Vienna

After passing the combat tests of the new rifle of the Holstar plant, it entered the list of candidates for the Austrian army's installation, and was designated the Stelen M1852 rifle.

This seems to be a custom of Europeans, and designers always like to name their designed weapons after themselves.

These are all minor issues, and Franz has no interest in getting to the bottom of it, and getting into the army's list of alternative equipment does not mean that it will be able to be equipped on a large scale.

It has been more than 30 years since the appearance of breech rifles, the first being the Hall M1819 of the Americans, but unfortunately this rifle will fly to the left after 45.7 meters.

Then there was the Prussian Dreisai M1841, which the Prussian army had already begun to assemble, but many generals objected, and it was clear that his performance had not yet conquered the masses.

This rifle shined in the Prussian-Danish War and the Austro-Prussian War in 1864, and of course the superiority of the breech gun was not as divine as later generations boasted.

This can be seen from the fact that the Prussian army was not fully equipped.

Despite the fact that the rate of fire was four or five times that of a breech gun, his firing pin was easily damaged, and the M1841, which was originally industrially produced, was ridiculed and said: without a spare pointer, you should not go to the battlefield.

The breech also often leaks, and the leaked gas can easily interfere with the shooting, and in severe cases, it can burn the skin, and if you are unlucky, you may blind the gunner's eyes.

Later, the production technology was improved, the performance gradually stabilized, and the Dresser M1841 began to shine.

Franz also came into contact with a lot of similar rifles, many of which had excellent performance in the laboratory, but would not work once they were mass-produced in industry.

Either the cost is too high, or the performance is reduced. This is not a nuclear weapon, and Franz naturally has to consider the cost; It is even more undesirable to sacrifice performance, and is it necessary to equip a rifle without a performance advantage?

Until the advent of the Styren M1852, in terms of performance, it was similar to the historical Chasebo rifle, but the effective range was a little closer.

This is all a small problem, it is enough to be able to ensure an effective range of 650 meters, isn't it possible to hit more than 1,500 meters at the farthest, and it is okay to be scary at a long distance.

Franz has always believed that those who can accurately hit the enemy within 150 meters in actual combat are excellent soldiers, and it is better to fight by feeling at a distance!

"Your Excellency, what do you think of this rifle, should we change it?" Franz asked

Marshal Radesky replied with a smile: "Your Majesty, judging from the collected data, the effect is not bad, and it has large-scale equipment value.

However, the price of this rifle arsenal is thirty percent higher than that of a regular rifle, and the consumption of ammunition may be two or three times higher. ”

Obviously, Marshal Radetzky is experienced, and he does not expect this rifle to be able to fire the theoretical limit of 15 rounds on the battlefield, otherwise this ammunition consumption will not increase so much.

Franz said calmly: "It is acceptable to increase the cost partially, and it will still fall after large-scale industrial production, as long as its power is worthy of this price."

If the order is given now to concentrate on mass production, there will be no problem in producing 30,000 or 40,000 of these rifles every month in more than 20 or 20 large and small arsenals in Austria. ”

This was due to the outbreak of the war in the Near East, and Austria's arsenals expanded their production capacity, which soared by 50 percent compared to a year ago.

If the breech rifle is produced, there is no problem at all with the mass production of 100,000 pieces per month, otherwise the Russian army would not have been able to change its equipment so quickly.

Marshal Radesky said calmly: "Your Majesty, it is better to be cautious and purchase 100,000 pieces for trial first."

If the effect on the battlefield is good, and then a full rearmament, now all countries in the world are still using breech guns, and our rifles are not lagging behind. ”

Franz nodded, and it was too late for a large-scale outfit change. Unless a national mobilization is ordered now, there is still a lot of potential for Austria's military-industrial capacity to be tapped.

This is the same as when the automatic rifle came out, everyone knows that it is a good gun, but the terrible ammunition consumption, can the logistics be able to supply?

Where is the limit of ammunition consumption, that will be known only when it is fought on the battlefield. Just like the army of the Principality of Montenegro was very satisfied with the performance of this rifle after testing the gun, and after seeing the terrible ammunition consumption, there was no longer any intention to purchase.

You say the hit rate is high? That's right, the enemy has a maximum of two or three shots per minute, and if you shoot seven or eight shots per minute, your chances of hitting the enemy are naturally higher, which is a normal thing.

However, this hit rate has increased not by two or three times, but only by twenty or thirty percent, which is still unaccustomed to the use of the enemy, and if you get used to it, it may continue to decline.

On the surface, it doesn't seem like much, but if you think about how many bullets you have to kill an enemy, you will find that you can't afford to play with no money.

In the era of breech guns, every enemy killed consumed double-digit bullets; In the era of breech rifles, it grew to four figures.

