From the moment the war broke out, Franz's nerves had been stretched taut. Not only him—among the entire upper echelon of the Austrian Government, not a single person dared relax.
Although the advance at the front was extremely swift, even smoother than planned, the Austrian Government was still carrying out nationwide mobilization.
Perhaps many people saw this as making a mountain out of a molehill: deploying four hundred thousand troops against the Kingdom of Bavaria while mobilizing another million reservists at home.
As someone directly involved, Franz could state with absolute certainty that this was not an overreaction, but a strategic necessity.
Even a lion fighting a rabbit uses all its strength.
That was Austria's current situation. If they were only dealing with Bavaria, perhaps thirty or fifty thousand troops would have been enough to accomplish the task.
Munich was practically within arm's reach. A surprise attack with thirty or fifty thousand men would have sufficed. There had been no need to make such a tremendous display.
That was only from a military perspective. Politically, however, this war could not be treated by ordinary logic.
Take the many Bavarian local governments and military forces that had declared neutrality. That was the result of combining the intimidating might of four hundred thousand troops with a political offensive.
If there had only been thirty or fifty thousand soldiers, would Bavaria's local powerholders have yielded so easily? Without their cooperation and overwhelming superiority in strength, could Austria have made Bavaria's defenders remain neutral?
The truth was not that Franz had Heaven's mandate, nor that the House of Habsburg enjoyed such deep popular support. It was strength that had won them the people's hearts.
The Bavarian people had witnessed Austria's strength, and the local ruling classes had been frightened into submission. When the lobbyists