Holy Roman Empire - Chapter 48

Chapter 48: Chapter 48: Lure the Enemy Deeper

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

In the Lombardy Region, the situation was extremely disadvantageous for Austria. The Austro-Italian War was definitely not as simple as recorded in history books, with bourgeoisie and nobility rebellions within, and enemy forces pressing from without.

The reinforcements sent by the Vienna Government were at that time suppressing the rebellion in the Venice Area, and only one Austrian Division had reached the front lines. Marshal Radetzky could now mobilize a total force of less than thirty thousand men.

This number was double that of the same period in history; otherwise, he would have already retreated from the Milan Area just as ingloriously as in history.

After closely examining the map on the table and considering the current international situation, Marshal Radetzky made an astonishing decision at the military conference.

“Order the troops to prepare, we will abandon Milan City on April 1st!”

“What? Marshal, are you sure you’re not joking?” questioned Colonel Victor incredulously.

“Colonel Victor, I am very certain of what I am doing!” said Marshal Radetzky, his expression unchanging.

“But Marshal, we haven’t reached the point where retreat is necessary. Once the rebellion in the Venice Area is suppressed, our reinforcements will arrive, and blocking the Kingdom of Sardinia won’t be a problem at all!” Colonel Victor argued.

This was not only Victor’s doubt; many officers present found it hard to accept. Why retreat when we can win?

“It’s simple. Although we can block the advance of the Kingdom of Sardinia, with domestic troubles and outside aggression, we do not have the ability to defeat the enemy.

The rebels in the Lombardy Region have already colluded with the Kingdom of Sardinia. If we maintain a stalemate, the rebellion will continue indefinitely.

This also involves political and economic levels. In short, the Vienna

Government has authorized me to handle the Italian issue in full authority. You just need to follow orders!” Marshal Radetzky explained coldly.

Giving up Lombardy, the pressure he would have to bear was definitely not small; it might even lead to a series of chain reactions. Normally, no general would be willing to take on such responsibility.

The fact that Marshal Radetzky dared to do so was not unrelated to the orders received from the Vienna Government. As long as final victory was achieved, they did not care about the loss of one city or one region.

In his view, this was because the Vienna Government’s senior officials had also recognized the crisis in the Italian war zone. If the problem could not be resolved quickly, then the Papal State, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, and Kingdom of Naples would all pounce.

Marshal Radetzky would have enough forces to deal with the Kingdom of Sardinia and the rebels alone. Once the other Italian States joined the war, it would be dangerous.

Rather than that, it would be better to give up the Lombardy Region first. If the Kingdom of Sardinia occupied these areas alone, the other three Italian States would not join the war.

After all, they declared war reluctantly, influenced by public opinion. The main forces of the few states had not yet been deployed; the forces that had arrived were volunteer soldiers organized by civilians.

If the Kingdom of Sardinia occupied the areas, and the civilians accepted the transfer, even if it was out of envy or spite, they would no longer send troops to help Sardinia fight.

Without external threats, internal strife would erupt. The internal conflicts within the Italian States were not small. Politicians simply needed to divert the people’s hatred towards Austria.

But this situation could not continue indefinitely. Everything can be deceived, except for one’s stomach—people need to eat.

The economic crisis was still ongoing, and the unemployment population in the Italian Area was not small. Without solving this problem, conflicts would still erupt.

Apart from the Italians, the attitudes of England and France were also a problem.

France hoped that Lombardy and Venice could establish independent nations, driving out Austria; however, they did not wish to see a unified Italy.

The British, on the other hand, hoped to see a unified Italy that could balance both France and Austria, but they did not want to see Austria collapse.

While weakening Austria, they needed to preserve Austria’s strength to block the Russians’ path of expansion.

Under such circumstances, once the Kingdom of Sardinia occupied Lombardy, a merger between the two was inevitable, and the French stance would immediately shift from supportive to hostile.

The British support for the Kingdom of Sardinia would remain merely verbal; they would prefer the Kingdom of Sardinia to quit while ahead, a pity since the Kingdom, shackled by public opinion, could only fight on.

After shortening their battle lines, Marshal Radetzky had more troops at his disposal, whereas the Sardinian battle lines had been stretched.

Lombardy, newly occupied, could not provide supplies, and they mainly had to rely on transportation from within the country, which was definitely a pressure for the Kingdom of Sardinia.

While fighting Austria, they also had to teed the people of Lombardy; otherwise, if bellies were empty, they would rebel all the same.

Without substantial support from England and France, and with three fewer states participating in the war, the outcome of the conflict was already destined—Sardinia’s national strength was limited and simply couldn’t compare with Austria.

Marshal Radetzky was confident that with the forces at his disposal, he could defeat the Sardinian army and then recover the Lombardy Region; even burning the war into Sardinia’s homeland was not a problem.

Strategically speaking, this was not a retreat but luring the enemy deeper.

Of course, the private letter from Franz, urging him to eliminate all the rebels in the Austrian Italian Area as much as possible, was also a reason for his determination.

“Rebels” was not a simple term; Marshal Radetzky understood that here it referred to the capitalists and nobility of the Italian Area. Without these people’s exploitation of the populace, where would rebellion stem from?

If Lombardy joined the Kingdom of Sardinia, most of the nobility and capitalists would likely lean towards the Kingdom of Sardinia. After the war ended and accounts were settled, these people could all become part of the rebels.

Using their family wealth to win over public sentiment, Austrian Italy would soon stabilize—after all, the people of Lombardy were Germans who had entered Italy. Without the obstruction of the upper class, the integration of nationalities would be much easier.

There were advantages, of course, but Marshal Radetzky did not need to consider too much; he had seen the benefits, which could permanently solve the Italian problem.

For the ultimate victory, both Lombardy and Venice could be temporarily abandoned, as long as they were recovered in the end, he would still be a hero of Austria.

In the tranquil conference room, a voice suddenly broke the silence. A middle-aged officer stood up and said, “Marshal, perhaps we can still do something to prevent Sardinia from occupying Lombardy so easily!” “Edmund, what plan do you have?” Marshal Radetzky asked with concern.

“Marshal, since the people of Lombardy welcome the Italians so warmly, why not help spread the word, to give them an even better impression of the

Kingdom of Sardinia!” General Edmund Leopold Friedel said with a cold laugh.