Chapter 371: Contracts and the Italian Farce (A 10,000-word Chapter!)

The siege of Rabat, the capital of Morocco, was absolutely the most brutal battle of this war, and also the battle involving the largest number of soldiers from both the Moroccan and Spanish sides.

On the Moroccan side, the remaining fewer than 70, 00 soldiers plus 30, 00 militiamen temporarily organized by the Moroccan government formed a defending force of nearly 100, 00, and they established line after line of defensive positions around Rabat.

As the attacking side, the number of troops deployed by Spain was also quite significant. Approximately 8, 00 members of the Imperial Guard and about 28, 00 members of the Royal Army were the main force, along with two colonial divisions of nearly 40, 00 men, bringing the total number of troops to around 76, 00.

In order to break through Rabat, the Spanish army could be considered to have made full preparations.

In addition to utilizing all types and calibers of artillery, Spain also occupied almost all Moroccan cities surrounding Rabat, leaving the large city of Rabat in a state of isolation.

The closest city still under the control of the Moroccan government was dozens of kilometers away from Rabat, which also meant that it was basically impossible for Rabat to receive aid from other cities.

In order to hold Rabat, the Moroccan government could be considered to have made up its mind.

The government formed a supervisory squad of up to 3, 00 men, using a tough stance to force this 100, 00-man army to resolutely resist the Spanish army's offensive.

This also forced these Moroccan soldiers to put in their full effort to resist the Spanish army, and the price was that thousands of Moroccan soldiers had already died at the hands of the supervisory squad.

Of course, the battlefield is by no means a place that emphasizes mercy.

The supervisory squad was still very necessary; after all, people instinctively fear death, and the existence of the supervisory squad could avoid the phenomenon of desertion as much as possible, twisting the entire army into a single rope.

The Spanish army also had supervisory squads. It was just that they were rarely used in the Imperial Guard and the Royal Army; only the colonial troops needed supervisory squads to deter people's hearts.

Fortunately, Spain had always been the dominant side, and with firepower constantly suppressing the opponent, the casualties borne by the Spanish army were very few.

With few casualties and sufficient logistical supplies, the phenomenon of desertion in the Spanish army was naturally very rare.

During the first week of the siege of Rabat, the Moroccan soldiers and the Spanish army fought back and forth. Although they could not suppress the Spanish army's offensive, relying on their tenacious fighting spirit and the urging of the supervisory squads, they managed to hold the last line of defense of Rabat.

In this week, the casualties of the Moroccan army reached more than 30, 00, with an average of more than 2, 00 soldiers dying every day, which was already an exaggerated scale.

If it weren't for the fact that Spain wanted to minimize casualties, the casualties that Morocco would have had to pay would have been even greater.

The main force for the siege had always been the two colonial divisions; after all, the lives of these indigenous people were certainly not as valuable as those of the Spaniards in the Imperial Guard and the Royal Army.

From the second week of the siege, the Spanish army gradually got serious. Because Rabat had been besieged for a week by this time, both the Moroccan government and the people of Rabat had lost confidence in this war.

This war was no longer a question of whether it could be won, but rather how much loss the Moroccan side would have to bear, and whether the current Moroccan royal family and nobles could continue to be preserved.

From the eighth day of the siege, the daily casualties of both the attacking and defending sides rose to another level.

Spain had brought in hundreds of cannons, and the number of shells consumed by these cannons every day reached tens of thousands.

Under the continuous bombardment, the results achieved by the Spanish army were quite obvious. The outer defenses of Rabat had all been captured by Spain, and the Moroccan army had to retreat into the city of Rabat to defend.

Those elite Moroccan troops were becoming fewer and fewer, and the Moroccan government had to forcibly conscript Moroccan civilians in Rabat into the army to fill the vacancies in the ranks.

Although doing so was indeed effective in slowing down the Spanish army's offensive, after all, Spain could not ignore casualties and fight street battles with the Moroccan army.

But the problem was that this method of forcibly conscripting soldiers also increased the dissatisfaction of Moroccan civilians with the government.

These Moroccan civilians who were forcibly conscripted into the army not only did not receive any training, but they even had to prepare their own weapons.

This also led to the weapons of these newly formed Moroccan troops being simply a mixed bag, with cold weapons being the main ones.

On the eighth day of the siege of Rabat, the single-day casualties of the Spanish army had increased to a level of nearly 2, 00.

