Holy Roman Empire-Chapter 900 - 163, God of War

In the military, no idle words were spoken, and once General Mörck proposed a plan for a three-line simultaneous attack, it was only natural that it would be implemented.

With a command from the headquarters, half of Italy was immediately plunged into the throes of war, with the Austrian army launching a strong multi-front offensive from their positions in the Lombardy Region.

The booming sound of artillery, even dozens of miles away in Milan City, was clearly visible and one could even faintly feel the ground shake.

Looking toward Turin, Victor Emmanuel III let out a meaningful sigh, "Colosna, have you figured out the real intentions of the Austrians yet?"

Victor Emmanuel III was no greenhouse flower; he had a clear understanding of his own value.

The King of Sardinia was important to the Vienna government, but this importance was limited to political propaganda and was not enough to warrant such a grand display by General Mörck, the commander of the Southern Front.

Colosna, a middle-aged man, shook his head, "Not yet, our spy network in the Lombardy Region has already been cut off by the Austrians.

Even those who were lucky enough to escape have already distanced themselves from us early on, and the undercover contacts are no longer reachable.

I tried to visit a few nobles who were once inclined toward us, and was directly turned away.

Last night, I even received a few threatening letters, warning us not to make any small moves, otherwise they would not be polite."

It was evident that Colosna was currently very disheartened. The Kingdom of Sardinia could only rely on Austria even for their national restoration; under such circumstances, where would he get the courage to make any small moves?

After a harsh beating from society, the Italian Independent Organization didn’t have the naive idealism of the Carbonari and had already been kicked out of the Italian Area long ago, along with Lombardy and Venice.

Even shouting slogans was not allowed because it was politically incorrect; their financial backers would not provide funds.

Now it was even more out of the question, with the Vienna government proposing to restore the situation after the 1815 Vienna Congress; they could only happily accept it.

Causing trouble in Lombardy was absolutely a display of having a death wish. For these Sardinian restoration nationalists, Austria was their only option.

But for the Austrian government, they were just one option, and there were plenty of backups behind them.

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Since ancient times, the Germany Region had been producing kings. If worse came to worst, the Austrian government could even choose a new king for the people of Sardinia.

"Forget it, if we can’t figure it out, let’s just wait! Tell our people to try to stay indoors as much as possible to avoid upsetting the local snakes."

Having said that, Victor Emmanuel III sighed. With these developments, he too was very helpless.

Victor Emmanuel III still knew the historical background of the Austria-Sardinia War. With this thorn stuck in, any action they took in Lombardy would be amplified.

Perhaps Franz in faraway Vienna could laugh it off, but the Lombard throne so close by would definitely make them pay dearly.

Without a choice, the Wittelsbach Dynasty was an outsider, securing their royal seat with the support of the Vienna government but without deep roots locally.

Especially because two consecutive kings had mental illnesses, and the first king had also ascended the throne amid curses, one could only imagine the royal family’s reputation among the people.

In such a context, the Wittelsbach Dynasty inevitably became overly cautious, extremely sensitive to any movements.

Victor Emmanuel III wanted to establish a base here, but it was simply impossible. Even some normal activities were restricted.

But there was no other way; this was the front line. As an ambitious king, Victor Emmanuel III had to personally be at the front line.

Otherwise, how could the Sardinian People feel his greatness?

If one day the Austrian army conquered Turin and he as the King did not arrive immediately, what if someone else seized the opportunity first?

These days, those eligible to inherit the throne of Sardinia were not just one or two; inside Austria, too, there were many nobles eyeing this crown eagerly.

Although Victor Emmanuel III was considered the legitimate King of the Kingdom of Sardinia, he had not yet officially ascended the throne, and legally speaking he was only the heir.

If someone with inheritance rights shamelessly took the throne first, creating a fait accompli, it was unclear whom the Vienna government might support.

Even without these troubles, the most popular saying these days was "Bandits pass like a comb, soldiers like a brush."

If Victor Emmanuel III did not rush to the front line to keep watch, once something happened, the Kingdom of Sardinia would turn into a blank slate.

Then, when the Austrian army packed up and left, he would be left behind to clean up the mess.

One could not test the traditional friendship of Austria-Sardinia, expecting the Austrian army to spare the Kingdom of Sardinia in consideration of their traditional friendship.

Useful or not, Victor Emmanuel III had to step up and stop it at a critical moment, or else why would the Sardinian People accept him as their King?

After all, Victor Emmanuel II had not left him any legacy, only the infamy of a fool and megalomaniac.

Both internationally and in the eyes of many Sardinian People, Victor Emmanuel II was considered the chief culprit in the demise of Sardinia.

The Austria-Sardinia War was considered the biggest decision-making disaster of the Sardinian government, not only killing itself but also dragging down other Italian states in the Italian Area.

...

The actions of Victor Emmanuel III and his party did not escape the eyes and ears of General Mörck.

In this era of war, the front line was dominated by the military. As the commander of the Austrian Southern Front, it was natural for the intelligence department to provide news to General Mörck.

Putting down the document in his hands, General Mörck looked out the window, "As long as the Sardinians don’t take particularly excessive actions, just let them be.

