Receiving a telegram from the Fourth Army asking for help, Ivanov was not well.

It is very obvious that anyone with a little military common sense knows that if the lone army goes deep and finds that the situation is not right, he should retreat immediately.

The Fourth Army did not operate with combat missions and was completely free to play. When you spot a large force of the enemy, immediately adjust the speed of your march, keep a safe distance from the enemy, and wait for reinforcements to arrive.

Even if it is an afterthought, the Fourth Army can choose to break out and join the Russian army in the rear before the enemy's encirclement is completed.

The Fourth Army had cavalry units, and it was impossible not to find traces of the enemy, and the movement of hundreds of thousands of troops could not be kept secret at all.

Ivanov received news of the movement of the Prussian army in the rear, but it was a little late, and before he could react, a telegram from the Fourth Army for help came.

In those years, there was no radio, and the Fourth Army's telegrams for help were still sent to the 107th Division in the rear through the airship unit, and then forwarded to the headquarters.

Obviously he had enough time, but he did not take action in time, and Ivanov has always hated a general like Opodo who has no overall vision.

The reason Ivanov also knew very well that the Fourth Army was acting privately, and if it did not have enough combat merits, it would come back in disgrace, and the future of Obodo and other commanders would be gone.

The prerequisite for waiting for an opportunity to move and grasp the fighter is that it must succeed, and if it fails, it is not a fighter plane.

The competition within the Russian army is also very fierce, and once there is a stain, it is almost impossible to go further.

Coupled with the fact that he acted privately without asking for instructions, it was good luck to be able to retire early.

For the sake of their personal future, the commanders of the Fourth Army held on to their luck and dragged it to the present.

This telegram asking for help seemed prosaic, but in fact it was not without the meaning of throwing the blame, and it is estimated that the whole of the Fourth Army was expecting Ivanov to give the order to let them retreat.

Anyone who knows the deployment of the Russian army knows that the Fourth Army is very important to the next Battle of Warsaw, and the Vistula River is even more related to the logistics and transportation of the Russian army in the future.

"Bang!"

Ivanov slammed the table and scolded: "Ёбтвоюмать! ”

“Пошёлнахуй！”

……

Listening to Ivanov's roar, everyone in the command was afraid of being set on fire.

After a quarter of an hour of scolding, Marshal Ivanov, who had a dry mouth, stopped. He was really angry, he had never seen such a bad boss.

The Fourth Army is over, and it will be difficult for the Russian army to win the Battle of Warsaw. Militarily speaking, the situation on the front line is now unclear, and it is very risky to rush to the rescue, and it is very likely that the enemy will surround and send reinforcements.

Ordering the Fourth Army to break through and preserve its strength as much as possible is the best strategic choice.

In reality, however, this cannot be done. When it comes to Ivanov's position, the military must also think about politics.

He ordered the Fourth Army to retreat, and in case of heavy losses in the troops, he had a share of the responsibility.

Looking at Obodo's commotion, you know that there must be someone behind him, and this kind of opportunity has arisen, and it is inevitable that these people will make a fuss and deduct the black pot from Ivanov.

Politics is not a matter of pros and cons. Don't expect your opponent to be merciful, politicians never have a low, only a lower.

After calming down, Ivanov's brow furrowed even tighter. Gazing at the map, pondering the true purpose of the enemy.

The Fourth Army was of great importance to the Battle of Warsaw, but it was the same for the entire Russo-Prussian War. When the battle was fierce, the losses of the Russian army in a month were more than 100,000.

If the war can be won, Ivanov will not blink an eye even if the Fourth Army is sacrificed.

After pondering for a moment, Ivanov walked up to the operational staff officer and asked: "Where has our unit closest to the Fourth Army gone?" ”

The operational staff officer replied apprehensively: "The nearest is the 107th Division of the Ninth Army, which is now in the Radom area; This was followed by the Fifth and Seventh Armies, but they were north of Warsaw and could not go for reinforcements. ”

Ivanov's brows furrowed even tighter, and the troops of a division were transferred to reinforcements, and it was estimated that they were eaten by the enemy before they were halfway there.

If you want to relieve the siege of the Fourth Army, you need to invest at least one corps of troops, and unless you transfer troops that are carrying out the strategy of the southern front, other troops will not be able to catch up in a short time.

After looking at the distribution of Russian troops on the map, Ivanov shook his head, in order to rescue the Fourth Army, he gave up the battle on the southern front, and the strategic gain was completely outweighed by the loss.

The Battle of the Southern Front could obtain supplies from Austria with minimal logistical pressure. As long as the enemy's line of defense is broken, it is very tempting to attack Berlin in the west or to capture Poznan in the north.

If Berlin is taken, the Pop-Po Confederation is finished; Having captured Poznan and cutting off the enemy's connection with the rear, the Prussian army in the Warsaw area became alone.

After pondering for a moment, Ivanov said slowly: "Order the Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Armies to immediately form the Southern Front.

