The Rise Of Australasia

"Even if we want to launch an attack, we need to consider the soldiers' weapons and equipment, as well as the supply of ammunition and food for the logistics! The East Prussian Battle and the Battle of Galicia have already consumed more than half of our logistical reserves.

If we want to plan for war again, we must have sufficient supplies to have any hope," said Archduke Nicholas, continuing to express his views while rebutting the Prime Minister's proposal.

There is a unique situation, unlike all other countries in Europe, that the Russian military currently supports a temporary suspension of the war, while the government supports expanding the scale of the war and continuing to launch large-scale battles to achieve victory.

This is quite the opposite of the situation in most European countries, whether it is the Central Powers such as Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire or the Allied nations such as Britain and France, the military in their countries have a greater desire to participate in the war than the government does.

Having anticipated Archduke Nicholas's rebuttal, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Aleksei said, "Your Highness, please rest assured that logistics are the least of our concerns. Our offensive has already received support and confirmation from Britain and France, and Larasia will commit to continue providing us with more supplies and weapons and ammunition."

"If Your Highness is not reassured, logistical aid from Britain and France will arrive soon, and the weapons and equipment from Larasia will reach Vladivostok within a month," he added.

Now, after all, it is still the beginning of the war, and the weapons and material reserves of all countries are still relatively sufficient, so Russia can also get enough weapons and equipment to wage war. Discover worlds on m-v le-mpyr

Although the equipment situation of the Russian army is not very good, at least it is not like in history where several soldiers share a single rifle, and the rifle only falls into the hands of others after someone dies in battle.

Having a rifle and several dozen rounds of ammunition per person is the general equipment standard for the current Russian army. As for what type of rifle it is and whether the ammunition can match, it depends on the conscience of the Russian logistics department.

Fortunately, the weapons and ammunition supplied by Larasia are matched, and they account for more than half of the Russian main force.

At least the combat effectiveness of the Russian main force can be guaranteed, judging from the final results of the current battles, the war is still tilted towards Russia.

The is has been going on for six months now, and there is a clear contrast between the combat strength of each country's army.

The most powerful is Germany, the combat strength of the German army is at a distinct level and is currently the ceiling of army combat power.

Ranked second is France, the combat strength of the French Army is slightly inferior to Germany, but the fact that the French Army can hold against the offensive of the German main force is proof enough of their capabilities.

The French Army at present is not like in World War II, it is also considered the last glory of France, the final dance of White France.

Ranked third is the British forces. The British forces here do not refer to all British troops but the relatively small number of British elite main forces.

Compared to the Russian and Austro-Hungarian troops, the equipment of the British elite main force is superior, and the logistics supply is also abundant.

Russia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire are ranked fourth and fifth, respectively. The combat strength of the Russian army is relatively weak compared to Germany and France, but after all, it has a manpower that other countries cannot reach, and human wave tactics are still compelling in this era without destructive weapons.

As for the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Galicia's defeat has made the combat effectiveness of the Austro-Hungarian Empire lag a few notches behind, making its forces the weakest among European warring powers.

As for Larasia, it does not participate in this ranking because the main force sent is not large.

But no one would underestimate the combat effectiveness of the Larasian army - with equipment that is comparable or even superior to that of the British main force, and the fact that the Fourth Division has fought on par or even slightly superior against a German division, proves that the combat effectiveness of Larasia's main force is not weak.

"Your Majesty, Britain and France have promised us that as long as we are willing to launch an offensive, they can bear all the costs of our offensive and cancel some of our loans. Moreover, they will do their best to persuade Larasia to provide us with all the weapons, equipment, and resources for the offensive.

We only need to provide the soldiers and organize the offensive," said Minister Aleksei, looking at Nicholas II with bright eyes as Archduke Nicholas fell silent.

The reason why Minister Aleksei is so eager to launch another offensive is that the British and French masters have secretly approached him, offering a bribe of 500,000 pounds to get him to strongly support the Russian government in launching a new round of offensives.

As for Aleksei's claim that Britain and France will bear all the costs of the campaign, with Larasia responsible for all supplies and logistics conditions, there is about 30% truth in it.

This is also the usual practice of Russian officials - deceive the higher-ups and cheat the lower ones.

