At the Russian Army's headquarters, Ivanov was immersed in the joy of capturing Poznan. This could be said to be the Russian Army's greatest achievement since the start of the war, and its strategic significance was no less than the recapture of Smolensk.
Poznan was located in the center of the Polish Plains, and was the most important transportation hub and industrial center between Poland and Poland.
The Russian Army's occupation of this place meant that they had cut off the main artery connecting Warsaw and the rear. The Prussian main force led by Mao Qi was about to be isolated.
A young officer hurriedly reported: "Marshal, there's news from the frontline. According to the airship's reconnaissance, a large number of the enemy left the Warsaw area yesterday, numbering in the hundreds of thousands.
The enemy's marching speed is very fast, and they are suspected to be the main force, but they did not carry heavy weapons, so we can't be sure for now. "
Ivanov was shocked, and thought to himself: "Not good, the enemy is going to escape." But then he hesitated. Mao Qi was cunning, and his tactics were often unexpected. No one knew if this was a feint.
The airship could only scout, and it was difficult to tell if it was the main force below. There were still a large number of local troops in the Warsaw area, and they had the ability to impersonate the main force.
Mao Qi had already used the same strategy in last year's Winter War. In the battle of Warsaw not long ago, the enemy had used the same trick to deceive the Russian Fourth Army.
But Ivanov was not willing to give up just like that. If he let the main force of the Prussian army go now, it would be difficult to surround and destroy them in the future.
After some thought, Ivanov made a decision: "Order the Seventh Army to immediately send cavalry into the enemy's territory to investigate, and determine if it is the main force of the enemy.
Report the news to the Eighth Army, and order them to destroy the roads and bridges that the Prussian army uses to return, and prepare to intercept the enemy's return to the west.
Order the Ninth Army to immediately head to Poznan to meet up with the Eighth Army, and carry out the interception mission together.
Order the Eleventh and Seventeenth Army to leave a small number of troops to defend, and the main force to Poznan as soon as possible to reinforce.
Order the Third, Sixth, and Seventh Armies to immediately gather, and once the enemy's main force is confirmed to have left, immediately attack Warsaw.
Order the Fourth and Fifth Armies to prepare for battle, and to reinforce the Warsaw battlefield at any time.
Order the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Armies to abandon their original mission, and cut off the enemy's contact with East Prussia. "
Ivanov was still the same Ivanov. He did not blindly order the pursuit just because the enemy might retreat.
In order to seize the time to escape, the Pu Army did not bring along any heavy weaponry. If all the cavalry divisions in the Warsaw area were sent out, the success rate of intercepting them was still very high.
The problem was, what could he do even if he stopped them?
The Russian Fourth and Fifth Armies in the Warsaw area had been crippled, and the Seventh Army had also suffered heavy losses in the previous battles, greatly reducing their combat effectiveness. The Third and Sixth Armies, which had maintained their combat effectiveness, had finished reorganizing ahead of time, and their combat effectiveness was also not at its peak.
Even if these troops caught up, they wouldn't have the strength to annihilate the Pu army's main force. Moreover, in order to pursue them, they had to get rid of the Prussian Army stationed in the Warsaw area.
Considering the risk, Ivanov would rather choose a more conservative tactic and intercept in the faraway Poznan area.
It was safe, but the success rate was pitifully low. The Polish Plains were flat and undefended. There were too many paths for the enemy to choose from.
Unless they were extremely lucky, the 8th Division would not be able to stop them. Ivanov's order for reinforcements wasn't really to intercept the Prussian main force in the Polish area. Blocking them outside of Poland was also a good choice.
Ivanov, who liked to fight steadily, didn't mind clearing out the enemies in the Warsaw area before concentrating his forces to fight the Prussian army.
…
In the Palace of Vienna, Franz spat out a mouthful of tea when he received the news that the Russian Army had occupied Poznan.
His intuition told him that there was a big problem.
It was impossible for Mao Ci not to know the strategic value of Poznan. No matter how lacking in troops, it was impossible to ignore such a strategic location.
Even if the main force was insufficient, the second-line forces had to be replenished. However, there were only three second-line infantry divisions deployed in the Poznan area, and only seven thousand of them were stationed in Poznan.
With this small number of troops, they were just short of telling the enemy that they were weak and that they should attack quickly.
