Paris, the capital of France, inside the Élysée Palace. Emperor Napoleon III frowned as he looked at the map of Belgium and the Kingdom of the Netherlands hanging on the wall of his office. The French Army has completed the mobilization of one million so far. However, the troops that went to the north and the border of the Kingdom of Belgium were only about 200,000. The rest of the troops were deployed on the border with the Kingdom of Spain and on the border with the Kingdom of Prussia. In the minds of the French, the Kingdom of Prussia and the Kingdom of Spain were clearly a much greater threat to France than the Kingdom of Belgium.

In order to draw the Kingdom of Sardinia into the Union, France withdrew from the Papal States for this. According to the original agreement, after the Anglo-French-Dutch tripartite effort to destroy the Kingdom of Belgium, the territory of southern Belgium would be annexed to France to compensate for the losses of France. But now, unexpectedly, the Kingdom of Belgium took the first step to unite with the Kingdom of Prussia and launched an attack on the Kingdom of Holland, disrupting their plans.

"Tell me, gentlemen, what shall we do now?" Napoleon III, returning to his place, said to the ministers with a frown. There is no doubt that the joint action of the Kingdom of Belgium and the Kingdom of Prussia, which took them by surprise and caught France by surprise.

"Your Majesty, the Kingdom of the Netherlands was attacked, and the Kingdom of Belgium and the Kingdom of Prussia, with a total of half a million men sent to attack the Kingdom of the Netherlands. With the terrible appearance of the army of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, they could not resist the combined forces of the Kingdom of Belgium and Prussia. Now it seems that they will soon be destroyed. Of course, the premise is that we and the British, they will not be rescued! Said the French Minister of War A.J. Saint-Arnault.

"Yes, Your Majesty. We cannot sit idly by and watch the Kingdom of the Netherlands be destroyed. Otherwise. The Belgians and Prussians, they will turn around and deal with us. Those damn Belgians. It's amazing that they mobilized an army of 500,000 people! Foreign Minister Valevsky also said. The total population of the Kingdom of Belgium is just over 4 million. But. They mobilized 500,000 troops, which is an exaggeration. So much so that France had to face up to the threat posed to France by the Kingdom of Belgium.

Napoleon III nodded, agreeing with the statement. Although the table of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is too bad, it can be regarded as their ally. How could the Kingdom of the Netherlands be destroyed within a month of the war? In this case, it will be a severe blow to the peoples of the countries of the North Atlantic Military Alliance. So, one way or another, France needs to rescue them.

"Also. Our British allies have also made a plan to rescue the Kingdom of the Netherlands. They will send troops to land in the Kingdom of the Netherlands and directly help the Kingdom of the Netherlands in its fight against the Kingdom of Belgium and the Kingdom of Prussia. What we have to do is to march on the Kingdom of Belgium and Prussia, forcing them not to dare to send more troops to the Kingdom of Holland. It would be great if they could get them to send troops back from the Kingdom of the Netherlands! Said Count Valewski. This plan of the British is undoubtedly very effective. Provided, of course, that both France and Austria-Hungary fully cooperate.

"These Brits, arrogant. Do they want to order us? France is only their ally, not their subordinate! "Napoleon III gave orders to the English in a commanding tone. This made him very unhappy.

"Your Majesty, although the British are very arrogant. However, we had to rescue the Kingdom of the Netherlands. In my opinion, it is still according to the plan proposed by the British. We will attack the Kingdom of Belgium, and then let the British go to the Kingdom of Holland and fight to the death with the Belgians and the Prussians! Said War Secretary A.J. Saint-Ernaux.

Napoleon III rubbed his somewhat aching brow, and then said: "Okay! Ordered to deploy troops on the northern border. Take the opportunity to launch an attack on the Kingdom of Belgium. No, wait until after the British landed in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Then the attack is launched. In addition, troops were drawn from Paris. Reinforcements on the Northern Front! ”

In order to avoid being cheated by the British, Napoleon III planned to wait until the British had already started fighting in the Kingdom of the Netherlands before they attacked. lest France, after attracting the main forces of the Kingdom of Belgium and the Kingdom of Prussia, the British sat on the sidelines and watched the tiger fight. In that case, France will be miserable. In addition, France has 200,000 troops deployed on the border. But the Belgian Army also has two hundred thousand. Although, Napoleon III confidently believed that the combat effectiveness of the French Army was much higher than that of the Belgian Army. However, he had to admit that the Belgian Army, which was in a defensive posture, was no worse equipped than the French. If France were to defeat the Belgian Army with the same number of troops, it would probably pay a lot of casualties. Therefore, it is better to send more reinforcements.

