Holy Roman Empire

The Prussian Army’s intention to break the stalemate in the southwest did not affect the strategic layout of the Tsarist Government. Marshal Ivanov continued with his previous strategy.

For a war involving millions of participants, the gains and losses on individual battlefields were no longer that significant.

As long as the southwestern front did not collapse entirely, it fell within the acceptable range for the Tsarist Government. Now, they had a more important target—Smolensk.

No matter how well-prepared the Prussian Army was, war always resulted in deaths.

Smolensk had become a meat grinder, with nearly a thousand men falling every day. The brutal casualties, whether for the Russian Army or the Prussian Army, were a difficult test for both.

After one month of warfare to take Smolensk, the Russian Army’s casualties had already exceeded one hundred thousand; as the defenders, the Prussian Army didn’t fare much better, suffering upwards of seventy thousand casualties.

Half of these were either killed or permanently disabled, leaving the battlefield forever, one could say that both the Prusso-Russian sides suffered heavy losses.

The cold numbers in the battle reports did not shake Marshal Ivanov’s will. If anything, they reinforced his earlier judgments.

Attrition warfare is the cruelest but also the most reliable method. Continuing as things stood, Russia would definitely not be the first to falter.

Just because Marshal Ivanov could accept this did not mean others could. The heavy casualties still sparked questions within the Tsarist Government.

At the Winter Palace, during a high-level government meeting

Minister of Internal Affairs Mikhail was the first to raise objections: "Your Excellency, only a little over a month into the war and we’ve already suffered casualties of more than a hundred thousand, with hardly any advancement on the front. Shouldn’t you offer an explanation?"

Ivanov remained unmoved as he replied, "Your Excellency, to be precise, from the start of the war until now, we have lost 65,863 men and 97,684 have been injured.

Oh, those are the stats from two days ago, the numbers must have increased quite a bit by now. There will be no problem for the total casualties to surpass two hundred thousand within this month.

However, you must not only look at our losses. The enemy has suffered greatly as well. According to the data, the Prussian Army’s death toll is also close to sixty thousand."

The highly exaggerated "Victory at Camian" contributed a quarter to this number, directly narrowing the exchange ratio between the Prusso-Russian sides.

Finance Minister Kristanval: "Your Excellency, no one denies your accomplishments in battle. The problem is that our losses are too substantial, and the war has only been going on for a little over a month!"

Ivanov scoffed, "Where is there a war without deaths? Any sacrifice is worthwhile as long as we can secure victory.

Of course, if we wanted to quickly end this war, it wouldn’t be impossible, but it would do considerable harm to our international reputation."

At such a time, he still had to deal with power struggles, and Ivanov deeply detested these politicians, offering them no quarter.

Whether his dissatisfaction was genuine or just for show to the Tsar, that question was open to interpretation based on perspective.

In agitation, Finance Minister Kristanval asked, "What method? As long as we can end this war, we can slowly recover our international reputation."

It’s not that Kristanval didn’t value international reputation. It’s simply that Russia’s standing in Europe was already at the bottom, so how much worse could it get with a bit more damage?

All eyes turned to Ivanov, anticipating his response.

After a pause, Ivanov feigned a casual tone, "It’s simple, we can follow the example of the Tatars. Send troops to wreak havoc in enemy territory, and weaken their war potential to the greatest extent."

Everyone drew a sharp breath. That wasn’t sabotage; that was outright slaughter.

Foreign Affairs Minister Chris Basham quickly opposed, "That won’t do. Such actions would provide England and France with an excuse to intervene in the war, and I’m afraid even Austria wouldn’t support us by then."

It’s the 19th century, and on the European Continent, orchestrating a massacre was outdated.

Reading the room, Ivanov knew that no one supported this plan. It wasn’t that they didn’t want to; they simply didn’t dare. Russia could not bear the consequences that a massacre would bring.

Ivanov: "If that’s the case, then our only option is to mitigate the situation by sabotaging without killing."

When he said this, Ivanov himself didn’t believe it. To sabotage without killing was pure idealism.

In practice, the enemy would definitely resist; how could there be no killings after a conflict arose? On the battlefield, when bloodlust takes over, the Russian Army’s discipline simply couldn’t be reined in.

Moreover, since Ivanov intended to send the Cossack cavalry to carry out this plan, the situation would be even more uncontrollable.

Alexander II shook his head: "Not killing is impossible, we just need to kill selectively. Eliminate the enemy’s able-bodied and leave behind the weak, giving the international community an explanation will suffice.

Tell me your plan. The enemy isn’t naive; penetrating deeply into enemy territory is not that simple. If we are caught by the enemy, it will become a big problem."

Alexander II had long stopped caring about reputation; if they were already enemies, it was natural to weaken them as much as possible. If it weren’t for considering the reaction of other European countries, he wouldn’t mind a massacre.

Ivanov: "Your Majesty, this plan involves both land and sea. On land, the Saxon cavalry will dress as bandits and cross the border to cause destruction.

The sea attack will be similar to the last war, only this time our mission is special, and to avoid unnecessary trouble, part of the army might need to dress as pirates.

We can issue letters of marque, encourage civilians to arm themselves and participate in the looting of enemy coastal areas. It would be even better if we could attract real pirates to join.

Considering the stance of the Vienna Government, the hostages taken by the pirates can be sold to Austrian colonial merchants."

In order to win the war, Ivanov had abandoned his principles.

After weighing the pros and cons, the room fell silent. No one supported or opposed the plan. Clearly, they were all bureaucrats and elites, unwilling to be the first to take responsibility.

Alexander II glared at the crowd: "Why so silent? Whether you support or oppose the plan, a clear stance must be taken today." Discover hidden tales at NovelBin.Côm

After a pause, he added: "If there are objections, then come up with a better plan. We don’t have much time to waste with the situation on the battlefield being so dire."

Out of no choice, Finance Minister Kristanval stood up: "Your Majesty, Marshal Ivanov’s proposal is very good, but some details need to be refined.

Penetrating deep into enemy territory is not easy, and one careless move could lead to the annihilation of our entire force. How can we ensure the safety of the troops we deploy?"

He agreed. There was no other option, as Kristanval was not adept at warfare; asking him to come up with a battle plan was utterly unreasonable.

Ivanov confidently explained: "This is simple. On the main front, we have already tied down the main forces of the Prussian Army; the enemy in the rear will not be too strong.

Moreover, with airship reconnaissance, we can keep track of the enemy’s major troop movements and make timely adjustments.

The forces attacking by land and sea, as long as they don’t penetrate too deeply into the inland areas, can completely withdraw before the enemy arrives. We are only there to cause destruction, not to occupy territories.

On land, it’s mainly the Cossack cavalry, swift as the wind. Only the Polish cavalry could pose a threat to them, but their numbers are too few.

Because of logistical reasons, we will control the scope of activity and not stray far from the main forces."

All this was theoretical; in actual combat, the situation was definitely not as simple as Ivanov described. To say nothing else, if the Prussian Army moved at night, they would be undetectable by airships.

Even if Prussian troop movements were spotted, high-altitude reconnaissance could not distinguish between main forces and fodder. If the Prussian Army wished, they could easily disguise civilians as soldiers.

These issues, of course, Ivanov wouldn’t mention; otherwise, it would only complicate matters. He had no expectations whatsoever regarding his colleagues’ military expertise.

...

The resolution was passed, and Ivanov breathed a sigh of relief. Once this plan was initiated, rivers of blood would flow, and the reputation of the Russian Empire would once again plummet to rock bottom.

No matter how it was glorified, this would be a dark chapter in history.