Chapter 593

The British reinforcements had just arrived in The Balkans, and before they could take over all the defensive areas, the Bulgarian guerrillas launched a full-scale counterattack. This time, the Russians were very cooperative, and firmly suppressed the allied forces at the frontline.

It turned out that Plovdiv was indeed a bait set up by the British to surround and destroy the main force of the Bulgarian guerrillas. However, they only managed to control the beginning, and not the end.

As soon as the battle started, the situation changed. More than ten cities, including Plovdiv, were attacked by the guerrillas at the same time.

Most of the attacks were feints, but after the chaos, the British were exposed before they could complete their arrangements.

There was no other way. Although the Greeks were not strong, they chose the right time. Who knew if they would kill their way into Constantinople? For safety reasons, the Osman Empire had to divert troops to surround them.

They did not have enough troops to defend the city, and there was a party leading the way in the city. If they lost all these places, the allied forces in the Sofia region would be surrounded, and the British would have no choice but to send reinforcements.

The firepower of the Bulgarian guerrillas was too weak. They could bully the second line of the Osman army, but they were not as strong as the British on the battlefield.

Not being able to defeat them did not mean that there was no way to fight. The British had just arrived at the frontline, and had not fought with them before. The arrogant British commander treated them as if they were natives of a colony.

This understanding was not wrong. In theory, Bulgaria could also be considered a colony of the Osman Empire, but it was directly under them.

In terms of strength, the difference was huge. The Bulgarian guerrillas had been trained by Russia and Austria, and with their high morale, their fighting power was not weak.

With a bang, the marching British army was attacked by the guerrillas again. After a while, the gunfire stopped, and it was obvious that the guerrillas had retreated.

A young officer said with a pale face, "General, the front was attacked by the enemy. Two soldiers were killed, and seven were injured!"

'How many times have we been attacked? 'asked Major-General Oliver.

"The eighteenth time!" The young officer replied in a low voice.

'Then what are you waiting for? Make haste and send after them! 'commanded Major-General Oliver.

The Bulgarian guerrillas had not caused many casualties, but the frequency of the attacks had slowed down their marching speed, and the morale of the troops had been affected.

Major-General Oliver was not the sort of man who would not strike back when he had been taken advantage of; and of course he struck back.

Since they had no experience fighting guerrillas, most of the time, the enemy would disappear halfway through the pursuit. If they were unlucky, there would be more traps waiting for them along the way.

In this round, the British army did not gain the upper hand, but they also missed the best opportunity. By the time they arrived at their destination, the main force of the guerrillas had long disappeared.

Everybody knew that the headquarters of the Bulgarian partisans were in the Balkan Mountains, and that it was the duty of Major-General Oliver to encircle them.

However, once they entered the Balkan Mountains, they would be using their weaknesses to attack the enemy's strengths. It was difficult for the majority of the troops to move, and the cannons had also lost their effectiveness. In this kind of environment, the casualty ratio was almost 1: 1.

Major-General Oliver was not mad enough to exchange a British soldier for a guerrilla; if he dared, he would not be far off court-martialled.

It was the first time that Major-General Oliver had ever been in command of an army; or, as a well-connected man, he would not have taken on the ill-fated commission.

The British officers, who had been in the Balkans for a long time, would rather fight the Russians at the front than go into the mountains to encircle the guerrillas.

The former was visible to the enemy, and the British had a slight advantage in fighting; so long as they were not besieged by an enemy many times their size, the risk was manageable. The latter seemed to be less risky, and the guerrillas were certainly no match for the regular army; but things were different when they went into the mountains.

Oliver, thinking he had succeeded in his plan, had set up a bait to lure the Bulgarian guerrillas.

The result was obvious. The enemy had been tricked. Unfortunately, he had overestimated the speed of the British army, and had been unable to close the pocket in time.

...

Plovdiv, a strategic city, had fallen more than half, but the defenders were still resisting tenaciously. The guerrillas were not good at attacking. Even if there were spies in the city, they could not take the city in one go.

The guerrilla commander, Dimir, ordered, "Order the troops to stop attacking. Collect as many strategic supplies as possible. Take what you can, and burn what you can't. We can't leave it for the enemy."

The middle-aged officer said reluctantly, "Commander, isn't it a pity to burn so many treasures? If we organize people to transport them, we can still transport them out. "

Aedimir glared at him and said, "Don't talk nonsense. Can we still run with so many supplies? If we are caught by the British, we will not be a match for them even if we have ten times more troops! "

Dimir was satisfied to be able to destroy this part of the supplies. Although it was a pity that they did not take the whole of Plovdiv, politically, they could announce that they had taken the city, and fight for a better position with the Russians.

