Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 200: Lessons Learned Through Blood (BONUS)

Chapter 200: Lessons Learned Through Blood (BONUS)

Snowflakes fluttered as winter came again this year. Wrapped in a layer of silver, Vienna became especially pleasant this winter.

Schönbrunn Palace

Metternich reported: “Your Majesty, the British and French envoys have forwarded the Ottoman truce negotiations to the Foreign Ministry. It seems the Ottoman government is preparing to wrap things up.”

This was not surprising to Franz. In the current war, the heaviest losses were undoubtedly the Ottomans, then the Russians. Meanwhile, the losses Britain and France suffered were negligible.

Without power, everything was illusionary. The Ottomans would inevitably have to shrink their sphere of influence in the future. Taking advantage of current British and French support to prematurely end the war with Austria and withdraw troops to go beat up the Greeks aligned with their interests more.

Franz thought for a while and said, “Proceed according to our original plan. Slowly negotiate with the Ottomans and figure out their bottom line first.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!” Metternich replied.

The second Battle of Bulgaria had continued to the point both sides were already exhausted. The soldiers’ war-weariness had been increasing day by day due to the continuous high-intensity combat. And the morale of the troops on both sides was inevitably declining.

Other than the Greeks who just entered the war and the Montenegrins drunk on victory, the rest were barely holding on.

On the surface, the Russians seemed to have the upper hand, but Franz was well aware that this was just a facade. It was a battle where both sides were equally battered.

Looking at Russian casualties said it all. After more than four months of fierce fighting, Russian casualties already exceeded 170,000.

Among them, the direct combat fatalities numbered less than 60,000. The remaining more than 100,000 wounded, due to not receiving timely treatment and the shortage of medical care and medicines, resulted in fewer than 80% surviving.

There was no battlefield first aid. Russian medical teams were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns. They could only ensure the safety of officers. As for soldiers, they were helpless. They had no time!

Cheap cannon fodder was not valued. Upon getting injured, they could only be simply bandaged up, then rely on the soldiers themselves to endure and slowly recover on their own.

The Russian military never conducted any first aid training. It would be more accurate to say they tied up the wounds rather than bandaging them properly. Without professional medical gauze and disinfection, just wrapping a piece of cloth was considered sufficient.

For severely wounded soldiers, survival was virtually impossible, and they were directly counted among the combat fatalities.

Many lightly wounded soldiers, who were hit in non-vital areas such as the arms or thighs, could have survived with proper wound care. Unfortunately, due to inadequate treatment, they also met their demise.

In the Principality of Wallachia, Franz’s emergency field hospital was now extremely busy. Every day, wounded Russian soldiers would retreat and rush over to seek medical attention as soon as possible.

“Treatment” was a glorified term. It essentially involved cleaning the wounds, applying some unknown efficacy medicine, and then rebandaging.

The real life-saving measures are wound cleaning and disinfection to prevent infection. The subsequent medications mainly serve psychological purposes, with the added benefit of making money.

Surviving for several days from the front lines to the rear meant the wounds likely were not critical. As long as the wounds do not become infected, most would survive.

The Russian soldiers did not know this. They only saw that after emergency care, mortality plummeted drastically. Naturally, they believed everyone in the hospital to be miracle doctors.

In reality, most of the medical staff were merely soldiers who underwent some battlefield first aid training. Franz used the wounded Russian soldiers as guinea pigs to hone their capabilities.

The effectiveness of medications depends on the situation; you get what you pay for. High-priced drugs are certainly effective, Franz still had that bit of integrity.

As for cheap medicine, they shouldn’t expect much from them. They were either various experimental drugs or concoctions made from flour and vegetables.

The most effective among the cheap medicines was herbal soup, which can be simply described as a pot of traditional Chinese medicine for lowering temperature and detoxifying. Unfortunately, many people considered this witchcraft. Most Russian soldiers were unwilling to drink it.

Moreover, this medicine was not meant for treating wounds, so without immediate and visible effects, it did not attract much attention.

Nicholas I could be considered as a relatively good Tsar. At least, he covered the medical expenses for his soldiers. Of course, one shouldn’t expect him to spend huge amounts of money on this. The fixed price for each wounded soldier was ten silver rubles and only those who survived got paid. (AN: One silver ruble is approximately equal to half a tael of silver)

Naturally, this bit of money could not possibly buy decent service. Other than the few that could pay out of pocket, most only received the simplest treatment.

