The Franco-Austro-Prussian War was raging, and the situation of the war was one-sided, which shocked the onlookers of many European countries.

Among them, the most anxious is the French Empire.

Originally, in the early days of the war

The Kingdom of Italy, the Kingdom of Prussia's pit ally, was on the verge of collapse on the Southern Front, which put the French nervous in their hearts down.

Napoleon III was even in the mood to go on vacation to the palace of Versailles in the southwestern suburbs, and by the way, he had a tryst with his mistress and spent more than ten wonderful days.

The pace of military mobilization prepared by the French was thus slowed down, and the French General Staff Headquarters made an erroneous judgment;

It is believed that the template of the war between the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia is the North American War, which will be fought anxiously and repeatedly, lasting at least half a year or even longer, and it is impossible to distinguish the winner in a short time.

In that case, let's continue to watch the big show!

Who would have thought

On the Northern Front, the main force of the Prussian army swept through the 22 German Confederation states and defeated the armies of Hanover, Bavaria and Saxony, showing unprecedented combat effectiveness.

This made the French old nervous again, thinking that there was a powerful Habsburg dynasty behind it, and it occupied the natural geographical conditions, and the mountains were difficult to block, so it was impossible to be easily defeated by the army of the Kingdom of Prussia, right?

The more French old people think about it, the more reliable it is, then it's okay.

So Paris continued to hold lavish aristocratic balls day and night, and while eating melons with great interest, watching the great chaos between the German people by the way, it felt as comfortable as drinking cold champagne on dog days.

But who would have thought

The Austrians abandoned the precipitous castles and passes of the Sudetenland and the Erzkirz, and allowed the Prussian army to drive straight in, rushing into the hills and plains and then fighting fiercely, leading to a drastic change in the situation of the war.

The mood is on a rollercoaster ride up and down, and no matter how good your temper is, you can't stand it.

After receiving the urgent report, the French Emperor Napoleon III hurriedly ended his leisurely vacation at the Palace of Versailles and hurried back to Paris.

He was furious when he saw the latest military briefing, and scolded the Austrians as "a bunch of hopeless fools" and that "Joseph had been corrupted by alcohol and women, like an idiot." ”

Scolding and scolding, Napoleon III at this time was helpless.

In his original vision;

It was to learn from the Tang Empire, which did not intervene in the early days of the American Civil War, but reaped a lot of benefits by transporting materials and military equipment to support the Austrian Empire in the struggle with the Kingdom of Prussia.

When both sides were exhausted, it was time for the French army to take the side of the Austrians and punish the Kingdom of Prussia, which wanted to unify the German Confederation, thus establishing French supremacy over all of Europe.

At this time, the two German brothers were exhausted from fighting, and they fell down with a slight push. France was able to eat a mouthful of oil in the post-war negotiations and obtain the maximum benefit at the minimum cost.

The abacus played very well, but unfortunately the Austrians couldn't bear it!

In just three weeks after the outbreak of the Austro-Prussian War, the armies of the Kingdom of Prussia had swept through the German Confederation and penetrated deep into the heart of the Elbe River, posing a real threat to the rule of the Austrian Empire.

If the main force of the Austrian army is surrounded and annihilated, the next step for the Prussian army should be to advance closer to Vienna.

European countries did not have the enormous depth of thousands of kilometers as in North America, and the Austrian Empire, even though it was the most powerful empire in Europe, had only 650,000 square kilometers of territory.

The Prussian army rushed all the way, breaking through more than 380 kilometers and already penetrating the heartland, not far from the capital Vienna.

"Immediately mobilize troops to the Franco-Prussian border to demonstrate the intransigence of the French Empire. The Foreign Office has mobilized the royal families of Spain, the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium and Norway, as well as the British and Tsarist Russia, and we need to bring together all the forces in Europe to take a tough stance. The military actions of the Kingdom of Prussia have deeply harmed the peace and stability of Europe and destroyed the traditional borders of the German Confederation, which must not be allowed to offend......," said Napoleon III, waving his powerful arms.

As the Emperor of the French Empire, a very strategic statesman, he clearly knew that the rapid rise of the Kingdom of Prussia would greatly damage France's dominant position in Europe.

On the side of the couch, how can you allow others to sleep soundly?

The French marshal Duke Bejou hesitated with an embarrassed expression, then nodded and replied; "In accordance with Your Majesty's orders, I will immediately mobilize the garrisons of the Eastern Province to put pressure on Prussia."

"Within a week, I hope to be able to mobilize no less than 100,000 troops to the border, can the War Department do that?"

"This ...... Very difficult. Duke Beru shook his head solemnly, and then explained;

"Your Majesty;

France is a global military force, with an army force projection that includes Algeria in North Africa, Egypt, Monaco, and the Balkan hotspots of Europe, as well as a considerable military presence in the Near East such as Lebanon and Syria, Indochina and East Asia, and French colonies throughout the world.

