Holy Roman Empire

The shifting tides on the Prussian-Russian battlefield directly impacted the European financial markets. For a time, there was widespread panic, and the market value of all war bonds issued by the Prussian-Polish Federation plummeted.

Anyone with some basic knowledge understood that if Moltke fails to turn the tide in the subsequent battles, the defeat of the Prussian-Polish Federation would inevitably lead to debt defaults.

A financial winter was looming.

Even far away in London, Prime Minister Benjamin could feel the chill.

When debts pile up, they sometimes don’t seem as burdensome. At this point, the ones most fearful of the collapse of the Prussian-Polish Federation, aside from themselves, were the British.

The more information Prime Minister Benjamin gathered, the clearer the severity of the issue became.

A defeat of the Prussian-Polish Federation would not only mean that the loans extended would turn into bad debts and the bonds issued on their behalf would become worthless, but more critically, it would affect the payments owed by the Prussian government for goods.

The losses up to this point mainly concerned financial institutions and speculators, people who were already wealthy and had relatively strong risk tolerance.

The outstanding payments for goods were a different matter. Large corporations might be able to weather the storm, but small and medium-sized enterprises, with their fragile cash flow, couldn’t withstand such turmoil.

If banks decided to exploit the situation further, the collapse of the Prussian-Polish Federation would mark the beginning of an industrial crisis in Britain.

The actual situation could be even worse. After all, the capitalist world was already suffering from overproduction. Post-war market competition would become even fiercer, and a wave of corporate bankruptcies was inevitable.

For Britain, with its vast and diverse economic base, these small and medium-sized enterprises might not constitute a large portion of the overall economic structure, but they were the primary providers of employment opportunities.

Bankruptcy and unemployment crisis, two inseparable companions, have always gone hand in hand. An unprecedented economic crisis was already brewing in Britain.

Sometimes, knowing too much can be a burden.

Benjamin asked, “Sir Edward, what’s the French stance?”

Reversing the course of this war was no longer something Britain could achieve on its own. The stance of the French was now crucial.

Foreign Secretary Edward shook his head as he replied, “The French government rejected our proposal. They believe that the conflict between Prussia and Russia cannot be resolved. Even if the war is forcibly halted, there will still be another war in the future.

The French have bet on both sides in this war. If the Prussian-Polish Federation is defeated, their losses won’t be significant, and it’s even possible that they secretly made an agreement with the Russians.”

Prime Minister Benjamin nodded helplessly. He understood the deep-rooted animosities between Britain and France—an entangled mess that could never be untangled. The French were more than happy to see the British suffer. How could they possibly extend a helping hand?

Take the Russo-Prussian War, for instance. Initially, Britain and France both supported the Prussian government, but the British gained control of the Prussian-Polish Federation’s gold reserves and virtually monopolized the financial benefits.

Facts have proven that eating alone wasn’t as enjoyable as it seemed. The more they took, the greater the cost. The British had shouldered most of the Prussian government’s loans and bonds.

The French chose to let go for several reasons. Besides the fact that the benefits were too small, they also had to focus on developing French Africa, which required a massive investment of funds, leading the French government to artificially limit capital outflow.

Though they couldn’t fully curb the capitalists’ greed, the total amount of outflowing capital was significantly reduced.

Without government guidance, this capital didn’t just flow into the Prussian-Polish Federation, it also found its way into the Russian Empire.

It was essentially hedging bets on both sides. No matter which side emerged victorious, the French would still get their share. With fewer interests at stake, the French government naturally became less proactive.

Napoleon IV was different from his father. Born during the phase of France’s resurgence, he had an innate arrogance and could never submit to anyone.

This can be seen from France’s foreign policy which has become increasingly assertive. In the past 2-3 years, relations between Britain and France, as well as between France and Austria, have been steadily deteriorating.

The British Army was limited in strength, and while they wanted to intervene in the war, their capabilities were insufficient.

Now that the French were unwilling to be their thugs, the British government had effectively lost its ability to directly intervene in the war.

After a moment of reflection, Prime Minister Benjamin said firmly, “Then we’ll settle for second best. No matter what means we have to use, we must find a way to save the Kingdom of Prussia. We need the creditors to stay, to provide an explanation to our own people.”

A defeated Kingdom of Prussia would naturally be incapable of repaying its debts. But as long as the creditors remained, there would still be a possibility of repayment.

After the war, the Prussian government would have limited financial resources, and for many years, their annual repayments might not even cover the interest.

However, having hope is better than having none. The British government needed hope to give the people confidence in the market.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Garfield said, “Prime Minister, you’re being too pessimistic. Perhaps things aren’t as bad as you think. The Prussian-Polish Federation is still holding on.

If Moltke can work a miracle and win the Battle of Warsaw ahead of the Russians, they might still have a dignified way to end the war.”

Foreign Secretary Edward disagreed, “Sir Garfield, that’s impossible. All signs point to the Austrians wanting the Prussian-Polish Federation to lose this war to lay the foundation for the unification of the region of Germany.

