Chapter 946: A Dead Taoist Friend Doesn’t Die a Poor Man’s Death

  Chapter 927: Dead Taoist Friends Not Poor Taoists

By the Austrian strategic center of gravity shift, the confusing situation of the Central European battlefield all of a sudden clear.

Originally want to leap forward to counterattack of the allied forces, now completely turned into a state of defense. As if being dragged by the tide of refugees, let the French army how to provoke, are stubbornly not out.

There are airplanes + airships in the sky, and on the ground are trenches steel barbed wire + machine guns, the French army is also very helpless in the face of such an enemy.

Attack, the price to pay is too big, but also difficult to achieve satisfactory results.

After all, the trench this thing has no technical content, break through one and the next, purely take infantry to fill in the top, that is irresponsible for the safety of soldiers.

Although as long as the war can be won, and then the casualties are worth it; but the problem is the Battle of the Rhine, just a microcosm of the continental war.

If you lose this battle, France is directly finished; if you win this battle, there is still the next battle. If you open the map, you will know that if France wanted to win the war, without fighting three or five battles, you could not expect to make the Antifa Alliance yield.

If we deplete our reserves here, how can we fight the rest of the war? Any commander knows that winning first is not winning, only the final victor is the real winner.

On the one hand, there was the line that could not be broken through, on the other hand, there were the casualties that were accumulating every day, Marshal Patrice McMahon in the commanding officer’s headquarters only felt the pressure was enormous.

“Have the air defense weapons arrived yet?”

It was only the land forces that were holding the defense line, the air force that had the absolute advantage was still coming out every day at irregular intervals to punch the clock. Whether it’s bombs falling from the sky or bullets flying out, it’s a big trouble for the French army.

Simply counting the battle results of a blimp or an airplane was unremarkable, but once this unit was magnified a hundred times, the situation was different.

Even if an airplane is deployed once the battle results are only one, for the French army that is still hundreds of casualties every day, under the accumulation of days and months is not a small number.

Especially on the military morale of the blow, it is difficult to compensate. In order to get out of this predicament as soon as possible, Marshal Patrice McMahon the first time to the domestic demand for air defense weapons.

Don’t look at the time when the airships were put into the military ahead of schedule, the countries developed air defense weapons in advance. In fact, the power of air defense weapons these days is still very limited.

Except for anti-aircraft artillery that was somewhat useful, other anti-aircraft weapons were created from the beginning to add comedy.

For example: the rather legendary anti-aircraft rifle.

Theoretically, this specially developed anti-aircraft rifle has an extreme range of up to thousands of meters and can pose a threat to enemies in the sky.

As for actual combat effectiveness, it is a great pity that the French army did not shoot down a single airplane, or airship, with this thing for such a long time after the outbreak of the Continental War.

Maybe hit the target, but unfortunately people just do not fall. No way, these days the power of the bullet is too small, can fly thousands of meters is not equal to the lethality of thousands of meters, unless the enemy flying at low altitude, or simply useless.

The anti-aircraft machine gun that is widely spread in the later generations is like a myth in this era, and the Maxim machine gun is all new equipment, so you can’t let the soldiers shoot at the sky with a Gatling, right?

Compared to the black technology responsible for funny, or artillery is powerful, although the hit rate is pathetic, but as long as it is hit, basically can achieve the results of the battle.

“The anti-aircraft weapons are shipped over, however, Marshal, I’m afraid that just these hundreds of anti-aircraft artillery ……”

There was no way that two million French troops were counting on a few hundred anti-aircraft guns to keep their heads above water, no matter how they were distributed it was impossible to do so.

In order to fight for the ownership of this batch of anti-aircraft artillery, the French army was on the verge of fighting internally, which made Lieutenant General Amédée, who was in charge of logistics, have a huge headache.

Patrice McMahon nodded thoughtfully, ”The number of anti-aircraft artillery is insufficient, so for the time being, there is no need to allocate them to the troops, they will be centralized and operated together with the artillery first.

