Chapter 672: War Breaks Out
Chapter 657 – Outbreak of War
Shortly after the exposure of the Russian-Austrian agreement, the Berlin government also tit-for-tat publicized the Anglo-Prussian Debt Agreement and the Franco-Prussian Debt Agreement.
Secrecy was non-existent, and now was the time when morale needed to be boosted. Without favorable news, how could the people at home be braved for war?
International loans have never been linked to politics, and in providing funds, it also means that people are taking sides.
Britain and France supported the Popo Confederation, Austria and the Nordic Confederation supported the Russian Empire, and the rest of Europe took sides.
Holland, Monaco, Belgium, Portugal, Spain, and the German Confederation preferred the Popo Confederation, and Greece and Montenegro supported Russia.
In terms of international support the Pupo Confederation still had the advantage, but the Russian Empire had more war potential, and the two sides were considered equal.
In the Vienna Palace, Franz was not surprised by the Russians’ diplomatic defeat. With the diplomatic ability of the tsarist government, it was all over the top to pull together the Nordic Confederation.
Denmark played an important role in this, if not for the efforts of the Danes, even with the Austrian guarantee, the tsarist government is not so easy to let the Nordic Confederation out of pocket.
Russians with Sweden’s grudge after all, the past decades, the old generation are dead, the new generation does not feel deeply; but Prussia and Denmark’s grudge is different, which is only ten years of work, we remember.
No matter how much the Russians pulled the hatchet, it was for Denmark that they went to war with Prussia, and most Danes had a soft spot for the Tsarist government.
Even though the Nordic Confederation was centered on Sweden, the central government had to take into account the mood of the Danish population at home when making decisions.
Besides, the conditions offered by the Tsarist government were really tempting. With the guarantee of the Vienna government, the risk of debt default had been greatly reduced.
The worst result, can also take the opportunity to make a war fortune. The krona was not an international currency, and the Russians had no place to use it except to buy in the Nordic Confederation.
If you are lucky, you can also take Finland without bloodshed, then you will make a lot of money.
Outside public opinion has exploded, for the sake of this impending war, there are many opinions.
Some people even divided the European world into two camps, the Russo-Prussian War, as a game of Britain, France and Austria.
These messy news did not affect Franz’s good mood. The present situation was exactly according to the plot he had set up beforehand, and there was at most a little discrepancy.
Putting down the newspaper in his hand, Franz: “First allocate 100 million Shendian to the Russians, and let the Tsarist government do it boldly!”
The loan also needed to be paid in installments, and in a short period of time the bank would not be able to transfer hundreds of millions of God’s guilders in cash without affecting its own operations.
Not to mention the bonds, which had only just begun to hit the market and wouldn’t sell out without a few months, the Tsarist government wouldn’t be able to get the money in the short term.
Being able to get 100 million Shendian in a short period of time was definitely preferential treatment, normal commercial loans were definitely not this fast.
……
Money is the hero’s guts, the Russians who got the money, completely let go of their hands and immediately conscripted troops throughout the country.
At the Winter Palace, Alexander II was listening to his son’s return. Unable to obtain support from Britain and France, Alexandrovich’s trip to Europe naturally came to a hasty end.
“Are you saying that Britain, France and Austria conspired to make us lose both?”
There was no need for Alexander II to be surprised, the current situation was already beyond his prior expectations.
Originally Alexander II also fantasized with the British and French eased relations, can let them in the war to maintain neutrality, at least in the beginning of the war neutrality, did not think that all did useless.
Alexandrovich nodded: ”Although there is no direct evidence to prove this, but from what the three countries are doing now, it can already be seen.
The negotiations were so difficult in the front, and then an agreement was suddenly reached in the back, which is clearly abnormal.
If you analyze the time turning point of the negotiation, you will find that after Britain and Prussia reached an agreement, the Austrians suddenly made a major concession to us, no longer requiring us to pledge all of our gold.
Now it is already the end of October, at most two months time, will be winter, so short time, it is impossible to distinguish between winners and losers.
Yet the money was in place at this time, and the enemy had already begun to expand his army in a big way.
If the war is delayed until the beginning of spring next year and then breaks out again, the enemy we face will not be the hundreds of thousands we have now, but millions of well-armed troops.”
The Russian army has a certain advantage in winter warfare, but this advantage needs to be divided into time and place.
It is an advantage when the home front is on the defensive, and the situation is different when you want to take the initiative to launch an attack.
Not all winters, everywhere, were as cold as in Russia, at least not cold enough in the Polish regions.
