Chapter 188: The Time of the Test Has Arrived
Chapter 185 – The Time for a Test Has Come
Franz didn’t like to play intrigue, but unfortunately strength didn’t allow it.
Just like now, for example, counting on Britain, France and Russia is clearly a yang conspiracy, I do not know how it turned into a conspiracy.
There is often only a thin line between conspiracy and yang conspiracy, and there is no which one is the strongest, the most suitable is the best.
If someone had told Nicholas I about Franz’s plan, what would have been the result?
The answer is: nothing would have happened and Nicholas I would have just laughed it off.
It is normal for nations to use each other, and for them to make calculations about each other. Don’t be silly, there is no such thing as close cooperation.
Mature politicians look at what their allies do and what the results will be, weighing the pros and cons to determine the relationship, not what their allies are thinking.
That’s why you have to be on the level to pit your teammates, and if you’re not on the level enough to be pitched by your teammates in return, don’t cry, there are many more days of being pitched behind you!
For example, now Franz is pitting the Russians, but in reality, as long as Austria fulfills its obligations as an ally, then it is Russia’s staunchest ally, and Russian-Austrian relations will not be affected.
Even now when Franz tells Nicholas I that Austria is going to send troops to help, the Russians won’t be the least bit surprised, but rather more likely to be shocked.
Sharing the spoils of war as much as one contributed was the basis of the Russian-Austrian alliance. Once the distribution of benefits became unbalanced, the alliance would have no value of existence.
The Russo-Austrian alliance was a covenant of equals without any affiliation. If Austria, after fulfilling its obligations as an ally, took on more obligations, the final distribution of the spoils of war would naturally change.
The Russians did not need Austrian reinforcements for the war in the Balkans, and the Tsarist government was not a lover of gray animals. It is impossible to take the benefits in order to reduce the casualties of soldiers on the front line.
Strategically, the best route for Austria to take if they attacked the Ottoman Empire would be exactly the same as the Russians are taking now.
It’s a logistical decision, relying on the Danube basin to transport strategic supplies and killing Bulgaria from the lower Danube plains is much better than going over the ravines from Bosnia-Herzegovina or Serbia.
What determined the outcome of this war was not how much Ottoman territory was captured, but whether Constantinople could be taken.
As long as the Russians captured Constantinople, the British and French navies had no choice but to withdraw from the Black Sea Straits, or else they would be caught in a trap if the Russians blocked the Bosphorus.
After mastering the Black Sea sea power, you can sea transportation logistics supplies, with the national strength of Russia and Austria, to support millions of troops in the Balkan Peninsula fighting problem is not big.
Unlike now, no matter how hard the Russian army into the Balkan Peninsula troops, up to four or five hundred thousand, and then more do not need to fight the enemy, the logistics of dragged to death.
Replacing the Austrian army in the past, this number will have to be reduced by at least a quarter.
Gray livestock claimed to be the cheapest army in Europe, not without reason. Their demand for logistical supplies is the lowest of all the armies of the powers.
Backward weaponry and fewer artillery pieces in modern warfare also meant less pressure on logistical supplies.
Was the Tsarist government short of soldiers?
If they lost a few hundred thousand, big deal, just replenish a few hundred thousand more. If the Austrian army had been involved in the capture of Constantinople, they wouldn’t have wanted the Black Sea Straits all to themselves.
National interests are very real, don’t expect allies to bring their own dry food to come over and help, there is no purpose yet.
The Black Sea is very small and the Russians have long thought of it as their own land and are not willing to share it with Austria.
How much better to follow the current alliance, the Russians could get the most out of it and pay nothing more than a bunch of gray livestock casualties, and the last thing the Tsarist government needs is people.
……
Metternich said: “Your Majesty, yesterday the Russian Minister in Vienna approached me, they intend to increase their troops in the Balkans, and hope that we can provide more war materials.
Initially, the entry of Britain and France into the war contributed to this decision of the Tsarist government. It looks like they want to show determination to the outside world by increasing their troops.”
Franz thought about it and said, “The matter of providing strategic materials is fine, as long as the Russians are willing to pay, just sell them.
Your Excellency the Field Marshal, I would like to know how many troops the British, French, and Ottoman side, are able to commit to the Balkans, and whether the Russians will be able to gain the upper hand after they have increased their forces?”
After doing some calculations, Marshal Radetsky replied, “Your Majesty, logistically speaking, the total number of troops that the Anglo-French Ottoman side can commit right now will not exceed 800,000 troops.