The enemy is in the sky, it’s impossible to tell them apart that well. When the time comes, just let the other artillery clip together and fire to scare them.

As long as the enemy doesn’t bombard us at low altitude, the losses we incur will be within tolerable limits.

You have to know that the cost of air force sorties is not low, and I’m afraid that the results we achieve by harassing us at high altitude will not be enough to pay for their fuel.

I thought the country had started production of fighter planes, and the problem will be solved in a while.

Right now it’s better to speed up the progress and create as many refugees as possible before the international community intervenes, increasing the logistical pressure on the enemy.”

It’s true, the cost effectiveness of high altitude bombing is really low when calculated purely economically.

Hundreds of tons of munitions per day, plus a hundred tons of fuel, and a large amount of maintenance costs, just to achieve the result of wiping out one hundred and eighty enemies was definitely a bloody loss.

War is all about money, if you can’t get the results, no one can stand it for a long time, the frequency of bombing will naturally drop.

No, to be exact, the frequency of the Austrian bombing has been reduced. Most of the time, it is the airplanes that are harassing them, and the frequency of airships is getting lower and lower.

The reason for this is naturally logistics. The emergence of the refugee wave has forced the Austrian army to economize on ammunition and minimize logistical consumption.

The airship force, which was originally used to bombard the French, now took on more of a logistical transportation role. Hundreds of airships traveled between the two places every day to ensure sufficient supplies for the front line.

The cost of the gods and horses has long been out of the Vienna government’s consideration. The Austrian government is now utilizing water, road and air to transport supplies to the front line.

As for Patrice MacMahon’s fear of international intervention, it was in fact the French government scaring itself.

Countries that are capable of intervening in continental wars do not want to do so, and they are still engaged in a “friendly match” that will not stop for a while.

The rest of the countries that want to intervene in the continental war do not have enough power to do so, and have no real ability to intervene, except to yell.

……

The battlefield in Central Europe stabilized, the African continent is lively. The effect of Austria, which is in full force, is naturally extraordinary.

In just half a month, the Vienna government put seventeen divisions of reinforcements into the Egyptian battlefield, which made the French army, which was originally at a disadvantage, completely passive.

Looking at the mountain of telegrams for help in front of him, Governor Jacob was too late to reply, a new bad news came again.

With the Austrian army in the African continent launched a comprehensive attack, in the rear of the Algerian region, now also become the front line, the Algerian colonial government withheld the original plan to reinforce the Egyptian region of reinforcements.

“Damn Anatol stupid, can not grow some brains? Once the Egyptian region falls, this war we will be completely passive ……”

Not only curse endlessly Jacob governor, the crowd present regardless of which faction, at this moment showed a unanimous common enemy.

According to the plan, the French army in the African continent to complete the strategic contraction, there will be three hundred thousand reinforcements to reinforce the Egyptian war zone.

Although these troops are not the main force, fighting strength is not much better than the indigenous troops, but there are reinforcements is better than no reinforcements.

Even if they couldn’t reverse the current battlefield situation, they could at least make the Egyptian war zone support for a longer period of time. For the crowd, as long as they could hold out until the end of the war in Europe, it was a great victory.

Unfortunately, all of this has now become a dream, in the absence of reinforcements, only with these remnants of the Egyptian region, simply can not hold out for long.

Lieutenant General Altier, who was in charge of the Suez defense line, said with righteous indignation, “His Excellency the Governor, complain to the country! If everyone follows the Algerian colonial government’s example of recklessness and disregard for the greater good, who will be able to defend France?”

There was no hurry; the enemy had already crossed the Suez Canal, and if it hadn’t relied on the fortresses and forts, the canal defenses would have collapsed long ago.

Anyone with a modicum of military common sense knows that once the Suez Canal defenses collapsed, the flat delta in the rear simply could not be defended.

