Chapter 807: The British’s “Perfect Strategy”

  Chapter 790 – The British’s “Perfect Strategy”

Lt. Colonel Hutil interrupted, “Alright, you two, stop playing. We don’t need to liven up the atmosphere right now, let’s think of a response quickly!”

Potiorek helplessly waved his hand, “Okay, Colonel. But in the current situation, I don’t feel the need to strategize.

The main force of the rebel army are such goods, and it’s easy to imagine what the miscellaneous troops among them are like, it’s not easy to be able to take them into battle.

Frankly, I don’t think much of this mission at all. Now I fully agree with His Excellency the Governor that we should first learn to save our lives on the battlefield.

Right now the most important thing for us is to take command of the army, and then train this rabble briefly, or at least teach them to follow orders.”

Jokes aside, to attack Cairo with a bunch of rabble, Potiorek was not that headstrong.

These days the French Army was still very intimidating, no one dared to take them lightly.

The current strength of the rebels, not to mention the capture of Cairo, even if the fire to the Nile Delta, that is a miracle in military history.

The regular army has the fighting style of the regular army, and the rabble has the fighting style of the rabble, all of them are fledgling guys, naturally there is not so much preaching.

Strategy and tactics, for the army of the rabble, that is completely redundant, simply can not be realized.

Lieutenant Colonel Hutil nodded, ”You are able to recognize this, so it seems that my worries were redundant.

However, we are not completely without a chance, just because the main French army can’t win doesn’t mean we can’t even defeat the Egyptian colonial army.

When the time comes, let the main force of the French army let Mahdi and the others drag their feet, and we’ll specialize in wreaking havoc.

I heard that Egypt is the French most important cotton production area, the destruction of these plantations is estimated to be enough for them to suffer for a while.

If we are lucky, we can encourage the Egyptians to participate in the rebellion, I think the effect will be much better.

If you really can’t, find a chance to blow up the Nile and artificially create a ……”

……

Compared to Austria’s casualness, the British had to pay much more attention. In order to create an opportunity to intervene in the Suez Canal, the British government directly sent a military instructor corps headed by Lieutenant General Jarrett.

On one side was a fledgling military cadet, on the other side was a battle-experienced general, normal people knew what to choose.

Lieutenant General Jarrett did not disappoint Mahdi and came straight out with a perfect battle plan, or at least it sounded perfect.

The spirited Lieutenant General Jarrett took his baton and made a point on the map, “This is the Nile Delta, the heart of Egypt, and the focus of the French operation.

To drive out the French, we must first destroy their roots here. Without the delta to back them up, the cost of the French outflanking will at least double.

For the French, Egypt was only a part of their countless colonies, and the Parisian government could not commit unlimited resources.

As long as it hurts them enough to make them realize that colonizing Egypt, was a mistake, the French government will weigh the pros and cons.

With our strength, it is unrealistic to take the Delta region directly from the French.

But we do have our own advantage – the Nile.

Find a suitable place to build a dam to store water, then blow up the dam, and the flood will drive the French away for us ……”

Pure sexual flimflam, but can’t help it that the insurgent hierarchy likes to hear it. The temptation to drive the French out of Egypt was too great compared to the Austrians’ offer to cut off the country.

In order to fool the head of the rebels, Jarrett also put in a lot of hard work, bad knowledge of the Egyptian region.

Only then did he formulate a perfect battle plan that increased the Mahdi Rebellion’s chances of victory at least tenfold.

But it didn’t do any good, the success rate of the insurgent army’s ousting would have been zero, so what would a tenfold increase do?

Unless there was a change of heart on the European continent, such as the kind that occurred in the original time when Paris was overrun, there was no way the French government would give up the Suez Canal.

Half of Sudan + Egypt, with a total population of only a few million, and military strength absolutely no match for the Ottomans who were exterminated by the Anti-Turkish Alliance.

Even if the cost of the war would have increased, how much could it have increased? The Revolution two years ago only made the French government poorer, it doesn’t equal that the French civil population is also broke.

It’s not like the French government can’t do genocide if pushed. As long as the force is strong enough, the hidden danger of colonization is not a problem at all.

Listening to the beautiful blueprint depicted by Jarrett, Mahdi was moved, but the face still does not show.

For a leader, personal image was also important. Once this plan was implemented, those Egyptian people who originally supported him were likely to waver in their stance.

