Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 542: Brutal Strategy

As the British government chose to remain on the sidelines, war became inevitable. The decision by Britain and France did not come as a surprise to the Ottoman government. After all, they were facing Austria and Russia—without sufficient interests at stake, how could they expect Britain and France to fight for them?

According to the initial plan, Sultan Abdulaziz believed that the Prussians would keep the Russians occupied in the rear, leaving the Ottomans to only face Austria. With Britain and France intervening and the Ottomans offering to cede some interests, Austria would likely back down.

This belief was not unfounded. Ten years earlier, the Austrian government had approached the Ottoman government with a proposal to purchase sovereignty over the Arabian Peninsula. Three years ago, they made another offer to purchase sovereignty over the Palestinian region.

Naturally, no deal was reached. The Ottoman government feared that if Austria gained control of these areas, it would grow even more ambitious and continue to devour the Ottoman Empire.

The saying “Even if the deal falls through, friendship remains” doesn’t apply in politics. After the failure of these purchase attempts, the Austrian government did not give up. They continued to infiltrate these regions, pressuring the Ottoman government to make concessions.

Since Jerusalem was involved, the religiously sensitive Ottoman government could not afford to compromise, which led to the deterioration of relations between the two nations.

In the Ankara Palace, ever since receiving news of diplomatic failures, Sultan Abdulaziz had been growing increasingly furious. In the past two days alone, three maids had lost their lives, and many others had been punished.

“Why aren’t you speaking now? Didn’t you all confidently guarantee that the European powers didn’t want to see Austria continue expanding?”

Hearing the Sultan’s sarcastic remark, the officials all lowered their noble heads, adopting a posture of attentively listening to his reprimands.

This did nothing to quell Abdulaziz’s anger. In recent years, Ottoman reforms have not gone smoothly. Despite the heavy blows dealt to the conservative forces in earlier internal struggles, new conservative factions had emerged.

It wasn’t that Abdulaziz hadn’t tried to change this situation. He was simply powerless to do so. This was the burden left by his predecessor, who had failed to reform the system in time, allowing new vested interest groups to form.

In reality, his predecessor had also been forced into this situation. The Near East War had ended in defeat, with the Ottoman Empire losing the Balkans. The empire was deeply wounded, and internal rebellions had erupted, forcing the government to make compromises to stabilize the domestic situation.

Minister of War Köksal Toptan, steeling himself, stepped forward, “Your Majesty, given the situation, we must prepare for war!

The current situation is extremely dire. Unlike previous wars, the threat now comes not only from the land but also from the sea.

Any of our ports could become a landing point for the enemy. We have no way of accurately predicting where, and can only passively defend, placing immense pressure on our military.”

The Ottoman Empire had long begun preparations for war, but the efficiency of the Ottoman government’s bureaucracy was lacking, and even now, they were still not fully ready for the conflict.

Köksal Toptan had phrased it very tactfully. He was only one step away from outright saying that the war was unwinnable and that it was time to start preparing for the aftermath.

On land, the borders shared with their adversaries spanned regions like the Caucasus, Palestine, and the Arabian Peninsula, amounting to thousands of kilometers of frontlines.

At sea, the potential routes for enemy attacks were as long as the coastline itself, and the Ottoman navy simply lacked the strength to protect the empire.

Sultan Abdulaziz, suppressing his anger, said, “Mobilize all citizens for a holy war. Regardless of age or gender, everyone must fight the enemy. This is…”

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The news that the Ottoman Empire was preparing to fight to the death caught Franz’s attention. Once a religious state is fully mobilized, it can become quite fanatical.

Just to be safe, on February 16, 1874, Franz ordered a cessation of all commercial trade between the two nations, the withdrawal of the Austrian embassy and expatriates from the Ottoman Empire, and the expulsion of Ottoman citizens within the empire.

Evacuation was not mandatory. Those who wished to remain would not be forced to leave. With war on the verge of breaking out, relations between the two nations were already extremely tense. Franz had no time to convince anyone otherwise.

Frankly speaking, the more fiercely the Ottoman Empire resisted, the better it was for Austria. If they collapsed too quickly, the “performance” would be hard to maintain. Austrian troops couldn’t just pretend to be incompetent, could they?

However, pretending to be incompetent was actually simple. Franz could send an Italian army, and any outcome could be expected. In fact, Franz had a similar plan for this war—if they hit the Ottomans too hard, they could give the Italians a shot.

However, even that wasn’t guaranteed to work. According to the military, any army sent against the Ottoman Empire could sweep through them with ease.

Especially with religious motivation and the momentum of victory, even the Italians could fight effectively. After all, the Austro-Italian regions had been influenced by Germanic culture and trained in military tactics from a young age, so they shouldn’t be underestimated.

The higher-ups in the government were well aware that the purpose of this war was not to destroy the Ottoman Empire but to stage a grand show and set the stage for the European strategy.

Compared to undermining their European rivals, the declining Ottoman Empire was insignificant. Maintaining control and advancing methodically was the best course of action.

At the military meeting in the Vienna Palace.

Minister of War Albrecht said, “Your Majesty, considering our strategic needs, the Ministry of War suggests launching an offensive from the Middle East.

This war can be divided into two fronts: one attacking from the Arabian Peninsula, and the other from the Palestinian region.

