Chapter 186: Ideal Strategy
Chapter 183 Ideal Strategy
As winter turned to summer, St. Petersburg had ended its cold and windy days, and the cozy sunlight spread in every corner of the city, warming this icy country.
Balkan Peninsula war report came, report the good news is always bureaucrats seek to enter the shortcut, the tsarist government naturally will not be an exception.
This first round of the Balkan war was a complete victory for the Russians. Even the fact that the Russian army suffered too many losses at the Battle of Razgrad, which added a blemish to the battle, did not dampen the hearts of the officials to report the victory.
In the battle reports received by Nicholas I, of course, it does not appear that the Russian army suffered losses. The officers at the front made a sweeping reference to the losses of the Ottoman army and added to it what appeared to be a great victory.
After receiving the news, Nicholas I held a banquet in the Winter Palace that night to celebrate the victory, but unfortunately, the ministers were thousands of miles away and missed the glory that belonged to them.
The Russians had reason to rejoice, the first round of the Battle of Bulgaria had seen them win a major victory, pushing the front forward by over a hundred kilometers.
Beginning with the capture of Ruse, the Russians attacked the Ottoman army with a total force of 280,000, defeating nearly half a million Ottoman and 50,000 French troops.
At the cost of only 45,000 casualties, they annihilated more than 53,000 enemy troops and captured more than 38,000 prisoners.
Defeating twice as many enemies with half as many soldiers, and exchanging the casualties of 45,000 soldiers for the enemy’s losses of 91,000 men, including more than 10,000 French troops, was a great victory any way you look at it.
The contribution of the Bulgarian guerrillas was passed over, and their casualties were naturally ignored. Anyway, the battle was won, the specifics of the Tsarist government did not care. It was useless to care, and deception had penetrated into every corner of the Russian Empire.
Since the Ottoman army claimed to be 500,000 troops, they defeated 500,000 troops, the actual enemy strength data, naturally, was decisively ignored.
……
After the celebration party, Nicholas I once again returned to the main topic. It was not good news that the French had sent troops into the war.
Although the Tsar’s government had been considering the possibility of the British and French entering the war since the British and French fleets seized the Black Sea, the fact that it had actually happened now still made them feel uncomfortable.
Perhaps the officers at the front are still a little bit of integrity, or perhaps they know that the war will continue, they still have to fight with the French, but also afraid to put themselves in the hole.
At the end of the battle report, they still focused on describing the French threat.
To summarize, if not 50,000 French troops suddenly appeared on the battlefield, this Bulgarian battle is the end of the Ottomans.
Without French reinforcements, it would not have taken long for His Greatness the Tsar to parade in Constantinople. Therefore to these evil Frenchmen, His Majesty the Great Tsar must be on his guard.
Nicholas I said smilingly, “Gentlemen, the French have really sent troops to the war. From London came the news that not long ago the British parliament also passed a resolution to send troops to the war.
From now on, we have added two more enemies. Britain and France are not as easy to deal with as the Ottomans, and this war has not yet come to an end.
What should be done in the latter battle, and what ideas you have, you may speak freely.”
With a big victory on the front line, Nicholas I was in a good mood. Even if he knew that Britain and France entered the war, his heart was angry, but he didn’t burst out, he was confident about winning this war.
Strong men always have to maintain their poise, especially when victory is assured.
It is not an exaggeration to say that the Russians really had the strength in terms of the apparent strength of their land forces. At least in terms of population, the Russians have it.
The total population of Russia in 1852 was between 65 and 76 million, more than the combined population of Britain and France, the British Isles had a total population of about 28 million, and France had a total population of about 36 million.
(There’s no way around it, the Tsarist government didn’t have a population census in this era, and the data on the sources varies widely)
The Ottoman Empire had been automatically ignored by Nicholas I. The Battle of Bulgaria had exposed the fact that the Ottoman army was not up to fighting.
In the later wars, the Ottoman Empire was about to be reduced from a leading role to a supporting role, and Britain and France were the new main force in the war.
“Your Majesty, since Britain and France have jumped in, let’s make the Balkans their grave and let them know who is the world’s number one army power.
Now we should immediately reinforce the front line and destroy the Ottoman Empire and recapture Constantinople in one fell swoop.” Minister of War Ase Nicholas said with a murderous voice
In the Near East and the British and French duel, the Russians can not take advantage of anything, nor will they suffer too much loss, geographically everyone is half a catty.
The Russians have gained the support of Austria and can transport supplies through the Danube River, and Britain and France also have the sea to transport supplies, and the logistical link is considered to be a tie between everyone.
Increase the front line is inevitable, won the battle, the Russian army to pay the loss is not small, the war to continue certainly need reinforcements. Commanders on the front line have already requested reinforcements from home.
“Your Majesty, due to a prior estimation error, not anticipating that Britain and France would directly enter the war, we have hoarded a large amount of strategic materials in the Ukrainian coastal ports.
Now that the sea route is blocked, we can only transport the supplies by land. With the current situation, we are only able to supply thirty percent of the frontline army’s supplies, and the rest will have to be procured from Austria.
Our finances are under a lot of pressure, and even though Austria has given us a war loan of one hundred million guilders, it won’t be able to support us for much longer.” Minister of Finance Aristotle Rohde reminded
In order to supply the troops fighting on the front line, the Russians had to purchase a large amount of strategic materials from Austria, and if they continued to increase their troops on the Balkan front, the military expenses would have to continue to increase.
It’s not that Arestanlilord was opposing the troop increase, he was just bringing up the issue to avoid making plans blindly, lest he would be embarrassed if he didn’t have the money to fight the war when the time came.
