Holy Roman Empire - Chapter 155:

Chapter 155: Chapter 42, The Grand Reserve Strategy

Translator: 549690339

On October 23, 1850, the German Federal Parliament convened in Frankfurt. The Austrian Empire proposed a joint cabinet for all the member states, which quickly gained everyone’s support at the assembly.

The only effect of the support from the smaller states was probably to add to Austria’s prestige; in reality, the ultimate decision-making power was still in the hands of the larger states.

Prussia and the Kingdom of Bavaria naturally opposed it outright. Everyone forming a cabinet together, with each state sending a representative—such a bad idea, they would be surprised if agreed to it.

As the leader among the German Confederation, once this cabinet was established, the Prime Minister would naturally be the Austrian representative—there was no doubt about that.

Just thinking about it made one realize that with a cabinet of more than thirty people, there would be no shortage of disputes when issues arose, and naturally, the Prime Minister would make the final decision.

Under such a system, the voices of Bavaria and Prussia would naturally be suppressed to the lowest point, hardly different from the other smaller states.

In the short term, they still had influence over other member states, but over time, the smaller states would no longer acknowledge them. After all, under the Federation’s system, everyone had the same rights—what could they do, bite me?

After rallying the smaller states, the Austrian Empire could naturally start taking steps toward unity, such as unifying the federal currency, the federal army, federal finances

There’s no need to rush; slowly boil the frog in warm water. A hundred and eighty years later, the German Federation would truly be unified.

All of this was idealistic; the reality was that after Prussia and Bavaria opposed it, England and France also came out against it.

To sum it up in one sentence: the Germany Region could not be unified, not even nominally.

The British even proposed dissolving the German Federal Parliament, suggesting that the Kingdom of Bavaria and the small German states merge into a new country, and naturally Austria and Prussia can get lost.

The Kingdom of Bavaria supported this proposal, and neither the French-Russian had any objections. However, it was met with fierce opposition by the Prussian and Austrian representatives.

Just now enemies, under a proposal by John Bull, Prussia and Austria instantly united. Once again proving that between nations there are only eternal interests, no eternal enemies.

Seeing the session swept by the British, and with their goal achieved, the Austrian representatives naturally would not propose an election for the Emperor, to avoid provoking the Prussians.

The British achieved their goal too; the seeds of division had been successfully sown. With contradictions now apparent among the three countries of Austria, Prussia, and Bavaria, the support of the great powers was undoubtedly stimulating Bavarian ambition, just waiting to take root and sprout.

If the strength of the Kingdom of Bavaria could be increased by two or three times, with the support of the great powers, it might indeed be possible to divide Germany into three parts.

After all, a triangle is the most stable shape. As long as they join forces against the strong, with the intervention of other European countries, whether it is Prussia or Austria, they will miss the opportunity to unify Germany.

Unfortunately, although Maximilian I harbored ambitions, both the strength of Bavaria and the ruler’s political savvy were lacking considerably.

Given the Kingdom of Bavaria’s lack of strength, to contend with Austria and Prussia they must rally the other smaller states.

Theoretically speaking, when all the small states in the Germany Region are combined, they have a population of nearly seventeen million, and their cumulative strength is not much different from the Kingdom of Prussia.

This time, Bavaria ran to join forces with the Kingdom of Prussia and proposed the establishment of a “Three Countries Cabinet,” undoubtedly harming the interests of these smaller states.

Under such circumstances, Bavaria’s leadership status among the small states was shaken. For the sake of elusive gains, it lost its foundation, and Franz involuntarily downgraded the threat level of Bavaria by two notches.

Vienna Schoenbrunn Palace

The Army Department suggested to the Austrian Government the expansion of the reserves. Currently, the Austrian Empire, besides having over three hundred thousand active duty troops, also had more than five hundred thousand reservists.

Theoretically, in the event of a war outbreak, the Austrian Government could mobilize another five hundred thousand troops within a month.

In practice, 1848 had already proved that the Austrian Government’s mobilization system was not up to par; mobilizing over two hundred thousand troops had taken the same amount of time.

Of course, this was also related to the Austrian Government’s inefficiency at the time, and now this speed should improve substantially.

Mobilizing reservists is not just about gathering people; they also need to undergo training to recover their combat capability. Weapon and equipment provisioning, ammunition and material reserves were also essential parts.

Prince Windischgrätz analyzed, “To ensure the national defense safety of the Austrian Empire, the current mobilization system no longer meets our needs.

Since the February Revolution in Paris, the French have freed themselves from the constraints of the Vienna System, and over the past two years, their military strength has been rapidly recovering.

Once the internal struggle in the French Government is resolved, will they initiate a new round of external expansion? And where would the expansion aim?

Nobody knows this question, and we must be fully prepared to welcome the impending challenges.

Our neighbor, the Kingdom of Prussia, has not been quiet these years either. Have their military expenditures ever been below forty percent?

Such high military spending cannot be without purpose. In recent decades, the Kingdom of Prussia has expanded its territory several times and now they want to unify the Germany Region.

Whether it is a delusion or not, we must dispel their intentions.

And there are our allies in the Russian Empire. I know it is immoral to doubt allies here, but the Russians’ strength is indeed too powerful.

Suppose one day we have a conflict of interests, wouldn’t the Austrian Empire be incapable of even a single battle?

To ensure the national defense safety of the Austrian Empire in the upcoming international changes, we must improve our military strength.

Considering the financial capacity, continuing to expand the number of active-duty forces is too difficult; we believe that while reorganizing the mobilization system, increasing the number of reservists to two million is a reasonable figure.”

