Bulgarian Empire

Chapter 87, Russian decision

Ferdinand has been in a good mood recently, good news from the frontline has been reported frequently, the country is still peaceful, and the war has not disturbed Bulgaria's social order.

The most important thing is that the trouble is gone. Popov made the military court have not had time to try many people, and most of the Ottomans ran away. It seems that basically everyone participated in the ethnic minorities more or less Persecution, even massacres.

Although it is under military control, everyone still welcomes the hordes of Ottomans who want to leave. By running away, they confirmed this crime in front of the world public opinion.

As for how many people the Ottomans killed, it is difficult to determine. According to preliminary statistics from later generations, the number of Armenians massacred by the Ottoman government during the First World War was as high as 1.5 million.

There is also the Syrian tragedy that just broke out. Millions of Romanians, Greeks, Blacks, and Serbs died under the butcher knife of the Ottoman army.

These are all conclusive evidence, which provides a favorable basis for public opinion in Bulgaria to end the Ottoman Empire. Even if someone later wants to make a fuss about the Ottomans, everyone dare not support it on the surface.

This is second, and the most important thing is to speed up the demise of the Ottoman Empire. Many times it is not human, the more the better, especially in the case of food shortage.

Suddenly there were three or four million more mouths. Does the Ottoman government have so many material reserves? The answer is clear: no!

The population of the Ottoman Empire was only about 20 million. It is reasonable to say that their vast land should be very nourishing. Unfortunately, they are still stuck in the agricultural productivity of the last century, and it is difficult to even fill their stomachs.

Even if the agriculture is backward, you can still buy it! It is a pity that the Ottoman government was so poor that the Sudanese government gave the Turkish Albatross a mess, with foreign debts of hundreds of millions of pounds. Before the outbreak of the world war, the biggest problem of the Ottoman government was to repay the debt.

Without money, there is naturally not much grain reserves, and now that the grain-producing areas are lost, life is naturally even more difficult.

The Ottoman government was not doing well, and Ferdinand didn't care, he only knew that it would weaken their war potential.

New refugees always need assistance, right? Relief requires the consumption of supplies, and failure to do so will lose popular support and lead to riots. No matter what the Ottoman government does, they must suffer this loss!

Moreover, from the beginning of the war to the present, the casualties of the Ottoman Empire's army alone have exceeded the million mark. For this country with a population of only over 20 million, the pressure is already very high.

The most important thing is that among their population of just over 20 million, no more than 15 million people are willing to support the Ottoman government!

Ferdinand knew that if a normal country would have collapsed by now, the most important thing for the Ottoman Empire to persist until now is to rely on religion and faith, but it is a pity that faith cannot be eaten!

...

At this time, the battlefield on the Eastern Front also changed. With the arrival of the main force of Germany, the Russians were gradually at a disadvantage on the battlefield. Two important figures, Hindenburg and Ludendorff, also began to appear on the stage of history.

After Russia's winter offensive ended, less than half a month later, the situation began to take a turn for the worse. The Russian army, which had been victorious all the way, was defeated by the German and Austrian allied forces.

The reason is simple. Winter is over, and summer is coming. The ice and snow begin to melt, the roads become muddy, and the Russian army's logistics supply has serious problems.

The main reason is that there are problems with the supply of food, weapons and ammunition. Many food, weapons and ammunition that should have arrived are still on the way.

There are even some grains, which have been wetted by rain due to poor management, and have begun to germinate. Of course, germination is only a small problem, and it is okay to feed livestock malt anyway.

Obviously, Mao Xiong knows how to make enough food and clothing by himself. They have a tradition of "eating from the enemy", so their front-line army has not collapsed until now.

The most important thing is weapons and ammunition. The fact that several people only need one rifle did not happen, but the tragedy of several rifles with only one bullet happened.

Well, this is the fault of Britain and France, and the Russian logistics department can ignore it! Due to the rapid military expansion of the Russians, domestic production capacity could not keep up, so Britain and France provided them with a batch of weapons and ammunition assistance, including rifles.

Due to the different calibers of bullets, the Russians' military production capacity is limited, and naturally they have no ability to add new production lines. The ammunition consumption in the later period can only rely on the assistance of Britain and France.

Now the supplies promised by Britain and France have not been delivered on time, and without bullets, these rifles have naturally become fire sticks. Not only is it not robbing, but there are still many machine guns and artillery in the Russian army that are now in a state of "starvation".

Fortunately, there are not many British and French weapons equipped in the Russian army, the proportion is still less than 20%, and the rest are equipped with Russian-made or reserved weapons. Everyone's bullets can be used in the same caliber.

