Chapter 779

Although the British bureaucrats tried their best to cover it up, the tragedy that happened on the Crimean Peninsula still appeared in the London newspapers.

The people were in an uproar, and a large number of soldiers' families took to the streets to demonstrate. It was useless. The bureaucrats in the Ministry of Munitions were doing things according to the rules, completely in accordance with British law, and did not need to bear any responsibility.

The bureaucrats were fearless, but the British cabinet was under a lot of pressure. If this problem could not be solved, the next election would probably be very emotional.

There was no need to wait for the election. The Minister of War, Stanley, was now feeling the pressure.

"Prime Minister, the public opinion is very bad for us. The media's exaggeration has caused serious problems in our recruitment work."

The terrible logistics system, more than one-third of the British soldiers fell sick and could not receive effective treatment. The death rate of ordinary soldiers was as high as 42%. The cruel reality was enough to make anyone flinch.

After the artistic processing of the media, the Crimean Peninsula naturally became a hell on earth. It was not surprising that the people refused to serve in the military.

It could be said that if the Russians had a little more financial resources, Britain and France would have to leave in disgrace in another three to five years.

This had nothing to do with the war. Disease could defeat the British and French coalition. No army could withstand the devastation of disease.

George Hamilton Gordon thought for a moment and said, "The public opinion was stirred up by the opposition party. It is not under our control. What we can do now is to find a way to change the current situation.

The situation at the front line is really terrible. The bureaucrats in the Ministry of Munitions should all be sent to the gallows. If this situation does not change, I am afraid that the war does not even need to be fought by the Russians. We will be played to death by these bureaucrats. "

Obviously, he wanted to make a move on the bureaucrats in the Ministry of Munitions. These people were simply the best allies of the Russians. With their help, the Russians had not won the war. The main reason was that the bureaucrats in the Tsarist government were also the allies of the British.

Everyone was on the same level, dragging their own troops down. That was why the war was in a deadlock.

The Home Secretary Henry reminded, "Prime Minister, the bureaucrats in the Ministry of Logistics should indeed be sent to the gallows, but we can't do anything about them.

All their actions are in accordance with the rules, and they do not need to bear any responsibility. There are too many interests involved, and acting rashly will cause big trouble. "

Why was the bureaucracy mechanical? The answer was very simple — interests.

They did things according to the rules, so the rule makers could use the loopholes in the rules to seek benefits without taking legal responsibility.

After calculating for a while, George Hamilton Gordon said helplessly, "If we can't touch them, then we can order them to change the current situation, right?"

He had no choice but to compromise. The real masters of the British Empire were the huge bureaucratic groups. These people had long formed their own interest groups. If they fell out with each other, the cabinet might not be their match.

At least the coalition cabinet set up by George Hamilton Gordon was powerless against the bureaucratic cabal. Even though there were only 178 people in the British Ministry of Munitions and 44 people in charge of the Crimean Peninsula, they did not dare to act rashly.

The Home Secretary Henry said, "Of our to be, Minister to to to Minister to to to to to. to British.

I was to to to Britain. to to to to the order, he said. "Minister on." As a result, the deaths of tens of thousands of British soldiers were all in vain.

Faced with the pressure of public opinion, the London government decided to change the medical conditions of the expeditionary force and recruit medical personnel from all over the country. In this context, Nightingale's medical team stepped onto the stage of history.

"Constantinople."

The cannon that the Russian Army had been waiting for finally arrived. Without hesitation, Menshikov ordered the attack. The cannons that the Russians had been waiting for were finally in position. Without any hesitation, Menshikov ordered the attack.

Constantinople was very big, but also very small. The 6-pound cannon could not penetrate the fortress, and the 12-pound cannon could not. However, if they were to use 24-pound, 48-pound, or even 100-pound cannons, these ancient fortifications would not be able to withstand it.

The 6-pound cannon could not penetrate the fortress, and the 12-pound cannon could not. However, if they were to use 24-pound, 48-pound, or even 100-pound cannons, these ancient fortifications would not be able to withstand it.

A single shot from a giant cannon could topple a building. This caused a lot of casualties to the French army. They did not know when the next cannonball would fall from the sky and take their lives.

The city was no longer safe. The French Army's headquarters had been moved to a shell-proof cave. Emable Jean-Jacques Pellissier's original headquarters had died.

A middle-aged officer said with lingering fear, "Commander, the enemy's firepower was too strong. Our fortifications could not withstand the baptism of the cannons. The soldiers suffered heavy casualties."

The officer in charge of maintaining order in the city said bitterly, "Commander, the situation inside the city is even worse. The enemy's cannonballs could fly in at any time, causing a large number of casualties. The city's order has collapsed.

Just yesterday afternoon, the Osman government building collapsed under the enemy's fire. The Government of Sudan's officer, Moussa Pasha, who stayed behind to cooperate with us, was killed on the spot. "

The reality was worse than they said. If the Russians' cannonballs were accurate, their losses would have been even greater.

Originally, the residents of the city were left behind to provide services to the French army, so that the soldiers could enjoy a normal life during the battle.

This was an excuse. The real reason was that the Government of Sudan did not have the ability to evacuate so many people. Those who had the ability to leave had already left. The remaining civilians did not know where to go even if they wanted to.

