Chapter 203: Opening up a New Front

  Chapter 200 Opening a New Front

Constantinople

Abdul Mejid I’s face was horribly grim, this Balkan Congress may be a minor hiccup for Britain and France, but it would be fatal for the Sultan’s government.

The Ottoman Empire had done everything it could for this war. There was no need to doubt that this was all they had.

A million troops were mobilized, and regardless of their fighting ability, the Ottoman Empire’s entire fortune was at stake.

As a result, the situation on the battlefield was very disappointing to Abdul Mejid I. The allied forces should have had a slight advantage over the Ottomans. Originally, the allied forces should be a slight advantage, but unfortunately, this advantage, in the British and French command dispute, disappeared into thin air.

Eliminate the Anglo-French conflict? Do not dream, history of the two world wars are related to the survival of the British and French can pull each other back, and now expect them to cooperate sincerely?

Abdul Mejid I said in a deep voice: “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs contacted the London government and the Parisian government to tell them that if they continue to save their strength on the battlefield, we are going to lose this war.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Foreign Minister Banner Ade replied

Don’t look at the fierce war now, in fact the casualties of Britain and France are not big, the main battlefield deaths are the Ottoman army.

Since the British had put a gun to the necks of the Ottomans, forcing them to consume the strength of the Russians on the battlefield, the French naturally didn’t mind following suit.

In the Sliven area, the Russians initially caught the French and beat them up, so in order to save their strength, the French naturally used the Ottoman army as cannon fodder.

Anyway, now the Ottomans are begging the British and French for help, even if they do go too far, the Sultan’s government can only tolerate it.

Fighting to the present, the British and French attrition less than fifteen percent, including non-combat attrition, while the Ottoman army attrition are more than twenty-five percent.

Under normal circumstances, such a large casualty, the Ottoman army should have collapsed, but there is a supervisory team is not the same.

In a way, the British and French putting a gun to their necks and forcing them to go to war also had a positive effect, at least it caused the Russians a lot of casualties.

Minister of War Mudra apprehensively proposed, ”Your Majesty, let Britain and France reinforce their troops, as things stand they are unlikely to cooperate properly. The only way to win this war is to roll over by absolute strength.

The battle has gone so far that we are already at a disadvantage, even if the British and French forces are willing to fight for their lives, it will only end in a lose-lose situation.”

Abdul Mejid I sighed and said with a bitter smile, “It’s not that simple, this meeting is not that important to Britain and France, even if we lose, it won’t hurt.

Perhaps in the eyes of Britain and France, the cost of the war would have been even lower by placing the battlefield on the coast or fighting a battle in defense of Constantinople.

Even because of the lengthening of the battle line, the logistical pressure on the Russians increased greatly, and the number of troops that could be committed to the front line would inevitably decrease, and the chances of victory for the allied forces would increase.”

While Britain and France could do this, the Ottoman Empire could not. Really, if the Russians were put into a duel along the coast, the best areas of the Ottoman Empire would be reduced to a battlefield.

In the end, even if they won the war, the basis of their rule in the Balkans was finished. Not to mention the recovery of lost territories, to be able to retain the current range of practical control, are very difficult.

The reality is so cruel, Britain and France only to fight the Russians and their joint, the Ottoman Empire’s life and death is not in their consideration.

For this war to pay such a big price, half of the benefit is not, or even take half of the Balkan Peninsula, Abdul Mejid I if there is no resentment is strange.

The conflict between the Ottoman Empire and the Russians was so deep that even if the Sultan’s government wanted to concede, the Russians would still come to fight them, so they could only follow the British and French.

……

London.

The Balkan Peninsula war stalemate, the British government headache. Don’t think that just because they are rich and powerful, they can leave it alone.

In terms of interest, it is best to end this war as soon as possible so that the British Empire can devote its energies to colonial expansion.

After dilly-dallying for the better part of a year, the troops promised by Britain were finally in place, and the last batch of reinforcements had already departed from the British Isles for the Balkan Peninsula.

