Holy Roman Empire

In the long run, Montes is doing the right thing.If the British army and the Sardinian army defend together, it is estimated that this elite British army will be abolished in a short time.

Mantua was not a good general, but he must have been a good boss.In order to reduce the casualty rate of soldiers, he repeatedly emphasized safety first, and was deeply loved by soldiers.

From the perspective of Sardinian soldiers, this is not their war, and they go to the battlefield to earn their salary.So they have always been able to paddle, so they will definitely not work hard.

General Mantua, who is well versed in human nature, knows all this clearly. This army is his political capital when he returns to the Kingdom of Sardinia in the future, and it is necessary to buy the morale of the army.

He can't lead everyone to win battles and snatch trophies to make a fortune.Then the only way is to lead everyone to save their lives, and generals who value the lives of soldiers will also be welcomed.

Now the trouble is big, the Russians on the opposite side don't cooperate, and Mantua has a headache.Just give up the line of defense and run away, just think about it, if you really do it, the furious British will kill him directly.

What about allies?Could it be that the Kingdom of Sardinia can do anything to the British besides protesting?

A middle-aged officer suggested: "General, why don't we open an opening at the junction with the British defense line and let the Russians pass. Even if the British find fault after the war, we can also blame them."

Being reprimanded by the British every day, the Sardinians also have a temper, and the disparity in treatment exacerbates this dissatisfaction.

In name, everyone’s supplies are the same, but after arriving in the place, the British can always get some fruits and vegetables, potatoes, bread and other supplies.

Due to the limited number, the British can only get it for officers, so naturally they don't have their share.

Even generals like Mantua are not treated much better. If they want to improve their food, they have to bribe the British quartermasters out of their pockets.

It's not that they didn't protest to the British, but the British bureaucrats took out the contract signed by the two countries, which clearly stated that the British Empire provided logistical support for [-] Sardinian soldiers.

Since they agreed to be "soldiers", they could only enjoy the treatment of soldiers.From the point of view of the Sardinian officers, equating them with soldiers is no longer just a matter of treatment, but also an insult to their personality.

In this case, even Lieutenant General Montes, the commander of the coalition forces, could do nothing.

The bureaucrats in London are not something he can offend. They all act according to the regulations and fully comply with British laws, and it is useless to appeal to the country.

There is no way in London, can the Ottomans provide some?

Obviously this is impossible, just look at the situation of the Ottoman army. In addition to the guaranteed treatment of high-level officers, the bottom-level soldiers also have to be supported by the British army.

If it weren't for the bureaucrats in London who had been distributing supplies according to the standard number of people at the time of departure, Montes distributed the extra beef jerky and biscuits to the Ottoman army, and now the Ottoman soldiers on the front line would still be fighting hungry.

Mantua shook his head and said, "We can't do this. If we find out afterwards, we will be responsible. We cannot bear the responsibility for losing the line of defense. This will affect the reputation of the country."

It's okay to cheat teammates, but you must have skills. If you don't operate well, you will put yourself in it.Mantua would not do such a thing without technical content and directly let go of the defense line.

"Then what should we do? The Russians are attacking so fiercely, and we have suffered heavy losses. I'm afraid we won't last long." An officer said with a wry smile.

Mantua frowned, lowered his voice and said: "This war can no longer be fought, we don't need to stay and work for the Ottomans.

Order the troops to abandon the frontier positions, and by the way, forget the British troop deployment information on the battlefield, and mark it clearly.

Remember to use Bulgarian, anyway, the Russians can understand it. This blame can only be carried by the Ottomans. It is very normal for them to have Russian spies in their army.

With this information, the Russians will definitely shift the focus of their attack.Once the defense line is lost, we will shrink our forces and move into the Kosovo area, and then return to Thrace from the Macedonian area. "

Apparently he was well prepared, and even planned his escape route.If the British are awesome and block the Russian attack, then it's easy to deal with, let's track down the Russian spies in the coalition forces!

