On August 15, 1852, the Russian army launched the Second Battle of Bulgaria, and the main Russian army poured out of the nest and crossed the Balkan Mountains to attack the coalition forces.

It is difficult for Franz to understand that the Russians will not care about pressing all the main forces, no matter how bad they are, they must leave enough troops to hold the logistics and transportation lines? If you don't understand, you don't understand, he also had to help the Russians deal with the aftermath.

Austria needed the war to continue, and it was only when the Russians and Britain and France fought a real fire that there was a good opportunity for Austria to advance westward.

Franz frowned and ordered: "Order the troops on the front line to be on standby at all times, and once the coalition forces break through, pretend to be Balkan guerrillas to help the Russians hold the transport line." ”

If it weren't for the fact that Austria is a multi-ethnic country with a large number of minorities in the army, it would have been difficult to help the Russians.

Politics is shameless, as long as the lid is not lifted, and Britain and France have no evidence to prove that Austria did it, then everyone will continue to pretend to be confused and find a chance to retaliate next time.

If the lid is lifted, then it is needless to say that he will have to fight against the water, and Franz hates to take risks in this kind of extreme thing.

Marshal Radesky proposed: "Your Majesty, direct intervention is easy to expose, or we support the local militias and partisans of the Bulgarians.

The Russians do not take them seriously, but the information provided by the front-line military observers believes that they have a high will to fight and have a certain combat effectiveness.

As long as we provide them with a batch of weapons and equipment, and arm these people, with them as the head snakes, it is almost impossible for the coalition forces to sneak attack. ”

Austria needed the Russians to fight, but it was not prepared to go into battle to help the Russians fight, which meant that the westward expansion strategy was bankrupt.

You can't expect the Russians to be trustworthy, Austria will help them take Constantinople, and they will send troops to help Austria unify Germany, right?

Thinking about it from another perspective, if Austria's strategy had been realized, would Franz still be so dedicated to helping the Russians now?

Sincere cooperation is based on common interests, and once the interests are gone, everyone's position will change.

Franz shook his head and said, "It's easy to support the Bulgarians, we don't lack that little bit of arms."

But how can the Russians explain that according to the provisions of the Covenant, the Bulgarian region is the territory of the Russians, and we cannot reach into it. ”

In order to avoid contradictions, the Russian-Austrian alliance has agreed very clearly, the division of forces between the two countries is very clear, and they can do whatever they want on their own territory, and they cannot stretch out their hands on the territory of their allies.

Now the Russians are propagating Slavism in Bulgaria and Slavism in the Principality of Montenegro, but in Serbia and the Danube Principalities, they are not moving.

The Russians obey the rules, and Austria naturally can't break the rules. This is the basis for an alliance between the two countries, which is easier to destroy than to establish.

Prime Minister Felix proposed: "Unless we arrange for someone to smuggle arms into the Bulgarian region, there are many arms dealers active in the Balkans recently, and we can find someone to act as an agent." ”

Metternich objected: "No. If it were a couple of thousand rifles, we would naturally have the arms dealers sell them to the Bulgarians.

But now we have given the Bulgarians the ability to hold off the surprise attack of the coalition forces, which requires at least one or two divisions of armament.

If so many weapons flow into the Bulgarian region, we don't know anything, do you say it?

Besides, now the Bulgarians simply don't have that much money to buy weapons, and the arms dealers don't charge money for selling arms, so strange things have happened, and the Russians, as long as they are not stupid, know that we did it. ”

Arms smuggling can only be used for a small time, and once it is large, it is difficult to keep it secret.

The Ottoman Empire had always controlled the flow of arms and ammunition into Bulgaria, and it would not be clear to Austria if a large number of weapons were now entering Bulgaria from Austrian-controlled areas.

Franz thought for a moment and said: "We will take the second-hand weapons in our warehouses, select some of them that are still usable, and the weapons captured in the Balkans, and let the quartermaster smuggle them to the arms dealers in his own name, and we will participate in the rest." ”

Ordering his subordinates to resell weapons and equipment is also a strange thing, and now it is happening.

