Chapter 715: The Faded Halo
Chapter 699 The Faded Halo
The change in the battlefield of Poho caused Franz to pay close attention. Despite not believing that the Pupo Federation would be able to roll over, this thing called war was something that no one could really say for sure.
If you open a history book, you will know that records are created by people. The classic cases of winning with less in ancient and modern times:
The Battle of Julu, the Battle of Weishui, the Battle of Guandu, the Battle of Red Cliff, the Battle of Yiling, the Battle of the Interfluve, the Battle of the Salamis Sea, the Battle of Issus, the Battle of Agincourt, the Battle of Crecy ……
There are just too many of them, and the victors in these classic battles all have a common characteristic – “famous generals”.
Although the Prussian army was at a disadvantage, it was not without a fighting chance, and with Mauch as a talented commander, there was a real possibility of victory.
Franz’s fears did not last long before he was convinced of himself. The reason was very simple: “Mauch had only one, whereas Ivanov was capable of mass production.”
In the army, “fools and geniuses” were in the minority, and most of the officers were ordinary people. As long as the commander-in-chief doesn’t mess with them, and they are allowed to fight a dull war, there is no problem.
If Mauch could count on the Fourth Army, could he count on every division and regiment below him?
Stretching thousands of miles of front, most of the time is the following division, regiment level officers command, the Prussian army officer quality is slightly higher, this high also by the Russian army’s strength advantage to erase.
The commander-in-chief can only be in the middle of the scheduling command of the big battles, inside the small battles or to these ordinary officers on the decision to win not only the command, the quality and quantity of soldiers is also a key factor.
The quality and quantity of soldiers is also a key factor. Accumulating small victories can also be a big victory, when playing steadily and steadily, the test is more or more strength.
The Russians launched three major battles at the same time, Mouche, no matter how good he was, could only take care of one battlefield. The kind of half-knowledge of the situation on the front line, hiding in the rear of the command, will be able to achieve victory is a “myth”.
Without the ability to calculate, do not understand the real situation on the front line, how can the precise deployment of troops?
Some people may say that they can understand the situation on the front line through the information reported by the “telegraph”, but in fact it is not realistic at all, and there are many things that can only be understood by going to see them in person.
The army is made up of people, where there are people there are rivers and lakes, where there are rivers and lakes there are disputes, mixed with the interests of all parties in the telegram, in fact, has covered up a lot of things.
Franz asked, “Albrecht, the Russians this is to abandon the Fourth Army?”
It wasn’t that Franz couldn’t see it, the problem was that it was unbelievable that more than 100,000 troops would just give up.
Let’s put it this way, a single Fourth Army can be ranked in the top ten of the world’s armies, and in all of Europe there are only four countries, France, Austria, Russia, and Prussia, with standing armies of more than 200,000 men.
Albrecht shook his head and replied, “Yes and no! One can only say that Ivanov made the best choice.
Strategically, the most important thing for the Russian army right now was to launch a southern offensive and not to leave the Prussian army time to prepare.
If the southern front offensive is abandoned in order to rescue the Fourth Army, the key to deciding the victory of this war comes to the Warsaw battlefield, which is precisely what Mauch wants most.”
After a pause, he picked up his baton and made a point on the map, “Your Majesty, you see here is Warsaw, right in the center of the battlefield.
Before this, the Russians did not prepare for a duel here, and did not stockpile supplies around Warsaw beforehand, so once the main force of the Russian army converges, logistics will become a big problem.”
Franz nodded, Warsaw being at the center of the battlefield was strategically significant, and the Pupo Federation had long ago operated it as a fortress city.
It was just as well that the defenses were perfect, the key was that the Russians’ logistical lines had become longer. To the north by the Baltic Sea, to the south there is Austria, supply is easy, only the Warsaw region to go by land transportation.
In normal times, it was just a matter of time, the key is that winter is coming, the Russians no matter how much to rush supplies, but also impossible to support the consumption of millions of troops.
There was nothing to be done, the Fourth Army was besieged and the Vistula River had fallen into the hands of the Prussians, the only waterway could not be counted on.
Even if we take it back, it’s easier to destroy than to build. It’s too easy to do some damage in the river and make it impassable for ships.
Albrecht: “In addition to strategic needs, the Prussian army may also use the Fourth Army as a bait to lure the surrounding Russian army to come over, to surround the reinforcements.
Ivanov was very cautious with his troops and always preferred to play it safe, this kind of high-risk battle had always been something he deliberately avoided.
Now it seems to give up the Fourth Army, in fact, he has already begun to rescue, but only in a roundabout way.
