Chapter 521

After entering the 19th century, the global village became more and more closely connected, and the international situation was even more affected by a slight change.

After the end of the American Civil War, the Fao and Spain focused their energy on Europe, and the pressure on the Tsarist government increased greatly.

The Government of London had begun to plan to intervene in the Russian War, attempting to use diplomatic means to force the Tsarist government to make concessions and attack the prestige of the Russians.

One had to admit that John Bull's diplomatic means were powerful. The Government of Paris, which had just been roped in by the Russians, once again wavered, and the Franco-Russian loan was withheld.

The French couldn't be blamed for this. The performance of the Russian Army on the battlefield was too disappointing.

Originally, everyone thought that the Tsarist government had the advantage of the sea and would mobilize troops to land and stab the Prussia in the back. However, because of the problem of strategic materials, the Tsarist government was unable to organize a decent attack.

International military observers were now attacking the Tsarist government's strategy and belittling them as worthless.

Alexander Ii Of Russia felt very wronged. The war broke out too suddenly, and they had no time to prepare at all.

In St. Peter's Castle, looking at the increasingly grim international situation, Alexander Ii Of Russia made a decision – to end the war quickly.

The Tsarist government's ability to keep secrets was limited to ten people. After the number of people who knew more than this number, it was almost like a sieve.

After receiving the news, Franz's first thought was that it was going to be bad. According to the current situation, the final winner would definitely be the Russians if they fought steadily.

Although the Prussia had the advantage in terms of exchange, they still paid 82,000 losses in the war for more than half a year, of which 43,000 were killed in battle, and 39,000 were retired due to injuries or were captured.

The losses of their ally, the Poles, were even worse, losing at least 150,000 troops. Because the Polish provisional government was in chaos, they didn't know the specific losses, and Franz naturally didn't know.

The losses of the Russians and Danes added up were almost equal to the total losses of Poland.

If the war continued, the Polish insurgent army would collapse in at most six months. At that time, the Kingdom of Prussia would have to fight alone.

If Franz was in command of this war, he would catch the Polish insurgent army and use the navy to attack the Kingdom of Prussia, weakening their war potential.

Decisive battle? Once they recovered the Warsaw region, controlled several rivers in Poland, and opened up the water transportation line to Austria, they would be able to fight however they wanted.

As long as the logistical supplies were sufficient, the Russian Army's combat effectiveness was not bad at all. With the numerical advantage, they could easily defeat the enemy.

In terms of military strategy, it was extremely unwise to engage in a decisive battle now. Of course, Alexander II made this decision mainly for political reasons.

The pressure from the domestic conservatives, the rampant international anti-Russian forces, and the financial pressure, the Tsarist government was under a lot of pressure.

Foreign Minister Weissenberg suggested, "Your Majesty, the Russians are asking us for help, hoping that we can complete the order as soon as possible.

If nothing goes wrong, after the delivery of this batch of weapons and equipment, it will be the time for their decisive battle with the Prussia.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs thinks we can transfer some of the active equipment and deliver it to the Russians in advance, so that the decisive battle will break out before the Polish winter comes. "

Franz's eyes lit up. The "winter" came at the right time. No matter who won or lost the war, both sides would lose the ability to continue attacking after winter came.

When the war was fought again next year, everyone would almost be able to regroup. No, it should be said that the Russians could regroup, and the Prussia would be doomed if they lost a decisive battle.

Transferring active equipment was just for the sake of everyone's reputation. Reserve equipment was also considered active equipment, so there was nothing wrong with that.

Franz asked doubtfully, "Is there enough time? It's already September. By the time the Russians get it, it will be October. Do they still have time for a decisive battle? "

Foreign Minister Wesenberg replied, "Time is indeed a little tight, but it's barely enough.

The Russian Army near our borders can change equipment first, and they can launch a counterattack first. The Russian Army in East Prussia will change equipment later, but it won't be a problem as long as they are willing to suffer casualties.

The Russian Army generals at the frontline are under a lot of pressure. They can't withstand the domestic pressure, and the decisive battle will definitely break out before the end of the year.

