Holy Roman Empire

If the organizational ability is not strong enough, perhaps the troops in front have arrived at their destination, but the troops behind have not yet set off.

Anyway, with so many people queuing up, there can be two lines from Poznan to Warsaw.

There is no doubt that the rapid action of the Prussian army exceeded the estimates of the Russians.The Ninth Army, which was closer, did not arrive, and the enemy arrived first.

Although the Russian Eighth Army resisted bravely, it was of no avail.Not to mention intercepting the return of the Prussian army to the west, whether Poznan can be defended has become a problem.

……

Looking at the telegram in his hand at the Russian Army Command, Ivanov sighed helplessly.

"Order the Eighth Army to stick to Poznan and wait for reinforcements, and order the Ninth Army to speed up its march and reinforce the Eighth Army as soon as possible."

Staff officer Julian Benneteau reminded: "Marshal, the main force of the Prussian army arrived in the Poznan area two days ago, and now the city of Poznan may have been surrounded.

At this time, the Ninth Army rushed over, and it was difficult to join the Eighth Army in the city immediately. Instead, they might be surrounded by the enemy for reinforcements.

The Eighth Army has a city that can stick to it, and it will not be a problem to support it for ten days and a half.It is better to let the Ninth Army, the Eleventh Army, and the Seventeenth Army join together, and then go for reinforcements. "

From a military point of view, Julian Benneteau's concerns are very reasonable.In a field battle, it is indeed impossible for a Ninth Army to be the opponent of the enemy's main force.

If an encounter occurs, the loss will be heavy, and the entire army will be wiped out.Without the Ninth Army, just relying on the two second-line armies behind them, they would also not be the enemy's opponents.

Ivanov sneered and said: "It's not necessary, if Moltke has such a good appetite, what can I do if I send them the Ninth Army?

The total strength of the Eighth Army is as high as 21.6, and the total strength of the Ninth Army is 18.7, which together exceed 40. How can it be so easy to be swallowed.

If a quick battle is not possible, our [-]th and [-]th armies will have arrived on the battlefield.Even if Moltke can win, how many troops can they have left after the war?

The main force is exhausted, and if they want to recover, it will not be done overnight, and we will not give them time.

The army in Moltke's hands is the essence of the Prussian army. If he is willing to exchange it, why should we be stingy! "

The Berlin government has already mobilized the whole people, and the newly formed troops have not been able to form combat effectiveness. The main reason is the lack of officers and the small number of veterans.

The elite Prussian army in Moltke's hands is extremely important.With this army, with veterans leading new recruits, the Prussian army still has a chance to break out the last wave.

Of course, it is not easy to break out. The Prussian army lacks enough time, and Ivanov will not leave them a chance to breathe.

Now that the war has progressed, losses are no longer important.When you open the map, you will find that the Pubo Federation has lost 55% of its land, 40% of its population, half of its food production capacity, and one-third of its industry.

This is just the beginning. The flames of war have reached the hinterland of the Kingdom of Prussia. Once the Warsaw area falls, only one-third of the Pubo Federation will remain.

No matter how well the Prussian army played on the battlefield, it could not make up for the gap in national strength, and the Prussian army's successor weakness has become more and more obvious.

……

The Russian army suffered losses in the Poznan area, but it does not mean that they also suffered losses on other battlefields.

In the Baltic Sea area, the Russians have the upper hand in the sea, and the land and sea are advancing side by side to crush the Prussian army, and they have already occupied a quarter of East Prussia.

In the Warsaw area, after the withdrawal of the main force of the Prussian army, the strength and weakness were adjusted.Although it failed to break through Warsaw City, it was almost there.

It wasn't that the Poles guarding Warsaw didn't work hard, it was because the Russians were too insidious and drove a large number of refugees into the city, increasing the pressure on the defenders.

The Russian Tenth Army, which was in charge of raiding Berlin, is now less than [-] kilometers away from Berlin.Of course, this distance may be the limit, and if you want to move forward, the Tenth Army cannot do it.

From a military point of view, the surprise attack of the Russian Tenth Army was obviously a failure. It did not play the role of a surprise attack at all, and was discovered by the enemy early.