The Russian army from the east and north direction to attack Warsaw, will inevitably hold back a large number of Prussian troops, a short period of time Mauch did not have more troops to use to encircle the Fourth Army.
While maintaining the encirclement network, the Prussian army really can put into the front line of combat, not much more than the Fourth Army.
As long as the commanders of the Fourth Army are not stupid, stabilized the heart of the army, there is no danger of annihilation for a while.
Yesterday, the Tsarist government just leased a hundred transport blimps from us, supposedly to supply the Fourth Army.
If all of these blimps are given to the Fourth Army, they will be able to drop about a hundred tons of supplies a day, and with the supplies they carry themselves, with luck, they will be able to sustain them until reinforcements arrive.”
The Russians have to be admired for their “morale”. Being besieged is not a problem at all, as long as they can ensure that there are enough supplies, the woolly bears have the strength to fight.
Perhaps influenced by the special culture of Russia, or perhaps the soldiers are very nervous, the Russians in this aspect of the performance, fully worthy of the title of “fighting people”.
Even so, Albrecht was still not optimistic about the Fourth Army. The reason was self-evident and theoretical: the Prussians could not have watched the Russians transporting the troops without doing anything about it.
It was not clear how much material could be delivered in the end, given the enemy’s obstruction.
Of course, being blocked was not terrible. These days the power of anti-aircraft fire is limited, and as long as the airships don’t make a fool of themselves and play low-flying, they are not that easy to be shot down.
The best way is for airships to deal with airships, however, it takes time for airships to start up, unless they just happen to crash into each other, or else they will have already run away when you take off.
Against this background, “luck” became the key to deciding the fate of the Fourth Army. However, placing one’s hopes on luck is in itself a sign of unreliability.
“Ivanov had already made his move, so what was Mauki thinking at this time? It’s not like he’s going to make such a big deal over just a Fourth Army, is it?” Franz asked suspiciously
Albrecht waved his hand and replied with some difficulty, “Your Majesty, you are too high on Mauch. No matter how strong his abilities are, he is just an ordinary person.
No matter how powerful his layout is, it will only work if the Russians are willing to fall for it. Ivanov is very steady with his troops, and no matter how many decoys he puts out, he remains indifferent.
Plotting and scheming can’t play a role, in the end it is strength that decides whether the war is won or lost. As long as the Russians didn’t make a fool of themselves, winning the war was almost a certainty.
Mauch wanted to turn the tide, only in the battlefield quickly win the Warsaw battle, and then quickly send troops to cut off the Russians southern army’s back road, and once again to carry out the war of siege and annihilation.
With all due respect, militarily this was almost impossible to implement. The Russians aren’t stupid, the Warsaw battlefield doesn’t need a duel at all, just stall for time and wait for the Southern Front Raiders to make a breakthrough.”
Franz asked uncertainly, “Is there?”
Albrecht nodded with great certainty. This question is sort of a common problem for travelers, who are more than a little wary of historically famous figures.
In the original time and space, Mou Qi was held up as a god, Franz heard too much, so that it left an impression of “invincibility”.
Although after the crossing, the celebrities see more, this impression faded a lot, the bottom of the heart of the fear is still not dissipated.
Naturally, Albrecht did not know these things. He could not understand Franz’s excessive attention.
After thinking about it, Franz said perfunctorily. It might be that I’ve read too many newspapers from the Pupo Federation, they touted it too much and got influenced.”
……
As a bystander looking at the Prussian-Russian war, there were loopholes everywhere, both Prussian and Russian sides were riddled with problems, and the mistakes made were even more numerous.
However, this is all an outsider’s view. There was actually a lot to learn from this war.
The greatest impact on Europe is the training of military personnel, and the Prussian-Russian War was also a watershed in the training of military personnel.
Prior to this, when European countries cultivated military talents, in addition to grassroots officers, they all ran in the direction of cultivating famous generals.
However, “famous generals” is something that can be encountered but not sought, the element of chance is too large. The most troublesome thing is that no one knows what kind of goods they are until they have been tested in battle.
The Russo-Prussian War told the world that in the era of hot weapons, the “aura of famous generals” is fading, and strength is the key to win or lose the war.
“Famous generals” can indeed improve the chances of victory, but after the scale of the war rose to millions, the role of individual strength on the battlefield is too small.
Especially for a big country like Austria, it would be better to cultivate millions of steady generals like Ivanov than to gamble on the probability of the emergence of a “Mauch-style genius”.
Quality is not enough to make up for quantity, improve the overall military quality of officers, far more valuable than training one or two “famous generals”.
(End of chapter)