Chapter 578: Training of Officers
Chapter 565 – Training Officers
The general headquarters of the allied forces in Constantinople, it was reasonable to say that the capture of the Bosphorus and the great victory of the allied forces should be celebrated, however, the reality was just the opposite.
After seeing the statistics of casualties, everyone couldn’t be happy.
As the Russians had consumed a lot of time in the Ava landing battle, leaving the enemy with plenty of time to react, the Ottoman Empire had mobilized a heavy defense.
The consequence of hard fighting was heavy casualties. With their superior equipment, the Russians won the battle, but the price they paid was not small.
Casualty figures of up to 30,000 proved the grueling nature of the battle. If you add the Ava landing battle, and other areas of combat casualties, the war until now the Russian army casualties have exceeded the 40,000 mark, of which the number of killed in action close to 10,000 people.
Perhaps this number, for the Russian Empire is not worth mentioning, but for the strength of only 150,000 expeditionary force, it is very fatal.
The Russian army’s military morale now showed a significant decline, and the victory could not change the aftermath of the heavy casualties. Even if the wounded were effectively treated, no more than 20,000 Russian soldiers would be able to return to the battlefield later.
This means that from now on, the total strength of the Russian army has permanently lost 20,000 soldiers. In the short term, the Russian army can only use 110,000 troops, but also split troops to guard the Bosphorus, less than 80,000 mobile troops.
As the commander of the allied forces, Admiral Aleister also felt the pressure, he did not care about the heavy casualties of the Russian army, but the key is the next situation of the war makes him worried.
The attitude of the Vienna government was very clear, to win the victory at the minimum cost. Putting the admiral in the position of the general commander of the allied forces proved that the Vienna government did not attach importance to the battle of Asia Minor Peninsula and had no plan to send troops.
As a soldier, there was no desire to defeat the war. Even though this war was all commanded by the Russians themselves and did not require Arest to take responsibility for it, it would still affect his reputation if he suffered a defeat on the battlefield.
Of course, as an admiral and not personally commanding the war, the impact could be minimized and not affect his career.
Arest warned, “Admiral Ivanov, your strategic objectives have been exposed, the enemy is ready and waiting for you to jump into the pit, do you want to continue next?”
The word “you” is a clear indication of the relationship within the Allied Forces, and the cooperation between Russia and Austria is not as close as it could be.
Ivanov’s face changed and he looked a little embarrassed. Originally, they were going to show Austria their strength through this battle, but it turned out to be a non-issue.
If it wasn’t for the last minute appearance of the Austrian airship unit that demoralized the enemy, the war might still be going on now.
Strength is the right to speak, the Russian army did not show superhuman combat strength, in the alliance of the right to speak naturally affected.
Especially in the Allied command, the facts had proved that the Russian army’s battle plan had failed. During the meeting, Ivanov’s voice was much lower.
“Your Excellency Commander, the Bosphorus has been taken, the Marmara Sea gateway has been opened, the Allied Black Sea Straits can be accessed at any time, and we can be more flexible in launching landing operations.”
“We won’t turn back until we hit the south wall,” Hearing this answer, Arest retracted what he wanted to say and reorganized his words.
After a period of contact, Arest knew that Ivanov was not stupid, and his military ability was considered excellent. The previous war was proof that overall the Russian army hadn’t made too many mistakes.
The only thing that could make him continue with a program that was obviously wrong militarily, despite the actual situation, was “political necessity”.
Military necessity serves politics, and when it comes to politics, right and wrong no longer matter.
The Tsarist government needed to open the Black Sea Straits as soon as possible to ensure that domestic export trade was carried out normally, and the Russian army on the front line could only go ahead with it.
Heavy casualties? No matter, the Russian Empire has plenty of people, anyway, combat supplies are provided by the Austrians, the tsarist government can afford to lose.
With an ally with such a strong desire to fight, Arest could not stop it. As long as the Russians were willing to put up a fight with human lives, the Vienna government was willing to throw money at it.
“With your troop strength, I’m afraid that if you want to complete the later battle plan, it’s still not enough, does your country intend to increase its troops?”
Ivanov nodded, “Yes, Your Excellency the Commander. The Ottoman Empire has already responded, and in order to capture the Black Sea Straits, at least 200,000 troops are needed.
I have already requested 100,000 reinforcements from home and expect them to arrive at the front line within two months, the only problem now is supplies.
In recent years, the Russian Empire has been lacking in financial resources, and the Russo-Polish War has just broken out, so it can’t afford it right now ……”
Hearing this reply, Arest stood up and turned his back to the crowd, as if he was in deep thought.
Without being asked, Arest knew that the Tsarist government was going to empty its gloves again. The so-called 100,000 reinforcements, I’m afraid, are 100,000 young men.
If there was no mistake, the Tsarist government was trying to practice through this war to prepare for the later Russo-Prussian war.
