Holy Roman Empire-Chapter 942 - 205, The Great Final Battle

Chapter 942: Chapter 205, The Great Final Battle

Compared to Spain, Switzerland, caught between France and Austria, was even more tragic. Neutrality wasn’t even an option; small countries had no choice.

If Austria collaborated with Russia and Spain out of political necessity, including Switzerland was merely to pad the numbers.

Not taking sides was fine, as Austria was peace-loving and wouldn’t force anyone to join. However, after the war, the international order was established without the involvement of non-participating countries.

Don’t assume that Switzerland was happily neutral in the original timeline, indifferent even to joining the European Union; that was based on the rise of the United States and the decline of Europe. Remaining outside the system, the ultimate outcome was merely a question of how to perish.

Not to mention, just one food embargo, and Switzerland wouldn’t last a year before starving; a single tariff barrier, and Switzerland’s nascent industry would regress back to the medieval era.

Make no mistake, Austria definitely had the capability to do this after the war. Neither the defeated France nor the independent Kingdom of Sardinia could afford to confront Austria over Switzerland.

Plainly speaking, a hegemon also needs to assert its authority. Generally, it would choose a chicken to kill to scare the monkeys. Austria was no exception, and now the only uncertainty was who would end up as that unfortunate chicken.

The first survival strategy for a small country is to understand the times. After Spain declared war on France, the pressure became too much for the Swiss Government, who quickly followed suit in declaring war on the French.

With the Anti-French Alliance assembled, Austria finally commanded an unmatched force, such that even the British personally entering the fray couldn’t turn the tides.

In the Vienna Palace, looking at a map studded with small flags, Franz slowly said, “The time for the decisive battle has come, with the addition of Russia, Spain, and Switzerland, the morale of the French soldiers has fallen to its lowest point.

Order the frontline troops to launch a comprehensive counterattack, my only requirement is to weaken the French forces as much as possible.

The foreign ministry should continue its efforts to pull all of Europe’s neutral countries into the conflict before the French surrender, laying the groundwork for the post-war international order.

Of course, excluding the British.”

Indeed, from the beginning to the end, Franz had never counted on the strength of these new allies.

The main purposes for involving them were only two:

First, to bind more countries to the war chariot, creating as many enemies for France as possible so that everyone could share in the antagonism.

Second, to crush the morale of the French, undermining their will to resist, to increase the odds of victory in the decisive battle and minimize their own casualties as much as possible.

Of course, the incidental benefits were even greater. With only so many countries on the European Continent, the more that participated in the war, the fewer could act as mediators. Even if the British wished to interfere, they wouldn’t be able to pull enough significant allies.

Foreign Minister Weisenberg: “Your Majesty, now there are only three neutral countries left in Europe, almost without any stakes connected with the French.

Temptation is simply unrealistic; if we force them to declare war on France, they might agree due to circumstances, but they would certainly be dissatisfied internally.

At the same time, this would also leave an impression of us being domineering, detrimental to the establishment of the post-war international order.

Since their strength is limited and their participation wouldn’t be meaningful anyway, we might as well let them be.”

Without a doubt, these three neutral countries did not include Britannia. Ever since relations began to sour between England and Russia, the Austrian Government had subconsciously excluded the British from Europe.

Looking at the map, Franz nodded thoughtfully. The remaining neutral countries were now just Portugal, the Netherlands, and the Nordic Federation. Even if they were to join the war, they no longer had the opportunity to enter the battlefield.

It wasn’t just them; Franz didn’t intend to give Russia, Spain, or Switzerland a chance to participate in the decisive battle either.

Due to geographic circumstances, if Spain and Switzerland reacted quickly, they might still have a chance to join in the thrashing of a foe already down, but other non-bordering countries shouldn’t even think about it.

The French had deep reserves; participating in the decisive battle would indeed come at a cost, but compared to the immense gains, it was hardly worth mentioning.

Being a leader was not easy, especially when it came to distributing interests; achieving basic fairness to satisfy everyone was essential.

Franz had already made plans to implement a principle of proportional share to contributions, securing war spoils in direct proportion to contributions made during the Anti-French war.

Those who contributed less would, apart from the initially promised benefits, have no share in the remaining spoils.

This was unavoidable; if Austria wanted to monopolize French African territories, it naturally couldn’t allow too many countries to participate in the great battle, otherwise hogging all would appear quite unseemly.

Beyond that, another purpose was to flex its muscles to the outside world, letting everyone understand that this leader was truly meritorious and not just for show, and henceforth they should be more discerning in their actions.

