Due to the shift in Austria's strategic center of gravity, the confusing situation in the Central European battlefield suddenly became clear.

The coalition forces, which were eager to counterattack, are now completely on the defensive. It seems that it was dragged by the flow of refugees, and no matter how provocative the French army was, it could not be held.

There are airplanes + airships in the sky, and on the ground are trenches with steel barbed wire + machine guns, and the French army is also very helpless in the face of such an enemy.

Attack, the price to be paid is too great, and it is difficult to achieve satisfactory results.

After all, the trench has no technical content, and if you break through one and the next, and fill it purely with infantry, it is irresponsible for the safety of the soldiers.

Although as long as the war can be won, no matter how heavy the casualties are, it is worth it; But the problem is that the Battle of the Rhine is only a microcosm of the European War.

Losing this battle, France is directly finished; Having won this battle, there is still the next one. If you open the map, you can see that France wants to win the war, and instead of fighting three or five battles, she hopes to bring the anti-French alliance to its knees.

If you run out of money here, how will you fight the war in the future? Any commander knows that winning first is not winning, and only the last winner is the real winner.

With the line that could not be broken through for a long time on one side and the number of casualties that were accumulating every day, Field Marshal Patrice McMahon in the command only felt a lot of pressure.

"Have you brought in anti-aircraft weapons?"

It was only the land forces that the coalition forces were holding the defensive line, and the air force, which had an absolute advantage, still came out to clock in from time to time every day. Whether it was a bomb falling from the sky or a bullet flying out, it was a big problem for the French army.

The results of simply calculating an airship or an airplane are inconspicuous, but once this unit is magnified by a hundred times, the situation is different.

Even if the record of one aircraft sortie is only one, for the French army, it is hundreds of casualties per day, and it is not a small number over time.

In particular, it is even more difficult to make up for the blow to the morale of the military. In order to get out of this predicament as soon as possible, Marshal Patrice McMahon immediately asked for anti-aircraft weapons in the country.

Don't look at the fact that the airship was put into military service in advance, and countries developed anti-aircraft weapons in advance. In fact, the power of anti-aircraft weapons in these years is still very limited.

Except for the anti-aircraft artillery, other anti-aircraft weapons have been born to add comedy.

For example: the legendary anti-aircraft rifle.

Theoretically, this specially developed anti-aircraft rifle has an extreme range of up to a thousand meters and can pose a threat to the enemy in the sky.

As for the actual combat effect, it is a pity that the European War broke out for so long, and the French army did not rely on this thing to shoot down a plane or airship.

Maybe he hit the target, but unfortunately he just doesn't fall. There is no way, the power of bullets is too small these days, and being able to fly thousands of meters does not mean that the lethality is also thousands of meters, unless the enemy flies at low altitudes, otherwise it is useless at all.

The anti-aircraft machine gun that was widely circulated in later generations is like a myth in this era, and the Maxim machine gun is new equipment, so you can't let the soldier shoot into the sky with a Gatling, right?

Compared with the black technology that is responsible for being funny, it is still the artillery that is powerful, although the hit rate is pitiful, but as long as it hits, it can basically achieve results.

"Anti-aircraft weapons have been shipped, but, marshal, I'm afraid these hundreds of anti-aircraft guns are ......"

There was no way, two million French troops counted on hundreds of anti-aircraft guns to ensure the safety above their heads, no matter how they were distributed, it was impossible to do it.

In order to fight for the ownership of this batch of anti-aircraft artillery, the French army is about to fight, which makes Lieutenant General Amedei, who is in charge of logistics, a headache.

Patrice McMahon nodded thoughtfully: "The number of anti-aircraft artillery is insufficient, so there is no need to assign it to the troops for the time being, so first concentrate and act with the artillery."

The enemy is in the sky, and it is impossible to tell so clearly. When the time comes, just let the other artillery guns shoot together and scare them.

As long as the enemy does not bomb at low altitudes, the losses brought to us will be within the tolerable range.

You must know that the cost of the air force dispatch is not low, and the results obtained by harassing us from high altitudes may not be enough for their fuel money.

Didn't the country say that the production of fighters has begun, and the problem will be solved after a while.

For now, it is better to speed up the process and create as many refugees as possible before the international community intervenes, increasing the logistical pressure on the enemy. ”

This is a fact, purely from an economic point of view, the cost performance of high-altitude bombing is really low.

Hundreds of tons of ammunition per day, plus 100 tons of fuel, and a large amount of maintenance costs, just to achieve the result of destroying 180 enemy soldiers, it is definitely a blood loss.

The war is fought for money, and if the results cannot be achieved, no one will be able to withstand it for a long time, and the frequency of bombing will naturally decrease.

No, to be exact, the frequency of bombing by the Austrian army has decreased. Most of the time the sorties are harassed by aircraft, and the frequency of airship sorties is getting lower and less.

The reason is naturally logistics, the emergence of refugee flows has forced the Austrian army to save ammunition and reduce logistics consumption as much as possible.

The airship units, which were originally used to bomb the French army, now took on more logistical transportation tasks. Hundreds of airships travel between the two places every day to ensure the supply of supplies on the front line.

The cost of the gods has long been out of the consideration of the Vienna government. Now Austria is moving by water and air, doing its best to deliver supplies to the front.

As for the international interference that Patrice McMahon fears, it is in fact a complete fascination with the authorities, and the French government is scaring itself.

Countries capable of intervening in the war on the European continent do not want to interfere, and besides, they are still playing "friendly games" and cannot stop at all for a while.

