Chapter 566 The Last Idealism

Affected by the heavy casualties of the Russian army, the war in the Asia Minor peninsula eased. In addition to continuing to harass and bombard the coalition, the coalition forces occasionally landed to destroy it.

The Ottoman government wanted to take the opportunity to counterattack, but unfortunately reality did not allow it. It has just experienced a major defeat, and the loss of personnel and materials is very serious. The transportation in the Ottoman Empire was inconvenient, and there was no way to complete the replenishment in a short period of time.

In the Middle East theater, Lieutenant General Feslav is looking at Jerusalem and sighing. Religious cities are troubles. There are too many iconic buildings in them. If they are accidentally damaged, it will be very troublesome later.

Otherwise, Feslav would have already ordered the bombardment. Not being able to use heavy firepower is only one aspect, he must also control the casualties of the main force.

The main purpose of military training is to practice. Austria is not Russia, so it is not necessary to take the lives of soldiers seriously.

In order to reduce losses, Lieutenant General Feslav used cannon fodder troops to siege the city as much as possible, which is also the reason for the slow progress.

The guard reminded: "General, the meeting is about to start."

Feslav nodded and turned to enter the headquarters.

...

A young officer stood up, his face full of sadness, coupled with the tender cheeks, no matter how you look at it, it makes people feel awkward.

"General, we can't attack like this. If we go on like this, the war is not over yet, and the troops in our hands will be lost first."

Undoubtedly, the troops commanded by the young officers were used as cannon fodder. Indigenous soldiers had no status in the Austrian army and were not organized in normal times, and were recruited temporarily when needed.

Feslav replied expressionlessly: "Major Rick, war is always cruel, not being afraid of sacrifice is the essence of a soldier, you have to learn to adapt.

If you are worried about the large casualties of the troops, you should find a way to reduce the casualties yourself, instead of complaining to me here.

Now you are commanding colonial troops, and we don't care about such casualties. If one day you are commanding a regular army, this number of casualties can already be sent to a military court. "

The sacrifice was cannon fodder, and Feslav naturally didn't care. If the regular army lost so much, he would have to think about how to explain it to the country.

In fact, Franz didn't care about soldier casualties, but casualties had to be worthwhile. If it is the officer's decision-making mistakes that cause heavy losses to the troops, even if the war is won, it still needs to be held accountable.

In contrast, the status of the cannon fodder troops is much lower, and it is enough to recruit after death, and the Vienna government will not bother at all.

This war, except for Jerusalem, is to cultivate the commanding ability of young officers through actual combat, basically all of them are highly equipped.

For example: Rick is a division commander of the colonial army, or a major, and is not qualified to appear in military conferences.

Rick's young officer hurriedly explained: "No general, I just think this kind of blind attack is meaningless.

In the case where heavy artillery cannot be used, it is difficult for us to attack like this, and it is difficult to achieve results. Perhaps there is a more effective way to attack the city.

For example: recruiting young men on the spot, allowing the Ottomans to kill each other, and weakening the morale of the defenders in the city. Or drive the people into the city and consume the enemy's food. "

These two methods have actually been mentioned at previous military conferences. The reason for being rejected is very simple, and that is because of reputation.

In order to gain political capital, the Vienna government has shouted the slogan of recovering the Holy Land. Do not look at the lonely Holy See, but also spontaneously jumped out to wave the flag and shout.

A large group of war correspondents who are not afraid of death came here from the European continent. Every move of the Austrian army was watched by countless people, and Lieutenant General Feslav naturally would not take extreme measures.

Naturally, some people don't understand this approach. Everyone's reputation is not good these days. Austria's methods in the colonial movement are also unclean. Why care about reputation.

After hesitating for a while, Feslav shook his head: "No, the military serves politics, and the status of Jerusalem is extraordinary, and we must consider international influences.

If the casualties of the soldiers in your hands exceed one-third, you can stop the siege first. We have cut off the water source, and the people inside will not be able to last long.

This war is an actual combat training. Apply the knowledge you have learned and apply it on the battlefield. Losses are second. "

The seemingly easy answer is actually full of helplessness. Pinning your hopes on the enemy's lack of preparation is not what a general should do.

However, due to practical needs, Feslav has reported the situation to the Vienna government, and the answer is: it doesn't matter if Jerusalem is not down for a while, and Austria is not bad for this time, but its international reputation must not be damaged.

Another young officer suggested: "How about we open a hole, send people to spread rumors, and encourage local *** believers to enter Jerusalem to defend the Holy Land.

And if we capture captives, we can also create an opportunity for them to escape back to Jerusalem. Whether the defenders in the city accept it or not, it will be beneficial to us. "

This kind of obscure method seems to be much more civilized.

