A wave has not settled, and another wave has risen.

Before the Vienna government could finish cleaning up the aftermath of the destruction of the canal, the Central European battlefield changed again.

After 27 days of hard fighting, at the cost of nearly 50,000 casualties, the French army still tore through the Luxembourg defense line painstakingly operated by the German Confederation, and the door to the German region was opened.

Pit teammates are also skillful, if earlier, Archduke Albrecht naturally did not mind the French army galloping in the German area, anyway, the Austrian reinforcements are still on the road, no one can say anything.

Not now, Austrian reinforcements have already arrived at the front, the nearest unit is less than thirty kilometers from the Luxembourg line, and it is impossible to say anything about watching the allies finish.

But the rescue is not easy, you must know that these troops also have a mission, and the Belgians are waiting for them to save it.

Unlike the German Confederation, Belgium is a real small country, and the war has been going on so far, and the whole country is already in battle, and it can be said that the full war potential has exploded.

There is no way, this is the fault of the geographical location. After the outbreak of the war, the Kingdom of Belgium, the weakest of the powers, passively assumed the heaviest combat mission of the anti-French alliance.

Austria was too far away, and the German Confederation was slow to provide them with timely support, and the Kingdom of Belgium could only grit its teeth and hold on, and now it has reached its limit.

Since Belgium has held out until now, Archduke Albrecht naturally could not watch them finish, and ordered reinforcements to Belgium as soon as reinforcements arrived.

As for Luxembourg and the Rhineland, the German Confederation has more manpower after all, and the troops are still relatively sufficient.

However, the reality is so comedy, the crumbling Kingdom of Belgium has not yet collapsed, and the stronger German Confederation has been broken through the defenses first.

"With 350,000 troops defending on the front line of Luxembourg, and more than 400,000 German troops in the Rhineland region can also respond, why did the defense line suddenly collapse?"

Archduke Albrecht asked angrily.

He couldn't help but be angry, the Luxembourg defense line did not lose early or late, but collapsed when it should not have collapsed.

The defensive line collapsed a few days earlier, and the Austrian reinforcements were still on the way, so naturally there was no responsibility for this; A few days later, the main forces of the Austrian army came over, and they were not afraid to PK with the French.

Even now, the Austrian vanguard that arrived at the front line was only fifteen divisions, and it was okay to reinforce Belgium to help stabilize the defensive line.

There was no hope of a decisive battle with the French without multiplying it several times, and Archduke Albrecht did not think that the Austrian army would be outnumbered.

Adrian, Adrian, the German federal admiral in charge of the coordination, explained bitterly: "Your Excellency, this is a complete accident.

You know, we have a lot of states, and this is the first time that all states have joined forces, and there will inevitably be some problems in commanding the army, so ......"

There was "something wrong" with the chain of command, and it was all Admiral Adrian who put gold in his face.

As a matter of fact, the question of the command of the armies of the German Confederation has never been straightened out.

The armies of each state have independent command, and the commander-in-chief appointed by the central government is more like the coordinator of a military alliance, and there is no mandatory binding force on the troops of each state.

Even the battle plan was drawn up by the representatives of the various states. Even if there is an emergency, then everyone must meet together to decide, otherwise the armies of the various states will not be in command at all.

Fortunately, the Germans had always relied on fortress fortifications for defense, and there were not many military movements required, otherwise the chaotic command system would have been killed by the French long ago.

I can hide from the first day of junior high school, but I can't hide from the fifteenth. The consequences of the chaotic chain of command broke out anyway, and the German Confederation lost the Luxembourg Line at the price.

Archduke Albrecht waved his hand and interrupted Admiral Adrian's tirade: "Well, now is not the time to hold accountable, and I'm not interested in knowing about those bad things.

Now tell me, where did the French fight, and the losses of the front-line troops, or how many troops are you able to control in your hands? ”

After losing the battle, chaos is inevitable. In particular, the German Federal Army continued to go its own way, and the situation became even more critical.

By this time, Archduke Albrecht only hoped that the men would be able to burst into full potential when they ran away, and that they would be able to retain as much vitality as possible, so as to delay the French advance in the following battles.

Adrian replied in a deep voice: "After several days of fighting, the troops on the front line have long been physically and mentally exhausted. Suddenly suffered a major defeat, and many of the troops were scattered.

Now we are gathering the rout, and it is tentatively estimated that the loss of troops this time will be more than half.

Having broken through the defensive line, the enemy marched in two directions, one to Belgium and the other to the Rhineland.

We have built a second line of defense in the Rhineland, but it happened suddenly, and there are not enough troops on the front line......"

Saying this, Adrian stopped abruptly. There's no way, it's a shame. Not only was their own defense line open, but even Belgium was miserable by the German army.

Pit teammates are nothing, Adrian is not a virgin, the problem is that once Belgium falls, the German Confederation will not escape.

