Chapter 366: Speedy battle

"Let's do it. Immediately transfer the 1st Legion north to build a second line of defense with the 15th Legion. At the same time, the Guards Legion are also ready to go to war at any time. In addition, the formation of the new Legion must also be accelerated, and the scale must be expanded, from the previous five legions to 10 legions. Finally, we must contact Russia as soon as possible, explain our strong relationship to them, let them send troops as soon as possible, and relieve our pressure." Grand Duke Chali said.

Francis I nodded and said, "Let's leave the military matters to you with full authority. The Russian side will be handled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Now the empire has reached its most critical moment. I hope everyone can contribute their last strength to the empire and overcome this difficulty. God is with us!"

"God is with us!" Grand Duke Charlie and Prince Von Metternier also said loudly.

On March 19, France joined forces with the Jewish state to declare war on Turkey, and the 300,000 two-way coalition forces set out from the northern part of the Jewish state to march towards the Asia Minor Peninsula. Turkey had long been ready for war. Before France declared war on Turkey, Turkey mobilized 500,000 troops to the upper Jordan River and the Golan Heights.

On March 20, Turkey declared war on France and sent people to contact Austria and Russia to propose to form a new anti-French alliance. At the same time, Austria also accused France of bullying the weak and said that it would fight against France to the end.

On March 21, the French and Jewish coalition forces fought against the Turkish army in the Golan Heights. Although the Turkish army had an absolute advantage in military strength, their weapons, equipment and soldiers were far from the opponent of the French and Jewish army. The two sides fought fiercely around the Golan Heights for a week. In the end, more than half of the Turkish army suffered casualties and had to start retreating. The French and Jewish coalition forces also lost nearly 50,000 people, most of which were Jews, and the French army suffered minimal losses.

After the basic Turkish army, the French and Jewish coalition continued to march into the heart of Türkiye, threatening the center of Türkiye's rule, the Asia Minor Peninsula.

When the Turkish army was defeated, the battle between France and Austria in southern Bohemia also entered a white-hot stage. On March 22, the 2nd French Army and the Saxony Army attacked Brno, an important town in southern Bohemia. The Austrian army assembled two corpses, the 3rd and 7th legions, while the Prussian Legion and the 1st Bohemia were responsible for restraining the 2nd and 9th legions of the Austrian Army. It created opportunities for the French army to annihilate the Austrian army in Brno. If the French army can successfully annihilate the 3rd and 7th legions of the Austrian Army, then it will basically establish a victorious ending on the northern battlefield.

The Austrian army also understood the importance of Brno to them. If the French army was allowed to occupy this place, the French army could take advantage of the opportunity to approach Vienna, the capital of the Austrian Empire, so their resistance was extremely fierce. At the same time, Grand Duke Chali also realized the importance of Brno and urgently ordered the 15th Legion in Horabrun to go north to support.

On March 25, after three days of fierce fighting, the French army successfully occupied Brno. After the city was broken, the Austrian army broke through, but less than 30,000 of the nearly 80,000 troops successfully broke through. The remaining more than 50,000 people had either died in battle or became an appendix to the French army. In this battle, the French army also suffered nearly 10,000 casualties. In addition, the Saxony Army, which assisted, also suffered heavy losses, with more than 10,000 casualties. The Prussian Army and the 1st Bohemia Army, which were responsible for restraining the 2nd and 9th Legions of the Austrian Army, also lost nearly 10,000 people. In general, the difference in casualties between the two sides was not very large, and the reason was very simple. The combat effectiveness of the Austrian army was obviously much higher than that of the French vassal state army.

After the Battle of Brno, the Austrian army retreated in large numbers and retreated from Bohemia to northern Austria. The French army's northern army also began an attack on Austrian land.

During this period, the attacks of the other two French armies also improved. First, on the front line of the Ence River, the French Air Force arrived at the front line and launched a fierce air decisive battle with the Austrian airship troops. Whether in terms of airship combat effectiveness or soldiers' training, the Austrian airship troops were much worse than the French Air Force, so in air combat, it basically showed a one-sided trend, and it often took 5 to 6 Austrian airships to replace one French airship. Such a battle rate could not be afforded. After only 3 days of air combat, the Austrian airship troops lost more than 100 airships.

