Holy Roman Empire

Since learning that he had been abandoned as a pawn, Obodo was not in good spirits. In his mind, he cursed Ivanov’s entire family time and again, yet on the surface, he had to appear confident and reassure his troops.

With things having come to this point, no matter how unwilling he felt inside, Obodo had no choice but to put on a brave face and gamble his life against the enemy.

Surrender was out of the question; his entire foundation was in Russia, and his family was waiting for him to return home in glory for a reunion.

It wasn’t just him without options; all the senior officers of the Fourth Russian Army faced the same predicament. Either hold off the enemy’s assault until reinforcements arrived or die on the battlefield, using their blood to cover up their mistakes.

In the face of a strong desire to survive, people can always exhibit extraordinary powers.

The senior officers of the Fourth Russian Army were now erupting with such powers, aiming to stabilize morale. Those who were once high and mighty now mingled with the troops, showing warmth and frequently visiting the front lines to boost their spirits.

To conserve food, Obodo even ordered the closure of the officers’ mess hall, making all officers and soldiers dine together. Rank and etiquette counted for nothing against the need to survive.

The officers had no choice but to understand; the supplies airdropped to them were of a uniform standard—high-calorie food meant for soldiers, with no special meals for officers.

Everyone knew that unauthorized actions had seriously offended Marshal Ivanov, and no one dared to submit reports and risk getting into trouble at this point.

Due to the limited cargo capacity of airships, which also had to transport weapons and ammunition, to save on transportation capacity, the food delivered consisted mostly of meat, beyond compressed biscuits.

This time, the supply standards of the Russian Army were leaning towards those of the British Army, with a diet mainly of dried beef and biscuits, with a small quantity of canned fish, as if overnight meat had suddenly become worthless.

Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, Obodo struggled to chew on the dried beef and swore he had never eaten such terrible food before.

Unable to stomach it, Obodo opened a can of fish. From the label, he knew it was again an Austrian product. Without any surprises, it was probably the cheapest freshwater fish.

This was a characteristic of Europe; due to industrial development, river pollution was severe, and many people didn’t eat freshwater fish. As consumption decreased, naturally, the value dropped as well.

Such cheap raw materials became the favorites of capitalists. Once processed into cans, who knew where the fish came from?

"The water is polluted, and the fish may be affected." But as long as there was no immediate food poisoning, any latent harm didn’t really count.

Especially the cans exported to the Russian Army, the quality was even less guaranteed, with many unscrupulous merchants mixing in cheap potato flour, with only a small part being fish.

Despite these many flaws, it was still a favorite choice for the procurement department of the Tsarist Government—simply because it was cheap.

Not just canned fish, but also the dried beef and compressed biscuits purchased by the Russians were the cheapest on the market.

Cheap goods aren’t good quality; since they were the cheapest products, naturally, there was no guarantee of quality.

Enduring the discomfort, Obodo ate the canned fish. As for the dried beef, he would leave that to someone with better teeth; he no longer enjoyed that privilege.

Despite the canned fish not tasting particularly good, there was still one point worthy of praise. The processing of the fish into cans involved special treatment, making the bones and spines edible and directly consumable.

On the battlefield, time waits for no one. Picking out fish bones would be highly inappropriate. Adhering to the principle that the customer is king, the capitalists naturally fulfilled this reasonable requirement.

With a bit of chemical processing, bones and spines became edible. Long-term side effects were of no concern; the important thing was that it didn’t cause problems shortly after eating.

Just as he thought to rest for a while, a young officer burst into headquarters and approached with a report, "General, the enemy has launched another attack. The 41st Division is requesting fire support."

Looking at the operational map, Obodo asked with a frown, "Didn’t we already send them an artillery battalion? Why are they asking for fire support again?"

The young officer explained, "The enemy’s firepower is too fierce; our artillery is completely suppressed, so..."

Before he could finish, Obodo cut him off with a wave of his hand, "Enough, tell the 41st Division to figure it out themselves. I don’t have any artillery to reinforce them right now.

