Chapter 680: The Bait
Chapter 665 The Bait
God did not favor the Russians, time was on the side of the enemy. When the Russian army reported the news to St. Petersburg, it was already late at night.
Responsible for drafting the message officer, is the official old man, the first part of the introduction of the results of the battle, emphasizing the Kamenian garrison’s bravery, bravery and sacrifice, etc., to report the news on the back.
Bureaucrats on duty have just come down from the reception, not able to enjoy the heart is annoyed, a cursory look at the beginning, thought it was a telegram of merit, did not turn back.
The great victory of Kamenon was reported once two days ago, and the celebration banquet was held. The details of the second report, the importance of nature is not so high, direct queue is good, do not need to expedite.
It was not until the next afternoon, when it was reported to the head of the department, Marshal Ivanov, that the latter was discovered.
By this time it was too late, and without waiting for Marshal Ivanov to make a decision, the telegram from Brest asking for help followed.
The two urgent telegrams clashed together, and Marshal Ivanov was furious. Time is life on the battlefield, if the news had been received last night, it would have been reported immediately, and now the reinforcements had all left.
“Which asshole was on duty last night, I’ll shoot him!”
Hearing this news, the squire officer replied in panic, “Yes, Georgi.”
Upon hearing this name, Marshal Ivanov’s anger grew a few more points, “Which idiot, who arranged for this playboy to be on duty, doesn’t know that this loser is good for nothing but bad things?”
There was no way to deal with it, the relations couldn’t handle it. Even though Alexander II had purged the army, nepotism still hadn’t been able to be completely resolved.
Georgi was from a great nobleman, his father was the current Minister of Finance, and he relied on his family background to enter the army and gild the lily.
There are many similar examples in the Russian army, usually Ivanov does not care, as long as these people do not cause trouble on the line. In addition to a few talented individuals, the rest of them are usually assigned some simple jobs for “exercise”.
Without a doubt, receiving telegrams was one of them. The most important requirement for this job was reliability, and the rest of the work was simple: the telegrams were categorized according to their importance.
The great nobles were undoubtedly reliable; they were allied with the Russian Empire and would not divulge secrets to the enemy.
There was not much to do, and it was easy to mix up the credit, so naturally they were welcomed by everyone.
Seeing that no one answered, Ivanov knew that this mostly involved the big shots, so he simply stopped asking. With a slap on the table, “Immediately tell which idiot to get the hell home, I don’t want to see him appear in front of me again.”
Shooting was not an option, but driving him home was still possible. In addition to such a big thing, there was no accountability, Ivanov had already very much given face.
That is, the matter is not open now, can still be dealt with internally to keep the lid on it, or Gheorghe would be dead. In such a critical moment to fall off the chain, Alexander II will never mind making an example of him.
The valet officer replied fearfully, “Yes, Marshal.”
If someone had looked closer, they would have realized that sweat was already trickling down his forehead and his heartbeat was in the midst of accelerating.
It couldn’t be helped, the first to suffer in a divine fight were all mortals. A lot of things couldn’t withstand investigation, and once they got serious it was a bloody mess.
Marshal Ivanov still had a sense of the big picture, and knew that this was a critical moment, and there could be no problems within the government. It can only be a big deal and trivialize it.
As for the telegram, then it can only sink into the sea, as if it had never received.
……
Of course, Lt. Gen. Olivier Thornfield’s big-picture thinking was still useful, and when it was reported to headquarters, it was also telegraphed to alert the defenders in Brest.
The bureaucrats above could take it lightly, but no one at the front dared to be negligent, and even when the news was received in the middle of the night, the defenders reacted immediately.
Unfortunately, time is still too short, want to adjust the strategic deployment is already too late, preparation can only strengthen the alert, to ensure that not to be sneak attack.
From the beginning of the Prussian army, the Brest garrison has been prepared, but the defense is only a division of the Prussian army, now the enemy has doubled, the original preparation is naturally not enough.
The Battle of Brest was in full swing, the Prussians attacked at all costs, and the Russians fought in blood. Airships, cannons, and machine guns filled the entire battlefield.
The cruelty of modernized warfare was blinding. Looking at a picture that came from the front line, Franz was also shaken. Human life became worthless at this moment.
Vienna Palace, Chief of General Staff Albrecht: “Your Majesty, judging from the current situation, the Russians are going down.
The actions of the Prussian army have disrupted the Russians’ deployment, and the strategic line of defense that the Tsarist government had worked so hard on now has a glaring hole in it.
With Brest being attacked from two sides by the Prussian army, it’s anyone’s guess whether the defenders can hold out, and the Czarist government can’t afford to take that risk.
Mauch chose a very good time, the inland areas of the Russian Empire has stepped into winter, and the temperature in many places is already more than ten degrees below zero.
In this harsh climate, from the rear to reinforce Brest, the time is already too late.
In terms of time, it was fastest to mobilize troops from both flanks. Winter had not yet begun in the Ukrainian region, and it would only take three or five days to reinforce Brest.
Only then, the two flanks will become weak. No one can guarantee that the Prussian army will not do the same trick, make a bunch of cannon fodder to attract attention, the main force has already moved.
Now the Russians should have a headache, no matter how they choose, they are taking a risk. Once the wrong choice is made, the southwest battlefield is going to collapse all together.”
Collapse?
