Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 75 The Russians Strike Back

St petersburg

Suddenly receiving a declaration of war from the Kingdom of Sardinia, the angry tsarist government exploded.Let alone the British, French and Ottoman Empires, they are all powerful countries in the world, so what is the Kingdom of Sardinia?

I really think that Russia has fallen, and any cat or dog can come and do things?Angry is angry, because the distance is too far, Russia can't do anything to the Kingdom of Sardinia.

Nicholas I sneered coldly: "Hmph!"

"Order the troops on the front line, give me a good greeting to the Sardinians, and let them know that the Russian Empire cannot be humiliated!"

"Yes, Your Majesty." The Secretary of War quickly replied

No one would have imagined that Nicholas I's angry order would become the key to breaking the Russian army in the future and won a big victory.

On July 1852, 7, the Russian army launched an offensive in the Caucasus region, and the Turkish army retreated steadily.Restricted by the terrain, the Russian army has won many battles, but it is a pity that the front advances very slowly.

The Ottoman Empire also had smart people. They knew that the favorable terrain in the Caucasus region could not be given up. They hoarded a large number of troops here. When the frontline troops were defeated, they immediately sent new troops to top it.

The two sides launched a fierce fight, which can be described as not giving up an inch of ground.After paying a terrible price, the Russian army was forced to stop its offensive in August.

The casualties were too great. The number of casualties in the battle in more than half a month exceeded 5000, with an average of more than [-] casualties per day. The victory was far away, and the Russians couldn't stand it.

If you want to increase your troops, limited by the terrain, logistical supplies are a problem. The ability to concentrate 20 troops is the result of hoarding strategic materials in advance.

After fighting for half a month, the weapons and ammunition are almost consumed. That is to say, the Russian army's weapons and equipment are backward, so that the basic logistics supply can be guaranteed. If the British, French and Austrian troops are replaced, the logistical pressure will increase by a quarter.

The Caucasus region was unable to break through, and the Russians once again set their sights on the Balkan Peninsula. After such a long period of repairs, the Russian army has recovered its combat effectiveness, and its total strength has also risen to 48.

The coalition forces have more troops, with 17 French troops, 2 British troops, and 54 Ottoman troops. The Sardinian army has not yet arrived, and the total strength is as high as 73.

However, the Russians did not suffer too much. The Bulgarians formed an army of [-], Austria still helped to hold back the Ottoman army of [-] to [-], the Principality of Montenegro also mobilized [-] troops, and the Greeks who were about to stab in the back also organized [-] troops. army.

Generally speaking, the combat effectiveness of the two sides is almost equal, and the key to determining the outcome lies in the contest between the commanders of the two sides.

"Are all the supplies in place?" Menshikov asked

The last battle in Bulgaria failed to expand the results. Apart from the sudden appearance of the French army that broke their plan, there was also the fact that the logistics materials could not keep up.

In advance, the Russian army miscalculated the ammunition consumption on the battlefield, ignoring the fact that after the troops are refitted, the consumption of weapons and ammunition will also increase significantly.

The Russians' weapons and equipment were backward, and Franz, as an ally, would naturally not sit idly by.As soon as the Near East War broke out, Austria sold a large number of new weapons and equipment to the Russians.

The Russians did not have the financial resources to refit on a large scale, but they still purchased a batch of weapons and equipment for the main force. About three infantry divisions were replaced with arcane weapons, and they purchased more than 300 artillery pieces to increase their firepower.

Facts have proved that these weapons and equipment are still worth the price. After the refitting, the combat effectiveness of the Russian army has improved a lot. These main divisions were the first troops to tear through the Ottoman army's defense line.

If you play well on the battlefield, the ammunition consumption will naturally increase.Taking the addition of [-] cannons as an example, only one round of salvo is needed, and one ton of ammunition is gone.

The high consumption is a problem of logistics. Compared with the Russian equipment that has frequent problems, the officers immediately fell in love with the arcane equipment, and they all asked for replacement equipment.

If it is a peaceful era, large-scale procurement of Austrian weapons and equipment will definitely be opposed by interest groups engaged in weapons production.

It was different during the war. After paying so much for this war, Nicholas I absolutely could not tolerate someone holding back at this time, and strongly passed the military's dress-up requirements.