If the enemy’s firepower is too fierce, then take cover for now. We are in a state of emergency; don’t be idle at night, and have some of the soldiers dig anti-artillery shelters.

If the enemy charges, we’ll fight them with bayonets. We are surrounded now, and we definitely cannot match the enemy’s firepower, but we can be more fearless than they are."

The plain area is exactly what is disadvantages; seeking to occupy advantageous terrain there proves futile. If a small mound one hundred and eighty meters tall could be considered a mountain, then the Fourth Army would now be nestled by the mountains and the waters.

Obodo was certain that the enemy didn’t want to engage in a battle to the death with them, otherwise, the intensity of their attacks would not have been so weak.

Piecemeal attacks that continually wear down their military morale, strategic materials, and ultimately forcing them to surrender, are the normal course of action.

If it takes the loss of a hundred thousand or eighty thousand men to annihilate the Fourth Army, the Prussian Army would have won yet still lost. Find adventures on empire

...

In the Prussian Army headquarters, Maoqi propped his head with one hand, sinking into deep thought.

Plans are not as fast-changing as reality; the original intention was to use the Fourth Army as bait to draw in the main Russian forces for encirclement and annihilation, but the Russians didn’t take the bait at all.

In this way, the Fourth Russian Army became trouble, tying down a large number of Prussian forces, rendering them unable to advance or retreat.

If they had launched a fierce attack on the Fourth Army from the start, not giving them the chance to set up camp, the problem would have been resolved by now.

There are no ’ifs’ on the battlefield. Misjudging the importance of the Fourth Army to the Russians and underestimating Ivanov’s determination, Maoqi had no choice but to swallow this bitter pill himself.

The battle of East Prussia had already begun, the battle on the southern line is about to erupt and the Warsaw battle, in effect, had also commenced.

The Russian Army launched attacks from the northeast on two fronts; with the Fourth Army tying down a large number of Prussian troops, the Warsaw battleground could only hold its position.

The ringing of the telephone brought Maoqi out of his reverie. He picked up the receiver and shouted, "This is Maoqi, what’s the matter?"

A hoarse voice came through: "Marshal, this is Division Commander Winslet reporting to you. The enemy to our north has suddenly increased the intensity of their attack; our defensive line is in critical danger. We request support."

It is unrealistic for one division to hold off an army, particularly the Russian Army with their massive units; it is even more impossible.

A crisis on the defensive line is inevitable; the fact that the Seventh Division could hold off the enemy for three days before requesting aid was already commendable.

Maoqi’s brow furrowed: "Major General Winslet, the Eleventh Division will take over your defense by tomorrow. Will there be a problem if you hold out for one more day?"

There was silence on the other end of the line; after a while, the hoarse voice came back: "No problem, Marshal!"

The tone carried a heaviness, as if the decision was made after a tough internal struggle.

After hanging up the phone, Maoqi instructed an officer nearby: "Send a message to General Hansgeya immediately, telling him that he must consume the Fourth Russian Army within a week.

Tell him the fish up north has taken the bait. Don’t delay any longer for a bird in the cage, or the fish will slip away."

A cornered beast will still fight; what more a human?

Knowing well that now was when the enemy resistance would be fiercest, Maoqi had no choice but to issue this order. If the Fourth Russian Army continues to drag on here, issues will arise on the Warsaw battleground.

Even though the Prusso Federation had established a solid defensive line in Warsaw, even the most secure defenses need men to guard them.

Moreover, Maoqi was not just aiming to hold Warsaw, but to inflict heavy damage on the Russian forces there, which required even more troops.

To encircle the Fourth Army, the Prussian Army had deployed nearly six hundred thousand troops. Originally intended for attacking potential reinforcements, now without the enemy’s reinforcements arriving, dragging on any further became pointless.

Even though he knew issuing this order would lead to heavy losses on the front line, for the overall situation on the battlefield, such sacrifices were necessary.

The dire situation told him that the battle over Warsaw must be resolved quickly. The Berlin Government needed a great victory to rally allies, even if it was a victory marred with heavy casualties.

"Yes, Marshal!" the young officer replied.