War Palace and Knee Pillow, Austria’s Destiny

Albrecht felt that a quick victory was the method with the least sacrifice. He knew very well that the French army at this time could hardly be said to have a strong will to fight. As long as Paris was captured, the entire Second French Republic would collapse.

The so-called "New Sacrifice Alliance" by the British would fall apart, and it would be difficult for the Ottomans to pose a real threat to Austria.

Archduke Karl's strategy is relatively more conservative. Although the German Confederate troops miraculously defeated a main French army in Belgium, this does not mean that those improvised troops can really compete with the French. .

Archduke Karl believed that France's so-called five-pronged army could only make greater progress by attacking Belgium.

Only in this way can the French invest further troops, and only in this way can it be worthwhile for Austria to concentrate its forces on a war of annihilation, a war of annihilation that is enough to end the war.

Moreover, this does not require infringement of French territory, which can ensure to the greatest extent that the war will not prolong and avoid French retaliation as much as possible.

If the war goes on too long, there will be no winners. Austria and France would both suffer losses, which would play into the British's hands.

Archduke Karl still knew very well what the British were like. Although there is nothing wrong with the Duke of Wellington's personal character, the quality of British businessmen, British soldiers, and especially British sailors cannot be praised.

Coupled with Franz's propaganda and first-hand intelligence information, Archduke Karl had reason to believe that the war at this time was not at all because of the crown in the stinky ditch, but a British conspiracy to disrupt the European continent.

From the perspective of future generations, it may be acceptable that this crown in a stinking ditch has extraordinary significance, but from the perspective of people at that time.

Especially from the perspective of the royal family, it was completely disgusting. Even Frederick William IV, who had a very serious liberal tendency, could not accept it, let alone a traditional nobleman like Archduke Karl.

However, Archduke Karl also agreed with Franz's point of view. Austria and the Habsburg family may not accept the crown, but they cannot be forced to give up.

Of course, Archduke Karl did not know what the Greater Germany plan was. He only knew that it would affect the reputation of the Austrian Empire and the honor of the Habsburg family.

Therefore, fighting a beautiful battle of annihilation and withdrawing France from the war is the best approach at this time.

As for the losses of the German Confederation, this was not within the scope of Archduke Karl's consideration. Because he didn't think the Germans outside the Austrian Empire had anything to do with Austria.

Using the German Confederate army to consume the French troops was a matter of course for Archduke Karl, and it did not put any burden on him.

In his view, Archduke John, who was mixed with those German nationalists, was an outlier. No matter how royal members and liberals were mixed together, they would sit on their butts.

However, Archduke Karl had never counted on his brother Archduke John in his life. If not for the latter, the former might have ended Napoleon's empire long ago.

It turned out that after so many years, Archduke Karl had forgotten the glory and regrets of the past.

But at this time, I heard that Archduke John had gone to Frankfurt again and got involved with the Jews and German nationalists in the National Assembly. The veins on Archduke Karl's forehead couldn't help but jump at the thought.

Except for Belgium, it is difficult for the French to achieve anything else. Alsace-Lorraine is French territory, so they can't massacre their own citizens, right?

As for the Swiss mountainous area, it does not belong to the territory of the Austrian Empire, and the local conditions are simply not enough to support large-scale corps operations.

As long as they hold the main passes and send a few small troops to harass the opponent's logistics, it won't be long before the French will be defeated like the Swiss Free League.

In the direction of the Kingdom of Sardinia, Archduke Karl once personally visited the northwest defense line built by the Savoy Dynasty for several generations. He felt that as long as the Kingdom of Sardinia did not surrender, it should not be a problem to defend France for a few months.

But it doesn't matter even if the French break through the Sardinian defenses, his old subordinate Marshal Radetzky is still stationed in northern Italy.

Due to the need to stabilize the situation, the North Italian Army recruited a large number of refugees. At this time, it was already the largest army in the entire Austrian Empire.

With the national strength of the Austrian Empire at this time, both Archduke Albrecht's strategy and Archduke Karl's strategy were sufficient to support it.

It may not be possible to let these temporarily recruited recruits attack cities and seize territory, but it is enough to defend the homeland.

Finally, there is the French maritime threat, which is a complete joke to Austria, especially the Austrian Army.

Austria's coastline is only that long and is connected by railways, so the defense pressure is so small that it is almost negligible. Although the Austrian Navy was established late, it is very capable of dealing with maritime invasions.

After all, the Barbary pirates were not vegetarians at that time. They roamed the Mediterranean for hundreds of years and plundered everywhere. In order to deal with these pirates, the Austrian Coast Patrol accumulated a wealth of experience.

The only way that the British and French fleets could threaten Austria was to send troops to land on the Apennine Peninsula. However, the Apennine Peninsula was not suitable for combat, especially since the passes attacking from south to north were all in the hands of the Austrian Empire.

In addition, the famine on the Apennine Peninsula cannot be solved by Britain and France. Once Austria's relief food is cut off, the hungry and angry people will eat the British and French coalition forces alive.

Pius IX and the Papal States were also huge problems. The power of the church in France was not inferior to Austria and Spain at all.

Naturally, we were not afraid when strong men like Richelieu, Robespierre, and Napoleon were in power, but the Second French Republic at this time really did not have that confidence.

By that time, the civil strife will probably become more serious, and the French Party of Order has begun to take shape.

The supporters of the Orleans dynasty and the supporters of the Bourbon orthodox dynasty have united together at this time, and their union speed and strength are much stronger than in history.

After all, first the Count of Chambord (Henry V) took root in Switzerland, and then Louis Philippe went east to hunt for Alsace-Lorraine. In addition, constant natural and man-made disasters strengthened people's nostalgia for the old dynasty.

Compared to France at this time, the reign of Louis Philippe was really not that bad. Even the famous French satirical newspaper Folly published a cartoon called "The Return of the Pear King" on its front page.

However, at this time, the commander of the Austrian Imperial Navy, Friedrich, was not a commander willing to be passively beaten. He had already prepared a big gift for the British and French.

It is better to cut off one of his fingers than to hurt ten of them. This sentence applies most of the time, but Franz wants more than just cutting off one of his fingers.

A great man once said, "Kick away with one punch, lest a hundred punches come your way."

This is applicable to Austria at this time. If Franz wants a stable environment to solve domestic problems and development issues, then he must beat the world policeman of Britain.