Since the declaration of war with the Ottoman Empire, Austria has entered a state of war, with large quantities of strategic supplies being transported along the Danube to the Balkans, and 200,000 Austrian troops have been slaughtered.

On the surface, Austria was looking for revenge on the Ottoman Empire. The hatred between the two sides dates back hundreds of years, and the Habsburgs would have unified Germany without the Ottoman Empire.

This time Franz deceived the whole world, and it was the army and the strategic materials that continued to pour into the Balkans, even if it seemed to Austria that it was to kill the Ottoman Empire.

Only a few high-level officials knew that the Balkan offensive had come to an end, and that Austrian troops and strategic materials were massed in the Danube Valley, the main purpose of which was to quickly mobilize troops after the westward expansion strategy was launched.

Isn't there still a need for strategic supplies to the Balkans? Even the tsarist government, which had been preparing for war for two years, was also unable to solve the problem of domestic transportation.

Originally, the tsarist government was ready to solve the logistical problem by sea, and they concentrated strategic materials in the ports along the coast of Ukraine, and the escort of the Black Sea Fleet was foolproof.

As a result, the plan could not keep up with the rapid changes, and as soon as the British and French navies came, the sea route was blocked.

At this time, the allies were needed, and Austria had a Danube River running through it, which could lead directly to the Bulgarian region, and there was no big logistical problem for supply.

It can be said that the Danube is a treasure given to Austria by God. Before the railway was completed, water transportation was the most reliable way.

The Danube, which originates in Baden, passes through Württemberg and Bavaria into Austria, and passes through the principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia into the sea, which is the logistical lifeline of Austria westward to southern Germany and southward to the Balkans.

Of course, the railroad can still be repaired. After all, the Danube does not cover all areas, and it is more convenient to have a railway that runs from east to west.

Vienna

The Austrian General Staff, reports of war requests in the army have piled up. Soldiers need military merit, and the two principalities that occupied the Danube Valley didn't fight much at all, so what did you rely on to add officials to knighthood?

If it weren't for Marshal Radesky's prestige being high enough to suppress the main battle faction in the army, these messy war reports would have gone to Franz's desk.

According to the statistics of the Archives Bureau, in 1852 the General Staff received more than 100,000 war reports, and almost all the names of officers and soldiers appeared in the war reports.

A middle-aged officer held the thick document and said with a wry smile: "Your Excellency Marshal, this is a report from the 19th Division. ”

He didn't know how many times he had come with papers, since the war with the Ottoman Empire broke out, the Austrian military began to grind their fists and prepare for a big fight.

Every day, the General Staff receives a large number of reports on requests for war, as well as countless battle plans. In short, everyone was in a hurry, for fear that the Russians would fight too hard in front and would not have a chance for them to perform.

Marshal Radesky thought for a moment and said: "Throw it to the archives, from now on all such reports will not have to be given to me." ”

At the beginning, he was very happy, the army is warlike is a good thing! Over time, Marshal Radetzky also became numb.

Since the successful occupation of the Danube principalities, many people have seen this war as an armed parade, as if the Ottoman Empire was smashed in one fell swoop.

Not only the officers and soldiers on active duty are tempted, but even the sons and daughters of the nobles are looking for connections everywhere and want to enter the army to gild.

If you want to join at this time, it is naturally impossible. In order to implement the westward expansion strategy, the Austrian government's top brass is so focused that no negligence is allowed.

"Yes, Marshal!" The middle-aged officer replied

After finishing speaking, the middle-aged officer did not leave, but was a little hurried, as if he had something to say.

Seeing this, Marshal Radetzky asked suspiciously: "Major General Lafitte, what else is going on?" ”

"Your Excellency, the crowd below is outraged, and we are about to be unable to suppress it." Major General Lafitte said worriedly

Marshal Radesky said solemnly: "If there is anything that cannot be suppressed, just tell them to prepare for me, and when the war will be fought, they don't have to worry about it."

