Chapter 196: Chapter 83, Passing the Buck

Translator: 549690339

Vienna

At the Austrian General Staff headquarters, Marshal Radetzky was gathering a group of officers to conduct an analysis of actual combat cases, focusing on the recent Balkan battles.

Based on the intelligence they had, they analyzed the gains and losses of both sides in the battle and sought to learn from their experiences.

It is said that those directly involved cannot see as clearly as the detached observers.

As detached observers, the staff officers at the Austrian General Staff, a bunch of armchair strategists, criticized both sides as being utterly incompetent.

Russians: Strategic decision-making errors, failing to choose to break through the weak Ottoman forces, instead butting heads with the French. Evaluation: Military quality of commanders is inadequate, lacking adaptability.

Allied Forces: Unclear command authority, incessant internal strife, continuous backstabbing, failing to utilize the advantage of superior troop strength. Evaluation: The inevitable result of multilateral cooperation, beyond human remedy.

Common points: Severe bureaucracy, disordered command, rubbish logistics system.

Military comprehensive combat strength assessment:

French: 9.4

British: 9.6

Russians: 7.8

Montenegro Duchy: 10.5

Ottomans: 5

People of Sardinian: 5

Looking at this assessment report, Franz’s expression was very interesting. The British Army’s combat effectiveness is rated above that of the French, a statement that probably not many could accept.

Even more bizarre is that the combat strength of the Montenegrin Army is off the charts, even above all the great powers.

The rest are more or less normal; the Ottoman and Sardinian armies, just weaklings with a combat strength of 5, a view that is widely accepted by the Austrian military.

Since the Greek people had not yet joined the war, they could not be accurately assessed, and the Bulgarian Guerrilla Team, not being a regular army, was ignored by the General Staff.

Sensing Franz’s confusion, Marshal Radetzky explained, “Your Majesty, the fighting will of the Montenegrin Army is the strongest among the nations. Every Montenegrin begins military training from a young age, and their training is no worse than that of other national armies. Coupled with the weapons and equipment we provide, their combat power can be astonishingly explosive.”

Those who do not fear death will not perform poorly in battle. If you add to that well-trained soldiers and advanced weapons, it’s no surprise that their combat performance is off the charts.

However, this kind of overwhelming strength does depend on the situation. Right now, Montenegrins are avenging past wrongs and fighting for themselves, so their morale is high and their combat power consequently off the charts.

If it were a different time and place, this Montenegrin Army might not possess the same fighting power.

Similarly, if the British and French troops were fighting on their home soil against a foreign invader, their combat power might also be potentially off the charts.

Now they’re fighting in the Balkans on behalf of the Ottomans, and setting aside potential geographical and acclimatization factors, just the morale alone cannot rise to its peak; achieving eight or nine out of ten in combat effectiveness would already mean they’re well-trained.

This ever-changing comprehensive assessment, in Franz’s view, was still reliable.

The fighting power of any military is not constant; it is only in the most suitable environment that it can be maximized.

With a hint of curiosity, Franz asked, “Marshal, I can accept that the Montenegrin Army is formidable in battle.

But how did you conclude that the British forces are superior to the French in combat power? Looking at their achievements, the French clearly outperform the British, whose ‘Lobster Soldiers’ barely have any remarkable triumphs.”

Marshal Radetzky explained, “Your Majesty, the British Army has always been small in number, but their training is in no way inferior to that of any other nation.

Of course, this factor alone proves that the British forces are well-trained, but does not mean they are stronger in combat than the French.

The fundamental reason is that Napoleon III, in his purge of dissenters, used the opportunity of war to replace a portion of the high-ranking officers.

This kind of personnel change invariably affects morale in the short term. When new officers take command, they need time to meld with the troops, reducing the combat power of the French army in the short term.

In the Balkans, the morale of this French expeditionary force is not high, thus diminishing their combat effectiveness.

Based on these factors, the General Staff believes that their current fighting power is below that of the British.

This is not set in stone, of course. If these French officers’ command abilities were stronger, they could bridge this gap, as after all, the British commanders are a bunch of novices.”

