Chapter 760 - 349: Secret Talks Between France and Russia

After the peace talks between Austria-Hungary and Serbia ended, the peace talks between Germany and Russia also concluded quickly.

The Germans ultimately extorted a war indemnity of as much as 20 million marks from the Russians, a sum the Russians had to pay whether they wanted to or not.

However, there was a piece of good news for the Russians: the French ambassador had already spoken with the Russian Government, expressing France’s willingness to provide a substantial loan to Russia to help it restore post-war order more swiftly.

Although this war wasn’t fiercely fought between Germany and Russia, the mobilization of hundreds of thousands of troops was indeed real.

The reason for mobilizing such a large number of troops was, on one hand, to test the other side’s commitment to the war, and on the other, to prevent the other side from quickly mobilizing its troops and launching a full-scale battle.

As it turned out, the massive mobilization by the Russians proved quite effective.

If it weren’t for the large-scale mobilization of troops, relying solely on the garrison in the Poland region would not have sufficed to resist the German-Austrian alliance’s offensive.

Had the Germans breached the defenses, it would have been a massive disaster for Russia.

Russia has been able to defend its territory from the time of Napoleon to the present mainly because the winters there are unbearably cold for other countries, making it utterly unsuitable for winter warfare in Eastern Europe.

The Russians have long adapted to such harsh climates, with their capital St. Petersburg nearly bordering the Arctic Circle.

It should be noted that certain regions known for their cold climate in later generations do not reach St. Petersburg’s northern latitude.

This also underscores how bitterly cold Russia can be and highlights the importance of the Ukrainian and Polish plains to Russia.

Especially the Ukrainian Plain, which supplies a sizable amount of grain to Russia and is crucial for sustaining a population of over a hundred million.

The war erupted just after winter and ended as summer began. If Serbia had not collapsed so early, Russia would have faced serious challenges on the frontlines.

After all, Eastern Europe in the summer is relatively warm, and the German-Austrian troops are quite adapted to fighting in such a climate. Without the constraints of severe winter conditions impacting logistics, the combat effectiveness of German and Austrian armies would not be compromised.

The peace treaty signed between Germany and Russia was not particularly harsh. Aside from the massive war indemnity of 20 million marks, Russia did not have to make any additional concessions, which is why they agreed to the treaty.

The post-war European situation became lively, attracting the attention of various countries due to the connections among the great powers, all waiting for the formation and confrontation of the two major military alliances.

Not disappointing the European nations, France and Russia quickly strengthened their ties.

On June 20, 1889, a plenipotentiary ambassador representing Tsar Alexander III met with the French Government in Paris, holding several days of secret discussions before signing an undisclosed agreement under the coverage of media from different countries.

Most of the contents of this agreement were kept confidential, though some elements were leaked.

These mainly related to economic matters rather than military ones, as economic matters, even with stringent confidentiality, cannot be kept secret for long.

The leaked content of the agreement primarily involved a loan from France to Russia. Although the exact amount is unknown, the total loan amounted to at least 200 million francs, equivalent to around 10 million pounds.

This is no small figure, sufficient for Russia to build a powerful army and navy. From this, we can see the extent of France’s aid, as they are sincerely intent on forging an alliance with Russia and genuinely wish to see Russia become stronger to help distract Germany.

Of course, considering the high level of corruption within the Russian Government, France also specified usage scopes for this loan upon its disbursement to the Russian Government.

One-third of the loan is to be used to purchase grain and other supplies from France to mitigate Russia’s agricultural crisis following a disruption in its grain production.

The remaining two-thirds will be used for military development, including procuring weaponry, building a navy, and expanding the regular army.

Although the war did not last long, it distinctly exposed some of the weaknesses of the Russian military.

The most significant shortcoming is the relatively outdated weapons and equipment of the Russian army; even in an era dominated by breech-loading guns, some Russian troops still used muzzle-loading guns as standard weapons.

The causes of this issue include Russia’s military industry failing to meet the army’s demands and Russia’s finances unable to support a comprehensive military rearmament.

Russia boasts a much larger army than any other country, earning it the reputation of Europe’s bulldozer and the wariness of other countries.

However, a larger army scale does not only mean higher military expenditure but also additional costs during weapon upgrades and replacements.

With Spain’s continually growing prosperous economy, rearming a standing army of 200,000 requires more than a year.

Not to mention Russia, with an even poorer economy, attempting to rearm its over 600,000 standing army is an immense strain on its finances.

Moreover, Russia has endured multiple wars over the past years, exacerbating its fiscal burdens.

If it weren’t for the earlier Russian-Turkish War, Russia’s weaponry would not even have reached its current state. The French clearly understand Russia’s fiscal situation, so they require that at least 2 million pounds of the 10 million pound loan be used for re-equipping the Russian army to prevent a continued decline in the military’s combat capabilities.