The command of the Russian army, Ivanov is basking in the joy of the capture of Poznan. This can be said to be the greatest result achieved by the Russian army since the beginning of the war, and its strategic significance is no weaker than the recovery of Smolinsk.

If you open the map, you can see that Poznan is located in the center of the Polish plain, and is the most important transportation hub and industrial center between Poznan.

The occupation of this place by the Russians also means that they have cut off the main artery connecting Warsaw with the rear, and the main force of the Prussian army led by Moltke is about to become a lone army.

A young officer hurriedly came to report: "Marshal, news has come from the front that according to airship reconnaissance, a large number of enemy troops withdrew from the Warsaw area yesterday, and the number is as high as hundreds of thousands.

The enemy's march was very fast, and it is suspected that the main force was the main force, although they did not carry heavy weapons, so it is impossible to determine for the time being. ”

Ivanov was shocked in his heart and thought to himself: "It's not good, the enemy wants to run." Then he hesitated again, Moltke was cunning, and his use of troops was often unexpected, and no one knew whether it would be a false shot.

The airship can only reconnoitre, and it is difficult to distinguish whether it is the main force below. There are also a large number of local troops in the Warsaw area, which are fully capable of posing as the main force.

The same tactic had already been used by Moltke in last year's Winter Battle. In the recent Battle of Warsaw, the enemy deceived the Russian Fourth Army by repeating his old tricks.

But just give up like this, Ivanov is unwilling, if he lets go of the main force of the Prussian army now, it will be difficult to encircle and annihilate them in the future.

After some thought, Ivanov made a decision: "Order the Seventh Army to immediately send cavalry deep into the enemy's territory to reconnoiter and determine whether it is the enemy's main force."

Inform the Eighth Army that they should destroy the roads and bridges on the way back of the Prussian army, and prepare to intercept the enemy's return to the west.

The Ninth Army was ordered to immediately go to Poznan to join the Eighth Army and jointly carry out the interception mission.

The 11th and 17th armies were ordered to leave a small number of troops to defend, and the main force went to Poznan as soon as possible for reinforcements.

The Third, Sixth, and Seventh Armies were ordered to immediately move closer and, as soon as it was certain that the enemy's main forces were leaving, to attack Warsaw.

The Fourth and Fifth Armies, which were being repaired, were ordered to be ready for battle and to reinforce the Warsaw battlefield at any time.

The 13th and 14th armies were ordered to abandon their original combat missions and cut off the enemy forces in Warsaw from the East Prussian region. ”

Ivanov was still the same Ivanov, and he did not blindly order the pursuit because the enemy might retreat.

In order to seize the time to run away, the Prussian army did not carry heavy weapons and equipment, and if several cavalry divisions in the Warsaw area were all sent, the success rate of intercepting them would still be very high.

The question is, what if you stop it?

The Russian Fourth and Fifth Armies in the Warsaw area were abolished, and the Seventh Army was also greatly damaged in the previous battles, and its combat effectiveness was greatly reduced.

Even if these troops chased after them, they did not have the strength to encircle and annihilate the main force of the Prussian army. Moreover, in order to pursue, it was necessary to deal with the Prussian troops left behind in the Warsaw area.

Considering the risks involved, Ivanov preferred to choose a more conservative tactic and intercept in the Poznan region farther away.

Steady is safe, and the success rate is pitifully low. The Polish plain is flat, there is no danger to defend at all, and the enemy has too many paths to choose.

Unless it was a stroke of luck, the Eighth Army would not have been able to stop it at all. Ivanov's order for reinforcements was not really to intercept the main forces of the Prussian army in the Polish region, and it was also a good option to block them out of Poland.

Ivanov, who likes to fight steadily, does not mind clearing the enemy in the Warsaw area first, and then concentrating his forces on a decisive battle with the Prussian army.

……

At the Vienna Palace, after receiving the news of the occupation of Poznan by the Russian army, Franz squirted out a sip of tea.

His instincts told him there was something wrong with this.

The strategic value of Poznan, Moltke could not have been unaware. No matter how short of troops, it is impossible to ignore such a strategic location.

Even if the main force is insufficient, the second-line troops must be replenished. However, in the Poznan area, there were three second-line infantry divisions that were not fully formed, of which only 7,000 were stationed in Poznan.

