Theory and reality are often at odds with each other. Perhaps Obodo's response was effective, or perhaps the officers had no way to retreat, and the besieged Russian Fourth Army broke out with combat effectiveness beyond the expectations of the Prussian army.

Seven days passed in a flash, and the Fourth Army was still stuck there like a nail, leaving the Prussian army in a dilemma.

Looking at the increasing casualty figures in his hands, and thinking of his own task, General Hansgrohe, who was responsible for carrying out the encirclement and annihilation of the Fourth Army, was about to turn gray.

The enemy suffered more than half of the casualties, and there was still no sign of surrender, making it clear that they would fight to the end.

If the Russian army is so tenacious, this war will not have to be fought. The population of the Pupo Federation is limited, and it is simply impossible to fight.

After rubbing his forehead, Hansgrohe instructed his adjutant: "Send a telegram to the headquarters, report in detail on our situation here, and tell Marshal Moltke to give us another five days to ensure that we can annihilate this enemy army."

If other areas need support, we can send some troops out first, and now we don't need so many troops to surround us. ”

After these few days of fighting, Hansgrohe had determined that the enemy would not run away. In order to complete the mission, he even deliberately set aside a path to lure the enemy to break through.

As a result, the enemy remained firmly in place as if he didn't see it, and didn't give him a chance to take advantage of it at all.

If you don't run when you have a chance, it's completely unreasonable, Hansgrohe doesn't know what the Russian commander thinks, in short, he is very depressed.

"Yes, General!"

……

Not only was the Prussian army depressed, but the besieged Lieutenant General Obodo was even more depressed. The Prussian army was like going crazy, and launched an attack without rushing casualties, so that the Fourth Army could only parry, but had no power to fight back.

Having been caught in the encirclement, he did not know anything about the situation outside, and did not know at all why the enemy was going crazy.

The whistling sounded, and airships flew from the sky, which was the happiest and most tense moment of the day for the Russian army.

I don't know when the whistling airship became the spiritual pillar of the Fourth Army, bringing them hope for life.

This was the most tense time, except for the first few days, every time the airship troops came over, there was an air battle.

In just ten days, the Russian army paid the price of a total of thirty-five crashes, and almost every day three airships were killed in air battles.

Of course, the Prussian army is also uncomfortable, the gap between the two sides is almost the same, and the airship force may be the closest combat strength between Prussia and Russia.

Obodo picked up the binoculars and observed this thrilling air battle, and silently counted in his heart: "1, 2, 3, 4...... 49”。

"49" airships, a number that made Obodo's heart ecstatic, a full third more than yesterday, and the enemy on the opposite side was only half of that number.

The difference in numbers is half, and even if there are transport airships among the Russian airships, they still have an absolute advantage.

Although there are combat airships and transport airships in these years, it is common for transport airships to be used as combat airships.

The airships are all big guys, and a few ordinary bullets can still withstand it. The heavy machine gun used by the Air Force has not yet been invented, and the real killer is still artillery.

Whether it is a combat airship or a transport airship with artillery installed, it can go to the battlefield, but the hit rate is pitifully low. If it hits, then the result is the same, everyone is crispy.

In essence, airships are not used to fight each other, the high cost is enough to make any country feel pain, and the Russo-Prussian War can be regarded as the earliest air war in human history.

Seeing that nothing could be done, the Prussian airship unit decisively chose to retreat. The Russian army wants to put strategic materials, and it simply does not care about catching up.

Perhaps the Fourth Army was reduced in numbers; Or perhaps it was the great men of the headquarters who sent a kind heart, sympathizing with the hard work of the officers and men of the Fourth Army, and today's supplies are extraordinarily rich.

Rare vegetables, fresh beef, ham, cheese, bread, butter, bean flour, Opodo is hungry.

As the commander, Opodo quickly came to his senses, I am afraid that it is not the kindness of the big men, but the increased value of the Fourth Army.

Dragging 500,000,000 or 600,000 Prussian troops here is the greatest value of the existence of the Fourth Army. If they need to work hard, their treatment will naturally increase.

Shaking his head and dispelling the thoughts in his mind, Obodo instructed the guards beside him: "Send someone to look carefully to see if there is any order from the headquarters." ”

Without waiting for the guards to answer, a young officer ran over with a document: "General, this is a battle report from the headquarters. ”

Opodo dodged the file and quickly opened it. The more I looked at it, the more gloomy my my face became, as if the sky had fallen.

It's not that the situation is bad, the overall situation on the battlefield is very good, and the Russian army is getting closer and closer to winning the war.

On October 28, 1880, the Russian Fifth Army and the Seventh Army launched an attack on the Warsaw area from the northeast and now under the city of Warsaw.

On November 1, the Russian First and Second Armies launched the Battle of East Prussia.

Under the cover of the navy, on November 3, the Russian army launched a landing operation in the Gdynia area and won a complete victory.

On November 5, the Russian army launched another landing operation in Kovobrzeg, which once again confirmed success.

