At the military conference, Albrecht: "The Ottoman situation is well known to everyone, and the long borders of the peninsula of Asia Minor are all battlefields.

In view of the current special situation, I have decided to divide my troops into multi-line and multi-point attacks to disrupt the enemy's strategic deployment.

In view of the language barrier and the difficulty of coordinating operations, for the time being, the troops of various countries will independently command the operation, and after the landing is completed, they will conduct joint operations in the vicinity according to the actual situation on the battlefield.

During the landing operation, the Austrian Navy would be responsible for transporting the troops and providing the necessary fire support.

The Allied Command will send people to record military exploits, and everyone's performance on the battlefield will become a reference for the distribution of spoils after the war.

Who has a question that can be raised now? ”

"Division of troops", this news was too sudden and completely unexpected by everyone.

Prior to this, the coalition command had been coordinating the cooperation between the countries, and Albrecht did not consult with the others before proposing a "division of forces".

It's not that Albrecht is arbitrary, it's mainly that there are too many people attending the meeting, and it's easy for people to be out of line when they have more intelligence.

In particular, it also represents four countries, and everyone considers the problem from their own standpoint, and their own starting point is different.

Pulling everyone to discuss it together has no effect except for wasting time.

Ivanov, the commander of the Russian army, was the first to speak: "Your Excellency, Commander, there is no problem in dividing troops into battle, but the problem is how to guarantee logistics?" ”

Albrecht replied calmly: "The general command of the coalition forces will distribute the materials uniformly according to the number of troops in each unit, and when there is no battle, it will be directly distributed to the division."

After launching the landing operation, the General Command distributes the supplies to the national commands, and you are responsible for distributing them to the troops.

The General Headquarters may send ships to deliver to your designated ports, provided that you ensure the safety of the designated ports. ”

After a little thought, Ivanov replied: "On behalf of the Russian Empire, I am in favor of dividing the army!" ”

There is no way, whoever has mastered the logistics on the battlefield will be tough when he speaks.

Albrecht was able to subdue so many proud soldiers so quickly, not because of his strong record, nor because of how strong his personality was charismatic, but because he controlled the logistics and material distribution of the coalition army.

This is determined by reality, except for Austria, which is a little richer, and the remaining three are poor ghosts.

Montenegro and Greece were poor and small, allowing them to provide logistics for the large army, and the troops on the front line had to starve to death.

The Russians were able to provide some supplies, and after the Russo-Prussian War, they still had a lot of strategic supplies left, but unfortunately they could not be transported in a short time.

Logistically completely dependent on Austria, the voice of the coalition forces naturally fell into the hands of Austria. Albrecht, who was in charge of distributing supplies, naturally became the most powerful man in Constantinople.

The Russians also sent more than 300,000 troops, and the division of troops to fight had little impact on them. With so many troops there, even if it was to take on the Ottoman Empire alone, Ivanov would not be intimidated.

Montenegro and Greece had the greatest impact on the division of forces, and although independent command avoided the risk of becoming cannon fodder, the risk of total annihilation also increased.

It is certainly possible to do dirty work and work together with the main forces of the coalition forces, but after all, everyone is an ally, and in case of danger, it is impossible for the Russians and Austrians not to pull a hand.

For political reasons, in the event of heavy losses in the troops, the General Command of the coalition forces immediately threw them into the rear to do chores.

Bing Shao Na also represents a country, one of the unshakable pillars of the anti-Turkish alliance. If the whole army is destroyed, it is equivalent to one less country.

Militarily it has little impact, but politically it is very deadly. Whether it is Greece or Montenegro, the commander-in-chief of Albrecht will be the first to blame.

It is different to divide the troops into battles, with the country as a unit and dispatch alone, and those who command themselves are responsible. Even if the army is completely annihilated, the political impact will be greatly reduced.

Especially in the Principality of Montenegro, the strength of a reinforced regiment is the result of the annihilation of the entire army if you are not careful.

