Bozhe, Tsarya khrani! - A Russian HFM AAR

[Diamond2323]

The Caucasian and Circassian Wars (01/01/1836 - 02/12/1836)

"Mikhail?"

"Yes, my dear?"

"Do not get yourself killed in the war. For better or for worse, you are my husband, and you must come back alive. For me.

"Of course. I love you."


From the Mongol invasions in 1237 to the Poles in 1605 all the way to the treacherous French in 1812, the Russian nation has persevered despite great losses, and although Russia has had to face many troubles, in 1836, Russia is a giant. Fielding 300,000 men in their standing army, with a population of over 55,000,000, they stand among nations as one of the clear Great Powers and as a respected nation; the nation of musicians, scientists, and war.

The latter one among those is the most topical, as in Yekaterinodar on the 1st of January of 1836, the 1st Kavkazskii Corps prepares itself for an assault against the rebellious Circassians.

Although the economy of the Tsardom is fairly weak and could use with a decrease in army funding, maintenance must remain high for the troops in the warzones. Even without a lowered army stockpile size, raising of taxes and lowering military spending stabilizes the budget and allows the Tsardom to make a fair amount of income.

The concept is simple: an offensive downwards with the 30,000 men in the Corps can crush the weak Circassians, then pacify them with a complete annexation of their lands. Meanwhile, our Ottoman allies will attack the Caucasian Imamate, allowing the Corps to rest and recuperate without wasting excess manpower.

A few months into the operation, it seems to be going fairly according to plan. The Circassian troops have been destroyed, yet a significant amount of the Corps has been lost, including its only major artillery regiment, but losses can be replenished fairly easily, while the Circassians do not have the same luxury. The Turks move up into the Caucasus as well and start occupying land, refusing to engage the Caucasian troops. Although this comes as an unpleasant surprise for the Russian command, it is not that crucial to the success of this offensive; once the Circassians are dealt with, it is a simple task to bring our forces to bear on the Caucasians, with or without Ottoman assistance.

49 days later, all of the Circassian territories have been occupied, and they accept dominion under Russian rule once more. It is likely not to be a permanent peace, but it is peace for now. The Caucasian lands are sieged by the Turks, while Russian forces in the region advance towards the Imam's Army, 14,000 strong.

As the replenished Kavkazskii Corps marches against the Caucasians in the west, they encounter great assistance, as Turkish troops that had previously been held in reserve under the Mansure Army push down, attacking the opposing army from the north. The Imam's Army is crushed and the Imam himself is captured into Russian custody.

After the complete destruction of the Imam's Army, it is a matter of time before Turkish troops manage to consolidate their hold on the region, which is then handed over to Russian control after their surrender on December 1st, 1836.

Victory has once again blessed the Russian Army, yet this war has shown some flaws in the army, especially the use of large numbers of cavalry, which has failed in having the same destructive effect it had in 1813. The mountainous terrain in the region is clearly unsuited for the Napoleonic warfare the Corps was built for. This must be taken into consideration for a possible military revitalization down the road, but as of yet there seems to be no reason to change. Russia has no major foes, and even if they did, the army is surely fit for warfare in the open plains and forests of Europe, right?

These assumptions would be proven wrong over time, but as of now the Russians stand triumphant in the first of many victories to come.

 

[Diamond2323]

Chapter 2: The Emperor's League(02/12/1836 - 19/08/1837)

With the end of the Caucasian and Circassian largescale revolts, the Tsardom once again is able to look inwards and focus on the economic state of the nation, something that was neglected in the rush to win the war in the past year. The budget, although running a surplus, has to resort to lowering payments to soldiers and increasing import tariffs to be able to sustain itself, along with the current very high taxes imposed on every strata of the population.

At the Tsar's command, the first move to begin earning more money for the lackluster Russian treasury is the dismantlement of the Baltic Fleet to the highest bidder. Although it may come as a surprise, naval spending, even at the lowest maintenance, is a significant portion of the Russian expenses, and thus the Tsar's move is financially justified, yet perhaps not militarily so. This leaves Russia without a sizable naval fleet outside the Black Sea, which, although not being an issue now, may very well become one in the case of a resurgent French Empire or Prussia. However, no one dares criticize the Tsar's ruling, and thus the Baltic Fleet is destroyed or sold to the highest bidder in auctions.

The new budget after the destruction of the Baltic Fleet seems superficially like the old one, but naval spending has been substantially lowered due to the scuttling, and military funding has increased. This keeps the treasury at a constant ~90 pound income per day, which will serve Russia well.

Now that the internal economic problem regarding military funding has been stemmed, for now, the Tsardom decides to spend a significant amount of influence trying to get both of the Romanian princes, Wallachia and Moldavia, into their sphere of influence.

However, this quickly backfires, as the Ottoman Empire, a Russian ally, attempts to discredit Russian influence in Moldavia. With them being Ottoman satellite states, this was a likely result: even if nations are allied, it does not guarantee no interference in diplomatic affairs. However, this does not stop the Russians, and we carry on with the influencing, as a sidetask, despite Ottoman protests.

While these events are ongoing, however, the Kavkazskii Corps gets a troubling report of Caucasian rebellions, not at the scale of the war a year ago, but still fairly severe, with the new Imam riling up the population for a long, protracted war in the Caucasus Mountains. The Muslims in the area prepare themselves for raids on Russian populace in the region, and so does the Corps, for a new Caucasian War.

In order to prepare for this, the Corps is reorganized, with much of the cavalry and excess infantry troops cut out in favour of fielding massive amounts of cannons. In the Napoleonic Wars, the artillery batteries of the French were incredibly effective, and thus Tsar Nicholas advocates for a significant cannon contingent, at least in the southern troops. The excess troops are sent over to Siberia, to merge with the 1st Siberian Corps and form a stronger fighting force in case of Chinese invasion or revolts in Central Asia.

A few months go by with no major diplomatic happenings, with occasional attacks by Caucasian irregulars on the Kavkazskii Corps. However, on August 18, a very large event would change Russian politics forever: the fall of the Ottoman Empire from the Great Powers, and Ferdinand's Alliance; a request for an alliance by the Austrian emperor. With the Turks no longer being a significant power, Austria likely considers an alliance with Russia to be worth the risk, thus why this request coincidentally comes after the Turks fall from great power status in the public eye.

After careful deliberation between the Tsar and his advisors for hours,

Russia accepts the alliance, forming a new hegemonic force in Eastern Europe.

Time will tell whether this bloc will stand for long or collapse in on itself, but one thing is clear: united, the Emperor's League is unstoppable.

(This chapter is very short in timespan, but fairly long in text, so I think it makes up for the slow pace of progress so far. I'll try and post at least once a week, hopefully twice or even three times depending on schedule.)