I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 616: Conqueror No Longer Takes the Blame

Conrad, who was touted as a strategic genius before the war, was exposed after the war broke out. Not only was he not a genius, he didn't even have any strategy at all.

Just looking at Conrad's plan, you can see how arrogant Conrad is.

The German "Schlieffen Plan" could only take one side into consideration, first France and then Russia; Conrad actually dreamed of defeating the Russian Empire and the Kingdom of Serbia at the same time. He is undoubtedly the strongest talker.

George could not take care of the Austro-Hungarian Empire for the time being. The best way was to defeat the Ottoman Empire first and eliminate all worries.

The commander-in-chief of the Ottoman Empire was Sultan Mehmed V's younger brother, Mehmed the Younger, another typical example of a man with great ambitions but little talent, wavering between the Central Powers and the Entente.

Before the outbreak of the World War, Muhammad the Younger's position was relatively pro-Allied, and he was even willing to join the Allies in order to obtain British asylum.

The Balkan War changed the young Muhammad's position. Britain did not provide timely assistance to the Ottoman Empire, which led to the Ottoman Empire losing its access to the Black Sea.

In order to regain access to the Black Sea, the Ottoman Empire joined the Allies and made a desperate effort.

Muhammad the Younger did not concentrate all his forces in the direction of Constantinople. While besieging the 14th Army, it was undoubtedly a major mistake to divide his forces to attack Egypt.

The Ottoman Empire's mobilization was not sufficient. Many soldiers did not even have cotton clothes. The vassal troops from the Persian Peninsula were not adapted to the cold climate of the Black Sea. When the Gorbachev Corps landed in Kogaeri, the Austrian troops fighting on the front line had to kill horses to satisfy their hunger due to poor logistics.

Faced with the German assault, Ruzynski was at least able to organize his troops to retreat in an orderly manner.

Faced with the Russian army's encirclement, the young Muhammad was at a loss as to what to do and even gave inconsistent orders to the front-line commanders. The first telegram required the front-line troops to hold their positions, but the second telegram required the troops to retreat immediately, which caused the Ottoman army's command system to fall into complete chaos.

Yangkov used his troops decisively. When the Gao Ri Corps encountered Austrian sniper attacks, Yangkov ordered his troops to bypass the Austrian positions and continue to advance inland.

In order to ensure speed, the first batch of landing troops did not carry heavy weapons. The only artillery they had were mortars, and the number of shells was not large. Once they were alone and advanced deep into the enemy's territory, they would easily run out of ammunition and food.

Yankov did not care, even if his troops were in danger of being surrounded, he was determined to block the retreat of the Austrian troops on the front line.

The Austrian troops that Muhammad the Younger used to attack the 14th Army were Austria's previous standing troops. Compared with the Austrian army, they were all elite troops.

The Austrian troops deployed on the second line were mobilized soldiers hastily formed last winter. Not only were they poor in combat effectiveness, but they could not even guarantee their weapons. It was common for two people to share a rifle. They were truly worthy of the reputation of being the sick man of Europe.

Under such circumstances, the Ottoman Empire dared to go to war with the Russian Empire. George really did not understand the Ottoman Sultan's train of thought.

Although Conrad had great ambitions but little talent, his ideas were still understandable.

The Ottoman Sultan Mehmed V was so absurd that he didn't even know where Greece and Serbia were.

Before the outbreak of the Balkan Wars, Greece and Serbia were both neighbors of the Ottoman Empire.

Yankov's strategy was correct. On February 2, the troops that landed in Kogaeri completed the encirclement of the Austrian front-line troops, and more than 21 Austrian troops were surrounded.

Although the first step of the plan has been completed, George dare not be careless.

Yangkov's troops totaled only 21 people.

The number of Austrian troops surrounded was as high as 25.

Once the Austrian army broke through, the landing troops lacking heavy weapons would probably not be able to withstand the Austrian attack and would fail.

Yangkov 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.

It was also on this day that George received the tragic news that the 20th Army had been completely wiped out.

In order to cover the retreat of the main force of the 10th Army, the 20th Army was ordered to snipe the pursuing German troops and was surrounded by the Germans.

The 20th Army fought extremely tenaciously. With supplies completely cut off, the officers and soldiers of the 20th Army went hungry, collected ammunition from their dead brothers, and engaged in fierce hand-to-hand combat with the German army, refusing to surrender.

The 20th Army crushed the German army's repeated attacks until the 21st, when all ammunition was exhausted and the army commander Pavel Bulgakov ordered the troops to break out in a dispersed manner.

The Russian army took advantage of the cover of night to move, hoping to break out of the German encirclement.

Hindenburg took advantage of the situation and knew that the 20th Army was out of ammunition and food. He ordered his troops to encircle the 20th Army and sent people to persuade Pavel Bulgakov to surrender.