Somewhat apprehensively, he asked, “General, would this be too ……”

Jarrett glared fiercely at Mahdi and interrupted, “War always requires sacrifices, it can be soldiers, and the same can be civilians. As long as we can win the victory, these sacrifices are all worthwhile.”

There was no doubt that he saw Mahdi’s true purpose. No one was willing to take responsibility for such an order that was destined to be criticized.

What appeared to be an indecisive inquiry was in reality to let Jarrett take the blame. It was only for the sake of the grand scheme of the British Empire that Jarrett still chose to endure.

There was no need to get angry with a dead man, anyway, the end of this rebel army was already doomed from the beginning.

After hesitating for a while, Mahdi said helplessly, “Alright then! In order to get rid of the French enslavement, we can only aggrieve the people in the downstream area.

Abdullah, send someone to tally the losses of the populace, and we’ll compensate them in the future when the French are driven away.”

Having made this decision, it was as if the Mahdi was instantly relieved.

……

With the “perfect” battle plan, the insurgent high command was even less concerned about the Austrian officer corps.

If not for the fact that Huttil and the others had the weapons and equipment they wanted in their hands, as well as the fact that they needed Austrian support, they probably wouldn’t have even bothered to meet with them.

“General, the French are powerful ……”

Without waiting for Hutil to finish his sentence, Mahdi interrupted, “Lieutenant Colonel, we already have the perfect battle plan, for security reasons it is inconvenient to divulge, please forgive me.”

The atmosphere in the room was immediately awkward, and the good intentions were treated as a donkey’s liver and lungs, exasperating Hutil to the point that he was red in the face.

If he hadn’t been concerned about the mission, he would have brushed it off. Even so, it was now on the verge of exploding.

Do not accept the proposal even if, the latter sentence “perfect combat program …… security reasons inconvenient to disclose”, is close to clearly put “doubt” two words written on the face.

As soon as the words fell, Mahdi realized that he was out of line. Some things can be thought, but not said.

The person who says it has no intention of saying it, but the person who hears it has the intention of saying it.

Anyway, Hutile was angry and deep down had made a decision not to ask about the insurgents anymore. Anyway, their mission was to cause trouble for the French, and no one asked them to keep the insurgents.

Mahdi remedied the situation by saying, “Your Excellency the Lieutenant Colonel, I don’t mean to doubt you. It’s just that this is a big deal and we have to be careful, so please forgive me.”

Laughing coldly, Hutil sneered, “Of course, I completely understand Your Excellency’s approach.

For this kind of matter, anyone else would an outsider to keep it a secret. After all, outsiders are unreliable, what if they run off and snitch on the French?”

Seeing the atmosphere become more tense, Mahdi realized the danger. He wasn’t some ignorant white man, and was very aware of the French’s power.

This was the African continent, the British had limited say and were simply powerless against the French. Without Austria’s support, it was a joke for them to want independence.

Patiently explaining, “Your Excellency misunderstood, I have no intention of doubting you. If Your Excellency wants to know, you can refer to our next military meeting.”

He really hadn’t suspected that Hutil would go on a rant. In Mahdi’s opinion, the reliability of the representatives of Britain and Austria on this issue was higher than any of the higher-ups within the rebel army.

The fact that these people were able to come here already indicated the position of the two governments, and snitching would be treason.

If the French were able to turn the British and Austrian delegations, it would not be a question of African independence, but of Britain, France and Austria going head-to-head.

The powers also want to face, the French can not accept the idea of meddling in their own internal affairs, Britain and Austria can not accept the French in their own arrangement of spies.

If this really happened, Mahdi would wake up laughing in his dreams. The Powers did it, and the French had no time for them.

In fact, Mahdi received the representatives of Britain and Austria with great fanfare, in addition to military assistance, more or more to do to his men.

The internal organizational structure of the insurgent army had always been problematic, and the systems were not perfect. The bond that sustained the rebel army was mainly Mahdi’s personal charisma.

This was obviously not enough, and people’s loyalty could not be tested. Once there was a change of heart on the battlefield, the insurgent army could fall apart at any time.

Trying to reorganize the insurgent army was simply not possible in the short term, and the French would not leave them that much time.

The French would not give them that much time, so it was necessary to bring in foreign forces. The British and Austrians are both big players, and the support of these two countries will undoubtedly greatly increase the confidence of the men.

So far, the effect was very remarkable. Since the arrival of the British and Austrian delegations, the heart of the insurgent army has rapidly stabilized.