The appearance of a large amount of Austrian equipment in the Bulgarian region will certainly attract the attention of the Russians. If it is replaced with second-hand old equipment and flows into the market, it is estimated that the Russians will still have a sense of confidant.

At present, the largest arms dealer in Bulgaria is the Russian Expeditionary Force, and the officers resell the captured weapons and equipment to local partisan organizations for profit.

Since the Russian army did it, it is not surprising that the Austrian army followed suit. Even if the Russians find out, they will help cover up the past, otherwise their arms resale will be exposed.

Prime Minister Felix thought for a moment and said: "Your Majesty, this is probably a drop in the bucket, the local militia in Bulgaria is too poor, and it is very difficult to buy some guns and ammunition, they cannot afford to buy artillery."

If the coalition forces send troops to the rear to wreak havoc, although the number of troops cannot be too large, it will not be too small, at least it will be in regiments, and the Bulgarian local militias may not be their opponents. ”

"Don't worry, we just need the Bulgarians to delay time, and with this time as a buffer, presumably the Russians should react." Franz said calmly

For the combat effectiveness of the Bulgarian militia, Franz was still reassured. He had fallen into a misunderstanding before, and these people could not defeat the regular army on the frontal battlefield.

But at home, with terrain to follow, these Bulgarians had no problem delaying the enemy's march.

The raid on the rear was originally one word - fast. If the speed is not fast enough, let alone cut off the logistics line of other people, it is good to expose your whereabouts and not be eaten.

……

Command of the coalition forces in the Balkans

"General Mostpasha, how do you tell me what happened? Why don't you have any news about this Russian attack?

Don't tell me about the movement of hundreds of thousands of troops, none of you have found out? The commander of the French army, Aymarble Jean-Jacques Pellisier, questioned

"General Mostpasha, you can't escape the blame for this incident, the Russians have begun to attack, you don't know it, and you still want us to inform you.

This is the native territory of your Ottoman Empire, and you can't get any information about it, so are all your officials-eaters? British commander Montes accused

In the face of the accusations of the two, Moste Pasha had nothing to say. Everyone is a guest army and doesn't know the extenuating circumstances of the Russians' actions, and they, the local snakes, actually let the Russians complete the military movement under their noses and still don't know anything.

"I'm sorry two, but we'll take the dereliction of duty seriously, and the same thing won't happen again. Now that the enemy has come, let's fight the enemy first! ”

After speaking, Moste Pasha picked up the baton, put a little on the military map, and analyzed: "Here and here, they are the focus of our Russian army's contention."

Judging by the firepower on the battlefield, the focus of this Russian offensive should be on the strategic point - Sliven.

Sliven has been a strategic location in the Balkans since ancient times, and once the Russian army occupies it, it will form a strategic advantage for us.

From here to Edirne, we will no longer be able to establish an effective defensive line, and if the Russians leave 100,000 troops at Sliven, we will have to leave 200,000 troops to watch over them.

In addition, another city that may be the focus of the Russians is Sofia.

Sofia is located in the southern part of the Sofia Basin, which is also a strategic point in the Balkan Peninsula, and if you control it, you will control half of Bulgaria.

If Sofia were to fall, the Russians would be able to join forces with the Austrians to the north, and Belgrade, which we were still holding, would lose its strategic significance. ”

Looking at the map, Montes's face changed, and now the place where the British army was stationed happened to be Sofia, and along with them were 30,000 Ottoman troops.

The choice to garrison here was due to the internal analysis of the British Expeditionary Force in advance, which believed that the Russians were targeting Constantinople and that the focus of the attack would be on the Sliven area.

If the coalition forces win and launch a counteroffensive, Sofia is in an advantageous position again, and can pounce on the Danube as quickly as possible to cut off the retreat of the Russian army, which is a good place to reap the merits of the war.

