#13b The Habsburg in the high castle: Franz Joseph's run
It's been a while but here's the conclusion of Franz Joseph's crucible- it's a long one
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It may be useful to consult google maps of lake Garda to understand how this battle plays out:
https://maps.google.co.il/maps?hl=e...=il&ei=oQ3gULqdE4fVtAbHn4G4BA&ved=0CB4Q8gEwAA
August 12th 1859 19:00, Province of Lombardy Austrian empire (recognized)/ Kingdom of Northern Italy (proclaimed), fortress of Pischiera
Two men are standing by in a small room in a heart of the massive fortress. One is old, well past his prime. He is standing, tense, a few steps behind the second man as he gazes at the window overlooking lake Gardo. Though the second man is yet young his visage is grim and tired, the image of a man who have suffered a series of defeats, personal as well as those experienced by the rest of the 80,000 man army besieged at Pischiera.
The setting sun is not visible form the eastwards facing aperture but it’s last rays paint the lake of Gardo an unsettling bloody color. "It won't be long now" notes the older man. The rumbling of heavy artillery, far heavier than anything the planners of the fortress had conceived might be fired at it (1) punctuates his words, followed by a massive water spout as the shell overshoots the docks.
"No." Agrees the younger, careworn man. "If it is to be done at all it must be done tonight, before the docks are ranged (2). I have already prepared the necessary instructions and a messenger. He will leave on a fast boat before the moon rises"
The older man turns. "You could go instead. If the plan should fail, if you should fall tomorrow, or even worse, fall captive, Austria falls as well. Are you set on this course of action?"
Franz Josef nods "The messenger's instructions nullify these risks. As for myself… I have realized that my errors have cost Austria dearly. Our situation would have been better if I had listened to my brother and made concessions to the Italians earlier. Or listened to you and avoided a set piece battle with Napoleon. Surely it would not have been worse."
"Your majesty…" begins Franz Graf Von Wimpffen (3).
"No. You know my errors, as does every man in this fortress. Could I flee to Vienna? Yes. But how many men could be loaded on the flotilla and evacuated before the rearguard panicked? Ten thousand? How long would you, or anyone, manage to keep the men left behind? You would be forced to surrender the fortress and 80,000 men without either inflicting casualties or buying time for the Prussians to mobilize. Nor can we hold this fortress for more than a week bracketed by their artillery. But if we can break out, we may yet hold the Adige, or at least the Alps, until the French are forced to withdraw their forces to the Rhine."
Wimpffen nods heavily. "Well, I am at least well suited for the naval portion of the breakout (4). Or at least I can think of no one more suited for this task. This means Jellacic will command the landwards side of the breakout… under you of course. Kintzel has volunteered to lead the rear guard"
Franz Josef nods. "I will not repeat my errors. Jellacic has my full confidence (5)"
August 13th 03:00 French field headquarters, Confine (6)
Marsahl Regnaud was shaken awake by his aide. "Marshal! The Austrians are carrying out a major Sortie! They have landed marines at the rear of our lines!"
Regnaud yawned. "well son, I was expecting something like this. Actualy I was hoping for it and inviting it. That is why I positioned our reserves as I did and made preparatory orders for precisely this eventuality. Send the reserves orders to march on Ronchi to cut off the marine forces. After the marines are dispatched we'll push the sortie back into the fortress and I won't be surprised to receive a request for terms come the next day".
"No, forgive me marshal but the sortie is not to the east- it's to the West! The marine forces have landed at San Berneddeto and are mauling the Papal brigade!"
Regnaud froze, pantaloons halfway up his thighs. The West bank of the Mincio, unlike the East, was held almost solely by the Italian forces (7). While they had a near parity of numbers with the Austrians this was only because of the presence of indifferent Tuscan, Papal and neapalotonian troops and Lombard volunteer militia.
