The Rise Of Australasia
Chapter 501: Chapter 395: The Crisis Brought by Victory_2

Russia can bear a considerable part of Germany's military, and given the current war situation, Britain, France, and Australia cannot afford to see Russia withdraw from the war.

With this in mind, Arthur felt that he could not sit idly by. Coincidentally, the Royal Military Factory's new weapons and equipment had just been completed and it was time to send some to Russia to strengthen the fighting capacity of the Russian army.

February 17, 1915, Russia, Saint Petersburg.

Nicholas II was furious for several days after the defeat in the East Prussian Battle, but his smile reappeared following the great success in the Battle of Galicia.

More importantly, Russia had directly occupied the entire Galicia region. The direct expansion of land area is worth more celebration than the victory in the battle.

Since the war began nearly half a year ago, Nicholas II, who had been quietly accumulating power, finally had the opportunity to raise his eyebrows and give directions on the war situation map hanging on the wall.

Nicholas II's appetite went beyond Galicia; if possible, Hungary and East Prussia were also within his ambit.

Also, the Polish region previously divided between Russia and Germany should be completely reclaimed.

In this way, Russia would occupy almost half of Eastern Europe, plus the indirectly controlled Balkan region, accounting for half of Europe's territory under Russia's control.

The Russian military officials and officers, who seemed to be attentively listening to Nicholas II, also had smiles on their faces.

For an old-established country like Russia, the expansion of territory was worth celebrating, as was showing off their strength to the outside world.

Since entering the 20th century, the decline of old-established powers like Russia has become a perennial topic of conversation.

Particularly in facing an emerging country like the Island Nation with obvious shortcomings, Russia's decline was made evident by achieving only a tie.

Moreover, the rise of Germany and the formation of the Allies, ranked Russia fourth in Europe, below Britain, Germany, and France.

Following the outbreak of the war, Russia had not achieved any accomplishments for several months, and even the rate of mobilization progress, soldier's poor weapons and equipment, and the poor logistical transportation systems caused Europeans to call the Tsardom of Russia old, decayed, and degenerated.

This was not good news for the Russians; an old person might die, an old machine might be abandoned, and an old country might be suppressed and annexed by a new country.

The victory over the Austro-Hungarian Empire in this battle was a re-announcement of Russia's position in the world to the outside world; at least Russia was still the European superpower, completely dominating the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

While people might not fully embrace the Tsardom of Russia, at least they should sigh at the fact that a dead camel is still larger than a horse; even a decayed top power is not something that a small, weak power can rival.

Of course, what made the Tsarist Government happier was Russia's enormous contribution to the battle; Germans even had to send more reinforcements, alleviating the pressure on the Westline battlefield.

And the merit will be assessed in the distribution of interests after the war. The greater the merit the Tsarist Government gains now, the more interests it will obtain after the war.

As for the hundreds of thousands of casualties since the outbreak of the war, who in the Tsardom of Russia with its population of over 100 million would care?

Is it Nicholas II or the Tsarist Government? Is it the upper echelons of Russia or the capital aristocrats?

Neither. No one will care about these casualties except for the common people of Russia. In the eyes of Russia's upper echelons, these casualties are just a series of numbers, a series that is constantly changing and increasing.

One can understand the situation by looking at the birth figures of Russia each year. The number of newborn babies alone reaches millions or even tens of millions per year.

Several hundred thousand casualties are not worth mentioning for the Russian Empire, as it does not affect Russia's annual population growth rate at all.

"Your Majesty, since the Germans have already sent a large number of reinforcements, why don't we rest and turn the front line into a complete defensive state?

In this way, we can both hold on to the Galicia region we have already occupied and fulfill the French demand to hold back German forces, reducing casualties and consumption within our country." Archduke Nicholas, commander of the Battle of Galicia, arrived early in the Saint Petersburgh Conference Room, presenting his point of view.

As the commander of the front line, Archduke Nicholas has a clear awareness of the gap between the strength of the Russian army and the German Army.

Although the German forces in East Prussia, along with reinforcements, will not exceed 500,000, these 500,000 troops are enough to hold back nearly 2 million Russian troops and even cause massive casualties to the Russian army.

Anyway, Russia has relieved France's crisis by mobilizing troops from the Westline, and Germany has also satisfied France's demands, so there is no need to continue consuming each other with the German Army.

Although the Russian army does not lack soldiers, the consumption of weapons, bullet shells, etc. during the war is still a huge expenditure.

From a military perspective, Archduke Nicholas's proposal is absolutely correct.

Russia does not have the strength or the need to continue fighting with Germany. This is impossible unless there are no unstable factors within Russia.

However, for Russian officials who are more concerned with political factors, Archduke Nicholas's proposal seems somewhat absurd.

Since we have already won, why not take advantage and follow up the victory?

Isn't the East Prussian region of Germany, the Cilicia region, and the Hungarian region of the Austro-Hungarian Empire alluring?

Why does Russia participate in the war? To expand the land, and also to increase political power and status, right?

If we are satisfied after one victory, how can the government compete for more political status and power? Discover tales on m_vl_em_p_yr

Before Archduke Nicholas could further explain, the current Prime Minister of Russia, Ivan Goremkin, immediately interrupted and laughed in rebuttal: "Mr. Chief of Staff, planning can't be considered solely from a military perspective.

From a political point of view, we have no choice but to fight and win another large-scale battle to stabilize our position among the Allies and gain more in future distribution of benefits."

"If we hold our ground and turn to defense at once, we may save a lot of resources and manpower, but the prestige accumulated by the empire over a hundred years and our position in the world will be ruined at once!"

"Mr. Prime Minister, prestige and status are built on strength. Even if we achieve a great victory as you said, to stabilize our prestige and status. After our army and soldiers have suffered heavy casualties, who can guarantee the distribution of interests and positions after the war? It is better to stop now and turn the front line into a defensive state.

We only need to use an army group to hold back all German troops, so we can complete the mission given by our allies.

When the time comes for distribution of benefits in the future, we still have enough troops to guarantee our interests and positions. Isn't it better than making futile sacrifices now?" Archduke Nicholas responded with a sneer.

There was another more blatant factor that Archduke Nicholas did not mention, which is the uprisings and unrest that frequently erupt within the Russian Empire.

Public protests, workers' strikes, revolutionary disturbances, naval rebellions. Just one of these would be enough to destabilize a country, let alone the fact that the Russian Empire has gathered a complete set for playing Mahjong.

Archduke Nicholas did not know if the government could bear such heavy casualties, but he knew that if they continued to wage meaningless wars and consume their own military forces and national strength, there would be no army to suppress them when large-scale rebellions and crises erupted in the country in the future.

No matter how good the international status and territorial expansion are, they must be carried out on the premise of maintaining national stability and unity. It would be a laughing stock for generations if the empire's internal instability or fragmentation due to the war was exploited by some revolutionaries during an upheaval.