The remaining countries that want to intervene in the European continental war do not have enough strength, and they do not have the ability to interfere in substance except for shouting at two voices.

……

When the Central European battlefield is stabilized, the African continent is lively. Austria, which went all out, naturally had an extraordinary effect.

In just half a month, the Vienna government sent 17 divisions of reinforcements to the Egyptian battlefield, which made the French army, which was already at a disadvantage, completely fall into passivity.

Looking at the mountain of telegrams asking for help in front of him, Governor Jacob didn't have time to reply, and a new bad news came.

With the Austrian army launching a full-scale offensive on the African continent, the Algerian region, which was in the rear, was now also the front line, and the Algerian colonial government withheld reinforcements from the Egyptian region.

"Damn Anatole idiot, can't you just have a little brain? Once the Egyptian region falls, we will be completely passive in this war......"

Not only was Governor Jacob cursing, but everyone present, regardless of faction, was showing the same hatred at this moment.

According to the plan, after the French army completes its strategic contraction on the African continent, there will be 300,000 reinforcements to reinforce the Egyptian theater.

Although none of these troops were the main force and their combat effectiveness was not much stronger than that of the indigenous troops, it was better to have reinforcements than not to have them.

Even if it can't reverse the current situation on the battlefield, at least it can hold out the Egyptian theater for a longer time. For everyone, as long as they can hold out until the end of the war in Europe, it will be a great victory.

It's a pity that all this has become a dream now, and in the absence of reinforcements, these remnants of the defeated army in Egypt alone will not last long.

Lieutenant General Arthur, who was in charge of the Suez Line, was filled with righteous indignation: "Your Excellency the Governor, complain to the country!" If everyone follows the example of the Algerian colonial government, who will be able to defend France? ”

In no hurry, the enemy had already crossed the Suez Canal, and if it had not been for the fortresses, the canal defense would have collapsed long ago.

Anyone with a modicum of military common sense knows that once the Suez Canal defense line collapses, the delta in the rear will not be able to hold at all.

The fall of the Egyptian region is also counted, the point is that the Suez Canal completely fell into the hands of the enemy. Even though it took time to repair the canal after it was damaged, the overall strategic passivity was still caused.

The Austrian Empire, which spanned Europe, Asia and Africa, was absolutely terrifying, and even if France won the European War, it could not help this monster.

……

At Versailles, before the protest telegram of the Egyptian governor arrived, Napoleon IV was angry with the Algerian colonial government.

If it is not possible to provide reinforcements to the Egyptian region, then say it earlier, what is the point of coming at a critical moment?

If it had not been determined that Algeria was still under the French flag, Napoleon IV would have suspected that they had defected to the enemy.

I knew on my knees that the reinforcements that were supposed to leave were suddenly gone, which was definitely a fatal blow to the Egyptian theater of war.

Europe is not in vogue to fight to the death, and if there is no reinforcement at home, there is no hope of victory, and the interests in Egypt may surrender to Austria.

Loyalty is not a thing, and no matter how tightly France controls the colonies, the people do not have a greater sense of belonging than they do at home.

"What did that idiot say Anatoer?"

It can be seen that Napoleon IV was really angry. To describe the governor he appointed in this tone is to be patient to the limit.

Prime Minister Terrence Bulkin, who was flushed, replied: "Anatole explained that the situation at the front was urgent, and the troops that had been withdrawn from the front line were caught up by the enemy halfway through, and suffered heavy losses after the battle.

More than half of the reinforcements promised to Egypt have now been lost. Coupled with the fact that the enemy's forces were already directed towards the Algerian region, they were unable to reinforce the Egyptian region.

In order to ensure the security of the Algerian region, Anatole has issued an emergency mobilization order to conscript all French youths in the colony.

At the same time, a telegram for help was also sent to the country, seeking military and material support. If nothing else, we are on the verge of losing Africa as a source of raw materials. ”

Whether you want to believe it or not, it's happened. Heavy losses were suffered during the retreat, the strategic retrenchment plan was not fully completed, and the Algerian region was about to become a battlefield.

Against this backdrop, even if the Paris government forced the colonial government to send reinforcements, it would not help.

Unlike other colonies, Algeria has always been a key area for French operations, and local interest groups have become popular.

At the moment of crisis, the first thing we need to protect is our own interests. In the face of interests, the overall situation must also be leaned back.

Holding back the dissatisfaction in his heart, Napoleon IV asked: "Without these reinforcements, how long can Egypt be able to hold out?" ”

Confidence cannot be eroded, and if the expectation of the French army before the outbreak of war was 100 points, now there are only 80 points left at most.

A quick victory, defeating Austria in a short period of time and winning the war, was only a beautiful idea in the early days of the war.

Now Napoleon IV has increased the time to win the war from the first two months to one year. The French government could not tolerate the fall of Egypt until the French army had achieved full strategic superiority.

After hesitating for a while, the Minister of War Luskinia replied uncertainly: "The preliminary estimate is that it can support for three to six months, but recently the Austrians have increased their troops in the Egyptian area, and how long the Egyptian theater can hold up depends on the enemy's input." ”

This answer is equivalent to no answer, and Austria's investment in Egypt is uncontrollable, which means that how long the French army in Egypt can hold out is equally uncontrollable.

"Your Majesty, send more troops to Egypt! We must give hope to the troops on the front, or ......"

Halfway through the sentence, Prime Minister Terrence Bulkin couldn't go on. There's no way, it's too demoralizing to say the rest of the story.

As a politician, it's okay to think about it secretly, but there are some things that you really can't say.