Holy Roman Empire

Under the roar of artillery fire, the sky gradually darkened. In the distance, the sounds of fierce fighting and shouting echoed endlessly. By morning, there would likely be thousands more corpses.

Marshal Moltke, who had just arrived at the front lines, raised his binoculars and stared intently ahead. From this distance, he could only see the thick smoke rising from the exploding shells.

After a moment, Moltke let out a sigh. The situation was far worse than he had anticipated. From the intensity of the bombardment, it was clear the Russians were no longer what they once were.

As night fell, both sides tacitly ceased hostilities. A chilling wind began to howl, as if trying to awaken the souls of the dead.

In the Prussian command headquarters, Marshal Moltke, there to oversee the battle, erupted in anger.

“A week has passed since the war began, and you still haven’t taken the small city of Brest. What a bunch of incompetents!

Speak up! During peacetime, weren’t you all so capable? Each of you was so arrogant, boasting about defeating Russia in three months and marching into St. Petersburg within six.

And now? You can’t even take Brest. Forget about marching into St. Petersburg, at this rate, our strategy to cut off the Dnieper River will completely fall apart.”

The officers lowered their heads in silence, as if listening to a reprimand. They had no excuses. The campaign had indeed gone disastrously wrong.

According to the General Staff’s plan, the Prussian army was supposed to capture Brest within three days, then move south along the Dnieper River to seize Kyiv and sever the Russians’ supply lines via the river.

The core of this strategy was speed. The Russians lacked many things, but manpower wasn’t one of them. Once the Russian government reacted and sent reinforcements, the war would become far more difficult.

This was a lesson learned from history. During the First Near East War, the British and French allied forces paid a bloody price to show the world that the fully armed and well-supplied Russian army was a tough opponent.

As long as the Dnieper River remained under Russian control, supplies from Austria could continue flowing uninterrupted, turning the war into a battle of attrition.

Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen, commander of the Southwestern Front, reluctantly responded, “Marshal, the enemy is far more resilient than we expected. In these seven days, we’ve clashed directly with them dozens of times.

Although we have held the upper hand in most engagements, the overall situation is still grim. The Russians replenish their forces at an astonishing rate, and the troops we’ve been fighting have already rotated three times.

You may not believe it, but they’re not just defending their positions, they also frequently launch counterattacks.

According to our intelligence, the Russians defending the Brest line number 80,000, with another 100,000 stationed in Volhynia. And this doesn’t even include the reinforcements constantly arriving from the rear.

The Russian commanders across from us seem to be madmen. They don’t value their soldiers’ lives at all, and often deliberately engage us in exchanges of heavy casualties.

In just one week, our Southwestern Front has lost two divisions. Achieving a breakthrough here in the short term is almost impossible.”

There was no way around it, strategies like this couldn’t be kept secret. The Prussian army’s intention to cut off the Dnieper River was obvious, and the Russians were determined to prevent it.

As their adversary, the Russians were watching the Prussians closely. Especially with the advent of airships, Russian airships crossed the border daily for reconnaissance, making it nearly impossible to conceal large troop movements.

Moltke furrowed his brow. He knew that failing to capture the Brest Fortress was not primarily the fault of these officers. On the battlefield, strength speaks the loudest. Without overwhelming superiority, it was normal to get bogged down in a stalemate.

The General Staff’s strategic plan was to feign an attack on Estonia, creating the illusion of advancing toward St. Petersburg to draw the main Russian forces away and create an opportunity to seize Kyiv.

However, plans can rarely keep up with reality. While the goal of diverting the main Russian forces was achieved, the first step in capturing Kyiv had already stalled.

Even the best strategy cannot overcome the Russian government’s sheer numbers. The Russian garrison forces outnumbered the attacking Prussian troops, making the situation awkward.

This problem wasn’t isolated. Across the entire front, the Russians held the advantage in troop numbers. Despite exerting all their effort, the Prussian-Polish Federation could only muster 750,000 troops to the battlefield, while the Russian forces had already surpassed one million.

Moltke shook his head and stated, “We don’t have that much time. If we fail to capture Kyiv and cut off the Dnieper River’s supply lines before winter arrives, we’ll face serious trouble next year.

No matter how difficult it is, we must accomplish this strategy. Otherwise, the enemy will rely on their numerical advantage to wear us down completely.

To tell you the truth, it’s not just the offensive on the Brest front that has been thwarted. It’s the same across the entire battlefield.

Over the past decade, the enemy has constructed an extensive network of defense fortifications. Breaking through so many lines in a short period is practically impossible.”

At this, Moltke let out a cold laugh and sneered, “What’s wrong? Are you guys scared?”

“No, sir!”

“No, sir!”

