I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 120 Destroy whoever you see
  Compared with the treatment, Brusinov was more envious of the equipment of the Oak Group.

As dragoons, the Tver Regiment was not equipped with artillery, let alone heavy machine guns. Brusinov had never seen the 1883 in George Manor before, and he did not know how to fight with troops equipped with heavy machine guns.

"With heavy machine gun defense, at least one regiment is needed to attack a position defended by a company, and it cannot attack frontally. It must be detoured from the side, and this is only possible with the help of artillery." George's words made Brusinov He was shocked. In Russia, where conservatism is rampant, George's words were almost treasonous.

After Milyutin retired, the person with the greatest influence on the Russian military was Mikhail Dragomirov.

Dragomirov currently serves as the dean of the General Staff Academy. All senior military officers in Russia have studied at the General Staff Academy.

If George becomes a general in the future, he will also go to the General Staff College for further studies.

Dragomirov emphasized the bayonet doctrine and belittled the role of firepower. He participated in the Russo-Turkish War and visited Germany and France many times. However, these experiences did not bring about any changes in him.

Dragomirov insisted that soldiers must hold their chests high when attacking. Any tactical action is a manifestation of fear of life and death. Soldiers should hold their heads high and rush into the enemy's formation with a fearless fighting posture, slashing left and right. With one knife, chop the enemy into pieces.

In his teaching, Dragomirov even stipulated that when the infantry is attacking from the front, the width of the battalion-level attack should not exceed 400 steps.

George likes this kind of enemy the most.

"The rate of fire of the heavy machine gun exceeds 600 rounds per minute. Your troops attack in a dense formation from 1000 meters away. How much price do you think your troops have to pay before the bayonet poses a threat to my troops?" George really said It’s not that I’m looking down on anyone, everyone here is a scumbag.

1000 meters is also stipulated in the textbooks of the General Staff College.

"But where did you get so many bullets?" Brusinov questioned the logistical capabilities of the Oak Group.

"I don't need unlimited bullets, I just need enough bullets to wipe out your troops." George broke the illusion. The purpose of the exercise was to find problems.

It doesn't matter how many bullets a rubber ball has. The key is that with the emergence of new weapons, the shape of the battlefield has completely changed. Does Russia want to keep pace with the times?

"This is impossible. It has no promotion value. If all Russian armies are equipped with a sufficient number of heavy machine guns, the empire's finances will go bankrupt." Brusinov was interested in discussing this issue with George.

"In that case, do we still need so many troops?" George's core is still the elite soldier line.

George shocked Brusinov so much that Brusinov was not even in the mood for dinner and hurried back to the station to think about countermeasures.

The Tsar regarded the Oak Regiment as a touchstone for George and the Russian army. During the exercise, the Oak Regiment will accept turns of challenges from the Guards and local troops.

The Tver Dragoon Regiment led by Brusinov was also one of George's opponents.

As the participating troops arrived in Rivne one after another, there was an endless stream of officers of all levels coming to visit the Oak Corps.

Everyone else was fine, but Dragomirov, who arrived in Rivne with the Tsar, looked at George as if he were a heretic.

Fortunately it's not the Middle Ages.

All heretics in the Middle Ages were burned to death.

George advocated firepower and valued civil engineering. He did not advocate frontal attack and emphasized side detours and coordination of infantry and artillery.

All these spots appeared on Dragomirov's black spot.

After visiting the Oak Group, Dragomirov contemptuously said "grandstanding" and led a group of generals away.

George was very unhappy. Who is this old man?
  "Dean of the General Staff College—" Demeter knew who this was.

"What does the General Staff College do?" George knew about the Nicholas Cavalry School, but he really didn't know about the General Staff College.

The Nikolai Cavalry School trains low-level officers, and Demeter studied at the Nikolay Cavalry School.

The General Staff College is a place where senior officers are trained, but George still knows too few generals.

"Don't worry about what he does, we are in big trouble this time." Yeluoxin was worried. Dragomirov represents the traditional conservative forces in the Russian military.

"Why?" George is not worried. This kind of old waste with extremely conservative ideas will be completely crushed by a heavy machine gun sooner or later.

Dragomirov emphasized in his "Tactical Textbook" that the role of firepower is to "destroy the enemy's morale."

