Holy Roman Empire Chapter 924

Chapter 924: Chapter 187, Better Him Die Than Me

The shift in the strategic focus of the Austrian Empire clarified the unpredictable situation on the Central European Battlefield.

The Allied Forces, initially eager to launch a counterattack, had now completely transitioned into a defensive stance. They seemed to be burdened by the refugee crisis, and no matter how the French Army provoked them, they steadfastly held their ground.

With planes and airships in the sky, and trenches, barbed wire, and machine guns on the ground, the French Army was also at a loss.

To attack meant paying a high cost, with the unsatisfactory outcome far from guaranteed.

After all, trenches required no high technology; breaching one meant facing another. To simply fill them with infantry was to be irresponsible to the safety of the soldiers.

Although it's said that any casualty is worthwhile if it leads to victory, the Battle of the Rhine River was but a microcosm of the war in Europe.

If France lost this battle, it would mean their direct downfall; a victory, on the other hand, would only lead to the next battle. A glance at the map would tell you that for France to win the war, they couldn't expect to subdue the Anti-French Alliance without fighting three to five more battles.

If they exhausted their resources here, how could they continue to fight subsequent wars? Any commander knew that an early win did not constitute victory; only the last standing victor was the real winner.

On one side was the front line that could not be broken through, on the other was the daily increase in the number of casualties. Marshal Patrice McMahon in the headquarters felt an immense pressure.

“Have the anti-aircraft weapons been delivered?”

The defense line was manned only by the Allied Forces' ground troops, while their dominating air force made unpredictable sorties every day. Whether it was bombs from above or bullets in a flying arc, both were major troubles for the French Army.

Even though the battle achievements of a single airship or airplane might not seem significant, when multiplied by hundreds, the situation was entirely different.

Even if flying a plane resulted in just one victory at a time, for the French Army, it still meant hundreds of casualties every day. Accumulated over time, the numbers were anything but small.

Especially the blow to the morale and spirits of the troops, which was difficult to recover from. To get out of this predicament as soon as possible, Marshal Patrice McMahon immediately requested anti-aircraft weapons from the home front.

Despite the fact that the use of airships had advanced, the development of anti-aircraft weapons came earlier than expected. Yet the potency of such weapons of the era remained quite limited.

Apart from anti-aircraft guns showing some effect, other anti-aircraft weapons seemed to have been invented just to add a comedic touch.

Take, for example, the somewhat legendary anti-aircraft rifles.

In theory, these specially developed anti-aircraft rifles had an extreme range of over a thousand meters and could threaten enemies in the sky.

As for their actual combat effectiveness, regrettably, throughout the European war, the French Army had not downed a single plane or airship with these weapons.

Perhaps they hit their targets, but sadly, they did not cause them to fall. There was no helping it; the bullets of the time were too weak. Being capable of flying over a thousand meters did not mean they had a killing power of a thousand meters. Unless the enemy flew at low altitudes, there was no use.

Anti-aircraft machine guns, which would later become widely known, were like myths in that era. The Maxim gun was new equipment, so soldiers couldn't be expected to just aim Gatling guns into the sky, could they?

Compared with comedic black technologies, the cannons were still reliable. Although their hit rate was miserably low, a strike typically meant achieving results.

“The anti-aircraft weapons have been delivered, but Marshal, I fear these few hundred anti-aircraft cannons might not be enough…”

With no alternative, two million French soldiers depending on just a few hundred anti-aircraft cannons to provide safety overhead wasn't feasible, no matter how they were distributed.

The scramble within the French forces over who would get these anti-aircraft guns had nearly led to internal conflict, causing much trouble for Major General Amedi, who was responsible for logistics.

Marshal Patrice McMahon thoughtfully nodded, “Given the insufficient number of anti-aircraft cannons, we won't allocate them to the troops for the time being. Instead, we'll concentrate them and have them operate alongside the artillery.

The enemy is in the sky; they can't be distinguished so clearly. When the time comes, we will have the other cannons fire together, just to scare them off.

As long as the enemy doesn't bomb at low altitudes, the damage they cause us will be within a tolerable range.

You see, the cost of deploying air forces isn't low. The results they achieve by harassing us from high altitudes probably aren't enough to cover their fuel costs.

Didn't they say back home that fighter planes have already started production? In a while, the problem will be solved.

For now, we should accelerate our pace and try to create more refugees before international intervention, increasing the pressure on the enemy's logistics.”

It was a fact. Purely from an economic perspective, the cost-effectiveness of high-altitude bombing was indeed low.

Hundreds of tons of ammunition, plus the same in fuel, along with a hefty maintenance bill, just to achieve the destruction of a hundred and eighty enemy troops was a definitive loss.

War is fought over money; without clear results, no one can withstand prolonged pressures, and the bombing frequency will naturally decline.

No, to be precise, the bombing frequency of the Austrian army had already declined. Most of the time, it was airplanes that harassed; the frequency of airship sorties was getting lower and lower.

The reason was naturally logistics. The appearance of the refugee crisis forced the Austrian army to save ammunition and reduce logistical consumption as much as possible.

The airship troops, originally intended to bomb the French Army, now took on more logistical transport tasks. Hundreds of airships traveled back and forth every day to ensure the front line was well supplied.

Costs and such were no longer concerns for the Vienna Government. Austria was now exerting every effort to supply the front line by land, water, and air.

As for the international intervention that Marshal Patrice McMahon worried about, it was actually a case of lost in one's illusion, the French government frightening itself.

Concerning the intervention in the European war, the capable nations didn't wish to intervene, and they were still occupied with their “friendly match,” unable to stop any time soon.

The remaining countries that desired to intervene lacked sufficient power; apart from making noise, they had no substantial ability to intervene.

