Chapter 735: Anti-French Coalition
Although Count Rheinfels had suspected it for some time, his heart still quickened when the British confirmed it directly.
He probed softly:
"Are you saying your country intends to declare war on France..."
Lord Grenville nodded.
"How confident are you of victory?"
"There is no possibility of defeat."
...
Vienna.
Schönbrunn Palace.
"How confident are you of victory?"
Count Rheinfels replied with great composure: "Your Majesty, Britain and its allies will all join the war."
Britain's allies included Prussia, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Hanover, which was in a personal union with Britain. These nations combined would undoubtedly form an extremely formidable force.
"The British fleet will immediately blockade all French ports. France's navy is only half the size of Britain's, which means France will instantly lose all its maritime trade."
Count Rheinfels explained the British strategy: "Given France's current debt situation, without maritime trade revenue, it would collapse within 10 months, even without war.
"At the same time, Britain and its allies will mobilize over 200,000 troops to launch a fierce offensive against France.
"The enormous military expenditure will further accelerate France's financial collapse.
"Therefore, regardless of how the war progresses, France will surrender within 10 months."
"Excellent!" Franz II could barely conceal the joy on his face. "By then, the French will no longer be able to stop us from withdrawing from the Rhine-Seine Treaty, nor from reclaiming dominion over the entire Southern Netherlands.
"The British have truly helped us immensely. Now we only need to await the end of the war, and all our problems will fall into place."
Count Rheinfels and Baron Thugut, standing nearby, exchanged glances for a moment, then cleared his throat and said: "Your Majesty, in fact, joining the war is our country's best option."
"Join the war? Why?"
This time, Baron Thugut interjected: "Your Majesty, if our country chooses to observe from the sidelines while Prussia participates in defeating France, then our influence in the German region will struggle to compete with Prussia's."
Franz II startled—'The unification of Germany was Austria's highest strategic goal; he absolutely could not allow the German states to lean towards Prussia.'
"Exactly," Count Rheinfels added, "If our country participates in the war, it will further accelerate France's collapse and allow us to gain significant war dividends."
Seeing the Emperor hesitate, Minister of Internal Affairs Cobentzel stepped forward, his voice brimming with passion:
"Your Majesty, if our army has the opportunity to control parts of French territory, it will completely alter the balance of power on the European continent."
Franz II felt a rush of blood to his head.
'Indeed, the House of Habsburg was once one of the two giants vying for European hegemony with France. But after the War of the Austrian Succession, its national strength was greatly diminished, and it no longer had the power to challenge France, instead turning to compete with Prussia for dominance in Germany.'
'If they could truly defeat France and march into Paris, then the Habsburgs would once again become the overlords of Europe!'
'What about the German region?'
'The House of Habsburg's gaze would encompass the entire European continent!'
He rose abruptly, but then a question occurred to him, and he hesitated:
"But given the Empire's financial situation, it might be difficult to support a large-scale military deployment."
Count Rheinfels immediately replied: "Your Majesty, the British have promised to provide our country with a low-interest loan of 400,000 pounds sterling if we join the war against France."
Franz II's mind was made up. He swept his gaze across the ministers before him, and waved his staff, declaring:
"Then, let us together seize this opportunity for the Empire to regain its glory!"
...
The day after Austria responded to Britain with its decision to join the war, the British envoy to France formally issued a diplomatic note, demanding that France ease sugar supply, drastically lower sugar prices, and abandon its "trade plunder" in the South German market. If France refused these conditions, it would face catastrophic consequences.
Prussia, Austria, the Netherlands, Portugal, and other nations subsequently expressed their support for Britain's stance.
Paris.
Versailles Palace.
During the cabinet meeting, all the ministers wore somber expressions.
While everyone had mentally prepared for war with Britain, they had not expected it to come so quickly, nor that the opposing side would gather so many allies.
After reading Britain's demands, Talleyrand looked at the Crown Prince and deliberated: "Your Highness, I believe we should immediately negotiate with Austria.
"If we make concessions on trade terms and offer some benefits, it might be possible to change their hostile attitude towards our country."
Queen Marie nodded slightly—her homeland's betrayal was the hardest for her to accept.
Joseph, however, offered no comment. He gestured for Talleyrand to be seated, then turned to the Duke of Broglie, the Minister of War:
"If war breaks out, how many enemy forces will we face? And how many troops can we mobilize for a counterattack?"
In truth, he and the General Staff Headquarters had repeatedly planned for the impending war, but it was still necessary for the ministers to have a comprehensive understanding of the situation.
The Duke of Broglie quickly replied: "Yes, Your Highness. In the worst-case scenario, Britain, Prussia, Austria, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Hanover will deploy troops simultaneously. Our country would then face over 300,000, perhaps even 400,000 enemy soldiers."
He was not exaggerating in the slightest. Prussia and Austria alone could mobilize at least 250,000 troops. Hanover and the Netherlands could easily muster 30,000 soldiers. Britain and Portugal might not deploy ground troops if the war progressed smoothly, but if fully committed, they could dispatch another 50,000 to 80,000 soldiers.
This wasn't even close to the full mobilization capacity of each nation.
The Minister of War continued: "Our army currently comprises 160,000 soldiers. Of these, 75,000 are legions directly under the General Staff, with the rest being traditional legions and a small number of Tunisian Legions."
The "legions directly under the General Staff" he referred to were the new armies trained by Joseph, no longer simply called the "Guards Corps," but re-organized.
Currently, there were 4 Royal Infantry Divisions, 7 Royal Skirmisher Regiments, 2 Royal Grenadier Regiments, 2 Royal Huntsman Battalions, 11 Royal Cavalry Regiments, 6 Royal Dragoon Regiments, 3 Engineer Regiments, and 2 Royal Horse Artillery Battalions and 2 Royal Foot Artillery Battalions.
Meanwhile, the older armies still numbered nearly 90,000 men.
However, the French military nobility were not fools. Witnessing the astonishing combat power of the Crown Prince's new army, they all began to emulate it.
Although they only learned some superficial aspects, they made significant progress in both training and operational strategies.
Some of the more exceptional older legions even started approaching the prowess of the new army.
These older armies, if deployed in other countries, would undoubtedly be considered elite forces.
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