The "Tactics Textbook" is the basic textbook of the General Staff College.

The night before the exercise began, the Tsar held a banquet at the Rivno Palace to boost the morale of the troops participating in the exercise.

The Oak Group is the protagonist of this exercise, and it is naturally impossible for George to be absent.

The performance of the rubber team did attract widespread attention. Milyutin also came to Rivne to cheer for George.

Carol I and Crown Prince Ferdinand also came to Rivno. The covenant signed by Romania and Russia was not limited to defense and offense. As long as one side fell into war, the other side must participate in the war unconditionally. However, it was only announced to the outside world that it was a defensive covenant.

"Are you nervous?" Milyugin looked forward to George's stunning success.

"It's my opponent who should be nervous!" George was confident. His opponents gathered around Dragomirov and listened to Dragomirov's nonsense.

"The bayonet is a hero, the bullet is a fool. Hiding behind a bunker and shooting is a cowardly act, which will make the troops lose their courage. Courage is the most important temperament of the army. The bayonet is our best friend. Russia has only two allies. One is Russia. The army, the other is the Russian navy!" Dragomirov's last words were addressed to the Tsar, which is Yasan's famous saying.

The generals were still very considerate. Dragomirov's words received bursts of cheers. The generals shouted "Ula" and toasted in celebration, wanting to drink the enemy to death.

Ya San and Carol I sat together, smiling and watching the lively scene.

Ferdinand was restless, and Carol I smiled and said: "Go, go, find your good friend."

Ferdinand went away happily.

Ya San also chased Nicholas: "Look at George and tell him to drink less."

He said this as if George was a drunkard.

However, this statement is more or less a bit showy.

George is still underage and technically cannot drink alcohol.

"Super Duke Yurievsky really wants to challenge these generals?" Carol I was worried that George would not be able to defeat him.

The opponents arranged by Ya San for the Oak Regiment were very harsh. Guards and local troops took turns to fight, including infantry, light cavalry, and dragoons.

In order to limit the firepower advantage of the Oak Regiment, Yasan even arranged an artillery regiment to counter the Oak Regiment's artillery battalion.

Artillery regiments are equipped with more artillery than artillery battalions.

Fortunately, the artillery equipped by the Rubber Regiment are all steel artillery imported from Germany, which has advantages in terms of range and power.

The artillery produced by the Obukhov Steel Plant is also a steel cannon and is only supplied to the Russian Navy.

"This is George's initiative. Nicky and George are very confident." Ya San loves peace, and there are prerequisites.

In the 10th Russo-Turkish War, Russia did not gain substantial gains, and its national strength was limited.

Russia is about to face a comprehensive transformation, a process that may take as long as ten years. The call for building the Trans-Siberian Railway is getting louder and louder. Once this project is started, the empire will be unable to launch foreign wars.

So whether Ya San wants it or not, he can only love peace.

Ya San already knew about George's elite troop route through Nicholas.

The reason why Ya San has not summoned George yet is because this matter involves too many things, and Ya San, as the tsar, does not dare to act rashly.

Taking the route of elite troops will require cutting a large number of troops, which will affect the interests of many people.

The empire has 15 military districts and 2 million troops. Not counting the high-ranking noble officers who make up the numbers, the general group has nearly a thousand people and can be organized into a legion.

According to George's elite military route, the empire only needs 20 Guards and 20 auxiliary troops, which is enough to protect the security of the empire.

Once a war breaks out, the empire can recruit reserves of up to millions at any time without having to worry about having no one available.

Excluding the navy, if the army is reduced to 40 personnel, which is equivalent to a 70% reduction in size, will it still need so many generals?
  If he were not careful and caused a mutiny among the officer corps, Ya San himself would not be able to protect himself.

George did not have as many worries as the Tsar. He would give the Tsar as much reward as the Tsar could give him.

"George, I have already proposed to my father that after I graduate, I will serve in your army." Ferdinand hoped to learn something from George, which should also be what Carol I hoped for.

Russia and Romania have formed an alliance. No matter what opponents they face in the future, the two countries will fight side by side. It is important to enhance their understanding of each other.

"When will you graduate?" George welcomed. The Russian Empire was in catastrophe, and Romania was in dire straits, so it was very suitable to take the route of elite soldiers.

