Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 516 Russia Suffers

Germany thought its attack was a surprise attack, but to everyone's surprise, when the German army officially launched its attack on the Russian army at the front, it found that the Russian army was already prepared, and even the defense line had been temporarily reinforced.

The main reason for this outcome was the timely warning given to Russia by France and Spain.

Although Spain's entry significantly diminished Russia's position within the Entente Powers, Russia remained an indispensable part of the Entente overall.

The French could accept partial defeats for Russia on the Eastern Front, but they could not accept a complete collapse of Russia on the Eastern Front.

As early as when the Russian 10th Army suffered a crushing defeat, France and Spain provided Russia with an emergency batch of military equipment and weapons, as well as a large amount of bullets and shells.

Although no troops were sent to fight in Russia, France and Spain organized a group of officers to go to Russia to assist in the training of new recruits.

Nicholas II also realized that if Russia continued to train new recruits in the same way, the resulting army would be no different from the current main force, which was weak in combat.

Only by emulating the training models of the French and Spanish armies and equipping new recruits with sufficient standard weapons and advanced equipment can we obtain a truly combat-ready elite force.

In order to help Russia train a new army with reliable combat capabilities, Spain also provided Russia with hundreds of thousands of rifles and related weapons and equipment. The purpose was to rely on this new army to barely maintain the situation on the Eastern Front and buy more time for Russia, as well as for the Allied Powers.

Because France and Spain each sent officers to Russia, both countries were clearly aware of the situation on the Russian Eastern Front.

When Germany planned a new attack on Russia, and even devised a breakthrough tactic to attempt to completely encircle and annihilate several Russian army groups, France and Spain naturally received relevant information.

Thanks to timely warnings from France and Spain, Russia's Third Army was prepared in advance and did not panic at the first sign of the German attack.

However, even proactive measures could not completely bridge the gap in combat capabilities between the Russian and German armies. After the German army launched its general offensive, the Russian army quickly became overwhelmed by the overwhelming German firepower and was forced to retreat.

This withdrawal did allow the Third Army to mitigate its losses in time. Although the situation was somewhat unfavorable, most of the soldiers in the Third Army were new recruits, and they couldn't be expected to do too much.

The problem was that when the Third Army withdrew to the rear, the Fourth and Eighth Armies, which were on the left and right flanks of the Third Army, also had to withdraw.

The reason is simple: with the fall of the Third Army's defenses, the flanks of the Fourth and Eighth Armies were directly exposed to the German army.

Although the defenses of the Fourth and Eighth Army Groups were not in great danger, the risk of their flanks being exposed was no less than the risk of being breached on the main battlefield.

Given the Germans' consistent expertise in flanking maneuvers, if the German army were to discover that the flanks of the Fourth and Eighth Armies were undefended, their fate would likely be no better than that of the Tenth Army.

Thus, such a comical scene unfolded on the Eastern Front.

Under the heavy firepower of the German army, the Russian Third Army fled the battlefield in a panic, while the Fourth and Eighth Armies, which observed the Third Army's retreat, also followed suit and fled in haste.

The German army didn't even have to exert its full strength before the Russian army abandoned its defensive line.

Regardless of what the German army was thinking, on the Russian side, Grand Duke Nicholas, the Commander-in-Chief, had only one thought at this moment: to kill the commanders of these army groups.

There was no way around it; the Russian army's performance was simply too outrageous. Before the Russian army, Grand Prince Nicholas had never heard of any other country's army so easily abandoning its position.

This was not just a single army group abandoning its position; the Third, Fourth, and Eighth Army Groups had all abandoned their positions, which were the main forces of the eastern flank of the Eastern Front.

In other words, the withdrawal of these three army groups will result in hundreds of thousands of square kilometers of land falling into the hands of the German army.

This was a devastating defeat for Russia, no less than the near annihilation of the 10th Army, and its impact was even more severe.

Grand Duke Nicholas could already imagine how Nicholas II would react and what his attitude would be when he learned of this news.

As expected, when he reported to Nicholas II, the Russian army's outrageous behavior enraged the emperor.

Not only were all the decorations in the office smashed to pieces, but Grand Duke Nicholas himself was also not spared, and was accidentally injured by decorations thrown by Nicholas II.

But that's not important. The most important thing right now is how to deal with the terrible situation at the front, and how to deal with the commanders-in-chief of the several army groups who caused the terrible situation.

Nicholas II had no intention of tolerating these outrageous actions by the Russian high command. He summoned Prime Minister Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin for a brief meeting, and the three of them ultimately decided to take strong measures to severely punish the Commander-in-Chief of the Third Army.

Although the defeat of the Third Army was not solely due to the incompetence of the Commander-in-Chief, there was no way around it; such a massive failure always required someone to take the blame.

Other problems are difficult for Russia to solve at present. At least before the end of this war, Russia will not be able to solve the problems of logistics and corruption.

On the contrary, the commander of the defeated Third Army, Nicholas II, could be dealt with with a single order.