This was the day with the highest number of soldier casualties since Spain launched this war.

Of course, by conservative estimates, Spain had also inflicted nearly 10, 00 casualties on the Moroccan army. Moreover, most of the casualties were indigenous soldiers, so such a casualty ratio was not a loss at all for the Spanish army.

Under the full-scale offensive of the Spanish army, Morocco finally could not bear such huge casualties.

On the 12th day of the Spanish siege of Rabat, the Moroccan government finally could not hold on, and with the remaining fewer than 30, 00 troops, they announced their surrender to the Spanish side.

After the Spanish army entered Rabat, they immediately took control of the places where the Moroccan government and the royal family were located.

The good news was that most of the officials of the Moroccan government were still staying in Rabat, and controlling them was equivalent to controlling most of Morocco.

The bad news was that the Spanish army did not find any members of the royal family in the Moroccan palace, and the British ambassador to Morocco had also long since disappeared.

According to existing clues, the Moroccan royal family should have fled with the British ambassador to Morocco a day ago, which was also the reason why the Moroccan government and army surrendered to Spain.

It was a pity that the Moroccan royal family had run away, but at least Spain had occupied Rabat and controlled most of Morocco's land.

The most important thing at the moment was not to recover the Moroccan royal family, but to confirm Spain's rule in Morocco as soon as possible, and then start the localization of Morocco that the Spanish government had been looking forward to for a long time.

On June 15, 1895, the day after capturing Rabat, the Spanish government sent diplomatic representatives to start peace negotiations with the Moroccan government.

Calling it peace negotiations was actually just going through the motions.

Most of Morocco's territory had already been occupied by Spain, and even the government had fallen into the hands of the Spanish army. These officials could not even guarantee their own safety, so how could they go against the Spanish side's ideas in the peace negotiations and make their own situation worse?

The peace negotiations lasted for a total of three days, and the Moroccan officials were almost submissive in these peace negotiations, agreeing to all the Spanish side's demands without any hesitation.

On June 18, 1895, the last day of the peace negotiations, the diplomatic representatives of the Spanish and Moroccan governments signed their names on the peace treaty under the witness of many newspaper media.

The first item of this treaty was about the disposal of Morocco's existing territory.

The existing Morocco would be merged with Spain's South Morocco colony and renamed the Morocco colony, with the colonial capital being Ceuta in the north.

Because of the merger with the South Morocco colony, the area of the Morocco colony would be larger than Spain's mainland, with a vast area of at least 700, 00 to 800, 00 square kilometers.

This also meant that the Morocco colony was destined to be temporary. After the localization of the Morocco colony was mostly completed in the future, Gao Da would cut Morocco into appropriate pieces and establish state-level administrative divisions.

The newly established Morocco colony could not do without garrison troops. After all, it was newly occupied land, and although most Moroccans could be assimilated, there were also some Moroccans who were full of hatred for Spain because of the war, and these people had to be guarded against.

The most important thing for the Morocco colony in the future was to clear out these Moroccans who hated Spain, and then carry out assimilation work on those more moderate Moroccans.

While the assimilation work in the Morocco colony was being carried out, Spain would also transport a large number of immigrants from various European countries and the mainland as much as possible.

On one hand, it was to fill the population gap in the Morocco region, and on the other hand, it was to dilute the proportion of local Moroccans.

Although Moroccans could be assimilated, they accounted for the majority of the local population in Morocco, which was never a good thing for Spain.

Only by reducing the proportion of Moroccans to about half could the stability of the local Morocco be effectively ensured.

The good news was that Morocco's overall population was not large, and the task of diluting the population ratio was not as difficult as imagined.

Although the population of the merged Morocco colony had risen back to over 5 million, there were only about 4. million real Moroccans.

If they wanted to reduce the proportion of Moroccans to about half, Spain only needed to transport a little over 2 million Moroccans to other regions to achieve it.

2 million people seemed like a lot, but for Spain, it was no longer a difficult task.

Even according to the original assimilation progress of the South Morocco colony, it would only take less than ten years to complete the population transfer work of the Morocco colony.

This also meant that Spain would possess extremely strong potential before the First World War. If it could obtain huge benefits in the First World War while ensuring that the mainland would not be affected by the war, Spain would have the hope of becoming an even more powerful super power after the end of the First World War.