Marshal Maxim Trentiev of the Principality of Montenegro hurriedly asked: "Your Excellency, commander, how is the specific battle plan distributed?" ”

Whether there is any danger in dividing troops into battles, just look at the combat mission.

Maxim Trentyev has already made up his mind, if the risk is high, he will pretend to be cowardly, anyway, the Principality of Montenegro does not have any international reputation, and he is not afraid of being embarrassed.

This is also a historical and cultural tradition, since the 14th century, they began to fight the Ottoman Empire, and fought against the Ottomans for more than 500 years in a corner of the land, which is enough to prove how strong their survival ability is.

Don't look at the fact that every few years, they have to have a friendly match with the Ottoman Empire, in fact, it is mainly guerrilla warfare, and they will drill into the ravine if they don't agree with each other.

If they were dead, their small population would have been wiped out as early as the 14th century, how could they hold on?

Albrecht replied calmly: "The combat mission is determined according to the number of troops sent by each country, and now I only have a preliminary draft, and the detailed operation is determined by the national command itself."

In consideration of the needs of command, I plan to divide the battlefield into five major theaters, namely the Black Sea theater, the Caucasus theater, the Sea of Marmara theater, the Mediterranean theater, and the Middle East theater.

As the name suggests, the Black Sea theater of operations is to launch an attack from the Black Sea coast, and all the coastlines of the Ottoman Empire in the Black Sea are the scope of operations.

After completing the landing, we will fight inland. The specific way to fight and how far to fight is decided by the theater command, and in principle, the general command will not interfere.

Taking into account the actual situation, the Russian army is responsible for the Black Sea theater of operations and the Caucasus theater, and the Austrian army is responsible for the Middle East theater of operations, the Mediterranean theater of operations and the Sea of Marmara theater.

The armies of Montenegro and Greece temporarily acted as reserves, and then reinforced, according to the actual situation on the battlefield. ”

There is nothing wrong with it, as long as the combat missions of Russia and Austria are assigned. As for Greece and Montenegro, Albrecht did not take them into account from the very beginning.

Politically, Austria needs Greece and Montenegro to support its façade; Militarily, these two beans are completely dispensable.

Greece and Montenegro sent too few troops to be used as cannon fodder. The battlefield is ever-changing, and no one knows if something will happen suddenly.

Greece is no more, and there are still two infantry divisions; Montenegro is just a reinforced regiment, and the chance of the entire army being wiped out is too great.

Albrecht didn't want to be stigmatized as a scourge to his allies, and if he messed with these two little things, he wouldn't be able to go back.

This realistic answer hurt the representatives of the two countries very much, and it was a blatant contempt for their strength.

To put it nicely, it is to be a reserve team, but in fact, Russia and Austria will not let these reserves play at all unless it is absolutely necessary, and this is related to the face of the two countries.

Greece and Montenegro for help? What are you kidding, do Russia and Austria still want to mix? If there is a shortage of people on the battlefield, the troops will be increased, and no one will stipulate that reinforcements cannot be sent.

Marshal Ivanov replied with satisfaction: "There is no problem, this battle plan is very reasonable, and our respective advantages are fully utilized. ”

There is no way not to be satisfied, an important factor in the participation of the tsarist government in this war was to occupy the Black Sea coast and keep Austria out of the Black Sea.

Albrecht's assignment of the task of attacking the Black Sea coast to the Russian army is undoubtedly a tacit acquiescence to this model of distribution of benefits.

Seeing that Russia and Austria had reached an agreement, the face of Marshal Publius, the representative of Greece, changed greatly. They participated in this war to take advantage, and if they played soy sauce in the rear, what qualifications did they have to share the spoils after the war?

Russia and Austria are not charitable, and they have not contributed to the battlefield, so the proceeds of the war will naturally not have their share.

Publius stubbornly said, "Your Excellency, you have put us in the rear, this is a little inappropriate!"

