The outbreak of the Austro-Prussian War was actually not unexpected. The Austrian and Prussian brothers, who were both members of the Greater German Cultural Circle, had been on guard against each other for more than ten years. Although the two brothers once agreed to fight against the outside world during the Putan War, the conflict over the control of each state has become more and more intensified in recent years.
The Greater Germany area during this period was completely a loose state system. Everyone only accepted the rule of the Habsburg Dynasty in name, but each state had the right to train its own troops, formulate its own internal affairs, and issue its own currency.
For example, some states in later Germany, such as Bavaria, Baden, Hesse, etc., were all states in the past and had their own kings and armies. It is worth mentioning that the famous Queen Victoria in history was a princess from Bavaria.
On the eve of the war, the division of power between the enemy and ourselves was very clear. Austria received support from the German Confederation such as Saxony, Hannover, Bavaria, Baden, Württemberg, Hesse-Gasser, and Hesse-Darmstad. In terms of the number, population, and area of the states, Austria has an advantage.
Not only that, Austria also received favorable support from France. In order to curb the rise of Prussia and to encroach on the four southern states of Greater Germany, France gave Austria a large amount of material support.
Prussia was relatively weak on the other hand. On its side were Meulenburg, Oldenburg and other states in North Germany, as well as the three free cities of Hamburg, Bremen and Lübeck.
Of course, we must not forget Italy, which was allied with Prussia. These two close partners were not only closely related during World War II, but had actually reached a military alliance in the mid-19th century.
But it is a pity that Italy during this period was no different from Italy during World War II. Militarily, it was always good but failed. At the beginning of the Austro-Prussian War, it suffered a huge defeat on the southern Austrian defense line. There was no Play the expected strategic containment role.
However, Prussia also had an invisible help, and that was the support of the country of Great Britain. It was the British side that deterred France from acting rashly. If France had sent tens of thousands of troops northward at that time, I am afraid history would have really been rewritten.
As a time traveler, Xiao Letian has his own unique mentality to appreciate this famous continental battle in European history. However, in the hearts of the Prussian and Austrian politicians, the war is always full of unknowns, and no one knows the victory. Who will the goddess smile at?
On May 8, 1866, the heavy wheel of history ignored the fluttering wings of Xiao Letian, a time traveler, and the war still broke out according to the time recorded in history books. On this day, the Prussian army invaded the Holstein area and humiliated Bismarck announced a reorganization of the German federal draft and excluded Austria.
Immediately afterwards, on June 16, the Prussian army began to occupy Hanover, Saxony and Hesse. The 50,000 Prussian Army of the Main easily defeated the thin Hanoverian and Hessian armies. The remnants of the Saxon Army retreated and merged into the Austrian Army of the North. Bavaria failed to fulfill its obligation to send 100,000 troops and did not provide substantial assistance to Austria.
Unable to endure it, Austria finally declared war on Prussia on the 17th, and the Austro-Prussian War, a major event that changed the modern history of Europe, officially began.
This is a huge battle that shocked the whole world. Prussia has mobilized a crazy 630,000 troops, while Austria, although slightly inferior, has reached 580,000. The 1.2 million troops of both sides have launched a battle in the belly of Europe. After a desperate fight, military observers across Europe suddenly lost their voices and even lost their ability to analyze for a short time.
This is not like the so-called big battles in Chinese history where refugees were driven out to make up the numbers. All the troops mobilized by both sides were soldiers who had undergone strict military training. Once the two torrents collided, the blood and fire would be enough to light up the whole of Europe. night sky.
All railway transportation capacity has been drained, all telegraph lines have been transferred to military use, and countless warehouses in the rear have begun to transfer materials in accordance with the plans of the General Staff. The national power after the industrial revolution has long been transformed into a steel-cast machine. precision instrument.
As the two mixed battalions led by Xiao Letian marched south from Hamburg, all the middle-ranking officers were stunned. Even Wing King Shi Dakai, who had seen the big scene, was dumbfounded.
To be fair, the major battles King Yi had seen were not inferior to the Austro-Prussian War in terms of numbers of people, but he had never seen a large-scale mobilization of purely modern armies after entering the post-industrial era.
On all the roads, regular troops armed to the teeth are advancing. It seems as if they are heading towards the end of the world as far as the eye can see. All soldiers are uniformly dressed, and their weapons and equipment are all standardized. From a distance, it looks like millions of people are marching forward. Only one face remains the same.
Tuoma pulled the bronze cannon forward and the proud cavalry marched forward singing military songs that the Chinese could not understand at all. Countless women and children lined both sides of the roads and near the towns, swarming onto both sides of the streets like a carnival, with cheers rushing in like a sea wave.
"It's terrible. Why aren't these women and children afraid of war? Why are they more fanatical than soldiers? On the contrary, these soldiers who are about to go to the battlefield are unusually calm? Aren't they supposed to be the most fanatical people?"
King Yi stood by the window of the carriage, looking at the army marching on both sides of the railway track and the cheering German people, his eyes full of confusion.
"What kind of power is this? It's so terrifying. It's like there are endless lead clouds in the sky pressing down on your head. It makes people have no courage to fight. It's also like the eve of a storm on the sea, and the air is full of lightning. The breath of..."
Xiao Letian listened to King Yi's heartfelt sigh and couldn't help but feel the same way. In his previous life, Xiao Letian often watched war movies with big scenes, including all kinds of masterpieces with big investment. However, no matter how awesome the film and television effects are, they will always be inferior to Not as exciting as reality.
