Chapter 55 005 Franz II looks so familiar?
Chapter 55 005 Franz II looks so familiar?
Archduke of Austria, Holy Roman Emperor, this title is actually very hot, and has always made people feel uneasy since the Thirty Years' War.
Now sitting on this hot-butt throne is Francis II.
According to the Austrians' usual tricks, this time the Russian army sent so many people to Vienna and will continue to fight in Italy. Naturally, they want to use this force to regain the lost territory.
All parties have their own ulterior motives, except for the two Romanian tsars and sultans, whose situations are a little different.
After all, the French found an excuse to "clean up the house" for the Ottoman Sultan. Although this statement sounds reasonable, the Mamluks of Egypt are, after all, subjects of the Sultan of Constantinople, and you, as an outsider, cannot attack them just because you want to.
They still did not quite trust the "Frank barbarians". In the past, they had been on good terms with them only during the Valois and Bourbon dynasties, and it was not yet the turn of foreigners to help them "clean up the house". Now the Ottoman Sultan had declared war on France and had received support from European countries, especially the British, who were dispatching fleets to support the Pashas in Palestine and Syria.
As for Russia, ever since Tsar Paul became the Grand Master of the Order of Malta, this neurotic behavior has made it easy for people to criticize him behind his back, saying that he is stupid and has a lot of money. Even if he is not sick,
The Russian army has entered Austrian territory and needs to let the French know that they are not to be trifled with.
Marshal Suvorov's own carriage, now passing through Lingminsk-Brest-Krakow, has arrived at the outskirts of Vienna.
"Your Excellency Marshal, we have arrived in Vienna!"
"The journey was smooth this time! There is just one thing, Misha. We don't know how prepared the Austrians are yet. You have to watch carefully."
"Yes!"
In order to welcome Russian Marshal Suvorov, the Austrian monarch arranged a grand ceremony. The Russian combat troops camped outside the city and received a warm reception when they arrived in the Austrian capital.
"Your Excellency, Marshal, I am very glad that you can come to Vienna, the capital of our Austria. The 80,000 Austrian troops commanded by General Melas in Italy will all be under your command!"
Franz II also signaled to Suvorov that he only needed to nod and salute, taking into account his old age and only requiring common courtesy, and they also rode in the royal carriage into Schönbrunn Palace together.
During the reign of Queen Maria Theresa, although Austria always suffered defeat on the battlefield, it was able to rely on diplomacy and its relatively strong national strength to suppress Prussia together with its allies.
Now Prussia has finally stopped making trouble and temporarily sought neutrality in Europe, but France has caused such a big thing again. Franz II's aunt has her head at the bottom of the coffin, and the war has been going on since the Allied Forces organized the first anti-French alliance.
Speaking of which, Franz II was very different from his father Leopold II. What happened in France showed that although the children of the Austrian Queen were somewhat jealous of each other, they were still united by their blood ties. If he had lived longer, he would definitely have considered family ties more than the interests of the kingdom.
As for Francis II, it was only after his aunt and uncle were beheaded and his cousin had died of illness in prison that he replaced his cousin, the eldest princess of France. It is hard not to feel that he was being hypocritical.
Now, this monarch, whose ruling ability is really mediocre, still has to rely on the power of Russia and Britain, and his main goal is to retake northern Italy.
He used other people's tricks but only wanted to benefit himself. It is even a bit ironic that his repeated letters to Paul begging Suvorov to come out of retirement were the result of the repeated insistence of some ministers in his court and the British ambassador to Vienna. However, outsiders were unaware of this at the time and thought it was the opinion of the Austrian emperor himself.
He still had to make a full gesture. Now he welcomed Suvorov into Schönbrunn Palace and also played the role of host at the banquet.
However, Marshal Suvorov's diet was always different from others. When he arrived at the court of Schönbrunn Palace, he still ate as usual. As long as his loyal old servant added some bread and eels for him behind his back, he actually did not eat more.