In the past few months of repairing, the Russians have not been idle, and have replaced some troops' equipment one after another. Up to now, one-third of the 48 Russian troops are using arcane equipment.

The main force has matched the gap between Britain and France in terms of weapons and equipment. Even if there is a lack of training, relying on the fighting will of the fighting nation can make up for two or three points.

It is very difficult to happen now that the main force of the [-] Russian army could not handle the [-] French army in a field battle like the last time.

"All are in place, and some of the materials have even exceeded our prior plan, enough to support our entire army for three months." The quartermaster replied.

Menshikov nodded in satisfaction, he has enough confidence in this war.In the last Bulgarian battle, the main force of the Ottoman army had been severely damaged.

Even if the current number of troops has not decreased, the combat effectiveness will still inevitably decline.The combat effectiveness of recruits and veterans is completely different, and the gap between the combat effectiveness of elites and cannon fodder is even greater.

Menshikov said confidently: "Very well, as long as the logistics are in place, we have won half of this war.

The country has approved our combat plan, and there are still 30 troops in Ukraine, ready to supplement our consumption on the battlefield.

The Ottomans are nothing to worry about, the Kingdom of Sardinia was just made up by the British, and our main enemies are Britain and France.

The strategic goal of this battle is to annihilate the main forces of Britain and France on the Balkan Peninsula, advance the front to Edirne, and lay the foundation for the capture of Constantinople.

For the ultimate victory, we must tear through the enemy's line of defense in the shortest possible time and encircle and annihilate the British and French allied forces at all costs and regardless of casualties.

We can only win this war if we beat them to death. "

Russia's military system is a bit chaotic, and the tsarist government employs people very casually.Menshikov was originally from the army, served as a diplomatic attaché in Vienna, participated in the Anti-French War, the Eighth Russo-Turkish War, and served as an attendant to the Tsar.

After retiring from the Army, he entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.Then he entered the navy and served successively as commander of the Black Sea Fleet, chief of staff of the Naval Command, minister of the navy, and now an admiral.

Being able to cross from the army to the navy and become an admiral, some people may think that his naval talent is so strong that he was promoted as an exception. In fact, the opposite is true, he just went to make trouble.

The direct consequence of Menshikov's entry into the navy was to delay the Russian navy's technological progress and combat training, and to apply the army's training model to the navy, which can be regarded as the gravedigger of the Russian navy.

At this time, he, the admiral, was sent to command hundreds of thousands of troops to fight and serve as the commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force in the Balkans. Naturally, he would not be convinced.

Although he was from the Army, he has been away from the Army for more than 20 or [-] years, and his professional ability has inevitably degraded, which is not convincing.

Now it is more appropriate to say that he is a soldier than a politician.The employment mechanism of the tsarist government cast a shadow over the upcoming war.

Chief of Staff of the Russian Army Fitzroy Somerset objected: "Your Excellency, the persimmon needs to be pinched softly. To win this war, the easiest breakthrough is obviously on the Ottomans.

What we have to do now is to look for opportunities to disable the Ottoman army, and then come to the hard bone of Britain and France.

Without the Ottoman army as a vassal, Britain and France have less than 20 troops, and we can easily kill them. "

Menshikov explained with confidence: "If we focus on attacking the Ottomans, the British and French troops will flee when they see that the momentum is wrong, and we simply have no ability to keep them at the same time.

If Britain and France cannot be hurt, even if we occupy Constantinople, this war will still continue.

They can continuously send troops to the Balkans by sea, and this will become far away.

From the outbreak of the war to the present, we have paid at least 1.3 million rubles in military expenditures. If we add the previous war preparations, our military expenditures have exceeded 2 million rubles, which is the annual fiscal revenue of the Russian Empire.

If the war continues for a long time, our finances will be unsustainable.In terms of financial resources, we can't compete with Britain and France, even if we add the Austrians. "

Fighting for financial resources, the British are invincible in this era, even if they only look at financial income, they are all outstanding.The four countries of France, Austria, Russia and Qing, which are in the second echelon, cannot catch up with flattery. Everyone is only six or seven levels of the British.

This gap can only be gradually caught up after the completion of the industrial revolution in various countries.