The era of no way to line guns is over, everyone climbs on the ground to fight, and it is more difficult to hit the enemy. The appearance of trenches and machine guns in the later period exacerbated the consumption of ammunition.

In the era of semi-automatic rifles, it rose to five figures; In the future, the number of units used as hair is too large, and it is more appropriate to directly use tons as units.

……

Sofia theater of operations

A Sardinian officer was indignant and said: "General, the Russians are still biting us, what now?" ”

They have leaked all the military intelligence of the British to the Russians, and they dare to continue to attack here, which is simply too deceitful.

Mantua gritted her teeth and said, "Now we can't retreat, it's about our honor, and it's about the glory of the Kingdom of Sardinia."

You don't want to go back to your country to be court-martialed in the name of a defeated general, and now we must not be the first to lose our position.

Since the Russians are too much of a bully, then give them a hard lesson and let the Russians know that we are not easy to bully.

Tell the soldiers that our salaries are still in the hands of the British, and that it will be in vain to run away this time. If anyone dares to escape, Lao Tzu will kill him now. ”

"Yes, General!" The young officer immediately replied

Mantua added uneasily: "Wait a minute, release the news in private, just say that the British are about to be overwhelmed, and when their defense line collapses, we will retreat immediately." ”

Facts have proved that the Sardinian army still has combat effectiveness once it fights hard, and the so-called heavy casualties also depend on what the standard is.

There are a few wounded, and they can also add two or three zeros to the back, and the return is heavy casualties.

If one pays attention to the Casualty reports submitted by the Sardinian army to the coalition forces, they will find that their casualty rate is approaching one in five.

The British believed this report, because the casualties of the British army were not too far from this data. The British did not doubt it at all.

In the face of the sudden outbreak of the Sardinian army, the Russians found that this soft persimmon was not easy to pinch.

Fitzroy Somerse decided to try to see if the above information was true, after all, the Bulgarians had already given them too much information along the way, and it was not surprising that there were Bulgarians in the enemy army on the opposite side.

……

As soon as the Russians made a move, Montes was about to go crazy with the war report he had just received. Suddenly, a burst of artillery fire rang out, and the shells were accurately fired at their artillery positions.

If it was only one place, it might be said to be luck, but all the artillery positions were not left behind, and they were all patronized.

And that's not even fun, after the artillery positions were unlucky, the warehouses of military supplies were accurately baptized again.

Even if the distance is long, the Russian artillery has a low hit rate, but after such an artillery bombardment, they have suffered heavy losses.

The shelling was completed, and the Russian army accurately found the weak point of their forces and launched the most fierce attack.

Montes knew that a traitor had leaked information, but at this point, he had no choice but to call for reinforcements. Even if you want to settle accounts after the autumn, you have to block the Russians.

"How long will it take for that idiot Oliver to get to the front?" Montes asked again

The attendant replied nervously: "Major General Oliver reports that they have just recaptured Plovdiv from the partisans and expect to arrive in Sofia in a week's time. ”

More than 120 kilometers of road, walking for a week without problems. The normal marching speed of the British army was only twenty or thirty kilometers a day, and now it is understandable that some guerrilla attacks are slower.

Montes ordered: "Order that fool to speed me up, and within three days you must be at the front, or military law will be done!" ”

"Yes, Commander!" The attendant officer immediately replied

Montes instructed uneasily: "Wait a minute, tell that idiot to send half of the troops to rush over lightly, and put the baggage and supplies in the troops behind, so as to speed up." ”

The Russians are playing stud, this is a risk and an opportunity, as long as reinforcements can arrive, the coalition can still turn defeat into victory.

Otherwise, Montes would have run away long ago. The Sardinians did not want to continue fighting, they could find a way to make the British scapegoats, and how could Montes not let the Sardinians bear the blame?

He's the commander of the coalition forces, and he has a lot of ways to trick people.

Now it was the British and Ottoman armies who were jointly released and assumed the main pressure on the battlefield, and as long as he gave up part of his position and handed it over to the Sardinian army and the Ottoman army for joint defense, it was estimated that in less than a day, the Russians would be able to penetrate the defensive line.

Montes still wants military merit, if he loses the Sofia region, even if he asks his allies to help carry the black cauldron, he, the commander, will not be able to escape the blame, and it will leave a permanent stain.

……

Oliver is still capable, but his first time on the battlefield, his inexperience caused a series of defeats.

Before Montes's order arrived, he had already quickened his march, but the roads along the way were too potholes.

How could it be possible not to disrupt traffic as an area of activity of the Bulgarian partisans? They are marching while building roads, and by the way, they have to deal with cold guns from unknown places.

Occasionally, there were sudden mines, which were kindly sponsored by Franz, who was worried about the defeat of the Russian army, so he prepared a batch for them in advance to block the pursuers.