Politically, it was different. The Tenth Army appeared near Berlin, and the impact on the Popo Federation was disastrous. More and more people were pessimistic about the war.

If it weren't for the deep hatred with the Russians, there would be too many bargaining chips for this war, and there was really no way out. Maybe the Berlin government had already compromised with the Russians.

In London, after confirming that the Pubo Federation was over, the Benjamin cabinet was thinking about how to stop losses in time to minimize Britain's losses.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Garfield: "According to the data analysis of our survey, the most optimistic estimate is that once the Pubo Federation is defeated, we will lose at least 3 million pounds of wealth.

The sum of all the overseas assets of the Pubo Federation may be less than 1.5 million pounds, including the final deposit in the Berlin government account and the gold mortgaged to us.

Most of these overseas assets are distributed in Austrian Africa, and in private names, we cannot freeze them even if we want to. "

There is no doubt that it is difficult to stop losses now.The family background of the Pubo Federation is too weak, and many collaterals can only be cashed on the premise of winning the war.

In theory, immediately freezing the bank accounts of the Berlin government in Britain and confiscating their mortgaged gold and overseas assets can minimize losses.

In fact, there is no possibility of manipulation at all.As the hegemon of the world, Britain also has to face. At this time, when the situation is getting worse, what do the other younger brothers think?

Although Britain is powerful, it is not to the point where it does not need a younger brother.

Now is the era of the Three Kingdoms of Britain, France and Austria, and no one can rule alone.Under the background that the three major powers do not support the battle, whoever attracts more younger brothers will have an advantage in international politics.

Foreign Minister Edward: "There is no need to think about freezing assets, including the gold mortgaged to us by the Berlin government, which also cannot be moved, at least we cannot move until the Pubo Federation is over.

The top priority is to find a way to keep the Pubo Federation, at least the Kingdom of Prussia.

We need to set an example to let all countries in the world know that even if cooperation with Britain fails, we have the strength to keep them. "

In a sense, the Russo-Prussian War was also a continuation of the contradiction between Britain, France and Austria. The three countries used this war to engage in political games, but the French withdrew halfway, and finally turned into a game between Britain and Austria.

Great power competition does not happen overnight. If you lose today, you will win back tomorrow.If he stabbed his younger brother because he suffered a loss in the struggle, who would dare to cooperate with them?

Chancellor of the Exchequer Garfield nodded: "Of course, this is necessary. Only when the debtor is there can we recover the investment.

The current Berlin government is too poor, even if all their assets are frozen, it will not make up for our losses.

The question is can we keep them?Now that the Russians have the upper hand, I don't think the Tsarist government will let this enemy go just because of our face. "

How big is Britain's face?This is a question with no exact answer, and there are different answers in different regions and countries.

Since the London government supported the Pubo Federation, their face has not been easy in the Russian Empire.It harmed its own interests, and the tsarist government didn't care about the British threat.

Foreign Secretary Edward: "It is not up to the Russians not to agree to this, no country wants to see the Russians penetrate into Central Europe, including Austria, which supports them.

If the Russians were allowed to annex the Pubo Federation, how would Austria's Central European empire dream come true?The bottom line of the Vienna government should be to allow the Tsarist government to take back the Polish-Lithuanian region.

The only thing worth worrying about is that Russia and Austria may divide up the secrets of the Commonwealth of Prussia and Poland.This is the strength of the Vienna government. No one knows how many secret contracts they have concluded over the years. "

"Austria's secret treaty" is also one of the hot topics in Europe. There are widely circulated Russia-Austria secret treaty, France-Austria secret treaty, Anglo-Austria secret treaty, West Austria secret treaty, Holo-Occupy treaty... and the secret treaty with the German states.

There is no doubt that many of the secret agreements in this are nonsense.Most of them are just ordinary treaties, because politics need to be kept secret for a while, and they become so-called "secret treaties" when they reach the outside world.

The Vienna government has never given an explanation. This thing is getting more and more black. Even if the content of the treaty is exposed, there are still a large group of people who don't believe it.

The more the water is stirred up, the more the true and false contents are mixed together, making it even more difficult for the outside world to distinguish.

The secret agreement between Russia and Omnibus must exist, otherwise the agreement on the bright side would not be enough for the Vienna government to invest in the Tsarist government. The specific content of the London government is not clear.

