St. Petersburg

Suddenly receiving the letter of war from the Kingdom of Sardinia, the tsarist government was so angry that it was furious. It was fine if the British and French Ottoman Empires were all powerful countries in the world. What was the Kingdom of Sardinia?

I really thought that Russia had fallen, and any cat or dog could come to cause trouble? No matter how angry he was, because the distance was too far, Russia could not do anything to the Kingdom of Sardinia.

Nicholas I shouted coldly: "Hmph!"

"Order the troops on the front line to greet me with a good greeting to the Sardinians so that they can know that the Russian Empire should not be humiliated!"

"Yes, your majesty." The Army Minister hurriedly replied

No one expected that Nicholas I's angry order would become the key to the future Russian army breaking the deadlock and win a big victory.

On July 18, 1852, the Russian army launched an attack in the Caucasus region, causing the Turkish army to retreat step by step. Due to the terrain, the Russian army won many battles, but unfortunately the front was moving forward very slowly.

The Ottoman Empire also had smart people who knew that the favorable terrain of the Caucasus region could not be given up. They hoarded a large amount of troops here. When the troops on the front line were defeated, they immediately sent new troops to the top.

The two sides fought fiercely, and they could not give up any inch of land. After paying a heavy price, in August, the Russian army was forced to stop the attack.

The casualties were too great. The number of casualties in the battle in more than half a month exceeded 70,000, with an average of more than 5,000 casualties per day. The victory was far away and the Russians could not bear it.

If you want to increase troops, due to the terrain, logistical supply is a problem. The ability to concentrate 200,000 troops is the result of hoarding strategic materials in advance.

After half a month of shooting, the weapons were consumed almost the same, that is, the Russian army was backward to ensure basic logistics supply. If the British, French and Austrian troops were replaced, the logistics pressure would increase by one quarter.

The Caucasus region could not be broken through, and the Russians once again turned their attention to the Balkans. After such a long period of renovation, the Russian army had recovered its combat effectiveness and its total strength increased to 480,000.

The coalition forces have more troops, including 170,000 French troops, 20,000 British troops, 540,000 Ottoman troops, and the Sardinian troops have not yet arrived, with a total force of 730,000.

However, the Russians were not at a disadvantage. The Bulgarians formed 50,000 troops, Austria helped to hold back 70,000 to 80,000 Ottoman troops, the Duchy of Montenegro also mobilized 20,000 troops, and the Greeks who were preparing to stab the knife in the back also organized 70,000 troops.

In general, the combat effectiveness of both sides is almost equal, and the key to determining the outcome lies in the battle between the commanders of both sides.

"Have the supplies been in place?" asked Myshkov.

The last Bulgaria battle was unable to expand the results. In addition to the sudden appearance of the French army that broke their plans, the logistics supplies could not keep up.

The Russian army had incorrectly estimated the consumption of dàn    yào on the battlefield in advance, and ignored that after the troops were replaced, the consumption of weapons would also increase significantly.

The Russians' weapons and equipment were backward, so Franz, as an ally, would naturally not sit idly by. As soon as the Near East War broke out, Austria sold a large number of new weapons and equipment to the Russians.

The Russians did not have the financial resources to change their clothes on a large scale, but they still purchased a batch of weapons and equipment for the main force to use. About three infantry divisions replaced the aristocratic weapons and purchased more than 300 artillery pieces to increase their firepower.

Facts have proved that these weapons and equipment are still worth this price. After the dressing is replaced, the Russian army's combat effectiveness has improved a lot. These main divisions were the first troops to tear open the Ottoman army's defense line.

The battle on the battlefield was so good, and the consumption of dàn    yào would naturally be greater. Taking the three hundred additional cannons as an example, just one volley was needed, and one ton dàn    yào would be gone.

The cost of high costs is a logistical problem. Compared with the frequent problems of Russian equipment, the officers suddenly fell in love with the Austrian equipment and asked for the replacement of equipment.

If it was a peaceful era, if Austrian weapons and equipment were purchased on a large scale, interest groups engaged in weapons production would definitely oppose it desperately.

The war period was different. He paid so much for this war. Nicholas I would never tolerate someone dragging his back at this time and strongly passed the military's dress-up requirement.

During the months of renovation, the Russians were not idle and replaced some troops' equipment one after another. Now, one-third of the 480,000 Russian troops are using Austrian equipment.

The main force has set aside the gap between Britain and France in terms of weapons and equipment. Even if there is a lack of training, it can make up for two or three points with the fighting will of the combat nation.

It is difficult for the last time that the main force of the 90,000 Russian army could not chew on 50,000 French troops in the field.

"It has been all in place, and some of the supplies have even exceeded our prior plans, which is enough to support our entire army's war for three months." The quarconian replied.

Minshkov nodded with satisfaction, and he had enough confidence in this war. The last Bulgarian battle had already severely damaged the main force of the Ottoman army.

Even though the number of troops has not decreased now, its combat effectiveness has inevitably declined. The combat effectiveness of new recruits and veterans is completely different, and the combat effectiveness of elites and cannon fodder is even more disparate.

Minshkov said confidently: "Very good. As long as the logistics are in place, we won half of this war.

Our combat plan has been approved in China, and we still need 300,000 troops in Ukraine, which can be supplemented with our consumption on the battlefield at any time.

The Ottomans were not worth worrying about. The Kingdom of Sardinia was only brought to make up the numbers by the British, and our main enemy was Britain and France.

The strategic goal of this battle is to annihilate the main forces of Britain and France on the Balkans, push the front line to Edirne, and lay the foundation for conquering Constantinople.

