Chapter 296: Taking Venice
"I'm sorry, everyone. We in Mozambique are very sensitive about this matter and will not open the port. This is related to the security of Mozambique."
"In other words, there is nothing to discuss about this matter! We just hope that you can provide the port for economic development. The personnel can operate under your supervision and it will not involve your safety issues."
The Mozambican receptionist shook his head and said, "Please go back! This is the governor's decision."
The East African diplomats looked at each other. It seemed that the new Governor of Mozambique was indeed not easy to deal with. However, there was nothing they could do. Since that was the case, they could only go back and report the situation first.
It was not surprising for the East African government that Mozambique disagreed with the port lease. They had not expected Mozambique to agree in the first place and were just trying to give it a try.
Put yourself in their shoes. If a country currently asks East Africa to open its market, East Africa itself will not agree. Of course, renting a port and opening a market are definitely different, but the principles are the same.
East Africa fully understands the Portuguese. After all, the Portuguese had been treated like this by the British before and would definitely not let their guard down.
…
In the blink of an eye, it is December.
Archduke Albrecht, the supreme commander of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, finally started the final battle against the Kingdom of Italy. Dragging it on was definitely not a solution. Venice had been besieged for several months, and more than half of its population had left, some to East Africa, some to South America, and some to the surrounding areas. Now that the Austro-Hungarian Empire's goal had been achieved as a whole, the war could not be dragged on to prevent unexpected events.
"Attack on all fronts!"
As the order was issued, the whole of Italy resumed the scene of continuous artillery fire. The heavy artillery mobilized from the rear of the Austro-Hungarian Empire fiercely bombarded the city defenses of Venice, and the pressure on the Venetian defenders increased sharply.
On the same day, the Austro-Hungarian coalition forces in the Lombardy region also launched a large-scale attack on Lombardy. The expeditionary force, which had detoured back to the Papal States to rest, and the Papal Army also steadily advanced towards Florence for the second time.
The Kingdom of Naples did not take any large-scale action, mainly to guard against Sicily in the south. The Sicilians were not interested in the Kingdom of Naples and did not want to restore the former Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and live together.
Due to internal instability in the Kingdom of Naples, it did not join the war, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire agreed.
Although Sicily is still under the rule of the Kingdom of Italy, as long as the Kingdom of Naples and the Papal States exist, its communication can only rely on the Mediterranean. Even if this enclave does not separate from the Kingdom of Italy in the future, it is very likely to demand autonomy.
During the months when the Austro-Hungarian Empire stopped its offensive, the Kingdom of Italy was not unprepared. Apart from the trouble of dealing with the annoying expeditionary force, the Kingdom of Italy was able to maintain order overall.
Taking advantage of this gap, Emmanuel II once again asked the British for help. This time the British did not refuse. A large amount of military aid was tilted towards Italy. The British did not want the Austro-Hungarian Empire to defeat Italy easily. The Franco-Prussian War was a foregone conclusion, unless a figure like Napoleon appeared again to save France from danger, but the probability was extremely low, so the British began to free up their hands to curb the expansion of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Meanwhile, the Kingdom of Italy.
"The Austro-Hungarian Empire is not as terrible as imagined. The achievements they made before were just a sudden attack after a long plan, which caused us heavy losses in the early stage. However, based on the results of the battles between the two sides in the past few months, we can clearly see the progress of the kingdom's soldiers." said the Minister of Defense of the Kingdom of Italy.
It is an objective fact that the military strength of the Kingdom of Italy has improved, but it is also a fact that the Austro-Hungarian Empire did not make any effort in the previous few months.
This led to a very interesting result. Although the Italian side was losing soldiers and territory every day in the Venice area, the Italian military was indeed reporting frequent victories.
Especially after Venice was besieged, it still vowed to the Kingdom of Austria-Hungary: "The Austro-Hungarian Empire is already at the end of its strength. With the fortifications of Venice, it is completely possible to defend Venice as a bridgehead and not lose it."
The reason why the Italian military reported this was that they had not been hurt yet. Except for the initial period of the war, the intensity of the Austro-Hungarian offensive soon dropped, causing the main force of Italy to slowly shrink and finally squeeze into the small city of Venice.
At the same time, the Kingdom of Italy organized an army of 100,000 in the rear with the assistance of the British. Therefore, in this war, various countries judged that the Austro-Hungarian Empire might not win. Although the Austro-Hungarian Empire was stronger overall, Italy, with the support of the British, might be able to complete a counterattack.
However, the Austro-Hungarian Empire at this time was not the Austro-Hungarian Empire during the First World War, and its army and navy generals were not foolish and incompetent, but two world-renowned generals recognized as such, Archduke Albrecht and von Tegetthoff.
Therefore, the current Austro-Hungarian army is still strong among the great powers, and it is not as difficult as it was in the past to defeat Serbia.
Albrecht strengthened the Italian Kingdom's army on land, and the Austro-Hungarian Navy also began to harass Italy's Sicily, Sardinia and mainland.
The restoration of the Kingdom of Naples ensured that it had a place to dock and resupply in the waters west of Italy.
The Kingdom of Italy felt the pressure from the very beginning in the final battle against Albrecht. Crisis began on many fronts, and Venice, the solid bridgehead, was not as strong as they had imagined.
Under multiple rounds of artillery bombardment, a breach was quickly opened in Venice's defense line, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire entered the Venice area and began street fighting with the Italian Army.
Normally, as the party fighting on its own soil, Italy should have an advantage in the street fighting in Venice.
But this time it was different, because the enemies of the Italian Army were not only the Austro-Hungarian Army, but also the local citizens of Venice.
After the Austro-Hungarian army entered Venice, they immediately gained the support of the Venetian people, who led the way, assisted in the battle, and shot behind the Italian Army.
As for why the Venetians did this, it was because the people of Venice had long been fed up with the so-called Kingdom of Italy.
The dignitaries of Venice took the opportunity to make a fortune in Venice due to the national crisis. They committed atrocities in Venice for several months and then put the blame on the Italian Army.
Nearly 100,000 Italian army troops were crowded into the small city of Venice, which consumed a huge amount of food. Coupled with the government's exploitation, the citizens of Venice could be said to be on the verge of collapse.
It would have been fine if the Austro-Hungarian army had not yet invaded, but the moment the Austro-Hungarian army entered Venice, the people's anger that had been pent up for months completely erupted.
With the help of the citizens of Venice, the Austro-Hungarian Empire gained the upper hand in the street fighting, and the Italian Army's already low morale collapsed instantly after being stabbed in the back, and Venice fell completely on the first day.
(End of this chapter)
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