The Russians were very realistic. In the beginning, the Bulgarian guerrillas were not treated to starve to death. Since they tore through the Sardinian defense line and broke through to the enemy's rear, the guerrillas were treated the same as the Russian Army.

They could not get logistical supplies for the time being, but the Russians still gave them a batch of weapons and equipment, which were transported through the trails of the Balkan Mountains.

Many of the guerrilla officers, including Dimir, were given official ranks in the Russian Army. They were now part of the establishment.

Fitzroy Somerset also promised that those who were willing to join the army after the war would be given an official Russian Army designation and be responsible for guarding Bulgaria. Those who wanted to retire could also enter the government and get the corresponding treatment.

"Independence?" Stop dreaming. The Russians are not here to do charity. They have fought so hard for so long just to let the Bulgarians become independent.

Now, the Bulgarians' demands are not that high. Autonomy is their highest goal. Most people also hoped to be protected by the Russians, to ensure that they would not be enslaved by the Osman.

The religious people, in particular, were standard pro-Russian, and had high expectations for Bulgaria to join the big family of the Russian Empire.

The future Bulgaria was nothing more than a province, an autonomous province, or an autonomous principality that joined Russia in the name of an autonomous principality. The specific situation would depend on the decisions of the Tsarist government.

The prerequisite was that the Russians won the war. If they lost, there was no point talking about it. The losers were not entitled to the spoils of war.

...

Sofia.

In the coalition headquarters, Lieutenant General Montes had already sent his greetings to all of Major General Oliver's relatives in his heart. He would not treat his teammates this badly, let alone his own people.

If he had not arranged the so-called pocket formation and delayed the arrival of the defense, the Bulgarian guerrillas would not have been able to take advantage of the situation and capture three and a half cities in a short week.

The cities belonged to the Osman. Even if they were captured, Montes did not care. The problem was that the supplies stored in the cities belonged to the Osman.

Even if the British Empire was big and did not care about such a small loss, they still had to consider the political impact.

The direct result now was that Montes would not be able to raise his head in front of the French. The deeper impact was that the Bulgarian region had become more unstable. More and more people saw the hope of breaking free from the Osman's rule and turned to support the guerrillas.

"Send an order to Major General Oliver to recover the lost territory immediately and ensure the smooth flow of our logistics," Montes ordered.

The matter of encircling the guerrillas could be left for later. If worse came to worst, he could leave it to the Osman. After all, this was not the British Empire's territory, so Montes did not care.

"Yes, sir!" the attendant replied.

When he gave the order, Montes did not notice that danger was approaching. Fitzroy Somerset was already planning the decisive battle.

Initially, the Russian Army had 73,000 soldiers and 20,000 Bulgarian guerrillas against 50,000 British soldiers, 20,000 Sardinian soldiers, and 30,000 Osman soldiers. The two sides were evenly matched.

Now that the Russian Army had been replenished, their total strength was still more than 70,000, while the Osman army had less than 10,000. Out of the remaining 42,000 British soldiers, only 35,000 were at the frontlines, while the Sardinian army had 19,000 left.

It had to be said that the Italians were good at staying alive. They had the lowest casualty rate among all the parties. The survival manual that Franz had written on the battlefield was now deeply rooted in the hearts of the Sardinian army.

This meant that the Russian Army had an absolute advantage on the battlefield when the reinforcements of the Allied Army were pinned down by the Bulgarian guerrillas.

The Osman army was already crippled, and the Sardinian army was slacking off. No matter how strong the remaining British army was, they could not withstand the Russian Army that was twice as strong.

On the 27th of December, 1852, under the leadership of Fitzroy Somerset, the Russian Army launched a fierce attack in the Sofia region.

Unlike the previous attacks, this time the Russian Army attacked the Sardinian army's defensive line. Ever since the Bulgarian guerrillas killed their way out, Fitzroy Somerset had realized that this was the weakest point of the Allied Army's defensive line.

However, he missed the opportunity at that time. In order to prevent the British from filling in this loophole, the Russian Army later became the target of feint attacks. Each time, they would fire their cannons into the sky, but in fact, they did not put in any effort.

The Sardinian army on the opposite side was also very cooperative. It was common for them to shoot at the sky, and both sides pretended to be in an intense battle.

