Chapter 696 Peak Showdown

With the help of the British, the two countries sat at the negotiating table and started a protracted negotiation.

The diplomatic actions did not affect the peak duel between Prussia and Russia on the battlefield.

Due to the severe situation on the battlefield, after abandoning the Latvia area, the Prussian army had to continue to abandon the Lithuania area, and the war had already burned to East Prussia.

The situation continued to develop in favor of the Russian army, and there were frequent reports of good news on the front line. Not only did Marshal Ivanov not relax, but he became more and more tense.

He clearly knew that behind the victory, the Russian army's front was constantly being stretched. Not only is the logistical pressure increasing day by day, but the fortifications prepared in advance can no longer function at this time.

If this is the case, the key is that the domestic voices urging the decisive battle are getting louder and louder, and the voices of the army are also emerging one after another. Even with Alexander II, Ivanov also felt the heavy pressure.

An officer said loudly: "Marshal, the Fourth Army sent an urgent telegram."

Ivanov said lightly: "Read!"

"Yes!"

"...On October 18, 1880, our troops captured Powai, annihilated 12,000 enemy troops, and captured 1,876 enemy troops.

The door to Warsaw has been opened, and the soldiers are very fast. In order to seize the opportunity, our department decided to march down the Vistula River to Warsaw first.

We hope that the Seventh Army and the Fifth Army will cooperate and attack the Warsaw area from the north and east respectively.

 …”

With a "bang", the water glass in Marshal Ivanov's hand fell.

In spite of all calculations, he still underestimated the desire of his officers to win. Of course, there may be other forces behind this, forcing him to start the decisive battle in advance.

Ivanov didn't want to complain about the reason why "the door to Warsaw is open". The enemy was going to fight them in the Warsaw area, and naturally it was impossible to stop them.

Occupying the upper reaches of the Vistula River, it seems to have gained a strategic advantage. In fact, everyone who knows the topography of Poland knows that the terrain and water flow in the endless plain area are gentle, not to mention the damming and flooding of the Seventh Army, even if you want to destroy the farmland downstream. Both are difficult.

The matter has come to this point, Ivanov can only follow the aftermath. The Fourth Army subordinated eight infantry divisions, one garrison division, three cavalry divisions, four artillery regiments, plus various miscellaneous auxiliary units, with a total strength of 183,000.

With so many troops, no one can easily give up. If possible, Ivanov didn't mind immediately killing guys who made their own claims.

It's a pity that he can't reach it now. If he wants to settle accounts in the autumn, he must wait until the end of the war.

Looking at the map, Ivanov muttered to himself: "The capture of Powav on October 18th is now the afternoon of October 21st, even if it takes two days to renovate, they have already set off for one day.

If the speed is fast, the Battle of Warsaw has already started, and it is impossible to recover.

Good Obodo, this is a calculated plan, knowing that I can't give up the Fourth Army, I can't even fight this Warsaw battle. "

After hesitating for a while, Marshal Ivanov ordered: "Since the deployment has been disrupted, let's fight!

The order went on, and the Seventh Army and the Fifth Army were ordered to launch the Battle of Warsaw; the Third Army and the Sixth Army, which were being refurbished, were ordered to assemble immediately and march to the Warsaw area.

The First Army and the Second Army were ordered to launch an offensive in the East Prussia region, and the Navy was ordered to deploy;

The Eighth Army, Ninth Army, and Tenth Army were ordered to abandon their current defensive tasks and initiate a battle on the southern front.

Order the newly formed 11th Army, 13th Army, 15th Army, and 17th Army to take over the defense they left behind. "

Although he didn't know what the enemy's conspiracy was, Ivanov knew that as long as he was strong enough, the enemy would be choked to death.

At the same time, the battle was launched from three directions, and the army was as high as two million. Ivanov did not believe that the enemy had the ability to eat it in one bite.

The situation changed when he couldn't bear it. Ivanov did not expect to be able to win the three major battles. As long as one battle was won, it would be considered a strategic success.

To put it bluntly, the Popo Federation is such a big place. If you win a big victory in any direction, you can drive straight in after tearing open the door to the enemy's rear.

Don't look at the mobilization of the Popo Federation, but can a farmer who has just put down his hoe become a qualified soldier right away?

Of course, the farmers of the Popo Federation have participated in militia training, and their combat effectiveness is much stronger than that of ordinary farmers, but there is still a big gap between them and the regular army.

It's not that the Berlin government doesn't know how to carry out national training, but the main reason is that the wallet is not enough. Reserve training also costs money. The cost of one or two months of training for the whole people to participate in each year is not something that poor countries can play.

Aside from the training gap, weaponry is also a big issue. The Pubo Federation military industry is a self-contained system, and the main troops are all general equipment, which are all made by themselves.

After the expansion of the army, its own military production capacity was not enough, and Berlin was forced to purchase British and French equipment. The caliber of ammunition is different, and the second and third line troops of the Prussian Army are all developing in the direction of making it in all countries.