We propose deploying four infantry divisions, four artillery regiments, and conscripting an additional 80,000 indigenous troops from Africa to steadily advance.

The Ottoman Empire’s control over the Arabian Peninsula is only nominal. The enemy cannot possibly deploy a large force there. One infantry division, one artillery regiment, and 20,000 native troops will be sufficient.

The rest of the forces should be concentrated in the Palestinian region. Jerusalem, with its significant religious importance, will be a key battleground that the Ottoman Empire will not give up easily. This will be the main theater of war.”

The plan seemed quite promising, requiring the deployment of only around 60,000 regular troops, keeping the cost of the war low without severely straining the finances.

The 80,000-strong “cannon fodder” units had already been swiftly disregarded by Franz. Such troops were cheap and posed no financial burden.

Their pay would come from looting, their benefits were limited to food and two sets of uniforms each. Their equipment could be outdated rifles or even traditional weapons like long knives and spears.

Foreign Minister Wessenberg questioned, “General Albrecht, with such military deployment, do you think the Russians will agree?”

The answer was obvious. The Russian government wasn’t foolish. Austria’s military strategy was clearly about grabbing territory, avoiding direct conflict with the Ottoman Empire’s main forces, and leaving most of the pressure on Russia.

Albrecht calmly explained, “This is quite simple. We have naval superiority, which allows us to land at any location.

At the onset of the war, there’s no need for direct confrontation. Our navy will escort and cover the Russian forces, allowing them to land tentatively at various ports, completely disrupting the Ottoman Empire’s military deployment.

The Anatolian Peninsula’s transportation infrastructure is poor, and once the Ottomans have deployed their troops, it will take them more than just a day or two to relocate.

We can fully exploit this by landing in areas where enemy forces are thinly spread, executing our landing plans.

After landing, we don’t even need to push forward. Once the enemy troops have been redeployed, we can once again use our naval superiority to change the point of attack.

In each area we attack, we’ll employ a scorched earth strategy: destroy every facility we can, drive local civilians inland, and cause endless trouble for the Ottoman government.

In less than a year, the coastal regions of the Ottoman Empire will be devastated. These regions are their empire’s last line of defense in terms of resources, and it’s estimated they’ll lose half their industry, over 60% of their economy, and create millions of war refugees.

By then, the Ottoman government will either have to compromise or collapse. There’s no third option. To accomplish this, 150,000 Russian troops will more than suffice.

Neither we nor the Russians will need to pay a high price. I believe the Russian government has no reason to refuse.”

Franz was taken aback by the ruthlessness of this strategy. It didn’t require a major battle to bring the Ottoman Empire to its knees.

Indeed, they would be dragged down. Handling millions of war refugees is no simple task. The Ottoman Empire was no agricultural powerhouse and it barely managed to feed itself. Where would the Ottoman government find enough food for so many people?

It’s important to remember that most of their agricultural land was along the coastal plains. If the coast was destroyed, so too would the empire’s agricultural production.

Of course, theoretically, the Ottoman Empire couldn’t be completely blockaded. They could still import grain from Persia.

After glancing at the map of the Middle East, Franz immediately realized that this was an impossible task. Without railways, relying on ox carts and horse-drawn wagons for transport meant that most of the grain transported from Persia to Ankara would be consumed along the way.

Even wealthy backers like Britain and France couldn’t sustain such a terrifying consumption rate. The Ottoman Empire would be lucky to survive for a year, and even that would require divine intervention.

Franz frowned, “In that case, the Ottoman Empire will be severely weakened. How are we supposed to continue the act afterward?”

This was the key issue. If the Ottoman Empire were thoroughly devastated, how could they convince Britain and France that Austria was too unstable at home to pursue continental domination in the short term?

Albrecht’s expression turned serious as he slowly uttered two words, “Hatred!”

“Only if the Russians behave so atrociously in the Ottoman Empire that the Ottomans want to eat their flesh and crush their bones can they persist.

It doesn’t necessarily have to be the current Ottoman government. Even a new government would do the same. The Ottoman Empire’s internal conflicts are severe, and if the situation worsens, the possibility of a revolution is high.

A new regime could emerge, reforming the country’s political system and appearing to strengthen the state on the surface. This outcome could easily lead Britain and France to make a misjudgment.”

Seeing that everyone had fallen into contemplation, Albrecht added, “War is no game. If we deliberately go easy on the Ottoman Empire, anyone could see that something was wrong.

This strategy isn’t difficult. The Russians can think of it just as easily. When they propose it, we’ll have no reasonable grounds to refuse.”

Franz nodded, indicating his agreement. Such a straightforward strategy would be obvious to anyone with some military knowledge, and it was only a matter of time before it came up.

With Austria having naval superiority, it would be embarrassing for Franz to ignore it and foolishly engage in a direct confrontation.

“Communicate with the Russians first and see if the Russian government has any differing opinions. If our plans align, then let’s proceed as proposed.”

Franz felt entirely confident in handing the task of sowing hatred to the Russians. They didn’t need to do much—just act naturally, and it would suffice.

Franz had completely overlooked the long-term consequences of the deep hatred that would arise. After all, both sides had centuries of accumulated enmity, so there was nothing to fear.

According to the established strategy, if things went as planned, even if the Ottoman Empire survived by some stroke of luck, it was destined to become a small, weakened state. Under Austria’s watchful eye, it would never have a chance to recover.