Holy Roman Empire - Chapter 52
Which was more important, politics or the military?
There was no right answer to this question.
Militarily, Marshal Radsky’s decision was completely correct; politically, it was a big mistake.
In the eyes of the outside world, his retreat meant that Austria had lost on the battlefield, or that the Austrian Empire had decayed.
This would give confidence to the domestic rebels and make the domestic situation more complicated; at the same time, Austria’s international status in the world would be shaken.
“What’s done is done, so there’s no more to be said!”
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“First, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should go communicate with Britain and France, in case they are furnishing substantial support to the Kingdom of Sardinia, and between them, your focus should be on the French. If necessary, we can let the French enter northern Italy,” Franz said decisively.
Deep in his heart, Franz actually supported Marshal Radsky’s approach: as long as he could win the war, it was totally acceptable to pay a small price.
As for the political fallout of that approach, it was not a big deal, for the Cabinet would be the one to take the blame for it. He was a new regent and a good young man, so the public would not scold him.
Prime Minister Felix’s face was gloomy and terrible. It was a pity that Marshal Radsky was far away in Venice. Even if he was angry, there was no way for him to vent it.
He surely could not order Marshal Radsky to retake Lombardy immediately. War was not child’s play, and orders could not just be given according to his whims.
Was it necessary to replace him? This idea flashed in his brain repeatedly: it was taboo for officers to change military leaders. Saying nothing of Franz, who would surely not agree, even he himself did not dare to take this risk.
Franz had already expressed his attitude: the priority was to solve the problems of the aftermath first. If the war ended up a victory, Marshal Radsky would be a hero of Austria; otherwise, the consequences would be very serious.
“Your Highness, there is no need to worry about the French. Since the end of the war against France, the strength of the French army has been restricted, and they only got rid of the restriction after the February Revolution in Paris.
At present, the internal struggle in France is serious, and the Conservatives, unwilling to accept their failure, are fighting back. The French are too busy to take care of themselves, let alone Sardinia, so at most, they could only furnish some goods and materials.
The British, meanwhile, are very troublesome. They are less affected by the revolutions than the French, so they have the strength to intervene on the Italian front. Since we have a good relationship with the British, I think we should ask for their support now!”
On the surface, that was indeed the case. Since the era of Metternich, diplomatic relations between Austria and Britain had always been good, and everyone wanted to maintain the balance of the European continent.
Since their political purposes were the same, the relationship between the two sides was surely in a good situation. When it came to maintaining the balance of the European continent, Austria had always been an ally of the British.
Metternich shook his head and said, “Prime Minister, from the position of the British, establishing a united Italian Kingdom and balancing Austria and France at the same time is more in line with their interests.
On this issue, it is almost impossible for us to get their support. The best we can hope is that the British will stay neutral.”
Metternich’s understanding of Britain was quite thorough: there was no perpetual friend, nor perpetual enemy, only perpetual interest.
They were allied in maintaining the balance of Europe, but the British did not need a strong Austria; they only needed an Austria that could block the expansion of the Russians.
They did not take France seriously, but all countries remained vigilant towards France since the Vienna system had collapsed already. The news of the February revolution in Paris had spread to St. Petersburg, and Tsar Nicholas I had wanted to carry out an armed intervention. In the end, though, he had to give up this plan due to financial constraints.
However, the Tsarist government did still announce that it had cut off diplomatic relations with France. Before the Russian ambassador to France, Kiselev, withdrew from Paris, he had warned the Paris government and asked the French to abide by the agreement on territorial boundaries determined by the Vienna conference and the Paris peace treaty.
The British had also expressed concern about this issue. They were still watching the foreign policy of the Paris government and had not yet recognized their legitimacy.
Against this background, if the French government dared to send troops to Italy, it was likely to set off a new round of war against France, which, obviously, the Paris government did not have the courage to handle.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Carl, suddenly said, “Your Highness, our war with the Kingdom of Sardinia has just begun. Even if the British want to support the Kingdom of Sardinia, their reaction won’t be quick.
For now, our biggest problem is actually at home: the defeat on the Italian battlefield will stimulate the rebels’ ambitions.”
It was not possible for the Kingdom of Sardinia to finish Austria with verbal support alone.
Either the British had to send troops directly, or they had to send large amounts of money, food, and materials. It was highly doubtful that the British would send troops directly unless they wanted Austria to turn to Russia; still, the money and food needed for support would not be a small amount, costing millions of pounds at the least.
This decision was not easy to make. If the money and food were given, and Sardinia still lost, their investment would be wasted.
Austria was also a big power and not easy to mess with. Maybe if France and Austria compromised and divided Italy evenly, the British would only stand by anxiously.
Carl’s last words brought everyone’s attention back to the domestic front again. Compared to Italy, in fact, the domestic rebellion was the real problem.
Leaving the other places aside, the Hungarian Kingdom would definitely have a rebellion, and it was only a matter of time.
“Well, the defeat in Italy will surely cause a chain reaction, but we are not unprepared.
Order the troops to raise their alert and immediately suppress it if there is a rebellion,” Franz said aggressively.
After suppressing the rebellion in Vienna, Franz immediately began to prepare for the war. Many reserve forces were drafted into the army, and the total military forces of Austria had increased to 578,000 troops.
If it weren’t for the recruits who still needed time for training, Franz would not argue with the Hungarians: he would simply solve the Hungarian problem by force.
But Franz was not prepared to fight a protracted war, and the rebellion had to be suppressed swiftly and ruthlessly. A war that dragged on for a year or two like in history would kill him.
Fighting a war took money. In history, the domestic rebellion was delayed and could not be suppressed, which not only caused huge economic losses but also led the Austrian government to suffer immense foreign debts.
As a result, in its later development, Austria slowed down a step, which caused it to fall into the abyss.
“Your Highness, do you want to send more reinforcements to Marshal Radsky?” the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Carl, asked with some worry.
“No need! After giving up the Lombardy area, Marshal Radsky has enough troops that he will have no problem for him defending Venice!” Franz thought for a moment and said.
The goal was to lure the enemy inside, and if there were too many troops there, the Italians might not dare to come.
The strength of the Kingdom of Sardinia was limited: they would, at most, send eighty or a hundred thousand troops to the front. So the forces of both sides were equal. Franz did not believe that the Austrian army could possibly be beaten by the Italians!
