Holy Roman Empire - Chapter 186

Chapter 186: Chapter 73: Change of Nationality

Translator: 549690339

On June 25, 1852, Austria once again sent troops to attack the Ottoman Empire. Within a month, they had fought hundreds of miles across the Serbia region and Bosnia and Herzegovina, liberating over a million people who had been enslaved by the Ottoman Empire and bringing the dawn of civilization to the Balkan Peninsula…

The above is an annual report from the Austrian Government

In truth, the Austrian army had merely taken over local defense duties after the withdrawal of the Ottoman forces, thereby maintaining social order.

The Serbia region was relatively easy to manage at this time. The serfs in the countryside were obedient, and although riots were born in the cities, they were still at the stage of street hooliganism.

Under the Iron Fist of Austria, these remnants of the Ottoman Empire vanished in an instant. The rest seemed like well-behaved children, of course, this also had much to do with the Ottomans taking away a large number of their young and strong during their withdrawal.

This wasn’t a kindness from the Ottomans, nor were they making a blunder. War required a lot of cannon fodder and civilian husbands. Leaving the young and strong behind would equate to aiding the enemy.

The Two principalities of the Danube Basin serve as an example—by now the Russian Army had conscripted at least 150,000 civilian husbands from the area, and these individuals could be converted into soldiers if necessary.

Without these sacrifices, the Russians would have had to transfer civilian husbands from within the country, and the Tsarist Government was no fool; naturally, they would make such a decision.

Withdrawing too many young adults from within the country could also affect production, whereas conscripting civilian husbands in the Two Principalities was of no consequence. This was Austria’s domain, and the Russians wouldn’t be heartbroken over any severe losses incurred here.

The Russians didn’t care, and neither did Franz. Without the atrocities of the Russian Army, how could Austria’s benevolence be highlighted?

At present, these Romanian people have yet to become part of Austrian citizenry; they aren’t Austrians, nor have they paid taxes to Austria, so naturally, the Austrian Government has no obligation to provide protection for them.

As for the economic losses incurred, that’s even less worth mentioning. These regions were barely developed, so it amounted to nothing more than a reduction in the yield of crops.

Thinking cynically, if these young adults suffered heavy losses on the battlefield, the difficulty of Austria’s future rule over the area would decrease a notch.

Joining Austrian citizenship is the only choice to avoid being conscripted by the Russians, who wouldn’t dare to draft Austrians.

Each has what they need—the Russians obtained a large number of civilian husbands, Austria issued quite a few citizenships, and gained a group of supporters. On this issue, Russia and Austria cooperated very happily.

Despite the small force Austria’s Government invested in the Serbian campaign, it did not mean that they did not value it. On the contrary, Franz placed great importance on this future source of turmoil.

To extinguish this source of European conflict at its root, the Austrian Government also enacted specific measures.

Military administration was essential, and purging the local Ottoman influence was indispensable. For better post-war management, Franz specifically instructed the delivery of a large amount of wheat flour and bean flour as relief supplies.

The geographic conditions of Belgrade were unparalleled in the Balkan Peninsula.

Situated at the confluence of the Sava River and Danube River, it was also the meeting point of the Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. Being the junction between Europe and the Near East region, it has always enjoyed the reputation of “Key of the Balkans.”

However, the current Commander of Belgrade, Isala Pasha, didn’t see this “Key of the Balkans” as such a favorable place.

Having been abandoned by the surrounding areas, he, the unlucky one, was left to defend this isolated city.

The idea of abandoning Belgrade and fleeing had emerged more than once in his mind, but Isala Pasha did not dare to act on it.

Abdulmejid I had given him a strict order to hold this gateway city of the Balkan Peninsula, to lay the foundation for the future counter-offensive of the Ottoman Empire.

Regarding the counter-offensive against Serbia, Isala Pasha was disdainful. If the Ottoman Empire had such strength, the war would not have reached this point.

The person who came up with this idea was clearly trying to trap him. As a political loser, Isala Pasha was mentally prepared; he had submitted his resignation at the beginning of his assignment in the Near East, only to be rejected.

Now he was faced with only two paths—either hold Belgrade or die on the battlefield. He didn’t dare to choose any other path; it was better for him to die than his entire family.

Unless the Ottoman Empire won the war, he could then try to pull some strings, bribe more generously, and possibly solve the problem.

In Isala Pasha’s view, such a chance was nearly zero. If the war couldn’t be won, a scapegoat was needed, and being a political loser, he fit the bill perfectly.

“Send someone to scout and find out what the enemy is up to; why haven’t they launched an attack after so long?” Isala Pasha ordered.

Three days ago, the Austrian army had surrounded Belgrade, but aside from the routine daily shelling, there had been no further action.

This abnormal tactic naturally made Isala Pasha vigilant. No matter how careful and cautious he was, the enemy simply wouldn’t attack. All of his preparations had been in vain.

Isala Pasha was anxious, and General Feslav outside the city was even more so. Leading a bunch of reservists onto the battlefield was one thing—they were, after all, facing an even more pathetic enemy.

But the headquarters ordered him to keep the casualty number below a thousand, which put him in a difficult situation. The withdrawal of the Ottoman army had caused virtually no casualties since they directly took over the local area. Now, attacking Belgrade could not possibly come without a cost, could it?

The politically astute General Feslav understood that the government was not enthusiastic about the war. Even the command to attack Belgrade was only four words—”Act according to circumstances.”

The higher-ups acted this way, clearly for political reasons. The Russian-Austrian Alliance was no longer a secret, and there was much speculation about the content of the pact.

Feslav surmised that domestically, Austria didn’t want the Russians to conquer Istanbul, yet was bound by the alliance to support Russian combat. Under these circumstances, it made sense for Austria to play a minimal role.