Whoever has an opinion will immediately order him to retire and go home, and the Austrian army will not have such lawlessness! ”

"Yes, Marshal!" Major General Lafitte replied hurriedly

The Austrian military does not have the tradition of being in the middle of the line, and it is not the turn of the officers and men below to make decisions about this kind of military affairs.

At this time, if he is ordered to retire and go home, he will have nothing to do with this war, and he will lose a lot of money for those who are interested in gaining fame on the battlefield.

Suppressing the voices below, Marshal Radesky sighed. At this time, it is indeed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to go south to the Balkans, but unfortunately reality does not allow it.

The main forces of the Austrian army were now operating in the two principalities of the lower Danube, ostensibly to purge the rebels and establish effective local rule, but in fact not to facilitate the gathering.

Even the warships of the Austrian Navy, which were navigable on the Danube, went to the Black Sea before the outbreak of the war, and at this time they were escorting ships in the Danube Valley.

With so much preparation, you can't even give up the westward expansion strategy in order to take advantage of the Balkans, right?

It is easy for the army to disperse, but it is difficult to gather together. With just one order, the Austrian army and the Russians would attack together, and it would not be long before the Balkans were captured.

But once the Balkans were occupied, Austria dragged on here, and it was difficult to get out.

Far from the Danube Valley, there was no water transport, and when hundreds of thousands of troops were gathered and transported from the Balkans to South Germany, the daylilies were rancid.

Schönbrunn Palace

Franz asked with concern: "Mr. Stein, the construction of the main railway line in China has reached that point, when will it be completed?" ”

The construction of the railway network in Austria began in 1849, and it has been three years since the start of construction, and some sections of the plains have been opened to traffic.

However, it is still a drop in the bucket for the entire transportation network. Needless to say, the railway that crosses the main line of the Alps may not be able to be successfully opened for another three years.

Franz's requirements for the mountain railways were not so urgent, and the most important thing now was that the Vienna-Salzburg railway had to be opened ahead of schedule.

There is no way, under his butterfly effect, the Near East War broke out a year earlier than the historical Crimean War, which gave the preparation time for the westward expansion strategy by one year less.

One year is enough to change a lot of things, Vienna is only more than 200 kilometers from Salzburg, and Franz is not worried about building this railway in four years.

The construction conditions of the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway are so bad that it took less than four years to build, and this section of the railway does not need to be manually dug through the Badaling Tunnel, nor does it need to erect the Huailai Bridge.

It would be difficult to do it without a year of construction period. For the sake of secrecy, Franz could not have specifically inquired about this section of the railway. If it catches the attention of someone who cares, it's troublesome. Now we can only let the main railway lines of the whole country meet the construction deadline.

According to the plan of the General Staff, once the westward strategy was launched, the Austrian army would attack in three directions. All the way along the Danube, all the way from Salzburg to Munich by land, and all the way along the Rhine into Bavaria.

It has to be said that the water system is well-developed, and even from Salzburg to Bavaria, there is still a Salzach River that can connect to the Rhine.

At this time, the Bavarians had not yet built a canal between the Rhine and the Danube, otherwise it would have been enough to mobilize supplies from Vienna for the battle of South German unification.

A logistics point has now been added – Salzburg. Therefore, before the outbreak of the war, the construction of a railway between Vienna and Salzburg was crucial.

The Minister of Railways, Stein, presented a document to Franz and said: "Your Majesty, here is the schedule of the railway construction and the estimate of the opening time.

At present, the major railway companies in China have increased the speed of construction. It will take at least two years for the main road to be completed as a whole, with one-third of the sections ready for traffic within the year, and some mountain railways may be delayed until 1856. ”

Franz nodded, the pace of railway construction in Austria is not slow in this era, especially after the introduction of government stimulus policies, several railway companies are rushing to meet the deadline.

