The relaxation of material restrictions on France by European countries should have been a good thing, but Napoleon IV could not bring himself to feel any joy. There was no helping it. The shift in political positions across Europe also signified that the European world no longer believed France could win this war. In this era, the center of the world was Europe, and the opinions of the European world directly influenced the judgment of other nations. Recently, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs had been working hard overseas to win over allies and had made some progress. Especially after the British joined in, things had been going exceptionally well. If not for this bad news, Colombia, Chile, Argentina, Mexico, and Japan might all have joined the anti-Austrian alliance. Now, that was no longer possible. Politicians were not fools. They might follow the trend to make a profit, but to go against the tide and stand shoulder to shoulder with France in war was out of the question. A glance at the map was enough to see that Egypt played a vital role in this war. If it fell into Austrian hands, the anti-French alliance would become invincible. As France fell into a passive strategic position, no matter how many benefits the French government promised, the fence-sitters would not risk everything for them. Holding back his anger, Napoleon IV demanded, “How did the Egyptian region fall so quickly? We had just reinforced the area not long ago. With 23 infantry divisions plus the local Egyptian forces, the total strength reached 800,000. Are our troops nothing but useless eaters?” Rumors could not be made up without substance. For the Austrian government to boast about occupying Egypt, they clearly had the means to back it up. Just a week ago, the French forces lost their coastal access in the Egyptian region. Contact between the French troops in Egypt and the mainland was cut off. No one knew what was really happening at the front. From an outsider’s perspective, France had just reinforced the front lines and then immediately lost access to the sea. This clearly looked like Austria had laid a trap. And if it was a trap, they must have been confident of victory. In that case, Egypt’s rapid fall made sense. Outsiders could make such assumptions, but Napoleon IV could not tolerate it. Not only had Egypt been lost, but 300,000 regular troops had been sacrificed as well. It was a total disaster. Had they known it would turn out like this, they might as well have withdrawn the troops from French Egypt and fought the anti-French coalition on the European continent. At least that would have given them a better chance of success. Faced with the emperor on the verge of erupting in anger, the equally baffled Minister of War, Luscinia, explained helplessly, “Your Majesty, no one knows exactly what has happened in Egypt. Perhaps this is just false information spread by the Austrians. Besides, with the reinforcements we sent, the number of regular troops in Egypt exceeds 500,000. Governor Jacob is also an experienced commander. Even if they cannot defeat the enemy, they shouldn’t have been completely wiped out so quickly. Before the port fell, our last communication with Egypt had Governor Jacob assuring us that he could hold out for at least six months.” Of course, holding out for six months came with certain conditions. War depends on logistics. With sufficient supplies, 500,000 French regulars plus 300,000 auxiliary forces could certainly put up a good fight. However, plans cannot keep up with change. The ports heavily guarded by French forces fell first, turning the French Egyptian troops into an isolated army. According to naval intelligence, they were attacked simultaneously by Austrian naval and air forces, suffered heavy losses, and were forced to retreat. After that, there was no further news. This was the tragedy of losing air superiority. The Mediterranean is not that large. From Libya, the Austrian Air Force could monitor every move of the French Navy, while the French had no way to track Austrian naval deployments. In this era without wireless telegraphs, even if spies managed to gather intelligence, there was no way to send it back in time. With such information disparity, the French Navy had to operate cautiously in all its actions. The main fleet dared not split up for fear of being ambushed by the Austrian Navy. Only a detached squadron was stationed in Egypt, and its size was very limited. Caught off guard by a joint Austrian air and naval strike, they simply couldn’t withstand the assault. The fact that they weren’t completely wiped out already proved the French naval commanders were reliable. As for securing the ports, that was asking too much. Without the firepower support of the navy and facing a combined assault from Austrian land, sea, and air forces, the fall of the French ports in Egypt became inevitable. Upon hearing this explanation, Napoleon IV’s expression eased slightly and said, “So you’re saying the Austrians are spreading rumors. But what do they gain from that? Just to scare those fence-sitters? In essence, we all understand that pulling allies into attacking Austria’s overseas colonies is merely a way to escape political isolation. It won’t truly affect the outcome of the war. For Austria, if they win this war, even if they lose all their overseas colonies, they will get them all back after the war. Now that they’ve spread this rumor, they’ve indeed managed to protect their overseas possessions, but at the same time, they’ve also pushed themselves into opposition with the rest of Europe. Especially Britain and Russia, who definitely don’t want to see Austria grow any stronger.” Spreading such a rumor does more harm than good for Austria. That was Napoleon IV’s conclusion based on the current international situation, and also the reason why the international community was willing to believe the rumor. Foreign Minister Émile Flourens said, “Your Majesty, perhaps the Austrians are already planning for the post-war international landscape. After all, if our strategy succeeds, Austria will gain a long list of enemies overseas. Involving so many countries, if they all come knocking for revenge, it would cost Austria dearly. But not retaliating is also not an option, as it concerns national dignity. If that’s the case, then we must be cautious. The enemy may only