Holy Roman Empire - Chapter 381

Chapter 381: Chapter 68, Turning Point
On May 1, 1865, the Russian navy launched a surprise attack on the East Prussia region, and the Baltiysk region fell, marking the turning point in the Prusso-Russian War.

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In Berlin, the Prussian Government was filled with wails of despair as Wilhelm I urgently called a military meeting.

Army and Navy Minister Roon analyzed, “With the fall of the Baltiysk region, our strategy to keep the enemy beyond our national borders has collapsed. To avoid being sandwiched from behind, we have no choice but to pull our troops back to West Prussia.

Before the outbreak of the war, in order to maintain colonial stability, we did not recall our Far Eastern fleet. Our current homeland fleet is not capable of contending with the Russian navy, and our coastal defenses must be fortified.”

This was merely an excuse, as even the concentration of the entire Prussian Navy wouldn’t make much difference in reality.

The Danish Navy could match them, let alone the more formidable Russian navy.

Just because the Russian navy had become a laughing stock did not mean we could ignore their strength.

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Roon never counted on the navy from the start, and it turned out that his assessment of the Prussian Navy’s capabilities was highly accurate.

After the war broke out, the homeland fleet had a few encounters with the Danish Navy, then got blockaded in port. Its greatest contribution to the war was tying down the main force of the Danish Navy.

Even if the Far Eastern fleet were called back, at most it could suppress the Danish Navy. A decisive battle, however, remained an unknown, whether they could win or not.

The Kingdom of Prussia hadn’t developed its navy long enough, whether in shipbuilding technology or in naval training and officer command abilities; it lagged behind the major naval powers.

For now, it might be excusable to have the homeland fleet cower in port due to lack of strength, but if the Far Eastern fleet returned and was forced into a decisive battle with the Danish Navy, things would be dire.

Even if they won against the Danish navy, they absolutely could not overpower the Russians, as the tonnage of the Tsarist Baltic fleet was 2.7 times that of theirs.

The navy is not the army. With such a clear disparity in strength, any hope for a comeback is impractical unless we’re talking about ironclads against sailing warships; otherwise, there’s no chance.

The fall of the Baltiysk region was an error on the part of the General Staff. They underestimated the Russians’ siege capabilities and overestimated the defensive forces’ combat strength.

The navy and the army are not the same. Just in terms of artillery, the sides are not on the same level.

After the outbreak of the war, the Prussians placed great importance on the defense of the Baltiysk region, deploying the strength of three battalions there.

According to estimates by the General Staff, even if faced with an attack by the Russian Army, they could at least hold out for a week by relying on the fortifications built in advance.

However, the army staff’s empiricism brought fatal losses to the defenders. The fact that these fortresses could withstand attacks from land artillery did not mean they could resist bombardment from naval guns.

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If they had been Prussian regular troops, even if the fortresses were destroyed, a force of three battalions could still hold off the Russian Army for two or three days.

Unfortunately, these were newly recruited rookies who became disorganized after being subjected to artillery fire.

After clashing with the landing Russian Army, they quickly realized the enemy was much stronger than the Russians depicted in propaganda. As casualties mounted, the new recruits responsible for defense quickly crumbled into defeat.

Wilhelm I said irritably, “No matter what, you all must quickly turn around the unfavorable situation at hand.

The consequences of abandoning the East Prussia region have already been felt, and if things continue like this, a revolution will break out within the country.”

Assigning blame? Right now, Wilhelm I still needed the military to fight! Being able to gain the upper hand in combat against the Russian Army and drive the Russians out of the Warsaw region would be sufficient to prove their ability.

“`

If a mistake meant a change in personnel, who could guarantee that the replacement would be more capable?

In the end, if the war was won, everything would be fine, and all problems could be swept away; if the war was lost, the senior military officials would be the scapegoats.

If you removed someone prematurely, wouldn’t that just mean the blame would fall on Wilhelm I himself?

Chief of General Staff Maoqi hesitated and said, “Things have reached a point where we can no longer carry out our original strategic plans.

If we continue to delay, the Russians will use their naval advantage to relentlessly attack our coastal regions.

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What the Tsarist Government has in abundance are soldiers; these grey beasts are cheap. They only need a rifle and a few months of basic training before they can be sent to the battlefield.

Once a large number of Russian troops land in Prussia, our homeland will inevitably be severely damaged. At that point, we would be the first to collapse in this war.

Even if we strengthen our maritime defenses, it’s no use. We simply cannot spare that many troops for defense. Everyone knows the combat effectiveness of these newly formed troops, and it’s clear that we cannot rely on them.

At this stage, we no longer have the luxury of choice; we must risk a decisive battle with the Russians.”

“Decisive battle,” something the Berlin Government had been trying to avoid from the start. A battle critical to their survival was just a local conflict for the Russians.

The Tsarist Government can afford to lose once, twice, thrice… as long as they win one time, they could bring Prussia to its knees.

So why seek a decisive battle? Is it the hope that by depleting the Russians’ living forces, we could ultimately win the war?

War is no child’s play. With over half a million Russian troops at the front, it may be possible to defeat them, but to annihilate them is nothing but a fool’s dream.

The best possible outcome is that the victor loses forty to fifty thousand soldiers, crushes the main enemy forces, and then annihilates another hundred or eighty thousand of the enemy.

After all, the Kingdom of Prussia and the Polish have joined forces, making the combined strength of both sides roughly equal. No matter how confident, no one believes that the Polish Revolutionary Army and the Prussian Army possess the same fighting power.

With unreliable allies, the strength of the combatants has been leveled. Now, to engage in a decisive battle with the Russians, it’s not just a test of strength; it’s also a matter of the commanding abilities and luck of the officers on both sides.

“What are the chances of victory?” Wilhelm I asked with concern.

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After some thought, Maoqi replied, “Seventy percent.”

This was merely for this one decisive battle, and it did not mean the end of the Prusso-Russian war. The Tsarist Government still had the capacity to continue the war; the only question was how much money the Tsarist Government had.

…

The sudden turning point in the battle had drawn the attention of all Europe. Many people pessimistically believed that it was only a matter of time before the Prussians were defeated.

In St. Petersburg, the Tsarist Government had already set up victory banquets, as though they had won the war.

However, the situation on the battlefield was indeed shifting in favor of the Tsarist Government.

The Russian navy performed well this time, capturing the Baltiysk region at the outset, proving to the outside world that they were not useless.

“`

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