For the final victory, we must do whatever we want to do in this war, regardless of casualties, tore through the enemy's defense line in the shortest time and encircle and annihilate the British and French coalition forces.

Only by hurting them can we win this war.”

The Russian military system was a bit chaotic, and the Tsarist government was also casual in employing people. Myshkov was originally from the army and served as a diplomatic military officer stationed in Vienna, participated in the anti-French war, and the eighth Russian-Turkish war, and served as a Tsar's attendant.

After retiring from the Army, he joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and then joined the Navy to serve, serving as commander of the Black Sea Fleet, chief of staff of the Navy General Command, secretary of the Navy, and now an admiral.

Some people may think that his navy is extremely talented, so he has made an exception and promoted, but on the contrary, he is just causing trouble.

The direct consequence of Myshkov's entry into the navy was that he delayed the technological progress and combat training of the Russian Navy, and applied the training mode of the army to the navy, and he could be regarded as a gravedigger of the Russian Navy.

At this time, he, the admiral, was sent to command hundreds of thousands of troops to fight and serve as the commander-in-chief of the Expeditionary Force in the Balkans, so naturally it would not be convinced.

Although he was from the Army, after leaving the Army for more than ten or twenty years, his professional ability inevitably deteriorated and was unconvincing.

It is more appropriate to say that he is a politician than to say that he is a soldier. The employment mechanism of the Tsarist government cast a shadow on the upcoming war.

Russian Chief of Staff Fitzroy Somerset opposed: "Mr. Commander, the easiest breakthrough is obviously the Ottomans.

What we need to do now is to find opportunities to destroy the Ottoman army, and then chew on the hard bones of Britain and France.

Without the Ottoman army as vassals, Britain and France have less than 200,000 troops, we can easily kill them."

Myshkov explained confidently: "If we focus on attacking the Ottomans, the British and French armies will run away when the momentum is wrong, and we simply do not have the ability to keep them at the same time.

If we cannot fight Britain and France, even if we occupy Constantinople, the war will continue.

They can send their troops to the Balkans continuously by sea, and this battle will become a long and hopeless one.

From the outbreak of the war to the present, we have paid at least 130 million rubles of military expenditure. If we add the preliminary preparations for the war, our military expenditure has exceeded 200 million rubles, which is the fiscal revenue of the Russian Empire in one year.

If the war continues for a long time, our finances will be unsustainable. In terms of financial resources, we cannot compete with Britain and France, even if we add Austrians."

In this era, the British were invincible. Even if they only looked at financial income, they were all the best. The French, Austrian, Russia and Qing dynasties, which were in the second echelon, could not catch up with them. Everyone only had the six or seven levels of the British.

This gap can only be followed by countries after completing the industrial revolution.

"But Commander, we have no advantage now. The result of the war is likely to be both sides and lose the final goal." Fitzroy Somerset said with a frown.

Minshkov shook his head and said, "We must fight both sides and lose money. No matter what, we must fight against Britain and France and force them to withdraw from the war.

If we continue to fight step by step, will we be preparing to fight this war for one year, two years, ten years, or eight years?

Now is different from before. In a war, we could fight the Ottoman Empire for more than ten years, but is it possible now?

The high cost of war has told us that quick battles are the best choice. If we delay, the price we pay will only be even heavier."

When soldiers look at problems, it is enough to start from a military perspective. When politicians look at problems, they think more about political perspectives.

Minshkov has gone too far to politicians. He may not care about the losses of the Russian army, but he cannot accept that the war will continue.

The Russian government knew that the longer the war lasted, the more unfavorable it was for them. In the later stages, it could only depend on who had a stronger ability to bear it.

In order to avoid this, the best way is to use the tragic casualties on the battlefield to scare Britain and France and force them to make concessions.

After the Crimean War in history, the British interfered in European affairs and restrained themselves a lot, avoiding their own participation as much as possible, and placing the bottom of the unified German region of Prussia.

It can be said that the Crimean War was fought by the Germans. After the war, Russia's internal conflicts and methods had to be reformed and it had not come out for more than ten years. The two victors of Britain and France were also in fear and did not interfere with the unified war initiated by Prussia as soon as possible.

After a unified understanding, the Russian army began to prepare. Fortunately, information transmission was inconvenient in this era. Although wired telegrams appeared, they were only found in big cities and the Balkans were not popular yet.

Otherwise, with the current actions of the Russians, their actions have not yet begun, and the enemy will be ready when they receive the news.

...

Wars all need comparisons. No matter how chaotic the Russians commanded the chaotic forces, they were better than the British and French Ottoman United forces, but they advanced together.

Britain and France did not give in to each other, and the Ottoman Empire could only be neutral. They were afraid that if one of them would not let Britain and France withdraw, then they would be finished.

In history, Aimabre Jean-Jacques Pericsier served as the commander of the coalition forces and was able to command the coalition forces to fight. Now Aimabre Jean-Jacques Pericsier is only one of the three commanders.

The sequelae is that when a coordinated battle is needed, everyone must report to the coalition command center and can only be carried out after the three commanders reach an agreement.

The Russian army was preparing to launch an attack, but the coalition side knew nothing. The Ottoman Empire did not attach importance to intelligence work, and all sources of intelligence were provided by the Chinese people.

Under the bureaucratic system, many of these intelligences were not verified and were used directly. Unfortunately, the Russians did not pay attention to intelligence work, otherwise, if some fake news was passed, the coalition forces would suffer a great loss.

Britain and France both cross the river and do not have the ability to collect intelligence. Their bureaucracy should not be underestimated. They directly believe that the Ottoman Empire would solve this problem.13
Chapter completed!