568 The Beginning of the Great War

Frederick? Wilhelm II's foreign policy was bold and frivolous, and many times even emotional and impulsive. Marshal Karl I was also powerless against the performance of this king, and of course Karl I was also interested in testing the strength of the national revolution through war, and this test did not necessarily come at the cost of depleting the Prussian army.

The day after Prussia decided to react hard to the German Revolution, Frederick? Wilhelm II sent a telegram to Emperor Leopold II of Austria, inviting him to meet in Pillnitz, Saxony, to discuss how to deal with the uprising, and Leopold II quickly responded positively, and the two sides quickly set a date for the meeting and invited the monarchs of the other German states to meet.

However, despite the advancement of technology, these German states were still accustomed to the rhythm of the past, and the German Revolutionary Armed Forces were officially rebuilt when the Austrian Emperor had just set off from Vienna to Pillnitz. Although the current reorganization was still largely a shelf, rather than a comprehensive reorganization, it was the first time that the actual reorganization of the armed forces of the German Republic was completed.

The more regular troops of the German Republic now became the "Revolutionary Armed Forces of Germany" (Revolution?re Streitkr?ftevon Deutschland), the cornerstone of which was more than 10,000 veterans from the Tang German Corps, supplemented by some newly recruited soldiers who had undergone initial military training. The FAFF had a uniform uniform, a dark dark green uniform, a steel helmet, and a definite rank and armband. Naturally, these uniforms were made directly from the Tang Dynasty and then shipped to Germany, and it seemed that the uniforms of the soldiers of the German Revolutionary Armed Forces were more decent than those of Prussian and Austrian soldiers.

The Revolutionary Armed Forces (RSD) has a total of 4 divisions, which are master systems, similar to the divisions of the Datang Yamato Corps, each division is subordinate to two main infantry brigades and other troops, with separate campaign-level combat capabilities, and obviously these four divisions are not fully formed, the RSD's infantry brigade is less than half of the full brigade, and most of the infantry regiments are between 500 and 800 people. However, with the progress of the war and the progress of propaganda work, the RSD can further expand the number of troops and fill the unstaffed troops.

The RSD will be used by the German Revolution in a formal battle on the frontal battlefield, so it will require stronger organizational and tactical skills, and after Blucher became commander-in-chief of the revolutionary armed forces, he gathered his troops to prepare for a new offensive.

The ordinary rebel masses who were armed to a certain extent were also organized under the banner of the "People's Guard" and used for law and order maintenance and garrison tasks. The level of weapons and combat effectiveness of the People's Guard are far from being comparable with the RSD, and even if the Tang Dynasty gave a lot of support to the German National Revolution in the German Revolution, it was not to the extent that even the People's Guard could be armed with all-Tang weapons. So the main weapons of the People's Guard were locally made or captured from enemy troops, from old-fashioned flintlock pistols to paper-shell rear-loading guns and even SC-3s. The People's Guard did not have much artillery, but they did have a batch of old-fashioned grenadiers sent from Datang, as well as a large number of grenades.

Not only that, after taking control of the Ruhr area and some other areas with an industrial base, the National Revolution began to organize the production of arms, and if it was too advanced to produce weapons, then the production would not be so advanced. Many of the workshops here have the strength to produce rifled guns, and weapons such as wooden-handled grenades can also be manufactured, which also solves some of the logistical problems for the National Revolution, because this war cannot always count on the assistance of the Tang Dynasty from thousands of miles away.

After completing a simple formation, Blucher and Julius, commanding the 2nd and 3rd divisions of the German Revolutionary Armed Forces, respectively, with a total force of 13,000 men, marched into the Duchy of Weimar and Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, the two small vassal states, which were not too strong and surrendered to the red banner of the RSD with little resistance.

The revolt progressed so quickly that it also greatly alarmed Prussia and Austria. Even if Weimar and Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg had already been occupied by the revolutionaries, the electorate of Saxony, where the kings met, could be threatened at any time.

Not only that, but the 4th Division of the German Revolutionary Armed Forces in the south, with about 5,000 troops, entered Luxembourg via Trier. At this time, Luxembourg was not a Grand Duchy, but belonged to Austria, and after the War of the Spanish Succession in 1714, Luxembourg was transferred to Austria along with the Spanish Netherlands. And the actions of the German Republic amounted to the slightest disregard for the face of the Austrians, and directly engaged in the nominal leadership of Germany.

Not only that, but the Austrian Netherlands, which was also dissatisfied with Austrian rule, also had a new uprising. In 1789 there was a failed uprising against Austria. This time, the German Revolution, together with the Belgian Revolution, launched an uprising in response to the German Revolution. Although the Belgian revolutionary forces were not as strong as the Germans, the 4th Division of the German Revolutionary Armed Forces entered Belgium after occupying Luxembourg, and after a fierce confrontation, defeated the local Austrian defenders, and then the Belgian National Revolution announced the establishment of the Belgian Republic by uniting the two local ethnic groups, the Flemish and Walloons.

This unfolding of the plot was greatly unexpected by the European powers, and it deeply stimulated the Austrian Emperor Leopold II, who ordered the Austrian army to assemble and attack the German Republic before he even reached Pillnitz.

Finally, at the end of October, Leopold II and Frederick? Wilhelm II met in Pillnitz and formally signed a covenant to join hands against the "rebellious" German National Revolutionary Party. Several other states joined the alliance, including the Electors of Saxony, Württemberg, and Bavaria.

But the German revolutionaries, with their determination and courage, showed these princes their unyielding will. On the day of the Pillnitz Conference, Blucher's German army broke through the first line of defense of the Saxon army and drove to the Saxon city of Leipzig. At this time, the Prussian army of 32,000 men led by Karl I also rushed to Leipzig, and a major battle was about to break out.