Now they were in big trouble. Constantinople was a bustling metropolis. If the Russians' cannonballs hit any part of the city, it would cause a lot of damage.

The sudden artillery bombardment caused the order of the city to collapse immediately. The Government of Sudan had already moved the capital and fled. The officers who stayed behind to maintain order received their lunch boxes.

After a moment of contemplation, Emable Jean-Jacques Pellissier frowned and said ruthlessly, "Order the troops to maintain order in the city and expel the people who are running around. Allow the soldiers to shoot those who don't listen."

This order was very cruel. There were not many people in Constantinople who knew French. Even if they wanted to listen to advice, they would not be able to understand it!

Expelling the people out of the city was forcing them to a dead end. Don't think that leaving the city would be safe. Both sides were exchanging fire now. Suddenly a group of people appeared between the two armies. It was obvious what the consequences would be.

Did they expect the Russians to stop fighting for them and allow them to pass freely before launching another attack?

What a joke. A group of people who had lost their livelihoods appeared in Russia's territory. It was obvious what would happen.

The Russian Army was already struggling to provide logistical support. If there were hundreds of thousands of refugees, it would be strange if they did not collapse.

The Russian Army was here to fight, not to do charity. If they delayed their mission to attack Constantinople in order to rescue the refugees, the Tsarist government would definitely kill them.

Naturally, Amable Jean-Jacques Pellissier was well aware of this situation.

Originally, Constantinople was connected by sea and did not have to worry about logistics. Even if there were a large number of civilians in the city, they could still afford it.

But it was different now. Under the Russians' artillery attack, the city's order was out of control. The terrifying execution ability of the Osman government was simply unable to maintain order.

If they wanted to restore order in a short period of time, suppression was essential.

Aimable Jean- Jacques Pellissier was obliged to make this cruel decision, in order that his enemies might not be able to take advantage of him.

"Yes, Commander!" The middle-aged officer replied solemnly.

Constantinople was too important to the French Army. If they lost it, they would have lost half of the war in the Near East. Everyone who was sitting here could forget about having a good life.

The general of the French army, Anthony, suggested, "Commander, we must organize a counterattack. If we do not retaliate, Constantinople will fall sooner or later."

Obviously, he advocated for the Navy's firepower support. The Allied Navy had provided them with firepower support when the war started, but the accuracy was too touching.

Because of the distance, the British and French Navy could not see the Russian Army at all. They could only fire in the direction of the Russian Army.

It looked powerful, but the actual speed was very slow. They could not even find the target if they wanted to aim.

Of course, it was useless even if they had a target. There was still Constantinople in the middle.

In a straight line distance of more than ten kilometers, most of the Navy's cannons could not hit the Russian Army's position. Instead, many of them fell into the city due to various accidents.

The young officer Tajik objected, "No, from the analysis of firepower, the enemy's cannons are all heavy cannons. We can only use them as shore cannons. Even the Navy's firepower is much worse than theirs.

Moreover, we also have to consider the possibility of accidental injuries. The firepower provided by the Navy in front of us has caused us more losses than the Russians. "

It was still the era of sailing. The number of cannons on warships was still the pursuit of power. After all, a 48-pound cannon could sink an enemy ship. Even if it was a few hundred pound cannon, the effect would be the same.

Considering the Navy's pitifully low hit rate, instead of increasing the power of the cannons, it would be better to install a few more cannons and increase the hit rate.

A warship with more than a hundred cannons naturally could not be equipped with large caliber cannons. If they were to install a hundred or eighty ton cannon, it was estimated that they would reach their limit.

That was not all. If they were to have a brainstorm, there might be people who would do it. The problem was that the recoil of a large caliber cannon was too strong. A wooden warship could not withstand it at all.

It was still unknown whether they could hit the enemy or not. In any case, after a few shots, their warship would sink first. No one dared to try such a terrible outcome.

The British and French Navy's cannons could be used. The Constantinople had to first lose more than half of their cannons. Otherwise, when they hit the enemy with extreme range, there was no way to avoid accidental injuries.

Amable Jean-Jacques Pellissier was not crazy to give up more than half of Constantinople. Don't forget that most of the city's defenses were there?

If they let the Russians in to fight, the 200,000 French soldiers would hide in an even smaller area and lose most of the city's defenses. Wouldn't that be the same as dying in battle?

Amable Jean-Jacques Pellissier ordered, "I've already requested for reinforcements from the kingdom. It won't be long before we have more cannons than the enemy. Now, everyone must defend their positions. We absolutely cannot give them any opportunity to attack."

Using cannons to attack cannons was the most effective method. However, Amable Jean-Jacques Pellissier did not feel at ease because it would take time.

Before the domestic cannons arrived at the frontline, they still had a period of hard times. If they could not hold on during this period, the Russians would tear through the defense line and reduce the French army's space of activity.

Then in the future, even if they obtained the cannons, there would be a big problem if there was enough space to deploy them.

Amable Jean-Jacques Pellissier was not a military novice. He would not simply think that the cannons would be more powerful if they were concentrated.

If the area was too small, the cannons would be forced to be concentrated and they could also become live targets for the enemy.