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Chapter 441: Stubborn and Conservative

"Your Royal Highness, what do your generals suggest for this plan?" Leopold II asked hesitantly.

Although he wasn't particularly skilled in military matters, he had at least attended military academy for two years. The battle plan the French Crown Prince had just described sounded overly radical to him.

Joseph smiled faintly. "My opinion is their opinion."

"Alright, I understand." Leopold II took a sip of his wine, then nodded. "I will seriously consider your plan and advise Marshal Lacy to cooperate with you as much as possible."

"We are destined for victory." Joseph raised his glass in a gesture. "To the Franco-Austrian alliance."

"To the Franco-Austrian alliance."

As Joseph and the Holy Roman Crown Prince discussed the Silesian campaign, a pair of eyes in a corner of the ballroom maliciously glared at Camelia, who stood behind him.

"You filthy whore!" the owner of the eyes hissed through gritted teeth. "I'll make you and your French master pay for this!"

This was Baron Walter, Leopold II's wife's cousin. After the previous slander incident, his enraged brother-in-law had confined him for over a month, and he had only recently regained his freedom. He had also been forced to pay 150,000 Florins because of the incident, which was almost his entire fortune.

He could tolerate most of it, but the memory of how he had boasted to his cronies that the girl couldn't escape his grasp, only to be severely mocked by them afterward, filled him with incandescent rage whenever he recalled it.

After a round of silent curses and insults, he slumped back, deflated. All of Austria was counting on the French to help them achieve a breakthrough in Silesia. At a time like this, not only he, but even his brother-in-law, had to treat that young man with utmost courtesy.

He hadn't known Camelia would be there and had lost all interest in the ball. Seizing an opportunity, he slipped out of the hall.

...

Silesia.

The southwestern border of Liegnitz.

Marshal Lacy, the overall commander of the Austrian forces, casually handed the letter just arrived from Vienna to an officer beside him, his face grim.

"The French have no idea what war is. And the Crown Prince actually expects me to cooperate with them!"

General Wurmser took the letter in surprise, quickly scanned it, and a look of disdain instantly crossed his face.

"They're absolutely mad, wanting to concentrate all their artillery at Vrchlabí?"

Naundorf, standing nearby, took the letter and immediately furrowed his brow.

"Moving all the artillery to the west will leave our army defenseless along an extremely long front line. Before we can even launch an attack, the Prussians will break through our positions and even enter Hradec Králové!"

Vrchlabí was the western flank of the Prussian-Austrian front line. Hradec Králové was an Austrian province bordering Silesia.

Indeed, according to Joseph's operational plan for Silesia, the first step was to end the artillery standoff between the Prussian and Austrian armies.

Both Prussia and Austria had deployed over 200 cannons each along the extensive front line. In such circumstances, even the bravest army, no matter how resolved to endure heavy casualties, would find it incredibly difficult to breach the enemy's defenses.

This was perfectly acceptable for Prussia, which aimed to defend Silesia. But for Austria, the attacking force, finding themselves in such a stalemate was a colossal failure.

Therefore, after consulting with Berthier, he decided to gather the Austrian army's cannons, which were dispersed along a front line tens of kilometers long, and concentrate their firepower to blast open the Prussian defenses.

Once a breach was "carved" into the Prussian lines, the Guards Corps could leverage its advantage of outflanking and interpenetration, penetrate deep behind Liegnitz, and draw the Prussian forces to intercept them.

At that point, the main Austrian force could choose sections where the enemy's main forces had been drawn away, concentrate their troops, launch a surprise attack, and seize those artillery positions.

As for Naundorf's concern that 'the Prussians would attack first,' not only would there be a delay in intelligence gathering on the Prussian side, but even if they did launch an offensive, it would actually be a good thing for Austria.

If the Prussian army abandoned their artillery defenses, the Franco-Austrian coalition forces would have an opportunity to strike their vital forces. They could even employ the tactic of "besiege a point to strike at reinforcements" to draw out even more Prussian troops.

Joseph was quite confident in the Guards Corps' ability to engage in close combat; as long as the numerical disparity wasn't too great, the Guards Corps could swiftly crush any Prussian unit.

Of course, from the Austrian military's perspective, this battle plan was far too risky. After all, old-school officers like Lacy still thought in terms of the Seven Years' War; they hadn't thoroughly studied the campaigns in North Africa or the Southern Netherlands from the past two years, so they were bound to conclude that consolidating the front line was impossible. Moreover, he was naturally skilled in defensive warfare, and the current stalemate was precisely what he preferred.

Three days later.

Inside the headquarters of the Austrian Silesian Front Army, Joseph looked helplessly at the General Staff officers.

"So, does anyone have any suggestions now?"

In the Franco-Austrian military conference that had just concluded, Marshal Lacy had completely rejected Joseph's proposed battle plan, and his stance was exceptionally firm.

Lefebvre shook his head. "The Austrians actually intend to gather 100,000 troops to storm Karpacz."

"Unless the Prussians are so oblivious that they'd ignore the movement of tens of thousands of men, such an attack will only result in unnecessary casualties."

Someone suggested, "Or we could have Vienna put pressure on Lacy?"

Berthier sighed. "That would probably be difficult to achieve. Marshal Lacy holds very high prestige within the Austrian military. Unless His Majesty Joseph II gives a direct order in person, it would be hard for anyone else to command him."

Everyone fell silent. Joseph II's current condition meant he was only lucid for an hour or two each day and was completely unable to speak.

'You just mentioned prestige?' Joseph suddenly remembered something and looked at Berthier. "I recall a general with immense prestige in the Austrian army."

"Are you referring to General Leo?"

"Precisely."

Joseph nodded, pondering.

'We have to break this stalemate. And General Leo is the only Austrian officer who won't be swayed by Marshal Lacy.'

It was no joke; General Leo was the heroic figure who had turned the tide, recaptured the Southern Netherlands, led his troops into Brussels, and driven Van der Noot into the Netherlands.

Of course, this was all the result of Joseph's deliberate "star-making," but the Austrians, unaware of the inside story, had already hailed him as the "Spear of the Southern Netherlands."

"But, Your Royal Highness, Leo's command capabilities..." As an "old comrade-in-arms" who had cooperated with Leo many times, Lefebvre knew his true capabilities all too well. "Honestly, I doubt he could handle any significant responsibility."

Joseph nodded, then looked at the map on the table. "However, even a general who can't defeat the enemy sometimes has his merits.

'As long as he remains Austria's "Spear of the Southern Netherlands," I believe he can stir up the stalemate in Silesia.'