Chapter 546 The Second Near Eastern War

There is never a shortage of smart people in this world. The plan of the Austrian military was quickly approved by the Russians, and the two sides reached an agreement on the issue of fighting against Turkey.

After some fierce competition, the Allied commander still fell into the hands of Austria. Not because of Austria's great contribution, but mainly because the tsarist government was poor.

"Take short-handed people, eat short-lived people." The Russian army asked the Vienna government to provide combat materials, and the Tsarist government was naturally insufficient in the negotiations.

It is said that it is a joint operation, but in fact it is still fighting each other. Austria is responsible for solving the enemy's navy, and covering the landing of the Russian army to ensure the smooth passage of sea transportation.

On land, the Russians can play freely, and Austria has nothing to do with life or death. When necessary, both parties can cooperate.

For example, after the enemy was mobilized, the battlefield suddenly shifted to attack a new target, which required Austrian ships.

Time flies, and on March 1, 1874, Franz declared war on the Ottoman Empire in the name of "revenge", and the Habsburgs went to war with the Ottoman Empire again.

On the same day, the tsarist government also declared war on the Ottoman Empire on the grounds that "the Ottoman Empire interfered in Russia's internal affairs and plotted a rebellion in Bulgaria".

The Sudanese government has yet to respond, but that is no longer important. The full outbreak of the Second Near Eastern War is a foregone conclusion, and no one can stop it.

Franz's declaration of war on the grounds of "revenge" was criticized internationally. Compared to the Russian casus belli, this excuse is like making up the numbers.

Fortunately, the enemy is the Ottoman Empire, the European public enemy, and everyone can talk about it for a few words. Except for a few people, most European people have become happy melon eaters.

The few people who complained about the Ottoman Empire had not waited for the Vienna government to pay attention, and some people started spraying in the newspapers. Franz admires this kind of enthusiastic crowd very much, but he doesn't know if this is the trust of the newspaper.

News always needs hype, and there is only one voice. How can newspapers have sales? Therefore, under normal circumstances, when big news is encountered, European newspapers like to divide it into two waves, and everyone makes a fortune together.

...

In the Balkans, Russian troops are gathering. It has to be said that the tsarist government is sincere, and the 150,000 people agreed are 150,000 people. Not to mention weapons and equipment, they even saved the military uniforms.

Looking at the 150,000 Russian troops with bare hands in front of him, General Arrest was speechless for a long time. In any case, as the commander-in-chief of this coalition, he still has to solve these problems.

The Vienna government promised to provide 150,000 troops with combat supplies for half a year, which must be fulfilled.

After pondering for a while, Arrest said to the Russian general: "General Ivanov, the weapons and equipment have been delivered, you can send someone to receive them now.

However, the uniform must wait. Austria does not have the uniform of the Russian military. It is currently being produced. You still need to wait. "

When he said this, Aleister's heart collapsed. Killing a ghost, they didn't even think about this in advance, who knew that the tsarist government even saved the military uniform?

Well, the uniform of 150,000 people is not a small number either. According to Austrian standards, it is standard for new recruits to issue three sets at one time, and three more sets must be issued when the season changes. Accidental damage during training can also be replaced.

According to preliminary estimates, it would take hundreds of thousands of Aegis to distribute uniforms to 150,000 Russian troops. It's not that military uniforms are expensive, but there are also supporting equipment such as: water bottles, military boots, backpacks, tents...

Don't doubt it, you can see from this posture that the Russians are not prepared for anything but people. In order to save money, the tsarist government has lost face.

Aleister understands the Russians' approach. 150,000 troops came empty-handed, and at least they could obtain equipment worth six or seven million Aegis.

The Russian Empire at its peak might not have cared, but now this is almost a month's worth of revenue for the Tsarist government. Compared with actual benefits, what is the face?

"As soon as the cannon rings, gold is worth ten thousand taels." This sentence is not wrong at all. After entering the era of hot weapons, the cost of war has also increased significantly.

For this war in the Near East, the Vienna government has prepared a war fund of 150 million Aegis. This war funding, at most, will be supported for one year.

If the war continues, it will continue to increase in the end. This is also the reason why the Vienna government is reluctant to go to war. It hurts money too much.

After listening to Arrest's explanation, the Russian commander Ivanlov blushed. Not wearing military uniforms is an order issued by the government. The purpose is not only to save this little money, but also to cry poor.

The tsarist government was not sure about raising enough money for the war, and Alexander II was worried that if the war continued, the government's finances would be overwhelmed.

From the beginning, I was ready to rely on Austria. Russia and Austria are allies. Halfway through the war, the tsarist government suddenly ran out of money. What can Austria do?