Prime Minister Benjamin: "This is not a problem. Austria is not yet ready. At this time, they will carve up the Prussia Commonwealth, and they will not have the confidence to swallow the Kingdom of Prussia in one go.

I have studied Franz. He attaches great importance to his personal reputation. Even if he wants to annex the Kingdom of Prussia, he will not choose this time to cooperate with the Russians.

The top priority is to gain the support of the French, and it cannot be delayed any longer.I have a bad feeling that something big is going to happen in Europe. "

Foreign Minister Edward laughed and said: "Prime Minister, you are so humorous! Major events have happened in the European continent. After the end of the Russo-Prussian War, the European political landscape has been reshuffled. In the future, the three countries of France, Austria and Russia will stand on their own feet.

Although we failed to support the Pubo Federation this time, the situation in the European continent is still good.

The Russians had won the war, and the Continent had added another competitor, and the future of the Vienna government might not be easy. "

Chancellor of the Exchequer Garfield: "Sir, you are too optimistic. The relationship between Russia and Austria is still very good, and there is no possibility of a turnaround in the short term.

The Russian-Prussian War brought considerable losses to the Russians. For a long time to come, the Tsarist government will have to recuperate and will not move westward at all.

Instead, we're about to get in trouble.The Russians have cleaned up the Pubo Federation, and the next target is likely to be Central Asia. "

It is normal for persimmons to look for soft ones in this age of the jungle.

The weakened Russian Empire is unable to compete with Austria, but it is still no problem to bully the Khanates in Central Asia.

Chapter 279 A Good Fighter Has No Heroes

At the Poznan Prussian Army Command, Moltke is busy holding a military meeting to discuss whether to recover the city of Poznan.

From a geographical point of view, Poznan is located in the center of the Polish plain, and it is also a transportation hub and an industrial center. Naturally, it is better to be in your own hands.

Being located on the Polish plain, Poznan has almost nothing to do with its geographical location. As an inland city, Poznan does not need to consider the threat of foreign enemies, and naturally there will not be many fortifications.

On the surface, it should be easy to overcome.In fact, on the contrary, the main force of the Russian Eighth Army huddled in the city, and drove out all the people in the urban area in order to defend the city.

If it is in later generations, this may be a good thing, which means that the Prussian army does not have to take into account civilian casualties, and can do a lot of work.

This era is different. The power of artillery is limited, and it takes a lot of ammunition and time to destroy a city.

In order to allow the Warsaw defenders to delay the time as much as possible, the Prussian army left a large amount of artillery ammunition when they withdrew, and they did not carry much ammunition with them.

Even if it is possible to send supplies from the country, the Russians have made it clear that they will fight street battles. This cannot be ended in a day or two, and the Prussian army does not have enough time to spend here.

The Berlin government issued repeated orders, ordering them to return quickly to deal with the Russian army that was about to hit the foot of Berlin.

As for the Poznan battlefield, that is, the military is still working hard.Most people in the Berlin government no longer think about defeating the Russians, but how to preserve their strength so that they can negotiate with the Russians and strive for a decent outcome.

This is a European practice. Negotiations are made after losing a war. Most of the time, it is the cession of land and compensation, and the destruction of the country generally rarely happens.

Politicians know very well that they don't want to know how powerful their fallen forces are now, and it won't be long before the great powers will soon intervene in mediation. As long as the main force of the Prussian army is still there, they will have a chance to bargain.

Not only domestic urging, there is not much time left for the Prussian army on the battlefield, and Russian reinforcements are coming in a steady stream.

A combat staff officer introduced: "The current situation is very obvious. The Russian Ninth Army is only one day away from Poznan. If we want to recover the Poznan area, then we must severely damage or eat them.

The total strength of the Russian Ninth Army is about 20. It may not be difficult to defeat them, but if you want to eat them, it will not be possible in a short time.

Judging from the intelligence of the investigation, the Russian Ninth Army was very cautious, and neither a sneak attack nor an ambush was possible.

What's more, there are Russian No.11 Army and Russian No.17 Army behind them, and now they have accelerated their marching speed, and they will reach the front line in half a month at most.

