It turned out that the best strategy was the one that was most suitable for oneself.
Marshal Ivanov's tactics were completely standard. There was almost no bright side to be found. He would rather watch the loss of fighters than take military risks.
Encountering such a conservative enemy, even the "God of War" of Prussia, Mao Qi, couldn't do anything.
The situation on the front line didn't go according to the predetermined script. The Government of Berlin was also under a lot of pressure. All kinds of criticism kept coming out.
There were even some old generals who openly criticized Mao Qi's commanding ability and asked him to take responsibility for the failure of the Smolensk Campaign. It was as if the Prussia Army could reverse the situation with a change of commander.
Fortunately, William I wasn't a soft-hearted person and firmly supported Marshal Mao Qi. Otherwise, the Prussia Army would have to change its commander.
Purely from a tactical point of view, the Prussia Army had always won more than they lost.
Regrettably, behind the victory, there were also painful casualties. The war potential of Prussia and Russia were completely different. The Tsarist government's ability to withstand losses was three times that of the Government of Berlin.
The Prussia Federation seemed to have a population of more than 30 million, but their real combat power was the army formed by the people in the core area of Prussia.
Although the people in the Polish area also supported the war, the ethnic composition of the area was very complicated. There were many minorities, and the internal conflicts were not necessarily smaller than the external ones.
The two dimensional empire wasn't that easy to integrate. The Prussia Federation was established too recently. The Government of Berlin didn't even have time to sort out the internal conflicts, let alone unify the language.
The problems that the government couldn't solve were inevitably brought into the army. It was similar to the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the original time and space. It was a test of command and coordination.
The combat power of a single unit was 10. The combat power of two units combined wasn't 20. It became 20 * 90% * 90% = 16.2, and so on. The combat power of three units combined was 21.87. The more units combined, the faster the combat power decreased.
Mao Qi brought this group of stupid teammates to the battlefield. It was already very good to be able to achieve the current results. If it were someone else, they would probably have been beaten to a pulp.
In the Berlin Palace, there was a meeting about the future of the Prussia Federation.
"Expand the army? Or not expand the army? "
Since the beginning of the war, the Prussia Federation had been expanding the army. The total force expanded from the initial 416,000 to the current 1.668 million.
The military expansion they were discussing this time was naturally not the routine addition of more than a hundred thousand soldiers every month. Instead, it was the question of whether they should immediately carry out extreme mobilization.
It couldn't be helped. In such a large-scale war, there wasn't enough military strength.
Not all the troops could be put into the battlefield. Most of the expanded troops were new recruits, and they needed to undergo the necessary military training.
After the training was completed, it did not mean that these soldiers could all go to the battlefield. Logistics needed to be maintained, coastal areas also needed to be defended by troops, and Cossack cavalry that crossed the border also needed to be encircled and suppressed.
In addition, the reinforcements also accounted for a considerable proportion of the troops. They would gradually replenish the troops that had suffered heavy losses to ensure the combat strength of the main force.
The Pu Bo Federation had 1.668 million soldiers, but only half of them could be deployed to the frontline. This ratio was already very high, which was enough to prove the organizational ability of the Government of Berlin.
Without sufficient troops, it was easy for them to suffer losses on the battlefield. Although Ivanov was conservative in the use of troops, he did not lack the ruthlessness of a general who achieved success with ten thousand dead bodies. He played the chess game crazily.
Behind the war of attrition was the fact that the Russian Empire's total military strength was about to break the three million mark. Even though the Russian army was at a disadvantage in terms of exchange, they still had the upper hand in terms of strategy due to their advantage in numbers.
…
Mao Qi: "I oppose the extreme mobilization now. War cannot be won by numbers. We will never be a match for the Russians in terms of manpower.
The disadvantageous situation on the battlefield was only temporary. The Russians seemed to have the advantage, but behind the advantage, Ivanov was facing increasing political pressure.
Victory was the easiest to lose. According to Ivanov's strategy, even if the Russians won the war, they would suffer a great loss.
Millions of casualties, and the final harvest was a piece of empty land, plus a heavy debt.
As far as I know, the Tsarist government mortgaged the Russian Balkans and most of Ukraine to Austria.
With the current strength of the Russian Empire, if they didn't want to cede these areas to Austria, they had to find a way to pay off the debt.
Ivanov's strategy seemed to be safe, but in fact, he was working for the Austrians. After the war, the Tsarist government was unable to pay off the debt and was bound to cede a large amount of territory to pay off the debt. I don't believe the Tsarist government could accept it.
As long as we win a few more battles, it seems like the situation is settled, and the Tsarist government will force Ivanov to come out and fight with us, or change people. "
The government advocated for the expansion of the army, but the head of the military opposed it. Such a strange thing was rare in the history of the world, but it really happened now.
Mao Qi was very clear that his decision would make many generals unhappy. After all, the expansion of the army was the best opportunity for everyone to be promoted.
But there was no other way, the war was very intense, and the Pu Bo army had to pay tens of thousands of casualties every month.