Although the supply of ammunition is not very sufficient, at least there are supplements, and there is still ammunition for one or two battles, otherwise there is no power for a battle now.

In terms of supplies, the northern front of the Russian army is the worst, the western front is second, and the southwestern front is the best.

This is determined by the geographical location. After Romania is over, the Southwest can receive military supplies from the Black Sea, and can also obtain some supplies from Bulgaria.

According to the route of material transportation, it is as follows: Southwest Front Army-Western Front Army-Northern Front Army. Obviously, the materials from the Black Sea must pass through the defense area of ​​the Southwest Front Army. Naturally, these materials can be obtained first, while the Northern Front Army is the last to obtain materials. .

In terms of numbers, the Northern Front has the largest army, the Western Front has the second largest army, and the Southwest Front has the least.

This is determined by the strength of the opponent. The northern front faces East Prussia and German Poland, the western front faces the border between Germany and Austria, and the southwestern front only needs to face the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Judging from the current situation, Ferdinand can judge that the current situation is very unfavorable to the Russians, and the best option is to shrink the line of defense and retreat.

Shorten your own supply line, and at the same time lengthen the enemy's supply line, trade space for time, and wait for the opportunity to fight the Germans.

According to the deduction of the Bulgarian General Staff, the Russian Northern Front and Western Front only need to retreat more than two hundred kilometers, and they can hold the line of defense.

After all, the further east you go, the worse the traffic situation is. Facing the muddy roads, German tanks and armored vehicles can't play a role, and the enemy's advantage in equipment is gone.

Anyway, they only need to delay the Germans for a few months, and wait for Britain and France to counterattack on the western front.

...

Of course, how could Ferdinand, who is good at tortoise shell flow, understand the Russians' thinking?

If we retreat now, wouldn't all previous efforts be wasted? The great reputation that the Russian Empire has just won just gave up?

In the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, Nicholas II was worrying about the situation on the front line. Of course, he was not worried that the Russian army would lose. What he was worried about was how to defeat the Allies and end the war as soon as possible.

The current economic situation in Russia is not very good, and many industries affected by the war are in depression. The capitalists took advantage of the fire and looted again, forcing workers to work overtime without pay in the name of war, which aggravated the war weariness among the people.

There are still many people who can't stand the oppression and go directly to Bulgaria to work as mercenaries.

But in the eyes of ordinary people, instead of joining the tsar's army for free, it is better to be a mercenary. At any rate, there are commissions, rewards for military exploits, and even land!

Anyway, they are all fighting the Allies. Who is helping to fight the war? As for the country? Sorry, this is the country of the tsars, lords, and capitalists, what does it have to do with them?

Ferdinand hadn't realized that he had inadvertently helped the Russians share the firepower. After all, as long as there are other options, few people will go to extremes.

Nicholas II asked: "What is your plan to defeat the Germans as soon as possible and end this war?"

The winter offensive he had just won undoubtedly gave him enough confidence. He believed that as long as he was willing to pay casualties, he could kill the Germans if he couldn't beat them.

In just two months, all the soldiers lost by the Russian army have been replenished, and even increased. Now the five million troops on the front line are properly secured!

Of course, he didn't know that the front-line commanders wanted supplies more than personnel. Obviously, this was suppressed by the bureaucrats inside the tsarist government.

"Your Majesty, now we just need to defend on the spot to delay the time, wait for Britain and France to launch the offensive on the western front, make the Germans exhausted, and then fight them decisively!" Minister of War Vladimir Alexandrovich Sukhomlino Husband suggested

"Your Majesty, our Minister of War is too conservative. Now that the Austro-Hungarian Empire has been greatly weakened, we should unite with Bulgaria to continue to attack the Austro-Hungarian Empire. As long as the Austro-Hungarian Empire collapses, the Allies will be finished!" Foreign Minister Sassonno Husband objected

The Minister of War retorted: "This is impossible. Now Bulgaria is still busy with the war on the Asia Minor peninsula, and it cannot be ended in the short term. Their troops in Europe are limited, and they have no ability to launch a large-scale attack at all!

We can face the two great powers of Germany and Austria at the same time by ourselves alone, and the defense is not bad. If we want to launch a war of annihilation, it is impossible to succeed! "

The Chancellor of the Exchequer objected: "No, Mr. Vladimir Alexandrovich Sukhomlinov, you are too conservative, don't forget that the military serves politics!

Now is the time when the Allies are at their weakest. We should pursue the victory and kill the main force of the Allies in one go, so as to establish our position as the hegemon in Europe! "

...

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