The Central European Battlefield stabilized, and the African Continent became a scene of action. The all-out efforts of the Austrian Empire produced naturally extraordinary effects.

Within a mere half a month, the Vienna Government had dispatched reinforcements totaling seventeen divisions to the Egyptian battlefield, which left the already struggling French Army completely on the defensive.

Staring at the mountain of telegrams pleading for help, Governor Jacob didn't even have time to respond before another piece of dire news arrived.

With the Austrian army launching an all-out offensive on the African Continent, the area of Algeria, previously in the rear, had now become the front line, and the Algerian Colonial Government had detained the troops that were originally planned to reinforce the Egypt Area.

“Damn that fool Anatole, can't he think a bit? Once the Egypt Area falls, we're completely thrown on the defensive in this war…”

It wasn't just Governor Jacob cursing incessantly. Everyone present, regardless of their faction, displayed a unified hatred for the enemy at this moment.

According to the plan, after the French Army completed a strategic withdrawal on the African Continent, an additional three hundred thousand reinforcements were to bolster the Egyptian war zone.

Although these troops were not the main force and their combat effectiveness was only slightly better than that of the Native Troops, having reinforcements was always better than none.

Even if it wasn't to reverse the current situation on the battlefield, at the very least, they could have allowed the Egyptian war zone to hold out longer. For everyone there, just holding on until the war in Europe ended would be a great victory.

Unfortunately, all of this had now become a pipe dream, and without reinforcements, the remnants of the Egypt Area couldn't hold out much longer.

Major General Altier, responsible for the Suez defense line, spoke indignantly, “Governor, we must lodge a complaint with the homeland! If everyone acts as recklessly as the Algerian Colonial Government, neglecting the bigger picture, who can protect France?”

There was no time to lose. The enemy had already crossed the Suez Canal, and had it not been for the fortress, the Canal Defense Line would have collapsed long ago.

Anyone with even a little military knowledge knew that once the Suez Canal Defense Line fell, the open Delta region in the rear would be indefensible.

The fall of the Egypt Area was one thing, but the key problem was that the Suez Canal had completely fallen into enemy hands. Even if the Canal was damaged and required time to repair, the overall strategic disadvantage had been created.

The Austrian Empire, spanning three continents in Europe, Asia, and Africa, was absolutely terrifying. Even if France won the war in Europe, they could not contend with this monster.

At the Palace of Versailles, before the protest telegram from the Governor of Egypt could arrive, Napoleon IV was already infuriated by the disruptive actions of the Algerian Colonial Government.

If they couldn't provide reinforcements for the Egypt Area, they should have said so earlier. What did they mean by pulling this stunt at the last minute?

If Napoleon IV hadn't been sure that Algeria was still under the French flag, he might have suspected them of defection.

Anyone with a knee would know that the sudden disappearance of the promised reinforcements would be a deadly blow to the Egypt Area, already in dire straits.

Europe didn't favor fighting to the bitter end. If the home country didn't send reinforcements, and there was no hope of victory in sight, the interest groups in the Egypt Area might as well surrender to Austria.

Loyalty is not something that withstands testing; no matter how tightly France controlled its colonies, the people's sense of belonging could never match that of the homeland.

“What did that fool Anatole say?”

It was evident that Napoleon IV was truly angry. To describe a governor appointed by himself in such terms meant he was at his limit of endurance.

Prime Minister Terence Burkin, his face red and his scalp tense, responded, “Anatole explained that the situation at the front was urgent, and the troops that had been withdrawn were intercepted by the enemy halfway and suffered heavy losses after combat.

The reinforcements promised to the Egypt Area had already lost more than half. With the enemy's spearhead now pointing directly at the region of Algeria, they no longer have the capacity to send reinforcements to Egypt.

To ensure the security of Algeria Region, Anatole has issued an urgent mobilization order, conscripting all French youth in the colonies. Furthermore, he has sent a plea for troops and material support to the homeland. If nothing goes wrong, we are about to lose Africa, this raw material base.”

Whether people wanted to believe it or not, the damage had been done. There were heavy losses during the retreat; the plan for strategic contraction was not fully realized, and the region of Algeria was about to become a battlefield.

In this context, even if the Paris Government forcibly ordered the colonial government to send reinforcements, it would have no effect.

Unlike other colonies, the Algeria Region had always been a focal area of operations for France, and the local interest groups were well-established.

In moments of crisis, everyone's first priority was to secure their own interests. In the face of interests, the bigger picture had to take a back seat.

Suppressing the dissatisfaction in his heart, Napoleon IV asked, “Without these reinforcements, how long can the Egypt Area hold out?”

Confidence can be eroded, and if everyone's expectations for the French Army before the outbreak of the war were a hundred points, now they had at most eighty points left.

A swift and decisive victory, defeating Austria in a short period and winning the war, was only an idyllic dream at the start of the conflict.

Napoleon IV had by now extended the time to win the war from the initial two months to a year. The French government could not tolerate the fall of the Egypt Area before the French Army gained complete strategic superiority.

After much hesitation, Army Minister Luskinia uncertainly replied, “Preliminary estimates suggest they can hold for three to six months, but the Austrians have recently reinforced the Egyptian war zone again. How long it can hold will depend on the enemy's investment.”

This answer was as good as no answer at all. The intensity of Austrian reinforcement to the Egypt Area was uncontrollable, meaning how long the French forces there could endure was equally uncertain.

“Your Majesty, we must send reinforcements to the Egypt Area! We must let the front-line troops see hope, otherwise…”

Prime Minister Terence Burkin had only spoken halfway when he found himself unable to continue. It was unavoidable; the subsequent content was too demoralizing to say aloud.

As a politician, one may think such things in private, but some words truly shouldn't be spoken.

Chapter end

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