Holy Roman Empire - Chapter 89:

Chapter 89: Chapter 89, Hope

Translator: 549690339

Flooding in Budapest, if in later times, wouldn’t be considered a big deal. At least Franz had seen the news of floods submerging Budapest several times.

However, if someone were to build a dam upstream of the Danube River and use the floodwater to attack Budapest, the consequences would be severe. Not only would Budapest be doomed, but so would the farmlands and cities downstream.

If all the local Hungarian populace were supporters of the Revolutionary Party, then the Austrian army would have already done so without hesitation.

But now the supporters of the Habsburg dynasty obviously outnumbered those of the Hungarian Republican Government. If the floods were to submerge the city, it would be like killing 800 enemies at the cost of suffering 1,000 casualties ourselves.

Franz’s thoughts were unknown to Kossuth, who, upon hearing the possible news of the city being flooded, realized that Budapest could no longer be held.

Putting himself in the shoes of the Vienna Government, he knew that despite the dire consequences and heavy cost, he would still choose to extinguish the Hungarian Republic. This is the perspective of politicians.

“No, General Henrik-Dembinski. Politicians have far less integrity than you imagine. What atrocity would the corrupt Austrian Government not commit?

Hundreds of thousands of Hungarians being displaced means hardly anything in the eyes of the Austrians!” Kossuth said solemnly.

In his mind, the lives and properties of hundreds of thousands of Hungarians were chips that could be sacrificed. If victory could be achieved in the end, even a sacrifice several times greater would be acceptable.

This was evident in the Republican Government’s suppression of the workers’ and peasants’ movements. Since the establishment of the 1848 Hungarian Republic, more people had been killed in the suppression than in the previous ten years of the Kingdom of Hungary.

This was almost a commonality of bourgeois governments of the era. They shouted for freedom and the liberation of productive forces while at the same time turning their knives on the working people.

“Mr. Kossuth, if the enemy intends to flood Budapest, all our efforts will be in vain against the overwhelming floodwater. The power of an individual is insignificant in the face of such disaster.

I suggest that you prepare an escape route immediately and try to preserve the seed of the revolution as much as possible to continue this sacred cause.” Henrik-Dembinski said, his brow furrowed.

This was also the experience of the Polish, no matter the setbacks, the spark of revolution was never extinguished. Of course, those who were tragically deceived by the Soviet Union were just unlucky to have met such a ruthless enemy.

“Let us not take the initiative to attack,” Petofi couldn’t help but propose, “and fight our way out concentering our forces to avoid involving the civilians in the city and having them suffer the ravages of war!”

As a hot-blooded youth, he couldn’t bear to make the entire city’s civilians accompany them in death, but sadly, these issues were not for him to decide.

Kossuth shook his head and stated, “An active assault would be utterly futile. Right now, the enemy is hoping for us to deliver ourselves to their doorstep.

Even if the enemy plans to flood Budapest, they would only do so after an attack fails. The Vienna Government would not resolve to make that decision immediately, which is our opportunity.

The war in Venice has reached a critical moment. The Austrians are still locked in fierce battle with the Italian countries. As long as our allies win this war, then the situation will change.

The rotten Austrian Government lacks the courage to continue fighting. When that time comes and the enemy is troubled both internally and externally, we can ask the French to mediate, and the revolutionary cause will have succeeded! ”

Clearly, long accustomed to failure, Kossuth no longer believed that Hungarians could achieve national independence alone. Instead, he pinned his hopes on international intervention.

Henrik-Dembinski warned, “Mr. Kossuth, from a military standpoint, I must remind you that the chances of the Italian countries winning this war are slim.

Out of the four Italian countries, only the Kingdom of Sardinia is dedicating efforts to the bloody battle against Austria. Even if they luckily capture Venice, they won’t have the strength to support Hungary.”

The allies in the Italian Area are unreliable, and the French are even more unreliable. They themselves are in the midst of a revolution, so how could they think about intervening in the Hungarian revolution?

“No, we still have allies. The mortal enemy of the Habsburg dynasty, the Ottoman Empire, has just completed a system reform. We can ask them to intervene in this war!” Kossuth said fiercely.

He had already made up his mind. If necessary, he was willing to cede Transylvania to the Ottoman Empire. As long as Hungary could gain independence, paying a part of the price was acceptable.

Since 1792, the Ottoman Empire had been reforming, starting with military reforms, to technological introductions, economic reforms, and finally, political reformations.

In the view of this era, the Ottoman Empire was still progressive. They had been reforming their system by emulating that of European countries, although they had not yet achieved the goal of a wealthy and powerful nation.

“No, the Ottoman Empire and Hungary have a century-old blood feud, and collaborating with them is akin to inviting wolves into the house!” Petofi quickly opposed.

Flipping through the history books of Hungary, nearly half its content was filled with battles against the Ottoman Empire. Both sides had been fighting for hundreds of years. Now, cooperating with the Ottoman Empire was entirely like seeking skin from a tiger.

Furthermore, the hatred accumulated among the people could not be controlled by the leaders alone. The religious beliefs were an insurmountable hurdle; should Hungarian soldiers be asked to fight alongside the Ottoman

Army, it’s likely that infighting would break out before the battle even began.

Kossuth insisted, “For the greater revolutionary cause, there is nothing that cannot be sacrificed. Indeed, the Ottoman Empire is our enemy, but in the matter of opposing Austria, our stance is aligned.

As long as Hungary can achieve independence, other matters can be resolved in the future. By then, the British, the French, and indeed the whole of Europe will be our allies!”

Plans cannot keep up with unexpected changes. Just as Kossuth was preparing to ally with the Ottoman Empire, the situation on the Venice battlefield changed again.

The term “three-minute enthusiasm” aptly described the Italians. The continuous days of fighting had already sapped their will to fight.

The key battle at Trento on the battlefield was even more critical. Marshal Badoglio had ordered Trento to be taken within three days, yet after three days passed, and another three days, Trento remained under Austrian control.

Even with artillery having reached the front lines, it still proved ineffective. In this period, Marshal Badoglio even sent additional forces of a division’s size, yet no progress was made.

After the officers and soldiers exchanged thoughts on how to save themselves, the casualty rate of the Sardinian army dropped dramatically, with the daily number of casualties kept to three digits.

Normally, a decrease in casualties would be a good thing, but the problem was that this reduction was based on the soldier’s “active avoidance of battle, which was much less commendable..