On the battlefield in Afghanistan, Lieutenant General Patrick finally waited for the long-lost reinforcements, but before he could breathe a sigh of relief, he received a shocking news - the Russians were coming.

On September 11, 1889, the Russian army conquered the Mare region, which was less than a hundred kilometers from the nearest area of Afghanistan.

The three major khanates of Central Asia, which had been pinned on high hopes by Britain, have all been defeated under the attack of the Russian army, and at this moment the governments of the three countries are in exile in Afghanistan.

After nearly a year of hard fighting, Lieutenant General Patrick had to admit that the Indian colonial army was not the material for war.

In the case of equal strength, the regular army could not do anything against the guerrillas, and what was a joke when said was now a real thing.

Patrick was able to become the commander of the expeditionary force, and his political acumen was naturally not bad. He knows exactly how tense Anglo-Russian relations are.

Thinking of the imminent outbreak of the Anglo-Russian war, and looking at the reinforcements sent to him at home, Patrick had the urge to cry.

Up to now, the British army has assembled 30 infantry divisions, 2 cavalry divisions, and 8 artillery regiments in Afghanistan.

However, these troops are prefixed, and the situation is different in an instant.

Of the 30 infantry divisions, only two were sent from the mainland, and the rest were Indian colonial troops. The cavalry division and the artillery regiment are both local elites, which are technical arms and belong to the work that the Indians cannot do.

However, sending so many cavalry into Afghanistan would make you drunk just thinking about it. If it weren't for his strong self-control, Lieutenant General Patrick would really want to send a message to greet those old men in the country.

Those who know a little bit about the terrain of Afghanistan know that the most suitable troops here are the mountain infantry divisions, which are not specially formed in the British army.

As for the cavalry units, in addition to acting as heralds, they can only increase the logistical pressure on the troops.

The guerrillas were all in the mountains, and only occasionally came out to do things, and the large forces of cavalry were of no use here at all.

It cannot be said that it is completely useless, as long as the British army defeats the Russians, and the cavalry is the main force when counterattacking Central Asia.

It is a pity that Lieutenant General Patrick does not need it, and the governments of the three khanates of Central Asia in exile did not come empty-handed, and there were fifty or sixty thousand troops to follow.

These steppe peoples are born cavalry on horseback.

Frankly speaking, the three khanates of Central Asia fell so quickly, in addition to the decay of their own regimes, the lack of support from the British government was also one of the core factors.

It's all bureaucracy, it's a joke that the weapons and equipment that support it comes up with, and some of the guns date back to the last century, and the collection value is greater than the practical value.

Knowing is knowing, but there is a lot of exchange of interests hidden in it, and Lieutenant General Patrick wisely chose to pretend not to see it.

Not to mention the pit Central Asian khanates, in fact, the weapons and equipment of the Indian colonial army are as rubbish as ever, and they lag behind Europe by more than 30 years on average.

Even if it is the main force of the homeland, there is still a gap between the weapons and equipment and the world-class level.

It's not that Britain's military technology is poor, the key is that the army is not welcomed at home, and it has always been raised by the mother, and some of the funds invested in weapons research and development every year are some.

Being able to barely keep up with the world's first-class standards is the result of Britain's solid industrial base, and if you want to be at the forefront of the times, the government's funding is simply not enough.

"Send electricity to the country, tell London that we need reinforcements, lots of reinforcements!

If we want to hold the Afghan region, we need to reinforce at least 20 more infantry divisions in the country, and they must be the main force of the country, and the Indian colonial army will not be able to do anything at all. ”

The young officer who was close to him persuaded him in fear: "Your Excellency, your Excellency, 20 infantry divisions is too much, and I am afraid that the country will not agree." ”

For Russia, Austria and France, which are land powers, 20 infantry divisions are not worth mentioning at all, and with sufficient supplies, they can be put together in a maximum of ten days and half a month.

But for Britain, the situation was dire. Let's put it this way, adding up all the British Army before the expansion and multiplying it by two may not make it all together.

Even because of the tensions in Central Asia, the London government carried out a round of military expansion, the British Army still had less than 300,000 men, and the total number of infantry divisions was 17.

The opening required 20 main infantry divisions, which was clearly to pack the rhythm of the British Army, forcing the British government to continue to expand the army.

Lieutenant General Patrick shook his head: "Mal put away your thoughts, don't forget who our enemy is this time!" How much is 20 infantry divisions in the face of the Russians?

