Holy Roman Empire

In the first Russo-Prussian War, he first commanded troops against the Poles, and then was sent to defend Constantinople against the Ottomans.

The enemies are all soft persimmons, plus he is such a conservative commander, it is difficult for the Russian army to lose even if they want to.

In the case of a complete defeat of the Russian army, Ivanov, who was able to win the battle, naturally stood out.

Immediately afterwards, it caught up with the Second Near East War, and the Tsarist government and Austria joined forces to beat the Ottomans.

When the second Russo-Prussian War broke out, Alexander II, in order to seek stability, immediately activated the "good luck" marshal who had "great military exploits".

Facts have proved that this appointment is very wise. In the past ten months of war, although the Russian army has not taken advantage of it, it has not suffered much.

The pure war of attrition has been fought until now, and everyone suddenly discovered that the Russian army has gradually gained the strategic initiative in the war of attrition.

The only downside is that the casualties are a little higher, but in the face of victory, these are minor problems.Compared with the first Russo-Prussian War, the exchange ratio of the current Russian army on the battlefield is much better.

Ivanov picked up a baton and pointed on the map as he spoke: "After the Battle of Smolinsk, the main force of the Prussian army retreated all the way, as if they were about to abandon Poland.

But this is only superficial. The Battle of Smolensk did not seriously damage the main force of the Prussian army. They still have the power to fight, so there is no need to run so fast, let alone abandon Warsaw, the east gate.

I have studied the direction of the enemy's mobilization, and they are spreading to the two wings. As long as we enter the Warsaw area, they can immediately rush up.

Of course, it does not mean that we are afraid of a decisive battle with the enemy. The main reason is that there is no need for a decisive battle with the enemy in the Warsaw area.Even if it is a decisive battle, we should choose the place. "

Obviously, Ivanov was politically minded, and he was determined not to say what he couldn't say.

All the smart people present, even if Ivanov didn't say anything, everyone knew that the Poles did not welcome the Tsar's baby daddy, and the Warsaw area was the most active anti-Russian area, and there was no popular foundation for a decisive battle here.

But smart people do stupid things too, because it's not the brain that determines their thinking, but the position under their buttocks.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Christian Wahl questioned: "Your Excellency Marshal, a decisive battle with the enemy in the Warsaw area may not be the best choice, but it is the most suitable for us.

From the outbreak of the war to the present, we have spent nearly [-] billion rubles, and we spend nearly [-] million rubles every month.

This means that our fiscal income for one year is not enough for three months of war funds.

Every day the war lasts, we have to pay huge military expenditures. The best choice is to end this war as soon as possible. "

As soon as the cannon was fired, the tsarist government mobilized millions of troops, and the daily military expenditure was an astronomical figure.

Self-financing is impossible, and Russia's finances have never been rich.In order to carry out this war, the tsarist government has owed huge foreign debts.

If the war continues, it won't be long before the government's finances will be depleted again.At that time, the Ministry of Finance will have to figure out a way. Kristen Val is a smart man, and he knows very well that it is too difficult for the Tsarist government to raise money now.

If there is no failure on the battlefield, but the failure of the war is caused by finances, the Ministry of Finance will take the blame.As the chancellor of the exchequer, he is the first to bear the brunt. If he fails, he will be guillotined to quell public anger.

Moreover, the borrowed money must be repaid.The loan this time was mortgaged on the land. If the pockets were too clean to fulfill the debt, the land would have to be sold to pay off the debt.

Once this happens, the Ministry of Finance will be the one to take the blame in the end. As Chancellor of the Exchequer, Christine Val has to be in a hurry.

For him, this war is the "Sword of Doom" hanging in the air, which may be cut down at any time and kill him.

Not only the Ministry of Finance was eager to end the war, but many interest groups within the tsarist government also wanted to end the war as soon as possible.

The war has done too much damage to the economy, and many industries cannot operate normally, which undoubtedly cut off everyone's financial resources.

