Struggle in Russia

Of course, Duke Mikhail is not just holding on, he still made timely adjustments. Forcing the Danube River proved to be ineffective, so the focus of the attack should be changed to deal with the enemies in Constanta on the east bank of the Danube River. The Russian army in the region can attack the Turkish army from two directions, and it can also get maritime support from the Black Sea Fleet, which has a great advantage.

The only problem is that the terrain along the Danube River in the west of Constanta is not ideal, and there are many swamps in Heze, which is not conducive to large group operations.

Anyway, the East Route Army took a lot of effort to pass through the swamp area before, and almost everyone turned into a mud monkey.

This generation of Duke Mikhail is actually quite familiar. In the early years, the Russian army had been fighting with the Turkish army in this area, and was made angry by the bad terrain.

This is also an important reason why he did not focus his offense on this area before. After all, the traffic conditions on the middle road and the west road are much better. If the stronghold of the Turkish army can be captured, there will be almost a flat river behind.

It's a pity that the idea is good, but the strength can't keep up. The Russian army can't take down the strong fortress at all, so Duke Mikhail can only turn the focus back to the direction of Constanta, hoping to open up the situation here as soon as possible.

I have to say that Duke Mikhail's luck is not bad. Although the Turkish army has built relatively solid fortifications in the direction of Constanta, their strength is not particularly sufficient, at least not particularly sufficient compared to the middle and west roads. , especially they were not psychologically prepared for the Black Sea Fleet's attack at sea.

So forty days after the start of the war, as the Russian army continued to flock to Constanta and launched rounds of storms, the defenders were exposed to the powerful firepower of the Black Sea Fleet day and night, and finally collapsed.

The fall of Constanta was a blow to the Turkish army, and it also gave a boost to the Russian army, which had a bad start.

They annihilated and captured about 60,000 Turkish troops in Constanta, which is considered a brilliant victory. The key point is that after removing the nail in Constanta, they can drive straight in from the eastern coastal area and threaten Varna and Bulga S even Edirne.

Once this line of access is opened, it will not be far from the true heart of Istanbul. Anyway, the fall of Constanta caught the Turkish army by surprise. Their previous success in the middle and west roads made them more confident. They believed that polar bears were just paper tigers. As long as they were tough enough, they could give Russia a little color.

But now that the front line of Constanta has fallen, they have to adjust their defensive focus, and hastened to dispatch troops from central Bulgaria to Varna and Dobrich day and night.

In fact, the Turks don't have to be so nervous at all, because the Russian army did not move so fast. After the capture of Constanta, the Russian army was exhausted and had to rest.

In addition to causing heavy casualties to them, the continuous days of strong attacks exhausted most of their energy.

Then the sudden heavy rain caught Duke Mikhail by surprise again. Think about it, the area around Constanta was originally a swamp full of swamps, and after being watered by rain, it was no different from a muddy puddle.

Not only is marching a problem, but logistical supplies are also intermittent, especially those heavy artillery groups that are very important to the siege, which are even more difficult to move.

Anyway, Duke Mikhail's wish to go south as soon as possible failed, and the Russian army was stuck in the mud in Constanta, making it difficult to move.

And after the rain passed for a while and the sky cleared up, the Turkish reinforcements gradually arrived, and even if Duke Mikhail wanted to go south quickly, he couldn't do it.

"Strive to capture Dobrich as soon as possible!"

Duke Mikhail knew that it was useless to be anxious now. The current situation was similar to the previous Russian-Turkish wars. There was a see-saw confrontation around the southern part of the Danube, and whoever could not hold it first would have to fall.

The good news is that the Russian army is very familiar with this kind of battle, and it is good to follow the previous pharmacy order to get the medicine. The bad news is that the Turks seem to be much tougher and more powerful than before. They tenaciously hold on to every position, and from time to time they launch counterattacks to catch the Russian army by surprise.

Unknowingly, two months passed like this, and both sides in the war suffered nearly 100,000 casualties. Such a tragic tug-of-war made veterans like Duke Mikhail change color. Especially when recalling Li Xiao's previous analysis and judgment, he is really not optimistic about the prospects of this war.

The only thing that can make him feel at ease is that Britain and France did not declare war on Russia. Although these two countries continue to condemn Russia and give Turkey economic and military assistance, as long as they do not directly participate in the war, the problem is not too big.

Prince Mikhail thought it would be better for him to quickly think about how to deal with those annoying fortresses in Turkey. The effect of heavy artillery bombardment can only be said to be so-so. The only useful tactic is to blast the enemy's bunkers through tunnel operations, but this is too time-consuming. It takes weeks of preparation to pull out a nail. This kind of efficiency is really not high. high.

If this speed is followed, Bulgaria may not be won in ten years, and according to the reconnaissance of the frontline troops, the Turks are still building fortresses, which means that they have joined themselves and are ready to defend to the end.

The thought of Duke Mikhail pulling nails so continuously makes his ass hurt. Such a tactic is simply playing hooligans. In his opinion, this is not a war at all. , that is the battle!

Now it is clear that doing this is avoiding fighting, just not wanting to fight in the field, what kind of soldier is it!

Although Duke Mikhail despises the Turkish army very much, Turkey's tactical choice is very correct. If they really have a field battle with the Russian army, they are really not opponents and will be defeated in minutes.

But relying on a solid defense to continuously consume the Russian army is completely different. Although the Turkish army still had to pay a heavy price due to its weak equipment and firepower, it also made the Russian army miserable, and every step forward had to pay the price of blood.

The tragic casualties made Duke Mikhail very headache. Fortunately, the tradition of the Russian army has never cared much about casualties. As long as he can continue to win, neither the tsar nor ordinary people will care how many people died.

Russia is indeed cruel in this respect!

It's just that even if Russia's endurance is very strong, it is not without a bottom line. About ten days later, when Duke Mikhail pulled out another Turkish fortress and moved forward, "good news" came from the navy!

In Sinop Bay, Nasimov caught the tail of the Turkish fleet as in history, and after a wolf-like rush, the Turkish fleet was wiped out, and Sinop Port was also severely damaged as in history ...