Chapter 584

Snowflakes fluttered, and another winter arrived. Vienna, which was wrapped in a layer of silver, became particularly pleasant this winter.

Fairspring Palace

Metternich reported, "Your Majesty, the British and French envoys have sent the Osman's armistice to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It seems that the Government of Sudan is preparing to deal with the aftermath."

This did not surprise Franz. Up until now, the Osman suffered the most losses, followed by the Russians. The British and French losses were not worth mentioning.

Without strength, everything was empty. In the future, the Osman would inevitably shrink their sphere of influence. Taking advantage of the current support from Britain and France, ending the war with Austria early and shrinking their forces back to fight the Greeks was more in line with their interests.

Franz thought for a moment and said, "According to our original plan, slowly talk to the Osman and find out their bottom line first."

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Metternich replied.

Up until now, both sides were exhausted from the second battle in Bulgaria. After days of high-intensity combat, the soldiers' war-weariness increased day by day, and the morale of both sides inevitably declined.

Other than the Greeks who had just joined the war and the Montenegrins who were dazzled by victory, the rest were holding on.

On the surface, the Russians had the upper hand, but Franz knew very well that this was just a facade. This was a battle where both sides suffered.

Looking at the casualties of the Russians, after more than four months of fierce fighting, the casualties of the Russian Army had exceeded 170,000.

Among them, less than 60,000 died in battle, and the remaining 100,000 were injured. Because they were not treated in time, and because of the lack of medicine, less than 80% survived.

Battlefield first aid did not exist. The medics in the Russian Army were rare. They could only ensure the safety of the officers. As for the soldiers, sorry, they were not free!

Gray animals were worthless. When they were injured, they could only simply bandage their wounds, and then it was up to the soldiers to slowly endure.

The Russian Army did not have battlefield first aid training. Instead of bandaging, it was more appropriate to say that they tied the wounds. There was no professional medical gauze, and no disinfection was done. They simply wrapped the wounds with a piece of cloth.

Not to mention the seriously injured, it was impossible for them to survive, and they were directly counted as dead.

Many of the lightly injured were clearly shot in the arm, thigh, and other non-vital parts. as long as the wounds were properly treated, they would be able to survive. However, they also died because of inadequate treatment.

In the Principality of Wallachia, the battlefield first aid hospital opened by Franz was now very busy. Every day, there were wounded Russian soldiers who came back and immediately for treatment.

'of treatment' was a golden phrase. It was nothing more than cleaning the wounds, disinfection, then bandaging the wound again, and giving some random medicine of unknown effects.

The real life-saving thing was to clean the wound and disinfect it to avoid infection. The latter drugs were mainly for psychological effects and to make money at the same time.

From the frontline to the rear, those who survived for several days without dying were not seriously injured. As long as their wounds did not become infected, they would basically be able to survive.

The Russian soldiers did not know. They only saw the rapid decrease in the death rate after the first aid. They thought that everyone in the hospital was a miracle doctor.

In fact, most of these medical staff were soldiers who had only undergone battlefield first aid training. Franz used the Russian soldiers as lab rats to train their professional skills.

The medicine depended on the situation. You get what you pay for. The expensive medicine was definitely effective. Franz still had this bit of integrity.

There was no need to look forward to the cheap medicine. It was either a variety of experimental drugs or made from flour and vegetables.

The most effective of the cheap medicine was the soup. Simply put, it was a pot of Chinese medicine to clear heat and detoxify. Unfortunately, many people thought that this was witchcraft, and most of the Russian soldiers were unwilling to drink it.

Moreover, this medicine was not used to treat wounds. There was no immediate effect, and it did not attract everyone's attention.

Nicholas I Of Russia was considered a good Tsar. At least he covered the medical expenses of the soldiers. Of course, don't expect him to spend a lot of money. The package price was 10 rubles per wounded soldier, and he would pay if they survived. (Silver rubles equals to half a tael of silver)

With this amount of money, they could not expect any good service. Other than a few people who could afford to pay out of their own pocket, most people could only enjoy the simplest treatment.

For example, surgery to remove the shrapnel from the wound would cost at least 100 rubles. There were too few people who could do this kind of surgery, and the price was naturally high.

