Chapter 762

After more than two months of hard fighting, the Allied Forces finally defeated the Greek militia and achieved the first major victory for the British Army since the outbreak of the Near East War.

Major-General Oliver's heart was at rest; for at last he had some success to show for it. With less than 5,000 casualties on their side, they had killed 18,000 enemies and captured 14,000 of them. No matter how one looked at it, it was a glorious victory.

He had decisively ignored the fact that the enemy was just a motley crew. As long as he continued to defeat the army of Montenegro, he would have completed his mission.

A young officer reported, "General, there is a military order from home. It orders us to continue to pursue the enemy. If the Greek Kingdom takes them in, we are authorized to take necessary measures."

Necessary measures? In fact, it was to find an excuse to enter the Greek Kingdom and teach the Greek government a lesson. Obviously, the Government of London was very dissatisfied with Otto I's government, and wanted to teach them a lesson.

"I see," replied Major-General Oliver calmly.

He didn't like the Greeks. If it weren't for the Greeks' sneak attack, which forced the Osman to withdraw their troops from the front line, they wouldn't have lost the Battle of Sofia.

Although he put the blame on others, the Major General knew that he was to blame for that action, and that it would be an indelible stain upon his record as long as he lived.

Now that he had a chance to settle the score with the Greeks, he naturally wouldn't let it go.

There would always be an excuse. Even if Otto I pretended to be a coward, the Government of London would still take action if they wanted to teach this restless little brother a lesson.

It was obviously impossible to bluff his way through. However, the Greek government didn't admit to the attack, so the British couldn't do anything to them on the surface.

The European countries were still watching. Once they went too far, they would still intervene. John Bull couldn't hide the truth from the public.

Even in Britain, they didn't think that the Greek attack on the Osman was a big problem. It was just that they chose the wrong time.

The Greek government didn't join the Russians' side at the last moment, which gave them leeway. Obviously, Otto I's political judgment was passable.

…

In the Russian Army headquarters outside Constantinople, General Menshikov once again received a letter of reprimand from Nicholas I Of Russia.

After such a long attack and hundreds of thousands of casualties, Constantinople was still in the hands of the enemy. There was no sign of them being conquered. The Tsarist government was naturally anxious.

Menshikov was under great pressure. If he couldn't think of a solution, the Government of Saint Petersburg would have to change. By then, the glory of conquering Constantinople would be gone forever. This was something that Menshikov couldn't tolerate.

A middle-aged general suggested, "Your Excellency, you can consider the Austrian proposal. As long as we can conquer Constantinople, we can't do anything else.

"The Austrian's proposal is too," Menshikov said, shaking his head. They were not going to attack Constantinople, but to flatten it with their cannons.

"The heavy cannons they recommended can only be used as land cannons in the future, apart from being used to attack cities. If we really follow their proposal and get a few hundred cannons, the daily consumption of ammunition will be a few thousand tons.

Not to mention that we can't afford it, even if the Austrians produce at full capacity, they might not be able to meet our needs.

Every day, we destroy millions of rubles worth of ammunition. To conquer Constantinople, we will need at least hundreds of millions of rubles, or even billions of rubles. Do you think we can afford it? "

This wasn't the worst part. The worst part was that even if we spent the money, Constantinople might not be able to conquer Constantinople.

The cannons recommended by the Austrians were very inconvenient to move on the battlefield. If the enemy destroyed the cannons, it would be even worse.

The middle-aged officer reminded, "But Your Excellency, this is the only way to conquer Constantinople.

The enemy is very stubborn, and they rely on the fortifications for defense. The six-pound cannons in our hands are basically tickling them. Even the twelve-pound cannons can only deal with some ordinary fortifications.

If we can't destroy these fortifications, how can we conquer Constantinople? If we miss this opportunity, we will be the sinners of Russia. "

This was the most helpless thing. Regardless of whether this method was reliable or not, it was the only way to succeed.

The Tsarist government wouldn't care so much, and the people in the country wouldn't care either. They were already at the feet of Constantinople. If they didn't conquer the city, would they be letting their ancestors down?

…

After patrolling the campsite, looking at the declining morale and hearing the agonizing cries, even Menshikov, who had a heart of stone, couldn't help but be shaken.

He knew they couldn't go on like this. If they continued fighting like this, the Russian Army would probably start a mutiny before Constantinople could conquer Constantinople.

The gray animals were also people. When the casualties reached a certain level, they would also collapse. This was a result that Menshikov couldn't bear.

…

In a corner of the camp, a few soldiers were plotting.

A young soldier with a dirty face said in a low voice, "Joey, have you figured out the route? If this continues, I'm afraid it won't be long before we all fall on the battlefield.

