I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 237

< Escalation (3) >

As the war intensified, the battle lines between the Anglo-French allied forces and Russia gradually began to solidify.

First, the entire Black Sea region, centered around the Crimean Peninsula.

This is where I am, and it is also the main front where the main forces of both armies are concentrated, exchanging breathtaking attacks and defenses.

In fact, it was such an important front that it would not be an exaggeration to say that the side that wins here will be the winner of this war.

And then there’s the Sea of Azov and the Caucasus.

In the Caucasus, the Russian army was pushing hard and the Ottomans were solidifying their defenses, but from the beginning, no one expected the Ottomans to win there.

And frankly speaking, even if the Ottomans were to lose to Russia there, it wouldn’t affect the overall situation for our army.

It’s enough if the Ottomans just hold on to the Russian army.

In the case of the Sea of Azov, the Royal Navy, which had devastated the ports of the Black Sea, moved as it was and repeated the same operation.

The most important thing is to prevent the food and supplies accumulated in the ports of the Sea of Azov from being delivered to the Russian army.

It would be great if we could take this in reverse, but the Russian army was not stupid either.

They were fully prepared with the determination to absolutely prevent landing, so they ended up just destroying all the ports and returning.

However, even this was enough of a blow to the Russian army, and preparations for the next front line, which would be an even bigger blow, were progressing steadily.

“Your Highness. As I mentioned before, the Baltic Fleet is ready. Helsinki has already been captured, and they say that they are bombarding all the places where our warships can enter in the White Sea.”

“The Russian bastards must be out of their minds. What about St. Petersburg?”

“Still, it’s their capital, so they’re desperately defending it. But soon we’ll get a reply from Prussia. If they join us, entering the capital won’t be an impossible goal.”

“Things are going smoothly with Marshal Fitzroy, so the atmosphere couldn’t be better. However, it is precisely at times like these that military discipline should not be relaxed. Of course, the Admiral knows this much better than a rookie like me.”

“Hahaha, no. From what I’ve seen so far, Your Highness seems to have a better grasp of the big picture of the war than I do. If you had joined the military, wouldn’t you have been remembered as a great general for a long time?”

There’s no way. The only reason I can pretend to be a cold-blooded genius strategist here is because I knew about the Crimean War in the original history.

There’s a time difference and many details have changed, but the overall flow is still similar, so it was possible to give subtle advice.

But if you ask me to establish a strategic tactic altogether, then my head will turn white.

The best thing for me is to just become a professional advisor who gives advice at the right time.

If I take on too much of a burden here and my true colors are revealed, it will tarnish the image of the perfect royal messenger, right?

“Rather, I was reflecting on whether I had interfered too much presumptuously until now.”

“What’s the problem if the result is good? By the way, I heard that you argued in front of Marshal Fitzroy that line infantry is now a relic of the past?”

Ah, damn it. Come to think of it, I was saying that I should slowly pull my feet out, but I dug my own grave.

“This is what I have judged after listening to the opinions of the medical staff after seeing the current war situation. Of course, you can think of it as nonsense from a non-expert and ignore it.”

“No. In fact, Marshal Fitzroy said at the last meeting that he felt like he had been hit hard on the head. In fact, as the technology of weapons advances, tactics should naturally change, but he said that he had been reflecting on whether he had been habitually following the old tactics too much.”

“I see. He just told me that he would think about it.”

“The military is originally a conservative group. It’s good to change the textbook, but if it’s wrong, how much damage will we have to bear later? Rather, let’s use a proven method even if it’s a bit behind the times. But even considering that, it seems true that the current line infantry norms are causing too many casualties.”

Last time, they looked at me with eyes that said, ‘What does a non-expert know?’

Well, when you think about it, changing your attitude isn’t always a bad thing.

Isn’t it proof that they know how to reflect on themselves?

However, I’m a little uneasy because I don’t know where that perception of me, which sees me as amazing because I lowered the mortality rate of the wounded to 1/20, will go.

“But isn’t it impossible to change the familiar norms right now when the war is in full swing?”

“That’s right. But it seems that it would not be unreasonable to create a new doctrine for our army with the data obtained from this war. And this is not just a problem for the army. I think our navy should also be more alert. Perhaps we are also relying on overwhelming technology to suppress the enemy, but we may not be using effective tactics.”

I didn’t expect this butterfly effect when I said that.

Somehow, it seems like I’m urging the British Empire to reform its defense. I swear I didn’t mean to.

“By the way, if we capture this Sevastopol fortress, the Crimean Peninsula will be virtually in the hands of our army… In Your Highness’s opinion, is it better to strengthen the offensive or to tighten it little by little as it is now?”

“Of course, it is best to capture it before this winter comes.”

“Then you mean we should hurry up and strengthen the offensive.”

No matter how abundant the supplies are, the number of non-combat casualties will inevitably increase due to the cold and disease during the winter.

Perhaps the Crimean War in the original history was roughly similar.

There were a lot of casualties, and a significant number of them were non-combat casualties, so it may have been late for England or France to realize the problem with the combat manual.

But no matter how scary the winter is, there was no need to rush as much as in the original history now.

