Chapter 736: The Anti-French Coalition
Count Rheinferth had long suspected this outcome, but when he heard the British foreign minister confirm it outright, his heartbeat quickened.
He lowered his voice and carefully probed:
"Are you saying that your country is preparing to..."
Lord Grenville nodded firmly.
"How confident are you in victory?"
"There is no chance of losing."
Vienna. Schönbrunn Palace.
Emperor Francis II gripped his cane tightly, looking at his foreign minister.
"What are our chances of victory?"
Count Rheinferth responded with calm confidence:
"Your Majesty, Britain and all of its allies will enter the war."
Britain's allies included Prussia, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Hanover, which was under British rule. Together, they formed a powerful force.
"The British fleet will immediately blockade all of France's ports. The French navy is only half the size of Britain's, meaning France will instantly lose all its maritime trade."
Rheinferth continued outlining the British strategy:
"Given France's current debt crisis, if their overseas trade is cut off, they will collapse in no more than ten months—even without further military pressure.
"Meanwhile, Britain and its allies will mobilize over 200,000 troops for a full-scale invasion.
"The immense war expenses will accelerate France's financial collapse.
"So, regardless of how the battle unfolds, France will surrender within ten months."
"Excellent!"
Emperor Francis II could barely contain his delight.
"Once France is defeated, they will no longer be able to stop us from withdrawing from the Rhine-Seine Treaty… and we will regain full control over the Southern Netherlands.
"The British have done us a great favor. Now, we only need to wait for the war to end—then all our problems will resolve themselves."
The ministers in the room exchanged glances.
Then, Baron Thugut coughed lightly and spoke up:
"Your Majesty, actually… joining the war is Austria's best option."
"Join the war? Why?"
This time, Baron Thugut answered first:
"Your Majesty, if Austria remains neutral while Prussia helps defeat France, then our influence over the German states will be severely weakened."
Francis II paused, realizing the weight of this argument.
Unifying Germany was Austria's ultimate strategic goal—allowing the German states to turn toward Prussia would be disastrous.
"Exactly," Rheinferth added.
"If we join the war, we will accelerate France's defeat and also gain enormous war spoils."
Seeing the Emperor hesitate, Interior Minister Kobenzl stepped forward, speaking passionately:
"Your Majesty, if we manage to seize even a portion of French territory, it will completely change the balance of power in Europe!"
Francis II felt a rush of excitement.
For centuries, the House of Habsburg had rivaled France for dominance over Europe.
But after the War of Austrian Succession, Austria had suffered crippling losses, forcing it to abandon ambitions of continental supremacy and focus on competing with Prussia for control of Germany.
Now, if France was defeated—if Austrian cavalry rode into Paris—
The Habsburgs could once again become the dominant power in Europe!
Germany?
The entire continent would belong to them!
The Emperor stood up suddenly, then hesitated.
"But… with our current financial situation, we cannot afford a large-scale war."
Rheinferth immediately countered:
"Your Majesty, the British have promised Austria a low-interest loan of £400,000 if we join the war."
Francis II instantly felt reassured.
He scanned the faces of his ministers, then raised his cane decisively.
"Then let us seize this opportunity to restore the Empire's former glory!"
Britain Issues an Ultimatum
The day after Austria confirmed its decision to join the war, the British ambassador in Paris formally delivered an ultimatum to France.
The demands included:
France must resume sugar exports and significantly lower prices.France must end its so-called 'trade plunder' of Southern Germany's markets.
If these conditions were not met, France would face catastrophic consequences.
Prussia, Austria, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Hanover all issued statements supporting Britain's position.
Paris. Versailles Palace.
At the French cabinet meeting, the ministers sat in heavy silence.
Everyone had long anticipated a war with Britain, but no one expected it to happen so soon—or for so many countries to join the British alliance.
After reading the British ultimatum, Talleyrand looked at Crown Prince Joseph and carefully suggested:
"Your Highness, I believe we should immediately negotiate with Austria.
"If we make concessions on trade and offer them certain benefits, we may convince them to abandon their hostility toward us."
Queen Marie Antoinette subtly nodded—she was deeply shaken by Austria's betrayal.
However, Joseph remained impassive.
He gestured for Talleyrand to sit down, then turned to Duke Broglie, the Minister of War.
"If war breaks out, how many enemy troops will we face? And how many can we mobilize in response?"
Joseph had already planned extensively with the General Staff, but he needed his ministers to fully understand the situation.
Duke Broglie immediately responded:
"Your Highness, in the worst-case scenario, Britain, Prussia, Austria, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Hanover will all enter the war.
"That means we could face over 300,000 enemy troops—perhaps even 400,000."
He was not exaggerating.
Prussia and Austria alone could mobilize at least 250,000 soldiers.
Adding in the Dutch and Hanoverian forces, the total would easily surpass 300,000.
If Britain and Portugal fully committed, they could send another 50,000 to 80,000 troops.
And these numbers did not represent the enemy's full potential mobilization capacity.
Duke Broglie continued:
"Meanwhile, France currently has 160,000 active troops.
"Among them, 75,000 belong to the newly organized General Staff Army, while the rest consist of traditional regiments and a small contingent from our Tunisian forces."
He referred to Joseph's modernized military force, which had been restructured and renamed from the old Royal Guard Corps.
The new General Staff Army now comprised:
4 Royal Infantry Divisions
7 Royal Skirmisher Regiments
2 Royal Grenadier Regiments
2 Royal Jäger Battalions
11 Royal Cavalry Regiments
6 Royal Dragoon Regiments
3 Combat Engineer Regiments
2 Horse Artillery Battalions
2 Foot Artillery Battalions
Meanwhile, France's traditional army still numbered 90,000 troops.
But France's military aristocracy was not foolish.
After seeing how Joseph's new army outperformed them, they had started reforming their own regiments.
While they had only adopted surface-level improvements, their training and tactics had significantly evolved.
Some of these reformed regiments were even approaching the combat effectiveness of Joseph's modernized forces.
If placed in any other European army, these French divisions would be considered elite troops.
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