<h4>Chapter 196: Passing the Buck</h4>
Vienna
At the Austrian General Staff Headquarters, Marshal Radetzky was currently convening a group of officers for a practical analysis of the ongoing Balkan campaign.
They were examining the gains and losses of the warring factions based on the intelligence avable, seeking to draw lessons from the situation.
In situations like these, those not directly involved often have a clearer perspective.
As spectators, the Austrian General Staff, a group of pencil pushers, criticized both sides of the conflict as having no merit whatsoever.
Russians: Strategic mistakes, did not break through the weak Ottoman forces and instead shed with the French. Evaluation: Commandersck military knowledge and flexibility.
Allied Forces: Ambiguousmand authority, constant internal conflicts, mutual hindrance, and failure to leverage their numerical advantage. Evaluation: Inevitable result of multinational cooperation, unsolvable by manpower.
Commonalities: Severe bureaucracy, chaoticmand, and inadequate logistics systems.
Comprehensive Combat Power Assessment:
French: 9.4
British: 9.6
Russian: 7.8
Montenegro: 10.5
Ottoman: 5
Sardinian: 5
Seeing this assessment report, Franz’s expression was quite interesting. The British army’sbat power surpassing France’s was likely something few could ept.
Even more peculiar was that thebat power of the Montenegrin forces has unexpectedly exceeded that of the major powers.
The rest seemed rtively normal; the Ottoman and Sardinian forces were considered weak with abat power of only 5, a view widely epted by the Austrian military.
The Greeks have not yet joined the war, making an urate assessment impossible. The Bulgarian guerri forces, not being regr army units, have also been excluded by the staff.
Seemingly aware of Franz’s doubts, Marshal Radetzky exined, “Your Majesty, the Montenegrins have the strongest fighting spirit. Every Montenegrin undergoes military training from childhood, with training no worse than any nation’s armies. Coupled with the weapons and equipment we provide, their potentialbat power is truly astonishing.”
People unafraid of death could not have too poorbat abilities. If well-trained soldiers were equipped with advanced weapons, it was not surprising for theirbat power to exceed expectations.
However, this kind of exceptionalbat power also depend on the circumstances. Currently, the Montenegrins were fighting for revenge, and their morale was high, naturally resulting in extraordinarybat power.
If the time and ce were different, this Montenegrin force might not have suchbat power.
Simrly, if the British and French forces were fighting on their home soil, resisting foreign invasions, theirbat power could also be exceptional.
Now, as they fight for the Ottoman Empire in the Balkan Penins, setting aside factors such as geographical environment and limatization and other factors, their morale alone cannot reach its peak. If they can exert 80-90% of theirbat effectiveness, they could already be considered well-trained.
In Franz’s view, this constantly changingprehensive assessment was still reliable.
Thebat power of any military force was not constant; it can only be maximized in the most suitable environment.
Franz asked in puzzlement: “Marshal, I can ept that the Montenegrin forces have formidablebat power. However, how was the conclusion reached that thebat power of the British forces surpasses that of the French?
Analyzing their achievements, it is evident that the French are clearly superior, and the British forces hardly have any notable achievements.”
Marshal Radetzky exined: “Your Majesty, the British army has never had arge number of troops, but their training is not inferior to any other nation.
Of course, this factor only proves that the British forces are well-trained, and it does not necessarily mean they are superior inbat power to the French.
The fundamental reason lies in Napoleon III’s purging of dissidents and using the opportunity of war to rece some high-ranking officers.
Such personnel changes inevitably affect morale in the short term. New officers need time to adapt, leading to a temporary decrease in thebat power of the French forces.
On the Balkan Penins, the morale of this French expeditionary force is not high, and as a result, their projectedbat power is reduced.
Based on these factors, the General Staff believes that their currentbat power is not superior to that of the British.
However, this is not absolute. If the Frenchmanders have stronger leadership, they canpensate for this gap. After all, the Britishmanders are mostly novices.”
Franz nodded, acknowledging that this assessment ofbat power could only serve as a reference. Taking it too seriously would likely lead to being proven wrong on the battlefield. The battlefield was ever-changing and there has always been a saying in the military — the weak can defeat the strong.
