Winters in Afghanistan are cold, but the cold has not stopped the war. I don't know if the British are too incompetent, or the Russians are too powerful.

In the last month of 1889, the Russian army took Magyar Sharif, Kunduz, and Chakhcharan, and one-fifth of the territory of Afghanistan changed hands.

Even the Wakhan Corridor and Herat, where the British army was heavily armed, were crumbling and could be conquered at any time.

Open the window, and the cold wind howls by. Looking at the flying snowflakes, Lieutenant General Patrick shuddered.

The ghost weather of more than ten degrees below zero is really unfriendly to the British army, and Britain has never had such a cold day.

Not to mention going out to fight, even staying in the headquarters with the fire burning, Lieutenant General Patrick felt the cold wind biting.

The bureaucrats in the country misjudged the situation, and the pre-cold cotton clothes prepared were configured according to the domestic temperature, and they were not at all the best.

Fortunately, the bureaucrats of the logistics department carried forward the fine tradition and prepared cotton clothes according to the previous number.

Soldiers who died or went missing in battle were naturally not needed, and officers and soldiers who went out on missions could put on two layers of cotton clothing.

Even so, the number of non-combat attrition personnel in the British army has increased dramatically in the onset of winter. The number of non-combat attrition in some areas also exceeds the number of casualties in the fight against the Russian army.

The defeat at the front is not so much that the Russian army is too powerful, but that the winter in Afghanistan is too grinding.

Especially for some Indian soldiers living in the tropics, winter in Afghanistan is hell on earth.

Hands, feet, ears, face...... As long as the whole body is exposed, nothing is good.

In contrast, the Russian army on the opposite side is much better, although there are also non-combat attrition, but that is only a very minority.

With the exception of a few regions, the winter in Afghanistan can be called a mild winter compared to that of the Russian Empire.

Needless to say, the Russian soldiers are at home here, and the British are living here like years.

The roar of artillery fire continued, and the offensive and defensive battle of Herat began again, and Lieutenant General Patrick, who was in command at the front line, was already panicking at this moment.

He finally understood why the Russians dared to start a war before winter fell.

"When will the reinforcements from within the country arrive?"

Indian reinforcements could not be counted on, and after three months of war, the Indian governor had sent him 150,000 reinforcements.

The number seems to be a lot, but unfortunately the combat effectiveness is too touching. Relying on fortifications to defend is okay, and participating in field battles is to give away heads.

Especially after the onset of winter, many of the Indian soldiers who have lived in the tropics for many years have suffered frostbite, and nearly one in ten has lost their combat effectiveness.

In contrast, Britain's native soldiers were much better, not only in combat effectiveness, but also in their ability to resist the cold.

The British Isles also have winter, and although it is not so cold, there are still days below zero.

Against this backdrop, the general adaptability of British soldiers was much stronger than that of Indian soldiers, who had never seen snowflakes.

The middle-aged officer behind him replied: "If nothing else, the first batch of reinforcements from the country will arrive in a month and a half." ”

From the outbreak of the battle to the arrival of reinforcements, it took only four and a half months, which was also a qualitative improvement for the British Empire.

According to the past practice, if reinforcements can be sent within half a year, it is because the domestic bureaucrats have the courage to do their job.

Of course, this time the high efficiency was also forced. The enemy was the invincible Russians, and they were coming for India, and it was difficult for the British government not to be nervous.

Although this efficiency is no longer low, Lieutenant General Patrick is still not satisfied. The situation at the front line brooks no delay, and the longer it drags on, the more difficult it will be to fight the battle that follows.

"Send someone to urge them and inform them to prepare cold items, the winter in Afghanistan will not be easy."

Although it may have been a little late to say this, Lieutenant General Patrick chose to warn.

The commander of the expeditionary force is not easy to do, and the casualties of the Indian colonial army do not matter, but once the main force of the British army suffers heavy casualties, Lieutenant General Patrick will be unlucky.

The country cannot be counted on in the short term. Although the situation encountered by the expeditionary force was reported, it is estimated that the winter will almost end when the old men in China make a decision to organize production and transport it.

Letting the reinforcements prepare for the cold is actually letting the officers and soldiers figure out their own ways.

The British army had to pass through many areas along the way, and theoretically it was able to purchase some cold supplies.

Anyway, your fate is your own, do you want to spend money to increase your chances of survival on the battlefield - feel free.