In contrast, the Russians are much happier. Just buy the equipment directly from Austria, and you don't need to worry about it at all.

The combination of this series of factors means that as long as the Russian army tore up their defense lines, it will be difficult for the newly formed troops in the rear to block the Russian army's front.

Ivanov has not adopted this strategy before, mainly to avoid risks. The advantages on paper only exist on paper, and the war will only be known after the war.

in his opinion

In a dangerous and decisive battle, it is better to fight steadily and step by step, gradually consuming the enemy's strength.

...

As soon as the Russian army moves, the Prussian army will naturally follow suit. After finally mobilizing the enemy, Mao Qi could not give up this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

The only regret is that the enemy has stretched the front too long, and the Prussian army is limited in strength, and it is impossible to take care of the three battlefields at the same time.

In a sense, this tactic is also aimed at "Maoqi is good at concentrating advantages and fighting the enemy decisively". Fighting on three fronts, concentrating superior forces in a decisive battle is tantamount to suicide.

The division of troops to take care of the three battlefields also happened to fall into the Russians' plan. Now is the age of hot weapons, and there are airship reconnaissance in the sky.

In order to make up for the disadvantage of insufficient troops, Mao Qi had to make military deployments while urging the Berlin government to speed up mobilization.

The quality of the horse can't be taken care of for the time being, so let's get the quantity out first. Recruits have no combat effectiveness, so they can be used as cannon fodder. They can also be used to buy time at critical moments.

...

The Russians are about to fight, and the eyes of all Europe are on the Prussian battlefield. In order to collect information on this great war, the Austrian Air Force followed suit.

If it weren't for the ineffectiveness of anti-aircraft weapons these days, the hit rate is low, and the cost is high; Austria has sent too many military observation groups, and it is easy to find clues; it is estimated that the commanders below would not mind making a few accidents.

These are all small problems. If you go to the top of people to collect information, if you don’t get shot down, then it’s already a lot of face. Can you expect people to welcome you?

In the Vienna Palace, looking at the deployment of Prussian and Russian troops, Franz was confused and didn't know what was going on. It can be summed up in one word - chaos, whether it is the Russian army or the Prussian army is very chaotic.

"Albrecht, can you see their deployment?"

After hesitating for a while, Albrecht replied with some embarrassment: "Your Majesty, Prussia and Russia are about to fight."

Looking at Franz's expression, he seemed dissatisfied with the answer, and Albrecht continued to explain: "Your Majesty, the total number of troops invested in this war has already set a historical record.

No one has the experience of commanding millions of troops at a time. In the early stage, the Russians fought steadily and the frequency of troop mobilization was not too high.

Now the decisive battle is about to take place. Both Prussia and Russia are rapidly deploying troops. There are too many troops involved, and some confusion is inevitable. "

This answer made Franz suddenly enlightened. Famous generals are also ordinary people. Even if their personal abilities are strong, they cannot guarantee that the people under them are equally strong.

The mobilization of millions of troops involves so many aspects that the commander cannot do it alone, and requires the cooperation of various departments.

Affected by the constant communication, there will be a certain delay when the commander issues an order to the troops below.

The army is fairly good, and it can be executed immediately after receiving an order, but the logistics department is not good enough. No matter how big things are, the materials in the warehouse can't be rushed to the place in a day or two.

No matter how powerful dispatchers are, they can't change the backwardness of means of transportation. Subject to logistics, the troops naturally cannot run too fast.

If another accident happens, and the logistics and troops get lost, then it will be a complete mess.

It is not that such a thing has never happened. Now both Prussia and Russia have learned their lessons and emphasize the cooperation between the combat troops and the logistics department.

Of course this is only a secondary factor. Now both the Prussian and Russian armies are in different degrees of confusion, and the main responsibility is still on the general headquarters.

The commanders had never had the experience of commanding a campaign of this level, and a lot of previous experience didn't apply here, and chaos ensues.

Franz asked with concern: "So, our army also has these problems?"

Albrecht nodded: "Our commanders don't have this kind of experience either. If you command millions of troops to fight, chaos in the early stage is inevitable.

There is no experience in this field in the world. In comparison, we are fairly good. Every year, we organize millions of reserve training, which is barely a large-scale troop mobilization. "

This is really no way, experience is something that needs to be accumulated. There are less than one million troops in active duty in Austria. Where can I get this kind of experience?

There was nothing Franz could do, aside from learning from the Prussian military deployment. You can't pull millions of reservists, and have a national exercise, right?

Not to mention how much it will cost and how much supplies will be consumed. Just thinking about mobilizing millions of troops at one time is scary.

If it does, it is estimated that the whole of Europe will be frightened. In case of bad luck, it may escalate directly to the Continental War.

European countries are very sensitive in this regard. Perhaps it is because of too many losses, or because of too many lessons learned. As long as a country starts to mobilize, neighboring countries will strengthen their vigilance. If the relationship is not good, they will follow up with mobilization.

Creating tension for no reason, increasing the smell of gunpowder on the European continent, and destroying good-neighborly and friendly relations is not what Franz wants to see.