"Brother! Do you know that this is a big collision of 1.2 million regular troops! And these 1.2 million people are all strictly trained regular troops, and there is absolutely not a single civilian who has been coerced. Now you know that we Where is the gap between China and Europe?"
"What!" King Yi didn't say anything, but a group of middle- and senior-level officers nearby shouted first, "1.2 million regular troops without refugees? Is this just Prussia and Austria?"
Seeing Xiao Letian nodding, everyone was sweating on their foreheads. We are all veterans of the Taiping Rebellion. Is Zeng Guofan’s Hunan Army awesome? At its peak, there were only 500,000 elites. Of course, the so-called elites were just those who could fire a few rows of foreign guns. A hundred thousand elites would be considered highly valued.
As for the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, their military accounts are even more chaotic. They have never unified their external caliber. One moment they say one million troops, and the next they say two million or three million. In fact, His Highness King Yi is the most It is clear that if measured according to the standards of the Prussian Army, having more than 100,000 backbones would already be as high as the sky.
"It's terrible. There are 1.2 million pure elites. If you add up the elites from the Manchu, Hunan Army, Heavenly Kingdom and even other fields, there are not so many! The Manchus were not unjustly defeated, and they were really not unjustly defeated... ..." Shi Dakai sighed, slapping his thigh with a sad look on his face.
Seeing the depressed expressions of the people around him, Xiao Letian made no attempt to enlighten them but continued to pour cold water on them. "Six years ago, when Britain and France attacked Beijing, they only sent a total of more than 20,000 troops. But do you know how many French troops there are now?" ?The standing army can reach 400,000, and the second-level combat-ready army can mobilize up to 600,000. Once a nationwide call-up order is issued, they can easily gather an army of 1 million..."
"Not to mention the United Kingdom. The navy alone has more than 200,000 people. Although the army is smaller, don't forget that they have a strong industrial base. The various weapons and equipment in the warehouse are enough to arm a million people in a short time... "
"What does it mean to be beaten if you fall behind? This is the ironclad fact!" Following Xiao Letian's words, all the lieutenants began to converge on him, and everyone listened intently to the Prime Minister's teachings. Although the Prussian soldiers could not understand Chinese, they could feel the anxiety and uneasiness in the oriental prime minister's tone.
"Brothers, do you still remember what I told you about comprehensive national strength? The most practical manifestation of comprehensive national strength is right outside the car window. You should open your eyes and take a good look at what the world is like now... Look at those large trucks covered with oilcloth. As I expected, there must be tons of weapons and ammunition inside, as well as a large amount of food supplies..."
"Once the war breaks out, you will see with your own eyes that artillery shells measured in tons are launched into the enemy's positions, and a sea of fire is filled with flying steel fragments. The steel consumed in one battle is equivalent to a year's worth of blacksmiths in the Qing Dynasty. I can’t even knock it out…”
"Look at the military warehouses hidden in the towns. They are filled with countless weapons and ammunition. As long as the country needs it, they can easily re-arm one hundred thousand, two hundred thousand or even millions of soldiers. When the army comes out... look at our Qing Dynasty again, what else is there in the warehouse besides some rotten swords and spears?"
"Hahaha, and even swords and spears may not be enough. The annual tax of tens of millions taels not only supports those Eight Banners uncles, but also feeds the bellies of corrupt officials. Who on earth will really consider the life and death of this country and this nation? What’s the problem?”
Speaking of this, Xiao Letian's eyes were already wet, and he was a little excited: "Brothers, we have no time. Now we can still maintain that country. The Westerners have not completely broken through the inland. What do we rely on?" ? It’s not about how powerful we are, it’s just because technology has not yet developed to the point of dominating the world..."
"It is impossible to send so many troops from Europe to China through the sea. At most, they will only be tens of thousands of punitive troops. In addition, it is unrealistic to go by land. There are too many countries in between and the terrain is too difficult. It’s complicated. But don’t forget that the pace of technological development will never stop. If it’s impossible today, doesn’t that mean it’ll be impossible in the future?”
"If one day these powerful European nations send out not 20,000 troops, but 200,000 or 2 million troops, with their fighting power, how can we Chinese resist them? Why do Europeans look down on us? Isn't it because we are too weak?"
"Sir!" All the officers' eyes were red, and many of them were so excited that tears came out of their eyes. "Sir... Needless to say, we all understand. Just tell us what we should do! Our life and death, the fate of our nation, I can only rely on you, sir..."
Xiao Letian stretched out his sleeves and wiped his tears fiercely. "We are surrounded by wolves, what can we do? Let's go all out. The only way is to go all out. From today on, we are beasts forced into a dead end. There is no other way but to go all out." way!"
"Those bastards in the country! I will help you pick up the dignity they have lost. I will help you reshape the kneecaps they have broken with steel. We must risk our lives to make the whole of Europe recognize us again. Chinese, we Han people are not wimps..."
"Uuuuuuuuah... Damn, I will take you to pay the debt they owe..."
"Sir!" All the officers shouted, "We have never forgotten the oath we made before setting off... I will sacrifice my blood to Xuanyuan and my life to Huaxia!"
In the summer of 1866, the Chinese oath once again sounded in the interior of Europe. This time I don’t know how many people will survive.
[This book was first published from, be the first to see the genuine content! ]
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