……

Against the cold wind, a convoy slowly drove out of Jermain City. Judging by the direction in which the convoy is heading, it is roughly certain that this is the way to the Afghan region.

"Cheer me up, I'm about to enter Afghanistan. It's not peaceful over there, and if you're not careful, you'll have to see God in advance. ”

The middle-aged officer's loud voice spread throughout the convoy, and all of them looked serious.

The Afghan region is not very peaceful, with Russian troops detaining the customs outside, guerrillas at home ravaging, and even old peasants who seem to be honest and responsible may attack the convoy at any time.

In less than a year, British convoys were attacked 476 times, 46 of them with heavy losses and five times completely destroyed.

A total of 1,371 officers and soldiers of the guards were killed, 3,476 civilians were killed in battle, and the loss of materials could not be counted.

High risk also means high reward, and although the escort supplies are threatening, they are also rewarding.

Generally speaking, loss is allowed to occur in the transportation of materials. This is everyone's financial resources, as long as it does not exceed the prescribed upper limit, the above will not bother.

If you encounter a guerrilla attack, you can also report the losses to the guerrillas, and you can make a profit.

As long as it is not done too much, the above will also turn a blind eye and forget it. Of course, the share that should be given must be given.

If it weren't for the rampant guerrillas in Afghanistan, the delivery of supplies would actually be a bad deal.

There is a lot of oil and water, the danger is small, the front line is won, and the contribution of the transport team is not small; Having lost the war, it has nothing to do with them at all, and is usually the first choice of gilded officers.

Unfortunately, Afghanistan is an exception, and the casualty rate of convoys is no smaller than that of troops on the front line, purely in terms of casualty ratios.

Those who have a background in the expeditionary force are responsible for the transportation of materials in India, and those who are sent to Afghanistan to carry out transportation tasks are all masters whose relationship background is not deep enough.

A young officer replied, "Don't worry, Lieutenant Colonel. We've walked this section of the road more than a dozen times, and we encountered a riotous attack, and the really dangerous section of the road is ahead. ”

This is a fact, the deeper you go into the territory of Afghanistan, the more dangerous it is, this is already the consensus of the British army. Most of the attacks took place in the interior, especially in the wooded areas.

After a long struggle between attacks and counter-attacks, the British army also summed up a set of plans for dealing with the guerrillas.

For example, in the event of an accidental attack, take revenge on the surrounding aborigines and force them to stand on the opposite side of the guerrillas.

For the sake of Liwei, the British army did not do anything less about slaughtering villages and destroying towns. While it inspires hatred among the locals, it also brings fear.

Human nature is the most complicated, not all Afghans can see death as home, and there are also those who betray the guerrillas and defect to the British army for their own interests.

The more densely populated the area, the less favorable it is for the guerrillas to lurk. It was also inconvenient to run after the attack, so most of the attack was moved outside the city.

"Shut up, Vail! Your experience is all shit, and if you want to live long on the battlefield, the most important thing is to be cautious......"

Before the middle-aged officer could finish his words, a bullet flew in and hit him in the right arm.

Immediately after that, a mess of gunfire rang out, and everyone knew that the guerrillas were coming. In the panic, the people who rhymed with the materials were already in a mess, and some of the carriages had already galloped out.

The officers and men of the escort hurriedly fought back with their guns, and the wounded middle-aged officer endured the pain and continued to direct the battle.

As if aware that the convoy was not to be provoked, after about a quarter of an hour's effort, the guerrillas gave up preparations for further assault, leaving behind a few corpses and departed.

Similar attacks are staged almost every day in Afghanistan. As a matter of routine, the guerrillas often went out to fight ambushes.

Regardless of the difference in strength between the two sides, they attacked when they encountered the British army. Immediately after the attack, they retreated, without the slightest drag in the mud.

Seeing that the guerrillas were retreating, the wounded middle-aged officer breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly shouted to his subordinates: "Stop chasing, quickly count the casualties and continue on the road." ”

Their task was to deliver supplies, not to pursue the guerrillas. The extermination of the guerrillas was just an accidental military feat, but if the materiel was lost because of the extermination of the guerrillas, it would have to be court-martialed.

