Chapter 384 Turning Point

On May 1, 1865, the Russian Navy attacked East Prussia and the Baltic region fell. The turning point of the Russian-Prussian War appeared.

In Berlin, there was mourning within the Prussian government, and William I hurriedly called a military conference.

Ron, Minister of the Army and Navy, analyzed: "The Baltic region has fallen, and our strategy of defending against the enemy outside the country has gone bankrupt. In order to avoid being attacked from behind, we had to withdraw our troops to West Prussia.

Before the outbreak of the war, for the stability of the colonies, we did not bring back the fleet from the Far East. The current home fleet has no strength against the Russian navy, and the defense of the coastal areas must be strengthened. "

This is just an excuse, even if the Prussian navy is all concentrated, it is actually useless.

The Danish navy can compete with them, not to mention the more powerful Russian navy?

The strength of the Russian navy cannot be ignored just because the Russian navy is making a joke.

Ron had not counted on the navy from the beginning, and he proved to be very accurate in his positioning of the Prussian naval strength.

After the war broke out, the local fleet was handed over by the Danish navy several times, and then it was blocked in the port. The biggest contribution to the war was to contain the main force of the Danish navy.

Even if the Far East Fleet is transferred back, it will suppress the Danish Navy at most. If a decisive battle is really fought, it is unknown whether it will be able to win.

The Kingdom of Prussia has developed its navy for too short a time, and its shipbuilding technology, naval training, and officer command capabilities all lag behind the naval powers.

Now it is possible to use the lack of strength as an excuse to let the local fleet nest in the port. If the Far East Fleet returns, it will be forced to fight the Danish navy in a decisive battle.

Even if they win the Danish Navy, they will definitely not be able to beat the Russians. The total tonnage of the Tsar's Baltic Fleet is 2.7 times that of them.

The navy is not the army. Under such an obvious strength gap, it still wants to counterattack. Unless it is a battleship with a latte, there will be no game at all.

The fall of the Baltic region was a mistake of the General Staff. They underestimated the Russians' ability to attack and overestimated the combat effectiveness of the defenders.

The navy and the army are not the same. In terms of artillery alone, the two sides are not the same grade.

After the outbreak of the war, the Prussians attached great importance to the defense of the Baltic region and deployed three regiments here.

According to the estimates of the staff, even if it is attacked by the Russian army, it can be held for at least a week by relying on the fortifications built in advance.

However, the empiricism of the army staff brought fatal losses to the defenders. These fortresses can withstand the attack of army artillery, but not the same as can withstand the attack of naval artillery.

If it is the Prussian regular army, even if the fortress is destroyed, the strength of three regiments can also block the Russian army for two or three days.

Unfortunately, these are recruits who were recruited temporarily. After being hit by artillery fire, many people's hearts were already in chaos.

After fighting with the landing Russian army, they soon found that the enemy was much stronger than the Russian army in the propaganda. As the casualties continued to increase, the recruits responsible for the defense were quickly defeated.

William I said angrily: "Anyway, you all have to reverse the current unfavorable situation as soon as possible.

You have already realized the consequences of abandoning the East Prussia region. If things go on like this, a revolution will break out in the country. "

be held accountable? Now William I still needs the military to fight! Being able to gain the upper hand in the battle with the Russian army and drive the Russians out of the Warsaw area is enough to prove their ability.

If a mistake is made to replace people, who can guarantee that the ability of the people behind will be stronger?

Anyway, in the end, the war was won, everything is easy to say, and all the problems can be written off; if the war is lost, then the military high-level is the scapegoat.

If the people are taken down in advance, the final blame will fall on William I himself.

Mao Qi, chief of the general staff, said hesitantly: "This is the end of the matter, and our original strategic plan cannot be implemented.

If the delay continues, the Russians will take advantage of the navy and continue to attack our coastal areas.

The most important thing the tsarist government lacked was soldiers. These gray animals were worthless. They only needed a rifle and after a few months of simple training, they could go into battle.

Once a large number of Russian troops land in Prussia, our homeland will definitely be severely damaged. At that time, in this war, we will be the first to be unable to hold on.

Even strengthening sea defenses is useless, we simply can't have that many troops to defend right now. Everyone knows how the combat effectiveness of these newly formed troops is, and it is impossible to count on them.

At this point, we have no choice but to risk a decisive battle with the Russians. "

"Decisive battle", which the Berlin government tried to avoid from the very beginning. The decisive battle for their lives was only a local war for the Russians.

The tsarist government could lose once, twice, three times... As long as one of them won, it could knock Prussia out of the dust.

If so, why is there a need for a decisive battle? Do you still expect to rely on the living strength of the Russians to win the war in the end?

War is no child's play. There are more than 500,000 Russian troops on the front line. It may be possible to defeat them, but to wipe them out is a fool's dream.

The most ideal result is nothing more than that the victor damages 40,000 to 50,000 troops, defeats the main force of the enemy army, and then wipes out 108,000 enemy troops.

After all the Kingdom of Prussia and Poland

When people join forces, the total strength of the two sides is basically the same. No matter how confident they are, no one thinks that the Polish insurgent army and the Prussian army have the same combat effectiveness.

In the case of teammates are not strong, the strength of the warring parties. has been pulled to the same level. This decisive battle with the Russians will not only test the strength, but also the command ability and luck of the officers on both sides.

"How many chances are there?" William I asked with concern

After thinking about it, Mao Qi replied, "Seventh floor!"

This is just this decisive battle, and it does not mean that the Russian-Prussian War is over. The tsarist government is still capable of continuing the war, the only question is how much money the tsarist government has.

...

The sudden turn of the battle directly attracted the attention of all Europe. Many people are pessimistic that: the defeat of the Prussians is only a matter of time.

In St. Petersburg, the tsarist government has thrown a celebratory banquet as if they had won the war.

However, the situation on the battlefield is indeed tilting in the favor of the tsarist government.

The Russian navy performed well this time. The first one conquered the Baltic region, proving to the outside world that they are not waste.