Ivanov shook his head: "Your Excellency's thinking is too simple, the difficulty of the decisive battle in the Warsaw area is not a little bit more.

If you choose a strategic adventure in order to pursue a quick battle, you will fall into the enemy's tricks.

In the event of an accident that causes heavy losses to our army, who will be responsible? "

Explanation is impossible. In the context of political correctness, many things cannot be said. Marshal Ivanov can only choose hard top.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Christian Valle sneered: "Your military is not responsible for the affairs on the battlefield. Shouldn't our Ministry of Finance be responsible? Or let us direct it!"

There are many people who want a quick victory, including Alexander II.Everyone didn't say it out, mainly because they were worried that forcing the military to make an early decisive battle would lead to the failure of the war, and no one was willing to take this responsibility.

There was nothing Christian Val could do. The Tsarist government's finances were too bad, and the war expenses were too high.

The war funds raised by the Ministry of Finance will last for another year at most, but can the war end within a year?

If he hadn't experienced the last Prussian-Russian War, Christian Val might have said yes.After his own experience, Kristenvale couldn't be more optimistic.

As a military rookie, Kristanvale didn't think it was important to change the location of the decisive battle. The big deal would be that the casualties would be higher. Anyway, the gray animals were worthless and they could afford to lose them.

Marshal Ivanov sneered: "This is a good proposal. Since the Marquis of Christanvale is so confident, then I will abdicate to let Xian!"

At this point, Ivanov is very clear that he cannot make concessions.Taking a step back is not the sea and the sky, but the abyss.

A direct hardtop is not the best choice, it will offend many people.However, compared with the risk of an early decisive battle, he felt that it was safer to offend others.

Now is the age of war, which belongs to the most powerful era of the military, and no one can touch him, a marshal with great military exploits.

Seeing the escalation of the quarrel, Alexander II waved his hand: "Okay, this question will stop here. Marshal, let's talk about your battle plan first!"

There is no doubt that this short episode was won by the persistence of Marshal Ivanov.

Facing the financial crisis and the risk of losing the war, Alexander II still chose to face the financial crisis. He really couldn't bear the risk of losing the war.

Fiscal crises can always be resolved as long as the war is won.It really doesn't work, the big deal is to renege on it again.The first time is raw and the second time is familiar, just get used to it.

The only trouble is the mortgaged territory, but these are minor problems, the big deal is to make up for the losses from the enemy, and the Vienna government does not accept the land exchange.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Ivanov replied solemnly: "Now the enemy has deployed traps in the Warsaw area, waiting for us to jump into them.

To be on the safe side, we decided to take the Lithuanian region first, outflank the enemy forces in the Baltic Sea region from behind, and first remove the enemy's military threat to St. Petersburg. "

After hearing this answer, many people nodded in satisfaction. The Prussian army has reached Estonia, not far from St. Petersburg.

This made the officials and gentlemen unable to sleep well, for fear that one day the enemy would approach the city.If it weren't for Alexander II's insistence, the tsarist government would have moved its capital to Moscow long ago.

No one would object to giving priority to removing the threat of St. Petersburg, even Alexander II, no one would dislike that they lived too safely.

After a pause, Marshal Ivanov continued: "After recovering the Lithuanian region, the situation on the battlefield will change again.

Taking into account the logistical pressure, the headquarters planned to launch a full-scale offensive on the southern front, using troops along the Prussian-Austrian border, so as to obtain supplies from Austria nearby.

In the future, we only need to step by step, advance steadily, and rely on our superiority to directly crush the enemy. "

One word is "stable". According to Ivanov's military deployment, it may be difficult for the Russian army to achieve a world-shocking victory, and it will also not experience an earth-shattering defeat.

Of course, the sequelae are also very serious, and the price to be paid is somewhat tragic.While defeating the enemy, the Russian Empire will also be severely damaged.

Alexander II asked with concern: "Is there any way to reduce our losses? If we continue to fight like this, even if we win, we will suffer heavy losses."