If you really fight, you will find that human life on the battlefield is not worth anything. The Russo-Prussian War is a prime example of this, with millions of casualties on both sides.

Although this Central Asian war may not be as crazy as the Russo-Prussian War, it will not end so easily without filling in the hundreds of thousands of lives. ”

Looking at the stunned young officer, Lieutenant General Patrick only secretly sighed: The young generation in Britain is too fragile to withstand the slightest turmoil.

Mo said that in the entire Central Asian battlefield, the total number of casualties in the Afghan war alone exceeded one million, but most of the Afghans died, and everyone did not feel it deeply.

The next enemy is the Russians, and it is obviously not enough to rely on Indian cannon fodder alone, and there must be the main force of the British army to suppress the formation, otherwise it is easy to rout on the whole front.

Judging by the experience of the First Near East War, even if the cannon fodder is enough, the British army must be prepared for heavy losses.

……

The British panicked, and in fact the Russian troops on the front line were no better.

It seems that it has won a complete victory in the Central Asian War, but it has not been able to wipe out the governments of the three countries, and it is doomed that the Central Asian region will not be peaceful.

If the guerrillas in Afghanistan are digging into the ravines, then the guerrillas in Central Asia are mostly horse thieves, and many of them are fighting against the Russian army as a tribal unit.

Admiral Oginets knows very well that the fierce resistance of the people in Central Asia is largely forced by the Russian army.

If it weren't for the fact that the Russian army often went out to loot, the local resistance would not have been so fierce. But there is no way, knowing is known, the ass decides the position of Admiral Oginets.

The Russian soldiers have almost no salary, and their main income depends on the capture on the battlefield, and they are not allowed to go out to rob, who wants to continue to work hard?

In addition to this, the logistics of the Russian army are also very bad. Even when the materials are sufficient, they can only barely manage the full, and there is no quality to speak of.

After eating military rations for many years, the hair in the mouth has long faded, and at this time, it is necessary to hinder the soldiers from improving their lives, which is going to be a big incident.

Against this background, Admiral Oginets could only turn a blind eye to the robbery that took place below, and suppress the resistance movement by the most brutal means.

Since the occupation of Central Asia, the Russian army has executed three or four figures of resistance almost every day, relying on the most stringent Zhulian law to maintain social order.

It can also be said that there is no "order", because these orders can only bind the locals, and the Russian soldiers do not have to follow them at all.

In order to ensure the smooth flow of logistics and transportation, Admiral Oginets even cleared a no-man's land road, and all the residents within 30 kilometers of it were cleared out.

As a price, General Oginets also gained the reputation of "General Butcher", and made children cry in Central Asia.

Putting down the documents in his hand, Oginets said slowly: "After cleaning up, let's generate electricity for the country!" As long as the supplies are in place, we can launch an offensive into the Afghan region. ”

From the tone of voice, it can be known that Admiral Oginets is very helpless now. If he had to choose, he would never have grabbed the position of commander this time.

It seems to be majestic, but in fact it is also full of crises. In order to win this war, Admiral Oginets offended too many people.

If the victory continues, then there is naturally no problem, and no matter how many people are offended, they can be suppressed by military merit and become the second Marshal Ivanov.

But when something happens on the front line, the situation is completely different. The same applies here that the wall is falling and everyone pushes it, and Oginets can only win and not lose.

According to the original plan, the seizure of Central Asia was stopped. Now that he has achieved fame, he has returned to St. Petersburg to receive his reward.

Unfortunately, the reality is cruel, and the changes in the international situation have inspired the tsarist government's ambition to seize India.

What Admiral Oginets has to do now is to complete the first step of his plan - to seize Afghanistan and lay the groundwork for a future invasion of India.

The middle-aged officer did not seem to realize that Oginets was in a bad mood, and replied happily: "Yes, Your Excellency Commander!" ”

Everyone is in a different position, and the scenery they see is also different.

For General Oginets, the title of marshal is indispensable so far in the war, and it is the best choice to accept it when it is good.

But for most Russian officers, it is better to continue this war, and it is far better to pinch soft persimmons here than to fight for hegemony on the European continent.

The Indian colonial army is worthless, but they carry the British brand, and if they have bad eyes, they can be treated as the main force of the British army.

The enemy to be faced is the combat effectiveness of the colonial army, but it can produce the combat exploits of the regular army, but everything that has something to do with it is trying to mix in the front-line troops at this time.

As a commander on the front line, Admiral Oginets has been able to sell a lot of favors in recent times.

……