Reincarnated as Nikolai II

No matter how much Professor Bunge had frantically remodeled the Far East, unable to stand seeing others profit from the war.

The massive collision between two pre-modern empires that succeeded in industrialization was essentially like spraying money in all directions.

Particularly, the two nations, planning only for a short war, consumed manpower and resources as if there was no tomorrow.

Naturally, America screamed with joy at Japan’s frenzied raw material imports and Russia’s temporary tariff exemption, while the Qing Dynasty and various great powers clinging to it also eagerly sought pocket money.

Only Russia and Japan were suffering miserably.

"The communication lines are burning up with requests for more troops at the Yalu River!"

"Weren’t reserves supposed to train for a year before deployment according to plan? Now they want to send those with just three months of training? Are they trying to get them all killed?"

"We can’t wait until all the regulars die, can we? They’ll have to learn in actual combat, sink or swim!"

Four months into the war.

The Imperial Headquarters, receiving casualty numbers impossible to display on paper graphs. The time so far had been enough to make them foam at the mouth.

"150,000? They used half their active forces just to cross one frozen river?"

"Isn’t beriberi a summer disease? How badly did they drive the troops like dogs for beriberi to spread in winter?"

Half of the active forces were gone. In other words, the elites most likely to set foot in enemy territory with rifles were eliminated.

According to the Imperial Headquarters’ war plan, they were supposed to confront the enemy in Manchuria and drag the Russian’s head to the negotiating table for a signature, but their army was half-destroyed not even in Manchuria, but at its entrance.

Voices full of complaints rose from dismissals to court-martials, but the water was already spilled.

"...Even if training is insufficient, we have no choice. Send the reserves."

"Not enough rifles? Send them anyway! Tell them to pick up rifles from corpses if they have to!"

All the Imperial Headquarters and cabinet could do was hope the plan wouldn’t go more awry.

==

Meanwhile, the Russian side, despite achieving tremendous battle casualties, couldn’t simply smile either.

"400 artillery pieces destroyed in four months? Is this even possible? How many shells must Major Roman have fired to destroy artillery pieces as fast as we supply them!"

"You Far Eastern bastards, please conserve ammunition! Damn it, only use machine guns when necessary!"

"Delaying action? Delaaaaaying action? Does this look like a delaying action to you? To me, it looks like they’re killing Japs by slapping them with bundles of cash!"

Even with solid supply lines by railway and long-term preparation for wartime, the resources consumed at the Yalu River weren’t just ’heavily used’ but closer to ’outrageously wasted.’

"Commander-in-Chief Dukhovskoy! Through the Yalu River battle, I finally realized! In a fixed frontline, artillery is-"

[Roman, have you finally gone mad! While others agonize over even one rotation, you waste ammunition like this? Are you not fighting tomorrow? Are you only living for today!]

"B-but without this, our casualties would be severe!"

[I’ll be brief. These aren’t the days when you could build fortresses without worrying about money. Please conserve. Especially those machine guns! The ammunition consumption of several hundred light machine guns equals that of a Siberian Infantry Corps!]

In fact, the reason for abandoning the Yalu River front in March was because they couldn’t maintain the same efficiency as winter - for the past four months, the Russian army had benefited from overwhelming stockpiled supplies.

"As long as we win, isn’t that all that matters? Isn’t that right, Major Fock?"

"Major Roman, what would you do if your company used up all resources in Port Arthur fortress?"

"I’d court-martial and execute them."

"Right, it’s surprising Commander-in-Chief Dukhovskoy has kept you alive."

As Major Fock said, the artillery Japan brought at the war’s start totaled 894 pieces. Even with later additions, it would be around 1,000.

In contrast, Russia deployed 1,500 artillery pieces around the Yalu River, but their shell consumption was estimated at over three times that of the Japanese army.

Even then, while enemy artillery struck the fortress, Roman’s artillery fired shells from safe positions beyond the mountains based on coordinates from observers, yet still suffered 25% losses.

When the engineer, who had gone even more insane after tasting the essence of his decade’s effort, behaved this way, Chairman Bunge, who controlled Far East and Manchurian military supplies, first fainted, Witte, who led railway supplies, rolled his eyes, and even the Tsar put his hand to his forehead.

The war plan was set for 1 to 1.5 years, but Russia too had their plans disrupted in less than half a year due to the Yalu River battle.

Of course, in terms of severity, the Imperial Headquarters facing likely defeat was more grim, but since victory was the default when viewed from St. Petersburg, the felt despair was probably similar.

However, no matter how much the Imperial Headquarters and St. Petersburg resonated in screaming, the atmosphere on the battlefield was distinctly different.

"The enemy is retreating! Imperial Guard Division! Chaaaarge!"

"Don’t let them escape! Cavalry! Send in the cavalry first!"

After crossing the Yalu River, the Japanese army faced an advance route that seemed to have signs saying "Go this way" for anyone to see.

The Liaodong Peninsula, located before reaching Manchuria, has rugged mountains rising in the middle with open plains along the coast.

In other words, unless they wanted to throw troops into an entangled 100km+ front in mountainous terrain watching time pass, the main force had to rush to the end of Liaodong. Especially if they wanted to receive more troops through the Yellow Sea.

Experience tales at empire

The First Army, which had fought on the left side of the Yalu River, had lost all their initial 50,000 but pressed forward with continuously replenished reserves.

If they could just catch the enemy’s rear as they fled.

BANG-!

"It’s an iron fortification! The fortification is made of metal!"

"Everyone get dooown!"

"Artillery! Fuck, artillery! We need artillery fire!"

"The machine gun nest... they made it from solid steel?"

Still, the Japanese army judged they could greatly defeat an enemy that was nothing without fortresses.