After wandering for a few steps, Alexander II laughed to himself, “It doesn’t matter, overall it’s still in our favor.
It seems that the effects of our last defeat have not yet worn off, and the Austrians are not looking at us favorably, fearing that we will be defeated.
This is a good thing, and this judgment will cause the Vienna government to increase its support for us up front. If we can utilize this opportunity to hit the enemy hard this winter, the situation will be very different.”
After many years of empire, Alexander II had matured into a competent monarch. Being able to look for a favorable aspect in the shortest amount of time and trying to magnify that advantage.
The Pupo Confederation did not have a strong base, and it would only take one failure to be badly damaged. If it was hit hard, it would definitely not be able to slow down for a winter.
In contrast, the Russian Empire’s advantage was much greater, and with its demographic advantage, even if it suffered a defeat, one winter would be enough to recover.
Crown Prince Alexandrovich wanted to say something, proposing a conspiracy between Britain, France and Austria to prevent the outbreak of war, however, reality told him it was impossible.
The power of hatred is immense, even with the knowledge of this news, it did not shake Alexander II’s determination to wage war.
Deep down, Alexander II did not want to start the war at this time. But he had no choice, and neither did the Russian Empire.
If they don’t do it now, when the enemy is ready, their chances of victory will be even lower.
The Russian Empire is too big, several major railroad lines have been built, short-term transportation can not be significantly increased again, however, the opposite enemy can. With another year or two of delay, the railroad network within the Pupo Federation was connected.
……
Minister of War Paradru Wald: ”Your Majesty, we are ready for war, we are just waiting for your order to launch the attack.
As of yesterday afternoon, we have mobilized one million six hundred and eighty thousand troops, a number that is still increasing at a rate of one hundred and fifty thousand per month, of which eight hundred and twenty thousand have already been assembled on the border.
The front line is fully stocked with all strategic materials, enough to support one million troops for half a year.
Moreover, we have also stockpiled a large amount of food in the major cities along the way, which can be deployed nearby to minimize the logistical pressure.”
There was no doubt that in this war the Russians were much better prepared than in the previous one. A large amount of strategic materials were shipped to the front line for storage in advance, so that there would not be a logistical dilemma such as armies as soon as the war started.
Alexander II’s reforms proved not to be in vain. In contrast to before, the efficiency and execution of the tsarist government was greatly improved.
The saying that war makes people grow is true. After being beaten once, the Tsarist government, in the midst of stumbling, hardened a wartime mobilization mechanism.
How effective it is, this still needs to be tested. But even more garbage mobilization mechanism, but also better than the original directly pull serfs on the battlefield.
After a few moments of contemplation, Alexander II made a decision: “Shame can only be washed away with blood, since it is ready, then declare war!”
……
At the same time that the Tsarist government decided to start the war, the war machine of the Pupo Federation was also running, and the top management of the Berlin government was meeting around a roughly ten-square-meter sand table.
A year earlier, Field Marshal Mauch had resigned as Prime Minister and returned to serve on the General Staff.
Mauch, who took up the baton, was much better than being Prime Minister. In fact, for so many years as prime minister, he was still busy with army construction most of the time, and rarely asked about political issues.
In itself, he, the prime minister, is the result of the compromise of the interests of all parties, personal ability is instead the least important.
Prussia was a country owned by the military, and the Pupo Federation inherited this very well. The military has a very large voice in politics, without the open Bismarck, there is no one who can suppress this group of proud soldiers.
William I is not bad ability, but as a king, it is impossible to do everything personally, can only find a way to play a balance in politics.
While pointing on the sand table with his baton, Mauch explained, “Your Majesty, look at the blue flags are the force divisions of the Russian army, and the enemy has deployed about eight hundred thousand troops along the border line.
This is just the beginning, the enemy has also hoarded a large number of troops in the rear, ready to reinforce the front line.
It was now October, not far from winter. It was almost impossible to defeat the enemy in a short period of time by trying to fight a quick battle.
The staff plans to launch an attack from the Polish region before winter descends, aiming to take the battle to the Dnieper River and cut off the enemy’s water transportation routes.”
The Dnieper River originates in the southern foothills of the Valdai Hills and flows southward through Belarus, Ukraine, and into the Black Sea. Most of the river is navigable and has a very high strategic and economic value.
Through this water lifeline, the Russians could directly transport supplies from Austria, to the Russian troops at the front.
In the last war, it was also after the Prussian army cut off this water lifeline, which increased the pressure on the Russians’ transportation, that the Russian army on the front line fell into the predicament of insufficient supplies.
……
(End of chapter)