Holy Roman Empire

While cheating Switzerland at the same time, Austria was employing the same tactics to deceive Spain, only with better conditions and more lenient demands.

Though the Duckboard Empire had declined, it was still one of the great powers. It couldn't be bribed with small benefits, and Austria was unwilling to pay a hefty price.

Thus, Austria had to lower its demands; they didn't even need Spain to send troops to war. All Spain had to do was to station its troops at the border to annoy the French, and then, when the overall situation was settled, they could just move in for the killing blow.

If the French won, they would act as if nothing had happened and just carry on as usual.

After all, even the military expenses were covered by Austria, the interest-free loans up front were merely the Spaniards' appearance fees.

It was a transaction with no risk of loss, no need to worry about losing capital.

The only trouble was probably offending the French, but since Spain's foreign policy had shifted and had already caused offense, doing it one more time didn't matter.

As a member of the great powers, Spain could handle such minor issues.

Beyond wooing Spain and Switzerland, Austria was also public-relating with other European countries.

Although, due to geopolitical reasons, these countries couldn't possibly engage in war, they were good for boosting Austria's prestige.

Compared with them, the French people's reaction was much duller. It wasn't that the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs was incompetent; rather, the problem was the severe historical issues it inherited.

The exposed Central Europe strategy had aroused the vigilance of other European countries, directly increasing the difficulty of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs' work.

Despite repeated denials by the French government, the actions of armament preparation could not fool anyone. Instead of believing the French's promises, everyone preferred to trust what they saw with their own eyes.

Especially after the British got involved, the situation became even more complex and entangled. Many feared a full-scale war outbreak on the European Continent, namely: the Anglo-French Alliance vs the Russian-Austrian Alliance.

The troubled international situation caused Alexander III in St. Petersburg great distress. He wanted to provoke a war between France and Austria, but it absolutely couldn't be now.

Ever since the tension in Europe had escalated, the prices of all strategic materials had skyrocketed, with many doubling.

No matter how high the prices were, the Tsarist government had to grit its teeth and purchase them, even stockpile some, as in the event of a real European war outbreak, they wouldn't be able to buy any supplies even with money available.

Due to the price increase, the Tsarist government's military expenditures surged dramatically in the past two or three months.

Alexander III: "Are the French willing to accept our mediation?"

Undoubtedly, to quell this turbulence, the key lay with the French. As long as the French government was willing to give up the Central Europe strategy, the war could not be ignited.

Foreign Minister Oscar Ximenes shook his head: "Accepting it is the same as not accepting."

The French government promised to abandon the Central Europe strategy, but they set a condition, demanding territory compensations from Prussia and Germany in the form of several coal mines along the border.

From the current situation, it's virtually impossible for the Prussian and German governments to make such significant concessions. The determination of Austria to go to war provided them with confidence.

The situation was somewhat reminiscent of before World War I, with the Allied and associated nations each confident of winning the war; whoever yielded was the loser.

Although Prussia and Germany were weaker, they had plenty of allies! Not to mention that most European countries supported them against aggression, just Austria alone as a backer gave them the courage to stand firm against France.

Compromise is easy to talk about. Nationalism had risen in both Prussia and Germany; if they were to make concessions to France, the spit from their own public alone could bury the government.

Neither Prussia and Germany could yield, nor could the Paris Government back down. If they backed off now, an economic crisis would immediately erupt domestically, and another Paris Revolution could well ensue.

Having understood all this, Alexander III cursed: "Damn the British, always playing these underhanded tricks."

No evidence was needed; analyzing from the perspective of who benefited, it was clear that the British were involved.

"The Foreign Ministry must find ways to delay the outbreak of the European war. Regardless of the methods you use, intimidation or enticement, threats, you must postpone the outbreak of the war until the second half of next year."

There was no choice; if the European war erupted immediately, the Afghan war, which was on the verge of victory, would become unpredictable.

Although Alexander III had confidence in the Russian Army, the British were wealthy and could drag out the war indefinitely if they couldn't win it on the battlefield.

