Chapter 206 Turning Point

Vienna

After passing the actual combat test of the new rifle of the Holstad factory, it entered the candidate list for the Austrian army and was named the Stellen m1852 rifle.

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

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

It has been more than 30 years since the breech rifle appeared. The earliest is the American Hall m1819. Unfortunately, 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, but many generals have objections. Obviously, his performance has not conquered the public.

The brilliance of this rifle was in the 1864 Pudan War and the Austro-Prussian War. Of course, the advantages of the muzzle gun were not as good as later boasted.

This can be seen from the fact that the Prussian army was not fully equipped.

Although the rate of fire is four or five times that of the front-loaded gun, his firing pin is easily damaged. At the beginning of the industrial production of the m1841, some people laughed and said: If there is no spare pointer, don't go to the battlefield.

The breech often leaks, and 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, 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 perform well in the laboratory, but once they are produced in large-scale industrial production, they will not work.

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 Stellen m1852, in terms of performance, it was similar to the historical Xia Saibo rifle, but the effective range was a little closer.

These are all small problems. It is enough to ensure an effective range of 650 meters. Isn't it possible to shoot more than 1,500 meters at the farthest, and it can 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.

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

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

However, the price of this rifle arsenal is 30% higher than that of ordinary rifles, and the ammunition consumption may be two or three times higher. "

Obviously, Marshal Radesky is experienced, and I don't expect this rifle to be able to shoot the theoretical limit of 15 rounds on the battlefield. Otherwise, the increase in ammunition consumption will not be that much.

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

If the order is now to concentrate on full production, there will be no problem in producing 30,000 or 40,000 to 40,000 such rifles every month in Austria with more than 20 arsenals combined. "

Thanks to the outbreak of the war in the Near East, Austria's arsenal has expanded its production capacity. Compared with a year ago, Austria's military production capacity has soared by 50%.

If the front-loaded rifle is produced, there is no problem in mass production of 100,000 pieces per month, otherwise the Russian army will not be able to change the equipment so quickly.

Marshal Radesky said calmly: "Your Majesty, it's better to be cautious, and first purchase 100,000 test pieces.

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

Franz nodded, and it was too late for a large-scale dress change. Unless a nationwide 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 terrifying consumption of ammunition, can the logistics be able to supply it?

Where is the consumption limit of ammunition, that one will only know 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 terrifying consumption of ammunition, there was no longer any intention of purchasing it.

You say the hit rate is high? That's right, the enemy has a maximum of two or three rounds per minute, and if you make seven or eight rounds per minute, your chance of hitting the enemy is naturally higher, which is normal.

However, the hit rate did not increase by two or three times, it was only 20 to 30 percent. This is still not used by the enemy just now. If you get used to it, it may continue to decline.

It doesn't seem like much on the surface. If you consider how many bullets can kill an enemy, you will find that you can't play without money.

In the era of breech guns, every enemy killed on average consumed double-digit bullets; in the era of breech rifles, it increased to four digits.

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

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

...

Sofia Theater

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

leaked all the British military intelligence to the Russians, who

To actually dare to continue attacking here is simply deceiving.

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

You also don't want to go back to your country to go to the military court in the name of the defeated army. Now we must not be the first to lose our positions.

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

Tell the soldiers that our salaries are still in the hands of the British, and it would 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, the news is released in private, saying that the British are about to be unable to withstand it, and when their defense line collapses, we will retreat immediately."

Facts have proved that the Sardinian army is still capable of fighting once it is desperate, and the so-called heavy casualties depend on what the standard is.

There are a few wounded, and they can add two or three zeros to the back, and the upward report is heavy casualties.

If one pays attention to the casualty reports submitted by the Sardinian army to the coalition, they will find that their casualty rate has approached one in five.

The British believed this report, because the casualties of the British army were not too far from this data. Save others by oneself, the British have no doubts at all.

In the face of the sudden outbreak of the Sardinian army, the Russians found that this soft persimmon was not easy to handle.

Fitzroy Somerset decided to try to see if the above information was true. After all, the Bulgarians had already provided them with too much information. It was not surprising that there were Bulgarians in the enemy army on the opposite side.

...

As soon as the Russians made their move, Montes was about to be mad at the war report he had just received. Suddenly, a burst of artillery shells sounded, accurately projecting the shells to their artillery positions.

If it was only one location, it might be called luck, but none of the artillery positions were left, and they were all visited.

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

Even if the distance is long, the Russian 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 the weak point of their strength 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 we have to settle accounts after the fall, we have to block the Russians.

"How long until that idiot Oliver gets to the front?" Montes asked again

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

More than 120 kilometers of road, walked for a week without problems. The normal marching speed of the British army is only 20 to 30 kilometers per day. Now it is understandable that some guerrillas are attacking slowly.

Montes ordered: "Order that idiot to speed up for me, you must reach the front line within three days, otherwise the military law will be engaged!"

"Yes, Commander!" the squire officer replied immediately

Montes instructed worriedly: "Wait a minute, tell that idiot, send half of the troops over lightly, and put the baggage in the troops behind to speed up the speed."

The Russians are playing stud. This is a risk and an opportunity. As long as reinforcements can arrive, the coalition can still 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 scapegoats. How can Montes not let the Sardinians take the blame?

He is the commander of the coalition forces, and there are many ways to cheat people.