Starting this year, Austrian railways will usher in a wave of traffic, and many sections will be opened to traffic one after another, and the domestic transportation situation will be greatly improved.

After flipping through his hand and seeing the answer he wanted, Franz smiled and said: "I am satisfied with this speed, Mr. Stein is happy, now you can go and get busy." ”

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

After saying that, Stein turned around and left, and the meeting that followed was not something that he, a technocrat, could participate in.

Franz was not prepared to train generalists, and most of the officials in the government were well-versed in one or the other. If you are proficient in everything, you can pack your things and go home, and the Austrian government does not need generalists.

If there is such a genius, Franz thinks that it is better to send it to engage in scientific research, because it is too dangerous to engage in politics, and even he, the emperor, is afraid.

After seeing Stein leave, Franz said: "Ladies and gentlemen, if nothing else, the railway from Austria to Salzburg will be open to traffic by the end of the year, and the construction of the railway embankment has been completed.

The original plan remains unchanged, and now it will be delayed for at least half a year, is there a problem with Mr. Metternich? ”

The named Foreign Secretary, Metternich, thought for a moment and replied: "Your Majesty, it depends on the situation on the Balkan front.

According to the intelligence we have gathered, the Russian army has invested 251,000 troops here, and the Ottoman army has 450,000 people in name, but in fact there is a shortage of at least one-fifth, and the combat effectiveness is probably not optimistic.

If the Russians had fought a quick battle and captured Constantinople before the Anglo-French intervention, it would have been difficult for our original plan to continue. ”

Regardless of the appearance that the Ottoman army was more numerous, in fact Metternich was more optimistic about the Russians. The large number of troops on the Ottoman side does not mean that there must be a large number of troops on the battlefield.

Now the Russians have lost the two Danube principalities to Austria, and in fact they have also lost the responsibility for maintaining stability in the rear to Austria, including the logistics and transportation of this area, which the Austrian army is doing for them.

The Ottoman Empire fought on its own soil, but unfortunately the Russians were more popular in Bulgaria. With the support of the Russians, the number of local partisans had already exceeded five figures, and the advantage of the Ottomans in fighting on their own soil turned into a disadvantage.

Marshal Radetzky commented very confidently: "Don't worry, Mr. Metternich, this is a worse war.

After our contact with the Russian army entering the Balkan Peninsula, we can basically judge that the combat effectiveness of the Russian army is much lower than we imagined before.

First of all, the Russian army is very chaotic in the allocation of troops, the troop establishment is still stuck in the era of the anti-French war, the army is seriously corrupt, the weapons and equipment are backward, and the logistics system is chaotic.

Secondly, the military discipline of the Russian army is sloppy, and the Cossack cavalry is a bunch of locusts, they are all the way to the scourge, and it is okay to fight a good battle, but once they encounter defeat, they will immediately collapse.

The Ottoman army was trained by French instructors, but only learned the French at the surface, and in fact it was still the same old as a modern army, except that it looked like a modern army.

On the issue of corruption, the Ottoman army was even more serious, the Russians were able to make up the staff, the Ottoman officers were directly paid empty salaries, and there was a serious shortage of troops.

Many soldiers are still forcibly conscripted into the army by officers, and they are brought in to make up the numbers, and I have no expectations that they will be able to have some combat effectiveness.

In general, the Ottoman army was worse in combat effectiveness. Without external intervention, they would probably have lost the war, but holding Constantinople was not a big problem. ”

For Marshal Radetz's comments, Franz was recognized. The combat effectiveness shown by the Russians in the Crimean War in history is one word - rotten, and the Ottomans told everyone that there is no worst, only worse!

In general, both the Russians and the Ottomans were in a period of underestimation during this period. Not only them, but in fact France, Austria, Spain, and Prussia, and the European powers, with the exception of the British, were collectively absent.

Under Franz's butterfly effect, Austria was rescued, and under the influence of the Russians and Ottomans, Marshal Radetzky had the confidence to be confident.

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