The extreme mobilization seemed to solve the problem of the lack of troops, but in fact, it wasn't the case at all. The Pu Bo Federation had limited manpower, and the extreme mobilization only consumed the mobilization ability in the later stages.
Originally, it was to lure the enemy deep in, create a large number of troops, and leave them at home. How could the Tsarist government let down their guard?
They didn't let down their guard and let Ivanov continue to command. The two sides had been fighting a war of attrition, and the first to collapse was the Pu Bo Federation.
Moreover, the new troops couldn't form a combat force in the short term, and they couldn't even initiate a decisive battle. Apart from increasing the consumption, it didn't help much in the war.
Foreign Minister Jeffrey Friedman: "Marshal, I admit that what you said makes sense, but don't forget that there are still international forces.
Our negotiations with the Government of London have already achieved initial results. They have already acted diplomatically, and the threat of the Nordic Federation no longer exists.
If we mobilize three million troops, the Tsarist government will have to mobilize on a larger scale if they want to maintain their military superiority.
Then how many troops will they mobilize, five million or six million?
The army is a gold-swallowing beast, and we have the financial support of England and France, so it won't be a problem to hold on for another year. How long can the Tsarist government last?
I don't think Austria will support the Russians indefinitely. They have invested enough capital, and they must consider the problem of recovering the cost.
The Foreign Ministry has already expressed goodwill to the Government of Vienna, and we have made a major concession. We will no longer seek the territory that the Russians have pledged to them, and we will support them in obtaining Constantinople.
Of course, this might not move them, but it is enough to stabilize Austria. As long as the Government of Vienna wavers, the Tsarist government will not be able to maintain their military superiority due to a lack of funds.
The enemy will lose their military superiority, and I believe that Marshal has a way to defeat them. This is much less risky than waiting for the enemy to make a mistake. "
Behind the seemingly calm scene, it was actually a game of power. According to the government's intention to expand the army and rely on the financial support of the Russians, then the protagonist of this war will be the government instead of the military.
If carefully analyzed, it will be found that there is also the shadow of the British behind this. The Government of London's sudden action gave the Government of Berlin a chance to seize the dominant position.
Mao Qi roared: "Madman! Jeffrey, you really are a madman!
You actually put your hope on the British. Do you really think that the British will always support us?
Stabilize Austria?
Ah, God!
Jeffery, you really have the guts to dream!
You want to participate in the game between England and Austria, and you want to play them in the palm of your hand. Do you think we have enough trouble? "
It wasn't that Mao Qi was pessimistic, but Jeffrey's plan was really too idealistic. Everything was based on the premise that England and Austria followed their script.
If the British didn't continue to provide loans, or if the Government of Vienna continued to provide loans to the Tsarist government because of the game between England and Austria, it would bring disaster to the Prussian Federation.
Countries were also different. The financial resources of England and Austria were not something that Prussia could compare with. As long as the benefits were big enough, it was not impossible to spend hundreds of millions to carry out a proxy war.
Jeffrey Friedman sneered. "Marshal, you're overthinking it. The risk isn't as great as you think.
If you know how much money we owe the British, you will understand why the Government of London will support us.
The principal alone is as high as 210 million pounds, and this is only the loans and bonds. We still owe the British companies 140 million pounds, and this number is still increasing at the rate of 600,000 pounds a day.
If you include the interest, we need to repay the British's debt of nearly 600 million pounds. If the creditors don't want to lose everything, they will find a way to make the Government of London support us. "
This explanation made Mao Qi dumbfounded. He never dreamed that the Government of Berlin would owe such a huge debt, let alone that there were such great benefits in debt.
Of course, the benefits were only temporary. When it was time to pay back the money, it would be their turn to cry.
After a pause, Mao Qi calmed down and asked: "What about Austria? Don't tell me that we also owe them a huge debt. "
Jeffrey Friedman smiled slightly: "Of course not. The Austrian bankers don't think highly of us at all. They lent the money to the Russians.
There is no debt impact, but there can be an exchange of interests. In international politics, as long as the interests are enough, enemies and friends can change. "
Jeffrey Friedman's confidence didn't move Mao Qi again. He just shook his head: "Count, it's time for you to wake up from your dream.
In theory, after we withdraw from the German Confederation, we can indeed make a deal with Austria to support their annexation of the German Confederation in exchange for their neutrality in this war.
But do you think we have a choice? Will the British agree? Will the French agree? "
This was the aftereffect of too much debt. The British's money was not easy to take. There were countries that took money without doing anything, but the Pu Bo Federation was not one of them.
The Government of London was now willing to support the Pu Bo Federation, in addition to fighting the Russians, but more to restrict Austria and hinder the unification of the German Region.
If he found out that the Government of Berlin wanted to compromise with Austria on this issue, it would be strange if John didn't go crazy.
The Pu Bo Federation's reserves were in London, and the Government of the United Kingdom could turn the Mark into waste paper at any time. The Government of Berlin had no choice.
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