The prominent figures in Cairo were still making their final struggles, but the scattered French officers and soldiers outside were in a different situation. Knowing that the Egyptian front was beyond saving and their retreat path had been cut off, only a fool would fight to the death. The surrender terms promised by Austria served merely as a catalyst. What truly pushed everyone to make the decision was the dwindling supply of resources. Especially in some strongholds that had fallen into encirclement, food was already being rationed. If this dragged on any longer, they would collapse on their own even before the enemy launched an attack. Located on the eastern bank of the Nile, Aswan was just an inconspicuous small town. It only became known to the public because of a major uprising a few years ago. The rebels blew up the Aswan Dam, and the resulting floods submerged the downstream delta, attracting attention from European media and putting the town on the map. Lessons were learned. After the rebellion was quelled, the Egyptian colonial government stationed many troops in the Aswan area. The once inconspicuous town of Aswan suddenly became a strategic military point. When the continental war broke out, to avoid a repeat of the delta flooding disaster, the French once again reinforced Aswan, with total troop numbers exceeding 80,000 at one point. Relying on their formidable strength, the garrison in Aswan repeatedly crushed Austrian assaults. Unfortunately, this ultimately meant little. In a large-scale war, the gains or losses of a single city or position cannot change the tide. As time passed and nearby allied forces were gradually defeated by the enemy, the French troops in Aswan became increasingly isolated. ... In the French military command post in Aswan, high-ranking officers had gathered. Nearly all the senior French officers who could come had arrived. “The garrison at Kom Ombo surrendered five days ago. The enemy’s encirclement is now complete. The situation in other regions is also grim. Reinforcements will not come. What do we do now?” No one wanted to bear the political consequences of surrender. Lieutenant General Armand, commander of the French forces in Aswan, was no exception. To avoid facing a military tribunal after the war, the best approach in such circumstances was typically a collective decision so that everyone shared the responsibility. “General, the order from the high command is to hold Aswan at all costs, without any consideration for the actual situation. So far in this war, we have suffered over 30,000 casualties. Our total force has dropped from a peak of 80,000 to just 50,000. Even worse, our strategic reserves are running low. We are almost out of medicine, and our weapons and ammunition can only sustain one more battle at most. To reduce food consumption, we have even expelled civilians from the area. But it’s still not enough. Even with the most basic rations, we can only last a month. We simply do not have the conditions to defend Aswan to the death. Even if the enemy doesn’t launch an attack, we’ll starve to death before long.” Aswan had a small population. In modern times it only has about 200,000 people, and during the war, it had even fewer. When the war broke out, the size of the army stationed there exceeded the number of civilians. Like much of French-controlled cotton land, Aswan’s farmland was mostly used for growing cotton. That was fine during peacetime, but during war, it was a disaster. Even after the civilians were driven out, the garrison still couldn’t gather enough food. With shortages across all categories of strategic supplies, the quartermaster’s job became especially difficult. While other quartermasters were enjoying meat and wine, Major General Arthur, the quartermaster for the Aswan garrison, was nearly pulling his hair out in frustration. Their brief period of good fortune ended when the enemy cut off supply lines. Forget making any profit. Just feeding the soldiers had become a challenge. This didn’t mean Arthur was a selfless officer. He was a textbook example of a French quartermaster, never missing a chance to take his share. But now, he has stopped. Partly because he feared a mutiny. There was precedent. The French army had no tradition of starving quietly. If the food was bad, soldiers might grumble, but if there wasn’t enough to go around, they would revolt in no time. The other reason was that he knew he had to stay alive if he wanted to enjoy any of that stolen wealth later. By now, Major General Arthur had lost all confidence in the Aswan garrison. They were not going to win. The final outcome would either be annihilation or surrender. Arthur had no illusions about honor. He was just a quartermaster. He wouldn’t be held responsible for a defeat. Although the Austrian army promised to guarantee personal and property safety, once someone became a prisoner of war, a vast fortune would become a death sentence. In times of war, people dying was all too common, especially prisoners of war, whose deaths would go unquestioned. Major General Arthur was already quite wealthy, and whether he could protect his wealth was uncertain. If he gained any more, he would become a prime target, so naturally, he wouldn’t take the risk. Everyone present was intelligent enough to understand Major General Arthur’s true intention. The logistics couldn’t keep up, which provided a convenient excuse for surrender. Whether the logistics were really that strained, whether they were truly out of ammunition or about to run out of food, none of that really mattered. Everyone simply accepted it as fact. A middle-aged officer agreed, saying, “Major General Arthur is right. We no longer have the conditions to hold the Aswan region. Without reinforcements and logistical support, it is only a matter of time before Aswan falls. It’s said the enemy has a type of vehicle fully covered in steel plates that is incredibly powerful and nearly invincible in field battles. Our main forces were defeated by them. That loss in the last battle is what caused the collapse of our garrison. We still don’t have any way to counter these iron beasts, and in the short term, there is almost no hope of restoring our supply lines. Besides, our stockpile of strategic supplies in Egypt is limited. Even if we broke through the enemy’s blockade, headquarters wouldn’t be able to provide support. Since Aswan is bound to fall, there’s no need for pointless sacrifice. Over 200,000 people have already died for France in the defense of Egypt. There’s no reason to continue. The key to winning this war lies in Europe, not Aswan. Even if we lose here, as long as we win in Europe, everything we lose now will return to us in the future.” “Sir, you are shifting the argument. The Aswan region may not affect the outcome of the war directly, but the control of the Egyptian region certainly does. If