Chapter 897: The Polish Pocket’s Defeat 2

"This idea is very interesting." Little Maoqi subconsciously felt that it was impossible, but out of politeness and curiosity, he did not directly reject the prince's suggestion.

"In the direction of East Prussia, we will launch a limited attack. This was agreed in advance. I will not change this plan, but it will not compress the Russian space too much. This battle is mainly to consume the opponent. We have to give the Russians the illusion that the Polish region can still be held." "Then, part of the Bavarian Army will enter the Silesia region, and we will reopen it from the Lviv region of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Situation! The troops are slowly but steadily advancing northward, gradually reducing the width between Russian Poland and the Russian rear. Of course, this is only one of the goals!" said the prince. "The Russians will not allow it. They will concentrate their efforts to suppress this place. It will become a tug-of-war. When your army attacks, they will retreat, and when they pause due to supply problems, they will They will fight back. In addition, with all due respect, the Bavarian Army's combat effectiveness is very reliable, but the Austro-Hungarian Empire's combat effectiveness is average. On average, the advantage is relatively limited." Xiao Maoqi said. "Maybe you are right. This plan to create a protruding part may be more difficult. However, even if this goal cannot be achieved, the problem is not big." The prince said with a smile. "Hold the grass!" Little Maoqi almost cursed. You spent so much effort to mobilize the most elite legion to Silesia, using a lot of troops, wasting a lot of resources, and it can't be effective. Killing your opponent only to lead to a certain level of tug-of-war. What are you trying to do? You said at the beginning that you didn't bother to eat the Russian army one by one. Now this kind of attack is not as good as the plan I proposed at the beginning! "Ruprecht, if you want to help your father-in-law, we can understand. In fact, it doesn't have to be so troublesome." William II said with a slight frown. "No, no, don't listen to me." The prince made a helpless expression. "Okay, let me explain my plan in more detail." "If the Russians launch an attack in Silesia, if they deal with it properly, their losses will not be great, but if they want to stabilize If it is a battle line, then a considerable number of troops must be deployed! We are the offensive side and can choose the time and place to fight, while the other side must ensure the density of troops and leave enough reserves in order to defend.""And In fact, the number of Russian front-line combat troops is not much greater than ours. When they concentrate a considerable part of their troops in Silesia and at the same time must maintain a military presence in Russian Poland, then their front-line combat forces will be There are serious loopholes." "This idea needs to be discussed, because the population base of the Russians is too large. Their population is twice that of the German Empire. It is possible to even mobilize 8 million troops." Xiao Maoqi said . "Yes, you are right. I agree with this. However, you must note that I am talking about front-line combat troops, not the total number of troops! Can you understand the gap?" the prince asked. . "Well, you want to talk about the difference between front-line combat personnel and rear auxiliary personnel, right?" Xiao Maoqi said. "Yes, that's it. Maybe in the German Empire, one rear personnel can support two warriors in fighting, but if it is in Russia, one warrior needs to be supported by two auxiliary personnel! Russia's vast territory and The backward infrastructure determines Russia's fatal weakness of low efficiency during wartime!" the prince said with confidence. This is definitely not just talk.

But it is really like this. Although Russia had several million troops in World War I, even in the later stages, the number of front-line troops was only about 3 million. It will never exceed this number. As for the root cause of this problem? Quite simply, it is lagging behind.

Someone has made statistics. If a recruit from Germany, France and Austria wants to go to the battlefield, he will need to walk an average of 200 to 300 versts, while a recruit from Russia will need to walk about 900 miles to go to the battlefield. To 1,000 versts, there is no way, the place is too big. While the Russians enjoy huge strategic depth, they also have to pay a corresponding price! In addition to the distance being about four times that of Western European powers, the Russians' poor railway conditions made it geometrically more difficult to mobilize troops and supplies! For example, if Germany's railway service coefficient is calculated as 100, then Belgium and Germany are both 100. This railway service coefficient is determined by the railway length per unit territorial area and the population per unit area. The former is There is a direct proportional relationship, and the latter is an inverse relationship. For a more vivid example, Belgium, as a country with an area of ​​30,000 square kilometers, has a total of 4,000 kilometers of railways! Well, let’s look at the level of other countries. The British are closely followed, with a railway service coefficient of 98. The French said that Colombia absorbed the experience and lessons of the Franco-Prussian War and the railway service coefficient reached an astonishing 103. The Austro-Hungarian Empire was indeed a weakling, with a coefficient of only 61. I have lost the face of Western Europe’s powerful countries, I’m sorry…. And what about Russia? Even if you exclude areas such as desolate Siberia, Russia's railway service coefficient is only 4! Yes, you read that right, only 4! Per unit area, Germany’s railway length is more than ten times that of Russia! The Austro-Hungarian Empire is also 6.7 times larger than Russia, which means that this railway line is very weak. It is very common to have insufficient supplies during wartime. So from this perspective, if the infrastructure is insufficient, it can only be supplemented by manpower. This means that although Russia has a huge population base, the number of front-line troops is not large, and the length of the front is endless, that is, As a result, the overall troop density is not enough, and it is also due to insufficient infrastructure. If there is a problem with the railway line in a certain area, then even if the Russians want to evacuate, even if the encirclement network is not blocked, then the operation will basically rely on The Russians are leaving, they can't leave even if they want to! The army should completely break away from the railway and go back? This scene is so beautiful that I can’t even imagine it! And this time, the prince’s starting point is these two points! The war has just begun, and the potential of the Russians has not yet been fully realized. They do not have 3 million troops. After a while, it will be good to have 2 million on the front line. If the Russians want to hold on to Russian Poland, at least you can There also need to be 4 to 5 army groups, right? This is a force of 1 million. Let me first explain that this unit is fixed on the defense line, one carrot and one pit. There are not many troops that can be mobilized across theaters. Three updates today~~~! Please subscribe and reward~~~! !