On the 22nd, the 20th Army failed to break out, most of the 1.7 men were killed, Bulgakov was hit by a cannon and fell into a coma, and was captured by the German army.

So far, the Russian army has lost 5.6 people and nearly 10 people have been captured.

The German losses were around 2.6 men.

Within two weeks, the German army advanced 100 kilometers and the front line reached Russian territory.

The Russian 10th Army was completely paralyzed, and the newly formed 16th Army also suffered heavy losses. Ruzynski's halo was gone, and the glory of the Galician Campaign seemed like a distant memory.

While the Northern Front suffered a heavy defeat, the Western Front under the command of Alexeev made some small gains. At the end of the Galicia Campaign, the Russian army had besieged the Przemyśl Fortress for more than five months.

Alexeev concentrated artillery and, with the cooperation of the Air Force, launched a general attack on the Przemyśl Fortress.

Under the continuous attacks of the Russian army, the defenders of the Przemyśl Fortress had run out of ammunition and food. On February 2, the defenders of the Przemyśl Fortress surrendered, and the core area of ​​the Austro-Hungarian Empire was exposed to the Russian army.

Hindenburg had no choice but to send Ludendorff to lead the German 10th Army to rush to the rescue overnight, and finally stabilized the defense line before the main force of the Russian army arrived.

George felt sorry that if Alexeev had been faster and invaded Silesia before Ludendorff arrived, the industrial capacity and food production of the Austro-Hungarian Empire would have been greatly affected.

But it doesn't matter. With the arrival of strategic bombers, the Russian army now has 800 bombers available for combat on the front line, which may become the deciding factor in changing the outcome of the war.

On February 2, Nikolai the Younger organized the first bombing of Berlin.

The strategic bomber has a range of 1500 kilometers, which is enough for a round trip from Warsaw to Berlin.

Because it was loaded with too much fuel, the strategic bomber's bomb load was only 900 kilograms.

This was enough. Just one bomb falling on Berlin would deal a heavy blow to the Germans' confidence.

While bombing Berlin, Ruzynski put the troops used for the offensive into a counterattack, dealing a heavy blow to the advancing German army.

After invading the Russian Empire, the German army's logistics began to have problems, and it no longer had the unstoppable success it had at the beginning of the campaign.

The Russian army was in a very awkward position during the attack.

Still trustworthy in defense, Ruzynskiy spent a week driving the Germans out of the territory of the Russian Empire and regaining the defense line.

Before Nicholas the Younger had time to breathe a sigh of relief, Ruzynskiy resigned from his post as commander-in-chief of the Northern Front to Nicholas the Younger, citing poor health as the reason.

To George's surprise, little Nicholas did not try to keep him.

After Zhilinsky was dismissed, Ruzynski was appointed commander-in-chief of the Northern Front. From then on, Ruzynski never had 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 commander-in-chief of the Western Front, Ruzysky's situation did not improve, and Nikolai the Younger obviously trusted Alexeev more.

Now Luzynski had finally had enough. After repelling the German army, Luzynski immediately submitted his resignation to Nicholas Jr. and no longer held any position.

Young Nicholas refused to believe in evil and personally took over as commander-in-chief of the Northern Front to fight against Hindenburg.

"If Grand Duke Nikolayevich had underestimated Hindenburg, the disaster of the Northern Front would have continued."

Demeter kept an eye on the European war zone and disapproved of his old boss, young Nikolai.

Demeter had served in the Guards for a long time and was well aware of the abilities of Nicholas the Younger, the commander-in-chief of the Guards.

Although Ruzynski's performance was not good, the title of "Galicia Conqueror" was not just a boast, but was supported by real achievements.

Although Alexeev captured the Przemyśl Fortress, that was not Alexeev's credit. Before Alexeev took over as the commander-in-chief of the Western Front, the Western Front had already besieged the Przemyśl Fortress. Strictly speaking, this was the legacy left by Ruzynsky to the Western Front.

"This is not something we can interfere with. We can only do our job well."

George was worried, too, but there was nothing he could do.

During the Petrograd Conference, cracks had already appeared in the relationship between George and Nicholas the Younger. If George interfered in this matter, the relationship between George and Nicholas the Younger would become even worse.

The current situation in the European theater of war has a lot to do with internal discord.

If George and Nicholas the Younger fall out, the Balkan war zone will inevitably be affected.

Yangkov is still very powerful.

After crushing the Austrian army's breakout attempt, Yankov launched a general attack on the Austrian troops in the encirclement.

Russian bombers showed their prowess, carrying incendiary bombs and bombarding the Austrian army.

The Austrian army lacked anti-aircraft weapons and was helpless against the bombers.

By March 3, the Austrian army, running out of ammunition and food, surrendered to Yankov under the leadership of Ahmed Jamal.

(End of this chapter)