Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 212: We Must Remain Neutral

On the day of the declaration of war, Austria, which was well-prepared, dispatched 400,000 troops in three directions to launch an attack on the Kingdom of Bavaria.

The unprepared Bavarian government could only passively meet the enemy and naturally suffered a tragedy. Without any preparation, they were suddenly hit by the Austrian army.

Upon receiving the request for reinforcements from the front line, the Bavarian government was in chaos. Maximilian II knew that he was in big trouble. Austria’s speed was too fast, and the border was lost as soon as the battle began.

......

When the news of the war between Austria and Bavaria came to Freilassing, people here were panicking. Colonel Andreas, the commander of the garrison, felt bad in an instant.

Looking at the intelligence in his hand, he didn’t know how to fight this war. He didn’t know how many people were in the Austrian army on the opposite side, but it was at least tens of thousands. He only had two garrison regiments under his command.

More than 3,000 Bavarian soldiers had to stop the advance of tens of thousands of Austrian troops, even if the God of War was reborn, they would not be able to withstand this too.

But he had no choice. The order from the country was to hold on to the garrisons across the country. Since national mobilization also takes time. In order to fight for this time, the frontline garrisons can only sacrifice themselves.

This was the intention of the Munich bureaucrats and also of Maximilian II. Munich is too close to Austria. If there is no obstruction, the Austrian army can reach the city within two days.

The guard reported: “Commander, Mr. Marcus is visiting.”

Andreas was slightly surprised. At this time, those who were not prepared to evacuate were mostly some extreme nationalist youths who were ready to welcome the Austrian army.

Marcus is obviously not such a person. As a celebrity in the cultural circles of the Kingdom of Bavaria, he has a high reputation in Freilassing.

“Invite him in,” Andreas said.

Anyway, the visitor is still a guest. Moreover, the two sides have known each other for a long time, and there is still some friendship, although the timing of the visit is quite inappropriate.

......

Marcus directly said: “Andreas, this time I have come representing all the citizens of Freilassing.”

To be honest, the idea of being a turncoat disgusted Marcus, but faced with so much pressure, it was difficult to refuse.

Apart from Austrians, it was mostly his relatives and friends. The majority of Freilassing’s social elites did not wish for this war to break out.

War is the most terrible thing. Every war is a reshuffle of interests. For these interest groups, it is not yet known whether Austria can unify Germany. Anyway, Freilassing cannot stop the Austrian army’s offensive.

Once the flames of war are ignited, they, as local overlords, would become the biggest victims.

If it was foreign invasion, then of course everyone would be patriotic. Surrendering without fighting was impossible for them to even entertain the thought of it.

Clearly, Austria was not a foreign invader. Cloaked in the banner of national unification, most could accept it; surrendering really held no pressure to them at all.

It wasn’t even surrender. They could remain neutral, that’s right, neutral. This was Franz’s invention drawing from experiences of his past life, agitating Bavaria’s local governments and militaries to remain neutral amidst the war.

Then everyone’s interests and face would be taken care of. Regardless of whether Austria ultimately unified Germany or not, or what final outcome befell the Kingdom of Bavaria, they would stand their ground undefeated.

Through back channel maneuvering in German civil organizations, these people were brought together around shared interests — neutrality. And so the Freilassing local council passed a resolution of neutrality.

In order to convince Marcus to be their mouthpiece, even neighboring regions were stirred into action. Facing irresistible public sentiment and plagued by idealist thinking, Marcus naturally could not decline.

Andreas said angrily: “You want us to surrender to the Austrians? This is impossible! As a soldier, the word ‘surrender without fighting’ is absolutely not in my dictionary!”

In Germany, martial values are still favored, and surrendering without fighting is the greatest insult to soldiers which will accompany them throughout their lives.

Marcus shook his head and said: “No, Colonel Andreas, how could we do such a thing?

I can’t do such a thing as betray the kingdom. If it is an invasion from outside, I will fight side by side with you, but the current situation is somewhat special.

Now the Austrians are launching a war of unification, not an invasion. I may be loyal to the Kingdom of Bavaria, but I also am to Germany.