Franz nodded, acknowledging the combat strength assessment as a reference. Taking it completely seriously meant preparing to be proven wrong; the battlefield is full of changes, and in military terms, there has always been a saying—winning with the weaker force.

Franz chuckled and said, “So it seems, the forces in this battle are evenly matched, and a victor cannot be decided in the short term.

If the Greeks suddenly erupt and strike effectively, catching the Allied Forces’ logistics off-guard, wouldn’t that give the Russians a bigger chance of winning?”

Foreign Minister Metternich spoke up to explain, “Your Majesty, I’m afraid we cannot count on the Greeks.

Although they have chosen to ally with the Russians for their own interest, the Greece Government does not wish to be at odds with Britain and France.

They hope to be like us, to be at war only with the Ottoman Empire and to remain neutral in the fight between Britain and France and the Russians.

In this battle, the Greeks are unlikely to have the guts to attack the logistics lines of the British and French. Even if they did join the conflict, they would only target the surrounding lands, which is inconsequential to the overall situation.”

Apart from lamenting the uselessness of such allies, there was not much Franz could do.

Austria had not deployed troops to fight against Britain and France because the Balkan Peninsula could only sustain a limited number of troops in action, and the “Mao Xiong” soldiers already filled the ranks. Increasing the number of troops would overwhelm the logistics.

There’s also the matter of post-war benefit distribution. Currently, Austria’s main contribution is in logistics, so according the prior agreement, Russia, putting forth the most effort, is justified in receiving the largest share of the spoils.

If Austria were to play the lead role, the Tsarist Government would not be able to swallow all the desired benefits it now expects, which is unacceptable to them.

Aside from these special cases, there was one crucial condition: Austria had the strength to maintain neutrality, so even if England and France were displeased, they couldn’t do anything about it.

If it were the Greek people, it would be different; the British didn’t mind seizing the opportunity to discipline this disobedient “little brother.” Once a small nation took sides, there was no turning back, and they shouldn’t expect England and France to listen to their explanations.

The correct approach for the Greek people was to either not do it at all or to go through with it completely. Sitting on the fence would mean, regardless of the outcome, they would not come to a good end.

After a moment of contemplation, Franz said, “Then let’s wait some more. The railroad from Vienna to Salzburg has already started laying tracks and will be operational by the end of the year.

The railway from Munich to Salzburg has also completed the foundation work. Technically speaking, most parts of this section can lay temporary tracks.

Even if the enemy is in a do-or-die struggle, blocking the Danube and Rhine Rivers, the logistical problems can still be solved.”

Franz had no worries about the military strength of the South German States. No matter how hard these state governments tried, it was no use against the many proponents for unification among their people.

The topic of unification had already been stirred up, and although people of the time were unaware of a term—”media manipulation”—in reality, the opinions of the common folk of these small states had been influenced by the media.

When the Austrian army came marching in, such sentiments would dissolve the will to fight in their armies. The surrendering forces could even proudly claim: We’re not surrendering; we’re contributing our part to national unification.

The only risk was logistics; if the Bavarian Government chose a scorched earth policy, blocking the Danube and Rhine Rivers outright, the Austrian army could only rely on road transport for logistical support, which would be a headache.

Waiting for the domestic railways in Bavaria to be operational would be too late, but that didn’t matter; they could still improvise by laying temporary tracks on the already completed foundations.

Due to the terrain, these short-distance railroads might consist of segments running only tens of kilometers, a dozen kilometers, or even a few kilometers in length, unable to be connected into a whole. But Franz could not worry about that; having them was better than nothing.

Even if transferring materials midway was a hassle, it was faster than moving them by manpower alone. Every minute on the battlefield was precious, and Austria could emulate the relay transport model of the Montenegro Duchy.

The Balkan Peninsula

The war had entered a stalemate, with the Russians unable to defeat the Allied Forces, and the Allied Forces unable to do anything about the Russians.

Embarrassingly for both sides, the two armies that stood out the most on the battlefield were actually the Bulgarian Guerrilla Team and the Montenegro Army.

On October 1, 1852, the Montenegrin Army achieved a victory against the odds by taking the heavily guarded Ottoman fortress at Shkodër, opening the gateway to Albania.

