The collapse of the 2nd and 9th Guards armies in the Kingdom of Poland was a heavy blow to the Russian Army and Russia as a whole. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 You must know that the total strength of the four army groups that were destroyed was more than 900,000 people, which was already equivalent to 65 percent of the standing army of the Russian army. Not to mention, there is also the 2nd Guards Army, which is considered the elite of the Russian army.

If Russia did not have a huge population to support it, the loss of so many troops would directly make Russia lose in this war. But even then, such losses were unacceptable for Tsar Nicholas II.

No, after learning of the collapse of the 2nd and 9th Guards armies and the voluntary surrender of the defenders in Warsaw to the Germans, the anger that Nicholas II had been suppressing could no longer be suppressed. He was in the office of the Winter Palace, and he roared directly.

"Why? Why did the army fail again, we already lost 900,000 men at the hands of the Germans in the 8th Army. You know, that's just a legion of less than 200,000 men. Could it be that the Germans were really so strong in combat that they could fail to do anything with one? Nicholas II was red-eyed and shouted hoarsely.

The high-ranking military and political officials of Russia kept their heads bowed and did not say a word. In particular, the generals of the army are even more red-faced. Obviously, they were all ashamed of this result. Although they are well aware that the combat effectiveness of the Russian Army has always been not very good. However, the battle is like this, and they still don't know where to put their old faces.

Nicholas II was furious and did not understand why his army was so bad. An army of nearly a million was wiped out in a month's time. Especially since it was all done by the German 8th Army, which made him feel even more embarrassed. If the Russian army of one million people, even the German army of 200,000 can't be defeated, then how can Russia continue to fight this battle?

It took a while for Nicholas II to vent his anger.

"Ladies and gentlemen, our army has suffered heavy losses on the front. How do we fight this battle? Nicholas II stared at the ministers, his eyes full of unkindness.

"Your Majesty, I have to admit that we lost badly in this war. The combat effectiveness of the Germans far exceeded our expectations. Originally, it was thought that the Germans would put the main forces on the Western Front, and this would be an opportunity for us. But I never expected that one of the legions of the Germans would be so powerful. The commander-in-chief of the Russian army, Grand Duke Nikolai, looked helpless.

As the commander-in-chief of the Russian army, Grand Duke Nikolai undoubtedly has an extremely deep understanding of the combat effectiveness of the Russian army. Although, the combat effectiveness of the Russian army is definitely not in the forefront among the great powers. However, it would be somewhat unfair to deny the combat effectiveness of the Russian army in this way. The combat effectiveness of the German army is, of course, the best in the world. But if it has twice the superiority in troops, the Russian army can still win. No matter how bad it is, it can be resisted. But this time, the combat effectiveness of the German army was completely extraordinary.

"Your Majesty, the German 8th Army Corps we are facing should be the strongest in the German Army. The commander of this corps was the German crown prince. Based on the information we have received before, as well as the information gathered on the battlefield. The equipment of this regiment is very sophisticated, and the firepower is very powerful. An infantry division has more artillery and machine guns than our army. It is conceivable how far their combat effectiveness will soar with such powerful firepower. Russian War Minister Sukhhomlinov said.

It is no secret that the German army was well equipped. In particular, the 8th Army Corps was built by Qin Tian into a unit with the highest firepower in the world, and Nicholas II also knew it. At first, he also thought that this was because the German crown prince had too much money to spend, so he used so much money to build a luxurious army. If this money were to be spent on Russia, they would have been able to arm at least four armies. Nicholas II confidently believed that the four Russian armies would definitely be able to defeat the German 8th Army.

But now, reality has slapped him hard. The four armies of the Russian army, including an elite army group, were all eaten by the German 8th Army Corps.

"I didn't bring you here to hear from you about how powerful the Germans were. After the loss of four army groups, the forces at the front were already very empty. Now, what should I do? If the Germans attacked, there was simply no way for us to stop them! Nicholas II said with a serious face.

With the mobilization not yet complete and the standing army suffering heavy losses, large swathes of western Russia have almost reached the point of being undefended. Once the German army launched an attack, it would inevitably be able to break through and allow Russia to fall into large territories.

Every Russian tsar has an attachment to the land that no one else can understand. Tsar Nicholas II was no different. He could not allow the fall of Russian territory.

"Your Majesty, our mobilization is more than half complete. Soon, we will have enough troops to send into battle. So, there is no need to worry about the army not being enough. Of course, the combat effectiveness of the newly formed troops will inevitably be inferior to that of the standing army. Therefore, we must have enough forces to be able to confront the Germans. Therefore, I propose that the second phase of mobilization begin immediately to raise the total strength of our army to more than five million men. Nicholas II said with a serious face.

Nicholas II frowned, if he wanted to mobilize so many troops, it would inevitably cost a lot of financial resources. However, when you think that the German army is so strong in combat effectiveness, if you do not mobilize a large number of troops, it is not an opponent of the German army at all. So, for the second stage of mobilization, Nicholas II did not object.

"If the Germans attack us, how can we fend them off?" Nicholas II asked.

"Your Majesty, the Germans should not attack us anytime soon. Their forces were too small, and they only had one legion. The repeated battles must have caused them a lot of losses. Even if the losses are not large, weapons and ammunition need to be replenished. Tired soldiers also need time to recuperate. So, we still have enough time. Grand Duke Nikolai said.

Tsar Nicholas II listened to this, and then he was relieved.