Constantinople

Abdul Mejid I's face was gloomy and terrible, and this Balkan battle may have been a small episode for Britain and France, but it would have been fatal for the Sudanese government.

For this war, the Ottoman Empire had done everything in its power. There is no doubt that they only have such a little strength.

A million troops were mobilized before and after, regardless of the combat effectiveness, anyway, all the families of the Ottoman Empire were put into it.

As a result, the situation on the battlefield was very disappointing for Abd al-Majid I. Originally, the coalition side should have a slight advantage, but unfortunately, this little advantage disappeared after the battle between Britain and France for command.

Eliminate the Anglo-French contradictions? Don't dream, the two world wars in history are about life and death, Britain and France can pull each other's backs, and now they are still counting on sincere cooperation?

"The Foreign Office contacted the government in London and the government in Paris to tell them that if they continue to preserve their strength on the battlefield, we will lose this war," said Abdul Mejid I in a deep voice. ”

"Yes, Your Majesty." Foreign Secretary Jad replied

Don't look at the fierce war now, in fact, the casualties of Britain and France are not large, and the main casualties on the battlefield are the Ottoman army.

Since the British put guns to the necks of the Ottomans and forced them to wear down the strength of the Russians on the battlefield, the French naturally did not mind following suit.

In the Sliven area, the Russians grabbed the French and beat them at the beginning, and in order to preserve their strength, the French naturally used the Ottoman army as cannon fodder.

Anyway, now it is the Ottomans who are begging Britain and France for help, and even if they go too far, the Sudanese government can only endure it.

By the time the battle had been waged, the British and French had reduced their numbers by less than 15 percent, including non-combat attrition, while the Ottoman army had lost more than 25 percent.

Under normal circumstances, with such large casualties, the Ottoman army would have collapsed a long time ago, but it was different with the Warlords.

To a certain extent, it was also positive for Britain and France to put guns on their necks and force them to go to war, at least inflicting a lot of casualties on the Russians.

The Minister of War, Mudra, apprehensively proposed: "Your Majesty, let the British and French increase their troops, according to the current situation, they will not be able to cooperate well." If you want to win this war, the only way is to rely on absolute strength.

The battle has been going on so far, we are already at a disadvantage, even if the British and French are willing to fight hard, it will only end up being a defeat for both sides. ”

Abdul Mejid I sighed and said with a wry smile: "It's not that simple, this battle is not so important to Britain and France, even if it loses, it doesn't hurt."

Perhaps in the eyes of Britain and France, the cost of war would be lower if the battlefield was placed on the coast, or a battle for the defense of Constantinople.

Even because of the elongation of the battle line, the logistical pressure on the Russians has increased greatly, the number of troops that can be put into the front line will inevitably decrease, and the chances of victory for the coalition forces will increase. ”

Britain and France could do this, but the Ottoman Empire could not do this. If the Russians were to be put on the coast for a decisive battle, the elite 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 would be finished. Not to mention the reconquest of lost territory, it is very difficult to maintain the current actual control range.

The reality is so cruel, Britain and France only joined forces with them to fight the Russians, and the life and death of the Ottoman Empire are not in their consideration at all.

Having paid such a great price for this war, without any gain, and with a large part of the Balkans, it would be strange if Abdul Mejid I had no grievances.

However, the contradictions between the Ottoman Empire and the Russians were too deep, and even if the Sultan government wanted to admit it, the Russians would still come to fight them, and they could only follow the British and French for their lives.

……

London

The war in the Balkans became a stalemate, and the British government had a headache. Don't think that because they have a lot of money, they can ignore it.

In terms of interests, it is the best choice to end this war as soon as possible and let the British Empire devote its energy to colonial expansion.

After more than half a year, the promised troops of the British were finally in place, and the last reinforcements had already set off from the British Isles for the Balkans.

This support was strongly requested by Lieutenant General Montes at the front, who no longer believed that the Ottomans would be able to exterminate the partisans, and was not sure when the French would be able to defeat the Russians.

The face of the British Empire cannot be lost, and neither can the face of the Army. For the sake of face, for the sake of the Army's position in the country, and for the sake of future military spending, the bureaucrats of the British War Office were rarely efficient.

Theoretically, the arrival of these 30,000 British troops at the front line is 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 largest army power in the world.

The London government did not have confidence in its own army, they did not think that the army would be able to break the situation, and even the London government did not ask the army to take the initiative to attack.

In the eyes of the British cabinet, Britain was not an army power in the first place, as long as it was not ashamed in the Balkans, and the heavy task of defeating the Russians was still left to the French and Ottomans.

Prime Minister John Russell asked: "The war in the Balkans has reached a stalemate, and unless the coalition forces increase again, it will not be possible to achieve victory in the short term, what do you think?" ”

Foreign Secretary Palmerston proposed: "Your Excellency, the main reason for this situation is that the Russians have been preparing for this war for more than two years, and the coalition forces are rushing to the war.

Then there is the position of the Austrian government, which is not what we expected. The Viennese government actually abandoned the restrictions on the Russians and provided them with logistical supplies.

We have been in contact with the Government of Vienna, and they have been very resolute. Before listening to our conditions, he directly expressed his neutrality.

We made them refuse to supply the Russians with strategic supplies, and they refused us under the pretext of free trade. ”

"Free trade" was proposed by the British, and they did not expect to take revenge on themselves so soon. But they can't object to it yet, this is the national policy of the British Empire.

