Holy Roman Empire

After the onset of spring, the haze of gunpowder blanketed the Eastern European battlefield once again. After a winter of preparation, the situation had greatly changed.

The Berlin Government had organized the populace to construct a multitude of castle fortresses along the border regions, restricting the movements of the Cossack cavalry. To pillage wealth, they would now need to siege these castle fortresses.

The combat effectiveness of the Cossack cavalry was built on interest. As the populace became prepared, the difficulty of looting continuously increased, and often the casualties were disproportionate to the spoils, which in turn dampened the enthusiasm of the Cossack cavalry.

There is a stark difference between proactive and reactive in the combat power that’s unleashed.

Although the Cossack cavalry continued to make their move, the victories they claimed grew smaller and smaller. Often, they did nothing more than damage farmlands and infrastructure, reluctant to chew on the hard bones.

The Middle Ages were long gone; with money in their pockets, there were plenty of places where they could buy grain. The Berlin Government could still bear the loss inflicted only on the border area’s farmland.

In some ways, Wilhelm I had to thank the Tsarist Government, for it was the Russians’ ruthless tactics that forced the Polish to depend on them.

Even though the destructive power of the Cossack cavalry decreased, it didn’t mean the Tsarist Government’s scorched-earth strategy had failed.

In the face of war, humanity is fragile. To evade the flames of war, many from the border regions dragged their families inland, leaving numerous areas deserted.

It wasn’t that the Berlin Government didn’t try to stop them, but they simply couldn’t. Crowds of refugees fleeing towards the rear still imposed a heavy economic burden on the Berlin Government.

The coastal regions suffered the most severe losses, with most of the Prusso-Polish Federation port cities reduced to ruins under bombardment; the few surviving cities also trembled in fear.

Yet these were only minor issues, since the Danish people had blockaded the straits, the Prusso-Polish Federation’s maritime trade routes were nearly severed, significantly diminishing the strategic value of the port cities.

The worst was that the Russians had reinforced their losses on the southern front, leading to the failure of Maoqi’s plan to conquer Kiev; now the Tsarist Government had adopted the most conservative strategy to wear down the Prusso-Polish Federation.

Steady and firm, with a straightforward clash of forces, the Prussian Army couldn’t leverage their tactical advantage. Even with a great commander like Maoqi, they couldn’t reverse the trend of the battlefield developing unfavorably for the Prusso-Polish Federation.

The dire situation on the battlefield also affected the domestic atmosphere of the Prusso-Polish Federation, with anti-war voices emerging now and then, even the most optimistic individuals were deeply concerned about the war.

Berlin Palace

Wilhelm I roared, "The war has progressed to this point, and we’ve lost three hundred thousand troops, while the victories we’ve achieved are negligible.

You assured me beforehand that we would win the war in three months, but now three months have passed, and then another three months, and soon the third set of three months will end with no signs of victory whatsoever.

Can anyone tell me how much more we need to pay before we can win this war?"

It was not that Wilhelm I lacked composure, but the recent pressure was immense. The Prussian Army’s performance on the battlefield fell far short of expectations.

The so-called "winning the war in three months" was in fact just Maoqi’s southern front plan. In theory, as long as they cut off the trade routes between Prussia and Russia, they would have won the war.

Unfortunately, the combat capabilities of the Russian Army were much stronger than they had anticipated. They might not match the Prussian Army in open field battles, but their defensive capabilities were solid.

Maoqi’s carefully designed strategic plan was not flawed in itself, it was just applied to the wrong opponent. If it were another nation, losing tens of thousands of troops at once would certainly be a crippling blow.

Regrettably, they encountered the Russians, and the rate of enemy casualties was only a bit faster than the Tsarist reinforcements. With a winter’s respite, the Tsarist Government not only replenished its losses to full strength, but its total military power had even increased.

Maoqi replied with a stiff upper lip, "Your Majesty, the Russians are harming themselves to injure others; their losses are even greater than ours. If this continues, even if the Russians win the war, it will only be a Pyrrhic victory.