Montes was fooled. He really thought that the defensive line had been torn apart by the Bulgarian guerrillas. That was because the Sardinian army was unfamiliar with the environment when they first arrived, and the guerrillas found a small path to break through.

In addition, the Sardinians seemed to be working hard, and fought brilliantly on the battlefield, withstanding the attacks of the Russian army. Thus, he did not ask the British army to join forces with them to defend.

In the long run, Montes was doing the right thing. If the British army and the Sardinian army defended together, it would not take long for the British elite army to be crippled.

Mantua was not a good general, but he was definitely a good superior. In order to reduce the casualty rate of the soldiers, he repeatedly emphasized safety first, and was deeply loved by the soldiers.

In the eyes of the Sardinian soldiers, this was not their war, and the reason they went to the battlefield was to earn that salary. Therefore, they had always been slacking off, and never put in any effort.

General Mantua, who was well-versed in human nature, was clear about all of this. This army was his political capital when he returned to the Kingdom of Sardinia in the future, and it was necessary to buy the morale of the army.

He could not lead everyone to victory and plunder the spoils of war to make a fortune. In that case, he could only lead everyone to protect their lives. A general who valued the lives of his soldiers would also be welcomed.

Now that there was a big problem, the Russians on the opposite side actually did not cooperate, and Mantua had a headache. Giving up the defensive line and running away was just a thought. If he really did it, the furious British would definitely kill him.

So what if they were allies? What else could the Kingdom of Sardinia do to the British other than protest?

A middle-aged officer suggested, "General, why don't we open an opening at the junction of the British defensive line and let the Russians through? Even if the British find fault with us after the war, we can push the blame to them."

Being reprimanded by the British every day, the Sardinians also had a temper, and the disparity in treatment exacerbated their dissatisfaction.

Nominally, everyone's provisions were the same, but after arriving at the place, the British could always get some fruits, vegetables, potatoes, bread, and other supplies.

Due to the limited quantity, the British could only be given to officers, so they naturally did not have a share.

Even a general like Mantua was not much better off. If he wanted to improve his meals, he had to bribe the British quartermaster out of his own pocket.

It was not that they did not protest to the British, but the British bureaucrats took out the contract signed between the two countries, which clearly stated that the British Empire would provide logistical support for the 20,000 Sardinian soldiers.

Since it was agreed that they were "soldiers", then they could only enjoy the treatment of soldiers. In the eyes of the Sardinian officers, equating them with soldiers was no longer just a matter of treatment, but also an insult to their character.

In such a situation, even the commander of the allied forces, Lieutenant General Montes, could do nothing.

The bureaucrats in London were not people he could afford to offend. They were all doing things according to the rules, completely in accordance with British law, and there was no use appealing to the country.

Since London could not do anything, could he ask the Osman to provide some?

Obviously, this was not possible. Just look at the situation of the Osman army. Other than the high-ranking officers who were guaranteed treatment, the lower-ranking soldiers still needed the British army's support.

If it was not for the London bureaucrats, who mechanically distributed the supplies according to the standard number of people when they set off, and Montes gave the extra beef jerky and biscuits to the Osman army, the Osman soldiers at the frontlines would still be fighting on empty stomachs.

Mantua shook his head and said, "We can't do this. If it is investigated after this, we will not be able to escape responsibility. We cannot bear the responsibility of losing the defensive line, this will affect the country's reputation. "

It was fine to cheat one's teammates, but one must have the skills to do so. If one did not perform well, they would put themselves in trouble. Mantua would never do something like opening up the defensive line without any technical content.

"Then what should we do? The Russians' offensive is so fierce, and we have suffered heavy losses. I'm afraid we won't be able to hold on for long. "An officer said with a bitter smile.

Mantua frowned and said in a low voice, "We can't fight this war anymore. There's no need for us to stay and fight for the Osman.

Order the troops to give up the frontline positions, and at the same time, leave the British military deployment information on the battlefield, and mark it clearly.

Remember to use Bulgarian, since the Russians can understand it. This can only be blamed on the Osman. It is very normal for their army to have Russian spies.

With this information, the Russians will definitely change the focus of their attack. Once the defensive line is lost, we will withdraw our forces and move into the Kosovo region, and then return to Thrace from the Macedonian region. "

Obviously, he had already prepared for this, and even the escape route had been planned. If the British were powerful enough to stop the Russians' attack, then it would be easy to investigate the Russian Army spies in the coalition army!

The first target of suspicion was the Osman army. In theory, the British and Sardinian armies were outsiders, and the Russians had no time to infiltrate.