On March 30, the French army from the south swept across northern Slovenia, driving all the Austrian troops to the area north of the Drava River, and the entire Slovenian area was occupied by the French army. On April 3, the hastily built Drava River defense line could not stop the advance of the French army. The French army broke through the Austrian defense line and annihilated nearly 50,000 Austrian troops in Maribor, an important town in northern Slovenia. There were less than 50,000 troops left on the front line. Under the huge pressure of the French army of more than 100,000 troops, they had to retreat to the hinterland of Austria. The French army also began to take advantage of the victory to pursue.
The main force of the Iberian 1st Army and the Iberian 3rd Army stabbed into the heart of Austria like a sharp knife. The Iberian 3rd Army marched towards the important town in southern Austria on the banks of the Mural River, where the remnants of the Austrian Southern Army gathered. The main force of the Iberian 1st Army is attacking Vienna. The current Austrian forces have basically been used up, and there is no extra force to stop them from advancing.
"Your Majesty, the army from the south has already invaded Austria, and General Mike is currently leading the main force of the Iberian 1st Army to march towards Vienna." Eke happily reported to Xiao Jiehui.
"Okay, very good. Now Austria doesn't have many troops at all. I'll see how long Francis I can last." Xiao Jie laughed.
"At present, Austria has no surplus troops except for the new legions that are being formed. Although Austria plans to form 10 legions, only 5 legions have been recruited, and now they are just starting training. Even if Austria sends The battles of these legions will hardly have any impact on our army, they can only add merit to the army of the South Road." Eke also said with a smile.
"Send a report to the army of the North Route and the Army of the West Route, and ask them to step up their attack. They must hold back all the Austrian Army and create conditions for the Army of the South Route to attack Vienna." Xiao Jie said after thinking for a while. As long as the army from the north and the west can hold back the main force of the Austrian army, then Vienna will be a completely undefended city to the army from the south of the French army.
Eke nodded, he also understood Xiao Jie's intention.
"By the way, what is the situation in Turkey now? Where is the coalition forces of our country and the Jewish state? Is the attack going smoothly?" Xiao Jie asked suddenly. Although the war against Turkey is insignificant compared to the war against Austria, Xiao Jie still pays more attention to it, because it is related to Xiao Jie's next very important plan, and conquering Turkey is the first step of this plan.
"The war against Turkey went smoothly. Five days ago, the coalition forces of our country and the Jewish state defeated the Turkish army again in Aleppo, wiping out more than 100,000 enemies. At present, the coalition forces have reached Iskenderun Bay and Occupying Adana, Turkey, General Khalil plans to march along the coastline to Istanbul, the capital of Turkey. Through the previous battles, 40% of the Turkish army has been wiped out by the coalition forces, and the coalition forces only lost more than 70,000 people. The loss of the army was less than 10,000, and the rest was the loss of the Jewish state. Due to the heavy losses of the Jewish army, General Khalil asked the Jewish state to send the second batch of reinforcements. After talking with the Jewish army commander Terrence After the general's discussion, the Jewish State will send 5 divisions and a total of 75,000 reinforcements to join the war." Ekhui reported.
Xiao Jie nodded, and then said: "Notify the Mediterranean Fleet, let them assist the coalition forces, and try to end the war in Turkey at the lowest cost. At the same time, tell Khalil, let him strengthen ties with the navy."
"I'll tell them," Eco replied.
While Xiao Jie and the others were rejoicing at the success of the war, the atmosphere in the Vienna Palace was extremely dull.
"Damn it, everyone is talking, what should we do now? The southern army has been completely defeated by the French army, and the French army is already marching towards Vienna." Francis I roared very angrily. His anger is not only because of the loss of the war, but also because Russia has not yet participated in the war, which makes his teeth itch with hatred, but there is nothing he can do.
The other officials in the hall didn't say a word. Now that Austria is in such a situation, they can't think of any way to save the current crisis. Instead of saying bad advice and becoming the target of Francis I to vent his anger, it is better to pretend to be stupid. If you really want to be called by Francis I, you can only blame yourself for being unlucky. It is precisely because everyone has this kind of thinking that the hall is very quiet, so quiet that you can even hear a needle drop to the ground.
