Chapter 918： France needs allies

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The diplomatic protest raised by Jacob is actually a stern word. Asking for help from the international community, France can't afford to lose this person.

If you can’t win on the battlefield, you hope for the intervention of the international community. That is the behavior of the weak, which is not in line with France’s status as a great power.

Of course, the main thing is that protest is useless. The four referees on the European continent beat each other two by two. Can't you expect a group of cheerleaders to intervene?

Since it is a war, there will inevitably be casualties. Civilian casualties in France are high, as are civilian casualties on the anti-French alliance.

In particular, the fallen Belgium and Rhineland regions, although there are no specific statistics, it can still be determined that civilian casualties are above five figures.

Now is the peak period of the colonial empire, which is also the peak period of racial discrimination. Not all peoples have human rights.

It's okay if this cover is not lifted. If it is lifted, the final ending is "self-destructive to kill three hundred enemy."

If the operation is not good and European countries mistakenly believe that France will not work, it will be a big trouble to run one by one to hug Austria's thighs.

The current anti-French alliance is hard enough to deal with. If the Austrians are allowed to flicker a few allies, there will be no need to fight back.

In fact, the biggest threat that the Austrian Air Force poses to the French is not direct killing on the battlefield.

Regardless of the airship bombing or the aircraft firing, it depends on luck.

When luck is good, a wave of air strikes can kill thousands of people; when luck is bad, the results are not enough.

Compared with the results directly obtained by the Austrian Air Force on the battlefield, Governor Jacob is more worried about the influence of the morale of the army.

After a series of blows, the arrogance of the French army was gradually worn away, and more and more people lost faith in the following war.

Fu Wushuang's misfortune is not alone, when Governor Jacob is worried about the Austrian Air Force.

A burly young military officer ran in from the outside and said breathlessly: "Governor... Your Excellency, something big...not good!"

Governor Jacob's heart tightened, and just looking at the nervous expression of the young officer, he knew that something was going to happen.

After seeing the big winds and waves in the end, Jacob quickly adjusted and pretended to say nothing, "Oren, speak more slowly. The sky hasn't fallen, where did the enemy bomb again?"

Compared to other bad news on the battlefield, Governor Jacob still hopes that the next bad news is the enemy's air force bombing.

After airships have been in the military field for so many years, Austria is the first to put airships into the military field. Although the French are proud, they are not stupid. It is impossible to be unguarded against such enemies.

In establishing the material warehouse, the Governor of Jacob considered the threat from heaven early on. This is also the reason for the French army’s heavy casualties after the loss of air control.

The young officer of Oren shook his head hurriedly: "It's not an air raid! The enemy once again tore our eastern line of defense, and the Aswan area is in danger."

Hearing the word "again", Governor Jacob felt only a toothache. There is no way. From the outbreak of the war to the present, the French defense line deployed in the Sudan has been broken three times.

Fortunately, the colony was large enough for the French to have a chance to rearrange their defenses in the rear. Regrettably, the colonial army was always overwhelmed, and every line of defense could not last for a few days.

In Jacob's view, it is not so much the front-line French army that is resisting the invasion of the Austrian army as it is the bad geographical conditions and bad traffic environment, which is slowing down the enemy's progress.

"Order Lieutenant Parker to gather the broken soldiers on the front and build a new line of defense in the Aswan area.

Ordered the 17th and 24th divisions to immediately go to the reinforcements.

Order the defenders in the areas of Kom Ombo and Edfu to prepare for battle..."

After a series of orders were issued, it could be seen that Governor Jacob had no hope for the French troops on the front line. Active defense is only to gain time, not to expect them to be able to block the enemy.

Otherwise, it is to concentrate on creating a line of defense to block the enemy's front, instead of preparing for battle in different regions to fight against each other and exchange space for time.

There is no best tactic in this world, only the most suitable one.

According to the plan of the Paris government, the mission of the African colonial government is to hold on and delay time, just to wait for the French army to win in Europe.

There is no doubt that Governor Jacob is strictly implementing this plan. Except for the initial stage of the outbreak of the war, ambitious initiative organized several attacks, and later entered a state of full defense.

However, the plan did not change quickly, the European War was in a stalemate, the French army was unable to break through the Rhine defense line, and the situation in Egypt became worse.

...

The Aswan area has now become a battlefield. The sound of artillery fire and shouting are intertwined, resounding through the sky.

Putting down the telescope in his hand, Major General Herzendorf gave a satisfied smile. After laughing, it is a deep sorrow.

There is no doubt that the increased role of the Air Force on the battlefield is also an impact on the Army.

Although it still cannot shake the dominant position of the Army, the Air Force is developing rapidly. If nothing happens, the country will definitely increase its investment in the Air Force after the war.

