Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 659 - 232: Ruthless

The roar of cannon fire signaled the beginning; the battle for Koweli had begun. Leading the charge for the Prussian Army was Major General Luke, a rising star from the previous Prusso-Russian war.

Coming from the modest background of a Junker landlord, Luke had risen to the rank of general through sheer will and a bit of luck.

He had always believed his resolve to be unshakeable, impervious to the cruelty of battle that could sway his heart.

In that moment, however, Major General Luke realized he was wrong; his heart was in disarray. He lamented inwardly, "It turns out I am but an ordinary man."

The Russians did not hide in their fortress bunkers; at the same time as the Prussian Army charged, the Russian Army launched a counter-charge, and a fierce melee ensued.

The battlefield reverberated with the incessant sounds of battle cries and screams of agony. Luke witnessed a Prussian soldier being impaled by an enemy bayonet, who while screaming in pain, still clung onto the barrel of the enemy’s rifle, simply to create an opportunity for his comrades.

Once upon a time, he too was among their ranks. Only through better luck and earning distinctions in battle had he smoothly ascended the ranks.

Recalling the comrades who enlisted with him, those familiar faces, most of whom had fallen on the battlefield.

To a certain extent, Luke’s smooth rise through the ranks was also built on the backdrop of heavy casualties suffered by the Prussian Army in the previous war.

In times of war, the military speaks through achievements, minimizing the influence of one’s origins.

A large number of junior and mid-level officers had fallen, and with the massive expansion of the army, lucky ones like Luke with combat achievements naturally stood out.

As he watched the casualty count rise, Luke gradually calmed down, realizing something wasn’t right. It seemed the Russians were intentionally luring them into an attack.

Night fell, and the blaze of battle temporarily ceased, leaving behind nothing but debris.

Inside the command post, the more Luke thought about it, the more unusual it seemed; it was as if the Russians were deliberately engaging in a war of attrition with them.

Suppressing the doubts in his heart, Luke inquired, "Have the casualty numbers been tallied?"

Chief of Staff Pasquarino sighed, "They have. In today’s battle, we had 526 soldiers injured and 248 soldiers killed in action. Just like that, two battalions’ worth of men gone."

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Major General Luke stood up and took a few steps, saying, "Another two battalions. Since the beginning of the war, our 22nd Division alone has suffered nearly three thousand casualties. If this is the case across the entire battlefield, then this war is likely unprecedented in its brutality."

Chief of Staff Pasquarino said, "There’s no helping it; war is always cruel. The replacement battalions sent to us by headquarters have already departed and will arrive within two days at most."

The Prussian Army had also established a well-oiled wartime reinforcement mechanism, so it was unusual for a unit to run out of soldiers before receiving reinforcements.

Normally, when a unit’s casualties reached a certain level, it would be replaced and sent to the rear for rest and reinforcement.

Of course, ’the rear’ was a relative term, still close to the front lines. They needed to be ready to return to battle at a moment’s notice.

After hesitating for a moment, Luke went on to say, "Never mind, these concerns aren’t ours to bear. Report our current situation truthfully! Tell the high command we need heavy artillery. Without sufficient firepower, we can’t guarantee that we’ll capture the enemy’s fortress within the allotted time."

Unfortunately, the Prussian Army was out of luck. The train transporting the artillery and ammunition was ambushed mid-journey by Russian airships, resulting in heavy losses.

Heavy artillery units are a scarce resource in any nation. The Prusso Federation only had a few heavy artillery battalions, and losing one before it even saw combat meant it couldn’t be replenished within a few days.

Chief of Staff Pasquarino shook his head, "That won’t be easy, don’t set your hopes too high. There are only so many heavy artillery units in the country, and all are now deployed to the front. New heavy artillery battalions are still being formed.

According to internal sources, Kreuger Company has already sent technicians to conduct repairs, but it will take at least a month to fix the damaged artillery.

In the most ideal scenario, we could have heavy artillery support in about four weeks."

Luke frowned, "Is there no way to convince headquarters to coordinate and redirect the nearby heavy artillery units to support our offensive first?

Koweli is a military stronghold; capturing it means taking control of the Volen Region. Why waste resources on insignificant places like Camian and New Volensk!"

Chief of Staff Pasquarino replied, "This is the strategy set by the general staff. Multipoint offensives mean a breakthrough at any point would be a significant victory."

Luke waved his hand dismissively, "Don’t explain, old friend. I know what’s going on; it’s just that headquarters isn’t certain we can take Koweli.

If we’re talking about overarching strategy, the importance of Koweli isn’t all that significant compared to Brest."

"Best if you understand," Chief of Staff Pasquarino answered calmly.

Luke continued, "Alright, let’s set aside these issues for now. Have you noticed anything unusual about the Russians? They don’t seem to be fighting with their full strength and appear to be deliberately drawing us into an attack.

