African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 11: Chapter 8 Prussia and Austria Coordination

With the active preparation and operation led by King William I and Chancellor Bismarck of Prussia.

The army of the Kingdom of Prussia was ready for battle, and the army of the Austrian Empire was on its way.

The Austrians were naturally well aware of Prussia’s ambition to unify the German territories.

In recent years, the rapid development of the Kingdom of Prussia was no longer a secret. The establishment of a customs union, industrial development, and railway networking had all increased Prussia’s influence in the German region.

Therefore, the Austrians would not miss the war against Denmark, as they couldn’t allow Prussia to win over the hearts of the German people.

Of course, Austria’s ambition to unify the German territories was no weaker than Prussia’s. Unfortunately, intervention from countries like Britain and France made them hesitant to act rashly. This time, Bismarck involved Austria by jointly steering the fate of the two duchies in the Northern States.

In the face of common interests, Austria took the bait, which was an open strategy. By not acting and waiting for Prussia to win over German public opinion, moving against Prussia alone seemed impossible; Prussia had already established an invincible position.

Schleswig and Holstein were far from Austria, so even if Austria gained control of one of these areas, it would be considered an exclave, whereas Prussia could quickly digest its spoils thanks to its geographical advantage.

However, Austria had a history full of exclaves, and no one really cared about this issue. The former Habsburg Empire had countless exclaves not only within the Holy Roman Empire but throughout Europe and even worldwide. Prussia could use this in the future.

This was also Bismarck’s brilliance; Austria had to swallow this open strategy. By involving Austria, they shared Prussia’s international pressure.

Austria, as a top world power at the time, was naturally unmatched by Prussia in the eyes of other nations.

During its heyday, the Habsburg dynasty had no rivals in Europe and was still at the same level as Britain, France, and Russia as global arbiters.

The current Austrian Empire was not yet the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary to come; its strength was still substantial.

The old veterans from the Napoleonic era had not yet faded away, and the Austrian Army remained a formidable force on the European continent.

Of course, expecting these old veterans to personally command on the front lines was unlikely, but they could at least stabilize the morale of the Austrian army, being people who had seen it all.

An old ship still has some good nails; though these people’s ideas might have become outdated, they still possessed capability and vision.

This time, the Austrian army seemed able to keep up with the times. Despite the chaotic composition of the army, preparations were methodical.

As the Austrian army moved northward, large forces quickly gathered in the North German territories. Bavaria, Württemberg, and other countries also mustered their troops to join in.

In terms of mobilization capability alone, Prussia was naturally superior. Although geographically, Prussia mainly mobilized internally, while Austria had to start from home and head north, enduring a long journey, placing it at a natural disadvantage.

But it must be said that the top-level discipline of the Prussian army, with unified scheduling through railways, ports, and mules and horses, allowed the general staff to formulate plans in an orderly manner.

The interconnection and communication within the logistics network made the entire Prussia function like a large military station, with every component of the national machinery perfectly aligned with the army.

The uniform clothing and comprehensive regulations made the Prussian army overall clean and efficient.

The Austrian army appeared more variegated; lacking a unified language and culture, various local nobles led troops from their regions, with differing regiment numbers and no uniformity in military attire, retaining regional and ethnic characteristics.

It was only because Austria had a vast empire and resources that the logistics did not collapse, and support from the Northern States allowed the Austrian army relatively good conditions for respite.

In addition to the Prussian and Austrian armies, other capable states also brought their troops to assist both nations, though compared to Prussia and Austria, they could only play a minor role.

With the concentration of troops from various countries, apart from the supplies that set out with the troops, subsequent logistics couldn’t all be provided from home, and most had to be procured from Prussia and the Northern States.

At this moment, Ernst, well-prepared, joined the business of supporting the military. The first batch of industrial products was directly loaded from factories and warehouses to military camps, offered for free.

Many armies that had not used products from the Heixinggen Development Company found it quite novel.

Cigarettes and lighters were particularly popular among the soldiers, a trend especially evident in the Austrian troops.

Although the Austrian army was also a client of Ernst, previously, due to distance, Ernst could not provide products on a large scale to the Austrian troops.

Now, Ernst seized this opportunity to popularize his products within the Austrian army, so that by the end of the war, Ernst’s tobacco company would have already built factories in Austria.

Because the Prussian army procured unified supplies and distributed them uniformly to soldiers and officers, Ernst couldn’t employ some minor tactics.

Austria was clearly different, with its mixed and varied army, the uneven quality of officers, and poor discipline, providing a market for Ernst’s products.

By bribing officers, these ruffian soldiers smoked until nothing was left. Austrian quartermasters had no choice but to increase cigarette orders.

As cigarettes indeed helped stabilize the emotions of soldiers, there was nothing more to say. Austrian commanders turned a blind eye, and the empire signed large orders that went flying into Ernst’s factories.

Once the soldiers retired, it would be hard for them to quit their tobacco dependence. At that time, Ernst could continue the tobacco business, with convenient and cheap rolled cigarettes spreading across the German territories along with these soldiers.

January 16, 1864.

Representatives of Austria and Prussia formally signed the agreement. An Austrian draft clause proposed to continue the 1852 agreement, but Bismarck canceled it, replacing it with a provision that Austria and Prussia could only jointly decide the relationship of the two duchies, and neither country could decide succession issues without the other’s consent.

This way, the two countries would jointly bear the international pressure, and it was only natural that German issues should be resolved by the Germans themselves.