct. On the day after the war broke out, Austrian artillery units deployed on the Bain Siza Heights and Carso Heights on the east bank began shelling the Italian positions on the opposite bank.

At this time, Italy's deployment mainly has two defense priorities. One is the northern defense line established in the north relying on the Alps. One is the southern line of defense arranged along the west bank of the Isonzo River in the south.

The Italian side has about 150,000 troops, while the Austro-Hungarian Empire has only more than 80,000 people, including 20,000 people from the Kingdom of Hungary. Both sides have dispatched their main forces.

Venice and Lombardy are inevitable for Austria. In addition to their important geographical location and port conditions, economic and historical reasons also make the Austrian government actively promote this war. As for Hungary, they want to reap some benefits, as long as Austria does not oppose Germany. The regional action, Italy and Tsarist Russia and Hungary are all in favor.

On the high ground on the east bank of the Isonzo River, Archduke Albrecht of the Austro-Hungarian Empire watched with satisfaction the results of the artillery troops of the Austro-Hungarian Empire with a telescope.

Albrecht, a famous general of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, was the son of the famous Austro-Hungarian General Karl Karl during the Napoleon era. Since 1869, he has served as the Director of the Austro-Hungarian Army, focusing on the development of industry and railways; establishing a short-term military service system to train more reserve soldiers, Expand the war potential; equip the troops and further improve new weapons; establish and improve the staff system.

On June 20, 1870, the Franco-Prussian War broke out. In order to prevent him from taking revenge, Prussia awarded him the title of Marshal of Prussia and the Grand Order of St. George.

In the original history, Albrecht should now be in France to help it deal with Prussia, but in this time and space, the Austro-Hungarian Empire had already determined its strategy against Italy, so he was appointed by Franz as the supreme commander of the war against Italy.

As the shells fell, the first line of defense built by the Italians quickly turned into a pile of tofu. In fact, Italy also knew that the first line of defense was under the artillery fire of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Abandoning this place is to delay the Austro-Hungarian army's preparation for more time to strengthen the second line of defense.

"Marshal! Why don't we attack the Italian army under the cover of artillery fire? Now the Italians have been suppressed by our artillery fire and can't even hold their heads up. Moreover, we have built military facilities in Tolmino and Gorizia on the west bank of the Isonzo River. With a solid bridgehead position, the troops should be able to cross the river directly!" An Austro-Hungarian general asked in confusion.

"This war, now is not the time to take action. It is necessary to let the Italians realize the seriousness of the problem and at the same time give Italy the illusion that more troops will be mobilized to the Eastern Front so that we can catch them all. It is indeed possible to attack now. Defeat the Italians quickly, but it's not good to scare the Italians." Archduke Albrecht said contemptuously.

It's not that Albrecht is arrogant. The reason why Albrecht is a famous European general is that his strongest record is that he commanded 80,000 Austrian troops to defeat the 120,000 Italian troops commanded by Emmanuel II in the last Italian-Austrian war. army.

So the 150,000 people placed by the Kingdom of Italy on the Eastern Front were really not enough in Albrecht's eyes. Although he still had 80,000 people this time, they were all the elite troops of the empire this time.

"Marshal, do you want the Kingdom of Italy to continue to increase its troops to the front?"

"Yes, if the Italians know that their opponent is me again, they will definitely continue to increase their chips on the front line, so we have to give the Kingdom of Italy time to prepare."

"However, Marshal, Italy is not the attacking side this time! If Italy uses fortifications to resist, even if we win this time, I am afraid it will not be as easy as last time."

"Of course I know this. My purpose is to completely hurt Italy so that it can never become an enemy of the empire again. If I want to hit Italy hard, I must let it gather more troops to the front line, otherwise we will enter the battlefield in the future." It will be very troublesome to clean up one by one in Italy, and to avoid subsequent resistance in Italy, it is necessary to wipe out most of its effective forces on the front line in one fell swoop."

Of course, Albrecht has another purpose that he did not mention, which is to attract Italian troops to Venice and Lombardy as much as possible, so as to provide favorable conditions for the Austrian army lurking in Rome.

Why did the Italians not dare to act rashly when France was stationed in Rome? In addition to the fact that France is very close to the Pope for support (Corsica), another reason that cannot be ignored is that Rome is not far from the current Italian capital, Florence.

If he can make good use of this surprise army lurking in the Pope's country, Albrecht will definitely let the Kingdom of Italy know what a surprise is.

In fact, Albrecht's plan is being realized. After figuring out the front-line commanders of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the approximate strength of the troops, the follow-up mobilization forces of the Kingdom of Italy are continuously coming from the rear to Venice. The Italians are preparing to build a third line of defense. The third line of defense is near the city of Venice.

Because of the last war, Emmanuel II was impressed by Albrecht's command ability, or a little afraid, the 150,000 troops were too insecure, even if Italy was on the defensive side.

(end of this chapter)