Franz chuckled, “So, it seems that the two sides in this battle are evenly matched, and it’s difficult to determine a winner in the short term.
If the Greeks suddenly unleash their strength andunch a surprise attack on the logistics of the allied forces, wouldn’t the odds favor the Russians even more if the allied forces are caught off guard?”
Foreign Minister Metternich exined: “Your Majesty, I’m afraid the Greeks cannot be relied on. Despite aligning with Russia for their own benefit, the Greek government does not want Britain and France as enemies.
Like us, they prefer to only engage in war with the Ottoman Empire, maintaining neutrality in the conflicts between Britain, France, and Russia.
In this battle, the Greeks likelyck the courage to raid the British and French supply lines. Even if they participate in the war, their actions will likely be limited to the surrounding territories and contribute little to the overall situation.”
Other than expressing frustration at having pig teammates, Franz was powerless.
Austria did not send troops to battle with Britain and France because the Balkan Penins could only support so manyrge armies, and the Russian Bear had already taken all avable slots. Increasing the number of troops would only lead to logistical challenges.
There was also the issue of post-war benefit distribution. Currently, Austria’s main contribution was in logistics. ording to pre-arranged agreements, benefit distribution after the war would be rationalized based on each country’s contribution. Since Russia exerted the most significant effort, it was reasonable for them to receive thergest share of benefits.
If Austria took on a leading role, Russia would not be able to obtain all their desired benefits, which was something the Russian government could not ept.
Apart from these special circumstances, there was a crucial condition: Austria had the strength to remain neutral. Even if Britain and France were dissatisfied, they could not do anything about Austria.
This was different for the Greeks; the British wouldn’t mind giving them a lesson for not being obedient. Once a small country took a side, there was no room for maneuvering, and Britain and France wouldn’t care about their exnations.
The correct course of action for the Greeks was either not to take sides at all or fullymit. Being indecisive would not lead to favorable oues, regardless of the final results.
After a moment of contemtion, Franz said, “Then let’s wait a bit longer. The railway from Vienna to Salzburg has already startedying tracks and is expected to be operational by the end of the year.
The railway connecting Munich to Salzburg has alsopleted its roadbed construction. From a technical standpoint, temporary tracks can beid in most areas of this railway section.
Even if enemies make an all outst stand, blocking the Danube and Rhine rivers, logistics can still be resolved.”
Franz wasn’t worried about the military strength of the Southern German States. Regardless of the efforts made by the governments of these states, their widespread underground coborators could not be resisted.
The topic of unification had already been heatedly discussed, a term from this era that people weren’t yet aware of — public opinion hijacking. In reality, the lower and middle-ss poptions of these small states werergely influenced by public opinion.
When Austrian troops arrive, such notions would undermine thebat morale of the armies. Those who surrender can boldly im: We are not surrendering; we are contributing our efforts to national unification.
The only risk lies in logistics. If Bavaria chose to do everything possible to resist them, directly blocking the Danube and Rhine rivers, Austrian troops could only rely onnd transport for supplies which would be troublesome.
Waiting for Bavaria’s domestic railways was too slow, but that was okay. They can also work around it andy temporary tracks onpleted roadbeds.
Due to the terrain, these short-distance railways may only cover small sections of several dozen kilometers, a dozen kilometers, or even just a few kilometers, making it impossible to connect them. However, Franz can’t afford to consider all these details. Having something was better than nothing.
Ry transportation of supplies may be troublesome, but it’s faster than manualbor. Every minute on the battlefield is precious, and Austria can emte the ry transportation model of the Principality of Montenegro.
……
Balkan Penins
The war entered a stalemate, with neither the Russians able to defeat the allied forces nor the allied forces able to ovee the Russians.
What was embarrassing for both sides was that the two most outstanding forces on the battlefield are the Bulgarian guerri forces and the army of the Principality of Montenegro.
On October 1, 1852, the Montenegrin army achieved a remarkable victory by capturing the heavily guarded Scutari Fortress (Shkod?r Fortress), the gateway to Albania, despite being outnumbered.
