Just as the Central European theater had fallen into a stalemate, the Egyptian theater had reached a critical moment as well.
Ever since the Austrian army had cast aside its political baggage, the canal's natural defenses had gone from an impassable chasm to an open road, no longer an obstacle to Austrian advance.
Once the fighting turned into close-quarters combat, the French army's problems gradually surfaced.
There was no helping it. France's manpower was limited; it could not pour unlimited forces into Egypt. With too few main-force troops, it could only make up the numbers with colonial units.
Though they might look more or less alike, their combat effectiveness was worlds apart.
Only a few years had passed since the Egyptian rebellion, and French rule was far from secure. Watching France and Austria tear into each other like dogs, the Egyptian populace had no interest in getting involved.
Unless a gun was pressed to their necks, Egyptians would never willingly go to the battlefield as cannon fodder.
Inside the Cairo Governor's Residence, Governor Jacob stared gravely at the map. The vividly colored little arrows made it clear that the French army's strategic situation was now extremely unfavorable.
Had the French navy not performed so well and held Egypt's coastline, they would truly have been surrounded by now.
Though they had not yet been encircled, they were not far from it. Facing enemy attacks from three sides, the Egyptian colonial government could never hold out on its own.
After a long while, Governor Jacob turned around and asked, "When will reinforcements from the homeland arrive?"
Since they could not win, naturally they could only ask the homeland for aid. France had suffered defeat after defeat across the entire African theater anyway; there was no shame in the Egyptian colonial government joining