Wild North America 1846

Chapter 466 War clouds gather

The Tang Empire under the central authoritarian feudal system acted very efficiently. With the emperor's order, all departments of the imperial government immediately sped up their operations and tacitly promoted the preparations for the referendum in the Yukon Dominion and the immigration of the Central Plains Province.

Just waiting for the outbreak of war in Europe, Britain can take advantage of the opportunity to complete the empire's North American territory in one go.

By then, from the cold Alaska all the way south along the Pacific coast to the northern border of Colombia in South America, a total of more than 9,670 kilometers of coastline will be owned by the empire. What a magnificent undertaking it will be?

The empire's territory will therefore increase by approximately 173 square kilometers (486,000 square kilometers in the Yukon, 945,000 square kilometers in British Columbia, and approximately 263,800 square kilometers in the Central Plains). The total territorial area will increase from 10.82 million square kilometers after the North American War.

By 1866, it had reached 12.55 million square kilometers (note; excluding South America), achieving substantial expansion again.

Early May

The emperor took a train to inspect the provinces in the central Great Plains of North America. Although it was extra early this year, it happened every year and did not attract special attention from domestic and foreign public opinion. It was just a routine report.

mid-may

A small visiting group of senior officers from the Army General Staff Headquarters took the high-speed cruise ship "Scud" from Detroit to the Kingdom of Prussia for military exchanges. No one connected the two.

The "Scud" high-speed cruise ship is a 3,200-ton steam-powered ship that was launched just a year and a half ago. Its average speed is as high as 18 knots. It is one of the fastest steamships among current transoceanic liners.

The "Scud" high-speed cruise ship can only carry 327 passengers when fully loaded. It is mainly engaged in transatlantic parcel transportation and business travel for aristocrats and the middle and upper-class wealthy classes. The cabin charges are relatively expensive, but the service quality is first-class.

After only 11 days of transatlantic voyage, the high-speed cruise ship "Scud" docked steadily at the port of Holtenau. The passengers who got off the cruise ship quickly left in horse-drawn carriages at the pier.

General Chen Chuan, deputy chief of staff of the Imperial Army of the Tang Dynasty, and a group of 17 people arrived at the dock and were greeted by Lieutenant General Kirschbach von Mecklenburg sent by the General Staff Headquarters of the Kingdom of Prussia.

After chatting for a while, everyone boarded seven carriages and sped towards Berlin.

The Kingdom of Prussia is a country in Europe that attaches the greatest importance to road transportation and basic facilities. Road transportation extends in all directions. The more than 360 kilometers of road from the port of Holtenau to Berlin is wide and flat, and it only takes two days to reach it.

Tall street trees are planted on both sides of the road. In the cool early summer, riding a horse-drawn carriage along the way is a pleasant enjoyment.

on carriage

General Chen Chuan and the tall colonel's adjutant were riding in the same carriage, but they looked a little embarrassed. After holding it in for a while, they bowed their hands respectfully and said, "Your Majesty, I am a humble minister..."

"My Deputy Chief of General Staff, there is no Majesty here, lest you get used to it and show off your trap again. If you want to persuade me or something, just shut up. This is Europe. How can we not watch the excitement?"

"Okay, but I beg your Majesty... Well, Brother Guanjing must not act without authorization, let alone go to the front line of danger and take risks personally. If you cannot agree to Wei Chen's request, it will be a big deal, even if you resist

Even humble ministers would never dare to obey the Holy Will."

"Stop nagging, are you annoying like a bitch?"

This tall colonel's adjutant is the disguised emperor Richard, whose pseudonym is "Li Guanjing" and whose identity is the colonel's adjutant. At this moment, he is sitting comfortably on the soft seat with his legs crossed.

The crystal glass in his hand is filled with top-quality French red wine, and he takes a leisurely sip from time to time.

After quarreling with General Chen Chuan, Richard turned his face toward the window, obviously not wanting to talk to Chen Chuan, the former commander of the Royal Guards.

This incognito tour was not like the previous tours in a day or two before returning to the palace. The European tour lasted for at least two to three months, which made Admiral Chen Chuan feel even more stressed.

Only a few high-ranking officials in the Tang Empire knew about this matter, including Prime Minister Liu Xianjun, Field Marshal Dai Changfu, Marshal Pan Hengchen, Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Guards, General Liu Wu (Liu Wu), and Director of Security.

Hu Baili is counted as one, plus the Royal Secretariat Chief Zheng Yuan and Deputy Chief Liang Bojun, and by the way, there is also General Chen Chuan. There are less than 10 people in total, and even the Crown Prince is kept in the dark.