The first object of suspicion is the Ottoman army. In theory, the British army and the Sardinian army are all outsiders, and the Russians simply have no time to infiltrate.

Chapter 90 Turning Point

Vienna

After the Halstadt factory's new rifle passed the actual combat test, it entered the list of candidates for the Austrian army and was named the Stellen M1852 rifle.

This seems to be the habit of Europeans. Designers always like to name the designed weapons after their own names.

These are all small problems, and Franz is not interested in getting to the bottom of it. Entering the army's list of candidate equipment does not mean that it can be equipped on a large scale.

The breech-loading rifle has been around for more than 30 years. The earliest was the American Hall M1819. Unfortunately, the bullets of this rifle will fly to the left after 45.7 meters.

Then there is the Prussian Dresser M1841. The Prussian army has begun to install it, but many generals have objected. Obviously, its performance has not yet conquered the public.

This rifle shined in the Pudan War and the Pudan War in 1864. Of course, the advantage of the front-loading gun is not as amazing as the later generations boasted.

This can be seen from the lack of full deployment of the Prussian army.

Although the rate of fire is four or five times that of the front-loading gun, the firing pin is easily damaged. In the initial industrial production of the M1841, some people laughed and said: If you don’t have a spare pointer, don’t go to the battlefield.

The breech also often leaks air. The leaked gas can easily interfere with shooting, and can burn the skin in serious cases. If you are unlucky, it may blind the shooter's eyes.

In the later period, the production technology was improved, and the performance gradually stabilized, and the Dresser M1841 began to shine.

Franz has also come into contact with a lot of similar rifles. Many rifles have excellent performance in the laboratory, but they will not work once they are mass-produced.

Either the cost is too high, or the performance is reduced.This is not a nuclear weapon, and Franz naturally has to consider the cost; sacrificing performance is even more inadvisable. Is it necessary to install a rifle without performance advantages?

Until the advent of the Stellen M1852, in terms of performance, it was similar to the historical Chasepo rifle, but the effective range was a little closer.

These are all small problems. It is enough to guarantee an effective range of 650 meters. Isn't it possible to shoot more than 500 meters at the farthest? It can also be scary from a long distance.

Franz has always believed that in actual combat, those who can accurately hit the enemy within 150 meters are excellent soldiers, and it is better to fight farther away by feeling!

"Your Excellency Marshal, what do you think of this rifle, should we change it?" Franz asked

Marshal Radesky replied with a smile: "Your Majesty, judging from the collected data, the effect is not bad, and it has large-scale equipment value.

However, the quotation of this rifle arsenal is 30.00% higher than that of ordinary rifles, and the ammunition consumption may be two or three times higher. "

Obviously, Marshal Radesky is experienced, and he does not expect this rifle to be able to fire a theoretical limit of 15 rounds on the battlefield, otherwise the ammunition consumption would not have increased by such a small amount.

Franz said calmly: "It is acceptable to increase part of the cost, and it will still decrease after large-scale industrial production, as long as its power is worthy of this price.

If the order is now to concentrate on mass production, more than 20 large and small arsenals in Austria add up to produce [-] to [-] such rifles every month without any problems. "

This is due to the outbreak of the Near East War, and Austrian arsenals have expanded their production capacity. Compared with a year ago, Austria's military production capacity has increased by 50.00%.

If the front-loading rifles are produced, there is no problem at all in mass production of [-] pieces per month, otherwise the Russian army would have no way to change equipment so quickly.

Marshal Radesky said calmly: "Your Majesty, it is better to be more cautious, and purchase [-] pieces for trial first.

If the effect on the battlefield is good, and then a comprehensive change of equipment, all countries in the world are still using front-loading guns, and our rifles are not far behind. "

Franz nodded, and it was too late for a large-scale change.Unless a national mobilization is ordered now, Austria's military industrial capabilities still have great potential to be tapped.

This is the same as when the automatic rifle came out. Everyone knows that it is a good gun, but the terrible ammunition consumption, can the logistics supply it?

