Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

No, Austria captured Ali Sabih and stabilized the defense of Djibouti Port.

To the surprise of many people in Europe, he did not go southeast to capture Harar like Giuseppe Garibaldi, and then went the other way and went west, in a way that caught the Ethiopian garrison in Dikile by surprise. , at the cost of only 20,000 people and only losing 1,000 people, they captured the city where 5,000 Ethiopian troops were stationed.

Moreover, the Ethiopian army lost more than 3,000 people, and the remaining 2,000 people evacuated westward with varying degrees of injuries.

The victory brought Austria to admiration in Europe.

In contrast, Italy's previous attacks seemed inferior.

This made Emmanuel II and Giuseppe Garibaldi look unhappy.

"There is no harm if there is no comparison. Now, Emmanuel II must have a bad look on his face.

Franz Joseph I said with a proud smile.

Archduke Rainer Ferdinand is also extremely happy as the current Prime Minister of the Austrian Empire.

In recent years, when facing the major neighboring countries, Austria has lost more and won less in the wars it launched. Therefore, there are more and more examples of Austria having people with strong diplomatic skills as prime ministers. This makes Lei Lei Archduke Ferdinand was quite dissatisfied because this would reduce the influence of their nobles in the Austrian government.

Therefore, this battle in Africa is a very important opportunity for the nobles to show their strength. Although it has lost more than 5,000 people, Ethiopia has lost more than 7,000 people. For Austria, which is the main attack, it is Is the completion acceptable.

Compared with Italy, it highlights the strength of the Austrian army.

"Your Majesty, now that we have established a firm foothold, Prince Olsperg will perform his favorite tactics next. Think about it, many people in Europe will be dumbfounded next."

"Yes, we did show off with great force this time, but it's not enough. Let's make the storm come even more violently."

Franz Joseph I hoped for the way.

But it seems that he was lucky, because on July 15, 1863, news about the war situation in Ethiopia spread throughout Europe, causing everyone to be concerned about the military capabilities of Prince Olsperg again. Damn, let’s move up to the ranks of European famous players.

Even William IV had to sigh and said to members of the Privy Council: "Prince Olsperg is a subject worthy of study by the military of various European countries."

It turned out that after taking Dikil, the Austrian prince did not give up. Instead, he once again rushed in different directions of the defeated Ethiopian army. He did not take the opportunity to chase down the defeated Ethiopian army and chased it to Desai. Instead, this big city headed north. In just 5 days, it reached and captured Mekele, a big northern city.

And it was a sneak attack with only 20,000 people against 20,000 people.

So far, the Austrian Prince of Olsperg has used 50,000 people to successfully complete the task that Italy used 200,000 people to complete.

While successfully slapping Italy in the face, it also prompted European countries to re-evaluate Austria's military strength.

Tewodros II's face was very embarrassed at this time, because compared with Emmanuel II, the other party had a face problem, but he was a real pain in the skin.

Ethiopia lost its territory in the northeast in just over half a month, and it was won so casually.

Compared with Austria, Tewodros II still prefers face-to-face fights with Italy to be more refreshing.

Crown Prince Menelik is also very worried.

"Father, Austria is indeed a long-established country in Europe. No wonder it has been able to stand in Europe for so long. Even though it is gradually declining, it is still a skinny camel bigger than a horse. We have to fight a tough battle this time."

"Humph, although Austria is inconspicuous in Europe, it depends on who it is compared with. Now with the rise of Prussia, Austria's status has declined, but the country's strength has not actually declined. The reason why it gives everyone such an impression is the source Just the rise of Prussia."

"Father, when it comes to Prussia, it means"

"Yes, since we have difficulty competing against Austria economically and militarily. After all, although Austria's economy is not at the forefront in Europe, it is not comparable to us. Militaryly, Austria has a population of more than 30 million, and its mobilization capabilities are not Only Italy with more than 20 million people can compare with it. In terms of diplomacy, this country is also the most opportunistic, unlike Italy, which has insufficient heritage."

Tewodros II sighed because of this: "Therefore, we cannot resist them head-on. What we should do is to be on the defensive."

"Father, this will be even more detrimental to us."

"It's not all defensive. You can break them into pieces and carry out guerrilla attacks on them. After all, this is also our home court."

Following the decisions made by Tewodros II and Crown Prince Menelik, the Ethiopian army actually began to adopt new strategies for the battle.

Intelligence agents from various European countries, especially the colonies in surrounding countries, all knew about Ethiopia's new tactics.

At the same time, it was also known that Austria was in embarrassment.

It turns out that in what is called guerrilla warfare in Ethiopia, there are always various harassment actions around the Austrian army. For example, when the Austrian army was about to take a rest, a fire suddenly broke out on the anniversary year. Everyone participated in the rescue. Finally, at dawn, The Austrian army's morale was low due to lack of sleep.

Sometimes the sound of gongs and drums appeared again, putting the Austrian army into a state of tension again, but it stopped in the east and started again in the west.

The surrounding environment is so good that Ethiopians are good at hiding, so it is difficult to catch them. It is in this case.

Many Austrian troops began to suffer from fatigue and other man-made factors that had a huge impact on their combat effectiveness. Prince Olsperg had to seek additional troops from the Austrian mainland. Faced with the current small number of troops, it was difficult to clear out these disturbing Ethiopians. paid manpower.

On August 1, 1863, Austria once again sent 50,000 people to Ethiopia. Due to the formation of corresponding troops, the effectiveness of Ethiopia's guerrilla tactics was immediately halved, but the casualties were huge. Therefore, Ethiopia had to change and cancel the tactics. killed most of the guerrilla soldiers.

After Giuseppe Garibaldi in Libya heard the news, he immediately sighed: "We have all underestimated Tewodros II. Even though Austria has increased its military strength, I still don't think highly of Prince Olsperg. "

Someone asked him why?

He shook his head, because he was not sure, but this was his intuition. A soldier's intuition was a guiding light in battle. He had won many victories on the battlefield relying on intuition. Therefore, he was very confident about his intuition. Very trusting.

Giuseppe Garibaldi was right, because on August 3, 1863, Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia in Mogadishu, the Governor-General of Somalia, stood up for the Ethiopian war situation.

"We have a close relationship with Ethiopia. We do not allow Austria to do whatever it wants in Ethiopia. I have sent a letter of protest to Prince Olsperg to oppose Austria's invasion of Ethiopia. If Austria insists on this, then we do not mind sending a letter of protest to Prince Olsperg. Ethiopia provides more aid”

When someone asked him what specific measures he would take, many people thought that the nephew of King William I of Prussia would refuse to answer. However, unexpectedly, he directly announced that all options were possible, including sending troops.

For this reason, not only the sky over Ethiopia was covered with dark clouds, but also the sky over Europe was extremely strange. There were even meetings within the German Confederation about this.

Chapter 2: Thanks to book friend Xia Mohaige for the 1,500-point reward.

Thanks also to other book friends for their various votes and support.