This support army was strongly requested by Lieutenant General Montes on the front line, who no longer believed that the Ottomans would be able to eliminate the guerrillas, and was unsure when the French would be able to defeat the Russians.

The British Empire could not afford to lose face, nor could the Army. For the sake of face, for the Army’s status at home, and for future military spending, the bureaucrats at the British War Office had a rare moment of efficiency.

Theoretically, the arrival of these 30,000 British troops at the front line has a big very likely to break the stalemate on the battlefield, but the British government is still not confident.

Since the war against France, the Russian Empire has been the most powerful country on the European continent and the number one army power in the world.

The London government has no confidence in its own army, they do not think that this little army will be able to break the situation, and even the London government has not asked the army to take the initiative to launch an attack.

In the opinion of the British Cabinet, Britain is not a land power, in the Balkan battlefield as long as not to lose face on the line, to defeat the Russians of the heavy responsibility, or let the French and the Ottomans to complete the good.

Prime Minister John Russell asked, “The battle in the Balkans has reached a stalemate, and unless the allied forces increase their forces again, they will not be able to achieve victory in a short period of time, what are your views?”

Foreign Minister Palmerston proposed, “Your Excellency Prime Minister, the main reason for this situation is that the Russians have been preparing for this war for more than two years with great care, and the Allied Forces are responding to the war in haste.

There is also the position of the Austrian government, which has taken us by surprise. The Vienna government actually gave up its restrictions on the Russians and gave them logistical supplies.

We’ve sent people to contact the Vienna government, and their attitude is very firm. Before even listening to our conditions, they have directly stated their neutrality.

We asked them to refuse to supply the Russians with strategic goods, and they rejected us under the pretext of free trade.”

“Free trade” was what the British had proposed, not realizing that it would be avenged on them so soon. They could not oppose it, it was the national policy of the British Empire.

In these days, there is no restriction on the export of strategic goods by neutral countries, at least not a binding one, and Austria is now doing business with the Russians in the open.

Palmerston once wanted to go to the Austrian market to sweep the goods, cut off the source of the Russians. After thinking about it, he gave up, the domestic capitalists are not to be messed with.

If the London government buys the Austrians’ goods instead of theirs, it will be fatal for these people to make a fuss.

As a political ally, the Secretary of the Navy, James Graham, relieved the situation by saying, “Mr. Palmerston is right, the reason for this situation is that we have made a misjudgment of the Russian-Austrian relationship.

But things have happened, reviewing the mistakes will not help, the most important thing now is to defeat the Russians, let bygones be bygones!

The Russians are not without weaknesses. From the information we have, more than eighty percent of the Russian combat supplies on the Balkan Peninsula are now provided by the Austrians, and the rest are the supplies the Russians have stockpiled in advance.

And the strategic supplies in the Caucasus are basically provided by the Russians themselves.

Most of these strategic materials are stockpiled along the Ukrainian coast. If we can raid these areas, it will be a heavy blow to the Russians as well.”

Of course it was a heavy blow, the Russians had prepared the fruits of their preparations two years in advance. It was going to be transported using the Black Sea Fleet as a logistical supply for the frontline armies.

As a result, the plan could not catch up with the fast change, the British and French navy killed in, the sea traffic was cut off, they could only rely on oxcarts and horse-drawn carts to slowly transport to the front line.

If the British had raided these supplies, the economic losses alone would have made the Tsarist government cry.

With the greediness of the Russian bureaucrats, even if the British had just bombarded them with a few shots, they would have dared to battle-damage these supplies to the hilt.

Palmerston suggested, “Not only could we smash these supplies, but we could actually open up a second front along the Ukrainian coast.

The Russians have committed their main forces to the Balkans, and we could well use this opportunity to take out the Black Sea Fleet’s lair.

Without these flies in the ointment, our men could land along the Black Sea coast at any time, and the Russians would have a headache on their hands.

They can do without other places, but they will never dare to lose the Crimean Peninsula.

The Russians’ military power isn’t unlimited, and they won’t be able to hold out for long after we open a new front and they can’t keep their heads or tails together.”