For instance, wanting to perform surgery to remove shrapnel from the wounds. Don’t even think about it without at least 100 rubles. People that could perform such surgeries were far too scarce, so the prices were naturally steep.

Originally, Franz had planned to outsource battlefield first aid, but considering the high risks on the battlefield and the Russian government’s unwillingness to spend a large sum of money, they naturally couldn’t reach an agreement.

With such a terrifying casualty rate, even with continuous replenishment from the rear, the combat effectiveness of the army inevitably suffered.

In theory, nursing these wounded soldiers back to health and rearming them for the battlefield, as veterans their combat ability would be stronger.

Unfortunately, Russian officials were notorious for their bureaucracy and did not effectively address the soldiers’ mindset. Most wounded soldiers were unwilling to return to the battlefield, and some even bribed medical personnel to deliberately delay their recovery.

This was the case for the Russians, and the situation for the opposing allied forces was even worse. The Ottoman Empire lacked the capability to provide medical care, even for local operations.

The British army’s casualties were not significant enough to attract much attention domestically. The angel who pioneered battlefield first aid had not yet reached the frontlines.

Without battlefield first aid, one can only resign oneself to fate and rely on the blessing of God or ***.

This was also why the British and French commanders insisted on using Ottomans as cannon fodder. In order to reduce the casualty rate, they had to let others bear the brunt.

Never forgetting the lessons of the past was the teacher of the future. Naturally, Franz had to learn from the experiences of the Near East War.

Franz had long tasked the General Staff to summarize all these miscellaneous matters, and battlefield cases were distributed to every commander.

The lessons from logistical experiences were not only disseminated among government departments but also organized into specialized knowledge training. In short, similar issues were not allowed to occur in Austria.

To better implement these measures, the Austrian government had already implemented a dual responsibility system for leadership and direct supervisors in logistics departments. If any link encountered issues, the relevant responsible individuals would be court-martialed together.

Franz solemnly said: “Marshal, the General Staff must finalize plans for the westward strategy as soon as possible. This time, we are racing against time.

The army must capture Munich within one week, control all of Bavaria in one month, and sweep across Southern Germany within two months.

If time allows, we also need to extend our reach to Central Germany, occupying advantageous terrain to lay the foundation for the future.”

The terrain of Germany was rather complex. Northern Germany was flat plains, with an average elevation less than 100 meters. Central Germany had east-west mountain ranges of highlands. The Rhine Rift Valley region of Southwestern Germany had mountains on both sides with steep valley walls. While Southern Germany contained the Bavarian plateau and the Alps.

This brought some inconvenience to Austria’s military operations. The optimal choice for a quick and decisive victory was to advance along the Danube River, where all problems could be disregarded.

In case the enemy blocks the river, challenges will arise, requiring a land-based offensive to sweep across this area of over ten thousand square kilometers. Troubles were inevitable.

Fortunately, infrastructure in these regions were developed already. Southern Germany was a plateau, not a mountainous region. Otherwise, accomplishing this task would be outright impossible.

(Author’s Note: Plateaus refer to flat raised areas above 500 meter elevation that may have some undulations)

“Yes, Your Majesty!” Marshal Radetzky answered, brimming with confidence.

……

While Austria made its final preparations, Napoleon III also made a decision to send more reinforcements.

There was no other choice. Napoleon III’s participation in this war was not only due to France’s interests in the Near East but also, and more importantly, to gain political prestige.

If Russia emerged victorious, his imperial throne would be unstable. The French masses were not patient. If satisfactory results could not be presented, another revolution might just occur.

If not for the sudden political crisis in the British government, the allied forces of Britain and France would have already marched into Crimea by now.

Although the army did not mobilize, the navy already took action. Starting from late November of 1852, the joint British, French and Ottoman navies continuously bombarded Russian Black Sea coastal port cities. This caused thousands of Russian casualties.

Faced with the unrestrained bombardments from Britain and France, only the bravest dared to stay. Clearly, such brave souls were few, and a large number of Russians fled inland to escape the bombardment.

Saint Petersburg

Upon receiving word that Britain and France were bombarding the coast, Nicholas I became truly enraged. How could this be justified? Britain and France were actually so shameless as to directly fire on civilians!

Civilian casualties aside, the problem was further compounded by the arrival of several hundred thousand refugees, eagerly awaiting relief from the Russian government.

