Chapter 265 Preparation before the war

A few days after the war broke out, Archduke Albrecht was not in a hurry to attack, but he still wanted to do it.

On the frontal battlefield, Albrecht did not intend to let the troops rush directly, because he himself was afraid that Italy would not be able to withstand a charge, so he ordered the Austrian troops outside the Alpine defense line to feint attack from the north, giving the Italians a sense that the Austro-Hungarian Empire planned to attack from the north. The illusion of breakthrough.

This move works very well. The northern defense line is much longer than the southern defense line, but the road is not easy to walk, and the passage of personnel and materials is not easy.

But behind the northern defense line is not only Venice, but also Lombardy. The southern defense line is short and only in the narrow plain area east of Venice. However, Archduke Albrecht's halo of famous generals forced the Italians to pay attention to it, just in case. Albrecht really wanted to catch Italy off guard from the north!

So when the Austrian army made some moves, Italy began to strengthen its forces in the north. The northern defense line relied on the Alps. In fact, Italy's strengthening of these places was also a pressure on its own logistics.

In addition, the advantage of doing this is that it can make Italian troops more dispersed, so the Kingdom of Italy must mobilize more troops from the rear.

…

About ten kilometers southwest of the outskirts of Rome in the Papal State, this is where the Austro-Hungarian Empire troops were stationed.

Antonio and other Austro-Hungarian soldiers were taking off the Italian country clothes they had worn for more than two months.

In order to facilitate the training of the troops, they used to dress up as Italian farmers. Although this place is already very remote, if someone is discovered, the news is likely to be leaked.

Having just put on the military uniform smuggled from the sea, with the last button fastened, Antonio, the commander of the third regiment of the fourth brigade of the second division of the Austro-Hungarian Expeditionary Force, arranged his imperial uniform and complained to the brigade commander: "Brigadier Commander , if I don’t put on the military uniform, I doubt whether I will really become an old peasant in Italy! Look at the calluses on my pistol, the hand that holds the gun has turned into the hand that holds farm tools!”

"Haha, I, the brigade commander, am not accompanying you to work in the fields. What's there to talk about? Moreover, with the way you are farming, if real farmers see you, they will probably be so angry that they will chase you with their shoe soles. , an idiot who can only use brute force." The fourth brigade commander said to his subordinates.

"You have the nerve to accuse me, Brigadier, but you are not much better. You can't even dig up the soil. Your land is the ugliest in the fields around here." Antonio retorted.

"Farming itself is not for looking at, but for seeing how much fruit we can harvest. Although we are not good at farming, our value is reflected on the battlefield. It still depends on whether our efforts in the next two months will bear fruit. Achievements."

Naturally, it was impossible for the Austro-Hungarian Expeditionary Force to conduct serious military training in Italy. They were not even issued guns before. In order to prevent these soldiers from being wasted, General Karl really sent them along with the officers of the Austro-Hungarian Expeditionary Force. The main reason for rushing to work in the fields is to prevent muscle relaxation and mental slackness.

As for gun skills, there is no need to worry. These are good soldiers selected from the Austro-Hungarian Empire army. They are the group with the highest military quality. Even if they don't get used to firearms for a few months, they will not become unfamiliar.

Antonio pretended not to hear what the brigade commander said and muttered: "I don't know if the corn I have worked so hard to grow will sprout."

"Don't think about it. Those seeds are just for show. You really thought you would become a farmer after planting crops for two days."

…

The number of Austro-Hungarian troops here now reaches more than 10,000, twice as many as two months ago.

In order to hide so many troops in the papal country, the Austro-Hungarian Empire rented a large farm around here. In the previous life, this was the location of a sports center outside Rome. Now it is a large deserted beach, so the price is very cheap. As for the owner of the farm, he was a nobleman living in Rome.

The conditions here are actually not too bad. There are some slopes, and the land is much poorer than the surrounding areas. There are no big rivers passing by, and the water source is relatively scarce. You can still grow some food, but the yield is pitifully low, so most of the time it is abandoned. With.

A businessman from Austria paid a lot of money to rent such a large piece of bad land, which made the landowner very happy.

It was absolutely crazy that someone would use money to invest in agriculture here. However, this did not arouse his suspicion. He speculated that the Austrian businessman might have rented this place in a daze. After all, he was a foreign "friend". Knowing the local conditions, it makes sense.

Then the farm owner turned around and took the land rent paid by the Austro-Hungarian Empire and went to live in Rome.

"Is everyone here?"

Lieutenant General Karl, the supreme commander of the Austro-Hungarian Expeditionary Force, appeared in front of everyone at this time. His glasses had not yet been taken off, and his hand was behind his back, holding this map.

"Report to the commander, the troops have been assembled!"

"Very good, next we will give the Italians a severe blow in their heart. This time we are deep behind enemy lines and the situation is not easy. Are you afraid?"

"Die for the Empire!"

"Don't say such depressing words, I want you all to live, and I also hope you can go to Florence with me for the military parade!"

"Hahaha..." Lieutenant General Karl's words caused everyone to laugh.

After everyone's laughter finally stopped, Lieutenant General Karl immediately changed his face. His face full of experience said seriously: "Okay, let's get down to business. According to the intelligence revealed by senior Italian officials, there are more than 30,000 people in the Kingdom of Italy." They are heading towards the Rome area, led by the self-proclaimed hero of the Italians, Garibaldi. Although he is suspected of bragging, his ability is still much better than that of the officers of the Kingdom of Italy, so he is worthy of attention. Opponent. At present, there is no serious resistance to the Italian army in the areas of the Papal State except Rome, so the enemy will arrive in Rome soon, probably tonight, and if we want to go to Florence for a military parade, we will This Italian army must be defeated first.”

"Commander, are we going to enter the city of Rome to change defenses?"

"No, after the Papal State army fights with the Italian Kingdom army led by Garibaldi and others, we will be responsible for the sneak attack."

"What if the Papal State troops surrender directly?"

"You don't have to worry about this. The person least likely to surrender in Italy is Pius IX. The Roman army is mainly composed of French, Swiss and other foreigners, so it won't be defeated in one blow. Our people will tell you this. Protect the Ninth Emperor alone to prevent pre-war news from being revealed."

Raising his left hand and looking at the time on his watch, Lieutenant General Karl said: "It's almost afternoon, let the cooking team start cooking, take out all the best supplies we have stored, and let's start meat today! It's so exciting to bring Italy to life at night. People were caught off guard!”

"Yes, Commander!" the subordinates happily agreed.