If winter comes, the decisive battle will end without any results. No matter what, they must fight a battle to give an explanation to the conservatives in the country. "

Franz began to observe a moment of silence for the Russian Army at the frontline. Even if they won the war, they would suffer heavy losses; if they lost the war, they would naturally suffer even more losses.

Alexander II Of Russia probably had no choice but to choose this time to fight. If they had fought two months earlier and lost the war, the enemy would have been able to march straight in, and they would have suffered heavy losses.

Now it didn't matter. Many parts of the Russian Empire had already entered winter. By the time the war was over, it would probably be November or December. Attacking Russia at this time of the year was definitely courting death.

Since the Tsarist government was not in danger, the loss of the Russian Army was not within Franz's consideration, and he immediately made a decision.

"Deliver the goods as soon as possible, and give the Russians a million bullets to show our position."

The Russians using Arcana equipment was not without its benefits, because Austria had long unified the caliber of ammunition. Now even if the Russian Army changed equipment, the bullets could still be used, and there was no need to worry about the joke of sending the wrong bullets.

…

The Government of Vienna was still very efficient. In just two days, they transferred 300,000 rifles from the reserve equipment and sent them to the Russian-Austrian border at the fastest speed.

Such a big movement could not be hidden. After receiving the news, the commander-in-chief of the Prussia Army, Mao Qi, made a prompt decision – to make the first move.

On October 2, 1865, the Russian Army in Prussia, Belarus, and Ukraine launched a full-scale counterattack before the Russians changed their equipment.

The decisive battle broke out in advance, and the eyes of all the European countries were focused on this battle.

If the Russians won, then there was no doubt that the Kingdom of Prussia would be finished; if the Prussian-Polish Army won, then the European power structure would be reshuffled.

In Sweden, Carr XV did not hesitate to reject the Kingdom of Prussia's plan to unite to deal with the Russians.

Although Sweden was also anti-Russian and stood on the opposite side of Russia in the Near East War, supporting the Fao Tasman alliance, it did not mean that they liked Prussia.

When the Prussian War broke out, Carr XV was ready to send troops to help Denmark defend Schleswig and curb the Kingdom of Prussia's ambition to expand.

In addition to worrying about the interdependence, it was also related to the Pan-Scandinavianism that was prevalent in this era.

(Pan-Scandinavianism advocated that Northern Europe should unite to form a country. It was initiated in Skåne in the 1840s and reached its peak in the middle of the 19th century. Sweden and Norway had formed the Swedish-Norway Union under the signing of the Treaty of Kiel. Only Denmark was left.)

Carr XV was one of the supporters of this plan. He had always wanted Denmark, Sweden, and Norway to merge into one country. If possible, he would not mind letting Finland join in.

In the first Prussian War, Sweden had sent troops to help the Kingdom of Denmark, but their reaction was a step slower. When they arrived, the Russians had already intervened and did not participate in the war.

In this Prussian War, Carr XV was also ready to send troops to intervene, but unfortunately, Denmark was defeated too quickly. Many people in Sweden opposed sending troops, so the intervention ended in vain, and the Pan-Scandinavianism suffered a heavy blow.

It was not without reason that the people of Prussia wanted to rope in Sweden to participate in the war. Sweden and the Russian Empire had a long history of hatred, and the relationship between the two sides had always been bad.

There was also the Finns who wanted to get rid of the rule of the Russians. They proposed that as long as Sweden helped them become independent, they were willing to join Sweden.

The British were also trying their best to promote the Prussian Union. The Government of London had already promised that they would support Sweden's annexation of Finland.

The Government of Paris also hoped that Sweden could annex Finland and stab Russia in the back. They were willing to help them.

In order to weaken the Russians, even the Government of Vienna was willing to provide loans to Sweden. It could be said that the entire European continent wanted to see the Russians suffer.

Now the Tsarist government was showing signs of fatigue, and the main force of the Russian Army was pinned down at the front line. With the support of the Finns, the success rate of Sweden sending troops to capture Finland was very high.

Whether it was Finland or Sweden, they were easy to defend and difficult to attack. Even if the Russians wanted to counterattack in the future, it would be difficult to achieve results.

There was so much good news, but it could not hide the fact that the Russians were too strong.