For them to continue contributing to the war, the Vienna government had to borrow money. Otherwise, they paddled reasonably and followed Austria to rub the final victory.

As one of the specific executors, Admiral Ivanov's face is obviously not thick enough. I felt a little embarrassed after hearing what Aleister said.

"There is no problem, Your Excellency, the lack of military uniforms will not affect the operation, and there will be no problem in making up for it after a period of time."

Ivanov didn't think there was a problem, but Admiral Arrest didn't see it that way. If the Russian soldiers were to go to the battlefield like this, he, the commander-in-chief, would have been laughed at for hundreds of years.

"Don't worry, the uniform will definitely be there

It was sent before the landing operation. Now you guys have a rest. You won't be allowed to play until the Navy show is over. "

Arester is an admiral and can serve as the commander-in-chief of the coalition forces, mainly because Austria is mainly responsible for the sea in this cooperation operation.

Franz did not like remote command from thousands of miles away. The headquarters of the Allied Forces was in Constantinople, thousands of miles away from the Middle East. If the Middle East was placed under the name of the Allied Command, it would have nothing to do with remote command in Vienna. the difference.

So in this war, the coalition headquarters is actually just a coordinating agency. The main task is to ensure the smooth passage of sea transportation and cooperate with the Russian army to attack the Asia Minor peninsula.

fight? The Russians will command their own battles on land, and Arest will not be responsible for any results.

The only thing under his command is the naval battle. If the broken ships of the Ottoman Empire are considered enemies, the Austrian Navy will have to fight a naval battle.

...

The Vienna Palace, after receiving a telegram from Aleister, Franz was in an instant. The mighty Russian Empire ceased to exist, and now only a calculating tsarist government remains.

This change undoubtedly shows that the tsarist government has become more rational. Face this thing is sometimes very important, and sometimes it is worthless.

There is no doubt that for the current tsarist government, "money" is the most important thing, and the face is not to be eaten.

From the moment of the defeat of the Russian-Prussian War, the face of the tsarist government was worthless. Being able to change his mentality undoubtedly proves that Alexander II has grown up.

"Just do what Arrest wants. There's no need to affect our plan for this little thing."

A batch of military uniforms is nothing but a trifling matter from the standpoint of the Vienna government, and naturally no one will object.

War Minister Albrecht: "Your Majesty, according to the plan, we launched our offensive in the Middle East after the war in Asia Minor started.

Affected by the Bulgarian rebellion, the troops initially prepared by the Russians were sent to suppress the rebellion, resulting in somewhat under-preparedness.

Now this group of soldiers has not undergone transitional sea combat training at all. In addition, they have to get new equipment and need to run in for a period of time. I am afraid that they will not be able to launch an attack in the short term. "

Franz retracted his previous thoughts, and the tsarist government was as unreliable as ever. The war had started, and he was suddenly told that the Russian soldiers had not been trained in transitional sea combat.

Why did you go early? You must know that this war has been prepared for more than half a year. Austria is responsible for equipment and logistics, and the tsarist government is only responsible.

If it wasn't to leave time for the Russian army to conduct cross-sea training, why wait for half a year? Could it be that the Russian Empire can’t even get 150,000 active-duty troops and needs to recruit new soldiers?

It is not without reason that the battle for the Asia Minor Peninsula was started first. For the Ottoman Empire, Asia Minor was the core territory.

Once the war breaks out, the Sudanese government is bound to concentrate its forces to defend the peninsula of Asia Minor. The number of troops deployed in the Middle East is unlikely to increase, if not decrease. This is very beneficial for Austria, which wants to grab the turf.

"Don't worry about it so much, it's going according to the original plan. The Russians didn't conduct sea-crossing combat training, that's their own business. We just need to send them ashore according to the prior agreement.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has informed all countries to let them evacuate their overseas Chinese as soon as possible. After half a month, we will launch a full-scale attack. In case of accidental injury, we can only express regret. "

When war is declared, the fight begins, and that is a special case. In this war in the Near East, Austria will definitely bombard the coastal cities of the Ottoman Empire, and civilian casualties are inevitable.

In this case, it is necessary to leave time for countries to evacuate their citizens. Otherwise, a large number of foreign casualties will be caused, and the Vienna government will also be troubled.

Franz didn't want to be pointed at by thousands of people, and spittle stars can sometimes kill people. There is no hurry to attack the Ottoman Empire, they can't escape anyway.

Don't take Franz's words lightly. If the Russian soldiers were seriously injured and did not complete the established combat tasks, then Austria would have to send troops to help with the aftermath.

Allies are used to pit, there is nothing wrong with this sentence. The war had just begun, and Franz had a feeling of being pitted.