On November 27th, 1880, the Prussian army arrived in Poznan. After a short rest, they launched an attack on the Russian 8th Army.
Under the harassment of the Russian cavalry and airships, it only took them less than eight days to arrive at Poznan from Warsaw. The Russian Army explained to them what was important in a war, speed.
Anyone with military knowledge knew that the more troops there were, the more difficult it was to coordinate and the slower the marching speed would be.
The Prussian army had a total of 468,000 soldiers. It was a miracle in military history to be able to travel two hundred and eighty kilometers in eight days.
If the organization wasn't strong enough, the troops at the front might have arrived at their destination, but the troops at the back hadn't set off yet.
Since there were so many people waiting in line, they could form two rows from Poznan to Warsaw.
Without a doubt, the Prussian army's speed exceeded the Russians' expectations. The enemy arrived before the 9th Army, which was closer to Poznan, arrived.
Despite the Russian 8th Army's bravery, it was useless. Not to mention stopping the Prussian army from returning to the west, it was a problem to defend Poznan.
…
In the Russian command center, Ivanov sighed helplessly as he looked at the telegram in his hand.
"Order the 8th Army to defend Poznan and wait for reinforcements. Order the 9th Army to speed up and reinforce the 8th Army as soon as possible."
Staff Officer Julian Bennett reminded, "General, the Prussian army's main force arrived in Poznan two days ago. Poznan might already be surrounded.
If the 9th Army rushed over now, it would be difficult to join up with the 8th Army in the city. Instead, they might be surrounded by the enemy.
The 8th Army can defend the city for ten days to half a month. Why not let the 9th Army join up with the 11th Army and the 17th Army before sending reinforcements? "
From a military point of view, Julian Bennett's concern was very reasonable. In a field battle, the 9th Army was not a match for the enemy's main force.
If a battle occurred, the casualties would be heavy, and the whole army would be annihilated. Without the 9th Army, the two second line armies would not be a match for the enemy.
Ivanov sneered, "There's no need. If Mao Qi has such a good appetite, what's the point of giving the 9th Army to them?
The 8th Army had a total of 216,000 soldiers, and the 9th Army had a total of 187,000 soldiers. Adding up to more than 400,000 soldiers, how could they be swallowed so easily?
If we don't end the battle quickly, our 11th and 17th corps will arrive at the battlefield. Even if Mao Qi won, how many soldiers would they have left after the battle?
The main force has been depleted, and if they want to recover, it won't be done overnight. We won't give them time.
The troops in Mao Qi's hands are the cream of the Pu Army. If he's willing to exchange them, why should we be so stingy? "
The Government of Berlin had begun to mobilize all the people. The main reason why the new troops could not form a fighting force was the lack of officers and the lack of veterans.
Mao Qi's Pu Tu elite troop was especially important. With this unit, with the veterans leading the new soldiers, the Pu Army still had a chance to break out in the last wave.
Of course, it wouldn't be easy to break out. The Prussian army didn't have enough time, and Ivanov wouldn't give them a chance to breathe.
At this point in the war, losses were no longer important. Opening the map, one would find that the Pu Bo Federation had lost 55% of its territory, 40% of its population, half of its food production capacity, and one-third of its industry.
This was just the beginning. The flames of war had already spread to the hinterland of the Kingdom of Prussia. Once Warsaw fell, the Pu Bo Federation would only be left with one-third.
No matter how well the Pu Army fought, it couldn't make up for the difference in national strength. The Pu Army's inability to continue was becoming more and more obvious.
…
The Russian Army's loss in Poznan didn't mean it was the same on other battlefields.
In the Baltic Sea, the Russians had the advantage of the sea. Advancing by land and sea, they suppressed the Pu Army and occupied a quarter of East Prussia.
In Warsaw, after the Pu Army's main force retreated, the balance of power shifted. Although they couldn't break through Warsaw, they were close.
It wasn't that the Poles didn't work hard to defend Warsaw, but that the Russians were too cunning. They drove a large number of refugees into the city, increasing the pressure on the defenders.
The Tenth Army responsible for attacking Berlin was now less than eighty kilometers from Berlin. Of course, this distance might be the limit. It wasn't something the Tenth Army could do to advance any further.
From a military point of view, the Tenth Army's attack had obviously failed. It didn't have the effect of a surprise attack and was discovered by the enemy long ago.
Politically, it was different. The appearance of the Russian Army near Berlin had a disastrous effect on the Pu Bo Federation. More and more people were pessimistic about the war.
If it wasn't for the deep hatred with the Russians and the fact that they had bet too much for this war, the Government of Berlin might have already compromised with the Russians.
In London, after confirming that the Pu Bo Federation had lost, Benjamin's cabinet was thinking about how to stop the losses in time and minimize Britannia's losses.
Minister of Finance Garfield: "According to the analysis of our investigation data, the most optimistic estimate is that once the Pu Bo Federation is defeated, we will lose at least 300 million pounds of wealth.
The Pu Bo Federation's total overseas assets are probably less than 150 million pounds, including the last deposit in the Government of Berlin's account and the gold pledged to us.
