Chapter 802

On the battlefield in Afghanistan, Lieutenant General Patrick finally received long-awaited reinforcements. However, before he could breathe a sigh of relief, he received a shocking piece of news – the Russians were coming.

On September 11, 1889, the Russian Army conquered the Maray region. The closest area to Afghanistan was less than 100 kilometers.

The three Central Asian Khaganates, which Britannia had placed high hopes on, were completely defeated under the attack of the Russian Army. At the moment, the governments of the three countries were exiled to the Regions of Afghanistan.

After nearly a year of hard fighting, Lieutenant General Patrick had to admit that the Indian colonial army was not made for war.

In a situation where the strength was equal, the regular army actually couldn't beat the guerrillas. This was a joke, but now it had happened.

Patrick was able to become the commander of the expeditionary force, so his political mind was naturally not bad. He was well aware of how tense the relationship between Britain and Russia was.

Thinking of the impending war between Britain and Russia, and looking at the reinforcements sent to him, Patrick had the urge to cry.

So far, the British army had gathered 30 infantry divisions, two cavalry divisions, and eight artillery regiments in the Regions of Afghanistan. It could be said that they were strong and well-equipped.

However, these troops were all prefixed, so the situation was instantly different.

Only two of the 30 infantry divisions were sent from the mainland, and the rest were the Indian colonial army. The cavalry divisions and artillery regiments were all local elites. This was a technical force, and it was a job that Indians couldn't do.

However, sending so many cavalry into Afghanistan, just thinking about it made him drunk. If it wasn't for his strong self-control, Lieutenant General Patrick really wanted to ask if the people in the country had water in their brains.

Those who knew a little about the terrain of Afghanistan knew that the most suitable troops here were the mountain infantry divisions. There was no special establishment for this in the British army.

As for the cavalry troops, apart from serving as messengers, they could only increase the logistical pressure of the troops.

The guerrillas were all in the mountains, and only occasionally came out to cause trouble. Large numbers of cavalry were simply useless here.

It couldn't be said that it was completely useless. As long as the British army defeated the Russians, the cavalry would be the main force when they counterattacked Central Asia.

Unfortunately, Lieutenant General Patrick didn't need it. The exiled government of the three Central Asian Khaganates didn't come empty-handed. There were fifty to sixty thousand troops following them.

These grassland tribes were born to be cavalrymen when they mounted their horses.

Frankly speaking, the three Central Asian Khaganates were defeated so quickly. In addition to the corruption of their own regime, the lack of support from the Government of the United Kingdom was one of the core factors.

It was all because of bureaucracy. The weapons and equipment of the support were a joke. Some of the guns could be traced back to the last century, and their collection value was greater than their practical value.

Knowing was one thing, but there was a lot of hidden benefits involved. Lieutenant General Patrick wisely chose to pretend not to see it.

Not to mention the Central Asian Khaganate, in fact, the weapons and equipment of the Indian colonial army were as garbage as ever, on average more than 30 years behind Europe.

Even if it was the local main force, there was still a gap between the weapons and equipment of the world's best.

It was not that Britain's military technology was poor, but the army was not well-received in the country. They had always been raised by a stepmother, and the annual investment in weapons research and development was limited.

Tell London that we need reinforcements, a lot of reinforcements!

The young officer in front of him advised in fear, "Sir, isn't 20 infantry divisions too much? I'm afraid the mainland will not agree."

For the powerful land forces of Russia, Austria, and France, 20 infantry divisions were not worth mentioning. With sufficient supplies, it could be gathered in ten days to half a month.

But for Britannia, 20 infantry divisions were not worth mentioning at all. With sufficient supplies, it could be gathered in ten days to half a month at most.

But for Britannia, the situation was terrible. To put it this way, even if you added up all of the British Army before the expansion and multiplied it by two, it might not be enough.

Even if the Government of London carried out a round of army expansion because of the tense situation in Central Asia, the British Army still had less than 300,000 people and a total of 17 infantry divisions.

Asking for 20 main infantry divisions was obviously to beat the rhythm of the British Army and force the Government of the United Kingdom to continue to expand the army.

Lieutenant General Patrick shook his head. "Mal, keep your thoughts to yourself. Don't forget who our enemy is this time! Is 20 infantry divisions a lot when facing Russia?

If we really fight, you will find that life on the battlefield is worthless. The Prussian war is the best example, the casualties of both sides reached millions.

