Chapter 799 Let the boat row a little longer
However, they soon stopped laughing, because the state of Zug actually surrendered.
The top leaders of the Orthodox Alliance made a lot of efforts and spent a lot of resources to defend Zug State, but the result was that they surrendered without a fight, which was a huge blow to morale.
Another thing that hurt morale even more was that General Frey Holose of the Free Alliance claimed that the main force of the mercenaries of the Orthodox Alliance had been defeated by him, and the remaining members had basically surrendered.
The entire Orthodox Union was once again at a huge disadvantage, and there were rumors that the remaining states were in private contact with the government of Joseph Loy.
Seeing the bad news coming one after another, the two leaders of the Orthodox Alliance fell into despair, but they always looked at Archduke Karl from time to time, hoping to get an answer like "Austria's reinforcements will be here soon."
But all they got was a comfort: "Don't worry, I'm here. This war will not be lost."
Archduke Karl was more aware of the war situation at this time. He knew that the war had just begun, and the so-called orthodox alliance did not have a strong leader at all.
If this continues, there is no need to fight at all. Just civil strife caused by distrust and fear can bring down the entire country.
Therefore, the Orthodox Alliance still needs a big victory to stabilize its position. This is almost an impossible task for the Orthodox Alliance, which is at an absolute disadvantage in terms of military strength at this time.
Fortunately, Dufour had already lost a lot of troops due to underestimating the enemy's advance, so he should consider bypassing Fort Roy again, or wait for reinforcements before making plans.
Archduke Karl planned to attack Augustin Keller's main force head-on in Schwyz State. According to intelligence from both the Orthodox Alliance and Austria, Augustin Keller's main force did not intend to garrison after conquering Zug State, but wanted to move along. Flow down.
To be honest, Augustin Keller's military quality is much worse than Dufour. The former won the victory in Zug without spending a single soldier. In addition, the previous battle in Friborg made him feel like fighting. That's about it.
So Augustin Keller, a general with a background as a member of parliament, took it for granted and ordered his troops to move down the river, preparing to take advantage of the situation to capture the canton of Schwyz.
He directly ordered the seizure of all ships on Lake Zug, and then rushed directly to Schwyz regardless.
At this time, there was a conflict between the Schwyz state government and the army. The army felt that it should fight Augustin Keller. Although its own troops were insufficient, it could push the opponent back into the lake while the opponent's footing was not stable.
But the state government thinks it can be negotiated. The worst-case scenario is that it will surrender like the states of Friborg and Zug.
Just when the two sides were arguing, Archduke Karl came with the main force of the Orthodox Alliance. When Konstantin Sigwart and Ulrich Salis saw that the enemies had landed, the Schwyz State fired back. Local officials were dismissed without notice.
Several state legislators who planned to negotiate were directly thrown into prison. Just when everyone thought it was time for a big fight, Archduke Karl asked the soldiers to rest first and go to a decisive battle with Augustin Keller the next day.
"Why? Aren't we just sitting back and watching each other escape?"
Marshal Ulrich Salis asked in confusion. Although he was not a military genius, he understood the principle of attacking halfway across the border.
Prince Eugen used this method to severely damage Mustafa II's main force with only his vanguard, creating an exaggerated exchange ratio of 1:50.
Now Augustine Keller was obviously careless. At this time, the main force of the Orthodox Alliance plus the local troops of Schwyz State numbered close to 40,000 people. As long as the opponent had not completely crossed the river, they could swarm them.
Not to mention an exchange ratio of 1 to 50, as long as it is 1 to 2 or 1 to 3, it will be enough to go down in history forever.
Archduke Karl naturally knew this, but the transportation capacity of the ships on Lake Zug was limited. They could only transport about 10,000 people a day, and 10,000 people really couldn't be called a great victory.
Therefore, not only cannot we attack in advance, but we must also allow the opponent to move confidently and boldly.
"What you said makes sense, so I think you should send someone to deliver the surrender letter."
"Ah!?" Everyone exclaimed, "Then wasn't our blood shed in vain?"
"No, it's not that you actually surrender, but that Augustin Keller thinks that Schwyz will surrender like Zug."
"Can they believe it?"
Archduke Karl was a little helpless. He began to miss his staff. At least he didn't have to teach him such things.
"How will you know if you don't try?"
"But what if there are too many people crossing the river and we can't defeat them?"
an officer asked quietly.
Archduke Karl held his forehead, and Ulrich Sallis scolded at the side.
"The battle hasn't started yet, how do you know you can't win?"
The officer muttered something under his breath again.
"The battle hasn't been fought yet, how do you know you can win it?"
"you!."
Ulrich Salis was so angry that if there were any officers in other countries who dared to speak like this, they would have been charged by their superiors with confusing the morale of the military.
It's just that the so-called Orthodox Alliance in Switzerland is just a loose organization composed of some cantons, and the so-called leadership core is extremely weak. They are still thinking of negotiating with the Free Alliance to solve the problem.
In the end, Archduke Karl had to intervene to smooth things over.
"The Lucerne army will take the lead in tomorrow's battle. You can wait and choose to join or surrender directly."
Although the atmosphere became more awkward, the dispute finally subsided.
Augustin Keller was very happy after receiving the surrender letter from the governor of Schwyz, and even directly ordered the troops to start carnival mode.
Some adjutants thought the matter was very strange, but Augustin Keller didn't take it seriously.
"Have you ever been in a war?"
"No."
"Then you know what the heck! We have 50,000 people, and the Schwyz region has more than 10,000 troops. We can gather 30,000 troops tomorrow. What will happen if they don't surrender?"
"But other states in the Orthodox Alliance still have troops."
"What the heck! The main force led by General Dufour is still in the west! Do they dare to withdraw? And just look at these bastards from the Orthodox Alliance. They are not even as good as ruffians. They have no courage or guts at all, so they will surrender. !
This is God's blessing, the Federation doesn't want to shed too much blood, otherwise they will all die. Ha ha! cheer up! Find a girl, I'll invite you today! "
As soon as Augustine Keller's words came out, the whole place immediately became excited, and the officers joined the carnival army one after another.
However, a small number of officers were still worried, and they urged the troops to cross the river overnight.
The next morning, the sun rose as usual.
Although it was a carnival, only a few officers could participate. Most of the soldiers worked all night under the supervision of some officers, and a simple military camp was set up.
The soldiers who had been crossing the river all night were also exhausted physically and mentally, but at the urging of the sergeant, they went to get food first and eat before resting, which would make it easier to recover their strength.
Augustine Keller stretched himself and walked to the river with the support of two temporary military prostitutes. He was covered in stinky sweat last night and was ready to take a good wash.
Then they heard the drums beating, and the camp bells ringing wildly.