However, as the Russian front continues to push forward, the more troops they will be able to put in, and if it comes down to a duel along the coast, it is possible for them to put in even millions of troops.
However, this is the ideal number, to guarantee so many armies to fight, the strategic materials needed is also a big problem.
The Ottoman Empire could at most solve two or three layers of them, the rest would need to be shipped over from the British and French mainland.
Considering the cost of war, Britain and France would likely choose to arm cheap Ottoman cannon fodder to fight the Russians. Whether or not the Russians could get the upper hand on the battlefield after the increase in troops would depend on the weight of the British and French armies.
Strategically, I don’t see the Russians being able to achieve their goals. With the loss of naval power in the Black Sea, the Russian army’s supplies were largely dependent on Danube transportation.
However, as the front moved forward, the distance that had to be traveled by land increased.
In the Bulgarian duel the Russians could commit up to 500,000 troops, if they reached the Istanbul area, the Russians could only commit up to 400,000 troops.
In reality, the situation may be worse than this, after all, the Ottoman Empire has been operating in the Balkans for hundreds of years, the Russian army after the occupation of these areas, and a short period of time will be very difficult to remove their influence in the region.
The Ottomans will certainly organize guerrillas to sabotage the Russian supply lines, making it more difficult for the Russians to transport their logistics.
If a quick victory is not possible, the longer the time drags on, the lower the possibility of the Russians winning the war.”
Franz smiled slightly, this was exactly the result he wanted. The Russians who couldn’t win the war were the ones who were good allies of Austria.
It was even possible for Russian-Austrian relations to go further under the pressure of Britain and France. With a solid rear in place, Austria could plant its seeds in peace.
Now Franz expected Nicholas I’s will to be firm so that the war could last a little longer.
Successive tsars had set a good example, and the Russians had a saying, “A tsar who has not fought the Russo-Turkish War must not be a good tsar!”
The Russo-Turkish wars were usually fought for four or five years, basically once in a generation, with the exception of the last Russo-Turkish war, which started at a minimum of three years, and exceeded ten years on two occasions.
Militarily, the chances of the Russians losing are very slim. If they win, they attack, if they don’t, they defend.
When it comes to a war of attrition, it’s financial resources that the Russians can’t afford to hurt, and it’s manpower that Britain and France can’t afford to hurt.
The Maohuat lost hundreds of thousands of young men and women, and can take hundreds of thousands more out, the nobles will not care about the casualties of the soldiers; Britain and France lost hundreds of thousands of young men and women, we have to consider the domestic situation.
The Russians as long as they do not give in to defeat, give up their lives to fight, Britain and France, even if they make milk strength, there is no way to completely defeat them.
Unless Britain and France dare to attack Russia itself, from the Baltic Sea all the way to St. Petersburg, in the Near East no matter how to fight, can not take the life of the hairy bear.
This also means that if the Russians can’t win the war in a short period of time, the deciding factors in winning the war are being tested: the Russians’ financial capacity to endure, and the British and French ability to take casualties.
After all, this war is not as serious as the World War, Britain, France and Russia are not to the point of survival, everyone is not required to fight for their lives.
Franz said coldly: “unleash our power to push one more time, the French have already been on the field, but the British expeditionary force is still at home, the stage is set, we can not let them be absent from this good show.”
John Bull’s knuckleheads were too low, and if they weren’t pushed into battle, there was no chance that the London government would have to make the same choice as Austria.
Besides, without letting the British feel the cruelty of land war in advance, how could they be made to be more peaceful in Austria’s later actions?
……
London.
Since the Ottoman Empire was defeated in the Battle of Bulgaria, it was clear that the British were not going to be able to meet the needs of the war by preparing a symbolic contribution of 20,000 troops in advance.
During the Paris negotiations not long before, Palmerston had to raise the number of British troops sent, from twenty thousand to eighty thousand.
Eighty thousand troops would have been a small problem for any major land power, able to be assembled in ten days and half a month, but not for the British.
Their pocket-sized army, totaling only a hundred thousand or so, was obviously difficult to pull so many troops out at once.
“Mr. Palmerston, why do you want to increase the number of troops out without authorization, do you know how much trouble this will bring us?” Minister of War MacShamee asked in dissatisfaction
Palmerston chestily explained, “Mr. Maximi, this is a political necessity. In the just-concluded General Assembly Battle, the Ottoman Empire suffered heavy losses, and according to our prior plans, it is no longer able to meet the needs of the war.