On November 7, the Russian Southern Front tore through the Prussian defenses.

The next day, the Russian army divided its forces into three routes, the commander of the Eighth Army drove straight to Berlin, the Ninth Army moved north to attack Poznan, and the Tenth Army was responsible for the center.

……

There was good news on the battlefield, but there was no news of the rescue of the Fourth Army. What this means is self-evident, and although it is not explicitly stated, the warning is very clear.

The Russian army's rapid advance is also inseparable from the efforts of the Fourth Army. If it weren't for the fact that they had dragged down the mobile forces of the Prussian army, the Fifth and Seventh armies would not have had the courage to approach Warsaw, and the Southern Front would not have dared to divide its troops into three routes.

In this situation, whoever drops the chain and destroys this hard-won overall situation will have to take responsibility.

There were no orders, but this battle report was the best order. Obodo knew very well that now it was not only about treating the Fourth Army as outcasts, but also as dead soldiers.

If they break through in front, it's a big deal that they will lose their heads; Now, if you run away, you have to go to the guillotine with the whole family.

Don't think that if it is not popular in Europe to kill the aristocracy, you really have peace of mind. Alexander II had the reputation of "butcher", and if he did not kill the heads of the people, how could the reforms succeed?

After a little thought, Obodo ordered: "Inform the whole army of the good news, tell everyone that victory is at hand, as long as we hold out for another half a month, we will take Warsaw!" ”

"Seeing through but not saying it" is also one of the survival rules of this cruel world. Smart people can naturally see it, and those who can't understand it are the ones who have a tendon in their heads, and this battle is reported to them, and that is the real good news.

Hold on for half a month?

Obodo himself didn't believe it, and deep down he felt that the Fourth Army had been able to hold out until now, and it was all at a super level.

However, people are blindly obedient, especially when they are closest to victory, everyone can always self-hypnotize and burst out with unimaginable combat effectiveness.

Deep down in his heart, Opodo has decided that the main force of the Prussian army can contain it for as long as it can, and if it can't hold on, he will leave the local rats.

As long as the Fourth Army did not run away and remained here to continue fighting, others could not put the black cauldron on his head.

Fortunately, the soldiers did not know about Obodo's unscrupulous thoughts, otherwise the morale that everyone had managed to muster up would have been drained again.

Sometimes ignorance is a blessing, and it is better to be immersed in the ocean of hope than to despair after knowing the truth.

……

The Prussian army was at a complete disadvantage on the battlefield, and the Berlin government was completely panicked, and even Moltke's repeated assurances could not dispel everyone's doubts.

National mobilization is necessary, and as long as you can resist the use of guns, you must go to the battlefield.

It doesn't matter if there are not enough officers, the officers of the main forces can't move, then they are drawn from the local troops.

It's really not good, so find someone to hold it first, and then change it when there is a suitable one. If there is no suitable one, then there is no need to change it.

The enemy is about to reach Berlin, who cares about the quality! Let's get the quantity up first, at least we can increase everyone's sense of security.

Berlin's armed mobilization was accompanied by a diplomatic offensive.

It is no longer useful to co-opt the small players of the Ottomans, the countries of Central Asia, and the German Confederation, who have lost the ability to influence the outcome of the war.

At this point, the Popo Federation needed the support of the Great Powers. The European continent is different from other regions, and what is obtained on the battlefield is also likely to be spit out at the negotiating table.

The Berlin government did not have the luxury of letting the Russians return in vain, but it still had to do it to gain the support of the great powers and preserve its strength as much as possible.

At the Vienna Palace, Franz had just sent an envoy from the Berlin government.

Frankly speaking, he wondered very much in his heart, the war has not yet been decided, why should the Berlin government be in such a hurry?

The Russians seem to be advancing on the battlefield, but the war is not yet over. There are still 670,000 recruits in the Popo Federation, and no matter how weak these troops are, they can always make do with defending the city, right?

Faced with Franz's doubts, Chief of Staff Albrecht explained: "Your Majesty, until the battle has been going on, the number of casualties among the troops of the Pop-Po Federation has long exceeded the million mark, and the number of casualties alone has exceeded 300,000.

If we talk about the loss of ordinary soldiers, it can be replenished immediately, but the loss of junior officers is difficult to make up.

According to the analysis of the data we have gathered, the death rate of the Prussian nobles is much higher than the 13.5% of ordinary soldiers, and it is approaching 20%.

The Prussian army was understaffed, not only because of this war, but also because of the impact of the last war.

In the First Russo-Prussian War, the new generation of Junker aristocracy suffered heavy casualties, and now they are not only in short supply of junior officers, but also in the middle ranks, and in fact there is a shortage of high-level officers.

The insufficient number of qualified officers has a very great impact on the combat effectiveness of the army. Compared to the beginning of the war, the combat effectiveness of the Prussian army has actually declined.

It can be seen from their siege of the Russian Fourth Army that if it was the Prussian army at its peak, it would not need to be delayed for so long.