One hundred million Austrian guilders seems a lot, in fact, to the battlefield is simply a drop in the bucket, now the total number of Russian troops in the Balkans has exceeded three hundred thousand.
A Bulgarian battle, the Russian army lost 45,000 people, even if the gray livestock is no longer valuable, but also to write off a pension out.
When the battle is won, the reward is also inevitable, these still need money.
Weapons and ammunition consumed on the battlefield, damaged weapons and equipment need to be replaced, these are all money.
Even if there is no war, these 300,000 troops spend more than 4 million guilders per month just on food, drink, and sleep. It’s not that the Russian army’s standards are high, but the cost of transporting supplies is high during wartime, and once the fight is over it’s even more expensive.
A Bulgarian war, the Russian army has knocked out thousands of tons of ammunition, the average down to the daily consumption of nearly 100 tons of ammunition, light this one is tens of millions of guilders of expenditure.
So many messy expenses together, a Bulgarian battle that lasted more than a month, the Russian army’s military expenditure will not be less than 40 million guilders, which has not been calculated salary expenses.
The main funding of the war, or to the Russians themselves to find ways to solve, the Austrian loan can only be used as compensation, the Ministry of Finance naturally under pressure.
Nicholas I nodded, preparing for the war in advance was still effective. At least in 1852, the tsarist government did not have to worry about the financial problems.
If the war continued, that was not necessarily the case. The cost of war in the age of hot weapons had far exceeded that of the age of cold weapons.
“Then we should find a way to have a quick war and try to defeat the enemy within the year, without giving Britain and France a chance!
My Minister of War, how many more reinforcements are needed to end the war within the year?” Nicholas I asked with concern
After pondering for a half a work, Ase Nicholas slowly replied, “Your Majesty, at least 300,000 additional troops are needed, and it would be best to have 400,000 additional troops just to be on the safe side.”
In fact, Ase Nicholas heart also has no bottom, the battlefield above the ever-changing, the strength of Britain and France is not weak, there is also a liver of the Ottoman Empire, who knows how many armies to be able to end the war in a short period of time?
But since His Majesty the Tsar asked, he had to answer, or else he would look incompetent.
Ase Nicholas is still a bit of a class act, he doesn’t see the Russian army being able to end the war within the year, and directly states a number that is impossible to do.
By previously committing 300,000 troops in the Balkans, the Russian Empire had done its best. If this number is doubled, the soldiers Russians are not short of, but the logistical supply is finished.
Even with Austria, it would be difficult for the two countries to secure an army of 600,000 to 700,000 troops to fight in the Balkans.
This is not a lack of supplies, but the transportation can not support. If we were to fight in the Danube Valley, the logistic supply could still be guaranteed.
But as the war goes on, the Russian army’s supply line is getting longer and longer, the distance from the Danube River is also getting farther and farther, the need to rely on animal transportation and manpower shoulder and back distance also increased, the pressure of logistical supply is naturally greatly increased.
Nicholas I was not a military buff, the words of the Minister of War came out, he knew that want to end the war within the year is impossible.
Britain and France have sea power in, even if the Russian army occupied the Balkans, as long as they are willing, can still land at any time, want to end the war that is so easy?
Moreover, although the Ottoman Empire is rotten, but the rotten ship still has three pounds of nails, life and death outbreak of combat power, should not be underestimated.
Foreign Minister Carl Worcel said with a very good eye: “Mr. Ase, the reality does not allow us to invest so many troops in the Balkans, this plan looks feasible, but in fact there is no operability.
If we cannot win the war in the Balkans, can we not make a breakthrough in the Caucasus?
A victory in either direction could deal a blow to the confidence of the Ottoman Empire. As long as this rotten empire collapses, we will have won this war.”
A breakthrough in the Caucasus, no problem there! It’s just that after you’ve conquered one hill, there’s the next one.
Persevering with their efforts, as fast as three to five years, as slow as ten to eight years, as long as they were persistent, sooner or later, they would be able to grind down the Ottoman Empire.
The prerequisite was that the Tsarist government could sustain itself and not get itself into trouble before the war was over.
Although the reality is cruel, but the ideal should still be there.
While launching the Battle of Bulgaria, the Russians did not neglect the Caucasus, only because of the geographical constraints, the energy invested over there was smaller.
As the situation in the Balkans continues to deteriorate for the Ottoman Empire, the Sultan’s government will certainly have to draw a large number of reinforcements from Asia Minor, and then the number of troops that can reinforce the Caucasus will be reduced.
This was likewise an opportunity for the Russians. It is difficult to fight from the Caucasus all the way to the Bosphorus, but it may not be impossible to fight to Asia Minor.
Successive defeats on the front line of any country would affect domestic stability, let alone the corrupt Ottoman Empire.
With the influence of the Russians among the Orthodox Christians, coupled with the unpopularity of the Ottoman Empire, it didn’t seem too difficult to orchestrate a few national uprisings in the midst of constant defeats on the front lines.
In case the national uprisings were successful, the Ottoman Empire would be at the end of its life. Without this groundswell of support, it would be a fool’s errand for Britain and France to defeat Russia in the Near East.
Since this is idealism, it is natural that perfection cannot be pursued. As long as it was theoretically feasible, it was enough, and Nicholas I readily approved Karl Worcel’s proposal.
Success is certainly the Tsar’s wisdom, but if it fails, the big deal is to lose a batch of gray livestock, Russia is the least short of people.
Low-risk high-reward thing, Nicholas I has no reason not to do.
(End of chapter)