"Your Majesty, I think what you mean is that we don't need to be so hasty in our offensive against the French. Our army has to reach the predetermined position before we can officially start the war. What we need to do now is to ask General Melas to hold the French back. We still have time."
"Your Excellency Marshal, I still believe in you."
"Thank you for your trust in me, Your Majesty, for commanding the combined forces of Russia and Austria. To start the attack, we must act quickly and ensure that supplies are kept up. At the same time, our infantry, cavalry, and artillery..."
Suvorov deliberately wanted to say more, also to ask Francis II not to interfere too much in the army's actions. Before, when fighting against General Bonaparte in Italy, the Austrian army's performance on the battlefield, from the soldiers to some generals who led individual columns, was not bad, but the final result was failure.
It was this Austrian emperor who micro-managed time and time again, and his veteran generals' command abilities were not very good either, which caused a lot of trouble for the French. But in the end, due to the dispersion of their forces and some mistakes, the French army seized the opportunity and were almost on the verge of reaching Vienna.
At the same time, the French Army of the Rhine Corps was said to be "strong in men and horses", but was defeated repeatedly by Archduke Charles. The failure on the Italian battlefield also forced Archduke Charles to choose to return. However, the war had not yet started, and the final result was the signing of a peace treaty, which caused Austria to suffer huge losses and almost lost the entire northern Italy.
The old marshal said this in advance with only one purpose: Your Majesty the Emperor of Austria, please don't get involved in what's happening on the battlefield.
But this was only temporary. The army on the battlefield was commanded by Suvorov, but Franz still had to take charge of the decision on the strategic direction. It would have been fine if he had always delegated power, but he always managed to come up with something new every time.
As for Solovyov, he had been behind Suvorov all the time, and he watched the performance of the Austrian court nobles at the banquet, which was full of farce effects, just like in St. Petersburg.
Moreover, this happens abroad, where it is easy to dodge an open attack but difficult to guard against a hidden arrow.
He just watched Suvorov and the Austrian Emperor talk, but looking at the Holy Roman Emperor, Solovyov still felt that he looked familiar. No matter how he looked at him, he looked like the old king in London who had waited for decades to be crowned king.
Speaking of which, these European royal families are more or less related, so it is not surprising that they look alike.
To be honest, this person may even be inferior to him.
The reception at Schönbrunn Palace was just that. After a brief exchange of greetings, Marshal Suvorov and his entourage stayed temporarily in Vienna, and then prepared to continue their advance. The Russian troops already here were also in high spirits. On the day Suvorov arrived, there was an urgent letter from Brest, stating that the "Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich's Guards Regiment" was about to set off. The Tsar finally decided to send the Izmailov Regiment to the battlefield, which also showed the determination of Russia and Austria to unite in this war.
With this statement, Solovyov could guess that in the court of St. Petersburg, Alexandra must have succeeded in escaping the marriage, and the engagement had failed, but the Tsar decided to send the second heir to the throne to lead a guards regiment and the Mariupol Lancer Regiment on the border across the border.
It was considered a kind of compensation for the failed marriage, and the news was soon passed on to the Austrian emperor.
"It is not a big deal that the marriage between Grand Duke Joseph and the Russian princess failed. My brother does not necessarily want a 'barbaric' Russian woman to be his wife."
"His Majesty."
"That doesn't matter. It doesn't matter which family a wife belongs to. There has never been a Russian princess in the court of Vienna. To be honest, I am worried that the Russians will interfere in various issues!"
Speaking of which, this is a bit unfair to Paul. This Tsar came to support out of "morality", which is different from the approach of Empress Catherine. Moreover, except for the reversal of Peter III, Russia and Austria have always been traditional allies on the European continent.
The Austrians were more worried because Paul was also a sycophant. Moreover, as for going to war with France, if France had not aggressively started wars everywhere and eventually stepped on the landmine in Russia's sphere of influence, there would not be 100,000 Russian troops here waiting to be deployed.