In those years, there were no restrictions on the export of strategic goods by neutral countries, at least not coercively, and Austria was now doing business with the Russians.

At one point, Palmerston wanted to go to the Austrian market to sweep the goods and cut off the supply of Russians. After thinking about it, he gave up, and the domestic capitalists are not easy to mess with.

If the London government buys the goods of the Austrians and does not buy their goods, it will be fatal for these people to make a fuss.

As a political ally, Admiral James ?? Graham said: "Mr. Palmerston is right, the reason for this situation is that we have misjudged the Russian-Austrian relationship.

But things have already happened, and it is useless to review the mistakes, the most important thing now is to defeat the Russians, and let the past pass!

The Russians are not without weaknesses, judging from the intelligence we have, more than 80 percent of the Russian army's war materials on the Balkan Peninsula are provided by the Austrians, and the rest are the materials that the Russians have stockpiled in advance.

And the strategic materials in the Caucasus are basically supplied by the Russians themselves.

Most of these strategic materials are hoarded along the coast of Ukraine. If we can raid these areas, it will also be a heavy blow to the Russians. ”

A heavy blow, of course, and the fruits of the preparation of the Russians two years in advance are here. It was intended to use the Black Sea Fleet delivery as a logistical supply for the front-line army.

As a result, the plan could not keep up with the rapid changes, the British and French navies came in, and the sea communication was cut off, so they could only rely on ox carts and horse-drawn carts to slowly transport them to the front.

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

With the greed of the Russian bureaucracy, even if the British only fired a few shots, they would dare to destroy these supplies in battle.

"Not only can we destroy these supplies, but we can actually open a second battlefield along the coast of Ukraine," Palmerston proposed.

The Russians threw their main forces into the Balkans, and we could have taken advantage of this opportunity to take out the Black Sea Fleet's nest.

Without these eyesore flies, our people could land on the Black Sea coast at any time, and the Russians would have a headache.

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

The military power of the Russians is not unlimited, and after we open a new front, they will not be able to support each other for long. ”

The London government's misjudgment of Russian-Austrian relations was caused by the misjudgment of the Foreign Office, and Palmerston had to find a way to make up for it.

Opening up a new front is the strategy that his think tank came up with. As long as the Russians are defeated, all the previous mistakes are not worth mentioning.

Anyway, with naval superiority, they can fight as much as they want on the Black Sea coast.

The Russians have to juggle three battlefields at the same time, and they are obviously beyond their strength. Not to mention the Caucasus, it is impossible to abandon the Balkans, the Russians have already paid too much, and there is only one foot left from Constantinople.

Even the Crimean Peninsula cannot be lost, if it is lost, the British and French navies will be blocked at their doorstep every day, and it is impossible for the Russians to develop a navy in the Black Sea.

Without a navy, continuing to storm Constantinople would have only political and religious significance, and even if it was conquered, it would be difficult to hold it.

Henry John Temple, Secretary of State for the Interior, questioned: "Mr. Palmerston, the opening of a second front is theoretically very good, but do not forget that we are also on an expedition of labour, and the Russians are more depleted, and ours is even more expended.

Just like the current Balkan War, the allied forces spent twice as much on their military expenses as the Russians, who purchased supplies directly from Austria, and our transportation costs were a quarter higher than theirs.

The financial resources of the Ottomans 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 optimistic.

If we open a new front on the Crimean Peninsula, most of the military spending will fall on us, and if we don't have this budget financially, how can we convince Congress? ”

No one likes to lose, and now to open a new front, the British must act as the financiers. That means millions of pounds, if not tens of millions.

Palmerston explained unhurriedly, "Mr. Henry, you're overthinking. If war breaks out on the Crimean peninsula, we will actually have an advantage.

As long as we destroy the supplies that the Russians have hoarded on the Black Sea coast in advance, the Russians will have to transport them from the rear if they want to resupply.

The cost was much higher than that of Austria, and with the Tsarist government's ability to react, they would not be able to adjust to this situation in the short term.

At such times, the more panicked, the easier it is to make mistakes, and the Russians make the wrong decisions, and our opportunity comes.

Even if they don't make mistakes, the three-front battle is beyond the limit of their national strength. We are facing an enemy who lacks troops, money, and supplies, and it is not a big problem to win this war.

As for the increased military spending, what is the price of paying a little compared to defeating the Russians?

After such a great defeat, the social contradictions forcibly suppressed by the tsarist government will erupt, and the possibility of the division of the Russian Empire is very high under internal and external troubles.

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

The Russians were the first enemies of the British in those days, and the mere defeat of the Russians would not be enough to make the British Parliament agree to hemorrhage.

If there is a possibility of a complete defeat of the Russians, it is different, and no parliamentarian can refuse this temptation.

Seeing that there was no further objection, John Russell spoke: "If you have no other opinion, then the vote shall now begin, and please raise your hand in agreement with Mr. Palmerston's proposal." ”

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

After glancing at it, John Russell continued: "Pass, next week I will present a bill to Congress in the name of the Cabinet.

Mr. Palmerston, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs immediately communicated with the French to try to reach a consensus on this issue as soon as possible.

It's best to get ahead of the congressional vote, lest the time comes again. ”

No matter how good the strategy is, someone must implement it. The number of British troops is so small, and all of them are not enough for the Russians to fight, so they can only let the French fight mines.

Since Napoleon III wanted to use the war to gain political prestige, how could he not pay the price?

John Bull was not a big deal, and if the French didn't help, they wouldn't have been able to break out.

。 m.