Originally, Franz wanted to outsource the first aid on the battlefield. But considering the high risk on the battlefield, and the Tsarist government was not willing to spend a lot of money, the negotiations fell through.

With such a terrible casualty rate, even if the rear constantly replenished, the combat effectiveness of the army would inevitably be affected.

In theory, after these wounded soldiers were treated and re-armed, their combat effectiveness would be stronger.

Unfortunately, the Russian bureaucracy was too strict, and they did not educate the soldiers well. Most of the wounded soldiers were unwilling to return to the battlefield, and some even bribed the medical staff to delay their recovery.

If the Russians were like this, the Allied Forces on the other side were even worse. The Osman Empire did not have the ability to provide medical care, even if it was a local battle.

The British army's casualties were not high, and it did not attract the attention of the country. The angel who pioneered first aid on the battlefield had not yet arrived at the frontline.

Without first aid on the battlefield, they could only leave it to fate and rely on God or Islam.

This was also the reason why the British and French commanders forced the Osman to be cannon fodder. In order to reduce the casualty rate, they could only sacrifice themselves.

Franz naturally had to learn from the lessons of the Near East War.

Franz had already asked the General Staff to summarize these messy things, and the cases on the battlefield were distributed to the hands of every commander and soldier.

The experience and lessons of the logistics were also given to everyone in the government departments, and they also organized the relevant professional training and learning. In short, the same thing could not happen in Austria.

In order to better implement these problems, the Government of Austria had implemented a double responsibility system for the logistics department's leader and the person directly in charge. If there was a problem in any link, the person responsible would be sent to the military court together.

Franz said cautiously, "Marshal, the General Staff should quickly finalize the final battle plan for the west. This time we are racing against time.

The army must take Munich within a week, control all of Bavaria within a month, and sweep South Germany within two months.

If there is time, we also have to extend our tentacles to the central region of Germany, occupy favorable terrain, and lay the foundation for the future. "

The terrain of the German Region was very complicated. North Germany was a plain with an average elevation of less than 100 meters; the Central German Region was a mountainous highland that ran from east to west; the Rhine Rift Valley in the southwest was a region with mountains on both sides with steep walls; South Germany was the Bavarian Plateau and the Alps.

This brought inconvenience to Austria's military operations. The best choice for a quick battle was to attack along the Danube River, and all the problems were not considered a problem.

If the enemy blocked the river, the challenge would come. To attack by land and sweep the land of more than 100,000 square kilometers, the challenge would be unavoidable.

Fortunately, these areas were well developed, and South Germany was a plateau, not a mountainous region. Otherwise, this mission would be impossible to complete.

(Note: Plateau refers to the flat terrain above 500 meters above sea level. There can be a certain degree of ups and downs.)

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Marshal Radski replied confidently.

…

While Austria was making their final preparations, Napoleon Iii also made a decision — to increase the number of troops.

Napoleon III had no choice but to participate in this war, in addition to the interests of France in the Near East, but more for the sake of gaining political prestige.

If he allowed the Russians to win, his throne would be in jeopardy. The French people were not patient, and if they could not produce results to their satisfaction, another revolution would not be out of the question.

If it was not for the sudden political crisis in the Government of London, the British and French forces would have already marched to the Crimean Peninsula.

Although the army did not move, the navy had long taken action. Since the end of November 1852, the British, Fao, and Tasman navies continuously bombarded the port cities along the Black Sea coast of Russia, causing thousands of casualties to the Russians.

In the face of the British and French unscrupulous bombardment, those who dared to stay were warriors. Obviously, there were very few of these warriors. A large number of Russians fled to the inland areas.

St. Peter's Castle

When he received the news that the British and French bombarded the coastal areas, Nicholas I Of Russia was really angry. It was outrageous. The British and French were so shameless that they directly fired at civilians.

The civilian casualties were nothing. The problem was that there were now hundreds of thousands of refugees waiting for the Tsarist government's relief.

Fortunately, the Ukrainian area was a grain-producing area. Otherwise, the human tragedy would appear again. No, it had already appeared.

