Chapter 268: "Patriot" Beef-and-Potato Canned Food
On September 2, Europe's press was in turmoil because on that day, France's Napoleon III surrendered. News of his capitulation sent shock waves across Europe. After the Battle of Sedan, Napoleon III ordered a halt to all fighting.
In the Battle of Sedan, the French suffered 17,000 casualties and 21,000 captured. The Prussians reported 2,300 dead, 5,000 wounded, and about 700 captured or missing.
Newspapers everywhere scrambled to cover the result. A few hours later, Vienna's papers followed suit with grand headlines about France's defeat. But Austro-Hungarian citizens were more interested in their own army's progress, anxiously awaiting the outcome of the war in Italy.
At that moment, Archduke Albrecht—commanding the Imperial Army—was marching right through Italy's second defensive line on his way to Venice. Italy's second line of defense was even less sturdy than the one along the Isonzo River. Though the Isonzo position was flawed by lower ground on the Italian side, offering Austro-Hungarian artillery a vantage point, it was a proper border defense line that Italy had built after annexing Venice. By contrast, the second line had been thrown together at the last minute, lacking any natural cover.
Facing the onslaught of the Austro-Hungarian forces, the second line soon collapsed. To preserve what remained of their strength, Italian commanders pulled their men back into Venice itself, where they joined up with other Italian troops inside the city and hoped to resist using Venice's fortified buildings.
…
"Tell me," Victor Emmanuel II fumed, "how could a whole Austro-Hungarian army appear in Rome? What on earth is our intelligence service doing? Over ten thousand men, right under your noses, and you didn't even notice? If that force had turned up in Florence instead, they'd have captured the lot of us at once!"
The day before, the king had received news of the failed assault on Rome. He was dumbfounded—there was no way the Papal States alone could resist Italy's might. The good news? The Papal Army really was weak. The bad news? The force that defeated Italy turned out to be Austro-Hungarian. And to make matters worse, that Austro-Hungarian expeditionary force was now reorganizing to head toward Florence. Meanwhile, Papal troops, under General Karl's guidance, were attacking Italy's coastal units on the eastern seaboard.
For those Papal forces, it wasn't such a tall order. The Austro-Hungarian Navy would cooperate in their operation, and over 30,000 Austro-Hungarian troops had set sail from Trieste toward Italy's eastern shores.
After restraining some of his fury, Victor Emmanuel II asked, "Is it still possible to redeploy some of our front-line troops back to defend Florence in time?"
"That'll be very difficult. Our main forces are pinned at Venice. We might shift some troops from the French border, but it's unclear if they can arrive quickly enough."
"Your Majesty," an old Sardinian official spoke, "we could consider withdrawing from Florence and returning to Turin."
Before the unification of Italy, Turin had been the capital of the Kingdom of Sardinia. After the kingdom made its first major unification moves with Napoleon III's help, the capital of the newly formed Italy was moved to Florence.
"Idiot! The newspapers are already reporting our failure to retake Rome. If we also abandon Florence and pull back to Turin, what do you think our people will say? Or the front-line troops? We'd look helpless—how would we resist these Austro-Hungarian invaders?" Victor Emmanuel II reprimanded him.
After wavering a while, he finally decided: "Summon back whatever garrisons are watching the French border. Mobilize Florence and its surroundings. I don't care what you have to do—pull together an army of at least 50,000. Before reinforcements arrive, they must keep that force coming from Rome out of Florence."
…
Marseille, France
"Don't fear the defeat at the front. Even though our Emperor has surrendered, we French people will never yield. As a patriot, I'm ready to donate supplies to our government free of charge. I hope they won't compromise with Prussia…" Standing before the gates of City Hall, Count Medina proclaimed his stance to uphold national defense.
Applause broke out around him. The citizens of Marseille warmly welcomed his words. Meanwhile, a reporter from Le Marseille discreetly photographed the scene—by tomorrow, that photo would be all over France, at least throughout the South.
After speaking for so long, Count Medina finally took a break, dabbing the sweat from his forehead. At that moment, the city officials came over to him.
"Count Medina, thank you for your support. Unfortunately, there's little we can do right now. With the Emperor having surrendered, we must wait for word from the central government. We can't decide how to use those donated goods at present," the mayor explained.
"It's all right. I understand your difficulties," Medina replied. "But our soldiers are still at the front. Sending these supplies is at least a show of support for them. After all, they are France's children."
"If it's for the troops, we can do that. We'll deliver them under the name of the people of Marseille—rather than the government. That way, our men on the front lines get what they need," said the mayor.
The Count had cultivated his "patriot" persona well, and so the Marseille City Hall treated his opinion with respect—at least in spirit. As for the supplies themselves, they were part of a Franco-German joint "national" brand, mostly food, medicine, and living essentials. As a collaborator, Count Medina had partial ownership, so he wanted to build up the brand's reputation.
Among the items was a product called "Patriot" Beef-and-Potato Canned Food—surely worth a look.
…
That evening, Leopold finished leading a mission and now reported on the Hechingen Brigade's situation to Ernst.
"In this campaign, the Hechingen Brigade suffered over 700 casualties, with 132 killed. Because of front-line conditions, we had to cremate their remains on-site. Their ashes will be brought back with the unit. His Majesty (Wilhelm I) asked if the Hechingen Brigade might be willing to join the next phase of combat."
After two battles, the Hechingen Brigade had effectively become a solid European war force. In the Skirmish at Diewillette, a memorable engagement of the Franco-Prussian War, the brigade's performance was even a bit higher than the French Army's. (Hechingen Brigade ≥ French Army ≥ Prussia > Bavaria > North German Confederation > Württemberg > Baden.) Wilhelm I evidently valued this small but formidable group.
"Bring them back," was all Ernst wrote in his telegram to Leopold.
With the Emperor of France having surrendered, the war was essentially over. The Hechingen Brigade no longer needed to fight. Moreover, from the moment the Battle of Sedan ended, the conflict turned from a just war of self-defense into a war of conquest against France—something Ernst wanted no part in.
Their goal of training the Hechingen Brigade was complete. Any further risk of pointless casualties wasn't necessary. As for the so-called "spoils" of the Franco-Prussian War—plundering from the wealthy French regions—that held no appeal for Ernst. Nor did he want the Hechingen Brigade picking up bad habits from other German units, whose discipline might fail in the plunder. And it would be hard to restore discipline once broken. The Hechingen Brigade was meant to be the foundation of East Africa's future military reforms.
The Hechingen Bank was already profiting handsomely from war bonds. The moment the Battle of Sedan ended, the London bond market was mobbed—and before the war, the Hechingen Consortium had acquired nearly a quarter of those bonds at low prices.
"Tom! Is there still some free ground near the castle?"
"Your Highness, that might be difficult. Besides the forests, the only open areas are around the castle itself."
"Then clear a piece of land on the mountainside. I want to bury the remains of our fallen. They died for the House of Hohenzollern," Ernst said.
He would bury them near Hohenzollern Castle, in a remote spot at the mountaintop, far from residents, so their rest would be undisturbed. Ernst had brought many of them from the Far East to Europe; the rest were mostly European orphans. Essentially, none had any family ties. They didn't have to fight in the Franco-Prussian War, but Ernst chose to deploy them, and they followed orders. Now he had to handle their final affairs.
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