Chapter 616 The Conqueror No longer takes the blame
Conrad, who was boasted as a strategic genius before the war, was exposed after the war broke out. Not only was he not a genius, he even had no strategy at all.
Just looking at Conrad's plan, you can see how arrogant Conrad is.
The Germans' "Schlieffen Plan" could only take care of both sides, first France and then Russia; Conrad actually dreamed of defeating the Russian Empire and the Kingdom of Serbia at the same time, and he had to be the most powerful talker.
George could not take care of the Austro-Hungarian Empire for the time being. It was the right thing to defeat the Ottoman Empire first and relieve his worries.
The commander-in-chief of the Ottoman Empire was Sultan Muhammad V's younger brother Muhammad. This was another example of great ambition and talent, swinging between the Allies and the Entente.
Before the outbreak of the World War, Mohammed Jr.'s stance was relatively pro-Allied. He was even willing to join the Allied Powers in order to obtain British asylum.
The Balkan War changed the position of Muhammad the Younger. Britain did not provide help to the Ottoman Empire in time, causing the Ottoman Empire to lose its Black Sea outlet.
In order to regain the Black Sea outlet, the Ottoman Empire joined the Allies in a desperate move.
Muhammad Jr. did not concentrate all his forces in the direction of Constantinople. While besieging the 14th Army, dividing his forces to attack Egypt was undoubtedly a major mistake.
The mobilization of the Ottoman Empire was not sufficient. Many soldiers did not even have cotton-padded clothes. The servants from the Persian Peninsula were not adapted to the cold climate of the Black Sea. When the Gauri Army landed in Kogaeri, the Austrian troops fighting on the front line had even already Due to poor logistics, they had to kill troops and horses to satisfy their hunger.
Faced with the German assault, Ruziski could at least organize his troops to retreat in an orderly manner.
Faced with the outflanking of the Russian army, little Muhammad was at a loss of ground, and his orders to the frontline commanders were even inconsistent. The first telegram asked the frontline troops to hold their positions, but the latter telegram asked the troops to retreat immediately. This caused the Ottoman army's command structure to fall into complete chaos.
Yangkov was decisive in using troops. When the Gaori Corps encountered an Austrian sniper attack, Yangkov asked the troops to bypass the Austrian positions and continue to advance into the inland areas.
In order to ensure speed, the first batch of landing troops did not carry heavy weapons. The artillery was only mortars, and the number of artillery shells was not large. Once the troops went deep alone, it was easy to run out of ammunition and food.
Yankov did not care, even if the troops were at risk of being surrounded by counterattacks, they still had to block the retreat of the Austrian troops on the front line.
The Austrian troops used by Little Muhammad to attack the 14th Army were the standing army before Austria. Compared with the Austrian army, they were all elite troops.
The troops deployed by the Austrian army on the second line were mobilization troops hastily formed last winter. Not only did they have poor combat effectiveness, they could not even guarantee their weapons. It was common for two people to share the same rifle. The sick man of Europe Well-deserved reputation.
Under such circumstances, the Ottoman Empire actually dared to go to war with the Russian Empire, and George really did not understand the Ottoman Sultan's thinking.
Although Conrad has great ambitions and limited talents, he is still in the understandable category.
The Ottoman Sultan Muhammad V was so ridiculous that he didn’t even know where Greece and Serbia were.
Before the outbreak of the Balkan War, Greece and Serbia were neighboring countries of the Ottoman Empire.
Yankov's strategy was correct. On February 21, the troops landing from Kogaeri completed the outflanking of the Austrian frontline troops. More than 250,000 Austrian troops were surrounded.
Although the first step of the plan has been completed, George did not dare to be careless.
Yankov’s troops totaled only 210,000 people.
The surrounded Austrian army numbered 250,000.
Once the Austrian army breaks through, the landing force lacking heavy weapons may not be able to withstand the impact of the Austrian army and fall short of the success.
Yankov did not give little Muhammad a chance to adjust. After the encirclement was formed, he immediately launched a general attack on the Austrian army inside the encirclement on the 22nd.
On this day, George received the bad news that the 20th Army had been wiped out.
In order to cover the retreat of the main force of the 10th Army, the 20th Army was ordered to sniper the pursuing German troops and was surrounded by the German troops.
The 20th Army fought extremely tenaciously. With supplies completely cut off, the officers and soldiers of the 20th Army went hungry and collected ammunition from their brothers who died in battle. They fought fierce hand-to-hand combat with the Germans and never surrendered.
The 20th Army continuously crushed multiple German attacks until the 21st, when all ammunition was exhausted, and Army Commander Pavel Bulgakov ordered the troops to disperse and break out.
The Russian army took advantage of the night to operate, hoping to break out of the German encirclement.
Hindenburg was waiting for work. Knowing that the 20th Army was running out of ammunition and food, he ordered his troops to surround the 20th Army and sent people to persuade Pavel Bulgakov to surrender.