Feslav nodded: "This suggestion is good, order the patrols in the north to release water, and deliberately leave a hole to allow people to enter and exit.

Then send people to have a good talk with the local power faction, let them guide the local gangsters into Jerusalem, and find an excuse to deal with them if they don't cooperate.

Regardless of whether the defenders in the city will let people into the city or not, let me send them to the city first. Be careful not to let anyone find out. "

...

blood red sunset

Gradually fading, Russia and Poland are still fighting fiercely, and the battlefield is already a sea of ​​corpses and blood.

In the moment of life and death, the courage shown by the Polish army surprised the Russians. However, this changed the direction of the war. As time went on, the inferiority of the Polish army was gradually exposed.

As night fell, the night blocked the Russian army's front, and both sides were forced to withdraw. The crumbling Kyiv held on for another day, as the garrison officer Pretar was exhausted.

With less than one-fifth of the Russian army's strength, he has been holding on to the city for a week, and reinforcements still haven't arrived. The surrounding friendly forces have long been defeated, and Kyiv has been reduced to an isolated city.

Dragging his exhausted body and counting the casualties, Pretal only sighed.

The Polish government has deployed an infantry division and two garrison regiments in the Kyiv region, with a total strength of 16,000 troops, and less than half of them are now capable of fighting.

This is still the result of Pretal, who was under pressure and concentrated all the forces in the Kyiv area after the outbreak of the war, otherwise it would not be able to stop the Russian army for a week.

The strategic points outside the city have almost been lost, and the Russian army entered the city during the day. If there is no reinforcement, the loss of Kyiv is doomed.

Pretal no longer has any illusions about the reinforcements. He just hopes that the government will not waste the time that the 16,000 defenders have won with their lives.

It was late at night, and after the deployment of the garrison mission, Pretal wrote the last letter, or suicide note, to the Polish government.

The telegram from the Kyiv region to Warsaw has been cut off, and now only the original communication method can be adopted. Whether this letter can be sent to the Polish government is unknown.

This time, Pretal did not ask for help, and reason told him that it would be very stupid to fight the Russians in the Kyiv area.

The best battlefield is in Warsaw, although the loss of the battlefield in the capital would be very large. But without a popular base, it is too difficult to defeat the strong with the weak.

War always requires sacrifice, and in Pretal's view, there is no price that cannot be paid for victory.

Today, the defenders in the Kyiv region can sacrifice for the country, and tomorrow, Warsaw, the capital, can also make sacrifices.

As one of the leaders of the Polish Revolution, Pretal voluntarily left the power center after Poland's independence and chose to guard the least popular Kyiv front.

When he made this decision, he was ready to sacrifice for the country. The Russian Empire was not easy to deal with, and the tsarist government made a comeback, as many expected.

It’s just that this time came too early. After independence, Poland did not revive. After a few short years, it was reduced to fish again.

...

Warsaw, when Prime Minister Dombrovsky received Pretal's suicide note, the news of the fall of the Kyiv region and Pretal's suicide also followed, and the last nail was pulled out. Pointing straight to the Sluch River.

Putting down the letter in his hand, Dombrowski shook his head. In his opinion, Pretal is too idealistic, and it is good that the Kingdom of Poland can be kept at this stage.

Instead of fantasizing about concentrating troops on the Warsaw area to hit the Russian army, it is better to expect the Prussian reinforcements to arrive soon.

Just the day before the fall of Kyiv, the Polish parliament had elected William I as king, and it was a foregone conclusion that Pope would join forces.

The war has been going on until now, and the Kingdom of Poland has been defeated. In this short half month, the Kingdom of Poland has lost 80,000 troops and one-fifth of its territory. What will it take to fight the Russians?

The failure of a war always requires someone to be held accountable. As a loser, Dombrovsky, the interim prime minister, is not far from taking the blame and resigning.

There was no way, under the pressure of the Russians, all walks of life in Poland advocated a compromise with the Prussians in exchange for the Berlin government sending troops for protection.

These years of political career, Dombrovsky is not in vain, he is no longer the simple revolutionary.

Based on the analysis of the current situation, he knew that there was a deal between Prussia and Russia. It is impossible for the Berlin government to not know the truth, but the Prussians are still slow, which is enough to explain a lot of problems.

The end of the war is not up to the Polish government to decide. It is estimated that when the Russians get the agreed territory, it is time for everyone to sit down and negotiate.

The intervention of the international community resulted in thunder but no rain. If Britain and France really wanted to intervene in this war, they would directly send troops to the Baltic Sea to intimidate St. Petersburg, and the custodial tsarist government would make a compromise.