Schönbrunn Palace
Prince Windisch-Grätz marked the Ottoman Army's retreat routes on the map. Then a whole crowd from the Austrian Government stood around it, staring blankly.
Yes, they were staring blankly—and they were stunned. Anyone who learned the full details would be astonished by what the Ottoman Empire was doing.
Contracting one's defensive line was perfectly normal, but the Ottomans had clearly overdone it this time.
Abandoning Serbia's northern plains was understandable. The flat, open terrain could not withstand a single Austrian attack. But why abandon the southern mountains, the Kosovo Region, and Bosnia and Herzegovina all at once as well?
Even if they had left only a small force behind, organized some militia, and made use of the terrain, they could still have slowed Austria's advance.
If the situation turned unfavorable, they could have taken to the hills and become bandits, striking Austria's supply lines. That was the most basic military common sense.
Perhaps not elsewhere, but at the very least, the Ottoman Empire still had a great many supporters in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. To simply abandon them for nothing was practically a god-tier move.
Fine, abandon them if they wanted—but why leave Belgrade in the middle? No matter how important that city was, once everything around it had been given up, could an isolated city possibly hold out?
Franz simply could not make out what medicine the Ottomans were selling from their gourd. Whether militarily or politically, this was not how things should have been done.
It was more or less like that thing—abandoning...
Feeling that his intelligence was insufficient for the task, Franz asked, "Can anyone tell me what the Ottomans are trying to do?"
Metternich guessed, "Your Majesty, perhaps the Ottoman Government panicked after its defeat in the Battle of Bulgaria and hastily decided