The fall of the Egyptian region is not enough, the key is that the Suez Canal completely fell into the hands of the enemy. Even if the canal was damaged and it took time to repair it, the overall strategic passivity was still created.

The Austrian Empire, which spanned Europe, Asia and Africa, was absolutely terrifying, and even though France won the Continental War, it could not help this monster.

……

Versailles, not waiting for the telegram of protest from the Egyptian governor to arrive, Napoleon IV was exasperated by the tawdry maneuvers of the Algerian colonial government.

If it was impossible to provide reinforcements to the Egyptian region, it would have been said earlier, and what was the point of coming to this at the critical moment?

If he hadn’t been sure that Algeria was still under the French flag, Napoleon IV would have suspected them of defecting.

If you think about it with your knees, you will know that the sudden disappearance of the reinforcements that were supposed to leave would be a fatal blow to the Egyptian theater, which was in the midst of a stormy period.

Europe is not popular to the end of the battle, if the country does not carry out reinforcements, do not see any hope of victory, may be the Egyptian interest groups surrendered to Austria.

Loyalty is something that can not stand the test, no matter how strict the French control of the colonies, the people’s sense of belonging to the right than the mainland.

“What did that idiot Anatole say?”

It was obvious that Napoleon IV was truly angry. To describe his own appointed governor in such a tone of voice, that was definitely patience at its limit.

Red-faced Terence Burgin prime minister affected scalp replied: “Anatole explained that the front line war situation is urgent, originally withdrawn from the front line troops in the halfway by the enemy caught up, after the engagement after heavy losses.

The reinforcements originally promised to the Egyptian region have now been lost by more than half. In addition, the enemy’s troops had already been directed towards the Algerian region, and they could not afford to reinforce the Egyptian region.

In order to guarantee the security of the Algerian region, Anatole had already issued an urgent mobilization order, enlisting all the French youths in the colony into the army.

At the same time, telegrams have been sent home seeking troop and material support. If nothing else, we are about to lose Africa as a source of raw materials.”

Sensei wanted to believe it or not, it had happened. Losses were heavy on the way out, the strategic contraction plan had not been fully accomplished, and the Algerian region was about to be reduced to a battlefield.

In this context, even if the government in Paris had forced the colonial government to send reinforcements, it would have been of no use.

Unlike other colonies, Algeria had always been a key area of French operations, and the local interests had become very powerful.

At the moment of crisis, the first thing everyone wants to protect is their own interests. In front of the interests, the general situation must also be backward.

Forced to endure the dissatisfaction in his heart, Napoleon IV asked: “Without these reinforcements, how long will the Egyptian region be able to support?”

Confidence can not withstand the wear and tear, if the outbreak of war before the heart of the French army is expected to be 100 points, now at most only 80 points.

The idea of winning the war by defeating Austria in a short period of time was only a good idea at the beginning of the war.

Now Napoleon IV had increased the time to win the war from two months to one year. The French government could not tolerate the fall of the Egyptian region until the French army had gained complete strategic superiority.

After hesitation, Minister of War Luskinia replied uncertainly, “The initial estimate is that it can be supported for three to six months, but recently the Austrians have reinforced the Egyptian region, so how long the Egyptian theater can be supported still depends on the enemy’s input.”

This answer amounted to no answer, the Austrian inputs into the Egyptian region were uncontrollable, which meant that how long the French forces in the Egyptian region could hold out was equally uncontrollable.

“Your Majesty, send more troops to the Egyptian region! We must let the troops on the front line see hope, or else ……”

Only halfway through his sentence, Prime Minister Terence Burgin couldn’t continue. It couldn’t be helped, the latter was too demoralizing to say.

As a political figure, it was fine to think about it secretly, but there were some things that really couldn’t be said.

The break is cool, has been broken a straight cool. The first time I saw the movie, I was so happy to see you, I was so happy to see you, I was so happy to see you, I was so happy to see you, I was so happy to see you!

(End of chapter)