Holy Roman Empire

The key figures in Cairo City were still making their last-ditch efforts, while the scattered French soldiers outside were different. Knowing that the situation in the Egypt battlefield was beyond redemption and with their retreat cut off, only fools would stubbornly fight to the death.

The surrender conditions promised by Austria were just a catalyst. What really made everyone determined was the dwindling supplies in their hands.

Especially for some of the forts that were under siege, rationing of food had already begun. If this dragged on, they would be finished before the enemy even launched an attack.

Located on the east bank of the Nile River, Aswan was just an inconspicuous small city that became known because of a major uprising a few years ago.

The rebel army had destroyed the "Aswan Dam," and the resulting flood inundated the downstream Delta, catching the attention of the European media and becoming famous worldwide.

Once bitten, twice shy. After the suppression of the rebel army, the Egyptian colonial government deployed heavy troops in the Aswan Region. The inconspicuous small city of Aswan suddenly became a strategic military location.

After the war broke out on the European Continent, to avoid a repeat of the tragedy of the inundated Delta, the French once again reinforced the Aswan Region, and the total force once exceeded eighty thousand.

With their robust forces, the defenders of the Aswan Region had repeatedly repelled the attacks of the Austrian army. Unfortunately, this was of no avail, as large-scale wars could not be reversed by the gains and losses of one city or one place.

As time passed, the surrounding allies fell one after another under the enemy's guns, and the French Army in the Aswan Region gradually became isolated.

...

At the French Command in Aswan, stars were gathering—almost all the high-ranking officers of the French Army that could come were present.

"The garrison at Comm emb surrendered five days ago; the enemy's encirclement has been completed. The situation in other areas is also not optimistic. There will be no reinforcements. What should we do now?"

No one wanted to bear the political disaster of surrender, and General Armand, the chief of the Aswan defense, was no exception.

To avoid facing a military tribunal after the war, the best solution in such situations was usually to make a collective decision, with everyone sharing the responsibility.

"Your Excellency, the leaders at the War Zone Command Department have ordered us to defend Aswan at all costs, without considering the actual situation.

The war has continued until now, and we have already suffered more than 30,000 casualties, with our peak force of eighty thousand reduced to the current fifty thousand.

What's worse, our strategic supplies are running low. Medical supplies are almost exhausted, and we have just enough weapons and ammunition to support one more battle.

In order to reduce food consumption, we even expelled civilians from the area. But it's still not enough. Even with the bare minimum distribution, we can last at most for a month.

We simply do not meet the conditions to hold the Aswan Region. Even if the enemy doesn't attack, we will starve to death before long."

The population in the Aswan Region is limited. In the future, there are only about two hundred thousand people, and even fewer now. After the outbreak of war, the number of soldiers exceeded that of civilians.

As the cotton region of France, the Aswan Region was no exception, with a large number of farmlands used to grow cotton.

It didn't matter during peace time, but it was a tragedy during war. Even after expelling the civilians, the garrison still couldn't gather enough food.

With a shortage of all strategic materials, the life of a quartermaster was naturally difficult. While other quartermasters feasted on fine food, Major General Altier, the quartermaster of the Aswan defense force, was almost worried bald.

He had not enjoyed the good days for long before the enemy cut off the logistics supply. Forget about skimming profits; the problem of how to fill the soldiers' stomachs became a pressing issue. Your next chapter awaits on My Virtual Library Empire

It was not that Altier was dutiful and responsible; in fact, he was a typical French quartermaster, never soft-handed when it came to making money.

The reason he stopped now was partly out of fear of a mutiny, which had happened before. The French Army did not have a tradition of not making trouble when starved. If the soldiers couldn't eat well, that was tolerable, but if they couldn't eat at all, they would turn on you in an instant.

On the other hand, he knew that making money was only good if one was alive to spend it. Along the course of the war, Major General Altier had lost confidence in the Aswan defense forces.

