Chapter 783

In St. Peter's Castle, Alexander III was furious when he received the news that Minister White had been killed in London.

If it wasn't for his last bit of sanity restraining him from killing the British Minister as revenge, the biggest political scandal of the century would have happened.

"This is the British's explanation. They are treating us like fools!"

After that, Alexander III tore up the document and used his actions to prove that he was really angry.

There was no way he wouldn't be angry. According to the British, the main responsibility was Minister White's blabbermouth which angered the British people.

The dead couldn't speak. All the people involved were controlled by the British. It was impossible to distinguish the truth from the lies.

Regardless of whether others believed it or not, Alexander III wouldn't believe it. Minister White was personally appointed by him. He might have a lot of problems, but he definitely wasn't a fool.

If he was sent to some small country, he might really be arrogant. However, he was the British Minister. Where did White get the confidence to be arrogant?

Especially when he admitted that the Russian Army had attacked the British Army in Afghanistan, it was even more ridiculous.

Even if it really happened, the Tsarist government would firmly deny it, and the British Minister wouldn't admit it.

The Minister of War, Marshal Ivanov, persuaded, "Your Majesty, please calm down. There's no need to ruin your health for the damn British.

When the war in Central Asia is over, we can slowly settle the score with them. "

Marshal Ivanov had become the leader of the pro-war faction, but he still hadn't changed his usual steady style.

Revenge against the British was necessary, but it had to wait until the war was over.

Turning against the British in advance wouldn't have any effect other than shouting. It might even increase the difficulty of the war.

The British and Russian systems were different. The Tsarist government controlled all the national power and could prepare for war at any time. However, the Government of the United Kingdom had to be controlled by Parliament.

Before the war began, the government couldn't bypass Parliament and directly order a national mobilization. Even if they were to prepare for war, it could only be carried out on a small scale.

If they didn't use the advantage in front of them, they would be stupid.

After a pause, Alexander III nodded. "Since the British want to fight, then let's fulfill their wish.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will do a good job with the Fao and Russia, and cooperate with the Ministry of Finance to raise as much money as possible. This war won't end in a short time. "

After making the decision, Alexander III was still uncertain. With the lesson from the Prussian War, Alexander III wasn't willing to go to war with any major country.

However, the general trend couldn't be changed by individual will. The British's repeated provocations had already touched the bottom line of the Russian Empire.

…

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio On the battlefield in Afghanistan, Lieutenant General Patrick didn't know that the telegram he sent to shirk his responsibility would become another turning point in Anglo-Russian relations.

At this moment, Lieutenant General Patrick was still worrying about the increasing number of casualties.

"Hurst, where's that fool? Why didn't he come to the meeting?"

This meeting was meant to be held accountable to begin with. Since the person in question hadn't come, it was understandable that Lieutenant General Patrick was furious.

Of of of the Indian was of of of the Army of Of Patrick. This Patrick 'Patof Patrick of Patrick of of of of of this. the Cold.

The Patrick's Dead Patrick's Indian of of of of of this. This India.

In the mutiny two days ago, many of the senior officers of the Seventh Colonial Division went to see God. If the Indian Army of Division Commander Hearst also saw God, things would be bad.

Generally speaking, the dead didn't need to be held responsible. Being attacked on the way to the meeting and seeing God was also a death in the line of duty.

The officers who could bear the responsibility were all dead, and the officers below were not qualified to bear the responsibility. The blame could only fall on Patrick, the commander-in-chief.

It must be known that in the war of Britannia against foreign countries, it had been many years since a Major General had been killed.

Even the officer of the Indian Colonial Division was one level lower than the regular army. A Major General was still a Major General.

Since the life and death of the Indian Division was unknown, Lieutenant General Patrick didn't want to continue to pursue the matter.

"Got it. Read the casualty report of the Seventh Division."

The young officer holding the document behind him immediately replied, "Yes!"

"After the explosion, 786 people of the Seventh Division died on the spot, 565 were injured, and 1,218 were missing. Among them, 76 officers died and 94 were injured.