Although this war in Central Asia may not be as crazy as the Prussian war, it will not end so easily without hundreds of thousands of lives. "

Looking at the young officer who was dumbfounded, Lieutenant General Patrick could only sigh to himself. The younger generation of Britannia is too fragile, they can't withstand even the slightest disturbance.

Not to mention the entire battlefield in Central Asia, the total number of casualties in the war in Afghanistan alone exceeded a million. However, most of the casualties were Afghans, so no one felt much.

The next enemy was Russia. Relying on Indian cannon fodder alone was obviously not enough. The main force of the British Army was needed to hold the line, otherwise it would be easy for the entire line to collapse.

Judging from the experience of the First Near East War, even if they had enough cannon fodder, the British Army had to be prepared to suffer heavy losses.

…

The British Army was panicking. In fact, the Russian Army on the frontlines was not much better.

It seemed like they had won the Central Asia war, but they did not manage to capture all three governments. This meant that Central Asia was not destined to be peaceful.

If the Afghan guerrillas were digging through the mountains, then the guerrillas in Central Asia were mostly mounted bandits. Many of them were based in tribes and fought against the Russian Army.

General Ozienets knew very well that the fierce resistance of the people in Central Asia was largely forced out by the Russian Army.

If it wasn't for the fact that the Russian Army often went out to loot, the local resistance would not be so fierce. But there was no other way. Knowing was knowing, General Ozienets's position was determined.

The Russian Army soldiers did not have much pay. Their main income came from the battlefield. If they were not allowed to go out to loot, who would be willing to continue working?

In addition, the Russian Army's logistics were also terrible. Even when they had sufficient supplies, they could only barely fill their stomachs. There was no quality to speak of.

After eating military rations for many years, the hair in their mouths had already faded. If they prevented the soldiers from improving their lives, it would be a big problem.

In this context, General Ozienets could only turn a blind eye to the looting happening below and use the most cruel means to suppress the resistance.

Since the beginning of the occupation of Central Asia, the Russian Army had to execute three or four digits of resistance almost every day. They used the most severe law to maintain social order.

It could also be said that there was no "order" because this order could only restrain the local people. The Russian Army soldiers did not have to abide by it.

In order to ensure the smooth logistics transportation, General Ozienets even cleared out an uninhabited road. All the residents within a thirty kilometer radius were cleared out.

In exchange, General Ozienets also received the good name of "The Butcher General". In Central Asia, he was able to stop children from crying.

Putting down the documents in his hand, General Ozienets slowly said, "After clearing out, let's generate electricity for the country! As long as the supplies are in place, we can launch an attack on the Regions of Afghanistan. "

From his tone, it could be seen that General Ozienets was very helpless. If he had a choice, he would never fight for the position of commander this time.

It seemed to be awe-inspiring, but in fact, it was full of danger. In order to win this war, General Ozienets offended too many people.

If he continued to win, there would naturally be no problem. No matter how many people he offended, he could be suppressed by military merits and become the second Marshal Ivanov.

But once there was a change in the frontline, the situation was completely different. The principle of everyone kicking a wall when it was down also applied here. Ozienets could only win and not lose.

According to the original plan, he would stop after seizing the Central Asia region. Now that he had achieved success and recognition, he returned to St. Peter Castle to accept the reward.

Unfortunately, the reality was cruel. The changes in the international situation stimulated the Tsarist government's ambition to seize India.

What General Ozienets needed to do now was to complete the first step of the plan – seizing the Regions of Afghanistan and laying the foundation for the future attack on India.

The middle-aged officer did not seem to realize that Ozienets was in a bad mood and replied with joy, "Yes, Your Excellency Commander!"

Everyone was in a different position, and the scenery they saw was also different.

For General Ozienets, the title of Marshal was indispensable at this point in the war. It was the best choice to stop while they were ahead.

But for most of the Russian Army officers, it was better to continue the war. It was far better to pinch a soft persimmon here than to return to Europe to fight for hegemony.

The Indian colonial army was worthless, but they carried the brand of Britannia. If their eyesight was bad, they could be treated as the main force of the British army.

The enemy they had to face was the combat effectiveness of the colonial army, but they could produce the military merits of the regular army. Anyone with a little bit of relationship was trying to mix into the frontline troops at this time.

As the commander of the frontline, General Ozienets had sold a lot of relationships recently.