Chapter 10: Reactions from various countries
As the war progressed, the battlefield began to become bloody. After Prussia began its first performance, the Austrian Empire also began to demonstrate the strength that a great power should have.
Only on the second day, the Austrian army launched the larger Battle of King's Mountain, and relying on the fierce attack of the army, successfully pulled the front line to the near end of the Danish fortifications.
The Danish defense line immediately appeared precarious. If other German states joined in, Denmark's defense would likely face even greater difficulties.
On the battlefield filled with smoke, the heavy weapons of the German countries continued to increase and the number of artillery continued to rise.
Hundreds of artillery pieces fired at the same time, increasing the pressure on the Danish defense line. The flames illuminated the night and the weather began to turn bad.
However, the Danish positions were clearly unable to fully cope with such a powerful artillery attack, and morale dropped significantly under the baptism of artillery fire.
Seeing the danger of the defense line and the high risk of being outflanked, the Danish commander-in-chief, General Mesa, has begun to consider abandoning the position here.
On the fourth day, Mesa held an emergency meeting, and the Danish generals present at the meeting looked solemn.
The commanders of various units were complaining about the difficulty of the war. The enemy had overwhelming firepower and countless troops, and the soldiers were injured by flying shells before they could even take action.
At the same time, they complained about the incompetence of the domestic government. Not only did the British remain inactive, but the expected Nordic coalition was not formed either.
Denmark is now in an isolated and helpless state. If it loses its troops here, it will just surrender later.
"Okay, I didn't ask you to come here to listen to complaints. I also know the difficulties we are facing, but we have no way out!" General Mesa scolded, and then said: "Now there are two ways in front of us. The first is to defend our position and fight the enemy to the end."
As soon as the words fell, someone started to object: "A bloody fight! How? This place is obviously undefendable, even if our numbers doubled, we still can't do it."
Others immediately agreed that it was really hopeless to rely on this line of defense to hold the line.
Mesa looked at the quarreling soldiers under his command and scolded them expressionlessly: "Enough! I didn't call you here to quarrel. Do you still behave like soldiers? If quarreling can solve the problem, go and quarrel with the enemy!"
The meeting place immediately fell silent. Mesa continued, "Now, let's talk about the second option, which is to retreat from the current fortifications and delay the enemy's attack so that we can find the enemy's flaws later. Now it's time to make a choice. Start speaking."
Immediately, an officer said, "Commander, I think retreating can still save a glimmer of hope. If we can persuade other governments to intervene and send troops, we still have a chance of winning. If we blindly defend this place, we will inevitably die."
Most officers nodded in approval, but General Mesa did not dare to make a decision easily.
"You said it well, but retreating is also risky. Just from the weather point of view, it is winter now. How to ensure the orderly withdrawal of the troops is a big problem. However, we really have no other choice. But after careful consideration, let's vote to decide!"
Afterwards, General Mesa asked his generals to vote anonymously, mainly because Mesa was not optimistic about the course of the war and he could not allow anyone to find fault with him at this moment.
Adopt the most democratic approach, and even if problems arise, we can then refer to collective decisions.
The use of anonymous voting can further prevent investigators from accusing the person of manipulating the meeting and acting arbitrarily.
As the voting results were announced, the withdrawal to protect the living forces was passed unanimously with no dissenting votes.
So, the Danes began to retreat that night, but the bad weather conditions were beyond their expectations and the retreating Danish army encountered a blizzard.
The sudden snowstorm disrupted the Danes' plans. It was a bitterly cold winter night, and suddenly snowflakes began to float in the sky. Then the cold wind mixed with the feather-like white snow quickly dyed the earth white.
The marching team formed a line, stepping on the white snow, forming a long black dragon, but the moon tonight was hiding behind the dark clouds.
The troops had not turned on the lights, and everything in front of them was dark. The white snow under their feet gradually turned into black muddy snow water as their military boots stepped on the snow.
Without the assistance of railways, the Danish army could only travel long distances in blizzards. The low morale made the march more difficult, and the team, which was initially neat and orderly, gradually began to slip out of the commander's control.
The chaos intensified the turmoil in people's hearts. Curses gradually rose, and the neighing of people and horses mixed together. Mules and horses were also slacking off in the snow. The sounds of whipping and cursing were intertwined in the night sky, and seemed solemn and bleak against the roar of the wind and snow.
Sitting in the rear, General Mesa, who had not yet evacuated, looked at the snowstorm outside the fortifications which showed no sign of abating. His feeling of uneasiness grew more and more intense, and his heart was filled with dark clouds.
However, the order could not be revoked. The large army had already set out for a long time, so it was naturally difficult to stop it halfway.
General Mesa could only hope that the God of Fate would bless Denmark, but from Mesa's face which was so gloomy that not a drop of water could be squeezed out, it could be seen that he was not so calm in his heart.
The next morning, with the light of dawn, the Danish army began to check the losses. Affected by the weather, a large amount of baggage and weapons were left in the wind and snow. The hasty retreat also increased the non-combat casualties.
There are also unlucky ones who got separated from the main group at night, and it would be difficult to gather them again.
It was a less than ideal retreat, even comparable to the losses in a small battle.
However, the Danish army completed its retreat in the early morning of the sixth day, preserving most of its manpower and continuing the war.
Poor General Mesa still could not escape the blame. When the news of the failed retreat reached back home, angry people took to the streets to protest. Mesa was dismissed for his poor command of the retreat.
The Danish government still has no intention of surrendering or negotiating peace. Although it has suffered a temporary defeat on the front line, its main force is still there and it can still give it a try.
The remaining Danish troops retreated to Flensburg to continue resisting the Allied attack, and the war continued.
Although the government did not intend to surrender, it was still cold inside. The expected intervention from various countries did not come, and the most hateful were the British and Sweden.
Denmark is the fulcrum for Britain to control the Baltic Sea, and Sweden and Denmark are even more closely connected, although there are some old stories between the two countries in history.
But Denmark is no longer the strong country that could disrupt the European situation. If other countries allow Denmark to fail, Denmark's decline will further.
The Danish government is already extremely anxious, the UK has been slow to respond, and other countries are simply watching the country suffer.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs almost "moved in" to the British Embassy, and the British Minister to Denmark reported the news back to the country in detail.
However, there is no unified consensus within the UK. The royal family, the government, and the military are struggling with each other, and there is no detailed plan to send troops.
The British could only send a message to the ambassador to Denmark, which said "delay". The Ministry of Foreign Affairs actively visited the Nordic countries and the Russian Empire, but there was no significant progress.
(End of this chapter)
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