The commander of the Eighth Army, General Mathilde, was also the commander, the commander of the Ninth Army, General Mettler, was the deputy commander, and the commander of the Tenth Army, which was also General Mourinho, was the chief of staff.

Tell them to complete the organization as soon as possible in the shortest possible time, and within a week I will receive news of the outbreak of the battle on the Southern Front. ”

Extremely irregular personnel appointments, but special treatment during special periods. There is no such level as a front army in the establishment of the Russian army, the army is already the largest unit, and the front army was only temporarily established during the war.

The enemy's main force was on the battlefield in Warsaw, and most of the troops on the southern front were second- and third-line troops.

If we really set up a command headquarters for the airborne troops, it will take at least a month for them to sort out the situation of the troops.

On the battlefield, the soldiers are very fast, and wasting a month is simply fatal.

Prior to this, the Russian army also had the Southwestern Front, but it was crippled by Moltke in last year's winter battle, and then it was disbanded.

With the passage of time, the strength of the Russian army has continued to expand, and the strength of an army can range from 100,000 to 200,000, and it is fully capable of fighting alone, and the need for building a front army is not so great.

In the front, the Russian army was mainly defensive, and most of the time, it was Marshal Ivanov who was directly commanding the large corps to fight, and the Fourth Army acted without authorization as soon as it was delegated.

The idea of forming a front army was directly dispelled by Ivanov, and if it were not for the forced situation, he would not have created the Southern Front.

You must know that the losses caused by the chaos of an army on one side are much more serious than those caused by an army.

The newly released Southern Front Army has very serious internal checks and balances, and the three army commanders are also the commanders of the front army, so no one wants to act recklessly.

When fighting, they are directly commanded separately, and they are all very familiar with the old troops, and they do not need to run in, and they can burst out to the maximum combat effectiveness in a short period of time.

As for the side effects, Ivanov was already out of his mind. As long as the war can be won, no matter how big the problem is, it is a small matter.

After a pause, Ivanov added: "Order the Fifth Army, the Seventh Army to launch an offensive in the Warsaw area, let them control the rhythm themselves, and do not repeat the old things of the Fourth Army, I don't have so many troops to wipe their ass."

Hautev drafted a telegram to St. Petersburg reporting on our battle plan and the personnel appointments just now. ”

There was no mention of the Fourth Army, and it was clear that Marshal Ivanov was ready to ignore them. Anyway, the Fourth Army was greedy for merit and acted without asking for instructions, and even if the whole army was destroyed, he would not be responsible.

A middle-aged officer stubbornly asked, "Marshal, what about the Fourth Army?" ”

Ivanov glared at him fiercely and replied very dissatisfied: "What to do?" What to do, just do it!

Didn't that fool of Opodo boast of being a god? Now the opportunity to perform has come, as long as he can command the Fourth Army to defeat the Prussian army, all the problems are solved! ”

Defeat the Prussian army?

The crowd had already begun to mourn in their hearts for the Fourth Army. There is no doubt that this is an impossible task.

As if realizing that he had lost his temper, Ivanov sighed: "Order the Third and Sixth Armies in the rear to come to the rescue, I hope there is still time to come."

Give the Fourth Army an order to make their own battle plans, and reinforcements will arrive as soon as possible.

Ordered the airship troops to airdrop supplies to them, send electricity to St. Petersburg, and let them get a batch of transport airships as soon as possible, preferably the Austrian Flying Eagle 4. ”

Do your best, obey the destiny of heaven.

This sentence aptly summed up Ivanov's order, the Third Army and the Sixth Army to repair and replenish in the rear, and when they were assembled and rushed to the front, it would be impossible to do it without ten days and half a month.

If something happens in the middle of the way, for example, if you are blocked by the Prussian army in the middle, you may not be able to catch it in a month.

There is only one way to get fast, and that is to send cavalry. It's a pity that the cavalry of the Russian army is scattered to various units, otherwise the gathering of more than 100,000 or 200,000 cavalry can also try to rescue.

Of course, this only exists in an ideal state. More than 100,000 or 200,000 cavalry were gathered together, and the logistics alone could be overwhelming.

Now the Fourth Army can only rely on itself, and the airship empty supplies are more like a kind of comfort in the heart. The Russian army has a total of dozens of transport airships, all of which are theoretically operational, and they can drop up to forty or fifty tons of supplies per day.

In fact, an average of seven or eight tons of supplies can be put in every day, which can be regarded as God blessing.

Airships also need to be repaired and maintained, and they need to be inspected after each flight, which consumes a lot of time.

In addition, the transport airships of the Russian army are also scattered all over the place, and the number of people who can be assembled in the short term is limited. It is also necessary to consider the bad weather, which is not easy to put seven or eight tons of materials every day on average.

With such a small amount of materials, it is a drop in the bucket to supply the consumption of hundreds of thousands of troops. However, if all the high-calorie food was delivered, it would be enough to meet the soldiers' rations.

(End of chapter)