Chapter 701 Not Enough Officers

Theory and reality are often at odds. Perhaps Obodo's response measures were effective, or perhaps the officers had no way out, and the besieged Russian Fourth Army broke out with a combat effectiveness beyond the Prussian Army's expectations.

Seven days passed in a flash, and the Fourth Army was still stuck there like a nail, leaving the Prussian army in a dilemma.

Looking at the increasing number of casualties in his hands, and thinking of his own mission, General Hansgrohe, who was in charge of encircling and destroying the Fourth Army, was about to turn pale.

The enemy suffered more than half of the casualties, and there was still no sign of surrender, and it was clear that they would fight to the end.

If the Russian army was so tenacious, there would be no need to fight this war. The Popo Federation has a limited population and cannot survive at all.

After rubbing his forehead, Hansgrohe instructed the adjutant: "Send power to the headquarters, report our situation in detail, and tell Marshal Mao Qi to give us another five days to ensure that this enemy army can be annihilated.

If other areas need support, we can send some troops to leave first, and now there is no need for so many troops to surround them. "

After several days of fighting, Hansgrohe has determined that the enemy will not run away. In order to complete the task, he even deliberately left a way to lure the enemy to break through.

As a result, the enemy seemed to have not seen it, and remained firmly on the spot, not giving him a chance to take advantage of it.

It's totally unreasonable not to run if there is a chance. Hansgrohe doesn't know what the Russian commander is thinking. In short, he is very depressed.

"Yes, General!"

...

Not only was the Prussian army depressed, the besieged Lieutenant General Obodo was even more depressed. The Prussian army seemed to have gone mad, and launched an attack without rushing casualties. The Fourth Army only had the ability to parry, but not fight back.

After falling into the encirclement, he didn't know anything about the situation outside, and he didn't even know why the enemy was going crazy.

The whistling sounded, and airships flew from the sky. This was the happiest and most tense moment of the Russian army's day.

I don't know since when, the whistling airship has become the spiritual pillar of the Fourth Army, bringing them hope of life.

This was the most tense time. Except for the first few days, every time the airship troops came over, there was an air battle.

In just ten days, the Russian army paid a total of 35 crashes, and almost every day, three airships were killed in air battles.

Of course, the Prussian army is also uncomfortable. The gap between the two sides is almost the same. The airship force may be the closest combat force between Prussia and Russia.

Oboto picked up the binoculars and observed this thrilling aerial battle, and silently said in his heart: "1, 2, 3, 4...49".

"49" airships, this number made Opoto ecstatic, a full one-third increase compared to yesterday, and the enemy on the opposite side was only half of this number.

The number gap is half, even if there are transport airships in the Russian airships, they still have an absolute advantage.

Although combat airships and transport airships are separated these days, it is common for transport airships to be used as combat airships.

Airships are big, and can withstand a few ordinary bullets. The heavy machine gun used by the Air Force has not been invented yet, and the real killer is still artillery.

Regardless of whether the combat airship or the transport airship is equipped with artillery, it can go to the battlefield, but the hit rate is pitiful. If it hits, then the result is the same, everyone is a crispy.

In essence, airships are not used to fight each other. The high cost is enough to make any country hurt. The Prussian-Russian War can be regarded as the earliest air battle in human history.

Seeing that it was impossible to do anything, the Prussian airship unit decisively chose to retreat. If the Russian army wants to release strategic materials, it is simply not concerned with catching up.

Perhaps the number of the Fourth Army has decreased; or perhaps the big men at the headquarters have sent a kindness to express their sympathy for the hard work of the Fourth Army. Today's supplies are extraordinarily abundant.

Rare vegetables, fresh beef, ham, cheese, bread, butter, soy flour, and Opoto are all hungry.

As a commander, Opodo soon woke up. I am afraid it is not the kindness of the big men, but the value of the Fourth Army has increased.

To drag 500,000 to 600,000 Prussian troops here is the greatest value of the existence of the Fourth Army. If they need to work hard, the treatment will naturally improve.

Shaking his head and dispelling the thoughts in his mind, Obodo instructed the guards around him: "Send someone to look carefully to see if there is an order from the headquarters."

Before the guard could answer, a young officer ran over with a document: "General, this is the battle report from the headquarters."

Opodo dodged the file and quickly opened it to read. The more he looked, the more gloomy his face became, as if the sky had fallen.

It's not that the situation is bad, the overall situation on the battlefield is good, and the Russian army is getting closer and closer to winning the war.

On October 28, 1880, the Russian Fifth Army and the Seventh Army launched an attack on the Warsaw area from the northeast, and now they are under the city of Warsaw.

On November 1, the Russian First Army and Second Army launched the Battle of East Prussia.

Under the cover of the navy, on November 3, the Russian army launched a landing operation in the Gdynia area and won a great victory.

On November 5, the Russian army launched another landing operation in Kołobrzeg, which was once again confirmed to be successful.