The lack of officers is anyone's responsibility, and the Pupo Federation has done a good job, and they have enough officers in advance to command an army of one and a half million.

This figure, in theory, is already enough to cope with any war. Before the outbreak of the Russo-Prussian War, no one knew that it would reach the scale it is now.

Whether it is the Pop-Po Federation or the Russian Empire, their mobilization ability is beyond our imagination. ”

Not to mention the people of this era, even Franz, a traverser, did not know in advance that Prussia and Russia would be able to get to this point.

This mobilization ability is about to catch up with the first war. The Pop-Polish Federation has mobilized more than 2.6 million troops, and the Russians have mobilized nearly 4 million troops in a frenzy.

This number is not the end of the story, the number of troops on both sides is like blowing up balloons, constantly expanding.

Like balloons, while the number of armies is expanding, the combat effectiveness of the armies is also declining.

The Prussian army showed more obviously, mainly because they took the quality line; The Russians started with numbers, although the combat effectiveness of the troops also decreased, because the quality was not very good at the beginning, so this decline was not so large.

Franz asked suspiciously: "As far as I know, there are still many officials in the Berlin government who are from the army, and now is a time of crisis, so it should not be a problem for them to recover from emergencies."

With these people starting a fight, and then promoting some civilian soldiers to serve as officers, the problem of insufficient officers at the grassroots level has been solved. There is no need for the Berlin government to be in such a hurry, right? ”

This is not Franz nonsense, many officials in the Berlin government are from the military. Not only the Pupo Confederation, but also Austria.

Under the all-for-all military service system, not only government officials have served in the military, but people from all walks of life have served in the military.

At the critical juncture, rehabilitating them back into the army is also a way to solve the shortage of officers.

Albrecht shook his head: "Your Majesty, these people seem to be organized, but they are not suitable for the army at all.

The officers of the Pupo Federation were dominated by the Junker aristocracy, and under the influence of traditional powers, the best of them, or the most suitable for the army, would develop in the army for a long time.

After retiring from the army, most of those who have joined the government departments are defective products that have been eliminated halfway, and their military capabilities themselves are worrisome.

If these people are reluctantly rehabilitated, their official position is also the position they have entered the army, but this position has nothing to do with military command ability.

It was unimaginable to let a group of bureaucrats with unknown military capabilities command the troops.

I think they may not be as good as first-year military cadets, at least these people are full of enthusiasm, will not be ridiculous, prevarication, and can strictly follow orders. ”

Franz nodded a little awkwardly, letting the bureaucracy command the troops indeed a huge hole. Don't fight yet, first pull the army into the political struggle.

After a pause, Albrecht added: "The promotion of civilian officers has long been done by the Prussian army. However, these soldiers have not received military school education, the training ceiling is very low, and only a very small number can serve as officers.

At present, among the junior officers of the Prussian army, the number of civilian officers is actually not a minority. However, these people's performance is not good, and there is a lot of chaos. ”

Franz said that the problem of civilian officers was a difficult problem in all European countries.

It was not the aristocracy that controlled the army and excluded civilian officers, as later generations said.

In fact, the nobles are only interested in middle and high-level positions, and the positions at the company level below are not their goal at all, and no one is so shallow.

The real problem lies in military literacy, and how can ordinary soldiers become qualified officers who have never been exposed to this knowledge?

It can be said that in peacetime, the channels for the rise of ordinary soldiers were locked up long ago, and only a very few geniuses were able to become officers.

There was a real chance during the war years, but only if they survived. Military merit is not so easy to get, and you need to exchange your life.

The noble officers at the grassroots level must take the lead in the charge, not to mention the civilian officers, I am afraid that many dangerous tasks will fall on them.

No matter how genius you are, only if you survive the battlefield will you have a future, or you will be a martyr.

Got the military merit, this is not the end. On the contrary, this is just the beginning.

Promoted to a higher position, the requirements are higher. Requirements for personal military literacy. It also becomes taller.

In peacetime, there is still a chance to go to the military academy to study for a wave, and when you come back, you will almost be able to do it. The war years will not work, and the war will not wait for anyone.

To some extent, Albrecht complained about the poor military literacy of civilian officers, which is also an indisputable fact.

Except for a very few geniuses, most civilian officers are landlubbers after they are promoted, and it is normal for them to be unable to adapt in a short period of time.

The army is a place where the strong are believed, and no one will think about so many reasons, let alone give you time to learn slowly.

If you can't, you'll be ostracized, and you won't need to use any means to squeeze you out.

Not only civilian officers, but even many children of big nobles will be squeezed out if they lack their own ability.

Not only now, but even in the future, there is only one way for civilian officers - to enter a military academy.

Improve your military literacy through school learning. Through study, the gap in ability with the noble officers was bridged.

This road is also not easy to walk, the number of students enrolled in the higher military academy is limited, thousands of troops cross the single-plank bridge, and they have to face competition from aristocratic candidates.

Due to the influence of educational resources, it is simply impossible for a genius to break through.