Most of these overseas assets are located in Austrian Africa and are under private names. We can't freeze them even if we want to. "
There was no doubt that it was difficult to stop the losses now. The Pu Bo Federation's assets were too thin. Many of the collateral was based on the premise of winning the war.
In theory, immediately freezing the Government of Berlin's bank account in Britannia and confiscating their pledged gold and overseas assets could minimize the losses.
In fact, there was no possibility of doing so. As the world's hegemon, Britannia also wanted face. What would the other underlings think if they added insult to injury at this time?
Although Britannia was powerful, it wasn't to the point where it didn't need underlings.
It was now the era of the UK, Fao, and the Three Kingdoms. No one could dominate the world. In the context of the Three Kingdoms not supporting the war, whoever had more underlings would have an advantage in international politics.
Foreign Minister Edward: "Don't even think about freezing the assets, including the gold pledged to us by the Government of Berlin. We can't touch it either, at least not before the Pu Bo Federation is finished.
The top priority is to find a way to protect the Pu Bo Federation, or at least the Kingdom of Prussia.
We need to set an example and let the world know that even if we fail to cooperate with Britannia, we still have the strength to protect them. "
In a sense, the Prussian War was also a continuation of the conflict between the UK and Fao. The three countries used the war to play a political game, but the French withdrew halfway and it became a game between Austria and England.
The competition between the big countries wasn't overnight. If they lost today, they could win tomorrow. If they were to stab their underlings in the back just because they suffered a loss in a fight, who would still dare to cooperate with them?
Minister of Finance Garfield nodded. "Of course, this is necessary. We can only recover our investment if the debtor is there.
The current Government of Berlin is too poor. Even if we freeze all their assets, it can't make up for our losses.
The question is, can we protect them? Now that the Russians have the upper hand, I don't think the Tsarist government will let this enemy go just because of our reputation. "
How much reputation did Britannia have? This was a question that didn't have an accurate answer. There were different answers in different regions and countries.
Since the Government of London supported the Pu Bo Federation, their reputation in the Russian Empire didn't work. If it hurt their own interests, the Tsarist government didn't care about the British threat.
Foreign Minister Edward said, "This is not up to the Russians to disagree. No country wants to see Russia's power penetrate into Central Europe, including Austria who supports them.
If Russia annexes the Pu Bo Federation, how can Austria's dream of being a Central European Empire be realized? The Government of Vienna's bottom line should be to let the Tsarist government take back the Poland-Lithuania region.
The only worry is that Russia and Austria may have a secret to divide the Pu Bo Federation. This is the Government of Vienna's strength. No one knows how many secret agreements they have made over the years. "
The Secret Treaty of Austria was also one of the hottest topics in Europe. The Secret Treaty of Austria, the Secret Treaty of France, the Secret Treaty of Austria, the Secret Treaty of Austria, the Secret Treaty of Austria, the Secret Treaty of Austria, the Secret Treaty of Austria, the Secret Treaty of Austria, the Secret Treaty of Austria, the Secret Treaty of Austria and the Secret Treaty of Germany.
There was no doubt that many of these secret agreements were nonsense. Most of them were just ordinary treaties. Because of the political need to be temporarily kept secret, they became the so-called "secret agreement" in the outside world.
The Government of Vienna never explained. This thing always got worse. Even if the content of the treaty was exposed, there was still a large group of people who didn't believe it.
The water was getting muddier. The real and fake content were mixed together, and it was even more difficult for the outside world to distinguish it.
The Russia and Austria secret agreement definitely existed. Otherwise, the agreement on the surface wouldn't be enough for the Government of Vienna to invest heavily in the Tsarist government. The Government of London didn't know the specific content.
Prime Minister Benjamin said, "This is not a problem. Austria is not ready yet. At this time, they don't have the confidence to swallow the Kingdom of Prussia.
I have studied Franz. He attaches great importance to his personal reputation. Even if he wants to annex the Kingdom of Prussia, he won't choose to cooperate with Russia at this time.
The urgent task is to gain the support of the French. We can't delay any longer. I have a bad feeling. I always feel that something big is going to happen in Europe. "
Foreign Minister Edward laughed, "Prime Minister, you are so funny! Something big has happened in Europe. After the Prussian War, Europe's political structure has been reshuffled. In the future, the FAO, Russia, and Russia will be in a tripartite position.
Although we failed to support the Prussian Federation this time, the situation in Europe is still good.
Russia won the war and Europe has one more competitor. I'm afraid the future Government of Vienna won't be good. "
Minister of Finance Garfield said, "Sir, you are too optimistic. The relationship between Russia and Austria is still very good. There is no possibility of a fall out in the short term.
The Prussian War brought a lot of losses to Russia. For a long time in the future, the Tsarist government will need to recuperate and won't go west.
On the contrary, we are about to be in trouble. After the Russians cleaned up the Prussian Federation, their next target is likely to be Central Asia. "
In this era where the strong preyed on the weak, it was normal for persimmons to find the weak to bully.
The Russian Empire was badly injured and unable to compete with Austria, but it was not a problem to bully the Khaganates in Central Asia.
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