Chapter 267 Respective battlefields
"Marshal, there is news from Rome that Lieutenant General Karl has defeated the army of the Kingdom of Italy attacking the Pope, and they are preparing to counterattack Florence!" The intelligence agent rushed to the headquarters of Grand Duke Albrecht with a telegram, Albrecht I took the telegram and confirmed it.
"Very well, give me the order to cross the river and attack across the board." Grand Duke Albrecht said excitedly, "Now it's up to Emmanuel II to choose. If you withdraw the army, the front line will be in turmoil. If you don't withdraw, The expeditionary force can go straight to Florence, hahaha." Albrecht laughed loudly.
As for the urgent reappearance of the Kingdom of Italy to recruit a group of personnel to guard Florence, it is naturally feasible, but the Austro-Hungarian Expeditionary Force is the most elite force in the empire, and it belongs to the best of the best. Is it the kind that just put down the **** and was 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 basically not have much effect.
The reason why Albrecht has not made any news 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 battlefield.
If you want to open the situation, the easiest place is Rome, so after the Roman telegram was sent, Albrecht no longer hesitated.
As the order was issued, the Austro-Hungarian army, which had long been impatient, passed the forward position on the west bank of the Isonzo River, and headed towards the defense line along the Isonzo River in Italy, which had already been turned into ruins by artillery fire. A line of defense was completely destroyed.
…
On the same day when the Austro-Hungarian Empire attacked the Kingdom of Italy, the Battle of Sedan also started. Prussia mobilized 248 infantry battalions, 189 cavalry battalions and more than 800 artillery pieces, totaling more than 200,000 people, to attack an army of only 120,000 people. The French army launched an offensive, and Napoleon III was in a more dangerous situation than in history.
"Your Majesty, the artillery fire of the Prussians is too fierce, and our artillery can't play much role against them at all!"
"Your Majesty, just now, Marshal McMahon was injured by the fragments of the shell. Now Marshal McMahon is in a very bad condition."
"Our troops suffered heavy casualties..."
Bad news continued to spread into the bunker where Napoleon III was located, and despair spread in the French army.
At this time, William I and Bismarck stood on a hill in the distance, watching the troops attack the French position with satisfaction.
"That's the Bavarian army. Although their number is not small, their organizational skills are too poor. We still need to practice more in the future."
"The Heixingen Brigade performed well, young and energetic, but unfortunately the number of people is too small."
"The level of Baden and Württemberg is too low. Sure enough, they haven't experienced war for a long time, and now they are all raised and disabled by them. However, the command level of officers is still online, but it is a pity that ordinary soldiers can't."
William I commented on the troops in the distance.
"Your Majesty, if there are no accidents, the victory of the kingdom this time has been decided, and the final obstacle to German unification will be cleared away." Bismarck said standing behind William I.
"Well, by the way, I heard that the Hexingen Brigade will withdraw from the war in the future?"
"Yes, after all, the Hexingen Brigade is an army composed of students. Other troops can supplement it, but the Hexingen Brigade cannot do so. So His Royal Highness Ernst decided to arrange for the Hexingen Brigade to return to rest after the Battle of Sedan." Moltke explained.
"That's fine, but it's basically certain that France's defeat is imminent. Other states are planning to go to Paris to get a share. Bavaria's follow-up army has already set off. It's a pity that Hechingen will withdraw at this time." William I said.
According to the virtues of most armies in this era, it is basically certain that a disaster will usher in the French land, even the French army itself. "Get rich" fast lane, military discipline completely corrupted, and their emperor was besieged in Sedan, unable to move an inch.
…
The European battlefield is in full bloom, and East Africa, which was the first to sound the horn of war, has made extremely slow progress. The main reason is that the long supply lines and poor traffic hinder the expansion of East Africa.
The first to complete the task was the Southwest Army with only a thousand soldiers. Its destination was the Okavango Delta in Botswana, which was close to Zambia, so the distance is not too far. It is only 100 kilometers to the southwest after crossing the Zambezi River. .
Botswana is located in the Kalahari Basin. Most of its land has a tropical desert climate. The desert area accounts for 70%, especially in the west, which is even more barren than Somalia.
The Kalahari Desert is a wonderful desert, because it is full of plants, mostly succulents and shrubs, and there are some trees in the east and north.
Because there will still be some rain here during the rainy season, and it will be extremely dry at other times, and the Kalahari Desert is too large, about 600,000 square kilometers. In fact, looking at the population of Botswana and Namibia in the past, we 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 5 million people, while Burundi, which has an area of less than 30,000 square kilometers, has a population of more than 10 million. Therefore, when making decisions in East Africa Abandoned the exploration of the desert interior.
The place near Zimbabwe in the east still has some ecological value, but it is to be conquered by the South Route Army, and it should be South Africa further south.
"There are so many mosquitoes here!" complained an East African soldier.
Even after staying in Africa for so long, it is rare to see a place where mosquitoes almost carry people away like the Okavango Delta.
"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, it is too exaggerated like this." Carl took his hat and began to drive away the mosquitoes around him.
"Don't complain, it's time to build the house as soon as possible, so hurry up and cut the wood! Otherwise, if you continue camping, you will feel like your blood will be sucked up."
"It's not that exaggerated! But the marching tent really can't stop those mosquitoes, and they bit me a few times through the rainproof cloth yesterday. Fortunately, it's not too hot now (the southern hemisphere is at the turn of winter and spring, but the latitude here is relatively low, so it's still ok) There will be mosquitoes), otherwise it will be fatal."
(end of this chapter)