Holy Roman Empire-Chapter 894 - 157, Southern Route

Milan City had already transformed into a military fortress, where the bustling life had dissipated, leaving only the sounds of warhorses and armor.

Since the outbreak of the European war, the Kingdom of Lombardy had become the frontline of the conflict between France and Austria. Regent Prince Luteberd had issued a full mobilization order as soon as the war began.

Entering the mid to late 19th century, the House of Wittelsbach seemed to be cursed with a series of misfortunes.

Maximilian II was a step slow to react, and he had chosen the wrong side in the international political struggle, barely maintaining his throne through a political marriage.

However, as the price of failure, the House of Wittelsbach paid a heavy price, losing long-held Bavaria and heading to Lombardy to start anew.

Hardly stable, the succeeding King Ludwig II developed a mental illness. After Ludwig II was finally sent away, the next king, Otto I, was also a mental patient.

The House of Wittelsbach became a laughingstock, no longer considered prestigious. They were mockingly called the "mad royal family," and some unscrupulous people even wagered that the House’s next monarch would also be mad.

It wasn’t just the main family that was unfortunate; the Greek line was in trouble too. Another person named Otto not only had no heirs but also lost his grip on power.

Had the Vienna Government not intervened, the Wittelsbachs’ rule over Greece would have collapsed long ago.

The good days did not last long, and now they were caught up in the European war. The Kingdom of Lombardy became the frontline, posing yet another major challenge to the rule of the House of Wittelsbach.

Regent Prince Luteberd was recently very troubled, fearing any unexpected developments on the frontline that may once again force the Wittelsbachs into exile.

According to the laws of the New Roman Empire, both the king and the emperor had the right to command the army, leaving no room for a regent at all.

With the Lombard King incapacitated by mental illness, the army command fell into the emperor’s hands.

Power is easy to relinquish, but hard to reclaim. Given the situation in the Kingdom of Lombardy, regaining army command would have to wait for the next generation’s monarch.

In this context, Prince Luteberd couldn’t help but feel anxious. Should the Vienna Government harbor designs against the Kingdom of Lombardy, employing a proxy to execute their scheme, it would spell disaster.

"Your Highness, General Mörcks has arrived in the drawing-room," an attendant’s voice pulled Prince Luteberd out of his reverie.

"Alright, I’ll head there immediately!"

After straightening his clothing and checking his appearance in the mirror to ensure it wasn’t improper, Prince Luteberd strode out the door.

In the past, he wouldn’t have needed to concern himself with the arrival of a general, not even with the Marshal of the Empire or the Prime Minister; Prince Luteberd could overlook them.

According to imperial law, the Kingdom of Lombardy enjoyed a high degree of autonomy, and no matter how powerful these individuals were, they could not extend their reach into Lombardy.

But now things were different. General Mörcks was the Commander of the Italian Area, and the Kingdom of Lombardy happened to be within his defensive jurisdiction.

In the grand scheme, as long as victory is secured, the Vienna Government would not feel regret even if the Kingdom of Lombardy was left in ruins.

For a frontline commander, the most important thing is victory. All other issues are minor, especially since this time’s enemy is the French, and everyone is prepared to bear heavy costs.

Others might think this way, but Prince Luteberd could not. The destruction of any city in the Kingdom of Lombardy was a disaster for the House of Wittelsbach.

It would make their already unstable rule even more precarious. From the standpoint of the House of Wittelsbach, the best scenario would be to keep the enemy at the gates.

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After pleasantries, General Mörcks got straight to the point, "Your Highness, I have come to seek assistance.

To ensure the logistical supply for the frontline troops, I hope you can provide three hundred and fifty thousand laborers and conscript all the railways of Lombardy."

The request was only for laborers and not soldiers because the military did not fall under local government jurisdiction, even the reserves.

At these two demands, Prince Luteberd furrowed his brow, "General, your demands are too great.

The Kingdom of Lombardy has a population of less than four million, and with two hundred thousand already conscripted into military service, recruiting an additional three hundred and fifty thousand laborers would nearly deplete all our able-bodied individuals.

Especially since you also wish to conscript all the railways, domestic production and life will be disrupted, which I fear…"

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In times of war, the people of the border regions suffer terribly!

When battles commence, it is the border regions that are the first to mobilize, bearing the brunt of the military and labor demands; and should the enemy advance, it is these regions that suffer first.