With this little force, I almost told the enemy that our troops here are weak and come and attack.

Franz asked, "Albrecht, what do you think Moltke wants to do?" Lure the enemy deeper, ready to eat the Russians' Eighth Army? ”

Chief of Staff Albrecht smiled: "There may be factors in this regard, but it should be more to preserve strength and jump out of the big hole in Warsaw as soon as possible."

The Russians had too much advantage, and they had no chance of winning head-on against the Pop-Polish Federation. If you want to turn the tables, Moltke can only make a surprise move.

I don't know exactly what it is, but militarily, abandoning Poland to stretch the Russians' front can indeed increase the chances of victory for the Prussian army.

The loss of the Poznan region also involves problems left over from history. After the Congress of Vienna in 1815, the region was assigned to the Kingdom of Prussia, but the locals were not convinced.

To be precise, the local capitalists, aristocrats, and intellectuals were very dissatisfied with the Berlin government.

Ostensibly the Berlin government's policy of national integration, with its Germanization in the region, it was actually the Junker aristocracy that took the majority of the government's interests, and they did not get the scraps of the latter.

In normal times, these people can't make trouble, but the war years are different, especially when the Russians are about to win, these frustrated people are naturally active.

Perhaps, Moltke wanted to pull out these hidden dangers at once and deliberately expose them. ”

"Lead the snake out of the hole and remove the dissident."

Franz is also familiar with this kind of thing. Political struggle is inherently cruel, and there is no way to become one's own person, so it can only be cleaned.

At this point in the war, the internal contradictions of the Pop-Po Federation have actually accumulated to a peak, and they are just one fuse away from exploding. Since Poznan has become a hidden danger, it is natural to clean it.

Looking at the map, Franz sighed sincerely: "Moltke is really ruthless, the hundreds of thousands of troops in the Warsaw area, they will give up when they say they will give up!" ”

There's nothing wrong with that. As the saying goes, "mercy is not in charge of the army", in order to win the war, there is nothing that cannot be abandoned.

It seems that hundreds of thousands of troops have been abandoned, but in fact the Berlin government is not at a loss, and the two sides have become like a sea of enemies so far that the Poles will not surrender as long as there is hope.

Most of these troops were locals, and it was almost impossible to annihilate them in a single battle. Even if we were victorious, it would be very difficult to clear the area after the war.

As soon as the Berlin government intervened, local partisans were born. Just think about the atrocities of the Cossack cavalry in Poland in the early stage, and you can see how much the local population hated the Russians, and the guerrilla warfare that followed had to be fought.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Karl smiled: "Your Majesty, Moltke is probably forced to do so." The Warsaw region is not only a few hundred thousand troops, but also a large number of refugees.

The war dragged on, these people could not return to their hometowns to resume production, the Pop-Po Federation could not provide so many jobs, and Poland could be said to be full of refugees.

According to preliminary estimates, about 3 million people are receiving relief food from the government in Berlin, and about half of them have lost their source of livelihood altogether.

With millions of troops and millions of refugees, the Berlin government's finances could not stand it, even with the blood transfusion of the British.

The loss of the Polish region also lost this heavy burden. On this issue, the Berlin government should have played an inglorious role. ”

Refugees are always the most troublesome thing, and it is true that Austria is accepting refugees on a large scale, but it is a pity that the colonial government has passed the age of hunger and hunger, and has set the threshold, and the language and writing have stopped most of the people.

The British and French colonies and American countries welcomed immigrants, but unfortunately they had to buy their own ferry tickets, and they also needed to find their own ways to make a living when they arrived there.

Franz nodded: "This is a difficult problem for the Berlin government, but it should not be difficult for the Russians, they have a lot of experience in dealing with it, but I don't know what Alexander II will do this time." ”

Relief is impossible, most of these refugees are made by the Russian army, and even if the tsarist government pays for relief, it will not be able to recover the hearts of the people.

Moreover, the tsarist government was not rich, and Alexander II would certainly not have done such a meaningless investment.

Expulsion may not be the best option, but it is the most likely thing for the tsarist government to do, as in the Second Near East War, when the Russian army expelled a large influx of Ottoman people into the interior.