Chapter 220: We need to be neutral.
Chapter 215: We Want Neutrality
On the day war was declared, Austria, who had prepared for it, sent out 400,000 troops to attack the Kingdom of Bavaria in three directions.
Caught off guard, the Bavarian government could only meet the enemy passively, and the result was naturally tragic. Without any preparation, it was struck by a sudden blow from the Austrian army.
Receiving a letter of distress from the front, the Bavarian government was in disarray. Maximilian II knew that there was big trouble, Austria was too fast and the border was lost just as the battle started.
……
Freilassing, when the news that Austria and Bavaria were at war, the place was on edge and the garrison commander, Colonel Andreas, instantly felt bad.
Looking at the intelligence in his hands, he wondered how this war should be fought. Opposite the Austrian army how many people he is not sure, anyway, at least several tens of thousands, and his hands only two garrison regiments.
More than three thousand Bavarian soldiers, to block the attack of tens of thousands of Austrian troops, that even the God of War regeneration could not do.
But there is no choice, the domestic orders, the defenders must defend. Mobilization of the country also needs time, in order to buy this time, the front line defenders naturally can only sacrifice.
This is what the bureaucrats in Munich meant, and what King Maximilian II meant. Munich was too close to Austria, and if there was no blockade for two days at most, the Austrian army could be under the city.
The guard informed, “Your Excellency the Commander, Mr. Marcus is visiting.”
Andreas was slightly stunned, those who weren’t prepared to flee at this time of the year were most likely some ultra-nationalist middle-aged teenagers who were ready to welcome the king’s division with joy.
Marcus was obviously not this kind of person, as a celebrity in the cultural circles of the Bavarian Kingdom, he had a high reputation in Freilassing.
“Invite him in.” Andreas said.
No matter what, the visitor is a guest, besides the two sides have known each other for a long time, and there are still a few friendships in place, even though the time to come is not right, the person still needs to be seen.
……
Marcus opened the door and said, “Andreas, this time I’m here on behalf of the entire population of Freilassing.”
Honestly speaking, Marcus was also very resistant to such things as being a bandwagon party, but he couldn’t help the number of people who were doing ideological work for him.
Besides the Austrians, there were more of his friends and family. Most of the socialites in the Freilassing area didn’t want this war to be fought.
War is the worst, every war is a reshuffle of interests. For these interest groups, it was not known whether Austria could unify the German region, but Freilassing could not stand in the way of the Austrians.
Once the war started, these local snakes were the biggest victims.
If it is a foreign invasion, then there is no need to say that everyone is patriotic, and they can not do the thing without war.
Obviously Austria is not an aggressor, under the banner of national unity, most people are able to accept, surrender is no pressure at all.
It’s not even a surrender, they can be neutral, yes neutral. This was invented by Franz based on his experience in his previous life, to encourage the local governments and armies in Bavaria to remain neutral in the war.
Then everyone’s inside face was taken care of, and no matter whether Austria could unify Germany in the end, and what the final result of the Bavarian Kingdom was, they were invincible.
These people were brought together by the needle of the German civil exchange organization, for the common good of neutrality, and then the local council of Freilassing made a resolution of neutrality.
Even the surrounding neighbors were mobilized in order to make Marcus a lobbyist. Seeing that the public opinion could not be violated, Marcus, who had a serious case of the Wenqing disease, was naturally unable to shirk it.
Andreas said angrily, “You want to surrender to the Austrians, this is impossible! As a soldier, I, Andreas, definitely do not have the word surrender without a fight in my dictionary!”
The German region was martial, and surrendering without a fight was simply the greatest insult to soldiers, which would stay with them for the rest of their lives.
Marcus shook his head and said, “No, Colonel Andreas, how could I possibly do such a thing?
I can’t do something like betraying the kingdom. If it was an invasion from out of town, I would have fought alongside you, but the current situation is a bit special.
What the Austrians are waging now is a war of unification, not a war of aggression. I am loyal to the Kingdom of Bavaria and equally loyal to Germany.