But why would Franz Josef attempt to breakout to the West? It made no sense- unless…
"Order Ist corps to hold the confine line against a possible sortie from Verona. IInd corps is to advance acroos the Minisco in support of the Italians. Have the Minisco flotilla begin ferrying troops across in case the Austrians try to flood out the bridge. All other corps to immediately advance to storm the Eastern Pischiera trenchlines. This isn't a sortie- it's a breakout. The Austrians are abandoning Ventia. They are aiming for a withdrawal to Trento"
The Aide quickly jotted down Regnaud's instructions and paused in his rush out of the tent only when Regnaud shouted- "and get a message to Garibaldi!"
Topography, Transportation and the advantages and disadvantages of the defender, Colonel Philippe Petain 1890 :
The Austrian breakout was a brilliant example of how a defender may use pre-prepared lines of communication and transport to effect a reversal of fortunes against a superior aggressor. It was also however an apt demonstration of the critical importance of the moral as well as the physical in mobilizing large numbers of men and the all important consideration of the friction of battle which tends to render overly complex plans impractical, however they appear on paper.
The initial breakout was accomplished with surprising ease. The Austrians had used the sluices in the upper lake and a raid by their flotilla to temporarily knock out the bridges over the upper Minisco, preventing the French from rushing reinforcements to support the Italian forces on the west bank of the minisco. They had successfully achieved tactical surprise by landing 10,000 troops at St Bernedeto, routing the ill disciplined Papal and Tuscan troops and forcing the better trained Piedmontese to withdraw to the south. The land based sortie, achieving local superiority against the outflanked Italian forces was able to break out of the fortress, leaving a rearguard of 20,000 walking wounded and volunteers who succeeded in holding the island core of the fortress for an additional week before surrendering.
The "long march" as it would come to be called saw the Austrian forces circle about the lake in a clockwise manner in an attempt to reach riva del garda and trento, still held at that time by the Austrian forces. Initially they were resupplied by means of the lake gardo flotilla. Indeed, this flotilla figured prominently in the plans for the breakout and it is unlikely that it could have been conceived, let alone carried out absent Austrian naval supremacy and considerable naval assets in lake Garda.
Even while this supremacy was maintained the long march was a touch and go. The Austrian rear was continually harassed by regular Italian forces, their flanks by cavalry and irregular Lombard militia and their ranks plagued by desertion. Wounded and fatigued troops were abandoned, sometimes serving as a rear guard serving to delay pursuit but more often surrendering after perfunctionary resistance. The real danger however came not from the flanks or rear but from the front. After reaching Salo the Austrian path forward was narrowed down to a single precipitous road perched between the foothills of the Alps and lake Garda.
A single French brigade, dug along that path could have held the Austrian retreat up beyond any hope of escape. The positioning of French and Italian forces however left no significant forces in the Alpine foothills to the west of Lake Garda. None, that is, except for Garibaldi's hunters of the Alps.
Garibaldi's troops were engaged at the time of the Austrian outbreak from Pischiera in intensive skirmishing with the Austrians entrenched in Riva del Garda. He was able with only 2,000 men to force the Austrians to deploy over 10,000 troops to keep the Alpine supply routes open. As Garibaldi was unaware and unconcerned with the Prussian-British ultimatum regarding the inviobility of the borders of the German confederation (8) Trento as well of Riva del Garda had to be garrisoned against his deprivations. The sudden discovery that his 2,000 men were the only force standing between the 75,000 Austrians streaming to the North and the garrison of Riva del Garda might have struck another commander with horror. To Garibaldi, of course, this was only another chance to gain immortality in service of the Patria.
Garibaldi calmly detached the first battalion of his brigade to hold off any Austrian relief from Trento while his other two battalions began a furious running defense of the lakeside road from Salo to Tremosine designed to slow the Austrian retreat to a crawl. Avoiding pitched battles they were nonetheless able to set up a series of improvised roadblocks which the Austrians were forced to successively outflank, or occasionally storm, in order to advance. The Austrians, needless to say, used exactly the same tactic to delay Franco-Italian pursuit and to rather greater effect given the narrower discrepancy in numbers. At the same time the garrison of Riva dela garda and Trento were pushing southward against the first Battalion eventualy forcing the two halves of Garibaldi's force together at Tignale.
