Chapter 479: Deliberately participating in the war
On February 4, 1906, the last European power finally joined the war. After the London Secret Treaty, it was promised by the Allied Powers that after the war, Trentino, Tyrol, Trieste, and Isteria could be divided among them.
After acquiring the territory of the Austro-Hungarian Empire such as Latvia and Dalmatia, Italy announced its joining the Allied Powers and declared war on Germany and Austria at the same time.~
This news made the entire Entente group cheer. In the eyes of Britain, France and Russia, especially the already subjugated Belgium, the Serbians thought that it would not be long before they could enjoy the joy of victory. Italy entered the war, followed by China, and then the Ottomans.
The Empire, the Kingdom of Spain, and even the Kingdom of Sweden will definitely join the war. Even if the Germans can fight again, in the face of this terrifying war machine that is crushing them like a steamroller, I am afraid they will have no choice but to surrender.
British newspapers have even begun to study how to punish the Germans after the war. Optimistic London residents set off fireworks on the banks of the Thames to celebrate. Of course, the main reason is to celebrate that they no longer have to worry about German airships running over their heads and throwing bombs. Some excitement
The girls even held up the portraits of Emperor Yang and Edward VII and cheered to pay tribute to this great emperor.
However, the changes that happened next made them all dumbfounded. The anti-German voices that had been surging in Chinese newspapers and radio stations suddenly disappeared after Italy announced its participation in the war.
And disappeared without a trace, as if this had never happened. The cargo ship that was originally detained at the port continued to sail to Kuwait. The Persian Gulf Fleet that had already entered the Red Sea turned around and headed back before it reached the Suez Canal. Originally,
The American Task Force, which had been blocked outside Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in a landing posture, drove directly in and played football with the Germans. After enjoying the wildness of the little black girl, they drove back to Puerto Rico with satisfaction, even though they had already arrived.
A brigade in Peace Harbor also announced a holiday.
In fact, Yang Feng didn't want it to end so soon. After all, the first shipment of cultural relics from Britain and France had just been delivered at this time, and the second batch had not yet been loaded. Moreover, he was still thinking about deceiving the Netherlands into the war. But the problem was again.
If the hype continues, Germany and Austria can't stand it. Especially the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Emperor Joseph's army itself is in chaos. The Imperial Defense Force, the Hungarian Army, and the local defense forces are all just an alliance. There are still a large number of people who are thinking about it.
Independent, just like there was a legion of Czech volunteers on the Allied side of the French battlefield.
During this period, because of his hype, the Austro-Hungarian Empire began to panic among the frontline troops. Deserters appeared in large numbers, and some even mutinied. If Yang Feng continued to toss, the Austro-Hungarian Army might disperse on its own.
, so as soon as Italy entered the war, he quickly stopped tossing.
The strange changes in Chinese public opinion made European politicians instantly understand that they had been fooled by Yang Feng. Although they did not understand what the emperor, who was already feeling a little nervous, wanted to do. But they also knew that everything before was just a lie.
It was just a big show directed by him behind the scenes. After understanding this, the Italian Prime Minister or the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Litini, was so angry that he used so many vicious words to greet Yang Feng's ancestors. He really wanted to go to China and hug Yang Feng.
I asked from behind: Brother, what on earth are you playing at? You don’t play with people like this.
It can be said that the only one who has been cheated now is Italy, and judging from Yang Feng's reaction speed. This time his goal is Italy from the beginning, and all the performances are to create a feeling in Italy that China is about to join the Allies.
They created the illusion that the group was participating in the war, and then forced Italy to quickly join the war. This intention is so vicious!
But now there is no other choice but to curse the Prime Minister. Italy has declared war on Germany and Austria. This kind of thing must not be followed by the announcement of withdrawal from the war. Then Italy will become a joke. This will not only restore the glory of the Roman Empire
The Italians couldn't accept it no matter what, so they had no choice but to bite the bullet and fight. Fortunately, Litini was relatively confident about this.
At this time, Italy had a total of 870,000 troops. However, due to the economic downturn in recent years and the drag on the naval competition, the equipment level was not very good, especially in terms of heavy artillery. The Italian Army had very little equipment, and
Its performance is lagging behind, and there is a big gap between it and the top five currently on the battlefield. The only advantage is its large number. After all, Italy has a population of 30 million, which is only slightly less than France. And although it has the shame of Ethiopia, it still has to
Speaking of which, the impression of the Italian Army of the Garibaldi era in people's minds has not completely faded.
The navy's strength is just okay. Four Dante-class battleships have been built so far. Moreover, this battleship also uses triple turrets and four triple 305 main guns. The firepower is very fierce, but it is not as powerful as their main opponent, the Austro-Hungarian Combined Forces class.
In comparison, apart from being slightly faster, there are no other advantages.
Moreover, at this time, the combined strength of the Austro-Hungarian Navy has increased to six ships. More importantly, the main fleet of the Italian Navy is at the Taranto military port. If they want to come back, they also need to open the Strait of Otranto. Learning from the mistakes of the British and French fleets, the Italians
They were not prepared to fight the Austro-Hungarian fleet back to the Adriatic Sea.
