NOVPUBAfter seizing the Ava Region, the Russian Army did not halt the momentum of war, but went straight for the Bosphorus Strait, a critical gateway to the Black Sea.
If it were a few decades earlier, one could have simply crossed the sea from Constantinople, but not now. With the development of artillery technology, it’s too easy for coastal batteries to blockade the strait.
The Allied Forces had also considered launching an attack from the Marmara Sea, but before the outbreak of war, the Ottomans had concentrated all their naval forces there.
There were not many Austrian warships left in the Marmara Sea, and while they could suppress the Ottoman navy, they could not annihilate them.
Facing enemies hunkered down in their ports, it was more convenient to engage them over land; a naval assault would come at too great a cost.
Inside the Ava Command, Lieutenant General Harosov, who hoped to atone for his mistakes, reported in a low voice, "Commander, sir, our forces are encountering resistance at the front, the enemy’s resistance is too fierce.
They even despicably disguised themselves as the elderly, women, and children, causing our troops to let down their guard, then launching surprise attacks. The advancement of our frontline troops is slow, requesting support from the airship bombing unit."
What "disguised themselves as the elderly, women, and children"? Those were clearly the elderly, women, and children. The art of makeup wasn’t so advanced in those times, it couldn’t hide the differences in physique.
With the Sultan Government’s propaganda, the Russian Army had been portrayed as cannibal demons, and the populace had long been mobilized, either voluntarily or forcibly, causing the Russian Army much trouble.
General Ivanov glared fiercely, clearly displaying his dissatisfaction, "Waste of space, do our soldiers not know how to fight without the airship troops?
Tell the frontline troops, the airship troop is not their nanny; they need to figure out how to fight their own battles.
Right now, the airship troop is carrying out strategic bombing missions, which are critical to the entire war effort, not just to wipe their asses."
The Austrian Airship Troop was somewhat sizable, yet even if they were all deployed, it wouldn’t be enough, and they simply could not spare sufficient forces to support the Russian front lines while also carrying out strategic bombings.
Ivanov’s position as a commander in the Russian Army was not due to sycophancy or sheer luck; his strategic insight was undeniable.
From the overall war situation, bombing Ottoman cities now, weakening the enemy’s war potential, destroying roads and bridges along the way, and increasing the logistical pressure on the enemy was far more important than taking down one or two lines of defense.
If one only focused on the immediate battlefields, foolishly engaging in head-on collisions, not to mention 150,000 Russian soldiers, even 1.5 million Russian soldiers would not have many left after such constant battering.
Ivanov still valued Lieutenant General Harosov as his subordinate; otherwise, after the matter in Ava, he would have been sent home to retire, not left to redeem himself through service.
Ivanov was very aware that many saw this Near East war as a golden opportunity to add luster to their careers; plenty of nepotism hires were mixed into this 150,000-strong Russian force.
Always eager to request reinforcements, it was probably another nepotist officer causing trouble. If the Austrian Airship Troop were under his command, Ivanov would be happy to do a favor.
Unfortunately, this time the command was separate. Ever since the Russian Army insisted on launching an offensive through the Black Sea Strait, the Allied Command had completely devolved into a logistics and relationship coordination committee.
Now both sides fought their own battles, and joint operations were non-existent. Austrian cooperation was limited to providing logistics and, when necessary, offering ships to transport troops.
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This command pattern was not problematic, with the Austrian army fighting in the Middle East Region and the Russian Army struggling on the Asia Minor Peninsula, both being far apart and unable to combine forces.
As for the airship troops, let’s forget about them. Due to the asymmetry of information, there have been accidents of friendly fire in previous cooperations, which even led to a big quarrel between the two sides.
Then, Arest completely let go of the Russians, ignoring their battles and pretending not to see. All airship troops were sent out to carry out strategic bombings, far from the frontlines.
Distance creates enchantment, and without the cooperation of the airship troops, the Russian Army soon began to miss the benefits of having support from above. The airship troops might not necessarily kill many enemies or destroy many fortifications, but they were very important in breaking the enemy’s morale.
According to past experiences, no matter how fiercely the Ottoman Army resisted, as soon as a few bombs dropped from the sky, their morale would plummet immediately.
Ivanov could not possibly admit that without Austria’s help, the Russian Army was unable to fight. He could only persist with a stiff upper lip. Moreover, the strategic bombings carried out by the airship troops were also beneficial to the entire battlefield.