…

On the Central European Battlefield, the aged Marshal Patrice McMahon, dragged his weary body to mobilize his troops for one last time.

Anyone with clear eyes could see that the old Marshal was burning the candle at both ends. If not for his strong conviction, he might have already fallen.

Since the news had come that the Russians had entered the war, a sense of despair had spread through the French camp, especially among the Italian soldiers, some of whom even openly propagated anti-war sentiments within the camp.

To stabilize the morale of his troops, McMahon had ordered a suppression at the first instance, executing hundreds, which finally stabilized the situation.

Iron-fisted measures could intimidate people, but they could not restore morale. Perhaps the officials back home didn’t understand, but the frontline commanders knew all too well that the French Army was plagued with internal and external troubles.

“I trust you are all aware that the international situation has suddenly changed, the Russians have declared war on us, and Spain and Switzerland have also kicked us while we’re down.

This is just the beginning. If we cannot defeat the enemy before us on the battlefield and crush their ambitions, more enemies will emerge.

France is now in its most perilous moment. It is time for us to take up arms and defend our homeland.

Don’t be fooled by their numbers, they are merely a disorganized rabble. If we can defeat the leading Austrians, the international anti-French forces will retreat.

…”

Marshal Patrice McMahon used his booming voice to instill what he himself hardly believed—the ‘spiritual chicken soup’—hoping only to ignite everyone’s belief and win a chance for survival for France.

As for the effect, well, that’s subject to interpretation.

Perhaps the Russians were too far away to pose an immediate threat, but Spain and Switzerland were right next door. Even if these countries did not send troops, they would still tie down a significant number of the French forces.

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Spain was manageable, with the Pyrenees in between. Deploying a force of a hundred and fifty or two hundred thousand could secure the frontier.

Switzerland was a different story, as the border region with France was flat and open, and the natural defenses all lay within Swiss territory. Once the Austrian troops marched through Switzerland, they could directly enter the heart of France.

It wasn’t a matter of “if” but had already happened. The moment Switzerland joined the war, an Austrian division had set out from the Liechtenstein Teritory into Swiss territory, clearly targeting France.

Unlike the overwhelming numbers of the Anti-French Alliance, France’s mobilization for war was already pushed to its limits. The war had cost the French Army over two million troops, including between eight hundred thousand and nine hundred thousand buried in the African Continent and over a million lost on the European battlefield.

Although these men had not all died in battle—many were maimed or captured on the battlefield—the reality was the same: they could no longer return to the frontline.

Yet, this was just the beginning. From the moment the Paris Government had decided on a quick resolution, the French Army suffered daily casualties in the tens of thousands.

No matter how large the enterprise, it couldn’t withstand such depletion. In the face of such brutal losses, the morale of the troops on the front lines had long been low.

With his hands tied, McMahon could only rely on senior officers to work their way down through the ranks, doing ideological work to possibly inspire the soldiers’ fighting spirit.

Before McMahon could finish his speech, he was interrupted by a young officer who burst in, “Marshal, the Austrians have launched an attack.

According to telegrams from the frontline, this assault by the Austrian troops is massive. The hills are swarming with iron lump monsters; the power is tremendous, and there’s simply no way to counter them.

Our first line of defense has been breached; the Seventh, Sixteenth, Twenty-Third, and Forty-Second Divisions, among other units, have all sent urgent requests for reinforcements.”

Upon hearing about the “iron lump monsters,” McMahon’s face darkened. It seemed that a previous report had mentioned that the Austrians had such a secret weapon.

Unfortunately, the Austrians had too many secret weapons, most of which turned out to be smoke bombs deployed before entering the battlefield, leaving their actual capabilities unknown. Coupled with incomplete intelligence, McMahon had ignored them outright.

Naturally, even if he had known beforehand, it wouldn’t have mattered. Without having seen the power of the armored troops, everyone imagined them as just a type of heavy cavalry, only more heavily armored.

At Franz’s command, a hidden torrent of steel surged forth, with tanks and armored vehicles appearing from Southern Europe to Central Europe.

Since the outbreak of the war, a major decisive battle had erupted between France and Austria. On one side was the French Army wanting a quick resolution; on the other, the iron flood of the Austrian army played out the most thrilling scene on the European Continent.

Battle?

No, to be precise, it should be called a massacre.

The clash between the flesh and the iron flood was inherently unfair. Plus, as the French had always been the aggressors, their defensive fortifications were not very strong, which just led to tragedy.