As a covert action

Director Zheng Yuan will accompany the emperor to stay in Detroit for a period of time. Later, the royal train plans to visit the border of Indiana Province. When it returns, it will stay at Jinghu Palace in Taoyuan City on the Colorado Plateau, just in time to cool down...

carriage window

The green wilderness and villages quickly receded. Between the cottages, Prussian militiamen could often be seen training. There were as few as ten or twenty people and as many as forty or fifty people, which invisibly gave this land a color.

The shadow of war.

At the end of May, war clouds were gathering over Europe.

The large-scale military mobilization of the Kingdom of Prussia could not be concealed from anyone at all. The Austrian Empire and its allies responded quickly and began to do their best to gather troops to prepare for the upcoming war.

The situation in Europe took a turn for the worse, which caught the great powers such as Britain, France, and Tsarist Russia off guard. Apart from publicly calling on both sides to exercise restraint, they were unable to take any effective measures to deal with it.

In the subconscious mind of most people, they do not think that a big war will break out between Prussia and Austria. At best, it is just a show of muscles.

Richard knew that they were all wrong, and how wrong they were.

Bismarck, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Prussia, seized on the hesitancy of the major European powers and decisively launched a war against the Austrian Empire, launching a large-scale war of "fraternal enmity".

"Mr. Admiral, what do you think of this European war?" Richard drank the red wine in the glass in one gulp, put the wine glass in the small wine cabinet, and asked casually,

Admiral Chen Chuan thought seriously for a moment, leaned over and reported back;

"Mr. Guanjing, the best reference example of this war that took place within the German nation is the North American War that just ended a few years ago. It will definitely have a profound impact on the situation in Europe.

The Germans in my impression have a strict, rigid and focused character, and are one of the best sources of white soldiers.

this war

The Kingdom of Prussia was prepared and unprepared, so it had a greater chance of winning.

However, considering the intricate relationships among European countries and the many variables, once the war fails to win in a short period of time and the intervention of the European powers is delayed, it will be extremely detrimental to the Kingdom of Prussia.

It can be said that this is a military adventure in which the fate of the country is at stake.

I am fully mentally prepared for the cruelty of war. Judging from the military strength on paper, the advantage of the Kingdom of Prussia is not obvious. This is what worries me most.

The total force that Prussia can muster is about 600,000 to 630,000, while the total force that the Austrian Empire can muster is about 600,000, which may be more or less, but it is roughly within this range.

As the offensive side, the troops that Prussia can use are slightly thin, which is what I am more worried about."

Sun Tzu's Art of War said: "If ten are to surround an enemy, if five are to attack it, if the enemy is doubled, fight it. If the enemy is divided, he can be divided. If the enemy is few, he can be defended. If he is weak, he can be avoided."

Military superiority is still the most important aspect for frontline generals in modern warfare. Take the North American War as an example;

in all previous battles

The senior generals of the Tang Empire always tried their best to mobilize troops to form a local military advantage. They also used a large number of servant army cannon fodder composed of white prisoners to constantly attack the US military positions and consume their effective strength and combat effectiveness through repeated tug-of-war battles, so that they could finally win the battle.

victory.

As the first party to launch the attack, the Kingdom of Prussia's army did not have a strength advantage. This was an aspect that General Chen Chuan was deeply worried about.

Moreover, the Austrian Empire and its allies are fighting on the inside, occupying a natural geographical advantage and can easily mobilize troops to supplement the front line. This is not good news for the Kingdom of Prussia.

"That's true!" Richard didn't say anything more, but turned his attention to the long procession outside the carriage.

This is a Prussian army marching towards the Silesian border. There are about thousands of people, and they are advancing along the road.

The soldiers maintained high fighting spirit and marched in full gear with high swagger, singing songs full of German national style along the way, and the iron flow was rolling forward.

The carriage passed the queue of soldiers on foot. Richard withdrew his gaze, sat back in a soft position, and said after a moment of pondering;

"My Lord General, we cannot look at the problem purely from a military perspective. The Kingdom of Prussia has waited too long to prepare for this war. The whole country is full of fighting spirit from top to bottom and is doing its best to win this war. And in

Austria and its allies undoubtedly underestimated the Prussian determination."

After hearing His Majesty's high opinion of the Prussian Army, General Chen Chuan looked out the window solemnly, and then fell silent...

At the end of May, war clouds were gathering in Europe, and all countries were mobilizing their troops and generals.

The Austrian Empire and its allied states were in interior positions. Their cavalry and artillery had numerical advantages and facilitated maneuvering operations on the interior lines.