The only regret is that Romania does not have military industry capabilities. Even if Carol I is determined, Romania cannot afford it.

"Five years at most!" Ferdinand was very excited. Five years passed by with a snap of his fingers.

"Oh~~" George and Nicholas both said meaningfully.

A year ago, George was still a captain.

Now George is a lieutenant colonel.

In five years, George will probably be a general. Even if Ferdinand graduates from college and joins the army, he will still have to start as a captain.

"What's your expression?" Ferdinand was very angry, looking down on college students.

George and Nicholas neither went to elementary school, let alone college.

"We are happy for you!" Nikolai is still quite sorry. Russian universities are not peaceful and Nikolai cannot go to university.

George was not sorry. All of Nicholas's tutors were university professors, and Nicholas didn't learn much. He might as well listen to George telling jokes.

The three of them had just met, and before they had even spoken a few words, little Nicholas came over to gloat.

"George, you have to be careful, someone is going to give you some clues."

After the Rivno exercise last year, Nikolai Junior was promoted to the rank of commander of the Guards Cavalry Division.

Little Nicholas also had his share of the canning business.

"Who! Who dares to do this!" Nicholas looked furious, already a bit powerful like a tsar.

"Nicky, don't worry - tell them to come here and I will tear them all into pieces!" George vowed to fight the villain to the end.

The Tsar reused George in the hope that George could become a catfish and stir up the stagnant water of the Russian army.

George doesn’t want to be a villain either.

But otherwise, no one would wake up the Russian generals from their dream of European military police.

Even if George messed up, he could still go to Vladivostok and become the emperor.

If Russia continues to be arrogant like this, George will not be able to become the emperor even if he wants to.

The next day, the exercise officially began.

Since there are no observers from various countries present, this exercise will no longer be superficial and will enter the confrontation phase from the first day.

George's first opponent was the Tver Dragoon Regiment led by Brusinov.

Brusinov has been thinking hard these days about how to deal with the oak group led by George, and did not even attend the banquet last night.

In order to reduce the time the troops were exposed to the crossfire of the Oak Group, Brusinov set up the starting position only 300 meters away from the Oak Group position.

"How is it possible that your starting position is so close to us? Do you think our artillery is dead?" Nikolai, who is still the leader of the Oak Regiment, argued with reason.

"We also have artillery——" Brusinov ignored Nikolai's identity and fought against Nikolai face to face.

"Your artillery has a short range, low power, and is inconvenient to move. It was completely destroyed by our artillery before it entered the attack range." Nicholas showed unprecedented aggression and no reservations.

After this exercise, Nicholas will leave the Oak Group. This will be the last time Nicholas fights side by side with George.

Nicholas is the crown prince. After leaving the Oak Group, Nicholas will stand on the side of the empire and can no longer support George unreservedly as he does now.

So Nikolai doesn't care who is opposite him, he will destroy whoever he meets this time.

"Your Highness, you can't do this. Your Majesty allows it." Brusinov carried out the Tsar.

"You wait!" Nicholas went to the Tsar.

The Tsar was in the headquarters, observing the Oak Group position through telescopes with Carol I.

After the Oak Regiment arrived in Rivne, they began to dig trenches. Not only heavy machine guns, but also artillery were placed in bunkers for heavy protection.

There is no shortage of wood in Russia. The heavy machine gun position of the Oak Group is reinforced with logs, and is covered with sandbags up to two meters thick around and on the top. It can only be accessed through the underground passage at the bottom.

In front of the machine gun position are infantry trenches, and skirmisher positions are connected by traffic pits. Each platoon has a separate troop hiding hole. The traffic pits are not straight lines, but winding and complex like a maze.

"Is this the civil engineering work of Super Duke Yurievsky!" Carol I was not a military novice. He personally commanded large-scale battles. He also dug trenches in the Battle of Pleven.

During the Battle of Pleven, the Russian coalition forces encircled the Ottoman army for two months, eventually forcing the Ottoman army to surrender.

The trenches during the Battle of Pleven were still in a relatively primitive stage.

Compared with the positions built by the Oak Regiment, if the Oak Regiment is an armored cruiser, then the trenches during the Battle of Pleven can only be regarded as small wooden ships.

(End of this chapter)