the Aswan area falls, the enemy can blow up the dam and flood the downstream Nile Delta, destroying the social order in Egypt. When that happens, the displaced Egyptians will rise up in rebellion, delivering a fatal blow to our rule. This could lead to the entire Egyptian region falling into chaos. For the sake of France, we must hold the line. Even holding on for one more day will greatly help the domestic front.” No country lacks passionate young men, and France is no exception. When it came to the issue of a shortage of strategic supplies, Major General Antoine had no way to argue. But when surrender was mentioned directly, he couldn’t stay silent. Surrender is contagious. The French troops in the Aswan region were thinking of surrender because of the influence of their allied units. The first to surrender were the Italian divisions sent as reinforcements. The French government had originally dispatched them to cut off ties with Italian independence groups and reduce security risks. After all, relations between Italians and the Austrians were already strained, and due to deliberate French propaganda, many Italians harbored resentment toward Austria. However, none of that stopped their determination to surrender. After a brutal beating by the Austrian army, these units quickly gave in. In comparison, this wasn’t even the worst-case scenario. If these purely Italian divisions had stayed on the European mainland, the French government would not have dared to use them at all. Once they were entangled with independence organizations, the problem would no longer be surrender, it could escalate to outright mutiny. So far, three pure Italian divisions had already switched sides on the battlefield, nearly collapsing France’s hard-fought southern front. Fortunately, there weren’t many of these purely Italian units left. They were remnants from France’s annexation of the Italian states, and over the years the French government had steadily disbanded most of them. Taking advantage of the war, the French government had now directly seized military and administrative control over several Italian states. The former governments of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, Tuscany, and others had been reduced to puppet governments. If France were to win this war, these Italian states might completely become history, without even the chance to remain as puppet governments. While the internal trouble had been resolved, the French forces in Egypt had been thoroughly set up. Bearing the name of “main force,” they performed worse than even colonial troops. In earlier engagements, the French army collapsed so quickly not just because of the powerful armored units, but also thanks to these deadweight units. Although they are not good at fighting, they are the best at running away. If someone compiled statistics, they would see that in the previous battles, the Italian divisions not only collapsed the fastest but also had the lowest casualty rates. Even after being scattered across different garrisons, these troops didn’t stop being a burden. Not only did they surrender on their own, but often tried to persuade their comrades to surrender as well in hopes of getting a better deal. As for their hatred toward Austria, what mattered more, national independence or money? When someone voiced opposition, the faces around the room darkened. Everyone wanted to be a hero, but no one wanted to be a fool. And the cost of heroism was too steep. Sensing the shift in the room, Commander-in-Chief Lieutenant General Armand spoke earnestly, “Major General Antoine, please calm down. None of us want to see Egypt fall, but we truly can’t keep fighting. You may not want to believe it, but this is the reality. Even the telegraph lines we use to communicate with the outside were intentionally left open by the enemy. As of now, two-thirds of Egypt’s cities have fallen into enemy hands. More than 200,000 French troops have laid down their arms. The remaining cities still resisting, including Cairo, are barely hanging on. The enemy now has full control of the battlefield. They have no need to destroy the dam anymore, because Aswan’s strategic value is gone. If not for the Nile River, the enemy wouldn’t even need to occupy Aswan. France has already sacrificed too much for this war. Including losses at home, the number of dead may have already surpassed one million. That’s nearly two percent of our total population. Yet the end of the war is still nowhere in sight, and no one knows what the final toll will be. Since Aswan is already lost, as commanders, it is our duty to bring our young men home safely. We can’t sacrifice an entire generation out of pride.” Everything before might have been an excuse, but that final line reflected Lieutenant General Armand’s genuine feelings. Though the French Empire seemed to have 60 million people, the Italians were disloyal, and the real French population was just 37 million in the core regions. After war broke out, although Italians were also conscripted, the main recruitment still relied on Frenchmen. And the bulk of casualties were Frenchmen too. Only when people are dying do others realize how scarce they truly are. As the war dragged on, the French government clearly felt the strain of manpower, and the elites began to understand the importance of population. But it was too late. Population isn’t something that can be replenished in a day or two. Even if babies were made immediately, it would take twenty years for them to be of military age. Faced with the brutal reality, Major General Antoine fell into a fierce inner struggle. After a long pause, he said harshly, “If that’s the case, then let’s blow up the Aswan Dam before surrendering. Since we can’t hold Egypt, we might as well leave the enemy with a mess.” The moment he said it, Lieutenant General Armand quickly objected, “Absolutely not! We still have troops downstream. If we destroy the dam suddenly, our forces will suffer heavy losses. Every soldier is a hero of France. They can die on the battlefield, but never by the hands of their own comrades.” No doubt, that was just another excuse. The telegraph lines weren’t cut. The Aswan garrison still had ways to contact the outside. They could easily send a warning. But doing that would allow all the downstream units to surrender with good reason. All the blame for the lost cities would fall on them. As the top commander, Lieutenant General Armand would be the first to bear responsibility. He wouldn’t just face a court-martial, he’d be executed. And he wouldn’t be the only one. Everyone present would go down with him. Patriotism was one thing, but no one wanted to sacrifice their lives and reputations.
*** 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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Thanks for the chapter
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