Where is the consumption limit of ammunition, that will be known only after fighting on the battlefield.Just like the army of the Principality of Montenegro was very satisfied with the performance of this rifle after testing the gun. After seeing the terrible ammunition consumption, they no longer had the intention of purchasing it.

You said the hit rate is high?That's right, the enemy can shoot up to two or three shots per minute. If you shoot seven or eight shots per minute, your chance of hitting the enemy will naturally be higher. This is a normal thing.

However, the increase in hit rate is not two or three times, only twenty or thirty percent. This is still not used to using the enemy just now, and if they get used to it, it may continue to decline.

It doesn't look like much on the surface, but if you consider how many bullets it takes to kill an enemy, you will find that you can't afford it.

In the era of front-loading guns, an average of double-digit bullets were consumed to kill an enemy; in the era of breech-loading rifles, it increased to four digits.

There is no way to volley the era of guns is over, everyone crawls on the ground to fight, it is more difficult to hit the enemy.The emergence of trenches and machine guns in the later period intensified the consumption of ammunition.

In the era of semi-automatic rifles, it has risen to five digits again; in the future, the number of hairs used as a unit is too large, and it is more appropriate to directly use tons as a unit.

……

Sofia theater

A Sardinian officer said indignantly: "General, the Russians are still biting us, what should we do now?"

They have leaked all the military information of the British to the Russians, and they dare to continue to attack here, which is simply deceiving people too much.

Mantua gritted his teeth and said: "Now we can't retreat, this is related to our honor, and it is also related to the glory of the Kingdom of Sardinia.

You don't want to go back to the country to go to the military court in the name of the defeated general, right now, we must not be the first to lose our ground.

Since the Russians bully people too much, then teach them a hard lesson and let the Russians know that we are not easy to bully.

Tell the soldiers that our salaries are still in the hands of the British, and it will be a waste of time to run away now.If anyone dares to escape, I will kill him now. "

"Yes, General!" The young officer replied immediately

Mantua added worryingly: "Wait a minute, let out the news in private, saying that the British are about to be overwhelmed, and when their defense line collapses, we will retreat immediately."

Facts have proved that once the Sardinian army fights hard, it still has combat effectiveness. The so-called heavy casualties depend on what the standard is.

There were a few wounded, and they could add two or three zeros to the end, and the reward would be heavy casualties.

If anyone pays attention to the casualty report submitted by the Sardinian army to the coalition forces before, they will find that their casualty rate has approached one-fifth.

The British believed this report, because the casualties of the British army were not too far from this data.The British have no doubts about judging others by themselves.

Facing the sudden outbreak of the Sardinian army, the Russians found that this soft persimmon was not easy to pinch.

Fitzroy Somerset decided to test whether the information above was true. After all, the Bulgarians had already provided them with too much information during the call. It was not surprising that there were Bulgarians among the enemy troops on the opposite side.

……

As soon as the Russians made a move, Montes was about to go crazy with the battle report he had just received.Suddenly a burst of shelling sounded, and the shells were accurately dropped on their artillery positions.

If it was just one place, it might be called luck, but none of the artillery positions were left behind, and all of them were patronized.

This is not a joke. After the artillery position was unlucky, the military material warehouse was accurately baptized again.

Even at a long distance, the Russian army's artillery has a low hit rate, but after such a bombardment, they also suffered heavy losses.

After the shelling was completed, the Russian army accurately found their weak point and launched the most violent attack.

Montes knew that a traitor had leaked information, but at this point, he could only call for reinforcements.Even if you want to settle accounts after the fall, you have to block the Russians.

"How long will it take for that idiot Oliver to reach the front line?" Montes asked again

The attendant replied nervously: "Major General Oliver reported that they have just recovered Plovdiv from the guerrillas and are expected to arrive in Sofia in a week."

More than 120 kilometers of road, and there is no problem after walking for a week.The normal marching speed of the British army is only [-] to [-] kilometers per day. Now there are guerrillas who attack slower.

