The Austro-Hungarian Empire's declaration of war against Italy was nothing short of disastrous news for Napoleon III, who was already embroiled in war.
Napoleon III wearily said to the French generals, "Now we can be certain that the Austrians will take no action in our war with Prussia. That also means we will have to face even more Prussian troops."
This news was undoubtedly a heavy blow to the French Army. Before the war, France had looked down on Prussia to a degree, but once fighting began, France discovered that it had fallen into the Prussians' endless sea-of-men tactics.
At present, France was already at a disadvantage. The Rhine Army had been forced into a passive defense all along, while MacMahon's forces in the south had been completely outmatched and were at risk of collapse at any moment. The Fifth Army Corps sent to reinforce them had achieved nothing either. Although it had dealt enormous losses to the Prussian Fifth Army Corps by catching it off guard, the Hechingen Brigade and the Third Brigade led by Robert had subsequently rushed to Saverne, and the two sides were locked in a stalemate around Saverne.
Unable to break open the situation on the battlefield, Napoleon III's hopes for the Austro-Hungarian Empire grew ever greater. This stemmed from the Prussian-Austrian War. Some Austrians indeed harbored thoughts of revenge against Prussia. Had the Austrian Empire still existed, the Austrians might truly have launched a sneak attack on Prussia. But this was now the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and besides, Russia supported Prussia.
"Your Majesty, we can no longer count on the Austro-Hungarian Empire. These Italians simply have no brains. They actually declared war on the Papal States in the face of the Austro-Hungarian Empire's stern warning. We never should have withdrawn our troops from the Papal