Had Austria maintained control of Lake Garda it appears clear that Franz Josef's desperate gambit would have paid off. As it was, however, the Austrian rearguard left in pischiera was unable to hold the fort for more than a week or disable the waterways linking Lake Garda to the river Mincio for more than three days. Desperate efforts were required to take the fort and restore the waterways. Even more desperate efforts were required for marshal Regnaud to receive the inteservice cooperation he demanded and have the French Adriatic taskforce send every gunboat and light freighter it could muster up the Mincio. By the dawn of August 27th however the French possessed a fleet in lake Garda with a massive advantage in both displacement and firepower over the Austrian flotilla.
This development was unknown to either Franz Josef or Garibaldi. By the dusk of Ausgust 27th Franz Josef was reduced to 60,000 effective troops stretched across a narrow enclave from Gargrano to Tignale. Garibaldi on the other hand commanded less than 300 remaining effectives and twice that number of walking wounded holed up in the rubble of the once thriving lakeside village of Tignale. History, it is said, is decided by great movements of people, ideas and economic developments. But it is no exaggeration to say that the future of Italy, and all of Europe was determined in that stormy night by the clashing wills of those two men.
August 27th, 18:00 Tignale, Lombardia.
In a world never to be Franz Josef died at the age of 86. He died at his desk after a lifetime in which he sacrificed every inch of his soul to an unending battle against the forces undermining his empire. Never, after Solefino, would he meet them in open battle. Instead he battled them in compromises with nationalist politicians he despised, in a series of manipulations setting class against class, nation against nation, all to preserve the habsburg monarchy as the indispensable point of equilibrium within opposing and competing forces.
It is the lull following the ninth (or is it the tenth?) assault on Garibaldi's final position. Franz Josef stands as the wounded are carried off the battlefield, their bearers struggeling not to slip on the blood slick ground. Few halt to view their emperor. He has become a familiar sight over the past week, redeeming, if only partially, the reputation he had lost at Solefino. At his side stands general Jellacic, cursing under his breath in his native Croatian. Garribaldi has chosen his final position well. There are no flanks to turn, no tricks to employ. Only grinding, frontal assaults against a well dug enemy who is shielded by the curves and turns of the pass from artillery fire.
Given the disparity of numbers they still should have taken the village and opened the way to Trento. But the men are ill, tired and ground down. And they have made too many "successful" assaults where they had paid a massive butcher bill for few enemy casualties and several hundred yards of mountain passes. The head of the soldiers knows this battle is different, that a breakthrough here means the road to Trento is open. But their heart, their body, their soul, does not.
By the time he died he was, if not adored as a person, at least cherished as a institution by the 40 million citizens of the tumultuous empire. Few did not weep at his funeral. Few believed that the construct he had spent a lifetime upholding would endure. It did not. Few held hope for a better future to materialize out of the ashes of empire. It did not. But what in the end did his lonely struggle accomplish? Did it perhaps soften the agonies of Austrian dissolution, or did it only prolong and intensify them?
Have you received a response from Garibaldi? " inquires Jellacic. "I did." Sighs the emperor. "and?" Franz Josef crumples the piece of paper in his hand "I'm afraid he refuses our offer of surrender. Says he does not has the fascilities to care for our wounded". Jellacic lets out a rough chuckle. "Well, one cannot but appreciate an opponent who keeps his wit about him under these conditions. Shall we push on and try to finish him tonight or will we give our men a chance to rest until morning?".
Franz Josef is gazing over Jellacic's shoulder towards the lake, his face rapt with horror. "I think" he says as Jellacic turns to regard the Puff of smoke let out by the French steamer approaching the lakeshore, "that we no longer have a choice".
If that old, world-weary soul from another world could gaze upon his younger otherself on that glorious summer day in Tignale would he envy him? Or would he dismiss glory as ephermal and legend as vanity?