If only the Air Force is growing, Major General Herzendorf is still worried. After all, the Air Force has just started, and no matter how it develops, it will not be able to keep pace with the Army.

The problem is that Austria still has a large navy. The current international situation is already very obvious. After the war, the Vienna government will definitely increase its investment in the navy and compete with the British for maritime hegemony.

In comparison, the Army will be much harder. Everyone knows that Austria cannot maintain five or six million troops for a long time. Once the war is over, disarmament is imperative.

The navy cannot be laid off, and the air force is limited in size. Even if it is laid off, the airship force will be transferred directly to logistics transportation in accordance with the usual practice. Only the army is the one to be laid off.

With one increase and one decrease, the Army’s superiority is offset. In the future, Austria’s military pattern is that the Army, Navy, and Air Force check and balance each other.

This is what the Vienna government wants to see the most. In the past ten years or so, the navy has been booming, and the airship force can be separated from the army to become an independent army. The government has made great efforts.

Of course, the emperor's acquiescence was indispensable behind this. The core of the political game is power checks and balances, and the emperor did not want his men to be rigid.

As an army general, I naturally don't want to see this happen. Even if the Austrian family is big, the funds invested in the military are limited. The rise of the navy and air force will inevitably divide the resources of the army.

It is useless to know, this is Yangmou. From the day the Austrian Air Force was established, the new pattern was already doomed.

It stands to reason that the level of Major General Herzendorf should not be known.

After all, things haven't happened yet. The government only intends to promote it. No one has proposed it in any place, let alone implemented it. From beginning to end, no news flowed out.

However, there is never a shortage of smart people in this world, and Major General Herzendorf is one of them, drawing conclusions from some clues.

Sometimes knowing too much is also an annoyance. This is what Major General Herzendorf does now. Originally, he did not believe that the Air Force could grow, but after witnessing the Air Force operations, he had to accept the reality.

At present, the performance of the aircraft is still limited, and the bombing still depends on the airship. But this year, the technology update is fast!

Soon Herzendorf dispelled the messy thoughts in his mind. The sky fell down and the tall man stood first. There are so many big men at the top of the army, and it is not his turn to worry about him.

In any case, Austria’s geographic location determines the need to develop land rights, and no matter how much it belongs to the army.

After all, the bigger and bigger the cake, even if there are more people, each person gets more hands than before.

Looking at his watch, Major General Herzendorf commanded the nearest officer: "The subpoena will continue, and half an hour later the second twenty-fifth division will attack from the front, the second three-sixth division will attack from the right, the second four-one division From……"

It is impossible under normal circumstances for a major general to command more than twenty infantry divisions. According to the establishment of the Austrian army, the officers at the division level are basically major generals.

Those who are qualified to command more than 300,000 troops are at least starting from the general.

However, these so-called conventions were all broken after the military expansion.

Counting the colonial forces, the Austrian army swelled from more than half a million before the war to more than six million.

Since the completion of the military reform, Austria’s military ranks have become precious, and the control of the number of generals is particularly strict.

Before the outbreak of the war, the army went up and down, including the retired generals, together less than 700 people. The strength of the army expanded a dozen times at once, and Franz naturally couldn't get so many generals.

Without military merit, the threshold of generals is difficult to cross, but there are many school-level officers in reserve. The general was not enough, so he picked up the colonel, and even some of the division commanders were assigned to the lieutenant colonel.

Now in the war years, if you don't control it, you will not fly into the sky after the war.

In order to avoid a situation where the general is more embarrassed than the soldier, Franz decisively adopted low rank and high matching measures. Anyway, after fighting a few battles, he would catch up with the achievements.

Against this background, it is not surprising that the commander of the major general group like Herzendorf appeared.

...

As the defense of Aswan started, a letter of aid continued to fly from Cairo to Paris. At most, Napoleon IV received three letters of aid from the Governor of Egypt a day.

Not only Egypt, but also the telegrams for help in other parts of Africa. Even if the Paris government has decided to temporarily abandon a large colony, it has not been able to reverse the unfavorable situation on the battlefield.

The retreat of the colonial government was not a simple job. Not only did government agencies relocate, but also a large number of people needed to leave.

Others can abandon it, can't the family of soldiers also throw it away?

If the family members of the soldiers were thrown to Austria, they wouldn't have to fight back.

In order to cover the retreat of government agencies and soldiers' families, the French troops on the front still have to continue to fight. Therefore, the reinforcements promised to the Governor of Egypt only exist in theory.

In the end, it depends on how many troops were withdrawn from the front line. After it was determined that the security of the Algeria region could be guaranteed, it was only after a surplus of troops that they could get Egypt.

