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Austria-Hungary declaring war on Italy was nothing short of bad news for Napoleon III in the midst of the war.

Napoleon III wearily told the French generals, ”Now we can be sure, the Austrians won’t act in our conflict with Prussia, which also means we will face more Prussian troops.”

This news was undoubtedly a heavy blow for the French army. Before the war, France underestimated Prussia, but once the fight began, France found itself caught in Prussia’s endless wave tactics.

The current battle situation had turned disadvantageous for France. The Rhine corps was passively defending, while the southern division led by McMahon had completely fallen into a disadvantage, at risk of collapse at any time. Even the fifth army sent to support had achieved nothing, though an unexpected attack had caused significant losses to Prussia’s fifth army, but the standoff in the Saverna area persisted due to reinforcements from the Heixinggen brigade and the third brigade led by Robert.

Unable to break the stalemate on the battlefield, Napoleon III’s hopes for Austria-Hungary grew increasingly heavier. This was due to the cause of the Austro-Prussian war. Indeed, there was a part of the Austrian population that held a vengeful attitude towards Prussia. If the Austrian Empire still existed, Austrians might indeed have launched a surprise attack on Prussia. But now it was Austria-Hungary, and furthermore, Tsarist Russia supported Prussia.

”Your majesty, we can’t rely on Austria-Hungary anymore. These Italians seem out of their minds, declaring war on the Pope Country under Austria-Hungary’s stern warning. We shouldn’t have withdrawn from the Pope Country back then...”

History cannot be changed. If it could, Napoleon III’s foremost wish would be to lend a helping hand to the Austrian Empire during the Austro-Prussian war.

Unlike Napoleon III’s gloomy demeanor, Prussian high officials rejoiced wildly upon hearing of Austria-Hungary’s war declaration against Italy.

”Now, we finally understand the reason behind Austria-Hungary’s military movements. They have long set their sights on Italy, and Italy charging into this situation will likely...”

”This is also good news. We no longer have to worry about Austria-Hungary stabbing us in the back, and we can now strike the French with full force. As for the Kingdom of Italy, who cares about their fate!”

...

On the Italian-Austrian border.

The Isonzo River defenses comprised two layers. The lower reach of the Isonzo River runs north to south, making it the only advantageous place for defense in the region, so Italy would not abandon its position on the west bank. However, the terrain on the west bank of the Isonzo River is lower than the east bank, easily subjected to artillery shelling from Austria-Hungary. Hence, Italy set up a second defense line twenty kilometers west along the Isonzo River.

”Boom... Boom... Boom...”

Italy’s predictions were not wrong. On the day the war broke out, Austria-Hungary’s artillery stationed on the Bainsizza Heights and Kalsu Heights on the east bank began shelling the Italian positions across the river.

At this time, Italy primarily deployed two key defenses: one was the northern defense line established in the north relying on the Alps. The other was the southern defense line arranged along the west bank of the Isonzo River.

Italy had around 150,000 troops, while Austria-Hungary had only about 80,000, of which Hungary contributed 20,000. Both sides deployed their main forces.

Venice and Lombardy were must-haves for Austria, not only due to their significant geographical location and port facilities but also for economic and historical reasons, propelling the Austrian government to actively engage in the war this time. As for Hungary, it was inclined to benefit from the war as long as Austria refrained from acting against German territories. Hungary raised both hands in support of fighting against Italy and Tsarist Russia.

On the high grounds on the east bank of the Isonzo River, Archduke Albert of Austria-Hungary, with binoculars in hand, watched with satisfaction the results achieved by Austria-Hungary’s artillery.

Albert, a celebrated general of Austria-Hungary and son of Grand Duke Karl, a famed general during the era of Napoleon, served as Austria-Hungary’s chief army inspector from 1869. He strongly advocated for industrial and railway development, established a short-term service system to train more reserve personnel, expanded war potential, equipped forces with and improved new weaponry, and established a sound General Staff system.

When the Franco-Prussian war broke out on June 20, 1870, to prevent him from seeking revenge, Prussia awarded him the title of Prussian Marshal and Saint George’s Grand Cross. He was one of the Austrians previously mentioned who harbored malice towards Prussia.

In the original history, Albert should have been in France helping to deal with Prussia at this time, but in this timeline, Austria-Hungary had long decided its strategy against Italy, so Franz appointed him as the supreme commander for this war against Italy.

With the rain of shells, the first line of defense built by Italy quickly turned into rubble. Italy understood that the first line of defense lay within Austria-Hungary’s artillery range, so they didn’t put much effort into its construction. Not abandoning this location directly was to buy more time for reinforcing the second line of defense.

”Marshal! Why don’t we take advantage of the artillery cover to attack the Italian forces? The Italians are already so suppressed by our artillery that they can’t even lift their heads, and we have solid bridgehead positions on the west bank of the Isonzo River at Thor Mino and Gorizia. The troops should be able to cross the river directly!” an Austria-Hungarian general asked, puzzled.

”The time for action in this war hasn’t arrived. We need to make the Italians realize the seriousness of the problem while misleading them into shifting more troops to the eastern front, making it easier for us to catch them all in one go. Indeed, charging over now would allow us to defeat the Italians quickly, but scaring them this way is no good,” Archduke Albert said disdainfully.

It wasn’t arrogance that made Albert a renowned European general. His most outstanding achievement was commanding 80,000 Austrian troops to defeat Emmanuel II’s 120,000 Italian troops in the previous Italo-Austrian war.

Therefore, the 150,000 troops of the Kingdom of Italy placed on the eastern line didn’t concern Albert much. Even though he held 80,000 men this time, they were now the empire’s elite.

”Marshal, are you suggesting the Kingdom of Italy will continue reinforcing the front lines?”

”Exactly. If the Italians know that they are facing me again, they will surely continue raising their stakes on the front lines. Thus, we must give the Kingdom of Italy preparation time.”

”However, Marshal, Italy is not the aggressor this time! If Italy takes advantage of its fortifications to resist, our victory might not come as easily as last time.”

”Of course, I understand that. My goal is to ensure Italy suffers a thorough defeat, rendering it impossible to ever become an adversary of the empire again. To inflict severe damage on Italy, we must draw more of its army to the front lines. Otherwise, it will be troublesome to pick them off one by one after entering Italy’s territories later. To prevent subsequent Italian resistance, we must eliminate the bulk of their active forces in one fell swoop at the front line.”

Naturally, Archduke Albert had another unspoken motive: to draw as much Italian military strength to the Venice and Lombardy region as possible, providing favorable conditions for Austrian forces concealed in Rome.

Why didn’t Italy dare to act rashly while French troops were stationed in Rome? Aside from France’s might and its proximity to the Pope Country providing good support (Corsica Island), another key reason not to be overlooked was Rome’s proximity to the current Italian capital, Florence.

If Albert could strategically utilize the hidden Austrian force in the Pope Country, he would undoubtedly surprise the Kingdom of Italy with a startling revelation.

In reality, Albert’s plan was coming together. After learning about the Austrian-Hungarian frontline commander’s identity and approximate troop strength, Italy’s subsequent troop mobilization was steadily flowing to Venice, fortifying a third line of defense, which lay near the city of Venice.

Due to the prior war, Emmanuel II was deeply impressed, even fearful, of Albert’s commanding prowess, feeling uneasy with just 150,000 troops, even though Italy was on the defensive side.