"But your Excellency, Commander, we don't have an advantage now. The outcome of the war is likely to be a loss for both sides, and the ultimate goal cannot be achieved." Fitzroy Somerset said with a frown

Menshikov shook his head and said: "We must fight even if both sides are hurt, no matter what we must fight Britain and France to force them to withdraw from the war.

If we continue to fight step by step, are we going to fight this war for one, two, or ten, or eight years?

Now it is different from before. In one war, we could fight the Ottoman Empire for more than ten years, but is it possible now?

The high cost of war has already told us that a quick solution is the best option, and if the delay continues, the price we pay will only be even heavier. "

It is enough for soldiers to look at problems only from the military point of view.Politicians look at problems more from political considerations.

Menshikov has become too much of a politician. He doesn't care about the losses of the Russian army, but he cannot accept that this war will continue.

The Russian government knew from top to bottom that the longer the war lasted, the worse it would be for them.In the later stage, it only depends on who has the stronger ability to bear.

In order to prevent this from happening, the best way is to use the tragic casualties on the battlefield to frighten Britain and France and force them to make concessions.

Historically, after the Crimean War, the British intervened in European affairs, and they restrained a lot, avoiding their own participation as much as possible, and laying the foundation for Prussia to unify the German region.

It can be said that the Crimean War was fought for the Germans.After the war, internal contradictions broke out in Russia, and reforms had to be carried out, which had not come out in more than ten years; the two victors, Britain and France, also had lingering fears, and did not immediately intervene in the unification war initiated by Prussia.

With a unified understanding, the Russian army began to prepare.Fortunately, information transmission is inconvenient in this era. Although wired telegraphs have appeared, they are only available in big cities, and the Balkan Peninsula has not yet become popular.

Otherwise, with the current practice of the Russians, their actions have not yet started, and the enemy will be ready when they receive the news.

……

All wars need to be compared. No matter how chaotic the Russians are, they are better than the British and French Ottoman armies. They are advancing on three fronts.

Britain and France did not back down from each other, and the Ottoman Empire could only be neutral. They were afraid that if something bad caused Britain and France to withdraw, then they would be finished.

In history, Emable Jean Jacques Pelissier served as the commander of the coalition forces and was barely able to command the coalition forces to fight. Now Emables Jean Jacques Pelissier is only one of the three commanders.

The sequelae are that when coordinated operations are required, everyone must report to the coalition headquarters, and only after the three commanders reach an agreement can it be carried out.

The Russian army is about to launch an attack, but the coalition forces don't know anything.The Ottoman Empire did not attach importance to intelligence work, and all the sources of intelligence were provided by the people of the country.

Under the bureaucratic system, much of this information was not verified and was used directly.It's a pity that the Russians don't pay much attention to intelligence work, otherwise, passing some false news to the past will cause the coalition forces to suffer a lot.

Both Britain and France have crossed the river and have no ability to collect intelligence. Their bureaucracy should not be underestimated either, and they directly believed that the Ottoman Empire would solve this problem.

Chapter 76 The Allied Plan

On August 1852, 8, the Russian army launched the second Bulgarian battle. The main force of the Russian army came out and crossed the Balkan Mountains to attack the coalition forces.

It is difficult for Franz to understand that the Russians pushed all the main force up regardless of their care. No matter how bad they are, they must leave enough troops to guard the logistics transportation line?If you don't understand it, you don't understand it, and he has to help the Russians deal with the aftermath.

Austria needs this war to continue. Only when the Russians and Britain and France fight a real fire, will there be a good opportunity for Austria to advance westward.

Franz frowned and ordered: "Order the troops on the front line to be on standby at any time. Once the coalition forces rush over, they will pretend to be Balkan guerrillas and help the Russians guard the transportation line."

If it weren't for Austria being a multi-ethnic country with a large number of minorities in the army, it would be difficult to help the Russians.

Politics is shameless, as long as the cover is not lifted, and Britain and France have no evidence to prove that Austria did it, then everyone will continue to pretend to be confused and find a chance to retaliate next time.

If the cover is lifted, then there is no need to say that he can only fight with his back to the wall. Franz hates taking risks in such extreme things.

Marshal Radesky suggested: "Your Majesty, direct intervention is easy to expose, or we support the local militia and guerrillas of the Bulgarians.