We entered this war to get justice from the Ottoman Empire. If the Greek army has not even been on the battlefield, how can I explain it to the people at home? ”

Albrecht nodded, sympathetic: "Well, when we finish the landing operation, you will be responsible for purging the local Ottoman remnants." ”

Publius's face sank, and this task was only slightly better than making soy sauce at home. To put it nicely, it is to purge the remnants of the enemy, but in fact it is to maintain law and order.

Catch a few guerrillas at most, typical drudgery, there is no merit for hard work, and there is responsibility for messing up.

After hesitating for a moment, Publius asked, "Your Excellency, the Greek army is not afraid of sacrifice, we will go to battle." ”

Remembering the terrible consequences of the war being over, the Montenegrin army was still in the country and did not set off, and then it was blamed by all sides.

Maxim Trentiev hurriedly followed and asked for battle: "Your Excellency, the Montenegrin army is not afraid of war, and we will also go to the front. ”

Apparently they had seen that Albrech was not prepared to use them as cannon fodder. The main reason for not letting them go to the battlefield is not wanting to take responsibility.

The same allies, the Russian Empire lost 108,000 on the battlefield, and no one would say that Austria pitted its teammates, and others could afford to lose.

If it were replaced by Greece, the casualties would be one or two thousand, and it would be a loss of muscles and bones; In Montenegro, more than 100 casualties are heavy losses, and more than 1,000 casualties are great injuries.

However, casualties of this level are very normal on the battlefield and cannot be completely avoided at all.

After hesitating for a moment, Albrech said with a smile: "Since the two of you think so, then the Sea of Marmara Theater will be handed over to you." ”

Apparently Albrech was not interested in these two of them. Please fight, that is good for you to give you a combat mission, and if you don't achieve it at your own risk.

The Sea of Marmara Theater is located in the Black Sea Straits, and it was the first to fall in the last Near Eastern War, and it has not yet recovered.

The terrain is flat, easy to attack and difficult to defend. The Ottoman Empire did not deploy many troops here, and it was the easiest place to make a breakthrough in the five major theaters.

It's just that on the battlefield, it still depends on the strength. For Russia and Austria, the Sea of Marmara theater of operations is not worth mentioning; This remains a challenge for Greece and Montenegro.

Seeing that the two did not reply, Albrech added: "The Sea of Marmara Theater is not the center of gravity of this war, there is no need to end the battle immediately, you just need to contain the enemy here."

Wait for the other theaters to break through, and then fight back from behind, and flank the enemy with you in front and back. ”

"The center of gravity of the war"?

Unfortunately, this war has no center of gravity in the first place.

Albrech's battle plan was to blossom on all sides, and wherever a breakthrough was made, the war could be won.

If it was to defeat the enemy, Publius would certainly not have confidence, and no matter how small the Turkish army was in the Sea of Marmara, there were hundreds of thousands.

Greece + Montenegro has less than 30,000 troops, and it is not certain that they will win Dopbrius by less. But just to contain the enemy, Publius felt that he could try.

Anyway, there is an advantage in sea power, and if you can't win the battle, you can still retreat, and it's a big deal to change places and continue to land, as long as you don't stop firing, you can contain the enemy army.

After a moment's hesitation, Publius replied, "No problem, the task is guaranteed." ”

Seeing that the Greeks accepted it, Maxim Trentiev could only accept it head-on, and at this time retreated, and there was no place for them in the coalition army.

……

Vienna, looking at the battle plan sent from the front, Franz was a little confused.

This is a battle to destroy the country, and the resistance of the Ottomans will definitely be very fierce, and the casualties will definitely be indispensable.

The establishment of an anti-Turkish alliance, in addition to pulling allies to share international pressure, is more for the purpose of pulling cannon fodder.

Now the sudden division of troops means that Franz's preparations in advance have all been done in vain.

As a military novice, Franz is still self-aware and does not think that his command ability will be more clever than that of the generals on the front line.

After reading the 18 drawbacks of joint operations listed by Albrech, Franz resolutely accepted the battle plan at the front.

……