Holy Roman Empire-Chapter 912 - 175, Strategic Highway

Counterattack also required time to prepare; decimated troops needed to be replaced and given rest, and strategic supplies needed time to be gathered and transported.

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It had already been proven that modern warfare was no longer simply about combat on the battlefield; the rear areas were equally engaged in the fight.

The newly initiated Battle of Rhine is one such example; without Austria assembling a large number of machine guns and artillery, it would have been impossible to withstand the French Army’s assault with inferior troop strength.

The stronger the artillery, the greater the logistical needs. Over eighty percent of the trains and ships heading from Austria to the frontlines were transporting strategic materials.

If not for the logistical supplies occupying a massive amount of transport capacity, the operations of the Austrian army would not have been so slow.

Of course, the current slowness was in preparation for future speed.

In fact, several years ago the Vienna Government had proposed to the German Federation: construct a strategic road from Bavaria directly to Luxembourg.

But at the time, the situation in Europe was still peaceful, and there wasn’t enough crisis awareness; due to cost issues, an agreement was delayed.

After all, the transport system in Germany Region was already well-developed, with river transport and railways fully capable of satisfying daily transport needs; the economic value of constructing another road was too low.

Moreover, England and France were worried that Austria, through this road, would deepen its influence in the western Germany Region and discreetly hindered the plan, which was then shelved.

It wasn’t until the outbreak of war in Europe that the increased logistical transportation pressures at the front-line forced the Sub-State governments to reluctantly restart the strategic road project.

To save time, governments decided to widen and reconnect the existing roads.

There was so little time that it was simply impossible for the German Federation alone to complete this project in a short period. Even just constructing a temporary road was beyond their capability.

As a good ally, Austria naturally extended a helping hand. To date, the number of laborers from Austria that had entered the Germany Region had exceeded six hundred thousand, which was more than the Austrian soldiers on the Rhine front.

With such a massive construction crew, management naturally presented a challenge.

Fortunately, Austria employed a universal conscription system, and these drafted civilian husbands, even if they had never entered the military, had trained in the reserves and could adapt in the shortest time.

The inconspicuous Town of Weiss, due to its geographical location, was selected to become a new main artery.

The section of construction was managed by the Third Austrian Engineering Division, Fourth Regiment, Third Battalion. As the technical officer, Engineer Eveson, was currently surveying the site with a telescope.

It was said to be a survey; in reality, Eveson only brought paper and a pen, and a telescope. Measuring and surveying instruments were completely absent.

It wasn’t that he was neglecting his duties or being lazy, mainly because in order to meet the deadline, there was no time to waste on preliminary work.

Past surveying, analysis, and research were now all omitted. "Eyeball it + Experience = Roadmap."

This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

Once a general direction was set, construction just moved forward. Aside from geographical constraints that necessitated the avoidance of special areas, everything else was just straightforward.

This was road construction, not some precision work. Even if there were errors, the worst that could happen would be needing to turn midway during joining; as long as the deviation wasn’t too extreme, it was acceptable.

"What a pity, such a fine estate is about to be divided in two!"

Walking along, Eveson had already lost count of how many times he issued a similar lament. There was no helping it; his job now was that of a demolition worker.

The plains of the estate, while facilitating agricultural production, also facilitated road construction. All it took was a bit of leveling and solidifying the land with concrete.

Geological conditions, soil types, load-bearing capacity—what were once fundamental parameters for construction had now become redundant.

Constructing roads in plains areas, even if later pressure proved too great and caused foundation settlement, it wouldn’t settle too far.

Road quality issues, that was overthinking it; now everything was done in haste, as long as dangers were within a controllable range, the rest didn’t matter.

If worse comes to worst, they could rebuild after the war; as long as it served its temporary purpose and satisfied logistical transportation needs, it was sufficient.

Besides, in this era, the carrying capacity of cars was limited; only heavy trucks could carry tens of tons of cargo at once, so the demand on road load-bearing capacity wasn’t high.

"Lieutenant, someone outside is looking for you, says there’s an urgent matter to discuss with you,"

a duty-bound Guard came running to inform.

Since it was military-style management, military ranks were inevitable. Although merely a newly drafted civilian engineer, Eveson had still become a junior officer based on his technical skills.

Putting down the telescope he was focusing on, Eveson slowly asked, "Understood. Ask him first, what he needs from me.

If he can’t specify the matter, or if the reasons are too far-fetched or the demands too excessive, send him away."

It was evident that Lieutenant Eveson was experienced in handling such matters. Even without meeting someone, he knew what the person was after.

