Rasputin of the East

24

But Samsonov’s suicide did not end the battle.

As soon as the German 8th Army annihilated the 2nd Army, they went straight to Gumbinen and completed the encirclement of the 1st Army, which had their backs to Masourian Lake and struck a siege line. With the loss, the entire organization collapsed, and Rennenkamp was barely able to escape the cavalry, reserve division, and the defeated soldiers based on the sacrifice of the 2nd Corps commanded by General Vladimir.

Fortunately for him, Samsonov was the first to decide to retreat.

Of course, considering the overall damage, their responsibility for making almost all of the Russian army’s immediate response force into defeat was by no means lightened.

***

stavka. Moscow Kremlin.

Few people were able to take a deep breath at the highest headquarters installed in the Kremlin, which was used as the Tsar’s palace.

80 million.

A whopping 800,000 troops were annihilated, the commander of the 2nd Army, Samsonov, committed suicide, and the commander of the 1st Army, Rennenkamp, managed to recover a few units while the 2nd Corps was smashed.

The fact that they were defeated was a problem in itself, but the problem was that the whole process had already been warned to the entire Russian army.

“Excuse me.”

Sitting to the right of the Tsar, I opened my mouth.

“General Rennenkamp, why didn’t you support the 2nd Army?”

“Communication was unstable. As you know, there was no proper communication equipment, so the location of the 2nd Army’s command was not well understood by the 1st Army, and I tried to carry out the support order as soon as I received it.”

“Then why did you refuse to dispatch the communications support company? If it were, the troops would not have moved in the wrong direction.”

“that……”

The reason was simple. Because the generals of the Russian army who were close to the GRU united and decided not to accept anything the GRU gave them.

“You are talking too much, Count Vostok!”

I immediately turned my head to look at the general who made fun of me.

“Are you talking too much? To the general who drove 800,000 troops to destruction? Even though I warned you of all this? If this man, Samsonov, and you, who are in front of me right now, had listened to me, the German Eighth Army would have been destroyed and Prussia would have been in our hands!”

“Even in the worst circumstances, Rennenkamp returned with a significant number of troops.”

“It means losing 180,000 out of 400,000 and returning 220,000, ha, you brought back a lot. At first, I gave 400,000, but one-third of the enemies were killed, and one-sixth were taken prisoner, and only the other half were brought back, so he is a great master. I should give you the Order of St. George, right?”

The faces of the generals turned red as I sarcastically.

“Didn’t my sister and I tell you that you can’t just believe in the number and push it? Where the hell did you all hear me? My advice is not suppositories. Instead of shoving them in your back holes, listen with your ears, you motherf*ckers!”

“count!”

“Shut up! I think you guys still have the right to speak here!”

When the general was suppressed by the flag and shut his mouth, I politely spoke to the frozen tsar.

“Your Majesty, I am requesting a military trial.”

“Who… Rennenkamp? That’s… wasn’t the decisive responsibility for this defeat on Samsonov in the first place? And he committed suicide, so it’s hard to hold him accountable… I think Rennenkamp did his best.”

“Your Majesty, if you really did your best, you should have listened to me when I said I would join forces, when I advised you to use a password, when I asked you to get equipment assistance. Being a commander is not enough if you only fight well at the time of battle. To be a proper commander, you have to deal with it right before and after the battle.”

“Then what if we compromised by taking only command?”

“Your Majesty, it is not right to fire Rennenkamp. There is no one to take his place. Above all else, in order to take control and reorganize the units under them, it must be done by those who are familiar with them.”

Don’t you know that these cubs are worker bee white chickens?

Yes, I have my own standards. Rennenkamp is not completely at the level of progenitors, but above average based on the level of Russian generals.

However, the level of the Russian general itself is a problem because it is the highest rank among the retired ranks.

As far as I know, there is only one chief of the Russian Empire.

Alexei Brusilov.

He is currently serving as the commander of the 12th Corps of the Kyiv Military District, and is scheduled to serve as the commander of the 8th Army in the near future.

Unfortunately, I can’t see it here because I’m only a corps commander, so I can’t get Jjajjap to go to Stavka.

When the tsar seemed a little sympathetic to Rennenkamp, to see several of the generals defend it, it felt like seeing maggots crawling out of a carcass, or seeing flies clinging to a frog flat on a car, giving me nausea.

Now it seemed like I had to make a real decision.

‘But right now, it’s too much.’

After all, there is still some time until the Russian Revolution takes place. I’ve caught quite a bit of stalking, and the Russian peasant’s life has gotten better than before, so maybe it’s a little longer than the original history.

According to the original history of the February Revolution, three years later, before that, the situation is somehow sorted out.

‘If there’s a world war going on and you shoot all those bastards, that’s a problem too. The military is not going to wage a world war alone.’

Somehow, it should be done after the end of the war, at the very least, after a power outage.

‘Now, laugh and talk and enjoy your victories.’

Until I toss you guys for wild dog food, have fun.