The inefficiency of the Russian bureaucrats was revealed at this time. In the face of the refugee wave, the local officials did not take effective measures. They were very mechanically waiting for the order from St. Peter's Castle.

The consequences were naturally serious. St. Peter's Castle was so far away. Before Tsar's order came down, the starving people had already broken out.

It was not a rebellion. These people did not rebel. They just grabbed food everywhere and did not attack the city.

In suppressing the rebellion, the bureaucrats were very efficient. There were still a lot of Russian Army in the Ukrainian area waiting to reinforce the Balkan battlefield. Now it was naturally not a problem to use them to suppress the rebellion.

The unorganized starving people's rebellion was extinguished as soon as it started.

Of course, Nicholas I Of Russia did not know about this. It was even possible that he would never know. No official would be stupid enough to bother the great Tsar with such a small matter.

Nicholas I Of Russia asked, "The enemy has been attacking our coastal cities for so long. Don't you have any way to deal with it? What is the Black Sea Fleet doing? Why hasn't it played a role at all? "

The Navy Minister said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, the Black Sea Fleet has been badly damaged in the battle with the enemy. There are only a few small boats left. They are no longer able to fight."

Being badly damaged was very conservative. Perhaps it was more appropriate to say that the entire fleet had been wiped out. Faced with the siege of the British, Fao, and Tasman navies, the Black Sea Fleet could not resist at all.

Originally, the Navy thought that hiding in the port, with the protection of the longsong cannons, the enemy would not dare to attack. Never did they expect that these "advanced" longsong cannons could not be used at all.

Since the Osman Empire had not fallen behind, the Black Sea Coast had not been threatened by foreign enemies. The corrupt bureaucrats of the Tsarist government naturally saved as much as they could. The longsong cannons were just for show. If they weren't products from the previous century, then they were products from the previous century, and there were even more fake and inferior products.

After some probing, the British and French navies launched an attack. After struggling for a while, the Black Sea Fleet died heroically.

This was nothing to be ashamed of. No country in the world could resist the combined forces of the British and French navies. The Black Sea Fleet did not surrender to the enemy, which was enough to prove their bravery.

The main thing was that without a chance to surrender, they were finished. Ever since Menshikov joined the navy, the Russian navy had been stagnant for decades. Now, they were two generations behind the enemy.

(How dare he use the army drill to train the navy?)

"Humph!"

Nicholas I Of Russia snorted, expressing his dissatisfaction.

The Foreign Affairs Minister Carr Vussel tried to persuade him, "Your Majesty, since things have come to this, we can only give up these cities. As long as we can conquer the Constantinople and seal the Bosporus Strait, this will not happen again."

At this moment, the Tsarist government's desire for the Constantinople increased again. They had personally experienced the terrible consequences of losing their sea power.

Nicholas I Of Russia nodded. He was not really angry about the Black Sea Fleet's destruction. Since the day the British and French entered the war, he had expected this result.

What really angered him was that the defense line in the coastal area could not withstand a single blow and did not cause any trouble to the enemy. The corruption of the government's bureaucracy had reached such an extent.

Problems aside, it was now a time of war. Domestic stability was the most important thing. Nicholas I Of Russia could not purge the bureaucracy at this time.

"Have the statistics of the losses come out?" Nicholas I Of Russia asked with concern.

"Your Majesty, it's just a preliminary calculation. We have less than 10% of the strategic supplies we had stored in the coastal area. About 300,000 people have been displaced and the direct economic loss is more than 200 million rubles," the Finance Minister Aresan Lirod replied with a trembling voice.

Obviously, Aresan Lirod did not expect the people under him to be so bold. Even if their warehouses were exposed, it was impossible for the enemy to hit them so accurately.

Even if it was a fixed target, the navy's hit rate was not high. To blow up all their warehouses was not something that could be done in a short period of time.

Did they really think that the enemy's shells were free?

Nicholas I Of Russia sneered and said, "Investigate. Send someone to investigate!"

Even if they could not touch them now, wasn't there a saying, 'settle accounts later'? Tsar was very vengeful. He remembered these problems first and there would be time to settle accounts in the future.