Chapter 457

On April 25th, 1852, Britain, Fao, and Osman held a high-level government meeting in Paris to discuss the war in the Near East. Napoleon Napoleon III, who couldn't wait to make France return to the center of the world, personally hosted the meeting.

"The Russians are launching a fierce attack on Bulgaria and the Caucasus. Our troops have repelled their attacks many times.

However, if we want to defeat the Russians, it's still not enough to rely on our strength.

Moreover, the Austrians are also eyeing them, and they have pinned down a large number of our troops.

If there is only one enemy, we can still deal with it. Now that we are facing two strong enemies at the same time, we are really tired. "The Osman Foreign Minister Banad said with some fatigue.

This was really difficult to organize. They had to convince Britain and France to send troops as soon as possible, but they couldn't expose the inside story of the Osman Empire's weakness.

This was not easy to show off, it would be too much if they weren't careful. If Britain and France thought that the Osman Empire could withstand it and chose to sit on the sidelines and watch the tigers fight, they could only cry.

On the other hand, if the Osman Empire's weakness was exposed, Britain and France felt that they were not worth investing in, and turned around to divide them with Austria and Russia, then they would be dead.

In addition to the diplomatic troubles, the internal struggle of the Osman government was also a headache for Banad. Abdul Mejid I was not an easy person to deal with.

Not long ago, Abdul Mejid I was pressured by the Russians to dismiss him as the Foreign Minister who was pro-British and French, and replaced him with Rifat who was pro-Russian.

With the failure of the Constantinople's negotiations, the pro-Russian Foreign Minister seemed to have lost his value, and was immediately dismissed and replaced with Banad who was pro-British and French.

This could only be done in a country like the Osman Empire. If it was a European country, changing people so casually and not taking the Foreign Minister seriously, the Foreign Minister would have already quit.

In fact, Banad did not want to do this hard work. If he did it well, there would be no credit. This was the nature of the Foreign Minister's work, and if he failed, he would be punished.

But he had no choice, the will of Abdul Mejid I could not be violated. In the Osman Empire, the position of the ministers was not as high as in Europe.

"Don't worry, Mr. Banad. According to the information we received, the Government of Austria is full, and they are preparing to settle down.

Although he wasn't clear about the details of their secret agreement with the Russians, judging from the current situation, the Russians should have exchanged the two Danube River Duchies for Austrian material support.

Not long ago, the Austrian government offered the Russians a low-interest loan of 100 million rupiah, with almost no strings attached.

Everyone knows how ambitious the Russians are, and I'm sure the Austrian government doesn't want them to continue expanding. At this time, providing them with material support is already the limit, "Palmerston analyzed.

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Facing Russia and Austria at the same time was very irrational in Palmerston's eyes.

Britain, France, and Ottoman versus Austria and Russia. The battle in the Near East was clearly an evenly matched battle.

This kind of battle would usually result in both sides suffering heavy losses, with no one being able to gain an advantage.

Without a doubt, he had raised the strength of the Osman Empire. He did not know that this member of the main force was already a cripple.

Napoleon Napoleon III nodded and said, "Mr. Palmerston is right. We need to stabilize Austria first, and, after we deal with the Russians, we can think about how to deal with Austria."

He was full of confidence, not only in the strength of France, but also in the strength of Britain.

In his eyes, Britain and France were far more powerful than Austria and Russia, and, with the addition of the Osman Empire, this war was a sure win.

Confidence was confidence, and no one would mind making the enemy weaker. It was necessary to divide and conquer.

Palmerston laughed and pretended to be relaxed. "Of course, it would be best if we could defeat the enemy one by one.

Russia's reinforcements are continuously coming to the front line. If we want to win the war with the least cost, we must take action now. If we delay too long, it will inevitably increase the number of variables. "

He did not care what Britain and France planned. As long as Britain and France's reinforcements were tricked to the battlefield, his mission this time was more than half completed.

Victory or defeat on the battlefield was not something he, the Foreign Affairs Minister, had to worry about. With Britain and France on the same boat, the Osman Empire could at least get through the current crisis.

Napoleon Napoleon III said meaningfully, "Mr. Palmerston, please rest assured. The French army is ready and will set off in a week.

France is a responsible country, and we will not watch our allies bleed on the front line without doing anything. "

Palmerston's expression did not change after hearing Napoleon Napoleon III's words, as if all this had nothing to do with him.

He smiled and said, "We are currently persuading the parliament, and we will have results next month at the latest. By then, the British army will also appear on the battlefield in the The Balkans."

Palmerston's face was a little ugly, as if he was very dissatisfied with the British's performance. In fact, he was relieved in his heart. This result could already be explained to the country.