When the news of the signing of the peace treaty reached Spain, the Spanish public expressed strong affirmation of the government's act of expanding its territory again.

Morocco was also quite important to Spain, and Spain had long had its eyes on Morocco. Unfortunately, because of the constant interference of the British government, and the fact that the French also had their eyes on this region, Spain had always been drooling but unable to annex this land.

For Gao Da, he had already done what the previous several Spanish kings had not done. The Spain that had annexed Morocco had become an existence that could not be ignored on the European continent, and in terms of mainland potential alone, it was actually no less than Britain, France, and Germany.

Since this war had ended, most of the troops in Morocco would have to be recalled.

The Imperial Guard had already returned by transport ship on the day the peace negotiations began. Of the three mainland divisions that participated in the battle, only one infantry division would be left to be stationed in the cities of northern Morocco, and the remaining troops would all return to the Spanish mainland.

The two colonial divisions would stay in Morocco for a period of time to help the Morocco colonial government restore stable order, and only then would they return to other colonies.

After the situation in Morocco became slightly stable, the Morocco colonial government would also form its own colonial army.

Because these troops were very close to the Spanish mainland, they could not only maintain the stability of the Morocco region, but also head north to the Spanish mainland when Spain needed it, helping Spain with its mainland defense.

As of the beginning of 1895, Spain's population had just broken through 30 million.

If the Moroccan population that was about to be assimilated was counted, Spain's population had the hope of reaching a level of over 40 million ten years later.

It was now 1895, and 10 years later would only be 1905.

If they could reach a population of over 40 million around 1905, even if the First World War broke out ten years early, it would have no impact on Spain at all.

A population of over 40 million could easily arm an army of over 3 million, and coupled with the servant armies of Spain's colonies, it would be no problem at all for Spain to commit 5 or 6 million troops to a world war.

This also meant that no matter which side Spain joined in the world war, it had a high probability of achieving final victory.

Whichever side these 5 or 6 million people were committed to, they could tip the scales of war in favor of the side Spain joined. This was also the reason why Gao Da was not in a hurry to choose a camp in Europe. To a certain extent, Spain really had the ability to decide which of the two major military groups would be the final winner.

Spain had cleanly and neatly ended the Moroccan War, while the British were still bogged down in a bitter fight with the Boers.

You know, the Boer population was not even one-tenth of the Moroccan population.

Even if the combat effectiveness of the Boer soldiers was comparable to the armies of European powers, due to population limitations, they could at most arm an army of 40, 00 to 50, 00.

How could the dignified British Empire not even be able to solve 40, 00 to 50, 00 Boer soldiers?

This was almost a question that most European countries could not help but ask when paying attention to the Boer War.

That's right, the Boers did receive support from other European countries, including the Netherlands and Germany.

But this support was limited, and more concentrated on weapons, equipment, and material support.

None of the European countries had officially sent volunteer armies. The one with the most volunteers sent by the public was the Netherlands, and even counting everything, it was only a little over 1, 00 people.

This level of aid should not have been of much help to the battlefield; after all, compared to the Boers, Britain should have had both people and money.

The good news was that the British Army was not the worst performer among the European powers. Italy successfully demonstrated its lower limit in the war with Ethiopia, letting European countries see what terrible combat effectiveness was.

The reason for Italy's invasion of Ethiopia was very simple, and that was that there was no other territory in Europe and Africa for Italy to occupy at present.

The directions in which Italy could expand within Europe were very limited. To the east and west were the Austro-Hungarian Empire and France, and these two countries were obviously not ones that Italy could provoke.

Although Switzerland in the north was a small country, Switzerland was a recognized permanent neutral country. Moreover, Switzerland had no economic value, and for Italy, the disadvantages of occupying Switzerland far outweighed the advantages.

The only European territory that Italy could covet was the Balkan Peninsula across the Adriatic Sea.

However, it was obvious that since the last war when Germany and Austria joined forces to defeat Russia, the Balkan Peninsula had become the sphere of influence of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Although Italy was an ally of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, in terms of national interests, even if they were allies, the Austro-Hungarian Empire would absolutely not make concessions.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire also had Germany backing it, which also made Italy temporarily give up its covetousness for the Balkan Peninsula and turn its gaze to the African region.

North Africa had almost been carved up by the powers, leaving only Libya, where the vast majority of the land was desert, which currently had no clear ownership.