However, this is somewhat like judging a knight by one's own petty standards.
Paul wanted to use the Order of Malta as the spirit of the Knights Hospitaller to establish a set of moral codes for the nobles.
Marshal Suvorov attended the banquet today, wearing the medal of the Order of Malta and the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky, and also said that Paul came for "morality".
After he returned, he rested in the guest room provided by Franz II. He certainly couldn't get used to such a soft bed.
"Misha, our luggage cart is coming along, right?"
"Yes, Alexander Vasilyevich, Andrei has taken care of that."
"An old man like me can only lie on a camp bed. This thing is too soft and should be prepared for women."
By saying this, he was already firing a broadside at the lifestyle of courts throughout Europe.
Solovyov actually went to the luggage cart and took down the camp bed and blanket. The old marshal still had a few days of rest after entering Vienna.
The reason was that the Austrian emperor had to determine the final deployment of the army, and the local officials in Austria did not provide adequate material support after the winter, so that before setting out again, the nearly 3 Russian troops around Vienna needed to replenish a batch of food.
But this was not the case during the march. Suvorov always had requirements for the marching columns.
Anyway, soldiers can eat their fill at ordinary times, but during battles, they always have to endure hunger, march long distances, eat poor quality food, live in dilapidated huts, and even have to sleep on a tattered blanket on the ground.
If we follow the old marshal's own words, it would be: "The head cannot wait for the tail, and the soldiers cannot eat too much!"
As long as you enter the battlefield, speed is required for strategy, major tactics in battles, and the movements of columns and rows during battle.
In this regard, it is obvious that he and the French on the opposite side have something in common. When the French pass by, they are very good at robbing houses, taking food on the spot, and asking for "contributions" from the rich to "liberate" them.
The French approach sounds very familiar.
But for the Italians, there was no essential difference between the French Directory and the Austrian Emperor. They still had to send their people to collect taxes and grain. It was just a change of master.
On the contrary, the passing Russian troops, because they were guests invited by the Austrian emperor, seemed to come and go, and had little impact on the local people in Italy and Austria.
As for the Russian troops passing by, the Austrian gentlemen were the bad guys, but their impression of them was not bad. It was just that these "barbarians" were a bit disturbing when they stayed overnight.
After all, they lit a bonfire and danced there, making the usually quiet little town lively and attracting a lot of onlookers.
Contrary to the stereotype of Russians, although the Russian army was mainly composed of soldiers recruited from serfs, many of them were honest farmers in the countryside, unlike those cavalry officers who were always stirring up trouble.
In this regard, even the Cossacks are probably not as capable of causing trouble as these cavalry officers. In the order issued by Marshal Suvorov, Russian soldiers must maintain basic discipline when passing through Italian cities and villages. Supplies must be provided by Austria, looting is strictly prohibited, and money must be paid when requisitioning.
Now, it was a question of command of the coalition forces. Since Suvorov himself did not have an Austrian military rank, these Austrians might not obey orders. Of course, with General Melas's approach, he often commanded the battlefield according to his own needs, without considering who the commander was.
This practice was common in the Austrian and Prussian armies, and Seydlitz often did so when he led the Prussian cavalry reserve in the mountains.
In order to solve this problem, Francis II awarded Suvorov the rank of Austrian Army Marshal before the Russian army set out, which temporarily justified this small problem.
The subsequent wrangling and various arguments between the two sides, as well as the problems that occurred, are all things for the future. Looking at the present, it can be said that the morale of the Russian-Austrian coalition forces is still high. After staying out for a whole winter, relying solely on their own strength, they were once prepared to bluff and eventually come up with a peace agreement. The Austrian army, which did not dare to make any moves despite its superior troop strength, has finally received help.
The war in northern Italy finally arrived in March 1799 after a winter of waiting.
(End of this chapter)