Franz shook his head, “It’s not that serious, it’s November now, even if the Prussian army captured Brest, there’s no time to keep expanding the battle.
If push came to shove, Alexander II could still cash in with the Prussians. Simply ignore the threat to the southwest and concentrate his forces on attacking East Prussia from the coast.
Even if the entire Ukraine is lost, the Russian Empire is still the Russian Empire. The territory of the Prussian-Prussian Confederation is only as big as it is, and as long as one Russian army kills its way to the rear to wreak havoc, the Berlin government will be the loser even if it wins.”
No matter how trashy the Russian Navy is, that’s still a bit better than the Pupo Federation. It was able to attack the coast of the Pupo Federation in the last war, and if it wasn’t for the fact that logistics couldn’t keep up, the outcome of the war would have been reversed.
Learn from your mistakes and you’ll be wiser.
This time, the tsarist government can stockpile a lot of supplies in St. Petersburg, did not attack the coast of the Pupo Federation, more or Berlin government prepared, deployed a large number of shore artillery.
This is a small problem, as long as the casualties are spared, it is always possible to land successfully.
Of course, the premise is that Britain and France do not pull the plug, or the Russian Navy really can not complete the task.
Frederick proposed: “In fact, the Russians have another option, after the great victory in Kamen, the local garrison’s defense pressure is greatly reduced.
If the Tsarist government dared to take a risk, it could just order the local troops to raid Warsaw regardless.
Whether it could succeed or not, it could disrupt the deployment of the Prussian army and keep their hands busy for a while. In case it succeeds, it will be a big profit.”
Franz shook his head, he had never abhorred such gambling tactics. Success was good, but what if it failed?
“Albrecht, explain it to him!”
Franz knew that he was fine with playing strategy, but his tactics really couldn’t stand up to the test, he didn’t choose to go on the field, but instead let the professionals step in.
Albrecht nodded, “Your Highness, before implementing this plan, you need to find out what kind of Russian troops guarding Kamen are.
Don’t look at their good battle record and think that they have strong fighting strength, in reality, there is too much water in it.
According to our intelligence, half of the Kamenian defenders are freshly mobilized recruits, it’s fine to let them defend and fight a smooth battle, but once they encounter a bitter battle they will immediately collapse.
If we ask them to attack Warsaw, I’m afraid that before they reach the battlefield, more than one-tenth of them will fall out in the hasty march.
Leaving aside these intrinsic factors, even if these Russian troops were all elite, the Prussian army did not intercept them halfway, they could not accomplish this task.
The population of Warsaw alone could have sent them home in defeat. The Poles, however, hate them with a passion, and such a lone army with no backup, once in, will not be able to get out.”
Frederick’s face flushed and he lost some face. The fact that such a simple problem had not been discovered was a serious blow to his self-confidence.
Franz smiled slightly, in his opinion this was a good thing. Perhaps it was because he had been in contact with more people from the staff department, Frederick had been a little overconfident lately.
As a Crown Prince, it is enough to learn about strategic layout, running to study army command, isn’t it a brain fart?
……
Kamen, Russian Army Command
Chief of Staff Larson: “Your Excellency the Commander, headquarters called, ordering us to immediately pull out two regiments to reinforce Brest.”
Lieutenant General Olivier Thornfield’s face changed drastically as he looked at the map and frowned, “Drawing off from us alone, ask if the troops are only drawn from us, or if all regions have been drawn from.”
Chief of Staff Larson: “I’ve already asked this question, including us, all nearby troops have been mobilized.
But none of them have been drawn out much, and our side should have drawn out the most troops. It’s probably because we just won a big victory and a big war won’t break out in the short term.”
Olivier hesitated, feeling that something was wrong, and he couldn’t tell what was wrong.
“In that case, carry out the order! By the way, try to find a way to travel with the neighboring troops as much as possible, it’s too dangerous to send two regiments alone.”
Prudence was Olivier’s greatest virtue, a lesson learned from the last Russo-Prussian War. Under this guiding principle, Olivier often fought dull battles.
No great victories had been won or defeats suffered, and it is reassuring to say that a general with a very steady output.
……
The command of the Prussian army on the Brest front, Mauch directly occupied the war room.
A middle-aged officer whispered, “Marshal, the Russians have moved.”
Mauch stood up, walked quickly near the sand table, and ordered, “Hans, mark out the direction of the Russian troop movements for me.”
“Yes!”
After saying that, the middle-aged officer acted quickly and completed the task very professionally.
Mao Qi revealed a delighted smile, “It’s done. Very good, we’ve already won half of this battle, how much we can achieve this time depends on whether the Russians are generous enough.
Tell Demacia that the Russians have taken the bait, and it’s up to him to eat as much as he can.
Order the 7th and 11th Divisions to intensify their attacks. From now on, attack Brest day and night to tire the Russians out.
Order the thirteenth and twenty-fifth divisions to get ready for battle; it is up to them to take Warren.”
As a militarist who specializes in external combat, Mauch’s least favorite thing is to fight offensive battles, if the Russians stay in place, both sides will fight for strength, and there will be no room for him to show his thousand skills.
Now the Russians moved, the situation has changed. Field battle in the Russian army, certainly than the fortress bunker in the Russian army to deal with much better.
Although in the early fighting, the Prussian army paid a heavy price, as long as you can mobilize the Russian army, to break the stalemate on the southwest battlefield, everything is worth it.
(End of chapter)