Lieutenant General Harosov explained, "Commander Sir, our casualties have indeed been somewhat heavy recently, with more than a thousand casualties in the past two days.
After paying such a heavy price, we can still only advance a dozen kilometers each day. Coupled with the casualties from the Battle of Ava, our losses have already exceeded eight thousand.
At the current rate, capturing the Bosphorus Strait would take at least a month. The casualties could potentially be in the tens of thousands.
This has exceeded our capacity. The Bosphorus Strait is just the beginning, and we have only taken a small step in the first phase of the strategic mission.
If this situation doesn’t change, with our current strength, we simply cannot win this war. Even if we could continue to increase troops from home, there are still many issues to deal with."
If the enemy is not fighting desperately, the battle naturally becomes harder. In just over a week, the Russian Army has accomplished defeating 58,000 enemies, annihilating 12,000, and capturing 836.
Such a small number captured is a result of the Sultan Government’s propaganda. The Ottoman soldiers believed that the Russians intended to annihilate them completely, so naturally, they would not surrender.
The captured prisoners were mostly from the previous landing campaign. Since the news of the massacre at Ava spread, Ottoman soldiers have rarely surrendered again.
Having chosen to fight to the death, the casualties of the Russian Army unavoidably soared. Now the casualties have exceeded 8,000, including over 2,000 dead. Even with effective treatment, at most half of them will be able to return to the battlefield.
Ivanov shook his head, "I am aware of these situations as well, but it’s still no use. The airship troops are not our forces, and the command authority is in the hands of the Austrians.
The Allied Command is still in Constantinople and shows no intention of moving. Even if we were to coordinate, we would have to send someone back to Constantinople first.
How long would it take for a round trip? If we do this every time, how can we continue to fight in the future?
We had a clear agreement with Austria, and it’s okay to ask for their help once or twice, but if we need their assistance for every victory throughout the war, it wouldn’t be so simple.
Nations look at interests, and no one will give endlessly. Every time we ask for help, there is a cost behind it, all of which are interests that should belong to the Russian Empire."
Whenever politics becomes involved in anything, things stop being simple. Stabbing each other in the back among allies is something neither side has been scarce in doing.
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However, the embarrassing thing was that the Austrians acted more covertly; on the surface, there was no handle to catch hold of, whereas the Tsarist Government’s actions were frequently caught red-handed.
While the subordinates were still in the dark, Ivanov had already established contact. For the sake of interests, these conflicts and contradictions were jointly suppressed by both sides.
Yet the rift had been sown; today you would scheme against me, tomorrow I would plot against you, and with almost every dispute, the relations between the two countries grew one step more distant.
The Vienna Government refused to renew the treaty, and the Tsarist Government did not come forward to accuse them, simply because Austria had caught them in too many compromising situations, leaving them at a disadvantage in any war of words.
If these things were not exposed, then it would be "all is well" for everyone, but once the lid was lifted, it would become difficult to settle the ensuing aftermath—at the very least, hostility between the two nations would be inevitable.
High-level scheming and power struggles directly burdened the officials and soldiers below. Otherwise, even if the airship troops were insufficient, couldn’t the Vienna Government make up for them?
It’s not as if Austria had no airship reserves at all, with only the one hundred and twenty airships at the front.
Keep in mind that the Austrian Airship Troop had been around for over a decade. With such a length of time, there were naturally a number of airships that had been decommissioned; these were certainly not dismantled and sold as scrap metal but were instead sealed and stored away.
If the Vienna Government were willing, they could be activated at any time. After all, the Ottomans had no anti-aircraft firepower, so even if the performance of the airships was somewhat lacking, they could still be effectively used for bombing the enemy.
Changing this situation was not impossible; if the Tsarist Government was willing to bow down, or willing to pay a certain price, the goal could be achieved.
Regrettably, this was just wishful thinking. The cooperation between the two countries in the recent Near East war was entirely based on interests. Since it involved interests, many issues could not be compromised.
The casualties of a few soldiers were not something the Tsarist Government regarded with any real concern; how could they possibly concede on this?
The frontlines were still ablaze, with Russian soldiers bravely and continuously charging into fierce battles against the Ottomans, where both sides fought bitterly.
St. Petersburg was far from calm. Ever since news of Poland’s Re-established Congress holding the King’s election reached them, the Tsarist Government had become restless.
It was a fact plainly laid out before everyone that in this election, Wilhelm I was without any strong competitors, and his victory was without doubt.
Once Poland and Prussia shared the same monarch, the amalgamation of the two countries would become more closely knit, and it was even possible for them to merge into a single nation.
