It turns out that the best tactic for you is the best one.

Marshal Ivanov used his troops in a completely decent manner, stubbornly and stupidly, and hardly found any bright spots. It is better to sit back and watch the loss of fighters than to go on military adventures.

Faced with such a conservative enemy, even Moltke, known as the "god of war" in Prussia, could not do anything.

The situation at the front did not follow the predetermined script, and the pressure on the Berlin government increased, and various criticisms continued to emerge.

There were even some old-school generals who openly criticized Moltke's command ability, demanding that he be responsible for the defeat at Smolinsk, as if the Prussian army could turn the tide with a change of commander.

Fortunately, Wilhelm I was not a soft-eared lord and firmly supported Marshal Moltke, otherwise the Prussian army would have to change generals.

Purely from a tactical point of view, the Prussian army has always won more and lost less, and its record is very beautiful.

Unfortunately, behind the victory, there were also tragic casualties. The war potential of the two countries was completely different, and the tsarist government was able to absorb three times the loss of troops than the Berlin government.

The Pop-Polish Federation seems to have a population of more than 30 million, and their real combat effectiveness is still an army composed of people in the core of Prussia.

Although the people of Poland also supported the war, the ethnic composition of the region was very complex, there were many ethnic minorities, and the internal contradictions were not necessarily smaller than the external contradictions.

The dual empire was not so easy to integrate, and the establishment of the Pop-Polish Federation was too short for the Berlin government to have time to sort out internal contradictions, let alone unify the language.

Problems that the government has not been able to solve are inevitably brought into the army. It is somewhat similar to the Austro-Constitutional Empire in the original time and space, and it is a great test of command and coordination.

The combat effectiveness of a single unit is 10, and the combat effectiveness of the two troops is not 20, but becomes 20 * 90% * 90% = 16.2 and so on, and the combat effectiveness of the three troops becomes 21.87.

Moltke brought this group of pig teammates to the battlefield, and it was very good to be able to play the current record. If it was really a different person, I guess I would have played a long time ago.

The Royal Palace in Berlin is now holding a meeting on the future of the Pubo Federation.

"Expansion? Or not to expand the army? ”

Since the outbreak of the war, the Pop Federation has been expanding, and the total number of troops has swelled from the initial 416,000 to the current 1.668 million.

Naturally, the expansion of the army discussed this time is not a routine replenishment of more than 100,000 troops per month, but "whether or not to immediately carry out maximum mobilization."

There is no way, in such a large-scale war, there are always not enough troops.

Not all armies are capable of being put into the field, and most of the expanded armies are new recruits who need to undergo the necessary military training.

After the training is completed, it does not mean that all these soldiers will be able to go to the battlefield. Logistics needs to be maintained, coastal areas also need troops to defend, and Cossack cavalry crossing the border also needs troops to encircle and suppress.

In addition, the replenishment of troops also accounts for a considerable proportion, which will be successively replenished to the units with heavy losses to ensure the combat effectiveness of the main force.

Of the 1.668 million troops of the Popo Federation, only half of them can really be put into front-line combat. This percentage is already very high enough to prove the organizational competence of the Berlin government.

If the troops are insufficient, it is naturally easy to suffer losses on the battlefield. Although Ivanov is conservative in his use of troops, he does not lack the ruthlessness of "one will make ten thousand bones dry", and he frantically plays the game of redemption.

Behind the war of attrition was the total strength of the Russian Empire, which was about to break through the three million mark. Even if the Russian army suffered a loss in exchange on the battlefield, they still took advantage of it strategically by virtue of their numerical superiority.

……

Moltke: "I am against maximum mobilization now, war does not depend on a large number of people, and we can never be an opponent of the Russians.

The unfavorable situation on the battlefield was only temporary, and the Russians seemed to have the advantage, but behind the superiority Ivanov was facing increasing political pressure.

Victory is the easiest way to get lost, and according to Ivanov's style of play, even if the Russians win this war, they will be greatly discouraged.

Millions of casualties, the final harvest of a blank field, plus a lot of debt.

It is said that the tsarist government mortgaged the Russian Balkans and most of Ukraine to Austria.

With the current strength of the Russian Empire, if they did not want to cede these regions to Austria, they had to find a way to pay off their debts.

Ivanov's tactics seemed to be sound, but in fact he was working for the Austrians. After the war, the tsarist government was unable to repay its debts and was bound to cede a large amount of territory to pay its debts, which I do not believe the tsarist government could accept.

As long as there are a few more victories, and it seems that the overall situation has been decided, the tsarist government will force Ivanov to come out and fight us in a decisive battle, or change people. ”

The government advocates military expansion, but the military boss opposes it. Such a strange thing is rare in the history of the world, but now it has really happened.

Moltke knew very well that his decision would displease many military generals, after all, expanding the army was the best chance for everyone to be promoted.

But there was no way, the war was very fierce, and the Prussian army had to pay tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of casualties every month.