Without financial backers, solely relying on the Tsarist government's funds, they couldn't last long.

Oscar Ximenes replied with difficulty: "Your Majesty, that will be tough to accomplish.

"If we indeed had the power to intervene before the outbreak of the war in Afghanistan, we might have been able to calm both sides down, but now I'm afraid the French will not be amenable," he said.

It's not that the Russian Empire lacks prestige; the real issue is timing. Several nations involved are expanding their militaries and preparing for war.

The only thing missing from the outbreak of war is a fuse. It's not a matter of wanting to stop and being able to stop.

Delaying the outbreak of war sounds easy, but we must consider the reality of the situation! If possible, the French would also prefer to wait until England and Russia have both exhausted each other before making a move.

The problem is that Central Europe's strategy has been exposed ahead of time, and it has become well-known even before the French government could prepare.

Just by looking at the neighbors' military expansions, if we drag this into the second half of next year, perhaps Prussia and Germany might actually raise an army of two million.

Even if they were all pigs, it wouldn't be something you could finish off quickly. Such a large number of troops would be enough to hold out until the Austrian reinforcements arrive.

If a breakthrough can't be achieved in a short time, the war will turn into a war of attrition. For France, a war of attrition is a disaster.

...

With war looming, Franz couldn't worry about secrecy anymore. The long-hidden armored vehicles and tanks were rolling out of the labs and officially entering service with the Austrian Army.

Without any hesitation, Franz directly ordered the formation of 6 armored divisions and 4 tank brigades.

Franz didn't underestimate tank units; it was simply that tanks of this era moved at a snail's pace and were far less valuable in combat than armored cars.

Take the currently active V3 tank for example, its maximum speed is only 12 kilometers per hour.

That's a theoretical value, achievable only on obstacle-free flat terrain. In actual combat, if they could reach a speed of 8 kilometers per hour, it would be a blessing.

In contrast, armored cars were much quicker, easily reaching speeds of fifty to sixty kilometers per hour, with a top speed of 94.7 km/h.

Besides speed, tanks had a much higher failure rate than armored cars. On average, they needed maintenance every one to two hundred kilometers.

Despite so many shortcomings, tanks were still equipped because they had unique advantages.

That is, tanks were more resilient than armored cars, and when it came to destroying enemy defenses, breaking through trenches, barbed wire, and machine gun emplacements, tanks were nearly invincible—at least in this era.

Of course, they could also bulldoze enemy infantry and cavalry in a decisive battle, which was a huge blow to enemy morale.

After inspecting the freshly-formed armored troops, Franz felt reassured.

Even though the armored troops appeared inexperienced and the military had no experience using them, the enemy was mostly composed of infantry and cavalry!

Even if the French were good at imitating and following trends, it was too late to do so now. Austria had been working on armored troops for over a decade; it was not something they could catch up with quickly.

Watching the armored troops practice, Franz asked with concern, "How much longer will it take for the armored troops to become combat-effective?"

Army Minister Feslav replied, "Armored troops are a new technological branch, which we have never dealt with before.

It has been less than a month since the formation of the troops. To truly become combat-effective, it will probably take at least a year.

However, the enemy we'll be facing this time doesn't have armored troops; we only have to deal with the French infantry and cavalry. Another month or two of training should be enough to make do."

Strength and weakness are relative. In evenly matched combat, of course, one would want to confront the enemy in peak condition.

But now we have armored troops against the flesh and blood of the enemy; even if not in peak condition, they can still dominate the battle.

Franz nodded and said, "We still have plenty of time. Even if war breaks out, the armored troops don't need to be on the front line immediately.

Proceed with the normal training pace. The armored troops will have no combat missions for the next three months."

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Archduke Friedrich responded.

Without a doubt, these armored troops were the most important military branch in the Austrian army. Such troops were naturally entrusted to one's own command.

Since everyone lacked command experience and there was no one to learn from, starting from scratch was necessary, and promoting young officers was mandatory.

Under these circumstances, there was no need for Archduke Friedrich to continue his training in East Africa. Franz had him recalled directly to form the Armored Corps.