After contemplating for a while, Ivanov pointed at the direction of the Nordic Federation on the map with the headquarters, and said: "The easiest way is to let the Nordic Federation participate in the war.

We have pinned down the main force of the enemy, and as long as they send troops to raid Berlin, the war can be ended within a month.

Of course, the same goes for bringing Austria and the Confederation of Germany into the war.The enemy's rear was so empty that only [-] troops could take Berlin. "

This is an embarrassing plan. The tsarist government's plan to win over the Nordic Federation failed under the destruction of John Bull.

As for Austria and the German Federation, don't even think about it, this is impossible, even if they promise great benefits, it is useless.

Leaving aside international relations, the nationalists would not have agreed in the first place.

If Austria wants to unify the German region, it cannot do without the support of nationalists, and the Vienna government will not go against public opinion.

The German Confederation is even worse. There are a bunch of states inside. If the central government dares to mess around, they will become independent in minutes.

Chapter 2 Sixty Madmen and Geniuses

Facts have proved that the tactic that suits you best is the best tactic.

Marshal Ivanov's use of troops was completely satisfactory, and he fought hard and dull battles, and could hardly find any bright spots.I would rather sit back and watch the loss of fighter planes than take military risks.

Encountered such a conservative enemy, even Moltke, known as the "Military God" of Prussia, could do nothing.

The situation on the front line did not go according to the predetermined script, the pressure on the Berlin government also increased, and various criticisms continued to emerge.

There are even some old-school generals who publicly criticized Moltke's commanding ability and demanded that he be responsible for the defeat of the Smolensk Battle, as if changing a commander, the Prussian army could turn the situation around.

Fortunately, William I was not a soft-hearted master, and he firmly supported Marshal Moltke, otherwise the Prussian army would have to change generals.

From a purely tactical point of view, the Prussian army has always won more and lost less, and its record is very beautiful.

Regrettably, behind the victory, there were also painful casualties.The war potential of Prussia and Russia is completely different. The ability of the Tsarist government to withstand the loss of troops is three times that of the Berlin government.

The Pubo Federation seems to have a population of more than 3000 million. Their real combat power is still the army composed of the people in the core area of ​​Prussia.

Although the people in Poland also supported the war, the ethnic composition of the region is very complicated, with many ethnic minorities, and internal conflicts are not necessarily smaller than external conflicts.

The dual empire is not so easy to integrate. The establishment of the Pubo Federation is too short, and the Berlin government has no time to sort out internal conflicts, let alone unify the language.

Problems that the government cannot solve are inevitably brought into the army.It is somewhat similar to the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the original time and space, and it is a test of command and coordination ability.

The combat power of a single army is 10, and the combined combat power of two troops is not 20, but becomes 20*90%*90%=16.2. By analogy, the combined combat power of the three troops becomes 21.87. The coordinated army The more, the faster the battle drops.

Moltke took this group of pig teammates to the battlefield, and the current record is already very good.If it had been changed, it would have been a long time ago.

The Berlin Palace is now holding a meeting about the future of the Pubo Federation.

"Army expansion? Or not?"

Since the outbreak of the war, the Pubo Federation has been expanding its army, and its total strength has expanded from the initial 41.6 to the current 166.8 million.

The military expansion discussed this time is naturally not a routine supplement of 10,000+ troops per month, but "whether to carry out extreme mobilization immediately."

There is no way, for such a large-scale war, there are always not enough troops.

Not all troops can be put into the battlefield, and most of the expanded troops are recruits who need the necessary military training.

After the training is completed, it does not mean that all these soldiers will be able to go to the battlefield.Logistics needs to be maintained, coastal areas also need troops to defend, and the Cossack cavalry who cross the border also need troops to encircle and suppress.

In addition, supplementary soldiers also accounted for a considerable proportion, and they would be added to the troops that suffered heavy losses one after another to ensure the combat effectiveness of the main force.

Of the 166.8 million troops of the Pubo Federation, only half of them can really be put into front-line combat.This ratio is already very high, which is enough to prove the organizational ability of the Berlin government.