In fact, logically speaking, Libya was closest to Italy, and the Italian government should have been able to easily add Libya to its colonial scope.

But because Libya's geographical location was relatively important, with France's Tunisia colony to the west and Britain's Egypt colony to the east, Italy had never been able to fully incorporate Libya into its colonial rule.

Another major reason was the opposition of the French. Italy, with Spain's help, forcibly snatched two pieces of Tunisian land from the hands of the French, which also caused France's perception of Italy to drop sharply.

Although no major conflict broke out, France had always opposed Italy's colonial expansion in North Africa, which was also the reason why Italy had not been able to put Libya into its pocket.

Since it could not expand in North Africa, Italy could only set its sights on the more distant African region.

Although the area of Africa was large, the coast of Africa had almost been carved up by the European powers. Italy searched carefully in Africa, and in the end, could only set its sights on the harder-to-chew Ethiopia.

Of course, it was not called Ethiopia at this time. The name of the country in this region was the Abyssinian Empire, and the one ruling the empire was the Solomon dynasty.

Since its establishment in 1270, the Abyssinian Empire has endured for over 600 years. Although it remains within the scope of indigenous African nations, the Abyssinian Empire's military strength is absolutely second to none among all indigenous African countries.

Because of their previous contact with European colonists, the Abyssinian Empire is well aware of the power of European colonists.

In the early stages of Italy's invasion of the Abyssinian Empire, the Abyssinian Empire, pressured by Italy's status as a Great Power, made multiple concessions.

This allowed Italy to successively acquire regions such as Tigray, Adi Ugri, and Adwa, at one point expanding its colonial reach into the heartland of the Abyssinian Empire.

The Abyssinian Empire had originally thought such concessions would satisfy the Italians, but unexpectedly, this small amount of land could not satisfy the Italians' appetite at all. Facing the Abyssinian Empire's step-by-step retreat, Italy put forward even more excessive demands, forcing the Abyssinian Empire to become an Italian protectorate.

Regarding such demands, the Abyssinian Empire was naturally unable to accept them.

Regarding the less-than-obedient Abyssinian Empire, the Italian side decided to strike first.

Italy's Eritrea colony was established using the occupied coastal regions of the Abyssinian Empire. After receiving instructions from the Italian government, the colonial Viceroy General Baratieri launched a surprise attack on the Abyssinian Empire.

The Italian army came with great momentum; they occupied Aksum, the coronation site of the Abyssinian Empire's Emperor, with a strong trend of threatening the Abyssinian Empire's heartland.

The Italians had originally thought this war would end quickly, and that history would only record it as one of the most ordinary colonial wars waged by Italy against indigenous Africans.

But what no one expected was that while the Italian army was arrogant and complacent due to their sweeping victories, the Abyssinian Empire's army soon dealt the Italian army a fatal blow.

Abyssinia organized tens of thousands of soldiers to resist the Italian colonial invasion. Among them, a force of about 30, 00 men lay in ambush at Amba Alagi near Lake Ashangi, eventually successfully ambushing an Italian force of about 1, 00 men.

Without any psychological preparation, this force was completely wiped out, and the army commander, Major Toselli, also died in this battle.

1, 00 Italian soldiers completely wiped out—this was already a quite exaggerated battle result.

Even a field-grade officer died on the battlefield; such news immediately caused a sensation in Italy and even all of Europe, making the news heat of the war between Italy and the Abyssinian Empire suddenly exceed that of the Boer War.

If such news only made European countries start to pay attention to a mediocre war, then the next piece of news directly made the Italian Army the laughingstock of all European countries.

After winning this small-scale victory, the Abyssinian Empire was not satisfied with the results it had achieved. Another army led by the Viceroy of Harar, Duke Makonnen, surrounded Mek'ele, which was the capital of the Kingdom of Tigray under the Abyssinian Empire, previously occupied by the Italian army.

Because it was an occupied zone, in order to maintain the stability of the city, Italy had stationed 1, 00 soldiers there.

The Abyssinian Empire's target was these 1, 00 soldiers, and facts proved that they successfully achieved their goal.

Relying on advanced weapons and equipment, these 1, 00 Italian soldiers were still able to hold out for a long time when facing the attack of tens of thousands of Abyssinian Empire troops.

But because the entire city was surrounded by the Abyssinian Empire's army, the Italian army could not receive any material supplies; no matter how advanced their weapons and equipment were, they would sooner or later turn into scrap metal.