Based on

The Austrian Empire was prepared to wait for the opponent's attack with passive defense. It used solid defense to give the Prussian army that dared to attack a head-on blow, consuming the enemy's strength while buying itself more time for military mobilization.

The Austrian General Staff Headquarters believes that

This can delay the progress of the war and drag the war into a stalemate.

During this period, the Austrian Empire and its allies could accelerate the expansion of their troops, accumulate strength, and then launch a counterattack to defeat the Prussian army that dared to invade in one fell swoop with superior force.

Since the Kingdom of Prussia and the Kingdom of Italy formed a substantial military alliance, the Austrian army was forced to conduct a two-front battle.

The Austrian army divided its forces into 2 legions:

A partial army was organized into the Southern Army with 80,000 people to deal with the Italian army.

The remaining main force of the Austrian army was organized into the Northern Army, focusing on dealing with the powerful Prussian army, striving to inflict a heavy blow to the enemy in defensive operations.

After receiving reinforcements from the Saxon Army, the Northern Army had a strength of 289,000. Under the unified command of General Benedek, it quickly assembled in Moravia in northern Austria to prepare to resist the Prussian army's southward attack from Silesia.

to the beginning of June

The Prussian and Austrian armies gathered on the border, with dark field camps as far as the eye could see. They were in tense confrontation, and the atmosphere of war was so intense that it could not be more intense.

On the 250-kilometer-wide frontal main battlefield in northern Bohemia, three legions of the Kingdom of Prussia's army were lined up, totaling nearly 300,000 people.

some of

The Elbe Army, commanded by General Herwart Bittenfeld, numbered about 56,000 men, was deployed on the east and west fronts of Leipzig, waiting for opportunities to attack.

The 1st Army, commanded by Prince Friedrich Karl, has a total strength of about 93,000 troops and is deployed east of the Elbe River to Görlitz. It will attack the Allied forces of the Austrian Empire and eliminate their wings.

The main force of the 2nd Army, commanded by Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm, numbered about 167,000, was assembled from the east of Görlitz to the Oder River, which was the main direction of the planned assault.

"Your Excellency, General Chen, this will be a battle for the reunification of the German nation. It is of great significance. I would like to hear your advice." General Moltke stood on a high mountain ridge, overlooking the enemy camp in the distance and said.

Upon hearing this, Admiral Chen Chuan put down the monocular telescope in his hand and said seriously;

“Your Excellency the Chief of Staff;

Now that your army has made up its mind to fight, its goals are clear, and its main force is in place, why are you still hesitating?

Now we should take advantage of the enemy's unstable foothold and decisively launch fierce and uninterrupted attacks to give the Austrians a taste of their power.

According to my opinion;

The Elbe River Army took the lead in launching the attack as soon as it was in place. There was no need to wait for the response from the First Army and the Second Army, and it was completely able to open up an independent battlefield.

The same is true for the First Army and the Second Army. There is no need to stick to the start time set before the war. As long as the army's movement is in place, the attack will be launched immediately. The earlier the better.

The earlier you start the battle, the sooner you can gain the upper hand.

If the army of the Kingdom of Prussia is not ready, then the army of the Austrian Empire is even less ready. This is an important opportunity.

The above is just my humble opinion. Please consider it, Your Excellency, Chief of Staff."

Admiral Chen Chuan's words made the senior generals of the Kingdom of Prussia, including General Moltke, shine in their eyes. They silently touched each other's eyes, apparently recognizing his opinion from the bottom of their hearts.

It's not that the Prussian generals didn't expect this, but the rigid dogma of the German character made them still waiting for orders from His Majesty King William, who had not yet arrived at the front line.

General Moltke obviously listened, he nodded heavily and said;

"Thank you very much for your advice, General. After I return, I will immediately send an urgent telegram to His Majesty the King, requesting that arbitrary power be granted to the frontline battlefield.

Judging from the current situation

The troops of the Austrians and their allies are continuously arriving in the Morvia region, relying on castles and defense lines in the border areas to strengthen their defensive forces.

However, judging from the response deployment of the Austrian army, the signs of chaos are obvious. Your advice reminds us that we should seize the opportunity to launch a decisive attack.

Thank you very much for your advice, it comes from the bottom of my heart!”

"It would be a great honor for me if I can be of any help." Admiral Chen Chuan responded humbly, but his eyes couldn't help but glance at the tall colonel's adjutant.

The colonel's adjutant didn't care. He was carefully observing the enemy camp with a monocular in his hand, as if nothing happened.

(End of chapter)