As soon as I got out of the house and entered the hallway, I met someone.

“Princess Olga, Princess Tatiana.”

“Count, do you look bad?”

“…what happened?”

“I heard that you lost… Are you serious?”

“Most of the imperial response forces are either killed, taken prisoner, or the organization has collapsed, requiring reorganization. All that’s left is the militia level, except for my men. For a while, I couldn’t even dream of an offensive.”

“Aren’t Ukraine and Poland at risk then?”

“It will be fine for the time being. At least as long as France holds up.”

Still, the positive thing is that things have returned to the original history.

‘In the dry battle, Germany is defeated. Then all that’s left is trench warfare.’

German forces were reluctant to attack on the eastern front until the Russian Empire collapsed from within, and it was the cause of the success of the Russian army’s success in solidifying the front in Galicia despite losing consecutive losses.

‘For now, defend in Galicia. At least hold on until you’re ready enough.’

“We also plan to go to the front line, as military nurses.”

what?

“It’s dangerous.”

“I know it’s dangerous. However, according to the Count’s words, once the front is fixed, the war situation won’t change much. Wrong?”

“……That’s right, but.”

To be precise, it would be right to view that the offensive ability to change the front line is insufficient compared to the defender’s defensive ability. This was common to all countries until the appearance of the tank.

That is why trench warfare is so terrible. This is because hundreds of thousands or millions of young lives were lost just to maintain the front, unlike in World War II, when the front was changed by hundreds of kilometers.

“But not now. At least for a while, the wires will be pushed quite a bit. It should be viewed as being pushed back to Galicia.”

After the First Battle of Ypres, Erich Rubendorov will insist on destroying Russia first and then attacking France. In fact, 12 divisions will be reinforced and deployed to the Eastern Front.

“I will only work at the rear field hospital. And if you’re worried about our safety, the Count just has to fight it well.”

“It’s not clear if I’ll ever go out on the front lines. And did you get permission from Empress Mama?”

“You will get it.”

“Receive and speak.”

Noblesse Oblige, a good word, obviously.

The ruling class receives social preferential treatment and enjoys good things, so in times of national crisis, they actively take sacrifices more than anyone else.

It is also good for propaganda, and I see it as something that should be done if I have a conscience.

But even that is a bit of a hindrance. To take a close example, during the American-Afghanistan War, British Prince Harry was dispatched as an officer, and the SAS had to follow one after another to escort him. Eventually, the British government repatriated the prince to his home country, judging that his navel was bigger than his belly.

However, it is a special situation right before the Russian Revolution…

“Once you get permission from His Majesty the Emperor and Empress Mama, I will set up a security team for you.”

Let’s do it like this for now. I have too many things to think about right now to focus on Olga and Tatynia’s volunteer work.

The most important thing is……

‘Does the Tsar really have a will?’

And if the tsar has no will. Are there any alternatives?

“By the way, Princess?”

“yes?”

“yes?”

For a moment, the two of them answered at the same time, and I was taken aback for a moment, but I coughed and said.

“Um… Princess Olga, could you please tell your Majesty the Emperor that I have something I want to say to you alone for a moment?”

“Why don’t you speak directly?”

I slowly turned my head to look at the conference room door. Then Olga nodded as if she had noticed right away.

“I’ll tell you.”

***

In a spacious room in the Kremlin, even with the guards bitten, I was able to stand alone with the emperor.

“If you allow an audience, it’s only going to go down.”

“Whatever, I also have something to tell you, so it’s good for each other.”

“Your Majesty, I’m just saying this just in case… It’s true that Rennenkamp is a character worth throwing away.”

By the standards of other countries, it’s okay to shoot them, but this is the Russian Empire.

“But there is such a thing as a worker bee white system. Do you think it makes sense that a person who dedicated 800,000 troops stays in place even though he has underestimated the enemy and even warned of the possibility in advance?”

“I understand how angry you must have been, and I believe it all came from loyalty. But a few people in the military have been begging me.”

After all, it seems that the military cartel should be completely purged. Even if Brusilov is in charge of things like the Chief of Staff, I should be in charge of the Minister of National Defense.

If I half entrust the internal affairs to Stolipin and I coordinate only the dangerous parts, I will be able to survive somehow.

If so, that’s a question.

“your majesty. Can you help me with one thing?”

“Tell me.”

“There is someone you know. One of the man’s arms is rotting away. What would your Majesty give him advice?”

“You mean you have to cut off your arm?”

“Your Majesty, I can cut it. Without hesitation, I will accept all accusations and all curses. Even if I don’t want to, they will.”

“Dog food?”

“People call me Your Majesty’s dog. So they have to be dog food.”

“……”

“You can do anything, but your Majesty must first be determined. I plan the surgery. I also disinfect the tools. He cut off his rotting arm and stopped the blood flowing all the time. I will also cut the prosthetic arm. But first, Your Majesty must make a firm decision.”

Nicholas II’s eyes fluttered at my words.

Finally.

“Please give me an order.”