On November 7, the Russian Southern Front tore through the Prussian line of defense.

The next day, the Russian army was divided into three routes. The Eighth Army drove straight into Berlin, the Ninth Army moved north to attack Poznan, and the Tenth Army was responsible for coordinating in the center.

...

There is good news on the battlefield, except

There is no news of the rescue of the Fourth Army. What this means is self-evident, and although it is not stated, the warning is very clear.

The triumph of the Russian army is inseparable from the efforts of the Fourth Army. If it wasn't for them holding back the Prussian army's mobile forces, the Fifth Army and Seventh Army would not have the guts to go to Warsaw, and the Southern Front would not dare to divide their forces into three directions.

In this situation, whoever loses the chain and destroys the hard-won overall situation will be held responsible for it.

There is no order, but this battle report is the best order. Obodo is very clear that now he is not only to treat the Fourth Army as abandoned children, but also to treat them as dead soldiers.

If they broke through in front of them, it would be a big deal for them to lose their heads; if they ran away now, they would have to go to the guillotine with the whole family.

Don't think that killing nobles is not popular in Europe, you can really sit back and relax. Alexander II has the reputation of "The Butcher". If the people who don't kill are rolling in, how can the reform be successful?

After thinking for a while, Obodo ordered: "Inform the whole army of the good news, and tell everyone that victory is at hand, as long as we persist for half a month, we will win Warsaw!"

"Seeing through and not speaking through" is also one of the rules of survival in this cruel world. Smart people will naturally be able to understand, but those who don't understand are the ones with a stubborn head. When this battle report is in their hands, it is the real good news.

Persist for half a month?

Obodo didn't believe it himself. In his heart, he felt that the Fourth Army had been able to hold out until now, and it was all super-level performance.

However, people are blindly obedient, especially when they are closest to victory, everyone can always hypnotize themselves and burst out with unimaginable combat effectiveness.

Deep in his heart, Obodo had already decided that the main force of the Prussian army could be contained for as long as he could.

As long as the Fourth Army didn't run away and stayed here to fight, no one else could put the blame on him.

Fortunately, the soldiers didn't know about Obodo's unscrupulous thoughts, otherwise the morale that everyone had finally built up would be vented again.

Sometimes ignorance is also a blessing. It is better to be immersed in the ocean of hope than to despair after knowing the truth.

...

The Prussian army was at a disadvantage on the battlefield, and the Berlin government was completely panicked. Even Mao Qi's repeated assurances could not dispel everyone's doubts.

The mobilization of the whole people is a must. As long as they can resist the use of guns, they must go to the battlefield.

It doesn't matter if there are not enough officers. If the officers of the main force cannot move, they will be drawn from the local troops.

If it really doesn't work, find someone to put it on first, and then replace it when there is a suitable one. If there is no suitable one, then naturally there is no need to replace it.

The enemy is about to hit Berlin, who cares about quality! Get the number up first, at least to increase everyone's sense of security.

While mobilizing, Berlin did not forget to launch a diplomatic offensive.

It is useless to win over small players such as the Ottomans, Central Asian countries, and the German Confederation. They have lost the ability to influence the outcome of the war.

At this point, the support of the powers that Pubo Federation needs. The European continent is different from other regions. What is obtained on the battlefield may also be spit out on the negotiating table.

The Berlin government does not have any extravagant hopes to let the Russians return without success, but it is still necessary to obtain the support of the foreign powers and preserve their strength as much as possible.

In Vienna Palace, Franz just sent the envoy sent by the Berlin government.

Frankly speaking, he was very puzzled in his heart, the war has not yet been decided, why should the Berlin government be so anxious?

The Russians seem to be making great strides on the battlefield, but the war is not over yet. There are still 600,000 to 700,000 recruits in the Pubo Federation. No matter how weak these troops are, they can always defend the city, right?

In the face of Franz's doubts, Chief of Staff Albrecht explained: "Your Majesty, the number of casualties of the Pope Federation's army has long exceeded the one million mark, and the number of casualties alone has exceeded 300,000.

If the loss of ordinary soldiers can be replenished immediately, but the loss of grass-roots officers is difficult to make up for.

According to the data and analysis we have collected, the death rate of the Prussian nobles is much higher than that of ordinary soldiers, which is 13.5%, and has approached 20%.

The number of officers in the Prussian army is insufficient, not only because of this war, but also the impact of the previous war.

During the First Russo-Prussian War, the new generation of Junkers aristocrats suffered heavy casualties. Now they are not only in short supply of low-level officers, but also severely lacking in middle-level officers, and in fact there are also insufficient high-level officers.

The insufficient number of qualified officers has a great impact on the combat effectiveness of the army. Compared with the beginning of the war, the combat effectiveness of the Prussian army has actually declined.

It can be seen from their siege of the Russian Fourth Army that if it was the Prussian Army at its peak, it would not have to delay for so long.