There are a lot of negative teaching materials in this regard, some people have fallen for the plan to divert the tiger from the mountain, and as soon as the front foot goes out to investigate, the back foot is taken by the guerrillas to the transport convoy; Some people even pursued the guerrillas into the mountains, but they were directly pushed back, and the end was miserable......

The transport convoy was small in number, except for more than 800 people, there was only one battalion of escorts, and the number of casualties was counted quickly.

After a few moments, the young officer of Vail stepped forward and reported: "Lieutenant Colonel, we have suffered heavy losses this time.

A total of 184 casualties were imposed, including 27 wounded and 11 killed by the guards and soldiers, 127 wounded and 19 killed, and 7 vehicles and ...... were lost in materials."

The middle-aged officer waved his hand, which may have been a wound on the touch, his face turned pale all of a sudden, and he forcibly endured the discomfort and ordered: "Give the order to go down and continue on the road."

Before dark, we must rush to the next stronghold, or it will be dangerous at night. ”

This is the experience summed up by Lieutenant Colonel Jack, but every convoy targeted by the guerrillas will not be attacked only once.

In many cases, even though they knew that the attack would not succeed, the guerrillas would still carry out the attack. It's like kraft candy, as long as it's sticky, you can't shake it off.

Mo said that this kind of guerrilla force of dozens of people, even if it was attacked by a lone ranger, Jack didn't dare to stay longer.

Finding that Lieutenant Colonel Jack's right arm was injured, Weir asked with concern: "Lieutenant Colonel, let's deal with your injuries first, it is easy to become inflamed if you drag it down." ”

The gunshot wound was also fatal. Even if it only hits the arm, if it is not treated properly, once the wound becomes inflamed, it can also kill you.

Many of the soldiers who were amputated did not mean that the shrapnel blew up their limbs, but most likely only the skin was grazed by the bullets. Because the body did not resist, the wound became inflamed and had to be amputated.

Lieutenant Colonel Jack shook his head: "What to deal with?" There are no medics here, and we don't have time to delay.

Don't worry, I've bandaged it. It's winter, and it's not so easy to get inflamed.

Take the wounded and set off immediately. The dead officers and soldiers will not be left alone, and when they come back, they will be collected. ”

The reality is so cruel that even mid-level officers are not guaranteed to be safe on the battlefield.

The British army's hospitals were very limited, and they did not have the luxury of staffing convoys with medical staff.

Even if there were medical staff, Lieutenant Colonel Jack did not dare to receive treatment at this time.

As the commander of this convoy, Jack knows exactly what kind of people he is.

Don't look at the fact that they have just repelled a guerrilla attack, if the guerrillas attack again, it is unknown whether they will be able to stop it.

It's not that the troops don't have combat effectiveness, it's mainly that the morale of the army has been tossed away.

Originally, when transporting supplies on icy and snowy days, everyone had a stomach of grievances in their hearts. If there is no more morale, the soldiers will run away.

It has happened before, because the transport team has been attacked by guerrillas many times, and the officers and soldiers escorting the supplies cannot bear the pressure and run away.

In order to reduce the risk of another attack, Lieutenant Colonel Jack had to hurry to the road. So much so that the corpses of the dead officers and soldiers were not disposed of.

Anyone with a discerning eye knows that coming back to deal with it is just a drag word. By the time everyone escorted the supplies over and turned them back, the corpses had long since lost their knowledge of what to feed.

However, people are selfish, not to mention the problem of tasks, just sleeping in the wilderness, everyone rejects it in their hearts. It's not that you can't endure hardship, the main thing is that it's really dangerous.

As the convoy left, the land returned to calm, with only the stray corpses on the ground, proving that there had been a battle.

As night fell, the British convoy finally arrived in the small town of Takar, and the perilous journey was temporarily over.

In the middle of the wilderness, several young men were talking to each other next to a campfire.

A middle-aged man with a beard said sharply: "I don't agree with your plan, it's not yet time for a decisive battle with the British, and storming the town of Takar will only bring us unnecessary losses."

The Russians are only our temporary allies, you don't be naïve to think that they are really here to help us expel the British, right? ”

The hands are short, and the eating mouth is soft.

After receiving weapons assistance from the Russians, the combat effectiveness of the Afghan guerrillas has increased by a large margin, which can be seen from the success rate of recent activities.

No matter how much it is improved, it will still be under a lot of pressure to rely on a guerrilla force of several hundred people to storm the towns controlled by the British.

……