Chapter 548

In October, the war between Prussia and Russia entered a new phase. Both sides fought with all their might, fighting until the sky darkened and blood flowed like a river.

In East Prussia, the Prussians had the upper hand; in Poland, the Russian Army was suppressing the Prussian-Polish coalition.

Austria also sent out military observers. Looking at the information collected from the battlefield, Franz was secretly glad.

The Russian Empire's reputation as the overlord of Europe came from fighting. The Russian Army's combat power was definitely at the forefront of the world in this era.

In the original timeline, the Russian Empire had been defeated all the time, but it was still feared by other countries. It wasn't just because of the winter and the vast territory.

The strategic advantage brought by geography was only useful in defense. War relied mainly on people, and geography was only a supporting role.

Prussia's army was already at the forefront of the world, but on the battlefield, it didn't have an obvious advantage.

With inferior weapons and equipment, the Russian Army could use their flesh and blood to block the Prussians. After changing equipment, the ratio of casualties between the two sides was gradually reduced.

The Prussians only had the upper hand because of their training. When facing some elite Russian Army, they were even at a disadvantage.

The war in the Near East wasn't fought for nothing. After paying the loss of nearly a million troops, the Tsarist government still gained a powerful army.

In a high-level military meeting at Belle Spring Palace.

"You've all read the information. From the information collected so far, who do you think will win this war?"

Franz only asked about this war, not the overall victory of the war. The difference in strength between Prussia and Russia was too great. As long as the Tsarist government was willing to work hard, the final winner was obvious.

Not to mention Prussia, against the Russian Empire, no country in the world could guarantee victory.

Even if Austria and Russia faced each other, Franz would have to use tricks to have a chance of winning.

Otherwise, if both sides fought a bloody battle with millions of casualties, how could there be any victory?

People in this era didn't dare to imagine a war with millions of casualties, but Franz understood.

The Russian Empire was so big that it couldn't be defeated in one wave. In the end, they could only fight with their lives on the line. Once this happened, how could there be a winner?

Chief of Staff Edmund replied, "Your Majesty, from the current situation, I think the Kingdom of Prussia will win.

They seemed to be preparing a grand plan. Judging from the disposition of their troops, the Prussians were preparing for a decisive battle with the Russians in East Prussia.

Once they succeeded in their plan, at least half of the three hundred thousand Russian soldiers in East Prussia would be left behind.

The Russian commander was too arrogant. He was so focused on advancing that he didn't consider the danger at all. Despite being at a disadvantage, they still haven't retreated. "

This was understandable. The difference in strength between the Prussian and Russian armies was not large. Even if the Russian army was at a disadvantage, it would just be more casualties. The Russian commander was not afraid.

As long as they won the war, the Tsarist government wouldn't care about casualties. The Russian Army commander wasn't afraid. The difference in strength between the two armies was 2: 1 and 3: 1.

The Russians dared to fight when the exchange rate was 2: 1 and 3: 1. Now that the casualty ratio had dropped to 1.3: 1, they could still occasionally gain an advantage. Why would they not dare to fight?

War Minister Albrecht analyzed, "Prussia has been acting strangely recently. Large amounts of strategic supplies have arrived at the frontline in advance. These supplies have exceeded the frontline's needs.

It's reasonable to have more food and ammunition, but there's definitely a problem with the extra tents and daily necessities.

Preliminary estimates show that even if they suddenly increase their troops by 200,000, they have enough supplies. I guess that Prussia will increase their troops to the frontline in East Prussia. These are just preliminary preparations.

At present, the Kingdom of Prussia's messy army totaled up to 1,200,000 men.

Among them, there were about 400,000 soldiers in the main force, 150,000 soldiers in the reserve force, and the rest were temporary recruits.

The main force is fighting the Russians at the frontline. The second line is also in the Polish region, working with the Polish insurgents to resist the Russian Army.

The rest of the temporary recruits don't have much fighting power. They are training while guarding the coastal area.

The war had been going on for a long time, and some of these new recruits had already completed their initial training and were ready to fight.

In a situation where both sides were of equal strength, it was enough to change the outcome of a battle if it was thrown into the battlefield.

This is not something the Russians can compare to. Limited by logistics, they can only maintain their current strength. "

Historically, the Kingdom of Prussia's counterattack wasn't because their army was stronger than the enemy. The most important thing was to concentrate their superior forces to fight the enemy.

The Prussian War and the Prussian War were won with absolute superiority in military strength. If the forces were equal, it would be a bitter battle. How could there be an overwhelming victory?