Another seven warehouses were set ablaze, and one of the ammunition warehouses even exploded … "

Listening to the casualty report, Lieutenant General Patrick's heart felt like it was bleeding. They didn't even see the shadow of the enemy, and a regiment of troops was gone just like that.

It was fine if they failed and lost. After all, this was the Colonial Division, and soldiers could be recruited again if they died. The last thing India lacked was people.

The loss of officers was different. The senior officers of the Seventh Colonial Division were almost wiped out. It must be known that the middle and senior officers of the Colonial Division were also British. If they were lost on the battlefield, there was no way to immediately replace them.

Once it was reported to the country, it would be another fatal stain on Lieutenant General Patrick's military career.

As for the missing soldiers, because they were all Indians, there were many of them in the colony. This kind of cannon fodder was worthless, so Lieutenant General Patrick directly ignored it.

"You all heard it. What happened to the Seventh Division was a wake-up call for all of us.

No one knows better than you what kind of people your own troops are. Look after the troops for me. I don't want something like this to happen again.

Now that the Seventh Division has suffered heavy losses, it must be withdrawn to rest and reorganize. In the upcoming encirclement and suppression battle, it will be up to you to transfer troops to fill in the gap. "

Hearing that they were going to split up, everyone's expression became nervous.

The Regions of Afghanistan weren't small. In this encirclement and suppression plan, each division's defense area was very large, so it was inevitable that there would be insufficient troops. If they split up again, everyone would be under even more pressure.

A slightly older officer advised, "Commander, our Eleventh Division's defense area is more than a hundred times the size of London. If we split up again, I'm afraid it will be difficult to complete the mission of encircling the guerrillas.

According to what I know, not only is the Eleventh Division's defense area large, but the situation faced by each division is similar.

The war has been going on for so long, and no one has rested. The morale of the troops has fallen to the lowest point since the war began.

It's no longer suitable to continue encircling the guerrillas in the mountains. Why don't we withdraw the troops and rest for a while? We can continue encirclement and suppression after the reinforcements arrive. "

The truth was right in front of them. Since the outbreak of the war, these troops hadn't had a good rest.

The commotion in the Seventh Colonial Division had something to do with the drop in morale and the high tension of the soldiers.

"Your Excellency, Major General Winston is right. The troops do need to rest and reorganize. If we continue fighting like this, the troops will mutiny. "

"Your Excellency Commander, the troops really need to rest and reorganize …"

…

Just as Lieutenant General Patrick had said, only he knew the quality of the troops he had brought. It was because they knew too well that they didn't have the confidence to split up.

The persuasion in twos and threes made Lieutenant General Patrick sober up. The troops were really tired now.

It should be noted that these troops were not elite troops. To be able to fight for a few months was already an extraordinary feat.

No, to use "continuous fighting" seemed a little exaggerated. But on average, there was still a combat mission every ten days to half a month, and most of them were encirclement and suppression of the guerrillas.

For the elite troops, this might not be much different from an outing. But for the Indian colonial division, this was close to the limit.

But Lieutenant General Patrick was a little unwilling to give up just like that. It hadn't been easy for them to surround the main force of the guerrillas. If they retreated now, all their previous efforts would be wasted.

Next chance. If they retreated now, there probably wouldn't be a next chance.

The Government of London was already very dissatisfied with the poor performance of the British army on the battlefield. If they still couldn't achieve results, a change of commander was only a matter of time.

Lieutenant General Patrick didn't want to go back with his tail between his legs. He had to hand in a good result now and let the country recognize his ability.

"The reinforcements will arrive next week. You've worked so hard for so long, I believe you don't want to return without any results!

Hold on for another week, and someone will come to replace you. Everyone work hard, I believe you can overcome the difficulties … "

Receiving the good news of the arrival of reinforcements, everyone reluctantly accepted the result. After all, the weak couldn't fight the strong, and they couldn't disobey orders on the battlefield!