Without much hesitation, Nicholas II immediately ordered the dismissal of the commander-in-chief of the Third Army and his return to St. Petersburg for trial.

As for the commanders of the Fourth and Eighth Armies, although they would not be dismissed from their posts, they were severely reprimanded by Nicholas II for their poor performance.

Nicholas II also ordered that no troops on the Russian front should withdraw without permission.

Even if the entire army is wiped out, one must not retreat out of cowardice, lest the flanks of one's comrades be put in danger.

In addition to reprimanding them, Nicholas II also ordered the Fourth and Eighth Armies to launch an immediate counter-offensive against the German army and not allow the Germans to take full control of the previous defensive lines while the Russian army was retreating.

As for the Third Army, which was initially routed, Nicholas II did not place much hope on them because most of the soldiers in the army were new recruits.

The Third Army was simply designated as a reserve force for the Fourth and Eighth Armies, ready to support them at any time.

The good news is that the areas where the three Russian army groups were originally stationed, thanks to the natural defenses of rivers and mountains, slowed down the German advance to some extent.

Although the German army did not encounter any significant resistance in this region, the large-scale German forces were unable to advance quickly and only managed to initially occupy the original Russian defense lines.

Under orders from the Russian government, the Fourth and Eighth Armies, after taking over the heavy weapons of the Third Army, began to advance westward and gradually took over the defensive lines closest to the rear.

This led to a gradual stabilization of the front lines. Although large swathes of land were still occupied by the Germans, at least the situation did not collapse, and they were still able to rely on the terrain and defensive lines to block the German offensive.

The situation has stabilized, but for Russia, this stability will not last long.

Although they took over the heavy weapons of the Third Army, in the process of fleeing in panic, not only did the Third Army abandon most of its heavy weapons, but the Fourth and Eighth Armies were also forced to abandon some of their heavy weapons as well.

This also resulted in the Russian army having fewer heavy weapons. Faced with the German army's firepower suppression, the Russian army could only adopt a defensive strategy, occasionally firing a couple of shots to prove its presence.

Under such circumstances, the Russian army was unable to inflict significant casualties on the German army, while the German army's firepower suppression could inflict heavy casualties on the Russian army.

Battle reports from the Russian army at the front also reveal the huge disparity in casualties between the two sides. The combined daily casualties of the Fourth and Eighth Armies have reached tens of thousands.

Although a significant number of the wounded were able to return to combat after receiving basic medical treatment, those who died or were seriously wounded represented a real loss of combat capability for the Russian army.

Under the triple orders of Tsar Nicholas II, Grand Duke Nicholas Ivanov, Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army, and Ivanov, Commander-in-Chief of the Southwestern Front, the Russian army dared not retreat an inch. However, with a large number of troops remaining on the front lines, the casualties were terrifying. Even with the largest population in Europe, Russia absolutely could not sustain such massive losses for long.

In order to save himself, Nicholas II had no choice but to move troops from other places, such as the front lines with Austria-Hungary.

As mentioned before, both sides on the Russian-Austrian border have millions of troops, and these troops are quite formidable in combat.

Having withstood the baptism of war without suffering too many casualties, the army's combat effectiveness can be considered above average within the entire Russian military system.

As the saying goes, they are not as good as the best, but better than the worst. Although the combat effectiveness of these troops is negligible compared to the elite troops of France, Germany, and Spain, they are still better than most of Russia's current army.

Deploying these troops on the front lines against Austria-Hungary was clearly a waste. Austria-Hungary was currently besieged by several Allied powers and obviously couldn't spare the resources to launch an attack on Russia.

In other words, Russia only needed to adopt a defensive posture on the front lines against Austria-Hungary to ensure the safety of its front.

In this way, at least 500,000 troops could be saved on the front lines with Austria-Hungary. These troops could be transferred north to barely make up for the losses caused by the previous defeats of the 10th Army and the current defeat of the 3rd Army.

Thinking of this, Nicholas II couldn't sit still and wished he could immediately transfer these troops to the German and Russian front.

However, before mobilizing these troops, it is still necessary to consult with the Allied powers in the Balkans.

One reason is that doing so could affect the situation on the Balkan front, since Austria-Hungary would certainly mobilize its troops to defend its southern border if it learned that Russia was moving its troops.

If Russia does not notify its Allied allies in advance, it will make its actions seem like it is betraying its allies.

More importantly, Russia is clearly in need of France and Spain at present. Without their support, Russia could not have held out for so long.

At the latest Allied conference, the Russian representative mentioned Russia's plan to move troops along the border with Austria-Hungary and hoped that the Allied countries could prepare in advance to avoid being caught off guard.

France and Spain did not express opposition to Russia's troop movements.

While doing so would increase the pressure on the Allied powers in the Balkans, it would also relieve the pressure on Russia on the Eastern Front.

To reiterate, France and Spain do not want Russia to collapse. Given the significant crisis on Russia's eastern front, resolving the Russian crisis should naturally be a priority.