If they couldn't win, the end result would be annihilation or surrender. Major General Altier did not have the determination for glory; he was just a quartermaster, and did not need to bear responsibility for a defeat and surrender.

Despite the Austrian army's promise to ensure the safety of persons and property, becoming a prisoner meant that immense wealth would become a death sentence.

In times of war, the death of a person or two was all too common, especially if the dead were prisoners of war, and nobody would inquire into it.

As Major General Altier's fortune was already considerable, whether he could keep it was uncertain; making more would make him a fat sheep, and naturally, he did not dare take the risk.

Everyone sitting here was a smart person. They all understood Major General Altier's intentions: The inability to sustain logistical support undoubtedly provided an excellent excuse for surrender.

As for whether the logistical pressure was indeed that great, whether the ammunition was truly almost out, or whether they were about to run out of food, these questions were not important at all. Everyone had tacitly agreed on them.

A middle-aged officer concurred, "Major General Altier is right. Currently, we indeed lack the conditions to hold the Aswan Region. Without reinforcements and logistical supplies, the fall of Aswan is only a matter of time.

I've heard that the enemy has a kind of vehicle entirely covered in steel plates that are very powerful, virtually invincible in field battles. Our main forces were defeated by them, and it was precisely the failure of the last battle that led to the collapse of the situation.

Now we have no way to deal with these iron clads. There's almost no hope of restoring the logistics supply line in the short term.

Moreover, the strategic supplies we have stockpiled in the Egypt Area were limited to begin with. Even if we break through the enemy's blockade, the headquarters can't provide us with supplies.

Since the Aswan Region is doomed to fall, there's no need for us to make a futile sacrifice. To defend Egypt, France has already sacrificed over two hundred thousand people. There's no need to continue now.

The key to deciding the outcome of this war is in Europe, not Aswan. Even if we lose this place, as long as we win the war on the European Continent, what we lose now will eventually come back to us."

"Your Excellency, you're equivocating. The Aswan Region indeed does not affect the outcome of this war, but the ownership of the Egypt Area does affect the balance of victory.

Once Aswan falls, the enemy will be able to blow up the dam, flood the Delta Region downstream, and destroy the social order of the Egypt Area."

When the time comes, the homeless Egyptians will rise in rebellion, giving our rule a fatal blow. This will consequently lead to the fall of the entire Egypt Area.

"For the sake of France, we must hold on, even if it's just for one more day, it would be of great help to the domestic battlefield,"

Every country has its share of hot-blooded young men, and France is no exception. Antowan, the Major General, was unable to refute when it was said that there was a shortage of strategic materials. Now, the very mention of surrender made him lose his restraint.

It must be known that the desire to surrender can be contagious. The desire of the French Army in the Aswan Region to surrender was actually influenced by their comrades.

The first to surrender was the Italian division that came as reinforcements. The Paris Government sent them here to sever their ties with the Italian Independent Organization and to reduce security risks.

After all, the relationship between the Italians and Austria wasn't great, and under the deliberate propaganda of the French government, many Italians harbored hostility towards Austria.

However, none of this could stop their determination to surrender. After being harshly defeated by the Austrian army, these fellows decisively chose to follow their hearts.

In comparison, this was still not too bad. If they had stayed on the European Continent, the Paris Government would not even dare to use these purely Italian divisions.

Once they got mixed up with the Independence Organization, it wouldn't just be a matter of surrendering anymore, but there could be a direct rebellion.

The war had progressed to the point where already three pure Italian divisions switched sides on the battlefield, nearly causing the carefully cultivated southern front held by the French people to collapse.

Fortunately, there weren't many of these pure Italian divisions, as they were remnants from France's annexation of the Italian countries. Over the years, they had mostly been gradually disbanded by the French government.

Using the opportunity of the war, the Paris Government went even further by seizing military and administrative power from several Italian Sub-States. The governments of Sub-States, including the Two Sicilies and Tuscany, became mere rubber stamps.