But now, the Russians are also likely to make a breakthrough in the Sofia region. After conquering here, most of the Balkan Peninsula was completely lost, and the political gains were greater than the military gains.

The French commander Aimable-Jean-Jacques Pellisier said indifferently: "The Russians want to seize Constantinople, and the Sliven area is an unavoidable hurdle. Unless they are not afraid that we will overtake the back, the Russians will have to take it here.

If we lose the Sliven area, it will be difficult for us to fight the battle that follows. When the time comes, the Russians can attack and retreat, and we can only deal with it passively.

Now that your country has abandoned the Serbian region, even if Sofia is lost, it will be nothing more than the loss of central and western Bulgaria, plus Belgrade.

This war is still early, and it is the last one who is the victor with a smile. There is no need for us to care about the gains and losses of one city or one land, and it is worth giving up some land for the sake of the final victory. ”

Montes objected strongly: "The Sofia region cannot just give up, the Russians have already bewitched the Bulgarians, and if it continues, there will be more Balkan peoples who will be bewitched."

When the time comes, we will find that the enemy is fighting more and more, and with the support of these people, even if we defeat the Russians, we will not be able to drive them out of the Balkans.

Our 30,000 domestic reinforcements have already departed and will arrive in the Balkans the day after tomorrow at the latest, and the 20,000 troops of the Kingdom of Sardinia have also arrived in the Balkans, sending their 50,000 men to reinforce Sofia.

Due to logistical constraints, the Russians have limited forces in the Balkans, and their army attacking Sofia cannot be too large, and the 100,000-strong army can definitely hold it.

Sliven is guarded by French troops on this side, and the Russians have almost no chance of breaking through, as long as this wave of attacks is blocked, we can launch a counterattack.

We have an absolute advantage in terms of troops, and no matter how strong the combat effectiveness of the Russian army is, it is not our opponent in the Balkans. ”

The military is in the service of politics, and as the first battle of the British army in the Balkans, it is impossible for Montes to retreat without a fight, which is related to the face of their British army.

The French have already come to prominence, even if the French army suffers, but on the bright side, they are all victors, and defeat is the pot of the Ottomans.

The British Army also needs to stand up, and they also need to prove their strength to the outside world and improve their domestic status. This dictated that they could not act with the French, otherwise they would be perceived as playing soy sauce.

"General Montes's proposal is good, Sofia can't afford to lose, and we can't afford political influence." ”

Negatively, it is unknown whether the Russians can be driven away, in case both sides lose and the Ottomans cannot recover the lost territory, and it is not a big loss to give up Sofia now?

The British are strong, and that is the strength of the navy; The French were strong, it was the time of Napoleon, France was strong; The Ottoman Empire was strong, that was history.

The Russians are strong now, and the army is strong. has fought with the Russian army many times, and the Ottoman government has many Russophobic conscription patients, even Moste Pasha is inevitably affected.

The Sultan government was ready to move the capital, and if it weren't for the morale boost, the capital of the Ottoman Empire would now have become Ankara.

The bears are so difficult that if they can't be driven out of the Balkans, the Sultan's government will not dare to continue to put their capital in Constantinople and be their neighbors.

Two-to-one, Aymarble Jean-Jacques Pellisier did not continue to object, everyone is an allied army, in fact, he can command the French army, the Ottoman army can still barely command, and the arrogant John Bull does not buy his account.

Aimable-Jean-Jacques Pellissier proposed: "In that case, let us divide the work, and the defenders of Sofia shall be dominated by the British, named the Left Army, with General Montes as its commander."

The Sliven area, including the area around Kazanlak, was garrisoned by the French, and I personally served as the commander of the Central Army, and the rest of the area was taken care of by General Mostpasha as the Right Army.

The battle situation at the front is tight, and there is no time for us to waste. If there is no problem, let's go to work as soon as possible! ”

Montes said without hesitation: "There is no problem, this distribution is very reasonable, and the combat effectiveness of the troops can be mobilized to the maximum." ”

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