After holding out for a month and a half, the Italian army could be said to be at the end of their rope.

Upon confirming that the enemy's ammunition supplies were insufficient, the Abyssinian Empire's soldiers threw themselves fearlessly into one attack after another against the fortress.

These indigenous Africans erupted with astonishing courage and determination; although they did not directly breach the city, the Italian army no longer had the determination to resist after running out of ammunition and food, and ultimately chose to surrender to the Abyssinian Empire.

The war between Britain and the Boers was ultimately dominated by Britain, but the war between Italy and the Abyssinian Empire currently seems to have the Abyssinian Empire in a more advantageous position.

How long has it been since the fighting started, and Italy has already lost nearly 2, 00 soldiers.

1, 00 people were completely annihilated, and 1, 00 chose to surrender after suffering great casualties.

This is very rare for European countries. In the past, colonial wars only required sending a small number of troops to defeat the enemy; why couldn't it be done when it came to Italy?

In fact, it is not just European countries that feel curious; even the King of Italy, Umberto I, himself feels very surprised.

Judging from the current performance of the Italian army, the combat effectiveness of the Italian Army is a notch lower than that of the British Army. And the British Army is a notch lower than land powerhouses like France, Germany, and Spain; doesn't this mean that the Italian Army is at least two notches lower than the land powerhouses of Europe?

Umberto I simply could not believe such a reality; he had always thought that Italy should be a land powerhouse, and he had even spent a large amount of military funding for the expansion of the Army.

Why is it that Spain can build a powerful army, yet the Italian Army can only become the laughingstock of European countries?

An angry Umberto I rejected the peace letter from the Emperor of the Abyssinian Empire, Menelik II; he viewed the Italian army's failure in the Abyssinian Empire as a disgrace and demanded that the government continue to allocate funds, send more reinforcements to the battlefield, and wash away the shame for Italy and the Italian Army.

Facts proved that the combat effectiveness of the Italian Army was just that bad.

With the increase in military spending, the number of troops Italy committed to the battlefield reached the level of nearly 20, 00.

According to normal logic, 20, 00 regular troops invading an indigenous African country should be able to win this war even if they fought with their toes.

But the Italian army is just that special; not only did they lose this war, but it was a crushing defeat. The Italian army was beaten so badly they threw away their armor and fled; of the 20, 00 troops, fewer than 8, 00 escaped back to Eritrea, and the rest were either killed in battle or captured.

The reason why the Abyssinian Empire's army was able to demonstrate such powerful combat effectiveness, besides their unprecedentedly high enthusiasm for defending their country, was that the excellent talent displayed by the Empire's commanders was also a very important link.

The Emperor of the Abyssinian Empire, Menelik II, and the Princes and Dukes who commanded the army, successfully applied a whole set of strategies and tactics that had been skillfully used in Abyssinia for over 1, 00 years many times, including creating illusions, spreading false intelligence, and feinting to the east while attacking in the west.

How could the Italian army have imagined that the Abyssinian Empire's army could be so cunning? Coupled with the fact that there were many new recruits in the Italian army, it ultimately led to this crushing defeat.

The Abyssinian Empire captured over 11, 00 rifles and more than 50 artillery pieces, which suddenly enriched the Abyssinian Empire's military power.

Following this trend, with the Abyssinian Empire fighting to sustain its war effort, its military power will become increasingly exaggerated.

The weapons and equipment Italy poured into its Army would ultimately only serve as a dowry for the Abyssinian Empire. The current Abyssinian Empire is definitely the only indigenous country in Europe equipped with over ten thousand rifles.

With the replenishment of over ten thousand rifles and dozens of artillery pieces, the difficulty for the Italian army to conquer the entire Abyssinian Empire will be much higher.

Just as European countries were wondering whether the Abyssinian Empire would press its advantage and take back the Eritrea region occupied by Italy, the Emperor of the Abyssinian Empire, Menelik II, made a decision that surprised all European countries: he stationed his troops at the Eritrea border and stopped launching attacks on the Italian-occupied zone.

The Abyssinian Empire's abandonment of the offensive also let the Italian government breathe a sigh of relief. If the Eritrea region were to be taken back, Italy would have lost a great deal of face.