Extreme mobilization seems to solve the problem of insufficient troops, but in fact it is not the case at all, the Pubo Federation has limited manpower, and the extreme mobilization is only consuming the mobilization capacity in the later stage.

It was originally to lure the enemy deeper, to get a large number of troops to come out, and leave them at home without moving, how could the tsarist government relax its vigilance?

Don't let your guard down, let Ivanov's guy continue to command, the two sides have been fighting hard, and the first one who can't hold it is the Pubo Federation.

Moreover, the newly formed troops will not be able to form combat effectiveness in the short term, and they will not be able to take the initiative to launch a decisive battle. Aside from increasing consumption, it doesn't help much in the battle situation.

Foreign Secretary Jeffrey Friedman: "Your Excellency, I admit you have a point, but don't forget that there are international forces.

Our negotiations with the London government have yielded phased results. Diplomatically they have intervened, and the threat of the Nordic Federation no longer exists.

If we mobilize three million troops, the tsarist government will have to mobilize on a larger scale if it wants to maintain its superiority.

So how many troops are they going to mobilize, will it be five million, or six million?

The army is a gold-swallowing beast, we have the financial support of Britain and France, and it will not be a problem to hold out for another year, how long can the tsarist government hold out?

I don't think that Austria will support the Russians indefinitely, they have invested enough capital to necessarily consider the question of recovering costs.

The Foreign Office has shown goodwill to the Vienna government, and we have made significant concessions not to seek the territories that the Russians have mortgaged to them, and to support them in obtaining Constantinople.

Of course, this may not impress them, but it is enough to stabilize Austria. As long as the Viennese government wavered, the tsarist government would not be able to maintain its superiority in forces because of lack of funds.

The enemy has no superior forces, and I believe that His Excellency Marshal has a way to defeat them. This is much less risky than waiting for the enemy to make a mistake. ”

Behind the seemingly insipid, it is actually a game of power. If the government expands the army according to its intentions and relies on finances to kill the Russians, then the protagonist of this war will be changed from the military to the government.

If you analyze it carefully, you will find that there is also the shadow of the British behind this, and the sudden action of the London government has given the Berlin government the opportunity to seize the dominant position.

Moltke roared, "Crazy! Jeffrey, you're such a madman!

He actually pinned his hopes on the British. Do you really think that the British will always support us?

Stabilize Austria?

Ah, God!

Jeffrey, how dare you think about it!

Participating in the Anglo-Austrian game, and still trying to play them in applause, do you think we are not in trouble enough? ”

It's not that Moltke is pessimistic, it's that Jeffrey's plan is too idealistic. Everything is based on the premise that Britain and Austria follow their script.

If the British did not continue to provide loans, or if the Vienna government continued to provide loans to the Tsarist government because of the Anglo-Austrian game, it would bring disaster to the Pubo Federation.

Countries are also different from country to country, and the financial strength of Britain and Austria is not comparable to that of Prussia and Russia. As long as the interests are large enough, it is not impossible to take hundreds of millions to conduct a proxy war.

Jeffrey Friedman sneered: "Your Excellency, you have been overly concerned, the risk is not as great as you imagined.

If you know how much we owe the British, you understand why the London government would support us.

The principal amount alone is as high as 210 million pounds, and that's just loans and bonds. We still owe £140 million to UK businesses, and that figure is increasing at a rate of £600,000 a day.

If interest is calculated, we need to repay the British nearly £600 million in debt. If the creditors don't want to lose their money, they will find a way to get the London government to support us. ”

Moltke was dumbfounded by this explanation, and he could never have dreamed that the Berlin government would owe such a huge debt, let alone that it would be so beneficial.

Of course, the benefits are only temporary. When it was time to pay back, it was their turn to cry.

After a pause, Moltke asked, "What about Austria?" Don't tell me, we owe them a huge debt too. ”

Jeffrey Friedman smiled slightly: "Naturally not. The Austrian bankers were not optimistic about us at all, they lent money to the Russians.

There is no debt impact, but there is an exchange of benefits. In international politics, as long as the interests are sufficient, enemies and friends can be transformed. ”

Jeffrey Friedman's self-confidence did not move Moltke again, but only shook his head: "Your Excellency, it is time for you to wake up from your dream.

Theoretically, after we withdrew from the German Confederation, we could indeed make a deal with Austria to support their annexation of the German Confederation in exchange for their neutrality in this war.

But do you think we have a choice? Will the British say yes? Will the French say yes? ”

This is the sequelae of excessive debt, and the British are not easy to get their money. There are indeed countries that don't do things with money, but the Popo Federation is not one of them.

The London government was now willing to support the Pop-Polish Confederation, not only to fight the Russians, but also to restrain Austria and hinder the unification of Germany.

If it is found that the Berlin government wants to compromise with Austria on this issue, it is not surprising that John Bull is not mad.

The reserves of the Pupo Federation are all held in London, and the British government can turn the mark into waste paper at any time, and the Berlin government has no choice at all.

……