Winter passed and summer came. St. Peter's Castle had ended the days of bone-chilling wind. The comfortable sunshine shone on every corner of the city, warming up the icy kingdom.
The war report from the Balkans arrived. Reporting the good news without reporting the bad had always been a shortcut for bureaucrats to seek advancement, and the Tsarist government was no exception.
In the first round of the Balkan War, the Russians had achieved a complete victory. Even though the Russian Army had suffered too many losses in the Battle of Razgrad, adding a flaw to the battle, it did not affect the officials' desire to report the victory.
In the war report received by Nicholas I Of Russia, of course, there would be no mention of the Russian Army suffering losses. The officers at the frontline simply mentioned the Osman Army's losses, and it looked like a great victory.
After receiving the news, Nicholas I Of Russia held a celebration banquet in the Winter Palace that night. Unfortunately, the meritorious officials were thousands of miles away and missed the glory that belonged to them.
The Russians had reasons to be happy. In the first round of the Bulgarian War, they had achieved a great victory and pushed the front line forward by more than 100 kilometers.
From the beginning of the capture of Ruse, the Russian Army launched an attack on the Osman Army with a total of 280,000 troops and defeated nearly 500,000 Osman troops and 50,000 French troops.
At the cost of 45,000 casualties, more than 53,000 enemy troops were wiped out and more than 38,000 enemy troops were captured.
Using half of the troops to defeat twice the enemy's number, and using 45,000 casualties in exchange for the loss of 91,000 enemy troops, including more than 10,000 French troops, it was a great victory no matter how one looked at it.
The contribution of the Bulgarian guerrillas was glossed over, and their casualties were naturally ignored. Anyway, the war was won, and the Tsarist government did not care about the specific situation. It was useless to care. Deception had penetrated into every corner of the Russian Empire.
Since the Ottoman army claimed to have five hundred thousand soldiers, they must have defeated five hundred thousand soldiers. The actual number of the enemy's troops was naturally ignored by everyone.
…
After the celebration banquet, Nicholas I Of Russia returned to the main topic. The French had sent troops to participate in the war, which was not good news.
Although the Tsarist government had considered the possibility of Britain and France sending troops to participate in the war after the British and French fleets seized control of the Black Sea, it still made them feel uncomfortable.
Perhaps the officers at the frontline still had some moral integrity, or perhaps they knew that the war would continue and they would have to fight the French with their lives, so they were afraid of getting themselves into trouble.
At the end of the war report, they still described the threat of the French army.
To sum it up, if not for the sudden appearance of 50,000 French soldiers on the battlefield, the battle in Bulgaria would have been the end of the Ottomans.
If there were no French reinforcements, it would not be long before His Majesty the Tsar would be in Constantinople for a parade. Therefore, His Majesty the Tsar must be extremely vigilant against these evil Frenchmen.
Nicholas I said with a smile, "Gentlemen, the French have really sent their troops to join the war. According to the news from London, the British Parliament had passed a resolution to send troops to the war.
From now on, we have two more enemies to deal with. How should we fight the war in the future? If you have any ideas, you can speak freely. "
The frontline had won a great victory, and Nicholas I Of Russia was in a good mood.
Even if he knew that Britain and France had joined the war, he was very angry, but he did not explode. He was very confident in winning the war. Even though he knew that England and France were participating in the war, he was very angry in his heart, but he did not explode. He was very confident in winning this war.
This was not an exaggeration. Judging from the strength of the army, the Russians really had the strength.
This was not an exaggeration. Judging from the strength of the land forces on the surface, the Russians really did have this kind of strength. At least in terms of population, the Russians had the strength to do so.
In 1852, the total population of Russia was about 65 to 76 million, more than the combined population of Britain and France. The total population of the British Isles was about 28 million, and the total population of France was about 36 million.
(There was no way, the Tsarist government did not have population statistics in this era, and the data was very different.)
The Osman Empire had been automatically ignored by Nicholas I Of Russia. The battle in Bulgaria had exposed the fact that the Osman army was weak.
In the following war, the Osman Empire was about to be reduced from a protagonist to a supporting role, and Britain and France would be the new main force.
"Your Majesty, since Britain and France have jumped in, we will turn the Balkans into their graveyard, and let them know who is the world's strongest army.
Now we should immediately increase the frontline, destroy the Osman Empire, and recover Constantinople, "the Minister of War, Arthur Nicholas, said with a murderous look.
In the decisive battle with Britain and France in the Near East, the Russians would not have any advantages, but they would not suffer too much either. In terms of geographical location, both sides were about the same.
The Russians had the support of Austria, and could transport supplies through the Danube River. Britain and France could also transport supplies by sea. In terms of logistics, both sides were equal.
It was necessary to increase the frontline. After winning this battle, the Russian Army had paid a lot of losses. If the war continued, they would definitely need reinforcements. The commanders at the frontline had already requested reinforcements.
"Your Majesty, due to the miscalculation, we did not expect Britain and France to directly participate in the war, so we hoarded a large number of strategic supplies at the coastal port of Ukraine.
Now that the sea route is blocked, we can only transport supplies by land. With the current situation, we can only supply 30% of the supplies for the frontline army, and the rest will have to be purchased from Austria.
Our financial pressure is great, even if Austria provided us with a war loan of 100 million Audi, it will not last long, "the Minister of Finance, Arestan-Rode, reminded.
In order to supply the frontline troops, the Russians had to purchase a large number of strategic supplies from Austria. If they continued to increase the number of troops at the frontline in the Balkans, the military expenditure would continue to increase.