Now that the Kingdom’s government is on the opposite side of the Reich’s unification, the people of the city of Freilassing have decided to remain neutral in this war, and I have come on behalf of the entire population of the city to ask you and your men to respect the people’s choice.”
There was more to this maneuver, Colonel Andreas was a bit dumbfounded. Taking stock of the situation, he realized that it seemed to be very maneuverable.
Resisting to the death is impossible, the strength gap between the two sides is too great, even if Andreas is willing to lead the army and the Austrians to the death, the same can not change the end.
Andreas casually asked, “If I refuse what will be the consequences?”
Marcus’s face sank in seriousness and said, “If you reject the people’s choice, then you will be deported.
The people of Freilassing have the right to make their own choices, even if we can’t contribute to the unification of Germany, we can’t be the sinners who stand in the way of German unification!”
Looking at Marcus’s attitude, Andreas’s heart breathed a sigh of relief, finally he didn’t have to fight the Austrians to the death.
No one wants to die, knowing that the war can’t be won, but still reluctantly go to fight, that would be a fool. If the foreign enemy invasion, for the honor of the soldier, then Andreas can still encourage the military heart, everyone together to fight.
The unification war was better to forget about it, he hadn’t lived enough and didn’t want to die for nothing.
The war had just broken out, and he had greeted the entire family of those bureaucrats in Munich. The establishment of the God Luo is not good, why to make it like this?
Andreas is also a pursuit, eager to build a career. But to build a career, there must also be the basic conditions ah?
For example, come to attack the Austrian army, only a regiment or less, he does not mind letting the Austrians see the power of the Bavarian army.
But now this situation, the Bavarian Kingdom’s army all concentrated here, are not enough to fight the opposite enemy.
In case he ordered resistance and his men sold him out, then where to cry. Even after the war, he would have to be charged with destroying the unity of the country. Andreas said that this kind of thing could be done by whoever liked to do it!
Andreas pretended to be difficult and said, ”Mr. Marcus, since it’s the people’s choice, of course I’m willing to respect it. But for something this big, I have to call a meeting with the officers to unify everyone’s position.”
Marcus thought for a moment and said, “No problem, but we are running out of time, you must make a decision quickly, the Austrians are about to attack.”
……
The result was naturally no surprise, the military meeting passed Andreas’ proposal with a high vote – respecting public opinion.
Of course it is not their fault, a total of just two disgruntled regiments of defenders, facing tens of thousands of Austrian troops is really difficult to raise the courage of resistance.
The so-called public opinion just helped them solve the problem, anyway, this is a civil war. Neutrality is better than surrender, and surrender is better than death in battle, and no one has lived long enough yet!
Then after the war broke out, an eye-opening scene appeared, the cities and garrisons of Bavaria’s border areas declared neutrality.
The occasional garrison resistance was quickly wiped out by the pouncing Austrian army, which couldn’t even stall for time.
It wasn’t their fault, Bavaria wasn’t militaristic Prussia. Their standing army consisted of only 40,000 to 50,000 men, with only 10,000 of them on the Austrian border.
These 10,000 people have to guard the border line of nearly 1,000 kilometers, facing the attack of 400,000 Austrian troops, they are really very powerless.
In this case, the bureaucrats in Munich ordered them to defend the border, which pushed them to the brink of extinction.
With the combined efforts of local powerhouses, who were also the biggest anti-war faction, and radical nationalists, it was only natural for the local council to pass a resolution of neutrality.
It was naturally much easier to have local socialites, running to do the work of the army. It wasn’t as if they were being asked to surrender, just to remain neutral.
As long as someone took the lead, there were more people willing to follow suit. The Bavarian government had not been able to send reinforcements in time, and in a way, had still earned it.
Otherwise, the army that was sent out would most likely have been neutralized as well. The power of the people is very scary, and the decision of the local council made the officers believe that it was the will of the Bavarian people, and they could not help but be influenced by it.
The human heart is very complex, and when these regions made a resolution of neutrality. Inevitably, these people also began to favor Austria, and guided by the pro-Austrian media, many began to attack the Bavarian government.
Influenced by this, unconsciously people thought that the Bavarian government was unpopular and the people were willing to embrace Austria to unify Germany.