If we want to take back Poznan, we must finish it before the arrival of Russian reinforcements.Almost impossible to do without paying heavy casualties. "

The Prussian army is also human, even if they are more powerful, they will still get tired and die.

Swallowing 40 Russian troops in one bite, even if they can be divided into two places, it will also pay heavy casualties.

Whether to pay a loss of 20 or [-], no one can answer this question.

In short, if the Prussian army suffered heavy losses in this battle, it would be difficult for them to deal with the Russian army behind them.

The Russo-Prussian War has been going on until now, and there is a bit of a Chu-Han struggle for hegemony. Mao Qi, like Xiang Yu, has won many battles ahead.

It is a pity that many victories have been fought, but the number of enemies has not decreased but increased, and my own soldiers have been decreasing.

After a few more victories, Moltke would have no soldiers to use.Such a weird thing is really speechless.

A middle-aged officer retorted: "This battle must be fought. If we go back in such a desperate state, not only will the morale of the army be frustrated, but the Poles in the Warsaw area may directly surrender to the Russians.

Now we need victory to inspire people, and we must let the people see the hope of victory, otherwise this war cannot continue at all. "

The most important thing for a person is to have hope. I am afraid that no one is willing to continue a war that is doomed to failure.

Warsaw is the capital of the Kingdom of Poland. The Berlin government can accept the fall of the Warsaw area, but it cannot accept the surrender of the Poles. The political significance of this is too important, which is equivalent to shaking the ruling foundation of the Commonwealth of Poland.

Perhaps in the eyes of ordinary people, this war is going to be lost anyway, so why care about the areas that are destined to be lost!

Politically, it is definitely not possible to do this. The Russo-Prussian War is still going on, and the Berlin government still needs the Poles to work for them in order to better attack the Russians.

In this context, the flag of the Pubo Federation cannot be lost.If this banner is lost, the Berlin government will lose its legal basis for ruling the Polish region, and the number of people willing to work hard will definitely decrease significantly.

The Berlin government is willing to make an exception to allow the military to control the Warsaw area. The most important thing is that the main combat faction in the army is stronger, and they will not easily compromise with the Russians.

Moltke waved his hand and stopped the quarrel: "This battle must be fought, but it must be fought selectively.

We don't have time to spend with the Russian Eighth Army huddled in the city, but the Russian Ninth Army that came to our door must be destroyed.

Otherwise, as soon as we retreat, they will join forces with the Eighth Army in the city, and with the reinforcements coming later, the total strength of the Russian army will approach 80. This threat is too great.

Although domestic mobilization has been completed, we still lack time to reorganize our troops, destroy the Russian Ninth Army, and severely damage the enemy's reinforcements. We can buy at least two months. "

Time is life on the battlefield. Naturally, two months cannot bring the Pubo Federation back to its peak, but at least it can gain strength.

Unlike ordinary officers, Mao Qi thought more.The cruel reality told him that it is not only the victory of the war that determines the outcome of a war, but also the overall national strength.

Ivanov taught him a lesson with practical actions. As long as the national strength is strong enough and there are enough troops, he is not afraid of defeat on the battlefield.

War kills people, and losing a battle can also consume the enemy's strength. On the battlefield, the first to win is not considered a win, and the last winner is the winner.

……

On December 1880, 12, the London government issued a peace call to Prussia and Russia, which received a positive response from the Berlin government, but was rejected by the Tsarist government.

The war has progressed to the present, and it is no longer possible to stop if you want to.The tsarist government paid too much for this war, and finally saw the dawn of victory. Let it go at this time, who will pay for the war losses?

The shameless behavior of the Russians naturally angered the London government. Before they could take action, news of the fall of Warsaw came, and the Russo-Prussian War was completely clarified.

After the main force of the Prussian army withdrew, the situation in the Warsaw area became critical.Although the Poles resisted very tenaciously, they still could not make up for the gap in strength.

After resisting for a month, the Russians still tore through the line of defense and entered the city, and now street fighting is going on.

The following things are no longer important. Everyone knows that the Warsaw battlefield has been unable to recover.The surrounding areas were all occupied, and without reinforcements, it was only a matter of time before the defenders in the city were wiped out.