Do you know, just yesterday, the Rolls Bikie guy's left leg was injured by an explosion. To prevent infection, he had to amputate it. He couldn't take the blow and committed suicide that night. "

A middle-aged soldier next to him reminded, "Fox, don't be like this. The route to leave must be planned. Otherwise, if something goes wrong, we will be hung at the entrance of the camp! "

In order to warn others and deter deserters, the Russian Army adopted a very cruel method: hanging people on a pole and letting them die from the sun, thirst, or starvation …

Looking at the expectant faces, Joey sighed and took out a sketch. He pointed at it and explained, "I've found the route, but it's very difficult to walk.

If you leave from here, there will be guards along the way. You must avoid these people and enter the Balkan Mountains to be temporarily safe.

This is only the first stage of the escape. You still have to cross the Balkan Mountains to enter the Austrian territory.

During this period, you won't be able to get any supplies from the outside world. You can only look for food in the mountains. Other than being careful of poisonous insects and beasts, you also have to worry about losing your way.

Even if you reach the Austrian territory, it doesn't mean you are safe. They are our allies. Even if you enter by mistake, you won't be disarmed and will most likely be sent back.

If you want to sneak in, you can only pretend to be war refugees. Language is a big problem. Russian and Bulgarian are very similar, but there are still differences. Once you are seen through, no one knows what will happen. "

The middle-aged man said cautiously, "We don't have a choice. You might not know from the logistics unit, but these days, the frontline has suffered too many casualties. You can see familiar people leaving here every day.

Half of our battalion is replenished. If we continue to stay, it won't be long before everyone dies here.

Joey, regardless of whether we can escape or not, thank you.

You can rest assured that we have already figured out the situation. We will find a chance to pretend to be dead during the attack and sneak out when it's dark.

Even if we are discovered, we can say that we were knocked out by the bomb and our minds are muddled. "

A premeditated escape began. They were not the first batch, nor would they be the last. The cruel casualties had already caused their nerves to collapse.

Everyone would rather take the risk to escape and fight for an unknown life than continue to stay here.

In any case, their families were all serfs and were the property of the nobles. Even if they were discovered, they did not have to worry about implicating their families.

…

The middle-aged man asked in a low voice, "Let's go. Where's Wallace? Why don't I see him?"

Fox replied, "Uncle Marney, I don't see him following us. I'm afraid something happened to him. Should we go back and look for him?"

The middle-aged man thought for a moment and said, "Don't worry about him. Life and death on the battlefield are decreed by fate. Where can we find him in this darkness?

Let's go now, it's not safe here. If we can't quickly pass through here, none of us will be able to escape by dawn. "

They were lucky. Someone had provided them with a map, so they didn't run in the wrong direction and safely survived the first day of their escape.

However, not everyone was so lucky. Not long after they left, another wave of deserters unfortunately encountered a patrol and were naturally caught.

The military judge asked, "Your Excellency, we caught another seven deserters last night. Should we proceed as usual?"

"Yes!"

Menshikov seemed to have just said a word casually, but in fact, his heart was not calm.

The number of deserters was increasing. As a high-ranking officer who was not an idiot, he knew that this meant that the army was reaching its limit.

In the face of reality, Menshikov quickly made a compromise. He did not want to become a traitor, so he had to fight this battle.

The problem of money would be a headache for the Tsarist government. Anyway, no one could back down now.

Menshikov said, "Someone, use the Austrian telegraph network and forward this telegram to the Government of Saint Petersburg!"

Since Austria took over the two Danube Duchies, wired telegrams had been quickly laid and connected to the domestic telegraph network by the end of 1853.

At this time, the Russians would often use the Austrian telegraph network to send messages that did not need to be kept secret. It could be done in two or three days.

If they used the Russians' own communication network, they would first have to go to a big city in Poland or Ukraine to send a telegram. Without ten days to half a month, it was impossible to send the message back to St. Peter's Castle.

Obviously, Menshikov did not think that this battle plan needed to be kept secret from the Austrians. Even if he wanted to keep it a secret, it could not be done. The artillery still had to be purchased from the Austrians.

Menshikov was not prepared to let the domestic military industry supply the artillery. When they produced the artillery and shipped it to the front, who knew if it would be a year or two later?

On the issue of attacking the Constantinople, Nicholas I Of Russia fully supported his work. Whoever dared to do anything here would be going against the great Emperor Tsar.

Without Tsar's support, Menshikov could not change the logistics and transportation system of the Russian Army in the The Balkans. If he did not change it, the Russian Army at the front would not have such an easy time.

The ball was kicked to St. Peter's Castle. Menshikov explained the various situations in detail, and the choice was up to Nicholas I Of Russia.