If France were to win the war, these Italian Sub-States would likely become a thing of the past, not even having the chance to act as rubber stamps.

Although the internal troubles had been dealt with, the French Army in the Egypt Area had been dealt a terrible hand. They had come under the guise of the main forces but had performed worse than the colonial troops.

The rapid defeat of the French Army in earlier engagements, aside from the prowess of the Armored Troops, also owed much to these laggards.

They may not excel at fighting, but they rank first in fleeing.

If someone were to keep statistics, they would find that not only did the Italian divisions break the fastest in the earlier battles, but they also had the lowest casualty rates.

After the battle, when they were scattered and stationed in various locations, they didn't stop there; they continued to be a liability. Not only did they surrender themselves, but often, to get a better deal, they also mobilized their teammates to surrender.

As for the hate towards Austria, what is more important: the nationality's independence or the "Divine Shield"?

Seeing someone dissent, everyone's faces darkened with displeasure. Everyone wanted to be a hero; no one wanted to be a coward, but the price of heroism was too high.

Seeing the turn of events, General Armand beseechingly advised, "Major General Antowan, please calm down. No one wants to see the Egypt Area fall, but we really can't fight any longer.

You may not want to believe it, but that's the fact. Even our telegrams to the outside world are deliberately left by the enemy.

To date, two-thirds of the cities in the Egypt Area have fallen into enemy hands, with more than two hundred thousand French Army soldiers having laid down their arms to surrender. The few cities that are still resisting, including Cairo City, are on the brink of collapse.

The enemy now has the upper hand on the battlefield; they don't need to destroy the dam - the strategic value of the Aswan Region has already vanished.

If it weren't for the Nile River, the enemy wouldn't even need to occupy the Aswan Region."

For this war, France has already paid too much. If we include the homeland, the death toll is probably already over a million.

This is nearly two percent of our total population, yet the end of the war is still nowhere in sight, and nobody knows the final number of casualties.

Since the Aswan Region is clearly impossible to hold onto, as a commander, it's my duty to bring our boys back safely. We can't, out of momentary anger, sacrifice an entire generation,"

Everything before was an excuse, but the last sentence was General Armand's sincere words.

The French Empire may appear to have a population of sixty million, but with the Italians' alienation from us, the true population of the core area is just over thirty-seven million.

After the outbreak of the war, although Italians were also conscripted, the main force of conscripts was still the French people, and they also suffered the most casualties on the battlefield.

You only realize the importance of people when they are needed. The war has reached a point where the French government can clearly feel the shortage of manpower, and the elite have become aware of the significance of the population.

But all of this is too late, as a population cannot be increased overnight. Even if people started having children immediately, it would still be twenty years before they would be of any use.

Faced with the harsh reality, Major General Antowan fell into a fierce internal struggle, and after a long pause, he said resolutely, "If that's the case, then we'll blow up the Aswan Dam before we surrender. Since the Egypt Area is going to be lost anyway, we might as well leave a mess for the enemy."

No sooner had these words fallen than General Armand urgently retorted, "No! We still have our troops downstream. If the dam were to be suddenly destroyed, our own forces would suffer severe losses.

Every soldier is a hero of France; they can die on the battlefield, but they must never die at the hands of their own."

Unquestionably, this was just a pretext. The telegraph wasn't cut; the defending forces in the Aswan Region could still communicate with the outside, and a prior notification would suffice.

However, by doing so, the downstream defenders would all have a perfectly reasonable excuse to surrender, and the responsibility for the loss of cities and land would fall entirely on them.

As the chief commander, General Armand naturally would bear the primary responsibility. After the war, he would face not just a military tribunal, but a firing squad.

Not just the chief commander would be finished; everyone present would be doomed, none could escape. Patriotism aside, when it comes to personal and familial reputation, every person present would respectfully decline.

…