Franz asked, "Albrecht, what do you think Mao Ci is trying to do? Is he trying to lure the enemy in and prepare to devour the Russian 8th Division? "
Chief of Staff Albrecht laughed, "That might be part of the reason, but it's more likely to be to preserve their strength and jump out of the Warsaw pit earlier.
The Russians have too much of an advantage, and they have no chance of winning against the Prussian Federation. If they want to turn the tables, Mao Ci can only do something unusual.
I don't know what exactly it is, but from a military standpoint, giving up Poland and lengthening the battle line against the Russians will increase the Prussian army's chances of winning.
The loss of the Poznan area was also related to historical issues. After the Congress of Vienna in 1815, the area was given to the Kingdom of Prussia, but the locals were not convinced.
To be more precise, the local capitalists, nobles, and intellectuals were very dissatisfied with the Government of Berlin.
On the surface, it was the Government of Berlin's policy of ethnic integration, but in reality, it was the Juncker nobles who occupied the majority of the government's benefits, and the latecomers didn't even get the leftovers.
During normal times, these people wouldn't cause trouble, but it's different during times of war, especially when the Russians were about to win, these losers naturally became active.
Perhaps Mao Ci wanted to pull out these hidden dangers at once, so he deliberately exposed them. "
"Draw the snake out of the hole, eliminate the dissidents."
Franz was also familiar with this kind of thing. Political struggles were always cruel, and if there was no way to turn them into their own people, then they could only be eliminated.
At this point in the war, the internal conflicts of the Prussian Federation had accumulated to a peak, and only one fuse was needed before it would explode. Since Poznan had become a hidden danger, it naturally needed to be eliminated.
Looking at the map, Franz sighed sincerely: "Mao Ci is really ruthless, giving up the hundreds of thousands of troops in the Warsaw area just like that!"
There was nothing wrong with this approach. As the saying goes, "the merciful do not command soldiers", in order to win the war, there was nothing that couldn't be abandoned.
It seemed like they gave up hundreds of thousands of troops, but in fact, the Government of Berlin didn't lose anything. At this point in the war, the hatred between the two sides was as deep as the sea, and as long as there was hope, the Poles would not surrender.
Most of these troops were locals, and it was almost impossible to annihilate them in one battle. If they couldn't completely annihilate them, even if they won, it would be very difficult to eliminate them after the war.
As long as the Government of Berlin sent people to intervene, local guerrillas would be born. Just think about the atrocities of the Cossack cavalry in the Polish area in the early stage, and you would know how much the local people hated the Russians, so there would be guerrilla warfare in the future.
Minister of Finance Carr laughed: "Your Majesty, I'm afraid Mao Ci also had no choice. There were not only hundreds of thousands of troops in the Warsaw area, but also a large number of refugees.
The war was not over, and these people couldn't return to their homes to resume production. The Prussian Federation couldn't provide so many jobs, and the Polish area could be said to be full of refugees.
According to preliminary estimates, there were about three million people receiving relief food from the Government of Berlin, and about half of them had completely lost their source of livelihood.
While supporting millions of troops, they also had to support millions of refugees. Even with the British blood transfusion, the Government of Berlin's finances couldn't bear it.
Losing the Polish area also meant losing this heavy burden. In this issue, the Government of Berlin should have played a disgraceful role. "
Refugees were always the most troublesome. It was true that Austria was accepting refugees on a large scale, but unfortunately, the colonial government had already passed the era of starvation. They had already set up a threshold, and the language barrier stopped most people.
The British and French colonies and the American countries welcomed immigrants, but they had to buy their own tickets and find a way to make a living when they arrived.
Franz nodded: "This is a difficult problem for the Government of Berlin, but it shouldn't be difficult for the Russians. They have rich experience in dealing with it. I just don't know what Alexander II Of Russia will do this time."
Relief was impossible. Most of these refugees were created by the Russian Army. Even if the Tsarist government provided money for relief, it wouldn't be able to win the hearts of the people.
Moreover, the Tsarist government wasn't rich. Alexander II Of Russia would certainly not do such a meaningless investment.
Slaughter was the last option, and it involved millions of people. It was estimated that the Russians might not be able to do it.
Expulsion might not be the best way, but it was the most likely choice of the Tsarist government. Just like in the Second Near Eastern War, the Russian Army expelled a large number of Osman citizens into the inland areas, artificially created a great famine, and severely damaged the Osman Empire.
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