Those who were originally wavering and ready to defect to the French have now stopped their pace of defection.

No one was willing to be enslaved if they could build a country independently.

After all, colonial rule these days is really ferocious, and in front of the colonizers, they, the local bigwigs, may also have their heads moved at any time.

The days of precariousness, no one wanted to last. Seeing hope, everyone was still willing to let go.

Hearing this explanation, Hutil’s complexion slightly eased, but he still didn’t give Mahdi a good face.

“There’s no need for that, General. I don’t have any interest in your plans, and joined in only because we have a common enemy.

You’ve been to the continent of Europe, you should know that we have a long-standing enmity with the French. Anything we can do to cause trouble for our enemies, we are happy to do.”

There was no talk of friendship, that stuff was too unreliable.

After the rise of the Habsburgs, the Sultan was Ottoman territory, directly on the opposite side, and there was never any such thing as friendship.

Compared to friendship, hatred is more likely to bring the two sides closer together. Anyone who understands the history of Europe knows how the “Franco-Austrian” feud came about.

The two countries have been fighting for hundreds of years, and are still in confrontation. Before the hegemony of the European continent is completely divided into winners and losers, France and Austria have the motive to stab each other.

The insurgents were out to overthrow the French and were equally on the opposite side of France. Having a common enemy, both sides were in a position to close ranks.

Having said that, Mahdi already understood Huttil’s intentions, but it was within his bottom line.

Mahdi concurred, ”Yes, it’s to take out our common enemy.

It’s just that Your Excellency, Lieutenant Colonel, right now we are in a bit of trouble and need to obtain your help.

You are aware that the insurgent army has just been established not long ago, and the internal organizational structure is too late to be perfected, especially the lack of enough good officers.

I know that Your Excellency is a senior student of the Austrian Army University, and I would like to ask you to help train the Eighth Division and temporarily act as the commander of the Eighth Division.”

After a pause, Mahdi added, “The Eighth Division is a newly formed unit and is somewhat lacking in weapons and equipment, so ……”

Nominally, the total number of insurgent army has exceeded 100,000, and also refer to the European countries compiled into eight infantry divisions, in fact, the only one that has really seen blood is Mahdi’s direct line first division.

The rest of the troops, all of which are composed of insurgents who defected one after another from the back, are intricately composed.

The 8th Division was the latest unit to be formed, and its fighting strength was at the bottom of all the insurgent armies, and its equipment was even more of a mess.

The entire division totaled more than 9,000 men, adding up to only 800 rifles. Now thrown to the Austrians, even the only eight hundred rifles Mahdi is ready to take back.

There is no way, the insurgent army is too short of weapons and equipment. Britain and Austria support him is not false, but unfortunately, Britain and Austria’s weapons and equipment is not a big wind blowing.

Before seeing the results, the two countries are very limited in their input.

The British provided 7,500 rifles, 300 pistols, five field guns + some ammunition, barely enough to equip an infantry division.

Austria took out about the same amount of aid as the British. The military aid from both countries combined was only enough for two infantry divisions, and the rest had to find their own way.

Until they proved themselves on the battlefield, it would be difficult for the insurgents to obtain assistance on a larger scale.

Mahdi threw the eighth division to the command of Huttil, in fact, was also forced to do nothing, ten people do not have a gun unit how to go into battle?

In Mahdi’s opinion, the Austrian officer corps’ desire to go to war was nothing more than these restless young men who wanted to prove themselves on the battlefield and rake in the capital for promotion.

Since these people want to fight on the battlefield, it is necessary to solve the matter of the weapons and equipment of the Eighth Division first.

Even if these men were all embroidered pillows and were not useful on the battlefield, he could still pick up a portion of the weaponry for nothing.

If the Austrians were able to train the Eighth Division, he would only be happier.

The French counterattack was coming, and Mahdi would not give up any chance to increase the strength in his own hands.

As for the trouble he would need to face in the future, that was something that would happen after the French were driven out. If they failed, there would be no future.

“Glad to be of service! We can find a way to solve the problem of equipment.”

After a little thought, Hutil resolutely agreed. It’s just weapons and equipment, that’s a small problem.

We all have a quota in hand, an infantry division only, simply do not want much weapons, put together also enough.

It is not easy to have a chance to practice, pay a part of the decommissioned weapons and equipment, it is nothing.

……

(End of chapter)