In the upcoming battle, we still need their cooperation; straining the relationship would not look good for anyone."

True love never lasts from ancient times, only schemes endure forever.

The People of Sardinian still have their value, so General Mörck didn’t mind giving Victor Emmanuel III plenty of face.

It was no longer 1847, and Italian nationalism had long since lost its market in the Lombardy Region.

In the hearts of the younger generation, Italy was merely a regional name, belonging to the French. As for the Kingdom of Lombardy, it was naturally a part of the Germany Region.

One could look up historical materials—the People of Lombardy originated from the Teutons. According to cultural traditions that demarcate regions, Lombardy definitely belonged to the Germany Region, having been part of the Holy Roman Empire hundreds of years ago.

All this started when France annexed the Italian Area, and the outcome had already been sealed.

The greatest strength of mankind is reflection; its greatest flaw is also reflection. Overthinking inevitably leads to being deceived by what one sees.

After falling into despair, the literati of the Italian Area began to reflect. Under the guidance of some intentional figures, they quickly identified the reasons for the decline of the Italian states—rigid system and overly conservative thoughts and culture.

In this context, a movement of doubt and criticism against the traditional culture erupted in the Italian Area.

After the intellectual turmoil ended, the ideological field in Italy also split, mainly forming three systems: Austrian, English, and French, each advocating the emulation of the three countries to establish a powerful Kingdom of Italy.

Everyone was anxious about the country and its people, just not very patient. Not knowing how to learn, they simply decided to learn from everyone.

This ideological change had a tremendous impact on the Italians of Lombardy and Veneto.

The intellectuals who were initially inclined to establish a Kingdom of Italy became utterly disillusioned with Italian traditional culture. How could they abandon advanced ideas and revert to studying outdated ones?

Since the ideological revolution erupted in the Italian Area in 1873, the Italians in the Lombardy region had not been resistant to Austriation, and the pace of national integration quickly accelerated.

To this day, in terms of cultural customs, there is not much difference between Lombardy and Austria; the biggest difference now between the two places is only in their dietary habits.

...

The sounds of cannon fire continued; the power of the world’s leading industrial nation was now fully revealed. The artillery shells seemed as if they cost nothing, flooding towards the French positions like a tide.

One artillery shell exploded upon hitting the ground, sending shrapnel and dust flying everywhere, accompanied by screams; the French Army suffered three more injured.

Colonel Novik, who had narrowly escaped, very experiencedly wiped the dust from his mouth and immediately cursed, "Damn it! Where is our artillery? Why aren’t they retaliating?"

This wasn’t the first time it had happened. In just three days, Colonel Novik’s headquarters had been visited by artillery shells countless times.

Just at the headquarters alone, there had already been 3 deaths and 7 injuries, including 3 officers.

You should know this place was the headquarters of a regiment, which had constructed simple anti-artillery fortifications, greatly reducing the lethality of the artillery shells.

The deputy next to him answered helplessly, "Colonel, our artillery is also firing back, but they are being suppressed by the enemy."

To be honest, the quality of the artillery of France and Austria was not much different. The French Army was being suppressed solely because the Austrian Army was more prepared.

The French Army had amassed over thirteen hundred artillery pieces on the southern front. The number of Austrian artillery pieces was about three times that, including a significant part of rapid-fire guns, instantly widening the disparity in firepower between the two sides.

As soon as the artillery battle started, the French were dumbfounded. The firepower of the two sides was not on the same level at all, affecting all battlefields.

The deficiency in the number of artillery pieces wasn’t something that could be resolved quickly. Although France’s industry was not weak, who would keep a huge number of artillery pieces at home unnecessarily?

This war can also be regarded as sudden, as it erupted much earlier than the French government had planned.

Being able to deploy over thirteen hundred artillery pieces on the southern front in just a few months already proved the strength of France.

After all, Central Europe was the main battlefield, and the French had no choice but to focus most of their attention there, prioritizing artillery for the Central European battlefield.

Colonel Novik shook his head, "Is this also considered retaliation? If you don’t listen carefully, you can’t even hear our gunfire.

Send a cable to the high command, request fire support.

Immediately!

If this continues, our forces will collapse before the enemy even attacks."

Fighting a battle without counterattacking is unbearable for anyone. Due to continuous bombing, the front-line French Soldiers had long lost their former arrogance.

In fact, Colonel Novik’s regiment was still relatively good; most of the soldiers were from mainland France, and their will to fight was still strong.

Having suffered over ten percent casualties in the bombardment, the unit had not yet collapsed, fully deserving the title of elite.

If this had happened in the newly formed units with higher numbers of Italian soldiers, a mutiny might already have occurred by now.

...

Colonel Novik’s roaring did not change the French Army’s dire situation, as Marshal Adrien was also troubled by the same problem.

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There was no way around it—who would have thought France was not prepared enough?

From the start of the war, the French Forces had expanded nearly tenfold, and ensuring every person had a rifle was already a significant effort by the officials in Paris.

Marshals Adrien, dismissing Colonel Novik’s request for reinforcements, stared at the map and began to seriously consider how to counterattack.