Currently, the Russians have the upper hand on the battlefield, and the Tsarist Government has no need to pursue a mutually destructive approach.

As long as we expose our weaknesses at the right moment, the Russian Army will definitely not let go of the opportunity. Once the Russians adjust their tactics, our chance will come.

To win this war, I suggest that we can abandon some regions when necessary, to first draw the Russian forces out of their fortifications."

Dealing with over a million men and a front line spanning hundreds of kilometers, making tactical adjustments is extremely difficult; just coordinating between various units alone is enough to be "touching."

The Tsarist Government has always had a weakness in organizational ability; even after Alexander II’s reforms, Russians still fall somewhat short.

The battlefield is essentially a comparison of who makes more mistakes, and whose mistakes are fatal.

Currently, the Russian Army is defending in all areas except for the middle, where they are attacking. Hiding inside the fortress without coming out might fail to grasp opportune moments for battle, but it similarly avoids making fatal blunders.

Maoqi did not want the Prussian Army to be locked in a stalemate with the main force of the Russian Army in the middle, as that would fail to utilize Prussian mobility and would simply be an attritional clash of comprehensive strength.

Wilhelm I uncertainly asked, "Are you thinking of giving up Smolensk?"

Smolensk has always been referred to as the gateway to Moscow; controlling it would give the Prussian Army the initiative to attack Moscow.

Since the outbreak of the Prusso-Russian War, the Russian Army has been stubbornly defending this place to ensure Moscow’s safety, to prevent being split in two by the Prussian Army.

Maoqi nodded, "Your Majesty, we have already tried many strategies, but the Russians just cower in their defenses and refuse to come out.

A frontal assault would result in too great a loss, a completely pyrrhic victory. Other than abandoning Smolensk and letting the Russian Army in, it is very difficult for us to break the current battlefield stalemate in the short term."

Given the great disparity in troop numbers, and with the Russian Army’s central offensive tying down a large portion of Prussian forces, Maoqi’s capacity for maneuver warfare is limited.

Maoqi, originally proficient at concentrating superior forces for decisive battles with the enemy, found it frustratingly impossible, especially after the Russian Army adopted a scorched-earth policy, making him even more reluctant to take risks.

Withdrawing troops from any single front could possibly displace hundreds of thousands, or even millions of people.

If it were possible to win the war, making certain sacrifices could be acceptable. But such a war could never be decided by just one or two battles.

Eliminating tens of thousands of Russian troops at the expense of creating hundreds of thousands of refugees, whether this is a loss or a gain, is very difficult to gauge.

Since sacrifices are inevitable either way, why not go for a major gamble? If they could entice the enemy deep into their territory and use the home front advantage to annihilate the main force of the Russian Army, then any grave loss could be accepted.

"How sure are you?"

Wilhelm I hesitated, this gamble was on the fate of the nation. Victory could certainly turn the tide of war; but if defeated, the Prusso Federation would come to its end, and even the survival of a reduced Kingdom of Prussia was in question.

Maoqi coolly replied, "By giving up most of Belarus and parts of Poland, shifting the battlefield to the Warsaw region, and calling upon the Polish people to resist the Russian invasion, our chances of winning are at least sixty percent."

War is inherently a gamble, with the Prusso Federation already at a disadvantage, having sixty percent odds of winning was already quite high.

With a slap on the table, Wilhelm I decisively said,

"Let’s gamble!"

"Marshal, proceed with your plan, the government will coordinate with you."

It wasn’t that Wilhelm I was decisive; it was more that there was no choice. The war had reached this stage where no one could back down, and Prussia and Russia had to determine a victor on the battlefield.

Even if Wilhelm I didn’t want to take the gamble, the Junker aristocracy would make the decision for him. Just like in the original timeline of World War I, after the collapse of the Russian Empire, when Wilhelm II wanted to end the war halfway, the Junker aristocracy bypassed the Emperor and continued the war.

The situation was much the same now; with the outbreak of the war, the military’s power had grown, and the government had become the logistics department for the military. The balance of power had been broken long ago.

As the King, Wilhelm I often had no choice but to compromise with the military.

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