The French army suffered no more than 20 losses, and most of the airship soldiers jumped on parachutes before being shot down. Except for a very small number of them landed in the Austrian occupied areas and were killed by the Austrian army to relieve anger, the others were rescued and escaped. The French army did not really lose. The result of the air combat greatly increased the morale of the French army, and the Austrian army was greatly affected. With the help of the Air Force, the French army once again launched a fierce attack on the Austrian River defense line. Under the attack on both sides of the French air and land, the Austrian River defense line became precarious, and it was only a matter of time before the French army broke through.

The most progress was the troops on the southern line of the French army. Although their number was only a little over 160,000, their combat effectiveness was the strongest among the three armies. On the 3rd and 24th, after a continuous fierce battle, the French Iberian 2nd Corps successfully broke through the Austrian defense line in the Krani area in the middle and upper reaches of the Sava River. Subsequently, under the strong attack of the French army, the opening was completely torn apart, causing the complete collapse of the Austrian defense line.

On March 26, all the French army crossed the Sava River and launched a fierce pursuit of the Austrian army. The Austrian army, whose defense line was broken, was no match for the French army at all. In the battle, they were basically defeated at once. The French army easily pushed the front line to the northern region of Slovenia and threatened the local Austrian area from the south. During the battle on the Sava River, the French army suffered a huge loss, almost losing more than 20,000 people, of which

Most of the people lost money when crossing the river. Of course, the Austrian army suffered greater losses than the French army. The 10th Austrian army, which defended the Krani area, was defeated on the entire line, with more than half of casualties and almost on the verge of collapse. The 6th Austrian army was surrounded in the Celere area. Although the breakthrough was successful, the army also lost more than 20,000 people. The 11th and 13th Austrian army suffered great losses, with casualties of about 30%.

"Your Majesty, this is the battle situation in the past two days." Eck handed over the battle report to Xiao Jie.

"Yes, the progress has been very big these days. All armies have achieved good results. It seems that the Austrian army's defense line will collapse on its entire line." Xiao Jie said happily.

"Yes, your Majesty. The Northern Army has begun to attack the local Austrian region. Now, the Austrian army has concentrated the remnants of the 2nd, 15th Corps and the 2nd, 3rd, 7th Corps in northern Austria, with a total force of about 170,000. Our Northern Army now has about 200,000 troops, and there is no advantage in terms of military strength. Moreover, a large part of it is the army of the vassal country. Therefore, our army and the Austrian army are basically the same in northern Austria. It may be difficult for the Northern Army to make a breakthrough again." Eck said with some concern.

"It seems we have to put our hope on the west and south roads." Xiao Jie also sighed. Since Russia was still eyeing it, France was unable to draw too many troops to be used in the war against Austria. Now, France and the 4th Army are all gathered in Poland, and the three Polish legions and one Prussian legions have all entered a state of combat readiness, but the French army is still under great pressure. Since the combat effectiveness of the 89th Army and the 1st French Legion has not yet recovered, and the newly recruited soldiers are under training, Xiao Jie has to send the 88th Army to Prussia to Prussia, preparing to enter Poland immediately for support as soon as the war with Russia begins. You must know that Russia has now gathered more than 600,000 troops on the border with Poland, and is still increasing, so Xiao Jie and the others have to act cautiously.

"The possibility of a breakthrough on the western route is not high. If our western route army breaks through the Austrian River defense line, the last remaining Austrian army, the Austrian Guards will definitely rush to support the last legion of the Austrian army. The Austrian Guards have a total of 100,000 people, which are drawn from the Austrian legions. Its combat effectiveness is very strong and comparable to the regular legions of our country. At that time, the Iberian 2nd Legion will not have an advantage. Therefore, our hope can only be placed on the southern army. To be precise, the southern army is the strongest one of the three armies this time. I believe they will definitely bring us surprises." Ek analyzed.

Xiao Jie nodded, and he also agreed with Ek's analysis: "Generate electricity to General Mike, explain to him the predicament we are facing now, and ask him to break through the Austrian defense line in northern Slovenia as soon as possible. Whether we can fight quickly at a very small price in the war against Austria depends on theirs."
Chapter completed!