Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

On August 10, 1869, two days after the Kingdom of Prussia declared war on France on August 8, the North German Confederation was formally established after the promotion of Prussian Prime Minister Bismarck. Bismarck convened the North German Confederation Assembly in Berlin and announced the establishment of the North German Constitution. The Constitution Because of the French declaration of war, it came into effect on August 15, 1869.

Under the threat of France declaring war, no one in the countries annexed by Prussia dared to object, nor were they willing to stand out. As a result, Bismarck and William I used external pressure to suppress internal methods and successfully completed the most significant power resumption after Prussia annexed various countries. This laid the most important foundation for the subsequent establishment of the German Empire.

Driven by the newly established constitution, King William I of Prussia became the leader of the North German Confederation, and Prussian Prime Minister Bismarck also served as Prime Minister of the Confederation. All German states had seats in the Federal Parliament, with Prussia occupying 17 seats.

In addition to the Kingdom of Prussia, the participating states include Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Saxony, Weimar, Eisenach, Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Oldenburg, and Braunschweig. K, Saxe-Meiningen, Sanktsen-Altenburg, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Anhalt, Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, Schwarzburg-Sandhausen, Waldeck, Reuss-Greitz, Reuss-Schleiz-Gerra, Schaumburg-Lippo, Lippo, Lübeck, Bremen, Hamburg, Oberssen (the Principality of Hesse on the Main northern part)

These 19 states have a total of 19 seats.

There are 36 members in the 17 seats of Prussia, and the North German Parliament is elected by the people.

The Prussian-Prussian war has not yet begun, but intelligence on the military strength of the two countries (at least indicating) has fallen on the desks of each country.

"The Prussian army, which implements universal conscription like Sweden, is the most powerful army in Western Europe. The North German Confederate army with Prussia as the core, including the armies of the states occupied by southern Prussia, has more than 1.1 million troops, including more than 700,000 combat troops. , and France’s current army is only 600,000, which is almost twice the strength of France.”

Mark Rudd, Chief of the General Staff of the Netherlands, said: "The army currently ruled by Prussia has agreed to be organized into several armies. The Prussian army's artillery equipment mainly includes steel tube rifled guns manufactured by Krupp Arsenal, with an effective range of 3.5 kilometers."

"As early as the winter between 1867 and 1869, Prussia began to make moves. It seemed that General Moltke, the Chief of General Staff, had already drawn up a war plan. I guessed to the Prussian Council that the French army would launch an attack first, and the direction of the attack would definitely be Choose the direction of Alsace and Lorraine, so recently the Prussian army secretly gathered not far from the Rhine River near Strasbourg, France.

This is the protrusion of southeastern France, directly facing the German land on the east bank of the Rhine River, and the French railway situation is obvious. If Prussia can understand the French railway route, then Moltke and Bismarck can easily calculate it. Due to its old age and other reasons, the railway section of Strasbourg is unable to mobilize all the main French forces. Even more than half of the French army can only copy a little west of Strasbourg due to reasons beyond the railway carrying capacity. The first group got off the train in Metz, the hinterland of France. In this way, the French Metz Group and the Strasbourg Group will be separated by the Vosges Mountains."

Mark Rudd was frequently surprised by William IV's detailed account of his family treasures.

He followed William IV's words and said in surprise: "According to His Majesty, all he needs to do is to gather all three of his armies behind Metz and Strasbourg facing the Rhine, and not take the initiative to attack them. , if he is trying to separate the French army in the Vosges Mountains, he will not let the mountains separate his attacking troops."

William IV seemed to be influenced by him and said with excitement: "Once the direction and strength of the French attack are determined, the Prussian army can concentrate its forces to defeat the separated French army, and then launch a determined attack on Alsace and Lorraine. , annihilate the main French force in the General Director, and occupy Paris."

As the Chief of General Staff of the Netherlands, it goes without saying that Mark Rudd has real credentials. As he continued to think about what William IV was saying, his whole body was shaken, and his eyes revealed a frightening blazing light.

It seemed that at this moment, he felt that if he were the commander on the Prussian side, he would completely defeat the French army, and he would have an eighty-nine percent chance of victory.

It can be said that William IV refused to say anything shocking and refused to stop, which shocked Mark Rudd's heart.

Mark Rudd suddenly pointed out: "If Bismarck and Moltke did not include their old rival, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, in their plans, once the Austro-Hungarian Empire joins the war on the side of France, will it be difficult for the Prussian army to cope with the Austrian-French attack on Prussia?"

William IV smiled at this and said affirmatively: "If you believe Bismarck, I believe he will have a comprehensive plan. If Austria and Hungary choose to join, Prussia will beg for it. Don't forget that they still want to agree. As for the German Confederation, the Prussian army will definitely take military action against it."

The total strength of the French army is 570,000, of which only about 330,000 to 340,000 combat troops are in the Far East. The Far East currently occupies 200,000 troops. In the past, Prussia might not have dared to act rashly, but now the more than 300,000 combat troops are There are about 100,000 troops in the Far East, and there are tens of thousands of logistics troops there.

So in the guy is Africa, there are another 50,000.

The local combat troops alone numbered 250,000. Logistics plus reserves are only about 100,000, which means there are only 350,000 regular troops in France. On the contrary, Prussia had 1.1 million and Africa combined had less than 100,000 colonial troops. The mainland also has more than 1 million troops, which is about three times the number of France in the mainland. "

Mark Rudd bit the bullet and said: "But France implements a standing army system. Its troops are battle-hardened and its commanders at all levels are experienced. Moreover, in the 16 years since it participated in the Crimean War against the Tsarist Russian Empire in 1853, most of them have There have been countless small battles in five continents including Europe, Asia, Africa, and the United States. Therefore, unlike Prussia, which only recently participated in the Prussian and Austro-Prussian wars, France seems to have more well-trained and capable soldiers. Experienced Soldiers"

William IV criticized: "France's experience is that it has fought more wars. However, except for the Royal Guards, the French army's military structure usually does not abandon the two-level establishment of corps and divisions. Just like now, it is temporarily prepared to cope with wars. The hasty formation failed to ensure the proper coordination of the troops. I think this was a major mistake made by the French military leader Napoleon III, the commander-in-chief. Moreover, France did not formulate a thorough war plan in advance, and the hastily formulated plan contained many errors. .”