In the following month, the Montenegrin army continued its sweeping advance, gaining control over half of Albania. Fortunately, these areas were not strategically crucial, and their capture didn’t significantly impact the overall situation.
The performance of the Bulgarian guerri forces also stood out. In Sliven, they pressed against the Ottoman forces, asionally infiltrating their rear and causing significant trouble for the logistical transport of the alliance.
In Sofia, the Bulgarian guerri forces sessfully broke through the defense lines of the Sardinian army and infiltrated into the rear of the allied forces.
If the British hadn’t reacted quickly, swiftly mobilizing heavy forces for a counterattack that crushed them, the allied forces in Sofia would have been surrounded.
When regr troops are scattered, they be disorganized. However, since these were guerri forces, after being dispersed, they naturally reverted to guerri tactics, causing considerable distress for the alliancemander FitzRoy Somerset.
Nothing could be done. The useless Ottomans turned what was supposed to be a local conflict into a people’s war.
After scattering, these Bulgarian guerris prated deep into the region of Bulgaria, using local support to sporadically strike at them.
At this point, FitzRoy Somerset dared not use Ottoman escorts for the logistics transport of the allied forces. Anything less than 2,000 British troops escorting them would be like providing supplies to the enemy.
Not long ago, when 5,000 Ottoman troops were transporting strategic supplies, they were directly plundered by guerri forces midway. If not for Sofia’s abundant reserves, the allies would have starved.
Even with powerful escorts, each sessful supply delivery came at the cost of 180 British soldiers.
Of course the enemy deaths were higher, but trading British lives for guerris was always a loss in FitzRoy Somerset’s eyes.
FitzRoy Somerset angrily said: “Have the Foreign Ministrymunicate with the Ottoman government to quickly suppress the guerri forces. We cannot allow these people to affect our logistics transport.”
It’s not that he didn’t want to send troops to suppress the guerri forces, but the Russian forces on the frontline were still watching. As long as he dared to send out the main British forces, the Russians would immediately pounce.
However, the guerri forces couldn’t be left alone either. Allowing them to rampage like this would eventually lead to the copse of the allied forces’ logistics.
Originally, supplies that could be delivered in a week now took at least ten days. The casualties among the personnel transporting supplies and the loss of materials were constantly increasing.
Therefore, the task of suppressing the guerri forces had to be handed over to the Ottoman government. They were the local overlords and were well-suited for this job.
Unfortunately, this was only in theory. Reality was harsh.
British Major General Eberron contemptuously said: “Commander, I’m afraid the Ottomans cannot be relied upon. To suppress this guerri force, the Ottomans have already deployed 50,000 troops, and now there are probably only half of them left.
These guys are useless in battle; they wet their pants at the sound of gunfire. Relying on them to suppress the guerris is nothing but wishful thinking.”
This was an exaggeration. The Ottoman troops were not that useless. The reason these forces had such poorbat abilities was that the Ottoman Empire’s main forces had beenmitted to the battlefield.
They have deployed around 400,000 troops in the Caucasus and lost over 100,000 in the Balkans. Currently, there are still over 400,000 Ottoman troops fighting bloody battles on the battlefield.
Where could they find more troops? With the war progressing to this stage, the Ottoman Empire has already exhausted its strength. This is the maximum force the Ottoman government can mobilize.
Now, in order to suppress the guerris, they’ve hastily assembled another 50,000 troops. Calling them a proper army was giving them too much credit.
Most of these people were conscriptedborers with no military spirit or morale. Once they learn how to shoot a gun, they were considered to have alreadypleted training and are then sent directly to the battlefield.
Their weapons and equipment were all outdated relics, with many weapons being older than the soldiers themselves.
This regr army’s firepower was on par with guerri forces, and in some cases, even inferior to some guerri units.
FitzRoy Somerset angrily said: “Worthless! How could the British Empire have such an ally? It’s downright embarrassing. Urge the French to quickly engage the Russians in a decisive battle. What are they dragging their feet for? Do they still want to spend Christmas in the Balkans?”