Even if Moltke works a miracle, it still won’t change the fate of the Prussian-Polish Federation. With Austria’s support, the Russian army will keep pouring in, and in the end, they will be overwhelmed in the end.”

“Numerical superiority”—this might be the most impactful concept for European countries. The Russians have proven with facts that as long as their forces are numerous enough, the enemy will be powerless.

…

While the British were trying to mitigate their losses, the Russo-Prussian War entered a new phase. The Russian Fourth Army had been thoroughly subdued by the Prussians, left in no condition to fight back, and could only cling to rudimentary fortifications to survive.

What was surprising, however, was that the Prussians did not take the opportunity to completely annihilate the Russian Fourth Army. Instead, after weakening it, they left behind two infantry divisions and a group of militia to pretend to be the main force and besiege the Russians, while the main Prussian force rapidly moved north.

To avoid detection by Russian airships, the Prussians made an unprecedented decision to sleep during the day and march at night, quickly reinforcing the Warsaw battlefield.

On November 10, 1880, the main Prussian forces arrived in Warsaw. Together with the defending forces in Warsaw, they launched a counterattack against the Russian forces. Caught off guard, the Russian Fifth Army suffered heavy losses.

This was just the beginning. After their heavy losses, the Russian Fifth Army was forced to retreat with its remnants, and the flanking Russian Seventh Army was also exposed to the Prussian army’s offensive.

As it turned out, after losing their numerical superiority, the Russian army was no match for the Prussians.

The Russian Seventh Army could not create a miracle. By the time their comrades warned them, it was too late to retreat in time. They lost a third of their forces to Prussian attacks.

The Battle of Warsaw ended in a Prussian victory, but Moltke’s face showed no signs of joy because time had already been lost.

There was no other way. After all, the Russian army wasn’t made of paper. Defeating the Russian Fifth Army relied on a surprise attack and only took two days, but defeating the Russian Seventh Army took five whole days.

On the battlefield, time is life. By this point, the Russian Third and Sixth Armies were already less than 200 kilometers away.

In theory, intercepting them midway to delay their march by ten days to two weeks might have been possible.

With that much time, the Prussians could have reinforced the southern front. For example, by eliminating the enemy’s Eighth Army besieging Poznań or the Ninth Army stationed in central Poland.

In reality, this was entirely impossible. Prussian soldiers were human too, and maintaining combat effectiveness required time for rest and reorganization after battle.

Even if they rested for just two days, Moltke would still run out of time.

Although the distance from Warsaw to Poznań is only 278 kilometers and a train could cover it in a day, transporting hundreds of thousands of troops would take far longer than a day or two.

Even once the army arrived, it didn’t mean they could immediately launch an attack. Whether or not the Russians were willing to engage in a decisive battle would also come into play, and they could choose to stall for time.

For example, the Russians could search for favorable terrain and hold their position. As long as they weren’t annihilated, the Prussians’ rear would remain insecure, and the longer the delay, the more advantageous it would be for the Russians.

Before the Prussians could eliminate the Russian Eighth Army, Russian reinforcements would have already arrived in Warsaw. Without their main forces present, Warsaw would surely fall.

The fall of Warsaw would mean the loss of the entirety of Poland. At that point, even if the Prussians managed to defeat the Russian Eighth Army, Moltke would have no choice but to retreat and prepare for the defense of the Kingdom of Prussia.

Abandoning Poland would mean that the Prussian-Polish Federation had already lost the war. Losing the majority of its territory and population, the remaining Kingdom of Prussia would have even less war potential and no capacity to continue fighting against the Russians.

Without time to address the threats on the southern front, the Prussians could only hope that the domestic garrisons would hold out long enough for them to defeat the Russian reinforcements and return to support the homeland.

This, of course, assumed that these reinforcements were the last wave from the Russians. Otherwise, the Battle of Warsaw would drag on indefinitely. From the current situation, the likelihood of the war continuing seemed much higher.

Staring at the map, Moltke found himself at a loss for the first time.

“Marshal, here is the compiled battle report for your review,” a young officer said softly.

Moltke raised his head, gestured for the young officer to leave the report on the table, and waved him out. After a brief moment of silence, Moltke calmed himself and slowly opened the report.

The cold numbers on the paper seemed to lower the temperature in the room even further.

War claims lives. Over the past month, the Prussian army had achieved brilliant victories, decisively crippling the Russian Fourth and Fifth Armies and severely damaging the Russian Seventh Army.

In total, they had eliminated or captured over 430,000 enemy troops, shattering Russia’s offensive in Warsaw and achieving the globally renowned “Victory at Warsaw.”

Yet behind this glory lay a heavy cost. Over 110,000 Prussian soldiers had permanently fallen on the battlefield, with an additional 150,000 wounded.

These were just the personnel losses. In truth, the costs extended far beyond these figures. Civilian casualties weren’t even mentioned, as Moltke didn’t place much importance on the Polish population.

Economic losses were outside his concern as a military commander, but the depletion of weapons, equipment, and strategic supplies could not be ignored.

In just one month, the Prussian army had consumed half of its ammunition reserves and nearly a third of its strategic materials.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!