Don’t look at the fact that the African battlefield doesn’t seem to be very important. It doesn’t affect the final victory of the European War, and the French government doesn’t pay much attention to it.

On the contrary, the African colonies provided France with one-third of industrial raw materials and one-fifth of agricultural products, which is of great significance to France’s strategy.

From the beginning, the French government attached great importance to the African continent. Fortunately, they have limited strength in the African region, and the locals are facing two-line combat. They simply cannot afford to invest a lot of troops in the African colonies in a short time.

Forced by frustration, the Paris government deliberately made an indifferent appearance, making the outside world think that they did not value Africa, not that France could not win Austria in Africa.

No way, this is politics. The complicated international situation determines that France must continue to be strong, but any trace of fatigue may cause a chain reaction.

Facing the deteriorating situation in Africa, Napoleon IV finally couldn't sit still. The Rhine line of defense has not yet broken through. If Africa falls first, the fun will be great.

Not to mention the fall caused by Africa and the loss to France. From a strategic point of view, once the fall of French Africa, Austria has almost unified the entire African continent.

By that time, even if the French army broke through Vienna, the war would continue. No way, the cost is too strong, and there is really no reason to admit defeat.

Even if it has been a failure on the battlefield, Austria can rely on the resources consumed and drag France to death.

There is a lesson from the Russo-Prussian War. Napoleon IV had to consider the terrible consequences of the fall of French Africa.

"The situation in Africa has completely collapsed. What should the Ministry of Army prepare to do?"

Luskinia, the Secretary of the Army, blushed slightly and replied slightly embarrassedly: "Your Majesty, our disadvantage on the African continent is too obvious. Even if we send reinforcements from home, it will be difficult to reverse the situation.

At present, only strategic contraction can be carried out to concentrate forces to protect the most important Egypt and Algeria, and other regions can only temporarily give up. "

It is impossible to increase troops. The European War has already consumed almost all of France's strength and has no ability to carry out expeditions.

Even if the Department of the Army grapples with hundreds of thousands of troops, what about logistics?

It should be understood that the cost of the expedition for the labor division is far greater than the local operational cost, and French Africa is not as deep as the Austrian Africa.

After the outbreak of the war, the Vienna government's investment in the African battlefield was only weaponry and medicine, and other strategic materials were obtained by the local government itself.

With the change to French Africa, the colonial government simply couldn't afford such a big expense. The indigenous people's ability to create wealth is simply not comparable to the Austrians.

Napoleon IV's face sank. Obviously this statement did not satisfy him.

If you can guard the most important Egypt and Algeria, then you can accept it in front of you. The problem is that the eyes of the Egyptian region will not be guaranteed.

Opening the map shows that France's territory on the African continent is shrinking. At the current rate, in the past year and a half, the African continent will have nothing to do with France.

"Is that all?"

Faced with the torture of the emperor's soul, Luskinia's forehead was cold with sweat. No way, this problem is too embarrassing.

"Your Majesty, although the deterioration of the African continent cannot be reversed, it will not collapse immediately.

In any case, we still have nearly a million troops on the African continent, and we can still do it by delaying time.

As long as we have won the European War, the Austrians will still have to pay back even if they have eaten. "

If the "Million Army" falls into the ears of unsuspecting people, it is estimated that it can scare many people.

It's a pity that the insiders are all insiders, and they know very well what the troops are. As long as the colonial forces have half of the fighting power of the main force, the situation will not collapse so badly.

Napoleon IV waved his hand: "Enough is enough, I don't want to listen to these old-fashioned principles.

Everyone knows that the European War is the key to victory or defeat, provided that we can win the war on the European continent.

If the stalemate continues like now, once French Africa falls, what can I fight against Austria? Count on the British? "

It was not that Napoleon IV couldn't hold his breath, but the situation on the battlefield was too bad. The battlefield in Africa has been defeated, and the battlefield in Europe has not been smooth.

With the passage of time, Austria has more and more troops devoted to the Rhine defense line, and the French army's hope of breaking through the defense line is getting lower and lower.

For this war, France pressed too many chips, and now they simply cannot afford to lose.

After hesitating for a while, Luskinia said slowly, "Your Majesty, we need allies. We need real allies, not the kind of British stabbing at any time!"

This is the lesson of blood. If you open the history book, you will know that most of the time, France is fighting alone.

In many cases, it is obvious that it has the strength of the largest continent of the European continent, but it is terrible to be besieged by the enemy.

It is not that no one has discovered this problem, mainly when they responded, the countries on the European continent have been offended.

Now it is no exception. Napoleon IV also longed for an ally, but he couldn't find it!

Had he not been forced to do anything, he would not try to hide from his rivals, the British and the Tigers.

...

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