Chapter 721: The Human Heart
Chapter 704 – The Human Heart
After the news of the Battle of Warsaw spread, the Russian command was in a sad state. Warsaw region of the good situation once lost, the tsarist government within the advocate to give up the north-south war, reinforcement of Warsaw’s call is getting higher and higher.
On the day he received the battle report, Ivanov returned to St. Petersburg by train and had a secret talk with Alexander II overnight.
No one knows the exact content, but in any case, the internal storm in Russia was suppressed by Alexander II’s intervention.
Settled the internal strife, Marshal Ivanov’s sight once again returned to the battlefield, looking at the casualty data in his hands, sighed deeply.
“Order the Fourth Army to retreat, there is no need for them to remain there now.”
A great outpouring of kindness perhaps, but more than that, there was no need for it anymore. Originally Ivanov was counting on the Fourth Army to hold back the main force of the Prussian army and buy time for the Russian army.
Now that the Fifth Army had been crippled in formation and the Seventh Army had suffered heavy losses, even with the arrival of the Third and Sixth Armies, the Russian Army had lost the ability to surround the main body of the Prussian Army.
At this point, there was no need for the Fourth Army to be sacrificed. Even if he looked at them with displeasure, Ivanov had to consider the political repercussions of the total destruction of the Fourth Army.
The middle-aged officer reminded, “Marshal, according to the intelligence coming from the front, the Fourth Army has already lost its main force, and the total strength in General Obodo’s hands is only less than 30,000 people left, so I’m afraid that I want to break out ……”
Ivanov did not have the good sense to say, “There is not so much to be afraid of! The main forces of the Prussian army are in Warsaw, the total strength of the enemy is so many, Mauch is not God, he can not change the army.
Most of those who surrounded the Fourth Army were look-alikes, and it was only that fool Obodo who didn’t realize that the enemy’s main force had left; if he had been a different man, the situation wouldn’t be so bad now.”
Dump!
When you lose a battle, someone needs to be held accountable. The top brass of the Fifth and Seventh Armies, as the parties involved, definitely couldn’t get away with it.
Now there is no accountability, let them continue to command the troops to wear the blame, that is the war needs, after the war the tsarist government will still liquidate the merits and demerits.
As the commander-in-chief of the Russian army, Marshal Ivanov also needs to take responsibility. This is the time to take the blame, and Obodo is the unlucky man.
Of course, Obodo was not wronged. If not for his unauthorized action, disrupted the overall deployment of the Russian army, there is no this Warsaw defeat.
……
Since the opening of the Battle of Warsaw, Franz was paying close attention. Have to admit that this battle, the Prussian army played very beautifully, will speed to the extreme.
In contrast, the performance of the Russian army was much worse. Especially in coordination, the Fifth Army encountered a siege by the Prussian Army, the Seventh Army was not able to rescue them in time, and without waiting for them to react the Fifth Army was finished.
If the Russians reacted a little faster or were a little more alert, the Fifth Army and the Seventh Army were able to work closely together to provide timely reinforcements, and the Prussian army did not have such an easy time trying to win.
Chief of Staff Albrecht: “Your Majesty, the Prussian-Russian war is almost over. If no miracle is born, the defeat of the Prussian-Polish Confederation has become a foregone conclusion.”
This conclusion surprised Franz. It should be realized that before the Battle of Warsaw, the conclusion given by the staff was that the Prussian-Russian chances of victory were twenty-eight to one, and now that the Prussian army had won the Battle of Warsaw, not only did it not increase the chances of victory, but it decreased them.
Franz asked: “Why? The Prussian army won the Battle of Warsaw, they should increase the chance of victory is right, how will ……”
Albrecht explained, “Tactically speaking, the Warsaw Battle of the Prussian Army won very beautifully, reversing the unfavorable situation in the Warsaw area in one fell swoop.
But strategically it’s not the same, after the Battle of Warsaw the Russian army lost the strength advantage in the Warsaw region, the next Russian Third Army, Sixth Army, I’m afraid that we have to be cautious, cautious again.
It was almost impossible for the Prussian army to find a chance to encircle the remaining Russian army. With Ivanov’s style, the next Russian army most likely will not take the initiative to launch an attack, but hang on to the Prussian army from afar.
The Russian Third and Sixth Armies, together with the remnants of the Seventh and Fifth Armies in front of them, still totaled up to 600,000 troops. Want to defeat them, simply not overnight can be accomplished.
The battle in front, the Prussian army is not without losses, Mauch’s hands are afraid that the strength of the Russian army and the difference. Want to split troops to reinforce other battlefields, it is also very difficult to do so.
Once the Prussian army is divided, these Russian troops will immediately pounce on them and seize the Warsaw region.
Mauch didn’t dare to give up the Warsaw region, losing the Warsaw region will also lose Poland. Neither the political nor the military repercussions were something the Berlin government could afford.
Before the war, the General Staff judged that the Prussian-Polish Confederation’s two-point chance of victory, that is based on the premise of the Warsaw Battle of the Prussian Army’s total victory, Mauch must take out the Russian Third Army and Sixth Army together.
Under normal circumstances, this would have been an almost impossible task. Mauch should have realized that there was no certainty, and that’s why he moved ahead and didn’t give the Russians time to build up their forces.”
Militarily speaking, Mauch was definitely right. When the Russians had gathered their forces, they would not be able to eat it even if it was delivered to their doorsteps, and striking first was undoubtedly the most correct choice.
The right choice is not equal to the final victory, the gap in strength is not something that can be made up by individuals.
If you just consider the military, now give up the Warsaw region, first finish off the southern front of the Russian army, and then come back to the decisive battle is the best choice.
In reality, this could not be done at all. There are still a large number of Polish soldiers in the Prussian army, and if Mauch dares to abandon Warsaw without a fight, the Polish soldiers are going to mutiny.
Finance Minister Karl questioned: “I’m afraid this may not be possible! The Prussian-Polish Commonwealth has been fully mobilized, many retired veterans have rejoined the army, and students from the military academy have graduated early and entered military service.
These newly formed troops are under-trained and their combat effectiveness is worrying, but they can always be used to defend the city and stall for time.”
Albrecht nodded, “Berlin may be able to hold, but Poznan definitely cannot. At this point in the war, the Poles can no longer be relied upon.
The Russians have naval superiority in the Battle of East Prussia, and the Prussians have no chance of winning, so defeat is only a matter of time.
The Prussian-Polish Commonwealth can’t afford to lose, wherever the Russians break through, the Prussian army in the Warsaw area will become a lone army.”
The human heart is the most complicated and loyalty has a price.
People preferred to believe what they saw rather than what the government said. Who would believe the government when they say that persistence is victory when the Russians are all over the city?
The Pupo Federation has only been in existence for a few years, and national loyalty hasn’t had time to develop at all. When people’s hearts are in turmoil, they are “birds of a feather flock together” and fly apart in times of trouble.
The Czarist government had ruled Poland for more than a day or two, and was not without roots in the region. It was only natural that the capitalists and aristocrats would have secret dealings with the Russians for their own interests.
……
After a little thought, Franz made a decision: ”Since the big picture has been decided, we should not interfere. Let the Immigration Department get ready for a new wave of immigrants that is about to break out.
This time the immigrants are unusual, there are a large number of retired soldiers in them, it is important to do a good job of screening them, so as not to let extremists mix in.”
There is no way, these days the European thought world is a mess, all kinds of ideas run rampant, of which more than eighty percent are empty idealism.
Especially the war-torn areas were high in all kinds of extremist ideas. Austria absorbed immigrants in order to develop the colonial economy, not to test new ideas.
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
……
(End of chapter)