The London government had misjudged the Russian-Austrian relationship, which was caused by the Foreign Office making a bad judgment, and Palmerston had to find a way to make up for it.

Opening a new front was the strategy his think-tank came up with. As soon as the Russians were defeated, all the blunders that preceded them were not worth mentioning.

Having naval superiority anyway, the Black Sea coast could be fought as much as they wanted.

The Russians had to juggle three battlefields at the same time and were clearly out of their depth. The Caucasus aside, giving up the Balkans was impossible, the Russians had already given too much and were just a foot away from Constantinople.

The Crimean Peninsula can not be lost, if lost here, the British and French naval blocked their doorstep every day, the Russians want to develop the navy in the Black Sea are impossible.

Without a navy, Constantinople is only a political and religious significance, and even if it is conquered, it will be difficult to defend.

Home Secretary Henry John Temple questioned, “Mr. Palmerston, opening a second front is very good in theory, but don’t forget that we are also laboring under a great deal of pressure, and while the Russians are consuming a great deal, we are consuming even more.

As it is now, in the Balkan war, the military expenditure of the Allied forces is double that of the Russians, who purchase their supplies directly from Austria, and our cost of transportation of supplies is a quarter higher than theirs.

The Ottomans’ financial resources have dried up, all the expenses of the army of the Kingdom of Sardinia are borne by us, and the financial resources of the French government are not promising.

If we open this new front on the Crimean Peninsula, most of the military expenses will fall on us, and the treasury doesn’t have the budget for that, so how can we convince the parliament?”

No one likes to take a loss, and now that a new front is to be opened, the British will have to act as the gold masters of this. This means millions, if not tens of millions, of pounds of overhead again.

Palmerston explained unhurriedly, “Mr. Henry, you are over-anxious. If the war breaks out over the Crimean Peninsula, we actually have the advantage even more.

As long as we destroy the supplies the Russians have stockpiled along the Black Sea coast beforehand, the Russians will have to transport them from the rear if they want to resupply.

This cost is much higher than purchasing from Austria, and with the Tsarist government’s ability to react, they simply won’t be able to adjust to such a situation in the short term.

At times like this, the more panicked you are, the more likely you are to make a mistake, the Russians make a bad decision, and here comes our chance.

Even if they don’t make mistakes, a three-front war is beyond the limits of their national capacity to bear. We are facing an enemy that is short of soldiers, money and supplies, and it is not a big problem to win this war.

As for the increased military overhead, what’s a little cost compared to defeating the Russians?

With such a great defeat, the social conflicts forced down by the Tsarist government will explode, and with internal and external problems, the possibility of the Russian Empire splitting up is very high.

At that time, it will be entirely possible to slaughter the Russian Empire according to our will and completely eliminate this threat.”

The Russians were the primary enemy of the British in this era, and just defeating the Russians would not be enough to make the British Parliament agree to hemorrhage money.

It would be different if there was to be the possibility of defeating the Russians once and for all, and no MP could resist the temptation.

Seeing that no one continued to object, John Russell spoke up, “If there are no further comments, then the vote will now be taken, and those who agree with Mr. Palmerston’s proposal please raise their hands.”

After saying this, John Russell himself raised his hand first, he too could not resist the temptation to crush the Russians, as long as he accomplished this, he would be one of the greatest prime ministers in British history.

After scanning the room, John Russell continued, “Passed, I will submit a motion to Parliament in the name of the Cabinet next week.

Mr. Palmerston, the Foreign Office will immediately communicate with the French and try to reach a consensus on this issue as soon as possible.

It’s best to hurry before the vote in Congress, lest there be another hiccup at that time.”

As good as the strategy was, someone had to implement it. The number of British land forces is so little, all sent up are not enough for the Russians to fight, then only the French to resist the thunder.

Napoleon III since he wanted to use this war to gain political prestige, want to not pay the price how can it?

John Bull is not an ingrate, if the French do not contribute, they are unlikely to break out.

(End of chapter)