With the “French threat theory,” “Prussian threat theory,” and “Russian threat theory” thrown out one after the other, it was clear that Prince Windischgrätz had done his homework.

Finance Minister Karl said with a chuckle, “The Army Department wants to increase the reservists by two million, and I fully support it, as long as it doesn’t increase military spending.”

“How is it possible not to increase military spending? Even if reserve forces are much cheaper than active-duty troops, they still need to undertake basic military training every year, don’t they?”

“Like most countries, the reserves of the Austrian Empire are composed of former servicemen. Increasing this number is easy, either by extending the term of service for reservists or by shortening the active duty period for soldiers.”

“Theoretically, there is no difficulty in increasing the number of reservists to two million, except for the need for money.”

“Right now, if the Finance God doesn’t provide the money, isn’t this plan bullshit? The funding gap is not a mere few million that can be pieced together by the Army Department; it’s in the tens of millions.”

Prince Windischgrätz said helplessly, “Mr. Carl, don’t joke. Two million reservists need regular training every year. If your Finance Department doesn’t provide the funds, do you expect me to go begging?”

Without a doubt, the military’s proposal to expand the number of reservists at this time is primarily aimed at competing for the next year’s budget.”

With a large influx of foreign capital, Austria in 1850 had begun to show signs of prosperity, with factories springing up. Even though many businesses were tax-exempt, they still brought a considerable amount of tax revenue to the government.”

This is not a contradiction, as partial corporate tax exemption does not mean that their upstream raw material suppliers and downstream sales channels are also exempt from taxes.

Although the concept of an industrial chain had not yet taken deep root in people’s hearts, it had indeed appeared. The benefits a factory creates are certainly not limited to the factory itself.”

Besides driving the direct upstream and downstream industrial chains, it also promoted the development of supporting industries such as catering, clothing, and non-staple food in the vicinity.”

No matter whether the capitalists’ investments are rational or not, the fact that they have spurred rapid economic growth in Austria is indisputable.”

Rapid economic growth means rapid growth in fiscal revenue; only when the government has money can everyone start fighting for the budget. The Army Department’s appetite just bit off more than they could chew.”

Finance Minister Carl remained unmoved, “Expanding the reserves to two million can’t be done overnight, can it?

Based on the current situation, even if we increase two hundred thousand reservists each year, considering the number of those who age out, it would still take ten years to complete the task.”

“The budget for your ‘large reserve strategy’ can actually have a zero chopped off from the end. If you squeeze a little, a few million shields should be within your reach.”

Indeed, none was easy to deal with. No matter how Prince Windischgrätz tried to hide it, this weakness was still exposed.

Prince Windischgrätz explained, “That’s not the way to talk about it. The international situation is complex. Once the Russians make a move and disrupt the status quo, we must act and increase our military strength as much as possible, which is the most effective way to ensure the security of the Austrian Empire.”

“There are many ways to expand the number of reservists, not necessarily waiting for soldiers to retire and then convert. We can completely organize the able-bodied youth to undergo some basic military training.

In the event of a war, it would only take one or two months for them to become qualified soldiers, which is much faster than recruiting and training new soldiers from scratch.”

Carl thought for a moment and replied, “This method is good, but the cost is too high. Even if the Russians take action, the war won’t end quickly, and the Ottoman Empire isn’t made of paper.

Based on past experience, it will take at least two to three years to finish. If it drags on, ten or even eight years is not impossible.

By that time, once the international situation changes, the government’s focus will shift towards the military, and you can expand however you like.”

Franz had encountered such situations many times, with almost every annual budget discussion turning into a battle of wits, and Carl always proved to be a formidable opponent.

“Alright, we have time to discuss the financial issues with the annual budget, please discuss this slowly. Let’s first discuss the feasibility of the Army Department’s reserve plan.”

Prime Minister Felix replied,”Your Majesty, building a large base of reservists is indeed very important for our national defense security.

Especially in our upcoming strategy, being able to mobilize a large army in the shortest time will minimize the risks.”

Franz knew everyone was ready to adopt the human wave tactics of the Russians. It was the era of line infantry, and having more men did indeed confer an advantage on the battlefield.

Population-wise, Austria was not far off from France, and except for the grotesque bear, Austria was not fazed by pitting numbers against anyone else on the European Continent.”

“Support!”

“Support!”

The consensus on this issue was quickly reached, and the timeless truth that strength comes in numbers was once again proven feasible through practice.

Franz asked solemnly, “Then my Army Minister, for such a vast army, how do you plan to ensure their combat effectiveness?”

Just because there were many soldiers, they should not be used as cannon fodder. Austria, unlike the bear, has to provide pensions for soldiers killed in action.”

Franz did not believe in discussing patriotism with the soldiers. It was more reliable to directly tell them that victory would bring them land, money, spoils of war, and titles those tangible rewards seemed more credible than high-faluting theories.

Prince Windischgrätz replied, “Your Majesty, the most important aspect of ensuring the army’s combat capability is the officer corps. Our Army Department plans to expand the number of officers, assigning two deputies to the officers in frontline units.

In times of war, this would allow us to rapidly expand the forces to one million, in order to gain the advantage at the onset of the conflict.”

Franz nodded. Considering the current international situation, as long as they succeeded in making a bold move at the start of the war, it would essentially be over.

The Kingdom of Prussia had limited national power and could only make one swift move. A failure meant they would have no capacity for another attempt in the short term; and if the French suffered a major defeat on the battlefield, the French public would finish off their own government.

As long as Austria was not foolish enough to attack French soil, any new French government would be caught up in ongoing internal strife, irrelevant by the time their infighting concluded.