"If they fully open fire, our troops simply won’t be able to charge their positions. Why would they make such a pointless sacrifice?"

Chief of Staff Pasquarino, as if thoughtful, nodded, then after a pause he said, "I’d like to see the casualty figures. Perhaps they could explain this issue."

Luke’s face changed, and he suddenly realized. If the Russian army fully opened fire, the Prussian Army, lacking heavy firepower, would not be able to approach their positions.

Seeing no hope for victory, the Prussian army would naturally make meaningless sacrifices. If the Prussian Army didn’t initiate an attack, how could the Russian army have any achievements?

The Russian forces stationed in Koweli were mostly second-line troops, and this place was not the battlefield of choice for the Russians. The Tsarist Government’s order to them was to hold their ground.

"Damn Russians, they’re playing with fire, do they not fear us breaking through their lines? You should know that such fighting has absolutely no value to them."

Chief of Staff Pasquarino didn’t answer. What the Russians thought was not important, anyhow, as long as there was a glimmer of hope to break through Koweli, they couldn’t stop.

...

At the Russian Army Command, Major General Yaton-Ivanov, also looking at the casualty reports, was in a much better mood. Being on the defensive side, one always had the advantage.

"Fick, your suggestion was brilliant. The damn Prussian barbarians, they really fell for it. They actually fancifully thought to conquer Koweli; they’re truly dreaming!"

As a military observer sent from Austria, under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t be involved in the Russian army’s command, but there are always exceptions.

After many years of the Russian-Austrian Alliance, the Vienna Government had cultivated a large number of Pro-Austrian Faction within Russia, and Major General Yaton-Ivanov was one of them.

Fick and Yaton were classmates, graduated together from the Austrian Military Academy, and because their relationship was quite good, Fick was assigned here as an observer.

Just like the students at the Austrian Military Academy, there were differences between the strugglers and the top achievers.

For someone like Yaton, who came for gilding, the school demands naturally weren’t so strict; it was enough just to pass.

The monk from abroad could recite scriptures well, and Yaton, after returning to Russia with his foreign gilding, naturally climbed ranks swiftly. He happened to catch the big military expansion and became a General of the Russian army before he was thirty.

In comparison, Fick, the high-achiever, was still just a Major. There was no choice, the competition within the Austrian army was much fiercer.

After the military reform, there were no battlefield promotions in the Austrian army unless one earned military honors. Otherwise, one could only progress step by step.

This was an example set by the Royal family themselves. Even Crown Prince Frederick served for several years and was still a Major; let alone anyone below him.

Looking at his classmate’s ebullience, Major Fick was, indeed, very envious. There were no soldiers who didn’t like the idea of becoming a General.

Even with a not-so-bad background, Fick couldn’t guarantee becoming a General in his lifetime. Austria produced thousands of officers each year, but there might not even be one General among them.

It’s like that in peacetime; no matter how excellent you are, it’s hard to have opportunities to show your worth. If you can’t demonstrate your abilities, how can you prove you’re better than others?

Fick rolled his eyes, "What’s there to be excited about? You should know you’re on the defensive side. The current kill ratio of almost 1:1 is already quite embarrassing!"

Yaton was unconcerned as he said, "No, this is actually quite good. In the last Prusso-Russian War, our exchange ratio with Prussia was almost more than two to one overall.

Now, being slightly advantaged, even with the help of defensive superiority, is a great victory.

The population of the Russian Empire is more than double that of the Prusso Federation. As long as we continue like this, the final victory will definitely be ours.

Moreover, this division I’m commanding comprises second-line troops scraped together. If it were the main force, I would have already ordered a counterattack."

Fick didn’t object; the Russian army’s combat effectiveness was indeed not bad. Although their training was inferior to the Prussian Army and organizational aspects were lacking, other areas were truly excellent.

Especially in terms of resilience, the Russian army was among the world’s toughest. A force that could fight as long as it had something to eat was indeed rare.

After hesitating for a moment, Major Fick reminded, "Yaton, are you sure you want to keep going? If we continue like this, even if we wipe out the enemy, this division of yours will be used up."

Although it was his suggestion, Fick didn’t like such meaningless attrition. If it hadn’t been for domestic pressures instructing them to find a way to make the Russians bleed as much as possible, he wouldn’t have come up with this distasteful idea.

Yaton smiled faintly, "War always requires sacrifice. As long as victory is obtained, what does it matter if casualties are a bit higher?"

Standing in different positions, they pondered the problem in different ways. Yaton was no fool; he naturally saw that Fick’s suggestion might have had ulterior motives, but he didn’t care.

In his view, so long as victory was achieved, the sacrifice of some expendable assets was not worth mentioning.