It was not that Arestan-Rode opposed to the increase of troops, he just raised the issue to avoid making a plan blindly, in case there was no money to fight, and that would be awkward.
100 million Austrian Audi seemed like a lot, but in fact, it was a drop in the bucket on the battlefield. Now, the total number of Russian Army in the The Balkans had exceeded 300 thousand.
In the battle of Bulgaria, the Russian Army lost 45 thousand people. Even if the gray livestock was not worth much, they still had to spend a sum of money.
When the war was won, there was no lack of rewards, but these still needed money.
The weapons and ammunition consumed on the battlefield, and the damaged weapons and equipment needed to be replaced. These were all money.
Even if there was no war, the cost of food, drink, and sleep for the 300,000 troops every month was more than 4 million Audi. It was not that the standard of the Russian Army was high, but the cost of transporting supplies during the war was high, and once the war started, it would be even more expensive.
In the battle of Bulgaria, the Russian Army had destroyed thousands of tons of ammunition, and on average, they had to consume nearly 100 tons of ammunition every day. Just this alone would cost tens of millions of Audi.
With all these miscellaneous expenses added together, the military expenditure of the Russian army in Bulgaria, which lasted for more than a month, would not be less than 40 million guilders, and this was not including the salaries.
The main funding for the war still had to be found by the Russians themselves. The loan from Austria could only be used to make up for it, and the pressure on the Ministry of Finance was naturally great.
Nicholas I Of Russia nodded. It was still effective to prepare for the war in advance. At least in 1852, the Tsarist government did not have to worry about financial problems.
If the war continued, it would not necessarily be the case. The cost of war in the era of firearms had far exceeded that in the era of cold weapons.
"Then think of a way to end the war quickly. Try to defeat the enemy within the year, and do not give England and France a chance!
My Minister of War, how many reinforcements do we need to end the war within the year? "Nicholas I Of Russia asked with concern.
After thinking for a long time, Nicholas replied slowly, "Your Majesty, we need at least 300,000 reinforcements. To be on the safe side, it would be best if we can increase it to 400,000."
In fact, Nicholas was not confident. The battlefield was ever-changing. England and France were not weak, and there was also the Osman Empire. Who knew how many reinforcements would be needed to end the war in a short period of time?
But since His Majesty Tsar had asked, he had to answer. Otherwise, he would appear incompetent.
Assai Nicholas had some skill. He was not optimistic that the Russian army would be able to end the war within the year, so he directly stated an impossible number.
Previously, the Russian Empire had already done its best by investing 300,000 troops in the The Balkans. If this number was doubled, the Russians would have no shortage of soldiers, but their logistical supplies would be ruined.
Even with Austria, it would be difficult for the two countries to guarantee 600,000 to 700,000 troops to fight in the The Balkans.
This was not a lack of supplies, but a lack of transportation. If the war was fought in the Danube River valley, the logistics could still be guaranteed.
But as the war went on, the Russian Army's supply line grew longer and further away from the Danube River. The distance that needed to be covered by animal and human labor also increased, and the logistical pressure naturally increased.
Nicholas I Of Russia was not a military novice. As soon as the Minister of War said this, he knew that it was impossible to end the war within the year.
Britain and France had sea power. Even if the Russian Army occupied the The Balkans, they could land at any time if they wanted to. How could it be so easy to end the war?
Moreover, although the Osman Empire had decayed, a rotten ship still had three kilograms of nails. The combat power that erupted in a life-and-death situation was not to be underestimated.
Foreign Affairs Minister Carr Vossel said very perceptively, "Mr. Nicholas, the current situation does not allow us to invest so many troops in the The Balkans. This plan seems feasible, but in fact, it is not practical.
If we cannot win the war in the The Balkans, can we make a breakthrough in the Caucasus region?
Victory in any direction can deal a blow to the Osman Empire's confidence. As long as this decadent Empire collapses, we will also win the war. "
Making a breakthrough in the Caucasus region was not a problem! However, after conquering one mountain, there was still the next one.
If they persevered and worked hard, it would take three to five years at the fastest, eight to ten years at the slowest. As long as they persevered, sooner or later, they could wear down the Osman Empire.
The premise was that the Tsarist government could hold on and not lose itself before the end of the war.
Although reality was cruel, it was still necessary to have ideals.
While launching the war in Bulgaria, the Russians did not ignore the Caucasus region. It was just that due to geographical constraints, they invested less energy there.
As the situation in the Balkans continued to deteriorate for the Osman Empire, the Government of Sudan would certainly transfer a large number of reinforcements from the Asia Minor peninsula. At that time, the number of troops that could reinforce the Caucasus region would be reduced.
This was also an opportunity for the Russians. It was difficult to fight all the way from the Caucasus region to the Bosporus Strait, but it was not impossible to fight all the way to the Asia Minor peninsula.
The successive defeats of any country on the frontline would affect the stability of the country, let alone the decadent Osman Empire.
With the influence of the Russians among the Orthodox Christians, coupled with the unpopularity of the Osman Empire, it did not seem too difficult to plan a few national uprisings when the frontline continued to fail.
If the national uprisings were successful, the Osman Empire would also come to an end. Without the support of this local snake, it was simply a pipe dream for Britain and France to want to defeat Russia in the Near East.
Since they were idealists, they naturally could not pursue perfection. As long as it was feasible in theory, it was enough. Nicholas I Of Russia readily approved Carr Vussel's proposal.
If they succeeded, it would be His Majesty Tsar's wisdom. If they failed, they would just lose a group of gray animals. The last thing Russia lacked was people.
There was no reason for Nicholas I Of Russia not to do something with low risk and high return.