As for the Balkans, the deployment of hundreds of thousands of Russian troops had little impact on the Balkans. After all, Spain and Italy had not yet gone all out, and simply sending a few hundred thousand troops to the Balkans could easily fill the troop shortage caused by the Russian troop movements.

France and Spain did not object, which was certainly good news for Russia. The Russian government no longer hesitated and immediately issued orders to transfer hundreds of thousands of troops on the Russian-Austrian border, requiring them to move north immediately to support the Russian-German front.

Compared to the troop movements of Western European countries, the movement of Russian troops was considerably slower. Furthermore, Russia's territory is vast; although the Russo-German and Russo-Austrian fronts were both located in western Russia, differing only in their north-south orientation.

However, it still took nearly a week to transfer hundreds of thousands of troops from the Russian-Austrian front to the Russian-German front.

Within a week, not only Germany and Austria-Hungary, who were closely monitoring the situation on the Eastern Front, but also other neutral European countries that were not involved in the war, had a general understanding of Russia's actions.

Unfortunately, the Russian government is just that leaky.

Fortunately, the troop movement by Russia proceeded relatively smoothly. Nearly 50 Russian troops arrived in force on the Russo-German front, effectively addressing the shortage of Russian troops at the front.

More importantly, because there was almost no fighting on the Russian-Austrian border, these Russian troops heading to the Russian-German front carried sufficient ammunition and artillery shells.

This is of utmost importance to the Russian troops at the front, since the fighting on the Eastern Front is very frequent, and even if Russia brings in more bullets and shells, it will absolutely not be able to withstand such frequent attrition.

Moreover, Russia simply did not have the capacity to transport sufficient supplies, and the troops at the front were living frugally and had never experienced what firepower suppression meant.

The movement of Russian troops gave Austria-Hungary more ideas. If the Russian army could be mobilized, then the Austro-Hungarian army could naturally be mobilized as well.

Although it is unclear exactly how many troops Russia mobilized, the situation on the Eastern Front, as reported by Germany, suggests that the Russian forces on the Eastern Front received support from at least hundreds of thousands of troops.

Originally, Russia held a slight numerical advantage on the Russo-Austrian front. However, after the mobilization of so many troops, the Austro-Hungarian Empire now held the numerical advantage.

At this time, the Austro-Hungarian Empire had no intention of launching an attack, and naturally did not need to deploy so many troops on the Austro-Russian border.

On the contrary, the southern and western borders of the Austro-Hungarian Empire required more troops for defense.

With this in mind, the Austro-Hungarian Empire did not hesitate for long and immediately ordered the mobilization of troops to defend the southern border.

Unlike Russia, the Austro-Hungarian Empire mobilized its troops on its own front lines without involving its allies in the war.

This also means that Austria-Hungary did not need to notify its ally Germany; it could make its own decisions on related matters.

Mobilizing troops would normally be a good thing for the Austro-Hungarian Empire, as deploying hundreds of thousands of troops to the southern border would make the battlefield there more secure.

The problem is that while Austria-Hungary was mobilizing its troops, Spain and Italy were also mobilizing even more troops.

On the one hand, Italy increased its troops along its northern border from 70 to 100 million, seemingly ready to fight Austria-Hungary to the death.

On the other hand, Spain continued to send an additional 50 troops to the Balkans.

While war has many drawbacks, it is also a valuable training ground for armies. Spain, having finally entered a world war, was naturally eager to learn from the experience and thoroughly train its troops.

Furthermore, appropriately increasing casualties would also help Spain promote its achievements after the war, since Spain joined the war midway and its casualties would certainly not be as high as those of France and Russia.

When the Austro-Hungarian Empire mobilized its troops, it discovered that the addition of these hundreds of thousands of troops not only failed to change the situation on the Balkan battlefield, but also made its predicament worse.

Of the 50 troops that Spain sent as reinforcements, 30 were native soldiers, while only 20 were colonial soldiers.

Although these 30 troops were mobilized from the reserves, their combat effectiveness was not much different from that of the main force. Coupled with the reinforcements from Italy, the pressure on the Austro-Hungarian Empire not only did not decrease, but actually tended to increase.

Although Austria-Hungary was willing to seek help from Germany and Britain, it was unable to ask them for assistance again because Germany and Britain had recently each provided support to an army group.

There was no other way; no matter how much pressure they faced, they had to bear it themselves. Fortunately, although the Italian army on the western border had been increased to over a million men, this was the deterrent effect of the Italian army, and was actually less than that of the million-strong Russian army.

Faced with an attack by millions of Italian troops, the Austro-Hungarian Empire only needed to deploy about 60 troops to easily keep them out of the border.

Compared to the western border, the southern border is currently the focus of the war. In order to prevent the southern border from being breached, the Austro-Hungarian Empire has had to increase domestic mobilization and send tens of thousands of troops to the front lines from time to time to fill the troop shortages.

　First update of 5,000 words, please vote with monthly tickets!
　　There will be another update later; today's chapter is 10,000 words!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)