Struggle in Russia

Soon under the order of Nicholas I, Chernyshov had to agree to immediately purchase a batch of new rifles, the number of which was about 30,000.

This number is really close to meaning, at least for this war, it is just a drizzle. But there is no way to do this, because the finances are very tight, and the money for the 30,000 rifles was squeezed out by the Ministry of Finance through gnashing of teeth.

In fact, Nicholas I himself knew that such a new rifle could not save the war situation that was getting worse and worse, but he always had to find an excuse and could not tell the subjects of the whole country that the reason why Russia was so embarrassed was that he was the tsar. The leadership is incompetent and the army is overwhelmed and vulnerable, right?

It is much easier to tell the subjects that the failure is because the weapons are not as good as the talents, and it can be dealt with as long as a symbolic remedy.

Yes, purchasing a small number of newer rifles was Nicholas I's remedy, which in his view was typical of doing big things with little money.

It's just that the generals who are really on the front line are not so convinced by this set, especially the group of people who are truly patriotic and responsible, and are very dissatisfied with the way Nicholas I fooled things.

For example, Duke Mikhail wrote to his brother complaining: "After the outbreak of the war, I told the War Department and the Imperial Council more than once that we should purchase new rifles, otherwise our soldiers can only be bullied by the enemy, but who Listen? That idiot Chernyshov has been saying that spirit beats guns, let us display the courageous fighting spirit that is not afraid of death... Your Majesty is always blaming new things, saying that new weapons are the nonsense and conspiracy of liberals …”

"Damn it! I don't understand what happened to them, well, now they have suffered a lot and know how to change? But they only purchased 30,000 new rifles, who is enough for this, we have a million army on the front line. what!"

"Not to mention how long this **** procurement process is going to go, with what I know about the **** moths in the War Department, they won't let go without enough benefit, not to mention that Chernyshov himself is very likely to get in the way. !"

"This war is making me more and more exhausted. I can't imagine that we can finally win. Maybe you diplomats can play a role in advance..."

Not only is Duke Mikhail dissatisfied, Kornilov is even more angry, because according to the allocation plan given by the Ministry of War, his Crimea theater can only be allocated 5,000 new rifles in the end, what is this enough? of?

What is even more irritating is that the Ministry of War is still plausible about this, they say that Crimea has been equipped with enough new rifles, at least one-third of the troops have this new weapon, and Duke Mikhail's company even It's less than 10%, so isn't it clear at a glance who gets more?

This kind of statement almost didn't make Kornilov angry. The reason is very simple. If you talk about the ratio of equipment, his popularity rate is indeed higher. But the problem is that although Duke Mikhail's side has few new rifles, it has a lot of troops!

He has nearly 700,000 troops on hand, and he has strong fortifications to protect him. Most of the enemies he faces are also poorly equipped Turks, and the equipment is not as big as the generation difference in Crimea.

The Crimea side is facing the main force of the British and French coalition forces. The weapons and equipment of these people are much better than that of Turkey. Originally, the Crimea's military strength was not dominant, and now there is still a gap in weapons. fight?

The Crimean side, which is under more pressure from the British and French coalition forces, needs a new rifle more urgently, not the other way around.

It's just that the people from the Army Department don't listen to this set of people at all. They are just used to making decisions by slapping their heads, regardless of the actual situation.

Kornilov couldn't bear this kind of painful situation. He could only explain the situation to Nicholas I over and over again, and kept protesting to the Ministry of War.

Of course, he himself knew that this was meaningless. Anyway, the Ministry of War had a way to shirk the blame, and in the end, it had to be left alone.

"What's going on over Kerch?"

Nakhimov sighed and replied: "It's not bad. After the previous rectification, the morale and combat effectiveness of the troops have recovered. After repelling the landing operation of the coalition forces, the morale of the officers, soldiers and residents is high, but..."

"Just what?" Kornilov asked eagerly.

"Most of the fortifications were temporarily repaired. The damage was relatively serious after the first battle. Although I ordered to speed up the construction, firstly the manpower and various materials are limited, and secondly, the enemy may not give us so much time. If the enemy organizes An offensive on a larger scale than the last landing operation, the result is hard to say!"

Hearing this, Kornilov sighed again: "Do it as much as possible, you will be in charge of the command for the time being, and as soon as possible, according to Grand Duke Andrei's request, make a feint to cover the Danube Fleet to break through the blockade, maybe ours The fleet is only so useful!"

As a pure admiral, Kornilov had a heavy heart when he said these words, because once Kerch made a mistake, the Black Sea Fleet would truly become a turtle in a urn and perish, but it was only a matter of time. Now, I can only take the fleet to freely enter and exit the Sea of ​​Azov to do a little bit of action. It can be regarded as "waste utilization"!

Nakhimov also understands this truth, but he still wants to defend Kerch as much as possible, but he also knows that it is very difficult. For example, Kerch's defenders are still too few, at least 10,000 people. ?

But now it's only in the early 5,000s~www.readwn.com~ is nearly half the difference, but how can it be so easy to want more troops at this time?

Where is there no shortage of people in Crimea now? Including Sevastopol, there is a serious shortage. We can't even spare the local women, let them join the army too!

"I will try my best to fight with Your Majesty. After the new batch of reinforcements arrive, I will give you priority to replenish them," Kornilov sighed. "It's just that the number is definitely not enough. I estimate that it will be one or two thousand at most..."

Nakhimov also smiled wryly, but he can do as much as he can. He is going to send sailors from the navy. Anyway, most of the sailing warships are now decorations. Instead of letting them do nothing, it is better to go ashore and help fight.

Soon they finalized the details, and then Nakhimov rushed to Kerch again. His next task was very important, not only to strengthen the defense of Kerch, but more importantly, to organize a feint to attract the coalition forces. 's attention.

This is no joke. After all, the Black Sea is a bathtub. With the maneuverability of the coalition forces, it will definitely take action immediately after discovering that the Black Sea Fleet has made a move.