Franz Josef addresses his men. He compliments their courage. He speaks of duty and honor. He reviews the proud history of the Austrian army and how it always overcame adversity. He speaks of warm beds and safe fortifications at Trento. He stays away from the subject of Prussian mobilization- best not to alarm the non German troops. But he does reassure them that they just have to hold on and that there is hope. He tells them that there will be no retreat this time only a continuous assault until Garibaldi and his men are destroyed. And then he tells them he will lead the assault.
Perhaps a quarter of the men Franz Jozef leads in that final assault are German. Perhaps another quarter are from "loyal" nationalities, Croats (whose homeland is now entering into the "quiet mutiny"), Slovenes (increasingly sympathetic to the Croats), Czechs (who will soon seek autonomy within the empire) and Jews. But over half are from disloyal or secessionist provinces. It is perhaps surprising that they follow him as they do. But he must have done something in the past week to earn their respect and trust.
And then, for the last time in the history of Europe, a crowned European monarch leads his men in a charge.
August 27th, 20:00 Tignale, Lombardia.
The moon is not yet up but Franz Joseph has no trouble seeing in the darkness.
For the lake is on fire.
The proud imperial Flotilla of lake Garda is burning, destroyed by French gunboats. Franz Josef has no doubt that Von Wimpffen has gone down with his "flagship". He knows that Jellacic is dead, slain by the a shell fired from those gunboats, for fragments from that same shell had sliced across his left arm and cheek. What Franz Josef doesn't know is where the nearest officer of rank is.
But Franz Josef does know those same gunboats will soon pummel his clumped up army all along the long road to Gargnano. Unless he breaks through before day break. Unless he can gather his troops to finish the Italians off. There is only one row of houses left between him and the docks. Less than two kilometers to the northern edge of the village and the northern task force from Trento. He looks around at the confused mass of his soldiers and stands raising his bloodied saber above his hair and exhorting them in a broken combination of German, Polish, Czech, Magyar and Croat a growing clump of men solidifies around his as he charges towards that last row of buildings.
Halfway there ordered ranks of bayonet wielding men emerge from between the houses. Franz Josef has only a moment of despair to comprehend the meaning of their chant before an Italian sniper's bullet strikes him in the chest.
As darkness swallows him the last words he hears are "Vive La France! Vive La France!"
August 29th 09:00, ruins of Tignale, Lombardia
Brigadier Szabo (9) wearily presents his sword to his French counterpart François Aimé Melline and after a brief hesitation acknowledges the bandaged, supine figure of Giuseppe Garibaldi (10). Francoise waits until formalities are concluded before approaching Szabo. "You nearly had us a few times, you know. Even after we landed I was sure that we would be overwhelmed before reinforcements would arrive". Szabo nods wearily. "The men were mad with grief and rage after the emperor died. But rage burns a man out unless it is released. Every time we managed to organize an assault your damned gunboats rained fire on our line of approach. It did not take long to realize the men were dying to no avail."
François nods wearily and tries not to think about how few men he has left holding the perimeter to the north, where the Austrian relief detachment from Trento had overrun Garibaldi's men immediately following his division's landing.
Szabo coughs. "have you yet… found the body?"
"Not as yet. The corpses at the position where he is believed to have fallen are rather thick on the ground. I may assure you that he will treated with all respect. Such a monarch is not to be seen in this day and age".
"No" agrees Szabo sadly. "Nor the like be seen again".
"Well", muses Francoise, "Historians will no doubt argue each point of the battle until it can all be summarized in a neat tactical manual which bears no connection to the reality of the battlefield. Our duty now is to attend to the wounded and the ill. And I fear our provisions for both are very meager indeed…"
August 29th Vienna 16:00
Prince Maximillian stares at the letter, and the accompanying telegram for a long time before looking at his chief minister (11).
"But this means… I am to be emperor?"
"So it appears"
"Emperor… of Austria?"