be doing this because they’re confident in winning the war. Our embassy in Russia has reported that Austria and Russia have been engaging frequently in recent times. We all know that Austria has strong ties with the Russian Empire and wields significant influence there. Those Eastern European brutes tend to be simple-minded and often act without thinking. If Austria manages to win over the Russians, the coming war will be much harder for us.” The hierarchy of contempt had always existed. Historically, Western Europe had been developed while Eastern Europe lagged behind. Naturally, the Russians of far Eastern Europe had long been looked down upon. Without a doubt, Émile Flourens was heavily influenced by this view and held a long-standing prejudice against the Russian government. Whether it’s about strategy or national interest, none of it matters if the people involved are fools. By logic, neighboring powers like Austria and Russia should be fierce rivals, as there can’t be two tigers on one mountain. But in reality, the opposite was true. The closeness of Austro-Russian relations defied everyone’s expectations. So much so that international relations experts across Europe were misled. Some even boldly proposed that as long as politicians remained restrained, all conflicts could be resolved through political means. Frankly speaking, that idea was not entirely without merit. If the British had not been meddling, this world’s European continent might very well have settled disputes politically. Keep in mind, just twenty years ago, France and Austria were allies. Their conflict only escalated after Britain joined the alliance. Having no faith in the Russian government and fearing the worst-case scenario, the French government had no choice but to opt for a swift victory. They ordered the frontlines to launch a full assault, pushing the continental war to another climax. … London Ever since news from French-controlled Egypt arrived, Prime Minister Gladstone had been suffering from insomnia. A unified Austria was truly terrifying. The existence of this colossus had become a serious threat to Britain’s strategic security. From this day forward, Britain’s maritime hegemony had lost its restraining power against Austria. If the two nations were ever to fall out, Britain would be forced to confront Austria on land. There was no other option. With the Suez Canal in Austrian hands, the Cape of Good Hope had become the only vital hub linking Britain to India, and therefore a critical military stronghold. Losing it would also mean losing India. As for rerouting, it was theoretically feasible but practically unworkable. Rerouting sounded simple, but taking a path thousands of miles longer would not only increase travel time, risk, and cost, it would also weaken British control over India. If the Russians launched another southern push, the British government would not be able to guarantee the timely delivery of reinforcements and strategic supplies. In the meeting room, Prime Minister Gladstone’s face was dark with worry as he said solemnly, “Gentlemen, the worst-case scenario we feared has finally happened. With French-controlled Egypt fallen, all of our methods of restraining Austria have become useless. Now, not only must we figure out how to help the French, we must also consider how to secure the Cape of Good Hope.” Call it crisis awareness or paranoia. Theoretically, if Russia and Austria struck a deal, Austria could very well make a move on the Cape. Everyone present could already imagine the terms of such a deal. Russian troops would enter mainland Europe to help fight the French, in exchange for Austria seizing the Cape of Good Hope, cutting off Britain’s link to India. One would gain dominance over Europe and Africa, the other would take British India. If they joined forces to divide the world, both Russia and Austria would profit immensely. Foreign Secretary George said, “The Foreign Office has already begun to act. We will find ways to undermine closer ties between Russia and Austria. But that alone is far from enough. Unless the French can seriously weaken Austria in the European war, even the Cape of Good Hope will no longer be safe. The outcome of the battlefield is uncertain, but purely judging from the balance of power on paper, I don’t believe the French have a chance of winning the war. Even if we give our full support, France still lacks the strength to inflict major damage on Austria. We must remember that the Austrian Empire today is not only the world’s leading industrial power but also a behemoth with thirty million square kilometers of territory and over a hundred million people. If we also consider the other countries in the anti-French coalition, then even if we and the French join forces, it would be difficult to gain the upper hand. In this situation, either we personally enter the war, or we force the French to fight desperately and use them to wear down Austria’s strength. The advantage of this strategy is clear. Once France and Austria are both weakened, neither of them will be able to dominate continental Europe, regardless of who wins.” This is an easy choice to make. Britain just had a showdown with Russia and lost two hundred thousand local troops on the Afghan front. We have no strength left to fight a friendly match with Austria. Since they don’t want to fight themselves, they’ll have to let their allies do it. France is still a great power. If it exerts its full strength, it will be enough to give Austria a painful blow. Once Austria suffers significant damage, that will be the moment when Russia and Austria go their separate ways. After all, there can only be one continental hegemon. Giving up is only a forced choice when they can’t win. If a new opportunity arises, no one will willingly let it go. Colonial Secretary Primrose agreed, “The lord’s proposal is very good. I fully support it. But before that, we need to reinforce the Cape of Good Hope to deny Austria any opportunity. It would be best to send the troops withdrawn from the Afghan front to garrison the Cape of Good Hope and crush any ambition Austria may have.”
*** https://postimg.cc/gallery/PwXsBkC (Maps of the current territories of the countries in this novel made by ScH) Support the translation and read more chapters at https://ko-fi.com/dragonlegion
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