Chapter 628: Switzerland Strategy

Although Franz did not invite Wheatstone himself, his works, patents and related research results all went to Austria. Franz spent 7,000 pounds for this, which was already a very high price in Britain at that time.

However, Franz felt that the money was well spent, because the research results of Austrian scientists on electromagnetism were really limited at that time.

At that time, the best masters of electromagnetism in the world were all in Britain, and Siemens, which would change the history of generators in the future, was still in Prussia.

Wheatstone replaced permanent magnets with electromagnets and made the first reluctance DC motor, which was an important measure to enhance the output power of generators.

It was just that the British research direction was wrong. Wheatstone used his device to throw a metal rod nearly 20 meters away, so they began to consider the feasibility of electromagnetic guns.

Of course, this route error eventually led to Britain being overtaken by the European continent during the electrical revolution. Even the first electromagnetic gun was invented by the French, not the British who were the first to get involved.

If Franz wanted to complete his plan, he had to seize the opportunity of the electrical revolution and occupy an absolute advantage to break the shackles.

At this time, the Austrian Empire had made a lot of investment in electromagnetism and had enough talent reserves. It only needed a little inspiration to perfect the foundation of electromagnetism.

But sometimes this inspiration is more important than the 99% effort and preparation.

Historically, Prime Minister Metternich, under the pressure of economic deficit, also had to provide weapons, equipment, and possible money and materials to the Swiss Orthodox League (Catholic League).

As a result, all these things finally fell into the sea, which aggravated the crisis in the Austrian Empire.

At this time, the Austrian Empire can be said to be rich and powerful. After hearing about Archduke Karl's request, Metternich felt that the former was fully capable of meeting these requests.

The reason is naturally not rich and powerful, but to ensure the safety of Archduke Karl.

But the reality is that Archduke Karl went to Switzerland in name to retire, not to fight.

According to the peace agreement signed between Austria, France, Britain and Switzerland, in theory, the Austrian Empire needs to strictly maintain neutrality unless one of the parties violates the agreement.

And now Metternich's act of transporting weapons to the Swiss Orthodox League is undoubtedly a violation of the four-nation agreement.

In fact, the main reason is that Franz felt that the fighting will of both sides in Switzerland was not strong, and the senior leaders of the Orthodox Alliance were incompetent and weak-willed.

Metternich's ideal of supporting a pro-Austrian puppet state in Switzerland was not realistic. After all, France was there. Even if the Catholic League won, the French could directly support the Protestant League.

After all, this kind of thing has happened in history. Not to mention Protestantism, even the Ottomans in the Middle East have been united with France. The "Sacrilegious Alliance" is the best evidence.

Instead of causing a lot of unnecessary trouble with state actions, it is better to let the church do this. After all, professional things should be left to professionals, and if it is relief, how can they know what we have transported.

Metternich is still very worried, because as long as the team is stopped and checked, the truth will be revealed. But there is no need to worry about this at all. Not to mention that Franz does not intend to transport a large number of weapons, it doesn't matter even if he is discovered during the transportation.

After all, the voice of the Austrian Empire is much louder than that of the Swiss Confederation. It can be called a frame-up and slander, and then the dirty water of provoking civil war is thrown on the other side.

Secondly, Archduke Karl's safety does need to be guaranteed, so the number of guards should be increased from 800 to 3,000. However, they cannot go together, and they can arrive in batches before 1847.

Franz did not look down on the combat effectiveness of the Swiss army, but according to the intelligence sent back before, the most likely areas for the two sides to fight are not plains, but canyons and mountains.

It is useless to send too many people to these places, and if the soldiers of the Orthodox Alliance cannot be mobilized to participate in the war, Austria will not be able to defend even if it sends 10,000 troops.

Archduke Karl is just a soldier, and the reason why he asked for help is probably because the Orthodox Alliance gave him some unrealistic guarantees.

From a military point of view, the side with more people and more guns will have a greater chance of winning. But in fact, whether the war can be won or even whether it can be fought, there are many factors to pay attention to.

Before there is a clear conclusion, random support is no different from aiding the enemy.

However, Franz still needs to send someone to communicate with Archduke Karl, otherwise the old man may think he has been sold.

In fact, within the Swiss Legitimacy Alliance, a considerable number of people wanted to get some benefits from Austria. After all, Switzerland was suffering from natural disasters and man-made disasters at this time and could not get any benefits.

In fact, in addition to hooking up with Austria, the Legitimacy Alliance also had a close relationship with the French, and even the Kingdom of Sardinia joined it.

They had no idea how they would lose, so they wanted to get more benefits rather than preparing for war.

The French had similar ideas to Metternich. They were going to set up a puppet state in the Swiss mountains, but their purpose was clearer than Metternich's.

What France wanted was a trade route that could reach Germany in the north and Italy in the south.

The Kingdom of Sardinia was more practical. Alberto wanted Ticino, which not only bordered it, but also had a large Italian population. More importantly, he could also strike at the Republicans in exile in Switzerland.

Some of the supporters of the Swiss Orthodox Union even dreamed of becoming kings, and the song that once praised the monarchy during the Napoleonic era was sung again.

In contrast, the Swiss Free Union was much more dedicated. They raised their own military funds to import weapons from the UK. Although the reason was to strengthen public security, what kind of scoundrels needed a hundred artillery pieces was a question worth pondering.

Henry Dufour's reforms had a very obvious effect on the Free Union army. At least the mountain people who were temporarily organized were more like an army at this time.

He also did a lot of investigations. Based on reliable intelligence, the Free Union side formulated at least five strategies to deal with possible situations.

In terms of attitude alone, if there is no external interference, the Free Union will win.

Although both sides are actively preparing for war, whether with actual actions or verbally, the enthusiasm is generally insufficient.

In contrast, the Indian subcontinent is much more lively. With the beginning of the Afghan invasion, the Sikh Empire has once again risen, and Sir Henry Hardinge has to concentrate his forces to deal with the situation in the north.

At this time, the princely states that had long been dissatisfied with the British began a new round of rebellion. Even the princely states that were not dissatisfied with the British wanted to take this opportunity to expand their territory or at least plunder some property.

The war soon spread across the Indian subcontinent. At this time, Sir Henry Harding had to write to Prime Minister Robert Peel again to request reinforcements.

However, this time he was not as calm as before, and the letter was full of words such as "urgent" and "precarious".