Montes ordered: "Order that idiot to speed up for me. I must arrive at the front line within three days, otherwise the military law will be used!"

"Yes, Commander!" The aide officer replied immediately

Montes asked worriedly: "Wait a minute, tell that idiot, first send half of the troops to rush over lightly, and put the supplies in the troops behind, so as to speed up."

The Russians are playing stud. This is both a risk and an opportunity. As long as the reinforcements can arrive, the coalition forces can turn defeat into victory.

Otherwise, Montes would have run away.The Sardinians don't want to continue fighting, so they can find a way to make the British a scapegoat. How can Montes not let the Sardinians take the blame?

He is the commander of the coalition forces, and he has many ways to deceive people.

Now it is the joint release of the British and Ottoman troops, which bears the main pressure on the battlefield. As long as he cede some positions and hand them over to the Sardinian and Ottoman troops for joint defense, it is estimated that the Russians will be able to penetrate the line of defense in less than a day.

Montes still wanted military merit. If he lost the Sofia region, even if his allies helped to take the blame, he, the commander, would have to bear the blame and would leave a permanent stain.

……

Oliver was still capable, but it was his first time on the battlefield, and his inexperience caused a series of failures.

Before Montes's order arrived, he had already accelerated his march, but the road along the way was too pitted.

As the area of ​​activity of the Bulgarian partisans, how could it not destroy traffic?They were marching while repairing the road, and by the way, they had to deal with cold guns coming from nowhere.

Occasionally, there were unexpected landmines, which were kindly sponsored by Franz. He was worried about the defeat of the Russian army, so he prepared a batch for them in advance to stop the pursuers.

Unexpectedly, the coalition forces kept making foolish moves. None of them wanted to make any effort to make their allies take advantage of it, and they just tossed away their advantages.

The Russians looked down on these woodbet bombs and gave them to the Bulgarian guerrillas. Now it's Oliver's turn to have a headache.

These mines are the simplest to lay, and it is very simple to clear them. The only thing needed is time.

There is no good way, but the stupid way is easy to think about.The British drove their livestock through the minefields, and the marching speed was inevitably delayed.

……

On January 1853, 1, the Bulgarian guerrillas suddenly attacked the back of the British position, and the coalition forces were in chaos. At this critical moment, the Sardinians ran away, and the defense line that Montes painstakingly managed was broken.

There is no way, the strength is really insufficient, Montes does not have enough strength to guard against the Bulgarian guerrillas that may appear behind him, and was caught off guard.

The most embarrassing thing is that at this time, the reinforcements are only less than fifteen kilometers away from the front line.If the Sardinian army didn't run away and tried their best to help, they could still survive until the reinforcements arrived.

Obviously, Mantua did not have the consciousness to fight the Russians to the end, and he would not hesitate if he could escape.Anyway, the British army's defense line fell, and they cannot be blamed for this responsibility.

Even in order to avoid condemnation, Mantua also abducted some British soldiers and ran away together.

This run killed Montes. As a defeated general, he was not far away from going to court-martial. If he could go back alive, he would inevitably have to suffer.

Oliver, who rushed all the way, became the second unlucky guy. He rushed over exhaustedly, regardless of losses, and finally arrived at the last time. As a result, he immediately had an encounter with the Russians.

It was no accident that those with fewer people on the battlefield always suffer a disadvantage. Oliver did not carry a cannon because he was in a hurry, so he suffered a disadvantage in a fight.

After a hard fight, Oliver successfully led the troops away, and rescued a group of scattered British soldiers by the way. Finally, the hard work was not in vain.

The Russians were also exhausted, and the soldiers had no energy to continue their pursuit.Seeing this situation, Fitzroy Somerset naturally chose to let it go.

It does not exist to stick to Sofia, and Montes has already considered this issue.It's a pity that the city has been tossed so hard by the Ottomans that the fortifications of the city have long since disappeared.