Anyway, the Russian logistics department is unclear about how many material reserves the country currently has, and the quantities of materials that Britain, France, and Australia support Russia with are all ambiguous, without clear numbers.

"Is it true that Britain and France have committed to cover all costs of war and even waive a portion of the loans?" Nicholas II asked with some apprehension.

In Nicholas II's eyes, such a thing was no different from a pie falling from the sky.

All expenses of war, consumption of weapons and supplies are all borne by the allies, while Russia only needs to contribute its abundant manpower, and even receive some loan relief. Isn't this a windfall?

"Yes, Your Majesty. Britain and France have also promised that if supplies cannot be transported through the North Sea or the Mediterranean Sea, they will temporarily let Australasia be responsible for supplying, and transport them to the front lines via land routes from Vladivostok," said Minister of Foreign Affairs Aleksei, calmly nodding.

Although the British and French representatives did not promise that much, if Nicholas II asked, they would certainly support Aleksei.

After all, the goal of Britain and France is to get Russia to launch a campaign on the Eastern Front, so as to ease the pressure on the Western Front.

As for what proportion of the costs they would bear, no one would care. It doesn't matter since Nicholas II doesn't know.

Hearing Aleksei's guarantee, Nicholas II finally nodded in satisfaction, and asked Archduke Nicholas, "If Britain and France can provide us with weapons, equipment, and resources, do we have the ability to launch the following offensive?"

Archduke Nicholas was still trying to fight for this. After thinking about it, he said, "Your Majesty, I think it's not suitable to launch another offensive right now. The German reinforcements have already arrived, and we must face more German troops. The better decision now is to shrink the scale of the war and reduce our losses and casualties to a relatively small number."

"Enough, Nicholas." Nicholas II was somewhat dissatisfied and directly called Archduke Nicholas by his name.

"You hesitated after the difficulties you raised were resolved by Aleksei. Why? You're not acting like an Archduke or Chief of General Staff! Don't you realize? To address the contradictions faced by the empire at present, it is imperative to quickly resolve the war, lick our wounds, and seize the spoils of war we want."

Nicholas II said with dissatisfaction, "Because of this damned war, our international trade, export of resources, and so on have nearly all stopped. Britain and France cannot provide us with sufficient loans. If the war continues, our economy will collapse, and so will our country! Yet at this moment, my dear Archduke, you still want to reduce the scale of the war and wage a war of attrition.

It may bring fewer casualties to the people, but the country can't hold on that long. Neither can I."

Although Nicholas II had various shortcomings, as the ruler of a vast empire, he was obviously not an idiot.

As the supreme ruler of this country, Nicholas II naturally knew the current situation of the empire.

Although the lives of the Russian upper echelons seemed very prosperous and unaffected by the war.

The common people of Russia were having a hard time, affected by the war, and already finding it difficult to get enough food and clothing, let alone constantly facing mortal danger due to combat.

In the first two months of 1915, more than ten strikes broke out in Russia's major factories, which indicated that Russia's internal crisis had become extremely serious, even to the point of endangering state stability.

Any country could play a war of attrition in this war, but Russia alone could not. According to Nicholas II's estimate, Russia could now hold out for just over a year in the war. If they could not win the war quickly and bring joy and a large number of spoils of war and rich profits to the Russian people, the Romanov dynasty might collapse overnight.

"I understand, Your Majesty. I will organize the troops for a large-scale campaign, striving to decide the situation in Eastern Europe with one decisive battle." Archduke Nicholas, with no other choice, nodded and consented to Nicholas II's request.

Having gone this far, even if Archduke Nicholas did not want to launch the war, he had no choice but to carry out Nicholas II's order.

Because this concerns not only the casualties of the people but also the survival of the royal family and the country.

If Archduke Nicholas defied Nicholas II's order, it would be regarded as betrayal in the eyes of others, shunned by the entire Russian aristocracy, and very likely have his position removed by an enraged Nicholas II.

Instead of letting someone else take the position of Chief of General Staff and launch a campaign, it is better to stay in this position and do everything possible to fight for fewer casualties for the Russian people and soldiers.

"But Your Majesty, I also hope that during the entire campaign, the army could obtain all the material supplies promised by Minister Aleksei. This is not only related to the successful outcome of the campaign, but also as you have said, the survival of the country and the royal family," Archduke Nicholas finally requested.