Start 1861: I just inherited the Dutch throne

Chapter 571: The strength of both sides in promoting law

1869年8月10日，普鲁士王国在8月8日宣布对法宣战后2天，在普鲁士首相俾斯麦推动后正式成立北德意志邦联，俾斯麦在把柏林召开北德意志邦联议会宣布设立北德宪法，宪法因为普法宣战的原因于是1869年8月15日生效。

Under the threat of France declaring war, no one in the countries annexed by Prussia dared to object, nor were they willing to stand out.As a result, Bismarck and William I used external pressure to suppress internal methods and successfully completed the most significant power resumption after Prussia annexed various countries. This laid the most important foundation for the subsequent establishment of the German Empire.

Driven by the newly established constitution, King William I of Prussia became the leader of the North German Confederation, and Prussian Prime Minister Bismarck also served as Prime Minister of the Confederation. All German states had seats in the Federal Parliament, with Prussia occupying 17 seats.

In addition to the Kingdom of Prussia, the participating states include Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Saxony, Weimar, Eisenach, Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Oldenburg, and Braunschweig. K, Saxe-Meiningen, Sanktsen-Altenburg, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Anhalt, Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, Schwarzburg-Sandhausen, Waldeck, Reuss-Greitz, Reuss-Schleiz-Gerra, Schaumburg-Lippo, Lippo, Lübeck, Bremen, Hamburg, Oberssen (the Principality of Hesse on the Main northern part)
These 19 states have a total of 19 seats.

There are 17 members in the 36 seats of Prussia, and the North German Parliament is elected by the people.

The Prussian-Prussian war has not yet begun, but intelligence on the military strength of the two countries (at least indicating) has fallen on the desks of each country.

"The Prussian army, which implements universal conscription like Sweden, is the most powerful army in Western Europe. The North German Confederate army with Prussia as the core, including the armies of the states occupied by southern Prussia, has more than 110 million troops, including more than 70 combat troops. , and France’s current army is only 60, which is almost twice the strength of France.”

Mark Rudd, Chief of the General Staff of the Netherlands, said: "The army currently ruled by Prussia has agreed to be organized into several armies. The Prussian army's artillery equipment mainly includes steel tube rifled guns manufactured by Krupp Arsenal, with an effective range of 3.5 kilometers."

"As early as the winter between 1867 and 1869, Prussia began to make moves. It seemed that General Moltke, the Chief of General Staff, had already drawn up a war plan. I guessed to the Prussian Council that the French army would launch an attack first, and the direction of the attack would definitely be Choose the direction of Alsace and Lorraine, so recently the Prussian army secretly gathered not far from the Rhine River near Strasbourg, France.
This is the protrusion of southeastern France, directly facing the German land on the east bank of the Rhine River, and the French railway situation is obvious. If Prussia can understand the French railway route, then Moltke and Bismarck can easily calculate it. Due to its old age and other reasons, the railway section of Strasbourg is unable to mobilize all the main French forces. Even more than half of the French army can only copy a little west of Strasbourg due to reasons beyond the railway carrying capacity. The first group got off the train in Metz, the hinterland of France.In this way, the French Metz Group and the Strasbourg Group will be separated by the Vosges Mountains."

Mark Rudd was frequently surprised by William IV's detailed account of his family treasures.

He followed William IV's words and said in surprise: "According to His Majesty, all he needs to do is to gather all three of his armies behind Metz and Strasbourg facing the Rhine, and not take the initiative to attack them. , if he is trying to separate the French army in the Vosges Mountains, he will not let the mountains separate his attacking troops."

William IV seemed to be influenced by him and said with excitement: "Once the direction and strength of the French attack are determined, the Prussian army can concentrate its forces to defeat the separated French army, and then launch a determined attack on Alsace and Lorraine. , annihilate the main force of France in the General Director-General, and occupy Paris." As the Chief of General Staff of the Netherlands, it goes without saying that Mark Rudd's real information goes without saying. As he continued to think about what William IV said, his whole body was shocked, and his eyesight A terrifying scorching light was revealed.

It seemed that at this moment, he felt that if he were the commander on the Prussian side, he would completely defeat the French army, and he would have an eighty-nine percent chance of victory.

It can be said that William IV refused to say anything shocking and refused to stop, which shocked Mark Rudd's heart.

Mark Rudd suddenly pointed out: "If Bismarck and Moltke did not include their old rival, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, in their plans, once the Austro-Hungarian Empire joins the war on the side of France, will it be difficult for the Prussian army to cope with the Austrian-French attack on Prussia?"

William IV smiled at this and said affirmatively: "If you believe Bismarck, I believe he will have a comprehensive plan. If Austria and Hungary choose to join, Prussia will beg for it. Don't forget that they still want to agree. As for the German Confederation, the Prussian army will definitely take military action against it."

The total strength of the French army is 57, of which only about 33 to 34 combat troops are in the Far East. The Far East currently occupies 20 troops. In the past, Prussia might not have dared to act rashly, but now the more than 30 combat troops are There are about 10 troops in the Far East, and there are tens of thousands of logistics troops there.

So in the guy is Africa, there are another 5.

The local combat troops alone numbered 25.Logistics plus reserves are only about 10, which means there are only 35 regular troops in France.On the contrary, Prussia had 110 million and Africa combined had less than 100 colonial troops.The mainland also has more than [-] million troops, which is about three times the number of France in the mainland. "

Mark Rudd bit the bullet and said: "But France implements a standing army system. Its troops are battle-hardened and its commanders at all levels are experienced. Moreover, in the 1853 years since it participated in the Crimean War against the Tsarist Russian Empire in 16, most of them have There have been countless small battles in five continents including Europe, Asia, Africa, and the United States. Therefore, unlike Prussia, which only recently participated in the Prussian and Austro-Prussian wars, France seems to have more well-trained and capable soldiers. Experienced Soldiers"

William IV criticized: "France's experience is that it has fought more wars. However, except for the Royal Guards, the French army's military structure usually does not abandon the two-level establishment of corps and divisions. Just like now, it is temporarily prepared to cope with wars. The hasty formation failed to ensure the proper coordination of the troops. I think this was a major mistake made by the French military leader Napoleon III, the commander-in-chief. Moreover, France did not formulate a thorough war plan in advance, and the hastily formulated plan contained many errors. .”

(End of this chapter)