Empire Rising: Spain

Although Russia has such and such problems, Russia at this time is still one of the five most powerful countries in Europe.

The Ottoman Empire is no match for Russia, just as Serbia is no match for the Ottoman Empire.

There are significant disparities between nations, and even with the support of other major powers, these differences in strength cannot be smoothed out.

Unless the British Empire is willing to join this war for the Ottoman Empire, but will the British really join the war? There is a high probability that they won’t.

Given the British proclivity for stirring the pot, Britain will strongly support the Ottoman Empire in resisting Russia, perhaps even inciting Austria-Hungary to use force in support of the Ottoman Empire, but it is highly unlikely they will take the risk themselves.

The British, with their pot-stirring nature, have kept Europe in prolonged chaos and mutual competition, but this is also an opportunity for Tsarist Russia.

As long as the British do not personally intervene in this war, the Russians will not take the Ottoman Empire seriously.

Moreover, with the support of the various Balkan nations, this war may be won in a short time, and Russia will gain the long-desired access to the Black Sea and the opportunity to control the various nations of the Balkan Peninsula.

This is also a favorable omen for the Pan-Slavism that Russia has been promoting. If support from the South Slavs of the Balkan Peninsula can be gained through this war, Tsarist Russia’s Pan-Slavic plans will be initially realized.

Once Tsarist Russia controls the Balkan Peninsula, it will surely have the qualification to stand at the pinnacle of the world again. By then, even the world’s number one Navy of the British Empire would not dare guarantee a 100% victory against Tsarist Russia controlling the Balkan Peninsula.

Upon hearing the report from the Secretary of State for War, Tsar Alexander II nodded in satisfaction and then made his decision:

”Starting immediately, Russia will enter a state of war preparation. The army is prepared to be dispatched at any time, and when Serbia can no longer resist the Ottoman Empire’s attack, that is when we will send troops to the Ottoman Empire.

The believers of the Eastern Orthodox Church shall absolutely not allow the bullying of heretics, and the Slavs shall absolutely not allow the oppression by foreign races. The Balkan Peninsula is the land of the Slavs and should be governed by the Slavs themselves.”

”As you command, Your Majesty the Tsar!” All the ministers nodded solemnly, not daring to show the slightest dissatisfaction with the Tsar’s orders.

With a command from Alexander II, the entire Russia was plunged into intense war preparations.

For Russia, a behemoth with a territory of tens of millions of square kilometers, preparing for war requires a long time to complete.

Even mobilizing only a portion of the army often takes several months.

Besides the vastness of the territory, another major reason is that Tsarist Russia’s political system is too corrupt, and the transmission of information between departments is too sluggish.

There is also the reason for relatively outdated technology, but other countries do not take as long as Russia for mobilizing war efforts.

Countries like Germany and France can mobilize over 200,000 troops to head to the borders within a month and mobilize all domestic troops within three months.

But for Russia, even mobilizing 100,000 troops in a month is not enough; it takes at least three months to mobilize more than 200,000 troops.

This is because of the Balkan Peninsula’s location in Europe. If the battlefield were in the Far East, even a year might not be enough for Russia to transport hundreds of thousands of troops to the Far East battlefield.

The historical reason why Russia lost to Japan in the Russo-Japanese War was largely due to Russia’s poor logistics, making it difficult to transport troops and other supplies to the Far Eastern battlefield.

The Russo-Japanese War was indeed a war for Japan to prove its status as a major power, but Japan’s enemy was only half of Russia, or even less than half.

This is why, after the war, although Japan was recognized as a major power, it could only rank at the bottom of the major powers.

In just a few decades, Japan reformed into a powerful major power, which is a miracle for such a relatively backward East Asian country as Japan.

But it is undeniable that although Japan was recognized as a major power, it still had many shortcomings, especially in industry and economy.

Whether in World War I or World War II, Japan’s industry among the major powers was only below average. Coupled with the lack of mineral resources in Japan, this made it difficult for the country to develop rapidly like the emerging major powers of Germany and America.

Under Tsar Alexander II’s orders, Russia’s war machine began to operate like an old man in his twilight years.

At the same time, the war between the Ottoman Empire and the other nations of the Balkan Peninsula was in full swing.

On the Balkan Peninsula, the Ottoman Empire mobilized over 280,000 troops, commanded by General Abdul Krim Nadir Pasha.

In the Asian part of the Ottoman Empire, there were over 126,000 troops, commanded by General Muhammad Muhktar Pasha.

Combined, the European and Asian armies totaled over 400,000, with more than 850 artillery pieces, forming quite a formidable army.

Although it cannot compare with the major powers, these military forces can undoubtedly crush the Balkan nations like Serbia that are inciting rebellion.

It was only due to the excessively intense anger of the nations like Serbia towards the Ottoman Empire that this war has dragged on for so long.

Moreover, the Ottoman army’s discipline and overall combat effectiveness were not so strong, turning what should have been a one-sided war into a prolonged tug-of-war.

Although Britain provided a batch of rifles and some scarce strategic resources to the Ottoman army, this still did not effectively increase the actual combat power of the Ottoman army.

Meanwhile, on the side of Serbia and the other nation’s armies, the equipment provided by Russia was even less in quantity and poor in quality, yet they exploded with extremely formidable fighting power with these arms.

It was precisely because of the Ottoman army’s poor performance in this war that gave Russia the determination to intervene, resolving to quickly defeat the Ottoman Empire’s army and force the British Government to accept the fact that Russia had already defeated the Ottoman Empire.

Although the Ottoman Empire’s army performed poorly on the battlefield, the attitude toward this war from both the Ottoman Empire and the backing British Empire remained optimistic.

Under the Ottoman army’s relentless offensives, the Serbian and other rebellious forces opposing the Ottoman Empire were cornered.

Perhaps within a year, the Ottoman Empire might completely end this war and re-establish its dominant position over Serbia and other nations and regions.

This is why the British confidently held Empress Victoria’s coronation ceremony and reduced focus on the Balkan Peninsula.

The situation appears excellent, and the British Government even reduced its aid to the Ottoman Empire.

After all, the economic crisis is affecting the British Empire, and it is naturally good to reduce expenses wherever possible.

However, both Britain and the Ottoman Empire are unaware that internally, Russia has been preparing for war. Russia has also informed Serbia and other nations resisting the Ottoman Empire about its war preparations, greatly delighting these South Slavs.

With the support of good news, the Balkan nations’ resistance against the Ottoman Empire’s offensive became even more intense, and they even pushed the Ottoman army back several kilometers.

Unfortunately, support from Tsarist Russia in equipping the Balkan nations has gradually decreased because these arms are needed to equip its own army for this war.

Given the choice between armed support and Russia’s direct involvement, naturally, the Balkan nations knew which choice was more advantageous for them.

Serbians, Bulgarians, and Montenegrins are eagerly hoping, completely disregarding the situation where their side is continuously retreating on the frontline.

After much anticipation, as the situation on the Balkan Peninsula worsens, Russia finally decides: then so be it, let’s go to war!