On the 22nd, the 20th Army failed to break out and most of the 17,000 people died in the battle. Bulgakov was shot and fell into coma and was captured by the Germans.
So far, the Russian army has lost 56,000 people and nearly 100,000 people have been captured.
The losses of the German army were about 26,000.
Within two weeks, the German army advanced 100 kilometers and the front advanced into Russia.
The Russian 10th Army was completely paralyzed, and the newly formed 16th Army also suffered heavy losses. Ruzsky's aura was no longer the same, and the glory of the Galician Campaign seemed like a world away.
While the Northern Front suffered a heavy setback, the Western Front commanded by Alexeyev made small gains. At the end of the Battle of Galicia, the Russian army besieged the Przemysl Fortress for more than five months.
Alexeyev concentrated his artillery and, with the cooperation of the air force, launched a general attack on the Przemysl Fortress.
Under the continuous attacks of the Russian army, the defenders of Przemysl Fortress also ran out of ammunition and food. On February 25, the defenders of Przemysl Fortress surrendered, the essence of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The area was exposed to the Russian army.
Hindenburg had no choice but to send Ludendorff to lead the German 10th Army to rush for reinforcements at night, and finally stabilized the defense line before the main force of the Russian army arrived.
George was very sorry that if Alexeev could be faster and invade Silesia before Ludendorff arrived, the industrial capacity and food production of the Austro-Hungarian Empire would be greatly affected.
But that doesn't matter. With the arrival of strategic bombers, the number of Russian bombers available for combat on the front line has reached 800, which may become the winner of the war.
On February 27, Nicholas Jr. organized the first bombing of Berlin.
The strategic bomber has a range of 1,500 kilometers, taking off from Warsaw to Berlin, which is enough for a round trip.
Due to loading too much fuel, the bomb load of the strategic bomber is only 900 kilograms.
This is enough. As long as one bomb falls on Berlin, it will cause a heavy blow to the confidence of the Germans.
While bombing Berlin, Ruziski devoted the offensive forces to the counterattack and attacked the rapidly advancing German army head-on.
After invading the Russian Empire, the German army also began to have problems with its logistics, and it no longer had the invincibility it had at the beginning of the battle.
The Russian army was in a terrible state when it attacked.
Still trustworthy in the defense, Ruzsky spent a week driving the German army out of the territory of the Russian Empire and re-stabilizing the defense line.
Before little Nicholas had time to take a breath, Ruzsky resigned from his post as commander-in-chief of the Northern Front to Little Nicholas on the grounds of physical discomfort.
What surprised George was that little Nicholas didn't stay.
After Zhilinsky was dismissed, Ruzsky was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the Northern Front. From then on, Ruzsky did not have enough troops.
During the Battle of Warsaw, due to Ivanov's jealousy, the Northern Front fought alone and suffered heavy losses again.
After Alexeev replaced Ivanov as the commander-in-chief of the Western Front, Ruzsky's situation did not improve. Nicholas Jr. obviously trusted Alexeev more.
Now Ruzinski finally had enough. After repelling the German army, Ruzinski immediately submitted his resignation to Nicholas Jr. and no longer held any position.
Nicholas Jr. did not believe in evil and personally served as the commander-in-chief of the Northern Front to fight against Hindenburg.
"If Grand Duke Nikolayevich despises Hindenburg, the disasters of the Northern Front will continue."
Demeter always pays attention to the European theater of war, and he has no doubts about little Nicholas. The old boss was very disapproving.
Demeter has served in the Guards for a long time and is well aware of the abilities of Nicholas Jr., the Commander-in-Chief of the Guards.
Although Ruziski performed poorly, the "Conquistador of Galicia" was not just a hype, it was supported by real records.
Although Alexeyev captured the Przemyśl Fortress, it was not Alexeyev’s credit. Before Alexeyev took over the command of the Western Front, the Western Front had already defeated Przemyśl. The siege of Mehir Fortress, strictly speaking, was the legacy Ruzinski left to the Western Front.
"This is not something we can interfere with. We can only do our job."
George was also worried, but there was nothing he could do.
During the Petrograd Conference, the relationship between George and Nicholas Jr. had already cracked. If George had a finger in this matter, the relationship between George and Nicholas Jr. would become even worse.
The current situation in the European theater has a lot to do with internal discord.
If George and Nicholas Jr. turn against each other, the Balkan Theater will inevitably be affected.
Yangkov is still very good.
After crushing the Austrian army's breakout operation, Yankov launched a general attack on the Austrian army in the encirclement.
Russian bombers showed off their skills, carrying incendiary bombs and bombing the Austrian troops indiscriminately.
The Austrian army lacked anti-aircraft weapons and was helpless against bombers.
On March 1, the Austrian army, led by Ahmed Gemal, surrendered to Yankov after running out of ammunition and food.
(End of this chapter)