Holding the upper hand on the battlefield, General Morkes was not anxious in the slightest.
Aside from launching symbolic attacks and constantly putting pressure on the French army, the Austrian army made almost no major moves, allowing the French to shift troops and deploy generals as they pleased.
Watching opportunities for battle slip away day by day while the Austrian army did nothing, Vittorio Emanuele III "saw it with his eyes and burned with anxiety in his heart."
As an outstanding graduate of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, although he had never commanded troops, Vittorio Emanuele III did not lack basic military knowledge.
Yet as king, apart from his lofty title in name, he possessed no real say in anything.
After repeatedly trying and failing to persuade General Morkes to launch a full-scale offensive, Vittorio Emanuele III even lodged a protest with the Vienna Government, demanding that the commander be replaced.
Without question, such a demand received no support. The Austrian army appeared to hold the advantage on the southern front, but whether it could maintain that advantage once it pushed outward was another matter entirely.
The French were not as easy to bully as the Kingdom of Sardinia, to be crushed all the way forward. Italy's complicated terrain and dreadful transportation were all problems the Austrian army would have to face.
Once the front advanced several hundred kilometers, the Austrian army's firepower advantage would cease to exist. It was not that Austrian weapons and ammunition were insufficient; the crucial problem was that transportation could not keep up.
Without its firepower advantage, facing French forces occupying favorable terrain would inevitably come at a terrible price.
This had already been proven in the original timeline. After World War I broke out, the Austro-Hungarian Empire had easily pummeled Italy with only a