Fortunately, Ukraine was a grain-producing area. Otherwise, human tragedies would unfold again. No, wait, they already occurred.

The inefficiency of Russian bureaucrats was glaringly evident at this moment. Faced with the influx of refugees, local officials failed to take effective measures, mechanically awaiting orders from Saint Petersburg.

The consequences were naturally severe. With Saint Petersburg so far away, before the Tsar’s orders arrived, a famine-induced uprising had already erupted.

It couldn’t be considered a full-scale rebellion; these people weren’t staging a revolt. Instead, they were merely looting for food, and there hadn’t been any attacks on cities yet.

In suppressing uprisings, for once, bureaucrats displayed rare efficiency. Ukraine still had many Russian troops waiting to reinforce the Balkan battlefield. Naturally, using them to put down uprisings now was no issue.

The unorganized famine-induced riot was swiftly extinguished as soon as it began.

Nicholas I was naturally unaware of these events, and it was even possible that he might never find out. No official would be foolish enough to bother the great Tsar with such trivial matters.

Nicholas I harshly questioned, “The enemy has attacked our coastal cities for so long, do you not have any solutions at all? What is the Black Sea Fleet doing? Why have they been completely useless?”

The Minister of the Navy said softly: “Your Majesty, the Black Sea Fleet has been gravely weakened after engaging the enemy. Only a few small ships remain, already incapable of fighting.”

The term ‘gravely weakened’ was an understatement. ‘Total annihilation’ might be more fitting. Faced with encirclement from the combined British, French and Ottoman navies, the Black Sea Fleet simply could not resist at all.

Originally, the Navy Ministry believed that hiding in the harbor with fortress guns for protection would deter the enemy from attacking. However, they never expected that these “advanced” fortress guns would be completely unusable.

Since the decline of the Ottoman Empire, there were no longer foreign threats to the Black Sea coast. Naturally, corrupt bureaucrats of the Russian government economized wherever possible. Even coastal artillery became nothing more than decoration. Most were products from the previous century or even the one before, and many were also inferior imitations.

After some probing, the British and French navies launched an aggressive attack without hesitation. The Black Sea Fleet struggled bitterly for some time before heroically perishing completely.

There was nothing to be ashamed of in this defeat. When the British and French navies joined forces, there was no country in the world that could resist them. The fact that the Black Sea Fleet did not surrender to the enemy was already sufficient proof of their bravery.

Mainly, there were no opportunities to surrender at all and they were directly wiped out. Ever since Menshikov entered the navy, the Russian Navy had been stagnant for decades, consistently lagging two generations behind the enemy.

(AN: The fearsome guy that dared to use army manuals for naval training)

“Hmph!”

Nicholas I snorted coldly to express dissatisfaction simmering in his heart.

Foreign Minister Karl Nesselrode persuaded, “Your Majesty, given the current situation, we can only abandon these cities. As long as we can capture Constantinople and block the Bosporus Strait, such incidents will not happen again.”

At this moment, the desire of the Russian government towards Constantinople further rose. They personally experienced the dire consequences of losing naval supremacy this time around.

Nicholas I nodded. He wasn’t truly angered by the demise of the Black Sea Fleet. Since the day Britain and France joined the war, he had anticipated this outcome.

What truly ignited his fury was how undefended the coastal regions were. Not even a shred of hassle was posed against the enemy. Corruption among the bureaucratic system already reached such alarming levels.

Despite these issues, in wartime, domestic stability took precedence over everything else. Nicholas I couldn’t purge the bureaucratic system at this time.

“Have the losses been calculated?” Nicholas I asked concernedly.

“Your Majesty, it’s just a rough estimate. There is about one-tenth of the strategic supplies stockpiled in the coastal areas remaining. Approximately 300,000 civilians have been displaced. Direct economic losses exceeded 200 million rubles.” Finance Minister Fyodor Vronchenko answered, voice trembling.

Clearly, Vronchenko did not anticipate such audacity from those below. Even if their warehouses storing military provisions were exposed, enemies still should not be able to strike them so accurately, right?

Even shooting at fixed targets, naval accuracy was poor. It was improbable for their supply depots to be entirely bombed out in such a short timeframe.

Did they think the enemy’s artillery shells were free?

Nicholas I said coldly, “Investigate. Send people to thoroughly investigate this for me!”

Even if he currently could not move against them, there was still the phrase called “settling accounts later”. The Tsar had an extremely vengeful personality. He would remember these issues and settle scores in the future.