"Yes, Your Majesty! But in this case, our mobilization will have to be accelerated! Said the Minister of War A.J. Saint-Arnault. The French Army planned to mobilize 1.5 million men for the war. But so far, too, they have completed the mobilization of only a million people. The mobilization of another 500,000 has just begun.

Napoleon III nodded, believing that the French war planes had only just started. Soon, France's combat power will be able to be fully unleashed. When the time comes, France's powerful combat power will shock all countries. The mighty French Empire will once again become the master of the European continent and the world. This was also the goal of Napoleon III, his ambition to surpass his uncle, Napoleon the Great, and to build a great feat beyond Napoleon the Great.

Austria-Hungary also received a request from the British, who asked them to send troops to attack the Kingdom of Prussia and hold off the main forces of the Kingdom of Prussia. Although Austria-Hungary is also one of the major European powers, its mobilization mechanism is even more backward. The promised two million troops have not yet been mobilized halfway. However, the young Austrian Emperor Franz. Joseph I nevertheless ordered the army to attack the Kingdom of Prussia.

Because the Kingdom of Belgium and the Kingdom of Prussia joined forces to attack the Kingdom of Holland, the situation in the whole of Europe became more and more chaotic. In order to rescue the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Britain, France, Austria and other European powers had to act in advance.

However, the Belgian and Prussian armies, which had invaded the Netherlands, did not have time to pay attention to this. They are rapidly advancing towards the important cities and capitals of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, hoping to capture Amsterdam and destroy the Kingdom of the Netherlands before reinforcements from the other countries of the North Atlantic Military Alliance arrive.

On August 21, the Belgian Army's vanguard, the 1st Infantry Corps, arrived in Rotterdam, the largest port city in the Netherlands. At this time, the Dutch army on the territory of Rotterdam was less than 10,000 people. And all the troops were withdrawn from the front, and the fighting spirit was completely lost. In the face of the offensive of the Belgian Army, they collapsed after resisting only half of the disappearance. A large number of Dutch troops surrendered to the Belgian Army.

The rest of the Belgian Army continued to advance into the heart of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

On 22 August, the Belgian Army captured The Hague and attacked Amsterdam, the capital of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, from the south. The Prussian army, on the other hand, had already captured Hiversam, which was just over ten kilometers from Amsterdam.

The defenders of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Amsterdam at this time were less than 50,000 men. In the face of hundreds of thousands of combined forces of the Kingdom of Belgium and the Kingdom of Prussia, these tens of thousands of Dutch troops seemed so weak.

"Your Majesty, the armies of the Kingdom of Belgium and the Kingdom of Prussia, have arrived at the city. Our last 50,000 people can't resist their attack at all! Please also board the British warship and go to England! "Dutch Prime Minister Johann. Rudolph. Tolbeck said. In just three days, the Belgian Army and the Prussian Army reached the capital of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which was a shame for the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The resistance of the Kingdom of the Netherlands was very fragile. The Belgian and Prussian armies, along the way, were like an outing, and they were able to advance lightly for twenty or thirty kilometers a day.

"No, I'm not leaving. I will fight my people to the end. British reinforcements are coming soon, and we still have a chance. In addition, the warships of the British Navy have already reached LJ Bay. With the fire support of the battleships of the British Navy, it was not impossible for us to withstand the enemy's attack! "King William III was stubborn.

"陛xià! The British Army was two days away from being able to arrive. Otherwise, go to the battleships of the British Navy first! After the arrival of the British Army, after we have repelled the Belgians and Prussians, you are back on shore! War Secretary De Vries said.

In order to help the Dutch, or rather to give them confidence, the British navy first arrived in Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. There were three 'Giant-class' battleships, four 'Nelson-class' ships, four 'Orlando-class' battleships and eight 'Pearl-class' cruisers. The guns of these battleships were enough to provide sufficient fire support for the defenders of Amsterdam.

King William III hesitated. Although the British Navy had a lot of warships, they could not go ashore. Will they really be able to withstand the siege of the Belgian and Prussian armies?

"陛xià! The warships of the British Navy were able to provide us with fire support. However, if the Belgians and Prussians had launched a night attack, we would not have been able to withstand them. For your safety, please go to the battleship of the British Navy! War Secretary De Vries persuaded.

King William III thought about it for a moment, but finally nodded.

On the afternoon of August 22, 1854, King William III of the Kingdom of the Netherlands secretly left Amsterdam and boarded the British Navy's battleship 'Giant' anchored in LJ Bay! (To be continued......)

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