The lack of officers is not anyone's responsibility. The Popo Federation has done a good job. The officers they reserve in advance are enough to command an army of 1.5 million.

This number, in theory, is enough to deal with any war. Before the outbreak of the Russian-Prussian War, no one knew that the war could reach the current scale.

Whether it is the Pope Federation or the Russian Empire, their mobilization capabilities are beyond our imagination. "

Not to mention the people of this era, even Franz, a transmigrator, did not know in advance that Prussia and Russia could achieve this step.

This mobilization ability is about to catch up with the first battle. The Pubo Federation has mobilized more than 2.6 million troops, and the Russians have mobilized nearly 4 million troops in a frenzy.

this number

It's not the end, the number of troops on both sides is expanding like a balloon.

Like balloons, while the number of troops is expanding, the combat effectiveness of the army is also declining.

The performance of the Prussian army was more obvious, mainly because they took the quality line; the Russians started to open up the quantity, although the combat effectiveness of the troops also declined, because the quality was not very good at the beginning, so the decline was not that big. .

Franz asked suspiciously: "As far as I know, there are still many officials in the Berlin government who were born in the army, and now is a time of crisis, so it shouldn't be a problem for them to recover.

Some of these people put on airs and then promote some civilian soldiers to serve as officers, and the problem of insufficient grassroots officers will be solved. There is no need for the Berlin government to get angry so quickly, right? "

This is not Franz nonsense, many officials in the Berlin government are from the military. Not only the Commonwealth, but also Austria.

Under the national military service system, not only government officials have served in the military, but people from all walks of life have served in the military.

In a crisis, allowing them to return to the army is also a solution to the shortage of officers.

Albrecht shook his head: "Your Majesty, these people seem to be organized, but they are not suitable for the army at all.

The officers of the Pubo Federation are dominated by Junkers nobles. Influenced by traditional forces, the best talents among them, or those most suitable for the army, will develop in the army for a long time.

After retiring from the military, most of the people who entered the government department were defective products that were eliminated in the middle, and their military capabilities themselves were worrying.

If these people are reluctantly restored, their official position is also the position they enter the army, but this position has nothing to do with military command ability.

Putting a group of bureaucrats with unknown military capabilities in command of the troops is simply unimaginable.

I think it may not be as good as the first-year military academy students. At least these people are full of enthusiasm, they will not quarrel or shirk, and they can strictly follow orders. "

Franz nodded a little embarrassedly, making the bureaucrat command a huge pit indeed. Don't fight before, let's draw the army into the political struggle first.

After a pause, Albrecht added: "The promotion of civilian officers has long been done by the Prussian army. However, these soldiers have not received military school education, and the training ceiling is very low, and only a very few can serve as officers.

Among the grass-roots officers of the Prussian Army, the number of civilian officers is actually not in the minority. However, the performance of these people was not good, and there was a lot of chaos. "

Franz hesitated. The issue of civilian officers is a difficult problem in every European country.

Not as later generations say, nobles dominated the army and excluded civilian officers.

In fact, the nobles are only interested in middle and high-level positions, and the positions at the company level below are not their goals at all, and no one has such a shallow eyelids.

The real problem lies in military literacy. Ordinary soldiers have never been exposed to this knowledge, so how can they become qualified officers?

It can be said that in peaceful times, the channels for the rise of ordinary soldiers were locked early, and only a few geniuses could become officers.

There are opportunities in war years, but only if you can survive. Military merit is not so easy to get, you need to exchange your life for it.

The grassroots noble officers must take the lead in charging, let alone the civilian officers, I am afraid that many dangerous tasks will fall on their heads.

No matter how talented you are, you will have a future only if you survive the battlefield, or you will be a martyr.

Get military merit, this is not the end. On the contrary, this is just the beginning.

Promoted to a higher position, the requirements for personal military literacy have also become higher.

In times of peace, there is still a chance to go to the military academy to study, and when I come back, I will be almost competent. Not in times of war, war will not wait for anyone.

To some extent, Albrecht's complaint about the poor military literacy of civilian officers is also an indisputable fact.

Except for a very few geniuses, most of the civilian officers are landlubbers after being promoted, and it is normal for them to be unable to adapt in a short period of time.

The army is a place that believes in the strong. No one will consider so many reasons, and will not give you time to learn slowly.

If you can't do it, you will be squeezed out. You don't need to use any means at all, and you can be squeezed out.

Not only civilian officers, but even many children of the great nobles, who are not capable of themselves, will be squeezed out.

Not only now, but even in the future, there is only one path for civilian officers—the military academy.

Improve your military literacy through school study. Through learning, make up the ability gap between the noble officers.

This road is also not easy to walk. The number of students enrolled in the higher military school is limited. Thousands of troops have to cross the single-plank bridge, and they have to face competition from noble candidates.

Affected by educational resources, it is impossible for geniuses to break through.