I didn't expect the coalition forces to keep making stupid moves, and they didn't want to make their allies pick up the cheap, so they just tossed their advantages.

The Russians didn't like these turtle bombs, so they gave them to the Bulgarian partisans, and now it's Oliver's turn to have a headache.

These mines are the easiest to plant, and it is very simple to clear them, the only thing that is needed is time.

There is no good way, but there is a stupid way to think about it. The British drove their cattle through the minefields, and the pace of the march was inevitably delayed.

……

On 2 January 1853, Bulgarian partisans suddenly attacked the back of the British position, causing confusion in the Allied forces.

There was no way, the troops were really insufficient, and Montes did not have enough troops to guard against the Bulgarian partisans that might appear behind him, and he was taken by surprise.

The most pitiful thing is that at this time, the reinforcements are only less than fifteen kilometers away from the front line. If the Sardinian army had not run away and had done everything they could to help, they would have been able to hold out until reinforcements arrived.

Obviously, Mantua did not have the consciousness to fight the Russians to the end, and would not hesitate to run away. Anyway, it was the British defense line that was lost, and they can't be blamed for this responsibility.

Even in order to avoid condemnation, Mantua also abducted some British soldiers and ran away with them.

This run killed Montes, and as a defeated general, the day of court-martialing is not far away, and if he can return alive, he will inevitably have to go to the court.

Oliver, who had made a hurried march, became the second unlucky bastard, and arrived at the last time, regardless of losses, only to have an encounter with the Russians right away.

There are no accidents, there are always losses when there are few people on the battlefield, and Oliver did not carry a cannon in a hurry, and he suffered a loss as soon as he fought.

After a hard battle, Oliver successfully led his troops to escape, and by the way, he also rescued a group of broken British soldiers, and his efforts were not in vain.

The Russians were also sleepy, and the soldiers did not have the physical strength to continue the pursuit. Seeing this situation, Fitzroy Somerset naturally chose to accept it when he saw it.

Sticking to the non-existence of Sofia, Montes had already thought about it. It's a pity that the city was tossed too badly by the Ottomans, and the fortifications of the city have long been gone.

The people in the city gritted their teeth with hatred for the coalition forces, relying on the city to fight street battles with the Russians, and they were the first to fall into the people's war.

Moreover, the efficiency of the Ottoman government was too low, and the supplies hoarded in Sofia were not enough for the coalition army to consume for a month, and if they dared to sit in the lonely city, they would wait for the entire army to be destroyed!

Now that the battle has been underway, the strength of the coalition forces is already very tight, and they should not expect anyone to come and relieve them.

Even if reinforcements are drawn from the country, it will be too late in time. After the defeat of the battle, the coalition forces scrambled to run away.

On a front of more than ten kilometers, it is impossible to completely annihilate it, and Russia has only tore apart a section of the defense line of the coalition forces.

If it weren't for the rescue of more soldiers leaving, Oliver wouldn't have rushed over to fight the Russians, they would have turned around and run, and the Russians wouldn't have chased after them.

The battle, which lasted half a year and involved nearly 200,000 troops on both sides, ended in a crushing victory for the Russians.

Looking at the casualty report, Fitzroy Summerer can say responsibly: he did a good job of the tsarist government's tasks, and really won the victory regardless of the casualties.

The total casualties before and after the front and back added up to 67,000, and the Russian soldiers basically changed again, of which 26,000 were killed (including the wounded who were not saved).

Even with a steady stream of replenishment of troops in the rear, this Russian army is now crippled and in urgent need of repair. In the final battle, it is obvious that the decline in the combat effectiveness of the Russian army has decreased.

At such a great cost, the results achieved were: defeated 100,000 coalition troops, killed 34,000 coalition soldiers, and captured 25,000 coalition troops, including more than 11,000 wounded coalition troops.

Judging by the casualties on both sides, it was the Russians who were defeated this time. Had it not been for the outbreak of the Bulgarian partisans, the outcome of this battle would not have been known.

For the sake of good face, Fitzroy Somerse did not hesitate to swallow the records of the Bulgarian partisans, ignoring the casualties they paid.

Of course, in order to keep the Bulgarians working for him, Fitzroy Somerse still asked them to give them credit at home, emphasizing that the Bulgarian partisans had made an outstanding contribution to the victory of the war by delaying the enemy's reinforcements.

And then there was no then, and this article alone was enough for the tsarist government to agree to the conditions he had promised before.

Originally, the tsarist government was ready to annex the Bulgarian regions, and St. Petersburg was worried that these partisans would become an obstacle, and now that they could be co-opted, how could Nicholas I refuse?

Regardless of the losses of both sides, they cannot affect the historical status of this battle, which is recognized by historians as a turning point in the Second Battle of Bulgaria.