Battleships are extremely valuable. There is no need for them to risk these treasures built with all the efforts of the whole country. How can the Austrian super torpedo be easy to deal with? Britain and France had several times their advantage and hated the Strait of Otranto. The Italians did not want to let themselves have only one
Four battleships were lost, and the French have set a good example on this point. Although in theory the Austro-Hungarian navy's control of the Adriatic Sea is a threat to Italy, this threat can be easily solved with mines.
A complete blockade of one's own eastern coast, supplemented by a large number of small torpedo boats, is enough to protect major ports such as Venice. As for a naval blockade, there is no need to consider it. Italy does not only have this side of the sea, and the battle fleet is hiding in the Taranto military port to preserve its strength.
Under the circumstances, just go out and cooperate with the British and French fleets to continue to block the Austrian navy inside.
Then they launched an all-out attack on land, using the powerful force of the army to break through the Austro-Hungarian army's defense line and capture all the major ports of Trieste, Pula, and Rijeka. The Austro-Hungarian navy without ports was not something they could easily control.
With this idea in mind, the Italian Army took quick action and launched an attack on the Austro-Hungarian Empire under the leadership of Commander-in-Chief General Cardona.
At this time, the Austro-Hungarian Army only had a Sixth Army on the Italian-Austrian border, which had just been expanded from the original border garrison. Half of them were newly mobilized recruits, but their equipment level was much better than that of the Italians.
But when the fight started, General Cardona, the commander-in-chief of the Italian army, discovered that his superiority in troops was of little use. The reason was very simple. Most of the Italian-Austrian border was blocked by the Alps. If you want to attack those narrow and rugged areas, you can say that one man can overcome the barrier.
, the inaccessible mountain pass and the perfect defense system built by the Austrians long ago are tantamount to suicide. Even the idiots who are determined to restore the glory of the Roman Empire understand this very well.
The only attack direction they can choose is to attack eastward along a narrow passage of only more than ten kilometers from the foot of the Alps to the seaside. But even this passage is only a few kilometers wide that can really allow them to pass, because the remaining
Part of it is a large swamp, and the entrance to this several kilometers wide part is blocked by the Isonzo River. The 100,000-strong Austro-Hungarian Sixth Army dug trenches and erected barbed wire on the east bank of the Isonzo River, waiting for them!
This is a battlefield that can be said to maximize the terrain advantage of the defending side. There is no place more suitable for defense than here. The Italians have no other choice but to take lives and fill the Isonzo River with their lives.
In this way, the bloody and ridiculous Battle of the Isonzo River began amidst the artillery fire of the Italian Second Army's attack. Under the cover of artillery fire, more than 200,000 troops took advantage of the fact that the Isonzo River was still in the dry season.
Carrying a Carcano rifle and carrying a heavy backpack, under the glory of the ancient Roman Empire, they bravely waded through the waist-deep river and launched a charge towards the east bank.
Then the sound of machine guns on the east bank rang out, and the Yidai rushed into the farmland like a dinosaur. The fragile corn stalks fell in piles, and the flowing blood instantly dyed the river red. A river of blood seemed to the Yidai
They rushed into the sea with frightened screams.
Behind them, the generals who were riding on majestic horses, wearing straight military uniforms and wearing snow-white gloves, were holding high their shining silver sabers, urging over and over again with their majestic and firm voices.
The soldiers beside him continued to fill the bloody river one after another. The living and the dead were entangled on the river, like a group of frogs being thrown into a soup pot.
Behind the dense barbed wire on the opposite side, the firepower points of the Austro-Hungarian army were constantly spraying flames. The dense machine gun and rifle bullets flew toward the river with a roar of death, like the sickle of death unscrupulously harvesting the lives of the idiots. Various colors in the sky
Artillery shells of various calibers fell one after another like meteors, and in the explosion of fire, countless broken limbs flew into the sky and turned into a rain of blood.
Especially those super-large-caliber mortar guns produced by Skoda. The mortar guns with a range of only two kilometers have a caliber of more than 200 millimeters, with the largest even reaching 260 millimeters. The fired bombs weigh one hundred kilograms, directly from
It was fired outward from the trench, and after dozens of kilograms of explosives exploded, not a single living person could be found within a few dozen meters of the surrounding area. The terrifying power stunned those who had not yet entered the water on the West Bank.
"Warriors of Italy, don't be afraid, never back down, use your bravery and your will to smash the enemy and open the door to Vienna!" General Capello, commander of the Second Army, rode on a white horse.
He waved his saber and shouted.
As soon as I finished shouting, I was dumbfounded. Facing this hell of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, the peace-loving Italian warriors gave up. Countless Italian soldiers were collapsing like a flood that burst its banks, and they were drowned in an instant.
The officers supervising the battle at the rear. (To be continued, please search Piaotian Literature, the novel is better and updated faster!