To curb the ambitions of the Russians, we have to put more forces over there.
The French agreed to increase their forces by another 120,000, adding to the 50,000 troops they had already put into the field, for a total of 170,000 troops. In this case, we’ll have to raise the number of troops sent over as well.
Besides, 20,000 troops on the battlefield is too dangerous, and there is a chance that the whole army will be wiped out if we are not careful.
It would be much safer if it was 80,000 armies, there’s no need to worry about being swallowed by the Russians in one bite, and your Ministry of War doesn’t have to be on edge all the time.”
Hearing Palmerston’s explanation, Maximilian’s anger grew even greater. He admitted that compared to the Royal Navy, the British Army just couldn’t hold its own.
But to despise them like this was too much. It was important to realize that the British Army’s combat power was not bad, it was only because of its small numbers that it was not ranked among the Great Powers.
“Mr. Palmerston, are you questioning the Army’s fighting ability?” Maximilian glared at Palmerston with red eyes and questioned him.
It’s fine to think about these things, but openly slapping the Army’s face is too much. The British Army’s lack of strength is a result of too little military spending, not their own lack of effort.
Realizing that he had spoken out of turn, Palmerston immediately remedied the situation by saying, “No, Mr. Maximilian. On the contrary, I am very optimistic about the Army’s fighting strength.
As the saying goes, the greater the ability, the greater the responsibility on the battlefield. If we have too few troops, it is very easy to be drilled by the Russians.”
Of this statement he himself did not believe, even in the alliance Britain contributed the fewest troops, the task of being cannon fodder would still fall on the Ottomans, how could the British army be allowed to take the risk?
Maximilian chortled, “Hmph!”
This little episode passed.
Prime Minister John Russell changed the subject, “Mr. Maximi, our allies can’t wait, how long will it take for the Army to be ready?”
John Russell was very contemptuous of the Ottoman Empire’s performance.
How to say that back in the day, it was also a great empire that hanged the entire European society, and now it was actually so easily pressed by the Russians on the ground to beat them up, it is simply a disgrace to the face of the ancestors.
Despise to despise, now we are still allies, in order to deal with the common enemy, should join forces or to join forces. Only the Ottomans in the alliance of the right to speak, once again dropped two notches.
Maximilian had been waiting for this sentence for a long time, and he replied from the side, “Your Excellency the Prime Minister, let’s expand the army!”
It was an awkward topic, because the British had been unable to get up the number of land forces due to their center of gravity being tilted towards the navy.
With over 100,000 land forces to maintain the vast colonies, how many troops were left at home?
If they drew 20,000 troops, they could still squeeze them out. If they drew 80,000 land forces, all the troops on the mainland would be taken out in one breath.
The mainland must have troops left behind, even to suppress the Irish region, but not to pull out all the troops in the country.
The number of land forces in the overseas colonies was also small and there was no possibility of drawing them out. Of course the British had a good number of colonial troops on hand, and if they could be filled up, they could be put together quickly.
John Russell rubbed his forehead, then asked, “How much are you going to expand the army?”
Maximilian replied with a smile, “Not much, our War Department’s requirements are not high, as long as we expand by another 120,000.”
Hearing this number, John Russell shook his head and said, “Mr. Maximilian, there is no problem in wanting to expand the army by 120,000, as long as you are able to convince Congress.”
Maximilian’s face flushed, if it was that easy to convince the parliament, the number of the British Army would not be so pocket-sized by now.
In this era, as the only industrialized country among the great powers, plus the world’s first colonial power, the British Empire is really rich, even if it is to raise more than 100,000 land forces, it can not be considered a problem.
Maximilian said calmly, “Mr. Prime Minister, the army’s strength is limited, and there are too many places to guard, and the total strength left in the country now is only more than 70,000 people.
It’s already a stretch to draw 20,000 troops, and if I were to draw 80,000 troops, I wouldn’t be able to make up the number even if I counted all the janitors who do odd jobs at the War Ministry.”
This was a good opportunity to expand the army, so the Ministry of War naturally wouldn’t give it up. Every expansion of the army was accompanied by a large amount of benefits arising, and it was natural for Maximilian to fight for it to the best of his ability.
“But expanding the army by 120,000 at one time is still too much, I have no way to convince the Congress, or the same sentence as just now: as long as you have the ability to convince the Congress, then there is no problem.” John Russell objected without changing his face
(End of chapter)