Failure in the North

Since the Austria and Russia were moving so slowly, Napoleon decided to lead his army directly into Austria territory, so that the Austria wouldn't be idle all day.

But Joseph called out to Napoleon.

"Napoleon, I don't mean to interfere with your military decisions. I just have some information I need to tell you."

Joseph knew that Napoleon, that rascal, was relatively obedient to him on other matters, but when it came to military affairs, the guy was extremely arrogant, always acting as if "I'm not targeting any of you," and especially liked to refute Joseph. Therefore, when Joseph offered Napoleon military advice, he needed to give him a heads-up first, lest Napoleon come up with something out of a pointless argument.

"Our men have discovered a large coal mine in the Rhine Region," Joseph said.

"And... how big is it?" Napoleon initially instinctively wanted to say, "What's so special about it?", but then he suddenly realized that large coal mines... these things really were very important.

"Very large, possibly larger than all the coal mines previously discovered in France combined," Joseph replied. "And it's very close to Lorraine."

"Lorraine has iron mines, the Rhine Region has coal mines...this is truly..." Napoleon clenched his right fist and pounded it repeatedly in his left palm. Clearly, Napoleon, who loved science, also understood the significance of large coal and iron mines clustered together.

"It's a pity that both places are in the north; it would be so much better if they were in Italy." Napoleon sighed again. "Hmm, Joseph, do you want to bring these two places under our control?"

"Of course, such a treasure trove can only be truly utilized when it is in our hands, can it?" Joseph replied.

"I think that not only this precious land, but the whole of France should be in our hands to be most effective," Napoleon said.

"You want to be Caesar?" Joseph suddenly asked.

"No, it is our family that needs a Caesar, and even France needs a Caesar ... But you, my brother, always hide in the shadows, trying to manipulate things with a hand no one can see. It's safe, and it's very Joseph, but Joseph, you must admit, this method is inefficient. Even from a scientific point of view, it is. The more intermediate links in a system, the lower the mechanical efficiency. Yes, that's why you insisted on that Zeus Plan. It's the same in politics; your current approach is actually artificially reducing our efficiency. I feel it's time for me to step forward and lead everyone."

"You're plotting to usurp the throne!" Joseph said. "But... well, tell me your plan."

"Not yet," Napoleon said, spreading his hands.

"What?"

"Of course," Napoleon said. "You've only just told me about that discovery. But Joseph, knowing you as I do, you probably already have your own ideas. Hmm, tell me yours."

Joseph glared at Napoleon, then said after a moment, "Napoleon, I think we need a crisis, a crisis that will make everyone, from top to bottom, lose faith in the current government, a crisis that will make everyone need a hero to turn the tide. I've studied the military situation in the north, and what we know about the enemy's deployment. You've seen some of the relevant information, and there's some more recent stuff you can look at too."

Napoleon remained silent, simply picking up the document and beginning to read it.

"The reason I don't want you to launch an attack immediately is because I'm worried that your premature attack will cause Austria to run into serious problems before our Army of the North even has any issues, which would affect the northern battlefield and actually relieve the siege of the north," Joseph added.

"But if I just wait and wait until they gather their troops, I might not gain any advantage," Napoleon said. "Archduke Karl of Austria, I've analyzed him with you before. He's quite capable. If we hadn't had an overwhelming advantage in weaponry during the last war, defeating him wouldn't have been so easy. And the Russia commander... Suvorov, haha, Joseph, have you studied his battles and theories?"

"No, I have a lot of things to do. Besides, aren't you there for military matters?" Joseph replied.

"Suvorov can be considered one of the most outstanding commanders of this era. How can you be so ignorant of his battle examples and theories?" Napoleon raised his eyebrows, delighted to find an opportunity to mock his elder brother.

Joseph ignored Napoleon's provocation, Joseph that one of the most fundamental principles to be followed was to avoid fighting in their familiar territory. He then asked, "So, how do you think he compares to you?"

"I've never fought him before... but I'm quite excited to fight him," Napoleon said.

Napoleon rarely said such things, so it seems that he was "confident but not sure" about fighting Suvorov.

"So you want to defeat the Austria before Suvorov arrives?" Joseph asked.

Napoleon nodded.

"Think about it," Joseph said. "If the guys in the north get crushed by someone like Brunswick, while you in Italy can defeat renowned generals like Duke Karl and Suvorov, wouldn't that be better?"

"You have so much faith in me, it's really... wait, Joseph, are you hiding something I don't know about? Bring it out now, stop hiding it!" Napoleon said.

"There are some things," Joseph said. "Would you like to come with me to the research institute to take a look?"

Few know exactly what Napoleon saw at the research institute, but he didn't seem particularly happy when Napoleon left France for Italy. It's said that he told Berthier, his chief of staff whom he had painstakingly recruited from Carnot, "The war is truly meaningless now. Some despicable fellows have completely destroyed the beauty of war with the most brutal methods."

Accompanying Napoleon to Italy was a batch of military supplies Napoleon had just purchased. Upon returning to Italy, Napoleon immediately began constructing entirely new defensive fortifications using these supplies.

Meanwhile, in the north, the combined forces of Prussia and Britain continued to strengthen. Thanks to the Britain's generosity, Prussia's mobilization was remarkably rapid. Within a few months, they had mobilized another 300,000 troops, most of whom were new recruits with poor training. However, the Prussia did not need to send them all to the battlefield against France; many of them were intended to replace the troops used to suppress Poland resistance in the Poland front.