As a group of warmongers, how could they be so easily intimidated? The war had only just begun, and encountering difficulties was normal. Even the most optimistic person would not expect to defeat the Russian army in just one week.

Compared to the last war, the situation now is much better. Back then, as soon as the war broke out, the Russian army pressed the Prussians hard, and they only managed to turn the tide later on.

“Since you’re not afraid, then don’t make excuses. Focus and think of ways to tear through the enemy’s defenses.

The enemy has deployed a large number of soldiers in Brest, so we should find a way to bypass it. If the main army can’t get through, can’t we send smaller units?

If worse comes to worst, we could arrange to blow up the Dnieper River’s waterways. As long as the strategic objective is achieved, I don’t care what method you use.”

Moltke was determined to win the war at all costs. Though he spoke casually, sending small units deep into enemy lines was essentially a one-way mission.

Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen replied, “Your Excellency, the enemy has deployed massive forces in Brest, making it unsuitable for a breakthrough. It would be better to change direction.

Unlike the last war, the Russians have made thorough preparations, and they won’t be short of supplies in the short term.

Even if we cut off the Dnieper River, they can still use the railway in eastern Ukraine to transport supplies unless we occupy all of Ukraine.

Strategically, this is quite a dead end. Ukraine is not an important area for Russia. Even if they lose this area, the Russians will not surrender.

They have already secured the approval of the Nordic Federation, and besides Austria, they can still obtain supplies from them.

Before the Russian government spends its last coin, it will be difficult to wear them down through a lack of resources.

To defeat the Russian Empire, we must capture Moscow and St. Petersburg. Compared to these two strategic points, everything else should be secondary.”

Moltke slammed the table and said, “I will seriously consider your proposal. What we need now is to execute orders. Understand, General!?”

It wasn’t that this proposal was bad, nor that Moltke couldn’t tolerate differing opinions. It was quite the opposite. If they hadn’t prepared for an attack on Moscow, the Prussian government wouldn’t have insisted on Smolensk in the previous war.

The strategic points for attacking Moscow were already in hand, so how could Moltke ignore them?

The problem was that the Russians had also noticed this. As soon as the war broke out, they gathered a massive amount of forces to besiege Smolensk.

Given this situation, Moltke naturally wouldn’t choose to directly engage the Russians and thus came up with the plan of fighting in Brest.

As for Smolensk, it was a place to wear down the enemy’s forces. The Prussian government had already built strong defenses there, which would help draw Russian fire.

…

After the meeting, Moltke stayed behind to have a private discussion with Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen.

“Marshal, why didn’t you say it during the meeting?”

Moltke replied, “Yes, it’s exactly as you think. Of course, I’m not saying there’s a problem with the people attending the meeting. The Russians haven’t yet managed to buy off our high-ranking officers.

The lower ranks, however, are a different story. Over the past few years, we’ve caught quite a few spies, many of whom didn’t even realize they were leaking information to the enemy. At such a critical time, we must be cautious.”

Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen thought for a moment. Catching spies was never a harmonious affair. Although the Prussian government hadn’t resorted to mass persecution, many officers had still gotten caught up in the net.

Where there are people, there are conflicts. The military was no different, and due to power struggles, anyone caught up in it, innocent or not, would ultimately end up retiring in disgrace.

“Alright, in principle, I don’t oppose the operational plan. The Southwestern Front Army will do its best to attract the enemy’s attention, but I still have some concerns about breaking through Volhynia.”

To capture Kyiv, there wasn’t only the route down the Dnieper River. They could also push straight through Volhynia, but it wasn’t as convenient.

Moltke smiled slightly and said, “It’s good that you’re concerned. If you think it’s not possible, the enemy will have even less reason to expect it. Besides, no one said we have to go straight to Kyiv.

After breaking through Volhynia, we can easily turn our forces around and conduct a flanking maneuver against the Russian troops in Brest.

The war has already started. The strategic plan we made in advance is just that, a plan. Whether to implement it, and how to implement it, must depend on the situation at hand.

Whatever the case, we just need to win this war. What we must do now is to destroy as much of the Russian main force as possible. Once this batch of troops is wiped out, the rest of the war will be much easier.”

A general’s success is the result of the sacrifice of thousands of soldiers. People only care about victory in the war, and no one notices the sacrifices made behind the scenes. Unsung heroes are the greatest and the most tragic.

Moltke preferred to put pressure on the officers, forcing them to launch the attack, rather than revealing the truth about the feint. He had his reasons for this.

If everyone knew the truth, would they still fight so desperately? Without that desperation, how could they create enough pressure on the enemy and force the surrounding Russian troops to reinforce?

In fact, for political reasons, this feint would likely be erased from history. If there was no breakthrough on the battlefield, the troops responsible for the feint would not only fail to gain any military honors but would also face punishment.

A good commander must consider not only military and political factors but also human nature.

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