It was the Tsarist Government that led to this accelerated union. The existence of the Russian Empire presented a grave pressure on the ruling classes of both countries, and the enlightened knew that only by joining forces could they stand a chance in a fight against the Russians.
This was not something an individual could oppose. Until then, interference by the great powers had prevented all this from happening. After all, the Russian Empire was somewhat pitiable after the Russo-Prussian War, and the Tsarist Government seemed to be on the brink of collapse at any moment.
England, France, and Austria did not want another participant dividing the spoils at the table, so they interfered forcefully with the Polish royal election, promptly kicking Wilhelm I out of contention. The Prussians, not to be outdone, simply pushed the Revolutionary Party to the fore, covertly supporting the Revolutionaries to obstruct the royal election.
The unsettled Polish royal succession was the result of multinational intervention. Now, with the situation having shifted, no one had anticipated that Alexander II’s reforms would lead to such a swift recovery of the Russian Empire.
Perhaps it was not as powerful as in its heyday, but it was still far stronger than Prussia and Poland at present. If one were to calculate the aggregate national strength, the Russians were almost twice as powerful as the combined might of Prussia and Poland.
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The Berlin Government’s actions were also taken out of compulsion. Without annexing the Kingdom of Poland, the subsequent war was almost certain to be lost.
After Alexander II’s reforms, the Russian Empire was much more stable. Having grain in hand calms the heart; even amidst an agricultural crisis, in times of war, this becomes an advantage.
If the Tsarist Government could feed its troops, the grey beasts of burden would be robust in battle. The idea of exhausting the Russians was laughable; had the Tsarist Government even retreated to Moscow?
No matter how many battles were lost at the front, a Tsarist Government with grain would not collapse. Following the outbreak of the agricultural crisis, Alexander II, though gritting his teeth, began collecting grain as taxation and turned these supplies into strategic reserves. This was the root cause of the Tsarist Government’s fiscal bankruptcy.
Otherwise, after the tax reform and the clearing out of so many corrupt officials, even with the loss of large territories, the Tsarist Government’s fiscal revenues should have exceeded previous levels. How could it then be on the brink of bankruptcy?
Casting a glance over the assembled attendants, Alexander II asked, "Wilhelm I has emerged to compete for the Polish crown at this time. What do you think of this?"
Being the Tsar was not easy; since his ascension to the throne, Alexander II hadn’t had many good days.
Due to a misjudgment at the beginning of his reign, he aimed to constrain Austria, overlooking the threat of the Kingdom of Prussia, which led to the current unfavorable situation. Internal criticism never ceased.
If it were not for Alexander II’s skilled political maneuvers, he would have been deposed long ago. Changing the Tsar was not unheard of in the Russian Empire.
The last example was Peter III, who coincidentally was also pro-Prussia. Alexander II clearly learned from this lesson and decisively chose to beat Prussia. Despite losing the war, he still retained his throne.
In this aspect, the Russian public was quite forgiving. Victory and defeat are common in war; as long as the Tsar kept a close eye on the government and the common people were well-fed, they would not rebel due to war failures.
Foreign Affairs Minister Chris Bashar said, "Your Majesty, the Prussians’ action at this time is related to the current international situation.
With the death of Napoleon III, the French government fell into a vortex of power struggle and had no energy to involve itself in international affairs for a short time. It would not be difficult for the Prussians to pay a certain price to ensure the French’s indifferent stance.
As relations with Austria cooled, it’s not improbable that the Vienna Government had not considered supporting Prussia to contain us. Even if not now, it would be likely in the future.
Currently, both our energy and Austria’s have been significantly constrained in the Near Eastern conflict. If Prussia is willing to spend a great deal, the Vienna Government might tacitly approve their actions.
Having pacified France and Austria, convincing the British would not be difficult. The London Government, even if opposed, would not send troops to intervene.
If England, France, and Austria do not take action, even if we sent troops to interfere, the Prussians would not let go, inevitably leading to a new war.
We are not ready yet, and the Near Eastern conflict has restricted some of our strength. A war breaking out now would be highly disadvantageous to us. The Prussians must have seized this opportunity to make their move."
With Chris Bashar’s analysis, the situation became clear. Unfortunately, though solutions were available, the decision-making power was not in the hands of the Tsarist Government.
Without the intervention of France and Austria, they alone could not intimidate the Prussians. Being enemies already, the Berlin Government would not care about their opinion.
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