The Russians don't take them seriously, but the information provided by front-line military observers believes that they have a high will to fight and have a certain combat effectiveness.

As long as we provide them with a batch of weapons and equipment and arm these people, it is almost impossible for the coalition forces to sneak attack with them as local snakes. "

Austria needs the Russians to fight, but it is not prepared to fight for the Russians in person, which means that the westward strategy is bankrupt.

You can't expect the Russians to be trustworthy. If Austria helps them take down Constantinople, they will send troops to help Austria unify the German region, right?

Thinking in another way, if Austria's strategy is realized, will Franz still do his best to help the Russians now?

Sincere cooperation is based on common interests. Once the interests are gone, everyone's position will change.

Franz shook his head and said, "It's easy to support the Bulgarians, we don't lack that kind of ammunition.

But how did the Russians explain it? According to the covenant, the Bulgarian region is the territory of the Russians, and we cannot reach out into it. "

In order to avoid conflicts, the Russia-Austria alliance agreement is very clear, the division of power between the two countries is very clear, you can do whatever you want on your own territory, and you can't reach out to your allies' territory.

Now the Russians are promoting Slavism in Bulgaria and Slavism in the Principality of Montenegro, but they have not moved in Serbia and the Principality of the Danube River Basin.

The Russians abide by the rules, and Austria naturally cannot break the rules.This is the basis of the alliance between the two countries, which is easy to destroy and difficult to build.

Prime Minister Felix suggested: "If you don't want to arrange for someone to smuggle arms to Bulgaria, there are a lot of active arms dealers in the Balkans recently, so we can find someone to act as an agent."

Metternich objected: "No. If it is a few thousand rifles, we can naturally let the arms dealers sell them to the Bulgarians.

But now we have given the Bulgarians the ability to block coalition raids, which requires at least one or two divisions of weapons and equipment.

If so many weapons flow into the Bulgarian region, we don't know anything, is it justified?

What's more, Bulgarians don't have that much money to buy weapons now, and arms dealers don't charge money for selling arms. If such a weird thing happened, as long as the Russians are not stupid, they will know that we did it. "

Arms smuggling can only be done on a small scale, and once the scale becomes large, it will be difficult to keep it secret.

The Ottoman Empire has always been controlling the flow of weapons and ammunition into Bulgaria. If a large number of weapons enter Bulgaria from the Austria-controlled area, Austria will not be able to tell at all.

Franz thought for a while and said: "Choose some of the second-hand weapons in our warehouse that can still be used, and the weapons seized in the Balkans, and let the quartermaster secretly sell them to arms dealers in his own name, and we will not use the rest. participated in."

Ordering his subordinates to resell weapons and equipment is a strange thing, and it just happened now.

A large number of Austrian equipment has appeared in the Bulgarian region, which will definitely attract the attention of the Russians.If it is replaced with second-hand old equipment and flows into the market, it is estimated that the Russians will still have a sense of confidant.

Now the largest arms dealer in Bulgaria is the Russian Expeditionary Force. Officers resell the seized weapons and equipment to local guerrilla organizations for profit.

Now that the Russian army did it, it is not surprising that the Austrian army followed suit.Even if the Russians find out, they will help cover it up, otherwise their arms reselling will be exposed.

Prime Minister Felix thought for a while and said: "Your Majesty, this is probably a drop in the bucket. The local militia in Bulgaria are too poor to buy some guns and ammunition. They cannot afford artillery.

If the coalition forces send troops to the rear to sabotage, although the number of troops cannot be too large, it will not be too small, at least in regiments, and the Bulgarian local militia may not be their opponents. "

"Don't worry, we only need the Bulgarians to delay the time. With this time as a buffer, the Russians should be able to react." Franz said calmly

Franz is still at ease about the combat effectiveness of the Bulgarian militia.He had fallen into a misunderstanding before, these people could not defeat the regular army on the frontal battlefield.

But at the door of the house, there is terrain to rely on, and it is no problem for these Bulgarians to delay the enemy's marching speed.

Raiding the rear was originally a word - fast.If the speed is not fast enough, let alone cut off other people's logistics lines, just expose your whereabouts and not be eaten by others.

……

Allied Forces Command in the Balkans

"General Most Pasha, how did you tell me what happened? Why do you have no news about this Russian attack?