Yet for military men like him, it was a tragedy. Without war, there could be no military exploits. This kind of merit, gained without firing a shot and simply taking over territory, could only be seen as hard labor, not enough for promotion or aristocratic advancement.

Feslav asked, “The map of Belgrade’s topography is here; the enemy is not foolish and has taken quite a tight defense.

Who has a plan that can capture this city without incurring significant casualties?”

A young officer, eager to prove himself, said, “Commander, I don’t have any clever plans, but I do have a couple of clumsy ones. Shall we give them a try?”

Feslav revealed a delighted smile and replied, “Vassim, as long as it can take Belgrade with fewer casualties, that is a good plan!”

“Yes, Commander!”

“Belgrade is located at the confluence of the Tisza River and a tributary of the Danube River. If we build a dam upstream to store water, we could use a flood to take the city.”

However, considering Belgrade is on the Pannonian Plain, it’s hard to estimate the extent of damage a flood might cause to the city.

“The second method is to drive the civilians into the city. Many of the defenders in Belgrade are locals. We could send the soldiers’ families and those who lean towards the Ottoman Empire straight to the gates of the City of Belgrade.”

“If the defenders let them into the city, these people will accelerate their consumption of food supplies; if they refuse entry, then we can drive these people with sticks to attack the city, depleting the enemy’s ammunition,” Vassim said.

Everyone gasped at the thought. While the methods sounded effective, they were admittedly rather ruthless.

Using a flood to attack the city would affect a wide area with uncontrollable losses; driving civilians into the city and then silencing them after the battle is, in effect, murdering witnesses—once these people perished, the impact could be minimized.

After much hesitation, Feslav slowly said, “Ask for assistance from within the country, let the government send over hydraulics experts, we’re going to flood Belgrade.

“As for driving civilians to attack, let’s not. We’ve already had a large amount of disaster relief grain shipped from the homeland. If we end up making people suffer, who would the grain be for?”

Feslav had the nerve to flood the city, but he could not bring himself to drive civilians to their deaths. The domestic relief grain was just an excuse.

Now that the fighting-aged population of the Serbia region had been taken away by the Ottomans, it was impossible to find cannon fodder to storm the city.

Using the remaining weak and sick, who lacked the value to be armed for combat, was essentially sending them to their deaths with sticks. As Vassim had suggested, it would only serve to waste the enemy’s ammunition.

Heaven knows how many lives it would take to exhaust the enemy’s supply of bullets. If it were done, after the war, the Serbia region would be filled with deserted villages and towns.

After taking Belgrade, a large killing would be necessary to silence the witnesses. It wouldn’t be easy to finish without staining the Danube red with the blood of many.

Inside Belgrade, there certainly would be no survivors, and none of the coerced conscripts would live. Feslav was not a butcher and couldn’t commit such an act.

Vassim’s suggestion was quite normal for that era. The Americans were slaughtering Indians, the British were on a killing spree in Australia and New Zealand, and the Qing Government in the Far East was competing in a killing contest with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

In this war, the main players, Mao Xiong and the Ottomans, didn’t blink an eye at killing, and claiming unearned military honours was one of the main sources of their military achievements.

Their armies often left behind deserted villages as they passed through. How well the Ottoman Empire managed its vast population growth was in no small part due to the notable contributions of the Ottoman Army.

In an era where “all crows under the heavens are equally black,” the reorganized Austrian army was a clear stream, renowned in the Near East wars for their discipline.

Every coin has two sides. Feslav did not resort to using civilians in the attack, and with the Austrian Government sending a large amount of disaster relief grain, the Serbia region soon stabilized.

Despite the shortage of young and strong people, the Austrian Government adopted a work-relief policy, recruiting the local elderly, weak, and sick to repair roads and restore transportation.

Those who performed well during construction earned the right to apply for Austrian citizenship. With Austrian nationality, one became eligible for official positions.

At this time when the Ottomans had fled, the original ruling class was finished, and the social order was being reshuffled. There was also a great need for local officials.

The opportunists thus scrambled to apply for Austrian citizenship, as it presented the best opportunity for changing one’s social standing.

It’s not only about the present; even before this, those with Austrian nationality were more respected here, and Ottoman officials were similarly cautious to avoid causing diplomatic altercations.

People are inclined to follow the crowd, seeing others join, they naturally followed suit.

At some point, rumors started spreading that by becoming Austrian nationals, even the serfs could obtain free citizen status, resulting in a frenzy.

From Bosnia and Herzegovina to Serbia, and then to the Two Principalities of the Danube Basin, many people competed to become Austrian nationals, with the majority being serfs.

However, by then, the criteria for citizenship had tightened. To be Austrian, one must first learn German.

That didn’t deter them, because upon applying, the Austrian Government would send language teachers over. Once they mastered daily language use, they could become part of Austria.

Local officials replicated Austria’s land redemption policy, disregarding the landowner’s opinions and forcefully purchasing the land.

Even if people objected, it was pointless. Their land rights were granted by the Ottoman Empire and not recognized by Austria. Lands without their owners present were considered ownerless.

As for whether the actions of the Austrian Government were legal, that wasn’t something people dwelled on. After all, Austrians now had the final say in these parts.

Self-interest is always the best weapon. Austria may not have obtained sovereignty over these lands, but it had already turned the local population into Austrians.

If Austria could rule for two or three years, and the mainstream population became Austrian nationals, subsequent developments would become interesting.

One day, if the Sultan Government reclaimed these lands through negotiation and sent officials to take over, only to find, much to their surprise, that their own land was full of foreigners, one wonders what they would think.