Knowing that they were already at a disadvantage, the Italian government did not insist too much, and after a period of negotiations, they finally signed the "Treaty of Addis Ababa" with the Abyssinian Empire.

This treaty stipulated that Italy would respect the independent status of the Abyssinian Empire, assume responsibility for starting the war, and pay 10 million Lira in reparations to the war's victor, the Abyssinian Empire.

The Abyssinian Empire, in turn, would abandon the Eritrea region already occupied by Italy, and both sides reached a consensus on the land issue.

The Abyssinian Empire would no longer move north to threaten Italy, and Italy would no longer move south to covet the heartland of the Abyssinian Empire.

Facts proved that Menelik II was still quite smart.

As the war progressed, the time had already reached the end of October.

If the fighting were to continue, the sowing season in the Ethiopia region would be approaching. For the sake of agricultural harvests, the Empire's soldiers would sooner or later have to return home to sow and farm.

At that time, if these soldiers were forced to remain in the army, it would inevitably cause dissatisfaction among them. After all, even if the war were won, the impact on agriculture would be irreversible.

There were still many states in the south of the Abyssinian Empire that were outside the Empire's rule; Menelik II believed that incorporating these states and other lands into the Empire's rule was the most important thing.

There was no need to take back the Eritrea that had already been lost in the north; after all, this was the coast of the Abyssinian Empire and the most prosperous and affluent piece of land in the entire Empire.

If they insisted on taking back Eritrea, it would inevitably provoke a more intense counterattack from the Italians. If it were to last for several years like the war between Britain and the Boers, it would not be very cost-effective.

After all, the war was fought in the heartland of the Abyssinian Empire, and it did not have much impact on Italy's domestic agriculture and industry.

As long as the homeland was not affected, Italy could fight a protracted war. But the heartland of the Abyssinian Empire would be affected by the war; the longer this war dragged on, the less cost-effective it would be for Abyssinia.

The Abyssinian Empire's concession did not surprise European countries. Although the Abyssinian Empire had gained a short-term advantage, the huge disparity in strength between the nations destined that as long as the war continued, the Italians would sooner or later be able to regain the advantage.

What truly surprised and intrigued European countries was the Italian government's sudden concession.

According to logic, even after losing a battle, the Italian government should have been thinking about how to fight back.

But unexpectedly, after the Abyssinian Empire requested peace talks again, the Italian side actually agreed to the Abyssinian Empire's request for peace talks and ultimately signed such a treaty.

Although the Abyssinian Empire ultimately recognized Italy's ruling power over the Eritrea region, Italy was also forced to recognize the independent status of the Abyssinian Empire and had to pay 10 million Lira in reparations to the other side.

Although this compensation was not much, it confirmed Italy's status as a defeated nation. A Great Power becoming a defeated nation in the face of an indigenous people—such a story feels ridiculous no matter how you look at it.

If the Italian government could have been a bit tougher, they would not have so easily become the laughingstock of European countries. After all, Britain, as the most powerful country at present, was in a similar situation; they could not defeat the Boers in a short time and could only slowly grind away the Boers' potential through attrition before ending the war.

For Britain, Italy's poor performance made them breathe a sigh of relief. If the British army's performance was just poor, then the Italian army's performance could be described as bad or even extremely bad.

With such a poorly performing Italian army attracting fire, at least the noble British government would not lose face because of this. After all, compared to the performance of the Italian government, Britain was clearly much more decent.

In fact, when Italy started this war, Luo Lun knew that Italy would likely not achieve victory.

Luo Lun was, after all, Italian, and he was relatively clear about the combat effectiveness of the Italian Army. In the period when Italy had just unified, the combat effectiveness of the Italian Army could still be affirmed.

At that time, the combat effectiveness of the Kingdom of Sardinia's army was definitely above the passing line, and the Redshirts organized by Garibaldi were even more powerful, relying on an expedition to eliminate the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies at the time.

Unfortunately, with the passing of Luo Lun's father, Vittorio Emanuele II, and Garibaldi, who organized the Redshirts, the combat effectiveness of the Italian army had plummeted.

All told, the Italian army had not experienced a large-scale war for over twenty years.

Twenty years was enough for the army's soldiers to be replaced batch after batch; under such circumstances, it would be a strange thing if the Italian army could maintain its combat effectiveness.

Don't look at the fact that Italy was once able to snatch two colonies in Tunisia from the hands of France; the main reason was that the Italian army did not run into the French army, but only fought the Tunisian army.

