Chapter 692: Let's Just Start Phase Two Directly
After giving instructions regarding the Optical Signal Tower, Chappe exited, while Joseph and Berthier turned to the topic of war preparations.
"As you may have heard, at the Stuttgart conference, the British have openly and undisguisedly accused our nation.
"Following this trend, war could break out at any moment."
Berthier nodded solemnly. "Yes, Your Royal Highness. The General Staff has reached a similar conclusion and has been diligently preparing."
"So, where does the General Staff believe the British will make their move?"
"First and foremost, there will be a full naval blockade," Berthier stated. "Our trade with America, the Far East, and even the Mediterranean coast will be severely affected.
"The situation will be even more dire than during the Seven Years' War. Moreover, it's highly probable that the Dutch fleet will fall under British command this time."
Of course, in an era without radar, a complete blockade was impossible. France also possessed the second-largest navy in Europe and could still conduct some trade by escorting its merchant ships on certain routes, but the overall volume would inevitably decrease significantly.
Joseph reassured the Chief of the General Staff. "I can assure you that, at least in the Mediterranean, the British will not be able to act with impunity."
"This will grant our army immense strategic flexibility..."
He quickly returned to his primary duty:
"The British army is utterly insufficient to challenge us on land, so they will undoubtedly rely on Prussia, Hanover, and Saxony to launch a joint offensive.
"Britain and Hanover can mobilize around 100,000 troops. Prussia's maximum mobilization is close to 200,000.
"Based on the current situation, Austria's stance is also highly concerning. They can deploy over 250,000 soldiers.
"The most probable invasion routes would be across the Rhine River from Koblenz, targeting our Verdun region; marching south from the Southern Netherlands towards Lille; and even a potential threat from the Italy direction..."
Berthier outlined the General Staff's strategic assessment and then moved on to the state of war preparations:
"Your Royal Highness, the Royal Infantry Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Divisions, as well as the Royal Skirmisher Twelfth Regiment, Royal Dragoon Sixth and Eleventh Regiments, and the Royal Cavalry Third Regiment, have all been fully established.
"The reorganization of the Royal Guard Legion is also nearing completion.
"Currently, the General Staff commands a new army totaling 71,000 personnel. This number is expected to increase by approximately 3,000 more by the end of the year."
In accordance with Joseph's directives, the new French army had undergone a complete reorganization into the division-regiment-battalion model since the beginning of the year—consistent with Emperor Napoleon's era.
This structure had been repeatedly proven by history to be the most suitable for this period and could be directly adopted.
In fact, within five years, all European nations would undertake similar reorganizations.
The Chief of the General Staff continued:
"As for the older army, it maintains a size of around 90,000. However, standardized training has largely been completed, and Percussion Cap Muskets have been widely adopted. Some of the more elite regiments have even been equipped with Bulletproof Inserts."
The old army had significantly shrunk from its size of 120,000 soldiers two years prior. This reduction primarily stemmed from auditing vacant positions and absorbing excellent soldiers into the new army.
The "standardized training" set by the General Staff for the old army was only slightly more rigorous than before, still far from the intensity of the Guards Corps' training.
After all, these were soldiers under the command of traditional military aristocrats, and it was impossible for them to keep pace with the new army's training tempo—their physical conditioning alone wouldn't allow it. The noble lords couldn't provide them with quality food to maintain their health.
Even so, the French old army's training volume already surpassed that of any other in Europe; even the British redcoats couldn't compare.
Yet, within France, they occupied the lowest rung of the soldier's social hierarchy...
As Berthier was speaking, Perna suddenly appeared outside the door, her face etched with anxiety.
Seeing the Chief of the General Staff present, she could only pace back and forth, not daring to interrupt their important discussion.
After a while, Joseph finally noticed her presence and quickly signaled Berthier to pause, looking towards the doorway:
"Is something the matter?"
The female doctor hurried in, speaking urgently:
"Your Royal Highness, Camelia's condition seems to have worsened..."
Caribbean Sea.
Republic of Santo Domingo.
In the former parliament building in Port-au-Prince, the new commander of the British Expeditionary Force, Marquis Cunningham, sat grim-faced on a table—all the chairs had been removed—and waved his hand at a staff officer who was reading a news draft:
"That's enough. No one cares about this anyway."
He had taken over command of the Caribbean operations from Bland a month and a half ago but had yet to fight a single meaningful battle.
His expeditionary force hadn't even passed Bermuda when Ogé, the President of Santo Domingo, announced that he and all the legislators were leaving the capital, Port-au-Prince, and moving into Mount Duarte to continue governing.
Indeed, this new government, only a few months old, had splendidly chosen to go into voluntary exile.
Joseph had long anticipated the situation in Santo Domingo at this time—Britain remained the most powerful nation in the world, and if it was determined to deal with the black government in the Caribbean, the latter would be utterly defenseless.
He recalled that historically, most similar new regimes would, with a burst of passionate zeal, directly confront invaders, only to be utterly defeated and forced into exile.
Paradoxically, once these governments went into exile, they often became an empire's nightmare, trapping the latter in a prolonged war of attrition.
The reason was simple: the imperial army couldn't find a tangible target to fight and couldn't withdraw. Even if the soldiers simply sunbathed every day, the military expenditure would flow away like a raging flood.
Moreover, the local population wouldn't fail to cause trouble.
Thus, the strategy Joseph devised for Santo Domingo was to skip the direct confrontation stage and move straight into "exile."
In the few months since the Republic of Santo Domingo was founded, all black people on the island had gained freedom, and plantation owners had received compensation—funded by the 300,000 Pounds Sterling provided by the Duke of Leeds.
Afterward, Ogé ordered Port-au-Prince to be completely emptied. Large quantities of food and ammunition were dispersed and stored in Mount Duarte, enough to last one or two years.
Mount Duarte was a large mountain range in central Santo Domingo, occupying nearly one-third of the island's area, offering ample space for maneuvering and evasion.
Ogé's final presidential decree before leaving Port-au-Prince was to call on all citizens to resist the British invaders.
As a result, Marquis Cunningham sat idly in Port-au-Prince for almost 50 days, his only tasks being to listen to reports of army casualties from attacks and to appeal in newspapers for prominent figures from Santo Domingo to come to the capital and re-elect a parliament.
However, the white residents here were French and completely ignored the British officer's overtures, while the black residents, eyes blazing with fury, only wished to kill British soldiers.
Comments