Chapter 708 Stop Loss

On November 27, 1880, the Prussian army arrived in the Poznan area, and after a brief rest, the next day launched an attack on the Russian Eighth Army.

Under the harassment of Russian cavalry and airships, it only took less than 8 days to arrive in Poznan from Warsaw.

Anyone with a bit of military common sense knows that the more troops there are, the more difficult it is to coordinate and the slower the marching speed.

The total strength of the Prussian army was as high as 468,000, and it was a miracle in military history that it was able to complete a march of more than 280 kilometers in 8 days.

If the organizational ability is not strong enough, perhaps the troops in the front have reached their destination, and the troops in the back have not yet set off.

Anyway, so many people line up, from Poznan to Warsaw can line up two lines.

There is no doubt that the rapid action of the Prussian army exceeded the estimates of the Russians. The Ninth Army, which was closer, did not arrive, and the enemy arrived first.

Despite the brave resistance of the Russian Eighth Army, it was of no avail. Not to mention intercepting the return of the Prussian army to the west, and whether it can hold Poznan has become a problem.

...

The Russian army command, looking at the telegram for help in his hand, Ivanov sighed helplessly.

"Order the Eighth Army to stick to Poznan and wait for reinforcements, order the Ninth Army to speed up the march, and reinforce the Eighth Army as soon as possible."

Staff officer Julian Bennetou reminded: "Marshal, the main force of the Prussian army arrived in the Poznan area two days ago, and now Poznan city may have been surrounded.

At this time, the Ninth Army rushed over, and it was difficult to immediately join the Eighth Army in the city. Instead, it might be surrounded by the enemy for reinforcements.

The Eighth Army has a city that can stick to it, and it is not a problem to support it for ten days and a half month. It is better to let the Ninth Army, the Eleventh Army, and the Seventeenth Army converge, and then go to the reinforcements. "

Military-wise, Julian Benneteau's concerns are well-founded. In the field, a ninth army is indeed impossible to be the opponent of the enemy's main force.

In the event of a skirmish, the loss would be heavy, or the entire army would be wiped out. Without the ninth army, only the two second-line armies behind would not be the enemy's opponent.

Ivanov said with a sneer: "It's not necessary, if Mao Qi has such a good appetite, what if he gave them the Ninth Army?

The total strength of the Eighth Army is as high as 216,000, and the total strength of the Ninth Army is 187,000, adding up to more than 400,000, how can it be swallowed so easily.

If we can't fight quickly, our Eleventh Army and Seventeenth Army will arrive on the battlefield. Even if Mao Qi can win, how many troops will they have left after the war?

The main force is exhausted, and if they want to recover, it cannot be done overnight, and we will not give them time.

Now the troops in Mao Qi's hands are the essence of the Prussian army. If he is willing to exchange them, why should we be stingy! "

The Berlin government has begun to mobilize the whole people, and the newly formed troops have not been able to form combat effectiveness. The main reason is that there are insufficient officers and too few veterans.

The elite of the Prussian army in Mao Qi's hands is particularly important. With this unit in place, with veterans leading new recruits, the Prussian army still has the opportunity to break out the last wave.

Of course, it is not easy to break out. The Prussian army lacks enough time, and Ivanov will not give them a chance to breathe.

Now that the war is on, the losses don't matter anymore. Open the map and you will find that the Commonwealth of Popo has lost 55% of its territory, 40% of its population, half of its food production capacity and one-third of its industry.

This is just the beginning. The fire of war has already burned to the hinterland of the Kingdom of Prussia. Once the Warsaw region falls, only one third of the Commonwealth of Prussia will remain.

No matter how beautiful the Prussian army fought on the battlefield, it could not make up for the gap in national strength.

...

The Russian army suffered losses in the Poznan area, which does not mean that it also suffered losses on other battlefields.

In the Baltic Sea area, the Russians have maritime superiority, and they have occupied a quarter of East Prussia.

In the Warsaw area, after the withdrawal of the main force of the Prussian army, the strength and weakness were transferred. Although it has not been able to break through the city of Warsaw, it is coming soon.

It's not that the Poles guarding Warsaw didn't give their lives, but the Russians were too insidious and drove a large number of refugees into the city, increasing the pressure on the defenders.

The Russian Tenth Army, responsible for the raid on Berlin, is now less than 80 kilometers away from Berlin. Of course, this distance may be the limit, and if you want to move forward, it is not something that the Tenth Army can do.

From a military point of view, the Russian Tenth Army's raid was obviously a failure, and it did not play a role in the raid at all, and was discovered by the enemy early.

Politically, it was different. The tenth army appeared near Berlin, and the impact on the Commonwealth of Pope was disastrous. More and more people were pessimistic about the war.

If it weren't for the deep hatred with the Russians and too much leverage for this war, there is really no way out. Maybe the Berlin government has already compromised with the Russians.

In London, after confirming that the general trend of the Commonwealth was over, the Benjamin cabinet was thinking about how to stop losses in time and minimize the losses of Britain.

Chancellor Garfield: "After analyzing the data from our survey, the most optimistic estimate is that if the Commonwealth of Pope is defeated, we will lose at least 300 million pounds of wealth.