In the following month, the Montenegrin Army swept through half of the Albania region, bringing it under their control. Fortunately, these areas were not vital, not affecting the overall situation.

The Bulgarian Guerrillas also took the spotlight. In the Sliven Region, they pressed the Ottoman Army hard and frequently infiltrated deep into the enemy’s rear, causing significant disruption to the logistics of the Allied Forces.

In the Sofia Region, the Bulgarian Guerrillas broke through the frontlines of the Sardinian Army, inserting themselves into the rear of the Allied Forces.

If it weren’t for the British reacting swiftly this time, gathering heavy forces for a counterattack that routed them, the Allied Forces in the Sofia Region would have been encircled.

If regular troops were scattered, they became fleeing soldiers. But being guerrillas to begin with, once dispersed, they simply went back to guerrilla warfare, pushing the Allied Commander Montes to the brink of collapse.

There was no choice; the Ottomans were not pulling their weight. Despite promises of a home-field advantage, they found themselves engulfed in a sea of people’s war instead.

After the collapse of the Bulgarian guerrilla teams, they delved deep into the Bulgarian region, utilizing the support of the local populace and launching sporadic surprise attacks against them.

By now, even Montes dared not rely on the Ottomans to escort the Allied logistical transport. Without an escort of at least two thousand British soldiers, it would be nothing but a supply delivery for the enemy.

Recently, five thousand Ottoman troops were escorting strategic supplies only to be hijacked en route by guerrilla squads. If it weren’t for Sofia’s ample reserves, the Allied Forces would be facing starvation.

Even with heavy troop escorts for the convoys, behind each successful supply transport, up to a hundred and eighty British soldiers were left dead on the battlefield.

Of course, the enemy suffered even greater losses, but to Montes, trading British soldiers for guerrillas felt like a loss, no matter the angle.

Montes angrily said, “Have the Foreign Office send a note to the Sultan government, demanding they eradicate the guerrilla squads promptly, so they don’t interfere with our logistical operations.”

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to send troops to defeat the guerrillas, but the problem was the Russians on the other side keeping them in check. The moment he dared dispatch the main British force, the Russians would immediately pounce.

Yet the guerrillas couldn’t be ignored either. Left unchecked, their plundering would eventually lead to the collapse of the Allied logistics.

Supplies that once arrived within a week now took at least ten days. The casualties and losses sustained with each supply transport were continually rising.

Thus, the task of rooting out the guerrillas fell to the Ottoman Government. Being local, they were better suited for the job.

Unfortunately, that was merely theoretical; reality was much crueler.

Brigadier General Aberlen of the British Army spoke disdainfully, “Your Excellency the Commander, I’m afraid the Ottomans are hardly reliable.

To pursue this guerrilla squad, the Ottomans have already committed fifty thousand troops and are now probably down to half that number.

These incompetents are simply not cut out for warfare; hearing gunfire sends them running in fear. Relying on them to root out the guerrillas is a fool’s dream.”

This was an exaggerated view, as the Ottoman Army wasn’t quite that inept. The main reason for the low combat effectiveness of these troops was that the bulk of the Ottoman Empire’s army was deployed in the field.

In the Caucasus region alone, four hundred thousand troops had been committed, with losses exceeding one hundred thousand on the Balkan Peninsula. Currently, over four hundred thousand Ottoman soldiers were still battling fiercely in the field.

What army did they have left? As the war progressed, the Ottoman Empire had fully expended their forces; they had mobilized their maximum available strength.

Now, to deal with the guerrillas, they had hastily scraped together another fifty thousand troops, but to even call them an army was an overestimation.

Most of them were forcefully conscripted men, with no will or morale to fight. Just learning how to fire a gun was considered enough training before they were sent straight to the battlefield.

Their weapons and equipment were antiquated leftovers, many of which were generations older than the soldiers themselves.

The firepower of this regular army unit was on par with the guerrillas, and in some cases, even inferior to certain guerrilla squads.

Montes said angrily, “Worthless! How could the Great British Empire ally with such a disgrace; it’s utterly humiliating.

Hurry the French along, demand that they resolve their battle with the Russians quickly. What are they sluggish for, do they intend to stay on the Balkan Peninsula for Christmas?”