The Prussian War had been going on for so long, but they hadn't used this tactic. There were two main reasons. First, there were too many Tsar troops. Second, the traffic in Russia was too bad. Taking the initiative to attack was a big problem.

Now that the Russian Army had entered East Prussia, the situation had changed. In a local battle, the Kingdom of Prussia's railway advantage could be put to use.

This meant that the Prussia had the ability to increase troops in a certain area in a short period of time, establish regional military superiority, and increase the odds of victory in the war.

Franz was no longer a military novice. He already had the ability to talk on paper, but he lacked the ability to fight in actual combat.

There was no other way. The Emperor couldn't personally command a small battle, and Franz didn't dare to command a large battle. So the last shortcoming was unsolvable.

Looking at the simulated battlefield sand table, Franz was quickly relieved. This game didn't collapse. Although the Russian Army's combat effectiveness was strengthened, they didn't strengthen the leadership of the Russian Army's senior officers.

The Kingdom of Prussia wasn't at the end of the line. It was a country with a population of 15 million, and there was still potential to be tapped.

As a semi-industrial country, the Kingdom of Prussia's mobilization ability had greatly increased. Now that there was the support of a financial backer, it wasn't a dream to complete the extreme mobilization.

The temporarily mobilized recruits didn't have much combat effectiveness. But during the decisive battle, these troops suddenly appeared on the battlefield, which could also be the last straw to change the outcome of the war.

As for the Russian Army's sneak attack, the worst that could happen was losing a few coastal cities. Warships couldn't go to land. Could the Navy penetrate deep alone?

The onlooker sees the game more clearly. As a bystander, Franz knew this, but he didn't have the slightest intention of reminding the Tsarist government.

The Russian Empire was a large country, and they could afford this loss. The Kingdom of Prussia's strength was limited. At most, they could defeat the Russian Army. It was impossible for them to swallow hundreds of thousands of Russian Army.

…

While Franz was doing his military simulation, the Kingdom of Prussia, which was already prepared, also began to move.

All the railways in the country were in full swing, and trains brought the scattered soldiers to the front. In just two days, they sent 150,000 troops to the front line in East Prussia.

The decisive battle officially began. The sudden appearance of fresh troops instantly stunned the Russian Army's commander.

Under normal circumstances, this scale of mobilization would take at least ten days to half a month, and they had enough time to adjust the deployment of troops.

However, in just two days, the Prussia's reinforcements arrived. The Russian Army couldn't complete the adjustment of hundreds of kilometers in two days.

In some areas, the Prussia army even had a numerical advantage of four to five times the Russian Army.

The result was obvious. Although the Russian Army fought back bravely, they couldn't change their fate of defeat.

East Prussia was the territory of the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Prussians were very familiar with the local situation. After breaking through the Russian Army's defensive line, they immediately penetrated.

At the same time, the Prussia also formed a vanguard team from East Prussia, and sent this team to destroy the Russian Army's telegraph lines.

In order to organize hundreds of thousands of troops, the telegraph was the most advanced technology. Without the telegraph to transmit orders, the efficiency of the messengers was too low.

Due to the lack of preparation, the Russian army soon suffered a great loss. Without a telegram to communicate with each other, the Russian troops on the frontline quickly fell into an awkward situation.

Especially the defeated troops, they became headless flies, scurrying around the battlefield. The efficiency of the messengers was too low, and they couldn't keep up with the changes on the battlefield.

Many troops couldn't contact the division headquarters, and the division headquarters couldn't contact the military headquarters. The entire Russian Army in East Prussia was in chaos.

This situation didn't escape Mao Qi's expectations. Now that the bitter battle had turned into a winning battle, he decisively threw the new recruits into the battle.

With the advantage in numbers, the Prussia Army quickly took control of the battlefield. The Russian army fell into chaos and was routed. They retreated all the way to the Dvina River before they managed to regain their footing. (Daugava River in present-day Latvia)

At this time, the Russian Army had been reduced from 386,000 before the war to 112,000. They also lost a large number of strategic resources and almost all of their artillery.

The Prussia Army didn't dare to advance any further. Winter had arrived in the Baltic Sea, and they had to clear the Russian Army in their territory as soon as possible to consolidate their gains.

The situation on the battlefield could affect everything as a whole. With the fall of the Lithuanian region, the Belarusian region suddenly emerged.

After the flank was threatened, the Russian Army, which was still attacking the Prussian-Polish coalition, had to retreat. However, it was too late to make a decision now.

After the end of the battle in East Prussia, the Prussian army came as reinforcements at the fastest speed and bit off a piece of meat at the pass where the Russian army retreated.