Compared to the Irish Independence Army, the Poland national independence movement performed rather poorly. Relying solely on the Poland nobility, it could only manage small-scale assassinations. These Poland supported these minor disturbances, hoping to exert some pressure on the Russia, Austria, and Prussia without escalating the situation uncontrollably. As a result, the targets were mostly low-ranking officials or even ordinary soldiers. Actions against higher-ups were often merely intimidation tactics; even when given the opportunity to fire, they would only aim for the feet.

Such resistance was naturally of limited effect. The Ireland had already hanged a duke, while the Poland noble resistance fighters hadn't even killed a colonel.

If the aristocratic faction performed poorly, what about the serf faction? Their fate was even worse. These serfs were mostly people who had long been separated from Poland, and who, aside from blood ties, had virtually no connection to the Poland. They were essentially ignorant of the situation in Poland. Coupled with their eagerness for quick results, they encountered even greater setbacks.

Indeed, even under Russia rule, the lives of serfs were equally miserable. However, the depth of their suffering and the intensity of their misery were incomparable to those of Poland when it was still an independent nation. Therefore, when the Russia invaded, the serfs almost universally felt, "God has finally heard our prayers!" In Poland today, if you were to ask which class most supported the foreign partitioning of Poland, the answer would undoubtedly be the Poland serfs.

Especially after the death of the Empress Paul to the throne, in order to demonstrate his progress, His Majesty the Tsar passed a series of decrees guaranteeing the rights of Poland serfs and enforced them forcefully. The former lords could no longer bully the serfs at will, so in the hearts of the Poland serfs, "Little Father Tsar" was practically a saint second only to Jesus.

What? Someone's inciting us to oppose "Little Father Tsar"? Do these people have any conscience? What? They say they'll give us complete freedom, to establish an independent Poland without serfs and nobles? Pah! We've all seen what an independent Poland is like! Who are they trying to fool? Seriously, can we really believe what Poland say? If we could believe what Poland say, pigs would fly! They're treating us like fools! How can we tolerate this?!

As a result, those who went to incite the serfs to revolt were beaten bloody by the serfs themselves. Adding to the chaos, the aristocratic faction betrayed them, and the serfs were either beaten to death or hanged. The few remaining members of the serf faction simply ran back to France and wept.

As a result, on the northern front, the number of Prussia and British Army troops increased rapidly, and they soon gained a clear numerical advantage over the French Army.

The Prussia worked hard, but the Britain worked even harder. The Britain knew that if they couldn't defeat France, they wouldn't be able to solve the Ireland problem. If they couldn't resolve the Ireland issue, which was so close at hand, or if it took a tremendous amount of effort to resolve it, then Britain's global hegemony would be greatly affected. Therefore, the Britain were more proactive than the Prussia in attacking France.

The Britain also conducted extensive domestic mobilization and quickly mobilized another 100,000 troops. In February 1798, 50,000 British Army landed at Emden and marched south along the Ems River toward Münster, thus posing a great threat to the flank of the French Army stationed in Hanover.

In fact, the French Army had long been aware of this danger. During the brief period of peace, the French Army began to build a fortress in Münster. However, due to various factors, the Montes fortress was not fully completed by this time, and the attached firepower was not in full place.

Britain's military production capacity far surpassed that of Prussia. For this war, the Britain placed a huge number of orders with various artillery factories across the country.

The Britain artillery technology was somewhat skewed, at least for the time being, making it unsuitable for land warfare. Their artillery was primarily iron, which had the advantage of being relatively inexpensive, but the disadvantage was its greater weight compared to bronze cannons. This often made it difficult to keep pace with the army's movement. (Anyway, the main buyers of Britain cannons were the navy, who were less sensitive to the weight of cannons but extremely sensitive to their price.)

However, at Münster, the French Army were defending the fortress, while the British Army could rely on the Ems River for transport. Therefore, the inconvenience of moving artillery became less significant, while the advantages of cheap and readily available artillery became apparent. Thus, within just two months, the Britain had amassed over four hundred cannons in front of the French Army at Münster, including many heavy cannons weighing over twenty-four pounds. The France, on the other hand, had only a little over ten thousand troops and fewer than thirty cannons in the fortress, primarily six-pound and eight-pound cannons.

The disparity in firepower between the two sides made this offensive and defensive battle extremely disadvantageous for France. During the prolonged bombardment, French Army casualties were significantly greater than those of the British Army, and the fall of Münster seemed only a matter of time. Once Münster fell, the French Army in Hanover would be isolated.

Therefore, the French Army had no choice but to withdraw from Hanover.

Throughout history, retreat has always been the most dangerous military operation. Long-distance retreats, in particular, can easily turn into a major rout. In the past, during Napoleon's invasion of Russia, the French Army didn't suffer significant losses on the battlefield until the capture of Moscow. However, the retreat was a different story. The Russian army pursued relentlessly, and the French Army suffered heavy losses, with Napoleon's entire army almost entirely wiped out during the retreat.

The French Army retreat was slightly better this time, as the distance was shorter and there was no harsh winter. However, losses during the retreat were still inevitable. General Joubert successfully withdrew his main force to the Liege area. However, his army lost almost all of its artillery and suffered more than 40,000 casualties in the series of battles.

To be honest, Joubert's performance in this series of operations was not bad; many of his commands and decisions could even be considered commendable. However, losing the entire Hanover and retreating hundreds of kilometers within a few months was, by any measure, a huge defeat.

This series of failures immediately caused a huge uproar in Paris.

Something came up today, so there will only be one update. Updates will resume tomorrow.