General Mörcks understood Prince Luteberd’s difficulties all too well, and if it were possible, he would not have wanted to do this either.

Military expediency is paramount, and conscripting labor from the Kingdom of Lombardy is fastest; requisition of the railways is essential.

"Your Highness, I’m fully aware of your concerns. The Empire will compensate for the contributions of the Lombard people.

I will report the situation here truthfully and discuss the specific compensation measures with your Cabinet.

The requisition of the railways is non-negotiable—not only the railways but also the roads must give priority to the military. If there is spare capacity, then we can make it available for civilian use.

Besides, I hope you can requisition a portion of the civilian vehicles from the public—trucks, horse-drawn carriages, ox carts, donkey carts... We won’t turn any away."

Before a war erupts, one will never know just how lacking their preparations are.

Austria had made the most thorough preparations, yet as soon as the war broke out, it realized that wasn’t the case.

The preparations were indeed thorough but were overwhelmed by the sheer number of troops at the front!

Franz didn’t believe that waging war against the French required nationwide mobilization, but the problem was that others didn’t see it that way!

Under the persistent persuasion of everyone, Franz decisively backed down. Having more people was always better than fewer, and even though consumption was greater, the odds of winning had increased.

To defeat the French, the Vienna Government was resolute, and the Cabinet planned to mobilize five million troops.

Just the forces allocated to the southern front amounted to one and a half million, and all kinds of preparations at this moment seemed inadequate.

Without a doubt, this one and a half million was merely a number on paper, or a theoretical figure. Currently, on the front line of the Kingdom of Lombardy, there were just over three hundred thousand troops.

When the follow-up forces would arrive was unknown to anyone. Everything would depend on the actual situation at the front, and nobody knew anything for certain.

General Mörck simply started preparations in advance, to avoid the embarrassment of the military’s logistics being unable to keep up when the front line launched an offensive.

After hearing General Mörck’s explanation, Prince Luteberd’s expression eased slightly. It was good enough that the Central Government would compensate; what he feared most was having the Kingdom of Lombardy bear all the losses alone.

"I remember that after the army’s reform, it had already broadly equipped with trucks and motorcycles, achieving semi-mechanization of logistics.

Why do we need to requisition so many vehicles now? General, are you preparing to take the initiative to attack?"

General Mörck smiled and said, "Your Highness is not quite informed! Mechanization is just a concept proposed by the military, a trend for the future of the army, but it’s not the present.

Currently, only a small number of our forces can achieve semi-mechanization, and to fully realize even that, it will be difficult to do within ten years.

However, it is true that logistics units have indeed been equipped with a large number of trucks, leading the way towards mechanization. It’s just that after the expansion of the army, it has become somewhat insufficient."

Considering the complex terrain and poor transportation in the Italian Area, we must have various types of transport vehicles to avoid issues when the time comes..."

Having gotten the answer he wanted, Prince Luteberd breathed a sigh of relief. Then he was hit by a headache again—cooperation was mandatory.

If the French attacked, the Kingdom of Lombardy would be the biggest victim. No matter how excessive the military’s demand was, as long as it could keep the French outside their gates, he would agree.

The problem was that cooperation was not easy; not to mention negotiating compensation with the Central Government, just the requisition of roads and vehicles was troublesome enough.

...

Everything requires comparison. If Prince Luteberd knew the difficulties the French were facing, he wouldn’t feel so troubled.

In the French Command in Turin, Marshal Adrien looked at the map worriedly. By plan, he should have launched an offensive against the Kingdom of Lombardy by now.

Alas, the Italians had become troublesome. Anti-war movements had erupted in several cities, including Turin, delaying the army’s movement.

An anti-war movement never happened before the war, nor after it began, but just when the conflict erupted. There was no way Adrien would believe it was a spontaneous occurrence without manipulation.

You should know that before this, the Italian public was waving flags in support of the Emperor, demanding the government declare war on the Prussia and German-Austro alliance.

Now Adrien could only think of damage control. He couldn’t even report back to his country.

Because uncovering it meant that many people would get into trouble. With too many enemies, his position as Marshal would become untenable.

"Have you caught the mouse?"

The mouse was a euphemism for the Italian Independent Organization. Since France’s annexation of the Italian Area, bureaucrats had the additional task of catching these ’mice’.

"Marshal, as you know, these mice are too timid to stick their heads out."