It is an indisputable fact that more than half of the French Army, as the country with the most powerful army force in the world today, performs missions all over the world.

For several years

After Britain and France jointly won the Second War against the Qing Dynasty, they focused on conquering more colonies in Indochina, so they invested considerable troops.

There is also Egypt, which involves a large part of the energy of the French army.

France is now so stressed that the War Office will not be able to mobilize more troops without military mobilization or the cancellation of vacations.

Judging from the current situation, a maximum of 60,000 people can be mobilized. ”

The French Empire implemented a professional sergeant system, and the soldiers in the French army were professional soldiers, with long service years and rich combat experience, and veterans in their thirties and forties abounded, who made great achievements in the process of colonizing the world and were famous all over the world.

The advantages of such an establishment are obvious, and the disadvantages are also obvious, that is, it is difficult to quickly expand the size of the army.

Moreover, the vacation of the French soldiers was taken very seriously, and could not be taken away easily, even if His Majesty the Emperor did not have a good reason.

Napoleon III did not rely on the throne that he won immediately or by hereditary succession, but on political opportunism and the legacy of his uncle Emperor Napoleon, thus establishing the Second French Empire.

Whether mobilizing troops or waging foreign wars, Napoleon III had to play with the parliament and other political forces in the empire, promising advantages to win allies in order to promote the implementation of relevant policies.

He did not have the domineering and lofty prestige of Emperor Napoleon, and he faced many problems.

The French provinces were lined with local forces and members of parliament, representing the political ideas of the new capitalists, usurers, royalists, reformists, democratic liberal forces, etc., united under the Second French Empire in an attempt to restore the former glory of the Gallic rooster.

You're welcome

The Second French Empire is like a loose yellow egg, and the imperial power is a hard shell that wraps the loose yellow egg, which seems to be firm but actually shatters when knocked out, and the historical process has proved this.

After the Franco-Prussian War, the Second French Empire collapsed......

Marshal Bejou meant it clearly;

There are about 200,000 troops in France, of which about 6~70,000 are garrisoned in various fortresses.

For example, if the French army retreated, the Apennine Peninsula occupied by the French would occupy the area in a matter of minutes.

At that time, it will be difficult to restore French rule without a war.

In addition, France and Spain, Belgium, Prussia and Austria all had more or less similar border demarcation problems, and they could not back down in the slightest.

Among the remaining about 13~140,000 people, in addition to some logistics troops and local garrisons in China, there are also officers and soldiers who have returned from overseas vacation.

Most of them have experienced overseas deployments for 1~2 years or even longer, and it is rare for them to return home to enjoy long vacations, when emergency call-ups must be authorized by Parliament, not Napoleon III.

Even if they are recruited, whether these officers and soldiers on leave are happy or not is still two different things.

Excluding these officers and soldiers on leave, the field troops that can be mobilized in France are at best 5~60,000 people, squeezing about 70,000 people, and no matter how much they can get, they really can't get out.

This is the embarrassment of Napoleon III, not enough prestige in the army and among the people!

Hearing Marshal Bejou's answer, Napoleon III's face, which was a little red from excitement, twitched violently, and after a little muttering, he said;

"Since it is somewhat difficult to transfer an army of 100,000 men, let's try to use domestic forces as much as possible, and quickly rush to the eastern Franco-Prussian border to cool down those hot-headed Prussians." Napoleon III, considering the difficulty of convincing the parliament, frowned for a while, and the tone dropped considerably.

Marshal Anjou raised his hand and gave a graceful knightly salute, and replied respectfully; "As you wish, my noble majesty."

"Your Excellency, do you think Britain will intervene?"

"It's a pity...... Your Majesty, I think that the British will be very happy to see the rise of Prussia, and as long as they can add to the trouble of France, even if they pay money or lose part of their interests, the British will spare no effort to do it. We did too much harm to Britain in the North American War of Independence, and London has always remembered this hatred! ”

"Damn the British old, the damn American, the damned Prussians, and the damn Orientals, none of them are good." Napoleon III was a little out of control again, and he couldn't help but curse.

Marshal Anjou shrugged his shoulders helplessly, without any intention of getting involved in the topic.

Incompetent rage could not solve any real problems, and the Prussian army's performance in the war was extremely dazzling, making him feel deeply threatened.

In particular, the advanced Mauser 1865 rifle has attracted great attention from the French military, and it has pushed more closely to equip the troops with new French rifles and new breech guns.

Compared with Britain's sea power, France is a traditional land power country, which attaches more importance to the development of army equipment and invests more in research and development, which is the foundation of France.