Chapter 183 Ideal Strategy

From winter to summer, St. Petersburg has ended the bitterly cold days, and the comfortable sunshine is scattered in every corner of the city, warming this country of ice and snow.

The battle report of the Balkans has been passed on, and it has always been a shortcut for bureaucrats to seek advancement, and the tsarist government is no exception.

The first round of the Balkan battle was a complete victory for the Russians. Even if the Russian army lost too much in the battle of Razgrad, adding a ray of flaws to the battle, it did not damage the hearts of the officials to repay the victory.

In the battle report received by Nicholas I, of course, there will be no loss of the Russian army. The officers at the front took a stroke and added to the losses of the Ottoman army, and it looked like a big victory.

After receiving the news, Nicholas I held a celebration banquet in the Winter Palace that night. Unfortunately, the heroes were thousands of miles away and missed the glory that belonged to them.

The Russians had reason to be happy. In the first round of the Bulgarian battle, they won a big victory and pushed the front line forward by more than 100 kilometers.

From the beginning of the attack on Cruce, the Russian army launched an attack on the Ottoman army with a total force of 280,000, defeating nearly 500,000 Ottoman troops and 50,000 French troops.

At the cost of only 45,000 casualties, they wiped out more than 53,000 enemy troops and captured more than 38,000 enemy troops.

Defeating twice as many enemies with half the force, and exchanging the casualties of 45,000 soldiers for the loss of 91,000 enemy troops, including the French army of more than 10,000 troops, is a big victory no matter how you look at it.

The contribution of the Bulgarian guerrillas has been overlooked, and their casualties have naturally been ignored. Anyway, if the battle is won, the tsarist government doesn't care about the specific situation. It's no use caring, deception has penetrated every corner of the Russian Empire.

Since the Ottoman army claimed to be a 500,000-strong army, they defeated a 500,000-strong army. The actual strength of the enemy was naturally ignored by everyone.

...

After the celebration banquet, Nicholas I returned to the topic again. The French went to war, which is not good news.

Although the tsarist government has been considering the possibility of Britain and France sending troops to join the war since the British and French fleets seized the power of the Black Sea, it still makes them feel uncomfortable now that it has happened.

Maybe the officers on the front line still have a bit of integrity, or maybe they know that the war will continue, they have to fight the French desperately, and they are afraid of pitting themselves.

At the end of the battle report, they still focus on describing the threat of the French army.

To sum up, if 50,000 French troops did not suddenly appear on the battlefield, this Bulgarian Great War would be the end of the Ottomans.

Without French reinforcements, it would not be long before His Majesty the Great Tsar would be able to parade in Constantinople. Therefore, the great Tsar's Majesty must remain vigilant against these evil Frenchmen.

Nicholas I said with a smile: "Everyone, the French have really sent troops to the war. According to news from London, the British Parliament passed a resolution not long ago to send troops to participate in the war.

From now on, we've added two more enemies. Britain and France are not as easy to deal with as the Ottomans, and the war is not over yet.

You can speak freely about how to fight in the next battle. "

The front line had a big victory, and Nicholas I was in a good mood. Even if he knew that Britain and France had entered the war, he was very angry, but he did not break out. He was very confident in winning this war.

The strong always have to maintain their demeanor, especially when the victory is in their hands.

This is not an exaggeration. Judging from the strength of the army on the bright side, the Russians really have this strength. At least in terms of population, the Russians have this strength.

In 1852, the total population of Russia was about 65 million to 76 million, more than the total population of Britain and France. The total population of the British Isles was about 28 million, and the total population of France was about 36 million.

(There is no way. In this era, the Tsarist government has no demographic statistics, and the data on the data varies greatly)

The Ottoman Empire has been automatically ignored by Nicholas I, and the Bulgarian battle has exposed the fact that the Ottoman army is unbearable.

In the following war, the Ottoman Empire will soon be reduced from the protagonist to the supporting role, and Britain and France are the new main forces of the war.

"Your Majesty, since Britain and France have jumped in, we will turn the Balkans into their graves and let them know who is the world's number one army power.

Now we should immediately increase our troops to the front, destroy the Ottoman Empire in one go, and regain Constantinople. "Army Nicholas, Minister of War, said murderously.

In the decisive battle with Britain and France in the Near East, the Russians won't take any advantage, nor will they suffer too much.

The Russians can be supported by Austria, and they can transport supplies through the Danube, and Britain and France can also transport supplies by sea.

It is inevitable to increase troops on the front line. To win this battle, the Russian army has paid a lot of losses. If the war is to continue, reinforcements will definitely be needed. The commanders on the front line have already asked for reinforcements at home.

"Your Majesty, due to an error in prior estimation, it was not expected that Britain and France would directly participate in the war, and we hoarded a large amount of strategic materials in the coastal ports of Ukraine.

Now that the sea routes are blocked, we can only transport supplies by land. Under the current situation, we can only supply 30% of the supplies of the frontline army, and the rest must be purchased from Austria.

We are under great financial pressure, although Austria has provided us with a

A war loan of 100 million dong would not last long. ' reminded Chancellor of the Exchequer Aristan Ryrod

In order to supply the current army to fight, they have to purchase a large amount of strategic materials from Austria. If they continue to increase troops on the Balkan front, the military expenditure will continue to increase.

It's not that Aristan Lirod is against the increase in troops, he just raised the issue to avoid blindly making plans, and it would be embarrassing to have no money to fight in the later stage.