With insufficient troops, it is easy to suffer losses on the battlefield.Although Ivanov used his troops conservatively, he did not lack the ruthlessness of "one general succeeds in ten thousand bones", and played the game of exchange crazily.

Behind the war of attrition is the total military strength of the Russian Empire, which is about to break through the 300 million mark.Even if the Russian army suffered a disadvantage in the exchange ratio on the battlefield, they still took advantage of the strategy by virtue of their superiority in numbers.

……

Moltke: "I am opposed to the current extreme mobilization. Wars do not depend on a large number of people. We will never be able to match the Russians if we fight for manpower.

The unfavorable situation on the battlefield is only temporary. The Russians seem to have an advantage, but behind the advantage, Ivanov is facing increasing political pressure.

Victory is the easiest way to lose people. According to Ivanov's style of play, even if the Russians win the war, they will be seriously injured.

After paying millions of casualties, the last harvest was a piece of white land, plus heavy debts.

It is said that the tsarist government mortgaged the Russian Balkans and most of Ukraine to Austria.

With the current strength of the Russian Empire, if they do not want to cede these areas to Austria, they must find a way to pay off their debts.

Ivanov's tactics seem to be safe, but they are actually working for the Austrians.After the war, the tsarist government was unable to repay its debts, and it was bound to cede a large amount of territory to repay the debt. I don't believe the tsarist government can accept it.

As long as there are a few more victories, it seems that the overall situation has been settled, and the tsarist government will force Ivanov to come out and fight us, or change people. "

The government advocates military expansion, but the military boss opposes it.Such a strange thing is rare in the history of the world, but it really happened now.

Mao Qi knew very well that his decision would make many military generals dissatisfied. After all, expanding the army is the best chance for everyone to get promoted.

But there is no way, this war is very fierce, and the Prussian army has to pay tens of thousands to 10,000+ casualties every month.

Extreme mobilization seems to have solved the problem of insufficient troops, but in fact it is not the case at all. The Pubo Federation has limited manpower, and extreme mobilization is only consuming the mobilization ability in the later stage.

It was originally trying to lure the enemy to go deep, and a large number of troops were brought out and left at home. How could the tsarist government relax its vigilance?

Don't relax your vigilance and let that guy Ivanov continue to command. The two sides have been fighting for consumption, and the Pubo Federation is the first to fail.

What's more, the newly formed troops will not be able to form combat effectiveness in the short term, even if they want to take the initiative to launch a decisive battle.In addition to increasing consumption, it does not help the battle situation much.

Foreign Secretary Jeffrey Friedman: "My lord Marshal, I admit that you have a good point, but don't forget that there are international forces.

Our negotiations with the London government have achieved phased results.They have taken action diplomatically, and the threat of the Nordic Federation no longer exists.

If we mobilize 300 million troops, the tsarist government must mobilize on a larger scale if it wants to continue to maintain its military superiority.

So how many troops do they have to mobilize, is it 500 million or 600 million?

The army is a gold-swallowing beast. We have the financial support of Britain and France. It will not be a problem to persist for another year. How long can the tsarist government persist?

I don't think Austria will support the Russians indefinitely. They have already invested enough capital, and they must consider the issue of cost recovery.

The Foreign Office has shown goodwill to the government in Vienna, we have made major concessions, we are no longer seeking the territory that the Russians have mortgaged to them, and we support their acquisition of Constantinople.

Of course, these may not impress them, but it is enough to stabilize Austria.As long as the Vienna government shakes, the tsarist government will not be able to maintain its military superiority due to lack of funds.

The enemy has no superior force, I believe Your Excellency the Marshal has a way to defeat them.This is far less risky than waiting for the enemy to make a mistake. "

Behind the seemingly plain, it is actually a power game.According to the government's intention to expand the army and rely on finances to trust the Russians to death, the protagonist of this war will change from the military to the government.

If you analyze it carefully, you will find that there is a shadow of the British behind it. The London government's sudden move gave the Berlin government a chance to seize the dominance.