Now the kingdom’s government and the empire stand opposed over unification. The people of Freilassing have decided to remain neutral in this war. I represent the people and hope that you and your subordinates will respect the people’s choice.”

Andreas was a little dumbfounded by a plan of this kind. After thinking about it, he found that it seemed to be very viable.

Fighting to the death was impossible. The gap between the strengths of the two sides is too great. Even if Andreas is willing to fight the Austrians with his army, it will not really change the outcome.

Andreas asked casually, “What will happen if I refuse?”

Marcus’s face sank and he said seriously, “If you refuse the people’s choice, then you will be banished.

The people of Freilassing have the right to make their own choices. Even if they cannot contribute to the unification of Germany, we cannot become sinners who obstruct its unification!”

Looking at Marcus’s attitude, Andreas breathed a sigh of relief as he finally didn’t have to fight the Austrians to the death.

No one wants to die. It’s foolish to fight a war that you know you can’t win. If it was an invasion by a foreign enemy, for the glory of the soldiers, Andreas could still inspire morale and fight together.

Forget about the country’s civil war, he hasn’t lived long enough yet! The war had just broken out and he’d already cursed the Munich bureaucrats down to their whole ancestry.

Isn’t it good to establish the Holy Roman Empire? Why does it have to be like this? Andreas also had ambitions, eager to build military exploits.

However, to make contributions, there must be basic conditions, such as the Austrian army coming to attack having only one regiment or less.

In the current situation, even if all of Bavaria’s military was concentrated, it would still be insufficient to counter the enemy. If he ordered resistance and his own troops betrayed him, where could he go to cry?

After the war, he might even be slapped with the charge of sabotaging national unification. Andreas thought: whoever wants to do this kind of thing can do it instead!

Andreas deliberately acted like he was in a dilemma and said: “Mr. Marcus, since it is the people’s choice, I will of course respect it. But for such a major decision, I must convene a meeting of officers to unify everyone’s stance.”

Marcus thought for a while and said, “No problem, but our time is running out. You must make a decision quickly. The Austrians are about to launch an attack.”

......

The result was naturally no surprise. At the military conference, Andreas’ proposal to respect public opinion was passed by an overwhelming majority.

Of course one could not blame them. With only two incomplete regiments holding the line, mustering the courage to resist tens of thousands of Austrian troops was truly difficult.

The so-called public opinion just solved their troubles. Anyway, this is a civil war. Neutrality is better than surrender, and surrender is better than death. Everyone hasn’t lived long enough yet!

Then, after the outbreak of the war, a dumbfounding scene appeared. The border cities and defenders of Bavaria all declared neutrality.

Occasionally, if garrisons put up resistance, they would be quickly annihilated by the Austrian troops flooding in, unable to even buy time.

One could not blame them. Bavaria was unlike the militaristic Prussia. Their standing army barely numbered forty to fifty thousand men, with only around ten thousand spread along the Austrian border.

Just these ten thousand men, to guard a border line nearly a thousand kilometers long and face the attack of four hundred thousand attacking Austrians, they were truly powerless.

Under such conditions, the Munich bureaucrats ordering them to fight to the death pushed them onto the road of no return.

The local power factions, which was also the largest anti-war faction, together with radical German nationalists, naturally passed a resolution of neutrality in the local councils through their joint efforts.

For local leaders to handle the military instead, things naturally became much easier. It wasn’t asking them to surrender anyway, merely to remain neutral.

As long as someone took the lead, there were more people willing to follow. The Bavarian government was unable to send reinforcements in time, and to some extent, this was good for them.

Otherwise, the dispatched troops would mostly be influenced to be neutral. The pressure of the trend of public opinion is very terrifying. The decision of the local councils made the officers think that this was the will of the Bavarian people.

They were involuntarily influenced, and the trend of public opinion was shaped. Even if someone wanted to criticize Austria for launching this war in the future, they would not be able to speak out.

Human hearts are very complicated. After these regions made a decision to be neutral, these people inevitably began to lean towards Austria. Under the guidance of pro-Austrian media, many people began to criticize the Bavarian government.

Under this influence, everyone unconsciously thought that the Bavarian government was unpopular, and the people were willing to support Austria’s unification of Germany.