In the minds of politicians, human life is worthless. Being able to take the Austrian material and train an elite force out, it is estimated that the Tsarist government will not care about casualties.
After half a dozen hours of work, Arest gave an answer: ”This has exceeded my authority. To increase the supplies, this must be agreed by the Vienna government.”
Ivanov said somewhat eagerly, “Your Excellency the Commander, in fact, there is no need for the Vienna government’s consent, we only need to report more losses, and then we can put the account ……”
Letting the Vienna government decide, that would involve the diplomatic level. Countries never spoke to each other with their interests, and the Russian-Austrian alliance was no exception.
It came down to the question of dividing the spoils of war in the future, and Ivanov would rather have less supplies now than a greater cost to the Russian Empire.
The Russian army had never lived a hard life, and the logistics of the expeditionary force were supplied with reference to the Austrian army, a standard that far exceeded the treatment of the Russian army.
In the opinion of many Russian army officers, giving gray livestock this treatment is a complete waste. If the standard is lowered a bit, and then report a bit more battle damage, 150,000 troops of supplies, supply 230,000 Russian troops is also enough.
The lack of weapons and equipment is also easy to deal with, according to the Russian army practice, when the front soldiers died in battle, the soldiers behind to pick up the gun and continue to use it can be.
Moreover, some of the supplies can be captured on the battlefield, and the problem will be solved if everyone cooperates.
Arest’s face changed greatly, this kind of thing the Russians can do, he would not dare to do.
Franz’s supervision of the army is very strict, false reporting of battle losses, betrayal of national interests that is to be court-martialed. The benefits promised by the Russians are a death wish for Arest.
“No! General Ivanov, I warn you that this matter ends here, please don’t insult the honor of nobility!”
After saying that, Arest directly slammed the door. He was really angry, one wrong move that would be the end of everything.
Mixed to this position is not easy, do not know how many people below staring, want to replace, Arest does not want to do people’s stepping stone.
As for the “benefits promised by the Russians”, Arest even more disdain. If senior officers like him are poor, then how can the soldiers and officers below live?
……
Vienna Palace, looking at the war report in his hands, Franz did not feel the slightest surprise. No matter how much the Ottoman Empire is in decline, there are still three pounds of nails in a rotten boat.
The reforms of the Sultan’s government in front of him were not completely useless, at least a modern army was trained. Perhaps limited by financial resources, bureaucratic corruption and other factors, the Ottoman army combat power is not strong, but the Russian army can be much better?
The Tsarist government had limited financial resources, and the Russian army was also living a hard life. The information gathered from the front line already showed that the Russian army had serious training deficiencies.
Two rookie armies are pecking each other, the Ottoman army has the numerical advantage, the Russian army has the equipment advantage, to win the war with heavy losses is normal.
There was no major defeat at the front, and Franz was satisfied without the need for Austria to send troops for the aftermath. Standing in Austria’s position, the Russian army fighting strength or weak child is good.
“The Russians are trying to use our strength to practice, perhaps later they will use the need for rest and recuperation as a reason to keep changing troops.
The Tsarist government is in a hurry, it seems that the Prussians have given them a lot of excitement, what do you think we should reply to them now?”
The Tsarist government’s desire to open the Black Sea Straits had been subconsciously forgotten by Franz. Compared to the hidden plan, that was a trivial and insignificant matter.
In the last Russo-Prussian War, most of the Russian soldiers were poorly trained, which was also a major factor in the defeat.
Learning from one’s mistakes, one grows wiser.
It was a foregone conclusion that the Tsarist government wanted to train an elite force. Now the biggest problem of the Tsarist government was that it had no money, and the Near East War became an opportunity for the Russians to train their soldiers.
It was paid for by Austria anyway, they just needed to put up the men. Don’t look at the heavy casualties of the Russian army in the front line, once rest and recuperation has been restored, the fighting strength of the remaining troops is absolutely not reduced but increased.
Prime Minister Felix: “Your Majesty, it depends on how much the Russians are willing to pay. Practicing in actual combat loses a very large amount of soldiers, soldiers cannot serve for a long time, they will be retired after a few years.
If the Russo-Prussian War doesn’t break out anytime soon, these soldiers will only be able to pass on their experience. There is no shortage of such experience in the Russian army, the last war was only a few years ago.
I think the Tsar’s government wants to train a group of qualified officers through actual battles, and as long as it has enough officers, it’s not difficult at all to expand the army, and it can also ensure a certain fighting strength.”
Training officers, that’s what Austria is doing. The reason for calling so many cannon fodder troops to the battlefield was to give the officers practice, or else the Middle East battlefield could not have dawdled until now, and Jerusalem had not yet been conquered.
For the Russians to train officers is not as simple as it appears. It was also about the future direction of the situation in Europe, for example: increasing the chances of victory for the Tsarist government in the Russo-Prussian War.
……
(End of chapter)