Munich was too close to Austria, and since the front line was neutralized, on the third day of the war, the Austrian army was already in the city.
The choice before Maximilian II was to run, resist, or surrender.
Prime Minister Auguste advised, “Your Majesty, it is not too late to leave; if it is too late and the Austrians surround Munich, it will be difficult to leave!”
Resistance was impossible; when the war first broke out, they were still a bit self-confident, thinking that the Kingdom of Bavaria could resist a bit and wait for reinforcements to arrive.
Since receiving a thick stack of neutrality proclamations, the Bavarian government had completely lost confidence, in their view it was the people who had abandoned the government.
Look at the Austrian marching speed is known, along the way did not encounter any resistance, otherwise this hundred and eighty kilometers of road, how can two days time to finish it?
At least four or five days, of course, more than two or three days can not solve the problem, but this can increase the confidence of everyone ah?
Otherwise, like now, make everyone look at who are not assured, afraid of the garrison to sell them.
Maximilian II smiled bitterly and said, “Does it work?”
This incident has brought him some big blow, originally he thought he was very popular, but the reality is very cruel, the flying declaration of neutrality, it looks like all the Bavarian people want him to get out quickly.
Finance Minister Bazel reassured, “Your Majesty, the people are only unhappy about this war, they have not defected to the Austrians ……”
Maximilian II said with disappointment, “It’s all the same, they’ve already made their choice with practical actions to support the unification of the German region, and we’re mantling to create a Greater Bavaria!”
Running away?
Maximilian II still has some political savvy, if he runs away now, will he be able to come back in the future?
Even if he had the support of the Great Powers, how would he be able to stay in power if the people resisted him?
If Bavaria was annexed by Austria, it would be the same if he ran away or not. In any case, the Austrians would not do anything to him as a king, and he would have to be provided with good food and drink.
Prime Minister Auguste continued to persuade: “Your Majesty, things may not be that bad, even if we lose Munich, we can still go to the western region to gain a foothold.
The east has been too heavily infiltrated by the Austrians, and that’s what caused the current situation.
As long as we hold the western region and wait for reinforcements from various countries to arrive, the situation will change, they will not watch Austria annex Bavaria.”
Without waiting for Maximilian II to make a decision, an attendant hurried in and said in a panic, “Your Majesty, something big is wrong. Just now the Munich City Council made a decision to declare neutrality in this war, and I’m afraid the situation in the city is going to change.”
Neutrality is also contagious, a war that is doomed to failure, who would want to fight it?
The Munich council said that they had wanted to be neutral for a long time, if it wasn’t for the fact that the central government was right in the city, did they need to wait until now?
By this time, the Austrians were already in the city. The city had been on edge for a long time, and if they had fought, they would have lost a lot of money or died.
At this time, both capitalists, or nobles do not want to fight this doomed hopeless war.
To persuade the king to surrender was too great a risk, and no one wanted to be the leader. At this time, the Parliament came into play, representing the public opinion, and told the king that the war could not go on.
Anyway, there were so many neutral places, and half of Bavaria had declared neutrality, so they were following the trend, and had absolutely no intention of betraying the king.
These people are still civilized, which fully demonstrates that the Bavarian government is doing a good job in its daily work, or else these people in the city would be revolting now.
Maximilian II read the inner meaning, the mood of people not wanting to fight this war, he could understand, he himself did not want to fight this war without a future.
The intervention of the Great Powers did occur, England, France, Russia, Spain and other European countries, all condemned Austria’s barbaric behavior and ordered them to stop the war.
As a result, the Austrian army still appeared under the city of Munich, and before the joint intervention of the countries could be organized, the Kingdom of Bavaria was about to be finished.
This meant that Austria could ignore the threat of the Great Powers, and there was much more contained behind it. If, by this time, Maximilian II could not guess the reason, he would be a real fool.
The government of Vienna could not take military action against the pressure of all the Great Powers, and no country in the world could ignore the collective will of the Great Powers.
The only explanation is that the powers were divided. With Austria’s power, all it takes is the support or acquiescence of one of the Great Powers to ignore the threat of such.
(End of chapter)