After the beginning of spring, the battlefield in Eastern Europe was filled with smoke again. After a winter's preparation, the situation was very different.
The Government of Berlin organized the people to build a large number of fortresses in the border area, and the Cossack cavalry's movements were restricted. If they wanted to loot goods, they had to attack the fortresses.
The Cossack cavalry's combat effectiveness was based on interests. The people were prepared, and the difficulty of looting continued to increase. Many times the casualties were not proportional to the gains, and the enthusiasm of the Cossack cavalry was also affected.
The combat effectiveness of the initiative and the passive were completely different.
Although the Cossack cavalry was still dispatched, the results of the battle were getting smaller and smaller. Most of the time, they only destroyed farmland and infrastructure, and the soldiers were not willing to bite hard bones.
It was no longer the Middle Ages. As long as you had money, there were many places to buy food. Only the farmland in the border area was damaged, and the Government of Berlin could bear it.
To some extent, William I had to thank the Tsarist government. It was the ruthless methods of the Russians that forced the Poles to rely on them.
The decline of the Cossack cavalry's destructive power did not mean that the Tsarist government's scorched earth strategy had failed.
In the face of war, humans were fragile. In order to avoid the flames of war, many people in the border area dragged their families inland, and many areas became uninhabited.
It was not that the Government of Berlin did not stop them, the problem was that they could not do it. Groups of refugees ran to the rear, and it still brought a heavy economic burden to the Government of Berlin.
The coastal areas suffered the most. Most of the port cities of the Pubo Federation were reduced to ruins under the artillery fire, and a few surviving cities were also trembling.
These were only small problems. Since the Danes blocked the straits, the maritime lines of the Pubo Federation were almost cut off, and the strategic value of the port cities had been greatly reduced.
The worst thing was that the Russians had replenished the losses on the southern front, and Mao Qi's plan to capture Kiev had failed. Now the Tsarist government used the most conservative strategy to fight with the Pubo Federation.
The Pubo Army could not play to its tactical advantage by fighting steadily and simply meeting force with force. Even a famous general like Mao Qi could not reverse the development of the battlefield in the direction of the Pubo Federation.
The bad situation on the battlefield had affected the domestic atmosphere of the Pubo Federation. From time to time, there were anti-war voices. Even the most optimistic people were worried about the war.
Berlin Royal Palace
William I roared, "Up until now, we've lost 300,000 soldiers, but we've achieved very little.
You promised me that we would win the war in three months. Now, three months have passed, and another three months have passed. The third three months are about to end, and there is no sign of victory.
Who can tell me how much more we have to pay to win this war? "
It wasn't that William the First didn't have enough self-restraint. It was just that he was under too much pressure recently. The Pu Army's performance on the battlefield was far from what they had expected.
The so-called 'winning the war in three months' was actually just Maoqi's southern front plan. In theory, as long as they cut off the trade route between Austria and Russia, they would have won the war.
Unfortunately, the Russian army's combat power was much stronger than they had expected. They might not be able to compete with the Pu Army in field battles, but they had no problem defending.
There was nothing wrong with the strategic plan that Mao Qi had painstakingly designed. It was just that he had used it on the wrong target. If it were any other country, it would definitely be a huge blow to them if they killed more than a hundred thousand soldiers in one go.
Unfortunately, they encountered the Hairy Bear. The speed at which they killed the enemy was only slightly faster than the Tsarist government's reinforcements. With a winter as a buffer, the Tsarist government not only replenished their lost troops, but also increased their overall strength.
Mao Qi braced himself and replied, "Your Majesty, the Russians are completely attacking us. The Russian Army has suffered more casualties than us. If this goes on, even if the Russians can win the war, it will be a pyrrhic victory.
Now that the Russians have the upper hand on the battlefield, the Tsarist government has no need to choose a lose-lose strategy.
As long as we reveal a flaw at the right time, the Russian Army will definitely not give up the opportunity. Once the Russians adjust their tactics, our opportunity will come.
In order to win this war, I suggest that we give up some areas when necessary and lure the Russians out from their fortifications. "
It was very difficult to adjust tactics for a battle that involved millions of people and spanned hundreds of kilometers. Just the cooperation between the various troops was' touching '.
The ability to organize had always been the Tsarist government's weakness. Even after Alexander II Of Russia's reforms, the Russians' ability to organize was still slightly inferior.
On the battlefield, it was always about who made more mistakes and who made more fatal mistakes.
Now, the Russian Army was defending all the other areas except for the central line of attack. Hiding in the fortress and not coming out might not be able to seize the opportunity, but it would also not be a fatal mistake.
Mao Qi did not want to fight to the death with the Russian Army's main force in the central line. That would not be able to display the Prussian Army's mobility.
William I asked uncertainly, "You want to give up Smolinsk?"
Smolinsk had always been known as the gateway to Moscow. If they controlled it, the Prussian Army would have the initiative to attack Moscow.
After the Prussian War broke out, the Russian Army had been fighting here to ensure the safety of Moscow and avoid being divided by the Prussian Army.
Mao Qi nodded, "Your Majesty, we have tried many plans. The Russians are holed up in the defensive line and not coming out.
The losses of attacking by force are too great. It is not worth it. Other than giving up Smolinsk and letting the Russian Army in, it will be difficult to break the current stalemate in the short term. "
There was no other way. The difference in military strength between the two sides was too great. The Russian Army had launched an attack in the central line, and a large number of the Prussian Army were tied down. Mao Qi's mobility was limited.
Mao Qi, who was good at concentrating his superior forces to fight the enemy, found it impossible to do so. Especially after the Russian Army adopted the scorched earth plan, he did not dare to take the risk.
Moving troops in any direction could cause hundreds of thousands or even millions of people to become homeless.
If they could win the war, they could accept some sacrifices. The problem was that this kind of war could not be decided by one or two battles.
Annihilating tens of thousands of Russian Army and creating hundreds of thousands of refugees, it was hard to say whether it was a loss or a gain.
Since there were sacrifices to be made, it was better to do something big. If they could lure the enemy deep in and use the advantage of fighting on their own land to annihilate the Russian Army, then the losses could be accepted.
"How confident are you?"
William hesitated. This bet was on the fate of the country. If they won, they could turn the tide of the war. If they lost, the Prussian Federation would die. It was unknown if they could keep the Kingdom of Prussia.
Mao Qi calmly replied, "Give up most of Belarus and parts of Poland, put the battlefield in Warsaw, and call on the Polish people to fight against the Russian invasion. We have at least a 60% chance of winning."
War was a gamble. The Prussian Federation was already on the weaker side. A 60% chance of winning was already a high percentage.
Bam! William the First slammed the table fiercely.
"Let's do it!"
"General, follow your plan. The government will cooperate with your plan."
It wasn't that William was decisive, it was that he had no other choice. At this point in the war, no one could hold back. Prussia and Russia had to decide a winner on the battlefield.
Even if William didn't want to bet, the Juncker Nobles would make the decision for him. Just like the war in the original timeline, after the collapse of the Russian Empire, William II wanted to end the war, but the Juncker Nobles continued the war.
The current situation was pretty much the same. As the war broke out, the military's power grew, and the government became the logistics department of the military. The balance of power had long been broken.
As the king, William I had to compromise with the military.
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