Chapter 785: Alternatives
Chapter 768 – The Alternative
Seeing that the “Guano War” is over, the Colombian government, which has suffered an unmitigated disaster, does not want to continue to fight.
The British were the kings of the sea, but on land they instantly fell to bronze. Under the command of the British instructors, the Colombian government forces were routed.
Counting the troops killed by the “misunderstanding”, the number of Colombian government casualties so far in the war has exceeded 43,000 people.
Obvious people can see that the Panamanian Independence Organization is only a pawn pushed to the front of the stage, without the Austrian behind the scenes, it is impossible to win the victory.
There was no doubt that it could not be done. Colombia’s strength was limited and there was no point in continuing the deadlock except to increase casualties.
On April 7, 1883, the Colombian government issued an appeal for peace to the outside world and invited the four major powers of Britain, France, Austria and Spain to mediate in this “civil war”.
Austria was one of the mediators, and that was the rule of the game.
Austria was not involved in the war, but as the most powerful country on the Caribbean coast, Austria was qualified to be a mediator.
If the United States hadn’t split, they would have been one of the mediating nations as well. Now even so, the divided Americans have not crossed over into the club of powers.
……
Colombia’s invitation to mediate was sent, and the question of whether or not to have an armistice became a new topic of contention for the government in Vienna.
Colonial Minister Stephen: “The situation in Colombia is very favorable to us, with the Panamanian Independence Organization having the upper hand on the battlefield.
The insurgents have captured all of Colombia’s coastal cities and control a quarter of the country’s territory, half of its population, nearly 60% of its economy, and are less than 100 kilometers from the capital, Bogotá.
It is only a matter of time before Colombia is occupied, and it would be a shame to give up now.”
Foreign Minister Weissenberg objected, “It’s not that simple, if we really occupy the Republic of Colombia, we will become the public enemy of South America.
That side is not the core of our strategy, there is no need to get deeply involved, since we have already gotten the Panama region, it is the best choice to see what happens.”
Colonial Minister Stephen was unimpressed, “What’s there to be afraid of?
The countries of South America have limited strength and are in conflict with each other, it is simply impossible for them to unite over the issue of Colombia.
At most, they will be temporarily isolated, the South American countries will not sincerely stand up for Colombia, divide and pull together and be done with it.”
This is a fact, united South America can still make Austria afraid of three points, a plate of scattered South America Austria does not find them trouble, are considered God blessed.
Even if the rabbit is dead, the fox does not dare to touch the tiger’s eyebrows. As long as it does not involve their own interests, many people will be selectively deaf.
Weissenberg shook his head: ”Without the British, we can indeed do this.
Unfortunately, South America is an economic colony of the British, and the London government will not watch us expand there.
A South American country with someone leading the charge is not as easy to deal with as a scattered group of people.
Even if we were able to hold Colombia militarily, politically and economically we’d have a lot to lose.
Greed is the original sin, and we’re at a critical moment in our globalization strategy, any risky move could trigger disastrous consequences.”
The annexation of Colombia was not part of Franz’s plan from start to finish.
As you can see from the vestigial flags, the “Panamanian Independence Organization” is clearly only targeting the Panamanian region.
However, the plan did not change quickly, I do not know whether the following gang of nobles is too capable of fighting, or the Colombian government is too useless, actually hit the current situation.
Franz interrupted: “Let’s negotiate first, if the Colombian government is willing to make concessions, then end this war as soon as possible.
Right now it’s still the Near East that’s important, as long as we take the Panama region, it won’t hurt to have a little bit more or a little bit less of some of the other regions.”
It was a decision of interest; the era of colonial expansion was over, and Austria’s strategic center of gravity had returned to the World Island.
In Franz’s view, after shaving off the Panama region, Colombia was a piece of chicken.
Don’t talk about the future, countries and people are the same, both must live in the present.
Chasing the future is only possible if there is a future, if you fall halfway, then there is nothing left.
Specific reference can be made to the Sui Yang Emperor, “work in the current generation, the benefit in the thousand years” harvest but the country is broken and the family died, accompanied by the name of “tyrant” in the ancient world.
Lessons learned from our predecessors, can not help but learn. Good and great, that will be the death of the country.
……
As negotiations for the Colombian civil war open, the international situation is easing.
The British want to ease the relationship with various countries, temporarily gave up the toss; the French are intentional, Napoleon IV is still in the domestic insurgents to do the fight; Russia and Austria are busy beating the Ottoman, do not have the heart to toss.
If it were not for the fact that the war in the Near East was still going on, world peace could have been declared.
……
Baghdad, the ancient city is once again at war. The sound of artillery fire rang out, and countless shells were fired at the city without a moment’s delay.
At the Coalition Middle East Theater Command, Admiral Molex was worried about how to take Baghdad at the least possible cost.
There was no way around it, since the rejection of the enemy’s conditional surrender, resistance had become fierce.
Breaking through the city’s defenses was easy, Austrian artillery was easily able to accomplish the task, the trouble was the ensuing street battles, which could result in heavy losses if one was not careful.
The traditional way of attacking a city, the most effective way was to cut off water and food.
Baghdad is only thirty kilometers away from the Euphrates River, the city’s population is not as large as in later times, relying on groundwater basically able to meet the demand.
Originally, a long-term siege was a good choice, but unfortunately, the country was worried about the long night and had ordered the war to end as soon as possible.
A young officer excitedly suggested, “Your Excellency the Commander, why don’t we poison the city?”
“Poisoning” obviously does not mean dropping ordinary poisons, these days chemical technology is limited, and it is not yet possible to mass produce poisons of mass destruction.
The poisoning tactic used in the siege was in fact the release of the plague. This kind of toxin is simple to produce, the dead body is the best material.
Only the after-effects are very serious, hurting people and themselves. Because of the war, two small-scale plagues had already appeared in the Middle East war zone.
The fact that the Ottomans were able to hold out until now was actually due to the plague.
After contemplating for a few moments of effort, Molex shook his head, ”No, the aftermath is too great. In case it gets out of control, the consequences are unimaginable.”
The young officer defended, “No, the consequences are within our control.
According to the Land Fallow Law introduced by the government, with the situation in the Baghdad area all of it being fallow for twenty years is not excessive.
Even if the situation gets out of control, the big deal is that after the war ……”
Without waiting for him to finish his sentence, Admiral Molex interrupted, “Sammons, you’re going off the deep end.
Remember that soldiers have to have a bottom line, and unless it’s a last resort, they should never resort to such extreme means.
Our personal reputation doesn’t matter, but Austria is a civilized country, we can’t risk our country’s reputation.”
After a pause, as if he had thought of something, Admiral Molex ordered, “Order the troops to let go of the siege and have the airships spread leaflets in the sky.
Tell the defenders that I vouch for my family’s reputation: let them go and allow them to carry their weapons and personal belongings, but only for three days.
Those who leave now, go wherever they want, we won’t stop them.”
Sammons’s words were a sideways reminder to Morquez that this was Baghdad, and most of the city’s defenders were Iraqis.
In the Ottoman Empire also belonged to the oppressed people, in the life and death situation, these people would not give the Ottoman Empire a burial.
The fact that the defenders sent people to negotiate in front of them was enough to illustrate the problem. Only because of the relationship between the orders of the coalition command, Admiral Morquez ignored this point.
Just because you can’t negotiate with these people doesn’t mean you can’t let them go. A small variation on the battlefield could still be possible.
(End of chapter)