Chapter 267 Respective battlefields
"Marshal, there is news from Rome that Lieutenant General Karl defeated the army of the Kingdom of Italy attacking the Papal State, and they are preparing to counterattack Florence!" The intelligence agent rushed to Archduke Albrecht's headquarters with a telegram. I received the message and confirmed it.
"Very good, pass my order, cross the river, and attack across the board." Archduke Albrecht said excitedly, "Now it depends on what Emmanuel II will choose. If he withdraws his army, the front line will be in turmoil. If he does not withdraw, The expeditionary force can go straight to Florence, hahaha." Albrecht laughed loudly.
As for the Kingdom of Italy urgently recruiting a group of personnel to guard Florence, it is naturally feasible. However, the Austro-Hungarian Empire Expeditionary Force is the most elite force in the empire. It belongs to the best of the best. How can it be the kind of people who have just put down their hoes and been temporarily organized by the Kingdom of Italy? The rabble can resist.
Moreover, it is still unknown how many farmers the Kingdom of Italy can mobilize. If the number is small, it will have little effect.
The reason why Albrecht has been silent these days is that he has been waiting for news from Rome. This time, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Kingdom of Italy have three battlefields. In addition to the Eastern Front and Rome, there is also a naval maritime battlefield.
The easiest place to open the situation was Rome, so after the telegram from Rome was sent, Albrecht no longer hesitated.
As the order was issued, the Austro-Hungarian army, which had long been impatient, passed through the forward positions on the west bank of the Isonzo River and headed towards the Italian defense line along the Isonzo River that had been turned into ruins by artillery fire. Soon Italy's third A line of defense was completely destroyed.
…
On the same day that the Austro-Hungarian Empire launched an all-out attack on the Kingdom of Italy, the Battle of Sedan also started. Prussia used 248 infantry battalions, 189 cavalry battalions and more than 800 artillery pieces, totaling more than 200,000 people, to attack the army of only 120,000 people. The French army launched an attack, and Napoleon III's situation became more dangerous than in history.
"Your Majesty, the Prussian artillery fire is too fierce, and our artillery has no effect on them at all!"
"Your Majesty, just now, Marshal McMahon was injured by fragments from an artillery shell. Now Marshal McMahon is in very bad condition."
"Our troops suffered heavy casualties..."
Bad news continued to spread into the bunker where Napoleon III was located, and despair spread among the French army.
At this time, William I and Bismarck stood on a hill in the distance, watching with satisfaction as the troops attacked the French position.
"That's the Bavarian army. Although their number is not small, their organizational skills are too poor. They still need to practice more in the future."
"The Hechingen brigade performed well. They are young and energetic, but it is a pity that the number of people is too small."
"The level of Baden and Württemberg is too low. It has indeed been too long since they have experienced war, and now they have been crippled by them. However, the command level of the officers is still online, but it is a pity that ordinary soldiers cannot."
"Our army is generally qualified, but the French are still relatively tenacious and there are no technical mistakes. Unfortunately, there can only be one winner."
William I commented on the troops in the distance.
"Your Majesty, if nothing else happens, the kingdom's victory is determined this time, and the final obstacle to German unification has been cleared." Bismarck said standing behind William I.
"Well, by the way, I heard that the Hechingen Brigade will withdraw from the war later?"
"Yes, the Hechingen Brigade is an army composed of students after all. Other armies can supplement it, but the Hechingen Brigade cannot do this, so His Highness Ernst decided to arrange for the Hechingen Brigade to return to rest after the Battle of Sedan." Moltke explained.
"That's fine, but it is basically certain that France's defeat is imminent. Other countries are planning to go to Paris to get a share of the pie. The Bavarian follow-up army has already set off. It would be a pity for Hechingen to withdraw at this time." William I said.
According to the moral character of most armies in this era, it is basically certain that there will be a disaster on French soil in the future, even for the French army itself. In fact, some of the defeated French troops have already embarked on the path of "making a fortune" in their own country. "the fast lane to get rich", military discipline was completely ruined, and their emperor was besieged in Sedan, unable to move forward.
…
The European battlefield is in full bloom, but East Africa, which was the first to sound the clarion call for war, is progressing extremely slowly. The main reason is that long supply lines and poor transportation hinder the expansion of East Africa.
The first to complete the mission was the Southwest Army, which had only a thousand men. Its destination was the Okavango Delta in the former Botswana, close to Zambia, so the distance was not too far. It was only a hundred or ten kilometers away across the Zambezi River to the southwest. .
Botswana is located in the Kalahari Basin. Most of its land has a tropical desert climate, with 70% of its desert area. Especially in the west, it is more desolate than Somalia.
The Kalahari Desert is a strange desert because it is full of plants, mostly succulents and shrubs, with some trees to the east and north.
Because there will still be some rain here during the rainy season, and it is extremely dry at other times, and the Kalahari Desert is too vast, about 600,000 square kilometers. In fact, if you look at the populations of Botswana and Namibia in the past, you will know how difficult it is to survive here. The combined land area of the two countries is more than 1.3 million square kilometers, but only has a population of 5 million. Burundi, which covers an area of less than 30,000 square kilometers, has a population of more than 10 million. Therefore, when making decisions in East Africa The exploration of the desert interior was abandoned.
The area to the east near Zimbabwe still has some ecological value, but it is for the Southern Route Army to conquer there, and further south it is time to reach South Africa.
"There are so many mosquitoes here!" complained an East African soldier.
Even after spending such a long time in Africa, it is still rare to find places like the Okavango Delta where mosquitoes can barely carry people away.
"The main reason is that this place is full of swamps, and the water environment is not very good. Although there are many mosquitoes near the Great Lakes area, it is too exaggerated to be like this." As he spoke, Karl took his hat and started to drive away the mosquitoes around him.
"Stop complaining, it's business to build the house as soon as possible, so hurry up and cut the wood! Otherwise, if you continue camping, it feels like all the blood will be sucked out."
"It's not that exaggerated! But the marching tent really can't stop those mosquitoes. Yesterday they bit me a few times through the rainproof cloth. Fortunately, it's not too hot yet (it's winter and spring in the southern hemisphere, but the latitude here is relatively low, so it's still There will be mosquitoes), otherwise it will be really fatal.”