Now the British army and the Ottoman army are jointly releasing, bearing the main pressure on the battlefield. As long as he gives up part of the position and hands it over to the Sardinian army and the Ottoman army for joint defense, it is estimated that in less than a day, the Russians can penetrate the defense line.

Montes still wants military exploits. If he loses the Sofia region, even if his allies help take the blame, he, the commander, will be to blame, and it will leave a permanent stain.

...

Oliver was still capable, but his first time on the battlefield, his lack of experience resulted in a series of failures.

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

As an area of ​​activity for the Bulgarian partisans, how could it not disrupt traffic? They are marching while building roads, and by the way they have to deal with cold guns from nowhere.

Occasionally, there are landmines that come unexpectedly. This is sponsored by Franz. I was worried about the Russian army's defeat, so I prepared a batch for them in advance to stop the chasing troops.

I didn't expect that the coalition army would be stunned and constantly attacked, and each one of them didn't want to make any effort to make their allies take advantage of it, and just tossed the advantage away.

The Russians despised these turkey bombs and gave them to the Bulgarian partisans, and now it was Oliver's turn to have a headache.

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

There is no good way, but the stupid way is good to think. The British drove their livestock to the minefields, and the march was inevitably delayed.

...

On January 2, 1853, the Bulgarian guerrillas suddenly attacked the back of the British position, and the coalition was in chaos. At this critical moment, the Sardinians ran away, and Montes's painstakingly managed defense line was broken.

There is no way, the troops are really insufficient, Montes did not have enough troops to guard against the Bulgarian guerrillas that might appear behind him, and was caught by surprise.

The most pitiful thing was that at this time, the reinforcements were less than fifteen kilometers away from the front line. If the Sardinian army did not run away and did their best to help, they could still hold out until reinforcements arrived.

Obviously, Mantua did not have the consciousness to fight to the end with the Russians, and he would never hesitate to run away. Anyway, the British defense line fell, and the responsibility cannot be blamed on them.

Even in order to avoid condemnation, Mantua also kidnapped some British soldiers to run with them.

This run killed Montes. As a defeated general, the days of court-martialing are not far away. If he can go back alive, he will inevitably have to walk again.

Oliver, who came all the way in a hurry, became the second unfortunate one. He worked tirelessly and regardless of losses. He finally arrived at the last time. As a result, he immediately had an encounter with the Russians.

There was no accident. Those with fewer people on the battlefield always suffered. Oliver did not carry a cannon in order to be in a hurry.

After some hard fighting, Oliver successfully led the troops to run away, and also rescued a group of scattered British soldiers by the way, and finally his efforts were not in vain.

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

Defending Sofia does not exist, Montes has long considered this issue. It's a pity that the city was tossed so much by the Ottomans that the city's fortifications have long since disappeared.

The people in the city gritted their teeth with hatred for the coalition army, relying on the city to fight street battles with the Russians, and they were the first to fall into the people's war.

Moreover, the efficiency of the Ottoman government is too low, and the materials hoarded in Sofia are not enough to consume the coalition forces for a month. If they dare to sit in the lonely city, they will wait for the entire army to be wiped out!

At this point in the battle, the coalition forces are already very tense, don't expect someone to come to relieve them.

Even if reinforcements are dispatched from the country, there is not enough time. After the defeat of the battle, the coalition forces scrambled to run away.

With a front line of more than ten kilometers, complete annihilation is impossible, and Russia has only torn apart a section of the coalition's defense line.

If it wasn't to save more soldiers and leave, Oliver wouldn't have to rush over to fight the Russians, they would turn around and run away and the Russians wouldn't chase at all.

The campaign, which lasted half a year and involved nearly 200,000 troops on both sides, ended in a disastrous victory for the Russians.

Looking at the casualty report, Fitzroy Somerset can say responsibly: He completed the task of the Tsarist government very well, and really won the victory regardless of casualties.

The total number of casualties before and after added up to 67,000. The Russian soldiers were basically replaced, of which 26,000 were killed (including the wounded who were not rescued).

Even with the continuous replenishment of troops from the rear, this Russian army has been crippled by now and needs to be repaired urgently. In the final battle, it is obvious that the Russian army's combat effectiveness has declined.

After paying such a high price, the achievements were as follows: 100,000 coalition troops were defeated, 34,000 coalition soldiers were killed, and 25,000 coalition troops were captured, including more than 11,000 coalition wounded.

Judging from the casualties on both sides, it was the Russians who lost the battle this time. Had it not been for the outbreak of the Bulgarian guerrillas, the outcome of this battle would have been unknown.

In order to look good, Fitzroy Somerset did not hesitate to swallow the record of the Bulgarian partisans, and ignored the casualties they paid.

Of course, in order to make the Bulgarians continue to work for him, Fitzroy Somerset still asked the country to give them credit, emphasizing that the Bulgarian guerrillas delayed the enemy reinforcements and made outstanding contributions to the victory of the war.

Then there is no such thing, this alone is enough to make the tsarist government agree to the conditions he promised before.

Originally, the Tsarist government was planning to annex Bulgaria, and St. Petersburg was worried that these guerrillas would become an obstacle. Now that they were able to incorporate them, how could Nicholas I refuse?

Regardless of the losses on both sides, it cannot affect the historical status of this battle, which is recognized by historians as the turning point of the Second Bulgarian Battle.