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. 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, making it seem 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, defeating 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 an enemy twice their size, 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 mentioned, 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 Osman Army claimed to have 500,000 troops, they had defeated 500,000 troops. The actual strength of the enemy was naturally ignored by everyone.
…
After the celebration banquet, Nicholas I Of Russia returned to the main topic. It was not good news that the French had joined the war.
Although the Tsarist government had been considering 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 when it actually happened.
Perhaps the officers at the frontline still had some integrity, or perhaps they knew that the war would continue and that they would have to fight the French to the death, so they were afraid of getting themselves into trouble.
At the end of the report, they emphasized the threat posed by the French army.
To sum it up, if not for the sudden appearance of 50,000 French troops on the battlefield, this battle in Bulgaria would have been the end of the Osman.
Without French reinforcements, it would not be long before His Majesty the Great Tsar would be parading his troops in Constantinople. Therefore, His Majesty Tsar must be extremely vigilant against these evil Frenchmen.
Nicholas I Of Russia said with a smile, "Everyone, the French have really sent their troops to 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. The British and French are not as easy to deal with as the Osman. This war is not over yet.
How should we fight the war in the future? If you have any ideas, you can speak freely. "
With a great victory at the frontline, 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 this war.
The strong always had to maintain their poise, especially when victory was in their grasp.
This was not an exaggeration. Judging from the strength of the land forces on the surface, the Russians really had the strength. At least in terms of population, the Russians had the strength.
In 1852, the total population of Russia was about 65 to 76 million, which was 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.
(It could not be helped. In this era, the Tsarist government did not have population statistics. The data varied greatly.)
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 would be reduced from a protagonist to a supporting role. 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. We will let them know who is the world's strongest land power.
Now we should immediately increase the number of troops at the frontline, destroy the Osman Empire, and recover the Constantinople. "The Minister of War, Arthur Nicholas, said murderously.
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 evenly matched.
With the support of Austria, the Russians 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 number of troops at the frontline. After winning this battle, the Russian Army had suffered a lot. If the war continued, they would definitely need reinforcements. The commanders at the frontline had already requested reinforcements from home.
"Your Majesty, due to the miscalculation, we did not expect Britain and France to directly participate in the war. 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. 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 troops at the frontline, 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 increasing the number of troops. He just raised the issue to avoid making a plan blindly. It would be awkward if they did not have the money to fight the war.
100 million Austrian Audi seemed to be 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 300,000.
In the battle of Bulgaria, the Russian Army had lost 45,000 people. Even if the gray livestock was worthless, they still had to spend a sum of money.
When the war was won, there was no shortage 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 expenses of the 300,000 troops on food, drink, and sleep every month was more than 4 million Audi. It was not that the Russian Army had high standards, but the cost of transporting supplies during the war was high. Once the war started, the money would be spent like water.
In the battle of Bulgaria, the Russian Army had destroyed thousands of tons of ammunition. 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 expenses of the war still had to be solved by the Russians themselves. The loan from Austria could only be used to make up for it. Naturally, the pressure on the Ministry of Finance was 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. Do not give England and France any chances!
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 troops 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 not lack soldiers, but the logistics would be ruined.
Even with the addition of Austria, it would be difficult for the two countries to support 600,000 to 700,000 troops in the The Balkans.
This was not a lack of supplies. It was a lack of transportation. If the war was fought in the Danube River valley, the logistics could be guaranteed.
But as the war went on, the Russian Army's supply line was getting longer and further away from the Danube River. The distance needed to be transported by animals and carried by men also increased. 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, "Mr. Nicholas, the current situation does not allow us to invest so many troops in the The Balkans. This plan looks feasible, but it is not practical.
If we can't win the war in the The Balkans, can we make a breakthrough in the Caucasus?
Victory in any direction can deal a blow to the Osman Empire's confidence. As long as this decadent Empire collapses, we will win the war. "
Making a breakthrough in the Caucasus was not a problem! However, after conquering one mountain, there was still the next.
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.
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