“No, that’s not it. The urgent thing is them, not us. No matter how important Sevastopol is, wouldn’t the capital be more important?”

The way to get a rat huddled in the corner to come out is not to force it into the hole, but to light a fire and let the smoke into the cave.

Humans are rational beings, but they are never moved by perfect reason.

If that were the case, would this absurd war have happened?

Admiral Nasimov, who commands the Russian army, is clearly a rational and talented person, but we must not forget that there is an absolute power called the Emperor above him.

No matter how much he raises his guard and insists on an infinite 존버 [Korean slang for ‘endure/hold out’] strategy, will the Emperor be watching that situation when the capital starts to be attacked?

“Prussia will soon give us an answer to our request. It won’t be too late to see that and move, so let’s wait a little longer.”

Fortunately, our pathetic iron-blooded dream tree [referring to Bismarck, known for his ‘blood and iron’ policy] is next to the current King of Prussia, so there was a high possibility that the answer I wanted would come.

I maintained the expression that everything was going according to plan and slowly took a cup of coffee that had just arrived with the supplies yesterday.

Ah, honestly, I’m still dazed as to why this is happening, but anyway, it’s going according to plan.

* * *

As the Russian territory in the Baltic Sea began to be bombarded with shells by the Royal Navy of the British Empire, Prussia also began to feel the impact of this war.

They also heard that a large Anglo-French allied force had landed on the Crimean Peninsula, and that the Sevastopol Fortress was besieged.

Combining all these war situations, there is only one possibility that Russia can win.

The only chance left is if the Anglo-French allied forces suffer a major defeat in battle.

“Your Majesty. Intelligence has come in that Austria will express its intention to participate in the war and move its troops within this month.”

“Austria? They must have calculated everything. I thought they would watch for a little longer before entering.”

“I heard that the Asian front has changed rapidly recently. I think they may have become a little impatient after acquiring that information.”

Asia, huh.

Certainly, I heard that a country called Korea or Japan attacked Russia.

Attacking even small countries on the outskirts of Asia, how much has Russia’s status fallen?

King Frederick William IV of Prussia paid attention to the fact that Russia was attacked, regardless of whether Russia actually lost in Asia or not.

Asian countries also have eyes and ears, so why would they confidently raise troops and attack Russia?

It must be because they were confident that even if they hit them, they would not be able to retaliate.

“They were acting as if they were the rulers of Europe, but it’s ridiculous to see them being attacked from all directions. So what should we do?”

Prussia’s grand strategy is now clear.

Unconditional national interest is the top priority. Nothing else matters.

In that respect, there are two main policies that can be taken in this war.

Save military power and national power until the end, and then slowly take away the rights and interests immediately after the war.

The second is to side with England, defeat Russia together, and take away the rights and interests from Russia.

The current consensus was that if Russia seemed to be holding out a little better, they should choose a neutral strategy, and if not, they should choose to participate in the war, and they felt that the time to make a decision was approaching.

If they participate in the war too late, the results will be worse than not participating, so they should enter at least around the same time as Austria.

If not, they should just announce a statement that moderately favors England and maintain an attitude of verbally criticizing Russia.

However, as news from the Asian front came in, Frederick William IV’s mind also began to lean towards participating in the war.

The influence of the young Junker [Prussian nobleman] Bismarck, who had been studying the latest trends in London, was also quite significant here.

“Your Majesty. Currently, England is already roaming the entire Baltic Sea as if it were its own front yard. In other words, if we help them, it means that it will be easy for them to advance to St. Petersburg.”

“So, Bismarck, are you saying that we should not only raise troops but also attack the Russian capital?”

“Yes. It’s different from Napoleon. We already have complete control of the sea, and not only us but also Austria is considering participating. In other words, the damage our army will suffer will be minimal. The main force of Russia is tied to the Crimean Peninsula.”

“Certainly…”

“The most fierce battlefield will be the Crimean Peninsula, but if we can directly strike the enemy’s capital, the war effort will never be negligible. We are extracting the best efficiency at the lowest cost. And it is only natural that our Prussia, which has inflicted great damage on the enemy’s capital in the post-war negotiations, will have a strong voice, isn’t it?”

After listening to Bismarck’s long speech, the King made up his mind.

He liked this young Junker quite a bit.

So he welcomed this young man, who appeared with a letter of recommendation from the British ambassador, with a surprising promotion.

Boiling patriotism, unreserved words and actions, and unconventional ideas.

In the eyes of the King, this young man was a great talent who could support the future of Prussia.

“Good. I had the same idea as you. Call the British ambassador right away. Participation in the war is participation in the war, and negotiation is negotiation, so we need to coordinate detailed interests. I wonder if I should entrust that role to you. Are you confident?”

“Yes! If you entrust it to me, I will do my best.”

“No, you don’t have to risk your life, just do it moderately well.”

Bismarck commented that this war was a way of confirming that the British Empire was pushing Russia out and was the strongest superpower in the world.

His recent habit was to say that the important thing was what position Prussia would occupy in the complex interests of Europe that would be reorganized after this.

As he said, the important thing is the world after the war, not the war itself.

For Prussia to become the leader of the German region, and to be recognized by the world as a great power beyond France or Austria, they decided to take a bold step.