Munich is too close to Austria. Due to the poor quality of the frontline defenders, on the third day of the outbreak of the war, the Austrian army had already arrived at the city gates.

The choices before Maximilian II was to run away, resist, or surrender.

Prime Minister Karl von Abel advised: “Your Majesty, it’s still possible to leave now. If you wait any longer, the Austrians will surround Munich, and it will be difficult to leave!”

Resistance was impossible. When the war just broke out, they still had some confidence that the Kingdom of Bavaria could resist until reinforcements arrived.

Since receiving a thick stack of neutrality declarations, the Bavarian government has completely lost confidence. In their view, the people have abandoned the government.

You can tell from the Austrian marching speed that there was no resistance along the way. Otherwise, how could they cover 180 kilometers of terrain in just two days?

It would have taken at least four or five days. Of course, a few more days would not solve the problem, but it could increase everyone’s confidence.

Otherwise, it would be like now, making everyone suspicious and afraid that the defenders would sell them out.

Maximilian II smiled bitterly and said, “Would that work?”

This incident dealt him a big blow. He had previously believed he enjoyed great popular support, but reality was exceedingly cruel. Flying in from all directions, the neutrality declarations made it seem as if Bavarians universally wished him gone as soon as possible.

Finance Minister Karl von Schrenck comforted him, “Your Majesty, the people are just dissatisfied with this war. They have not truly defected to the Austrians…”

Maximilian II said disappointedly, “It’s all the same. They have already made a choice with practical actions. They want to support the unification of Germany, but we are standing in the way, wanting to establish a Greater Bavaria!”

Run away?

Maximilian II still had some political acumen. If he ran away now, could he come back in the future?

Even if he had the support of the great powers, if he encountered resistance from the people, how could he maintain his rule?

If the Kingdom of Bavaria was annexed by Austria, it would be the same outcome whether he ran away or not. Anyway, the Austrians would not do anything to him as king, and they would even have to provide him treatment befitting his position.

Prime Minister Karl von Abel continued to persuade: “Your Majesty, things may not be so bad yet. Even if we lose Munich, we can still establish ourselves in the western region.

The infiltration of the Austrians in the east is too serious, which has caused the current situation.

As long as we hold the western region and wait for the arrival of reinforcements from various countries, the situation will change. They will not watch Austria annex Bavaria.”

Before Maximilian II could make a decision, an attendant rushed in and said anxiously: “Your Majesty, something big has happened. The Munich City Council has just made a decision to remain neutral in this war, and the situation in the city is likely to change!”

Neutrality is contagious too. Who wants to fight in a doomed war?

The Munich Council said they had wanted to be neutral for a long time. If it weren’t for the central government being in the city, would they have waited until now?

At this time, the Austrians had already arrived at the city gates. The people in the city were already panicking. If a fight broke out, the losses would be heavy, and might even lose their lives as a consequence.

At this point, neither capitalists nor nobles wanted to fight this war that was doomed to fail.

Directly persuading the king to surrender was too risky, and no one wanted to be the first to speak up. At this point, the council played a role, representing public opinion and telling the king that the war could not be won.

Anyway, there were so many neutral places, and almost half of Bavaria had declared neutrality. They were just following the trend and had no intention of betraying the king.

These people were still civilized, which fully demonstrated that the Bavarian government had done a good job in its daily work. Otherwise, the people in the city would have rebelled by now.

Maximilian II understood the implicit meaning, that everyone did not want to fight this war, and he could understand that he himself did not want to fight this war without a future.

The intervention of the great powers did occur. European countries such as Britain, France, Russia, and Spain condemned Austria’s barbaric behavior and ordered them to stop the war.

Yet the Austrian army still appeared at the gates of Munich, while the joint intervention of various countries had not yet been organized. The Kingdom of Bavaria was about to be finished.

This means that Austria can ignore the threat of the great powers, and many implied possibilities hid behind that. If Maximilian II still cannot guess the reason at this time, then he really is a fool.

The Austrian government cannot withstand the joint pressure of all the great powers, and no country in the world can ignore such unified coercion.

The only explanation is that the great powers have been divided. With Austria’s strength, as long as one great power lent support or even tacit consent, such threats could be brushed aside.

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