If they had ever run into the French army, the Italian army definitely would not have been able to hold out for long. At that time, because Italy had the support of Spain, France ultimately chose to concede, which also meant the actual combat effectiveness of the Italian army was not demonstrated.

At this time, a long time had passed since Italy occupied the Tunisia colony; the Italian soldiers who had at least participated in the war at that time had also mostly retired from the army.

Don't look at the fact that the total number of the current Italian army is still quite good, but these soldiers are mostly new recruits and have no combat effectiveness.

Italy was also unwilling to commit its truly combat-effective army to the Abyssinian Empire's battlefield, which also led to the Italian army's performance in this war in the Abyssinian Empire being quite poor, once refreshing the lower limit of the worst performance among European Great Powers.

The Italian army's poor performance in the Abyssinian Empire made the public quite dissatisfied, and the public's dissatisfaction with the government meant that someone had to stand up and take the blame.

It certainly could not be King Umberto I taking the blame, which also meant there was only one candidate who could take the blame, and that was the current Italian Prime Minister, Francesco Crispi.

Not long after the peace talks ended, Umberto I dismissed Prime Minister Francesco Crispi with lightning speed and instead appointed the right-wing Prime Minister Antonio Starabba as the new Prime Minister of the Italian government.

Although letting the Prime Minister take the blame quickly calmed the anger of the Italian public, the impact of this war on Italy had not been eliminated.

A dignified Great Power losing in battle to an indigenous African country was a huge blow to the military morale and public sentiment of Italy.

The original Italian Army claimed to be a strong European force to the outside world, and even dared to compare itself with the armies of France and Germany.

But now, ever since losing this war with the Abyssinian Empire, let alone comparing itself to a strong European force, the Italian Army has been hailed as the army with the worst combat effectiveness among the Great Powers, and some small and medium-sized European countries have also successively felt that their own armies would have no problem defeating the Italian Army head-on.

The biggest impact of this change in thinking on the Italian Army was that it completely lost its confidence.

Confidence is very important in the army; if even the soldiers themselves do not believe they can defeat the enemy, then it is impossible to defeat the enemy on the front lines.

Italy's failure on the African battlefield made Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire feel the urgency.

Don't look at the current confrontation between the two major military groups in Europe as two Great Powers fighting three Great Powers; in reality, it is the two Great Powers of France and Russia that hold the advantage.

There is no way around it; the individual strength of France and Russia is simply too powerful. Whether it is France or Russia, they are both comparable to Germany in terms of military strength.

Originally, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Italy combined could barely contend with the remaining Great Power. With the Italian army showing such a dramatic performance in Africa, Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire no longer believed that Italy could help them contend with super Great Powers like France and Russia.

Under such circumstances, it became very necessary to win over another ally with relatively strong military power.

There are not many choices available in Europe at present, nothing more than Britain and Spain.

Germany actually wanted to form an alliance with Britain more; after all, Britain's naval strength is stronger, a point that Germany cannot achieve.

If Germany and Britain were to form an alliance, this alliance would simultaneously possess the world's most powerful navy and most powerful army, which would simply be the most wonderful situation.

But unfortunately, the German Emperor Wilhelm II's public stance of siding with the Boers damaged the relationship between Germany and Britain to a certain extent.

Coupled with the fact that Britain's attention was entirely focused on the Boer War, the British government had no interest in forming an alliance with Germany.

If they were to form an alliance with Germany, France and Russia, the two countries that have a grudge against Britain, would inevitably intervene forcefully in the Boer War.

This is something the British are unwilling to see, and it is also the reason why they are temporarily maintaining neutrality in the confrontation between the two major military groups in Europe.

There is no help for it; after all, Britain has made too many enemies. When choosing a military alliance, besides considering whether their allies are strong, they must also factor in whether they would be the first to be besieged by the opposition.

Don't look at the many grudges between Germany and France; if Britain were to truly join the German-Austrian alliance, Britain would be the enemy that France and Russia hate the most.

To form an alliance with Germany at this time would be to act as a target for the Germans. The British are not stupid; they cannot take sides so easily unless there are benefits they cannot refuse.

My cold is a little better today, the four-day streak of ten thousand words a day officially begins!

First day of ten thousand words, first update is 10, 00 words, thank you for your support!

(End of chapter)