The Austrian allies did come, but the Austrian troops who arrived at the front line were limited in strength and could not close the gap.

Looking at the map, Archduke Albrecht said coldly: "There will be no reinforcements." The general trend of the front line has gone, and the dozen or so divisions in my hands are simply unable to take care of the two fronts.

The top priority at the moment is to find a way to hold the Rhine and create conditions for a later counteroffensive. As for other areas, if you should give up at this time, you have to give up.

Your Excellency should be aware of the importance of the Rhine, and if you do not want to see the French army galloping in the heart of Germany, then immediately shrink your forces and hold on. ”

It seems that he is embarrassed, but in fact, Archduke Albrecht is already happy in his heart.

A decisive battle with the French army in Germany and a decisive battle with the French army in France are two completely different concepts.

In addition to the military gains, the more important ones are the political ones. The defeat of the German army at the front will inevitably awaken the sense of crisis among the German people.

In a sense, the more the front is lost now, the higher the call for post-war reunification.

In particular, people who experienced the war themselves can appreciate the importance of a strong country.

Little Germany, dominated by Hanover, is obviously not able to meet everyone's needs. At that time, public opinion will spontaneously promote the reunification of the German regions and form a general trend.

As for the governments of the states with their own evil intentions, after this war, it is almost time to recognize the reality, especially the states that have suffered directly from the war, and need Austria's help even more after the war.

After a pause, Archduke Albrecht added: "By the way, the Belgian side will have to explain it yourself. ”

Explanations, all to this point, any explanation is futile. No matter how much we talk about it, it can't change the reality of Belgium being pitted.

If it did not want to lose all its money, the Belgian government had no choice but to abandon most of the country's territory and cling to a small number of military fortifications.

If you are lucky, you will be able to hold out until the arrival of the main Austrian forces; If they are unlucky, they will have to go into exile.

It is conceivable that relations between the two countries will not be better for a long time to come. In the war that followed, the cooperation between the two countries could not be counted on.

However, this had nothing to do with Archduke Albrecht, and some sacrifices were inevitable for the cause of the unification of the German region.

It is better to use the hands of the French to deal with the force of these princes than for the Vienna government to go into battle shirtless to cut down the vassals.

"Your Excellency Marshal, there is still hope to close the gap when sending troops now, and there is even a ......"

Before Adrian could finish speaking, Archduke Albrecht interrupted forcefully: "Your Excellency, all this is your wishful thinking.

If the gap could have been closed, the Rhineland Legion would have moved long ago. But now, I have not seen them take action, are they waiting for my orders?

At this point, the most important thing is to stabilize the situation and create opportunities for the subsequent counteroffensive, rather than gambling for the possibility of what happens.

Your Excellency should know that we cannot afford to lose now. If there is another defeat at the front, the international situation will be reversed, and the countries that were inclined to us may turn to the arms of the French. ”

Excuses are never exhausted, and Archduke Albrecht has made up his mind to kill people with a knife, so he will naturally not be moved.

……

The royal palace of Brussels, Leopold II, who had just woken up from a nap and had not had time to wash, received the shocking news of the collapse of the Luxembourg defense line.

Anyone with a modicum of military common sense knows that once Luxembourg fell, the Belgian flanks were exposed to the French.

By the time the war had progressed, the Kingdom of Belgium had exhausted its strength, and in a short time it was simply not able to draw enough troops to build a line of defense on the left flank.

"Rubbish!"

"It's all a bunch of rubbish!"

"With nearly 800,000 troops, the distance can't even hold a Luxembourg, and the generals of the German Confederation are all-eaters......

……

In the face of the chattering curses of the king, no one went to correct the German troops guarding Luxembourg, there was no small problem of eight hundred thousand.

"Your Majesty, the Germans are retreating, our left flank is directly exposed under the noses of the enemy, and now we can only ......"

Chancellor Auguste was still politically savvy, and did not say anything about the exile of Leopold II until he was uncertain about his position.

Perhaps it was the venting just now that soothed the mood, or the persuasion of the prime minister played a role, Leopold II, who had calmed down, said in a deep voice:

"Didn't Albrecht send us reinforcements? Send these troops up, they won't be waste! ”

"Your Majesty, these troops are not coming. Just now a telegram has been sent from the command of the coalition forces that the Grand Duke Albrecht is preparing to build a line of defense on the Rhine.

It is recommended that we shrink our forces, abandon unnecessary defensive lines, and only defend a few key areas, waiting for the next major counteroffensive. ”

Army General Desmet replied.

"Humph!"

Waiting for a big counteroffensive, he said it easily. Anyway, the battlefield is not in Austria, so it doesn't matter how you fight.

But what do we do?

What about the six million Belgians?

Stay in Brussels, or go into exile in Austria?

……”

Leopold II asked a series of questions that kept hitting the hearts of the people, as if they were going on a soul-torment that was destined to be fruitless.

……

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