"Demolition," naturally involves interests. At that time, there were no demolition fees, even if the land was privately owned, the necessary land still had to be used.

At most, they would give a symbolic compensation, which could not possibly be much higher than the market land price.

If it were large-scale land requisition, such compensation might not result in a loss for the landowners. The problem now was just compensation for the land occupied by the roads.

However, the loss of benefits brought about by road construction far exceeded the land it occupied. Many estates were bisected by the roads, immediately becoming less useful.

If you wanted to argue, sorry, but this was a time of war. Everything had to give way to the war, all issues had to wait until after the war.

Not everyone had the bigger picture in mind, and not everyone was willing to make sacrifices. Naturally, there were many who sought connections to minimize or transfer their losses.

Those who could seek help were not ordinary people; at the beginning, to build good relations with local powers, Eveson even attended many banquets.

However, he soon gave up, as the situation of land consolidation in the Germany Region was already very severe, and no matter how the road was routed, it was inevitable that some people’s interests would be harmed.

After all, this was a strategic road, and its area of occupation was naturally substantial. Compared to the original roads that were two to three meters wide, it now increased five or six times, all of which required the use of land.

To get rich, build roads first, did not apply in the Germany Region. The local economy was already quite good, and the existing roads were enough for daily transport needs.

The strategic highway being constructed now essentially severely harmed the interests of the landowners.

Like the estate before us, once it was bisected by the road, not only would its size be reduced, but the management costs would also increase significantly, and its value would naturally plummet.

If it had been before the collapse of the Luxembourg Line, Lieutenant Eveson would still consider whether to sell the landowner a favor by routing around from the peripheral areas.

Not now, with the higher-ups repeatedly urging for progress, naturally, the faster the better. As for subsequent issues, that was the Sub-State government’s own affair.

...

"Lieutenant, this is the wine I brought for..."

Before the old man could finish, Eveson interrupted, "Sorry Mr. Will, you should know that the Luxembourg Line has already fallen, and now the Rhine Defense Line is also hanging by a thread.

For the sake of the strategic situation, the higher-ups have ordered that most road sections be connected within two months; we have no time left."

The Rhine Defense Line wasn’t truly hanging by a thread, but when it came to demolition, it had to be considered as such.

If there was no sense of urgency, who could guarantee that these landowners would not become greedy and deliberately obstruct the construction of the highway?

The old man bitterly replied, "Lieutenant, I understand all these reasons. Once the French break through the Rhine Defense Line, this place will become a battlefield, and no one will be able to stay out of it.

But this is a vineyard, and once the highway passes through the middle, it will inevitably affect the quality of the grapes.

Please go around from the side, it’s only less than a kilometer extra, the terrain here is flat, and it won’t take much time!"

Building the highway through the middle of the vineyard would affect the quality of the grapes, that was inevitable. Not to mention, the noise from vehicle traffic and the dust on the road would affect the nearby grape growth.

Grapes don’t keep well, and these days vineyards mainly sell raisins and wine. If they cater to the low-end market, a slight decline in grape quality doesn’t matter.

But to enter the mid to high-end market, anything that could potentially affect grape quality was fatal for vineyard owners.

Eveson shook his head, "Sir, I am truly sorry, but I can’t help you with this request. I personally suggest you negotiate with the local government as soon as possible regarding compensation to minimize your losses.

You might think that detouring a few hundred meters through the neighboring land would minimize economic loss and not add much workload,

But don’t forget, the neighboring land also has owners. They certainly wouldn’t want such a thing happening on their land.

If the landowners make an appeal to the military, this kind of blatant encroachment and targeted behavior could land me in a military court."

Austria is, after all, preparing to unify the Germany Region, so it couldn’t act recklessly. Constructing a strategic highway required the use of land, which everyone could understand, but this had to be done as fairly as possible.

Even if a detour was necessary, it couldn’t occur unless the landowner had first coordinated everything and everyone agreed, only then could it proceed.

The old man nodded helplessly, "I’m sorry to have troubled your Excellency. If the road cannot be rerouted, then let’s shift it a bit to pass through the edge of the estate.

You don’t need to worry about the additional workload, I will organize people to come and help, it won’t affect the construction schedule."

"A slight shift without involving land disputes and without affecting the construction schedule, I see no problem!"

Lieutenant Eveson wasn’t intentionally making things difficult, and he was quite willing to do a favor when it did not impact the mission.

The local officials responsible for coordination also breathed a sigh of relief, such events had occurred countless times. Any issue that could be resolved without conflict was considered a perfect outcome.