And all the overseas assets of the Commonwealth of Pope may add up to less than 150 million pounds, including the last deposit in the Berlin government account and the gold pledged to us.

Most of these overseas assets are distributed in Austrian Africa, and in private names, we cannot do it even if we want to freeze them.

. "

There is no doubt that it is difficult to stop losses now. The wealth of the Pubo Federation is too thin, and many collaterals can only be cashed on the premise of winning the war.

In theory, immediate freezing of the Berlin government's bank accounts in Britain and confiscation of their mortgaged gold and overseas assets could minimize losses.

In fact, there is no possibility of operation at all. As a world hegemon, Britain is also a shame. At this time, what will the other little brothers think?

Although Britain is powerful, it is not to the point where it does not need a younger brother.

Now is the era of Britain, France and Austria, and no one can dominate. Under the background that the three major countries do not support the battle, whoever attracts more younger brothers will have an advantage in international politics.

Foreign Secretary Edward: "There is no need to think about freezing assets, including the gold pledged to us by the Berlin government, and we can't move it either, at least we can't move it until the Commonwealth is over.

The most urgent task is to find a way to keep the Commonwealth of Pubo, at least the Kingdom of Prussia.

We need to set an example and let the rest of the world know that even if we fail to cooperate with Britain, we have the strength to keep them. "

In a sense, the Prussian-Russian War is also a continuation of the conflict between Britain, France and Austria. The three countries used this war to conduct a political game, but the French withdrew halfway, and finally became a game between Britain and Austria.

Great power competition does not happen overnight, if you lose today, you will win back tomorrow. Who would dare to cooperate with them if they stabbed the younger brother because they suffered a loss in the struggle?

Chancellor Garfield nodded: "Of course, this is necessary. Only when the debtor is there will we be able to recover our investment.

The current Berlin government is so poor that even freezing all their assets will not make up for our losses.

The question is can we keep them? Now that the Russians have the upper hand, I don't think the tsarist government will let this great enemy go because of our face. "

How big is Britain's face? This is a question with no precise answer, and answers vary in different regions and countries.

Since the London government supported the Commonwealth, their face in the Russian Empire was not easy to use. Injuring its own interests, the tsarist government does not care about any British threat.

Foreign Secretary Edward: "The Russians must not agree to this, and no country wants to see Russian influence in central Europe, including Austria, which supports them.

If the Russians annexed the Commonwealth of Pope, how would Austria's dream of a Central European Empire be realized? The bottom line of the Vienna government should be to let the tsarist government take back the Poland-Lithuania region.

The only thing to worry about is that Russia and Austria may share the secrets of the Commonwealth. This is the strength of the Vienna government, and no one knows how many secret contracts they have concluded over the years. "

"Austria's Secret Pact" is also one of the hot topics in Europe. There are widely circulated Russian-Austrian Secret Pacts, Fa-Austrian Secret Pacts, British-Austrian Secret Pacts, Western Pacts, Ho-Aust Pacts... and secret pacts with German states.

There is no doubt that many of the secret covenants here are nonsense. Most of them are just ordinary treaties, because politics needs to be kept secret for a while, and they become so-called "secret treaties" when they reach the outside world.

The Vienna government has never explained it. This thing has always been more and more smeared. Even if the contents of the treaty are exposed, there are still a large group of people who don't believe it.

The water is getting more and more turbid, and the real and fake contents are mixed together, making it more difficult for the outside world to distinguish.

The Russian-Oman secret agreement definitely exists, otherwise the agreement on the bright side is not enough for the Vienna government to invest the capital of the Tsarist government, and the specific content of the London government is not clear.

Prime Minister Benjamin: "This is not a problem, Austria is not ready, and at this time, they have no confidence to swallow the Kingdom of Prussia when they divide up the Commonwealth of Prussia.

I have studied Franz, he is very serious about his personal reputation, even if he were to annex the Kingdom of Prussia, he would not choose this time to cooperate with the Russians.

The top priority is to gain the support of the French, and it cannot be delayed any longer. I have a bad feeling that something big is going to happen in Europe. "

Edward, the foreign minister, said with a smile: "Prime Minister, you are so humorous! A major event has happened on the European continent. After the end of the Russian-Prussian War, the European political landscape has been reshuffled, and in the future, the three countries of France, Austria and Russia will stand together.

Although we failed to support the Commonwealth of Pope this time, the situation on the European continent is still good.

The Russians have won the war, another competitor has been added to the European continent, and the future of the Vienna government may not be easy. "

Chancellor of the Exchequer Garfield: "Sir, you are too optimistic. The relationship between Russia and Austria is still very good, and there is no possibility of turning over in the short term.

The Russian-Prussian War brought considerable losses to the Russians. For a long time to come, the tsarist government will have to recuperate and will not go west at all.

Instead, we're about to be in trouble. The Russians have packed up the Commonwealth of Pubo, and the next target is likely to be Central Asia. "

Persimmons are looking for a soft squeeze, which is normal in this age of the weak.

The Russian Empire, whose vitality was severely damaged, was unable to compete with Austria, but it was still no problem to bully a few Khanates in Central Asia.