"Such as it is, yes. I am afraid that is the only available crown suitable to your talents. Unfortunately it is an extremely troubled crown. Unless we receive help from the Prussia and the confederation immediately then I fear we must make such concessions as are necessary to preserve it's existence even if no longer as a great power"
Before Von Rechberg can digress further his flustered secretary appears, holding a pile of Telegrams. Rechberg raises an eybrow as he notes the address of origin of the telegrams. Bavaria, Wurtenberg, Baden, Dresden, but none, curiously, from Prussia, Frankfort or any of the North German states. His jaw drops as he examines the content of the Bavarian telegram. Wordlessly he hands it to his future Sovereign. Maximillian gapes at him after reading the telegram.
"What are we to do now?"
August 29th 18:00, French headquarters in Italy, Pischiera
Marshal Regnaud reviews with satisfaction the dispatch from Tignale before sliding it over to King Victor Emmanuel. "I must admit that I was worried for a time!" he exclaims. "Still, aside from the unfortunate loss of most of Garibaldi's men we have taken less casualties then we would have storming this fortress. Lord knows the walking wounded they left here were able to inflict enough damage on us as it was!".
"We must pray for Garibaldi's swift recovery" agrees Victor Emmanuel. "Still, it may perhaps be best if we consider how we may go about completing our task in liberating Italy before he recovers… certain provisions of the treaty are likely to raise unnecessary excitement and it is best if they are disposed of while he is incapacitated".
"Of course, of course", agrees Regnaud clumsily, wishing again that Napleon had not adruptly withdrawn after Solefino. He knows his strengths and his limits and politics are definitely among the latter. Then again, he suspects that so too it is for Louis Napoleon and the art of war. Better perhaps a cautious monarch, horrified at the chaff of war who prefers to leave military matters to the professionals than one who is eager to win glory as the kings of old on the field… and get his men killed in the process.
"Speak of the devil" he murmurs as his aide approaches with a telegram envelope bearing the imperial sigil. As he peruses the contents of the telegram and the orders contained therein his jaw drops. He meets the questioning gaze of victor Emmanuel with a look of guilt. How the blazes is he to inform him of his new orders?
(1) The Adige river is wide enough for French ships of the line to sail, or at least be towed all the way up to Verona. Some has done just that and have unloaded their heavy guns to be laboriously towed to the siege lines surrounding Pischiera. OTL Napoleon III had a scheme similar to this which never came into fruition.
(2) Since Pischiera controls the entrance to lake Gardo the lake remains open to Asutrian shipping carrying messages and some supplies to the besieged fortress. But the French Artillery is now sufficiently heavy to range all the way to the docks.
(3) OTL Solefino didn't end that badly for the Austrians. It was a tactical stalemate which, together with the Prussian mobilization meant Napoleon had to stop while he was ahead. Accordingly while Franz Josef did not come out of the battle shining with glory nor was his reputation and self esteem shattered the way it was TTL. With Ferenc Gyulani recalled to Vienna and the Second Austrian army shattered I'm assuming Franz Graf Von Wimpffen is made effective commander.
(4) Wimpffen was the chief admiral of the Austrian navy until 1854. However, this job was mostly administrative.
(5) So no amatuers yanking the chain as was the case at solefino. This is a standup fight between professionals.
(6) Like I said look at google maps. Since this battle never happened OTL I have to work by logic rather than historical analogy. Regnaud has set up his headquarters on the West bank of the Minisco on the line of communications between Verona and Pischiera.
(7) Regnaud has positioned the higher quality and more numerous French forces east of the Mincio since that is the logical site of either a breakout from Pischiera or a relief attempt from Verona. West of the Micio is the wrong way for the Austrians to go if they want to connect with the Verona garrison and Vienna.
(8) No, I didn't talk about that yet. We'll get to that ultimatum a few posts from now.
(9) Senior surviving officer of the Austrian army in Italy. After FJ did his thing everyone sort of had to lead from the front in attempts to break up the French position. You use up officers very quickly that way.
(10) The dice were in his favor. He's not going to be leading any invasion of sicily for a while though. He's also going to lose a leg and pass away quietly in a few years from complications.
(11)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Count_Johann_Bernhard_von_Rechberg_und_Rothenlöwen