"I'm afraid it will be difficult, Your Majesty. Now the battle on the northern and western fronts has entered a fierce stage. The strength of the two sides is equal, and we do not have the advantage. If we rashly transfer the troops from these two places, it is likely to affect the two. If the French army breaks through the northern or western fronts, then we will really be in a doomed situation." Grand Duke Charles explained.
"Then what should we do? Do we just watch the French army march towards Vienna?" Francis I said angrily.
"Your Majesty, there is really no other way now. I think we have to send the newly formed legions to the front." Grand Duke Charlie suggested.
"What? Those newly formed legions. They just started training not long ago. Wouldn't it be death to send them to the front line?" Francis I shouted loudly.
"Your Majesty, we really have no other choice. Although these legions have just been formed, the first five legions have been training for almost half a month, and they have almost mastered basic combat skills. And the French army is now going to Vienna There are only more than 50,000 people marching. With 200,000 people from five legions, they should still be able to stop their attack. During this time, we need to step up contact with Russia, no matter what the price is, we will If Russia sends troops, Austria can only be preserved if Russia joins the war." Archduke Charles analyzed.
Francis thought for a while, and had to agree to the proposal of Grand Duke Charles. "Prince von Metternich, I will leave it to you to negotiate with Russia. No matter what the price is, I will promise Russia and let them participate in the war." Francis I said in a deep voice, although he believed that Russia would definitely take advantage of this The opportunity raised the conditions, and the lion opened his mouth, but he couldn't care so much for Austria not to destroy the country without France.
Prince von Metternich agreed, thought for a while, and then said: "Your Majesty, Vienna is in a very critical situation now. I wonder if we should temporarily move the capital and move the royal family and the government to Budapest, which is relatively safe."
"No, Vienna is the capital of Austria. How can I give up Vienna at this time." Francis I flatly refused.
"Your Majesty, Prince von Metternich also has good intentions. So, if we can't resist the attack of the French army, or the Russian army has no time to rescue our country, the royal family and the government will transfer to Hungary." Grand Duke Charles said.
Francis thought about it, and finally accepted the compromise.
The war in Austria is still going on. Nearly one million French and Austrian troops are still fighting. The whole of Austria is almost caught in the flames of war. Towns and villages were destroyed by the war, and refugees were everywhere. Not all Austrians chose to flee to Bavaria. In any case, everyone was German, and fleeing to Bavaria was the best choice for them. But because of the influx of a large number of refugees, it also brought a lot of problems, and even many Austrians formed guerrillas to attack the supply lines of the French army. Therefore, the French side had to ask Bavaria to dispatch troops to protect the supply lines of the French army, which made the situation better.
"Your Majesty, the war between France and Austria has entered a fierce stage. France has the upper hand. It is estimated that Austria will not be able to hold on. If we don't send troops, I believe Austria will be destroyed soon." In Moscow, the capital of Russia The Kremlin, Russian military commander Kutuzov suggested to the new Tsar Nicholas I. For Nikolai, Kutuzov looked down on him very much. He always thought that Nikolai was a man with no ambitions. to him.
Nicholas also knew how those ministers thought of him, so he desperately hoped to make some achievements and prove himself to those ministers. And this war is the best opportunity. As long as under his plan, Russia can obtain the greatest benefits in this war, then his position will be consolidated. "It's not the end yet. Austria and France haven't lost much strength. Joining the war at this time will have many unfavorable factors for our country." Grand Duke Nicholas said suddenly.
At this time, Foreign Minister Makovsky suddenly asked to see him. "Your Majesty, the Austrian Foreign Minister said just now that if our country can send troops to rescue Austria, Austria can withdraw from the Balkan Peninsula and give the Balkan Peninsula to our country," Makovsky said.
"What? The Balkan Peninsula." Nicholas was moved. Almost no tsar hoped to obtain the Balkan Peninsula and expand Russia's sphere of influence to the Mediterranean region. However, Austria and Russia have been competing for control of the Balkan Peninsula for a long time. Right, with its geographical advantages, Austria always has the upper hand. "Okay, promise Austria, we will immediately declare war on France." Nicholas shouted. He firmly believed that if under his leadership, Russia could acquire the Balkan Peninsula, then he would become a great tsar like Peter the Great in Russian history.