100 million Austrian guilders may seem like a lot, but in fact it is a drop in the bucket on the battlefield. Now the total number of Russian troops in the Balkans has exceeded 300,000.

In a Bulgarian battle, the Russian army lost 45,000 people. Even if the gray animals were worthless, they would have to spend a pension.

When the battle is won, the reward for meritorious deeds is also indispensable, and these still require money.

Weapons and ammunition consumed on the battlefield, damaged weapons and equipment need to be replaced, these are money.

Even if they didn't fight, the 300,000-strong army would spend more than 4 million dong each month on food, drink, Lhasa and sleep. It is not that the standard of the Russian army is high, but the high cost of material transportation during the war.

In a Bulgarian battle, the Russian army destroyed thousands of tons of ammunition. On average, nearly 100 tons of ammunition was consumed every day. This alone is an expense of tens of millions of dongs.

With so many messy expenditures added together, the Russian army's military expenditure will not be less than 40 million dong in a Bulgarian war that lasted for more than a month, and this has not yet calculated the salary expenditure.

The main funding for the war is still to be solved by the Russians themselves. The Austrian loan can only be used to make up for it, and the pressure on the Ministry of Finance will naturally increase.

Nicholas I nodded, and it was effective to prepare for war in advance. At least in 1852, the tsarist government did not have to worry about finances.

Not necessarily if the war continues. The cost of war in the era of hot weapons has far exceeded that of cold weapons.

"Then find a way to fight quickly, try to defeat the enemy within the year, and leave no chance for Britain and France!

My Minister of War, how many reinforcements are needed to end the war within this year? ' asked Nicholas I concerned.

After pondering for a while, Aser-Nicholas replied slowly: "Your Majesty, at least 300,000 more troops are needed, and it's better to add 400,000 troops to be on the safe side."

In fact, Ase-Nicholas didn't have a clue in his heart. The battlefield was ever-changing. The strength of Britain and France was not weak. There was also an explosive Ottoman Empire. Who knew how many troops would be able to end the war in a short period of time?

But since His Majesty the Tsar asked, he had to answer, otherwise he would appear incompetent.

Aser-Nicholas is still a bit of a level, he is not optimistic that the Russian army can end the war within this year, and directly stated an impossible number.

The Russian Empire had already done its best when it invested 300,000 troops in the Balkans. If this number were doubled, there would be no shortage of Russian soldiers, but logistical supplies would be over.

Even with the addition of Austria, the combined power of the two countries would not be able to secure an army of 600,000 to 700,000 troops to fight in the Balkans.

It's not that there is a lack of supplies, it's that transportation cannot support it. If fighting in the Danube Valley, logistical supplies can also be guaranteed.

However, as the war went on, the Russian army's supply line became longer and longer, and the distance from the Danube was also farther and farther. The distance that needed to be transported by animal power and carried on the shoulders by manpower also increased, and the pressure on logistics supply naturally increased greatly.

Nicholas I was not a military novice. As soon as the words of the Minister of War came out, he knew that it was impossible to end the war within this year.

Britain and France have sea power. Even if the Russian army occupied the Balkans, they could land at any time as long as they wanted. Is it that easy to end the war?

Moreover, although the Ottoman Empire is rotten, the rotten ship still has three pounds of nails, and the fighting power that erupts at the moment of life and death should not be underestimated.

Foreign Secretary Karl Worsell said with a wink: "Mr Asser, the reality does not allow us to invest so many troops in the Balkans. This plan looks feasible, but in fact it is not feasible.

If the war cannot be won in the Balkans, can we make a breakthrough in the Caucasus?

Victory in either direction can blow the confidence of the Ottoman Empire. As long as this rotten empire collapses, we will win the war. "

A breakthrough in the Caucasus, no problem! It's just that one hill has been conquered, and there is another hill.

With unremitting efforts, it can take three years and five years, or ten or eight years. As long as they persevere, they can grind to death the Ottoman Empire sooner or later.

The premise is that the tsarist government can support it, and don't put yourself in it before the war is over.

Reality is cruel, but ideals still exist.

While launching the Bulgarian battle, the Russians did not ignore the Caucasus, but because of geographical constraints, they invested less energy there.

As the situation in the Balkans continued to deteriorate for the Ottoman Empire, the Sudanese government would definitely have to dispatch a large number of reinforcements from the Asia Minor peninsula, and the number of reinforcements in the Caucasus would be reduced.

This is also an opportunity for the Russians to start. It is difficult to reach the Bosphorus from the Caucasus, but it may not be impossible to reach the Asia Minor peninsula.

The successive defeats on the front lines of any country will affect the stability of the country, not to mention the rotten ones.

What about the Ottoman Empire?

With the influence of the Russians among the Orthodox Christians and the unpopularity of the Ottoman Empire, it seems not too difficult to plan several national uprisings in the face of the continuous failure of the front line.

If the national uprising succeeds, the Ottoman Empire will come to an end. Without the support of this local scoundrel, Britain and France want to defeat Russia in the Near East, which is simply a nonsense.

Since it is idealism, naturally it cannot pursue perfection. As long as it was theoretically feasible, Nicholas I approved Karl-Worsel's proposal.

The success is of course the wiseness of His Majesty the Tsar, but the failure is a big loss of a group of gray animals, and the Tsarist government is not short of it.

Low-risk high-reward things, Nicholas I have no reason not to do.