The problem of sending troops was solved, and the loan would be easy to handle. It was just a matter of how high the interest and how many additional conditions.

In this regard, the Osman Empire did not have the confidence to negotiate at all. Palmerston did not pester them in this regard. As long as the conditions were not too excessive, he would agree.

If the conditions were too excessive, they could just send the loan back to Abdul Mejid I for approval. Anyway, the Osman Empire had no choice at this time.

Without the support of Britain and France, the war in the Near East might take the life of the Government of Sudan. In a life and death situation, bottom lines and integrity did not exist.

…

On May 9, 1852, the main force of the Russian Army, with the cooperation of the Bulgarian guerrillas, captured the important military stronghold of the Osman Empire – Ruse.

The loss of Ruse meant that there was a gap in the Osman Empire's defense line in Bulgaria. After nearly a month of offensive and defensive battles in Bulgaria, the Russians finally achieved a strategic breakthrough.

Unfortunately, because of the chaotic command system of the Russian army, after the capture of Ruse, the surrounding troops were not able to cooperate immediately and continue to expand the victory. By the time the expeditionary command center reacted, it was already too late.

After missing a good opportunity, the Russians lost the opportunity to severely damage the main force of the Osman Army, and the war continued.

Coincidentally, at this time, the first batch of French reinforcements had arrived in Constantinople. After a short period of rest, the 50,000 French elites were thrown into the war.

After getting used to fighting the mobs of the Osman Army, the Russian expeditionary command center made a wrong judgment and was caught off guard when they suddenly encountered an elite French army.

On May 11, 1852, the rash 16th Infantry Division chased after the Osman Army and coincidentally ran into the French 6th Infantry Division. They were beaten to a pulp by the French army.

If it were not for the timely arrival of reinforcements, they would have been the first division to be completely annihilated since the start of the war.

Perhaps it was to avenge the war against France, the morale of this elite French army was very high, and they displayed extraordinary combat effectiveness on the battlefield.

After beating the Russians, on May 13, 1852, the French army continued to fight with the Russian Army in Razgrad. With less than 50,000 troops and 90,000 Russian Army, the two sides were evenly matched.

Unfortunately, the outstanding performance of the French army was not able to change the overall situation. They were too few in number, and faced with the growing Russian Army, the number of French casualties skyrocketed.

The two sides fought for seven days, and after the French army paid the price of 15,200 casualties, they were finally forced to break out of the encirclement. The Battle of Razgrad ended with the French army's defeat.

However, it was a glorious defeat. Even though they were defeated, they still managed to obtain an exchange ratio of 1: 1.3 with the Russians. As the victors, the Russians paid the price of nearly 20,000 casualties.

Of course, the French army had the advantage of weapons and equipment, but their strict training and high morale could not be separated from it.

As for the Osman Army, they could not count on this group of idiots. After one defeat, it was as if they were scared out of their wits by the Russians. Their morale was low, and they were chased all over the world by the Russian Army.

If their allies had been more helpful and held back the main force of the Russian Army, the French army would not have been besieged by the Russian Army. The outcome of the Battle of Razgrad was still unknown.

…

Paris

It was already the 12th of May when the news of the fall of Ruse came. The weakness of the Osman Empire was exposed, but at this time, the British and French could not back out.

The loan was already out, and this was only a small problem. At most, they could just be shameless and tear up the agreement.

The key was that the first batch of French reinforcements had arrived in the Osman Empire and were already on the battlefield. At this time, there was no way Napoleon Iii could back out.

He knew that there was a pit ahead, but he still had to jump into it. The political necessity was enough to make Napoleon Iii persevere in fighting.

Palmerston was not happy either. At this time, Prime Minister Russell had already convinced the Parliament that the Government of London had declared war on the Russian Empire two days ago.

War was not a game. At this time, if the Government of London did not want to be ousted, they had to bite the bullet and fight with the Russians. This concerned the reputation and influence of the world's hegemon.

On this issue, the British could not back down. If they lost to the Russians, then their already unstable position as the hegemon of the world would be thrown away.

If this news only made the United Kingdom and France depressed, then the following news made them furious.

Especially Napoleon Iii. The French army was fighting a bloody battle with the Russians, but the Osman army was retreating. Whose territory was this defending?

Of course, as an excellent politician, Napoleon Iii still knew how to maximize benefits. He immediately took out the achievements of the French army and showed off to the people through the newspapers, showing off his martial arts.

Lost the battle? This was all the responsibility of the Osman Empire. What did it have to do with the brave and skilled French army? They fought with an astonishing exchange rate even when they were at a disadvantage.

The difference in weapons and equipment was directly ignored by Napoleon Iii. Anyway, the people did not care that much. They only needed to emphasize that the Russian Army suffered greater losses.