Chapter 818

They gave up on the plan to integrate the Afghan resistance groups, but they still had to support those that needed to be supported. The Russian Army still needed these people to cause trouble for the British.

As for the possible future troubles, that was something that would happen after the war was won, and it couldn't be taken care of in the short term.

Moreover, with so many Afghan resistance groups, there would always be a few traitors. They could be divided and roped in. Deep in his heart, General Ozienets despised the British.

With the support of the Russians, the Afghan resistance groups became more and more active.

Today they would destroy roads, tomorrow they would blow up bridges, and occasionally they would shoot and attack a wave of transport teams, making the British army miserable.

In Andhuy, Colonel Makau, who guarded the city, wanted to cry. He was speechless that the Russians didn't attack strategic locations and wanted to break through here.

In the 9th Indian Colonial Division, Colonel Makau asked with a haggard face, "When will the reinforcements arrive?"

Without waiting for the young officer to answer, the sound of artillery fire sounded again, and the Russian Army began to attack the city again.

Hearing the sound of artillery fire, Colonel Makau's face instantly darkened. It had only been two days since the battle for Andhuy began, and the 9th Division had already lost more than a thousand people.

Colonel Makau didn't care about the casualties. As a pure British man, he had never treated the Indian soldiers as his own, and he didn't feel distressed no matter how heavy the losses were.

But the problem was that the morale of the army couldn't afford to be damaged. If it was the main force of the British army, they could grit their teeth and hold on even if they lost twenty to thirty percent.

Unfortunately, this was the Indian Colonial Division, and the morale of the army was already unstable with only a few hundred casualties.

If it wasn't for the city defense, the sense of security given by the fortifications, and the strength of the supervision team, the army would have collapsed a long time ago.

Noticing the ugly expression of the division commander, the young officer nervously replied, "Division commander, the signalman we sent out for reinforcements should arrive in Mazar Sharif this afternoon.

In theory, reinforcements can arrive in five days at the earliest.

But the headquarters is in Kabul, and without the order from the headquarters, the 5th Division stationed in Mazar Sharif may not send troops.

If the 5th Division doesn't send troops, then we can only wait for the headquarters' order. The signalman sent to the headquarters will only arrive in Kabul in a week, and the reinforcements will probably arrive in half a month. "

Without considering other factors, and purely from a military point of view, the Tsarist government's early war was still valuable.

Before the war broke out, the British army in Afghanistan had been busy eliminating the guerrillas, and the British troops guarding the front line were seriously insufficient.

Even the headquarters was in Kabul, and in an emergency, there was no way to coordinate the frontlines.

According to the British plans, the war would erupt in the spring. With such a long preparation time, the temporary telegram and telephone lines had already been set up. Even if the headquarters was set up in the rear, they could still coordinate and command.

Unfortunately, the plan could not keep up with the changes. Communication between the various British troops could only be done by the messenger.

As for messenger pigeons, that only existed in novels. Not to mention whether the pigeons would encounter any danger along the way and whether they would even be able to find the right place, the most important thing was that the British army didn't have such equipment.

Colonel Makau gave up on the last sliver of hope in his heart. Not to mention half a month, the 9th Division might not even be able to hold on for five days.

They had to send reinforcements as soon as they received the request for reinforcements. Only then could the reinforcements arrive five days later.

Reinforcements could only arrive in five days. As a rule, everyone's first reaction was to verify the accuracy of the news before holding a meeting to discuss.

When a decision could be made would depend on the commander's ability to shoulder the responsibility. If they encountered a coward, they would not send troops without orders from the headquarters.

After hesitating for a moment, Colonel Makau said slowly, "order the troops to hold until night, then retreat to the second line of defense."

Colonel Makau was glad that he was cautious enough to set up a few more lines of defense. Now, he could retreat and buy time.

Unfortunately, there were too many enemies. No matter how well prepared they were, they could not stop the enemy's absolute strength.

They could not even retreat. The Indian soldiers could still fight in the city, but if they left the city and fought with the enemy, the Russian Army would probably break the 9th Division.

Whether it was for the war or for himself, Colonel Makau had to continue to hold. Even if they could not hold Andui, they had to buy time for the main force.

As for the 9th Division, they were cannon fodder. Naturally, they had to play the role of cannon fodder. Now was the time to sacrifice.

From this point of view, Lieutenant General Patrick's decision to split the main force to act as the supervision team was undoubtedly correct.

If it was not for the British main force, Colonel Makau would not have been able to make the Indians fight.

…

At the British headquarters in Kabul, Lieutenant General Patrick was in a bad mood. The Anglo-Russian war had broken out, and he was the last to know.

Whether it was the troops at the front line or the Government of London thousands of miles away, they all received the news before he did.

Major General Howell suggested, "Commander, the Russians are coming aggressively. I'm afraid we don't have enough troops at the front line. Let's send reinforcements to the front line!"

Although there was no specific battle report from the front line, everyone knew that the situation was not optimistic.

Major General Lawrence objected, "It's not that simple. The situation is unclear now. We don't know where the enemy's main attack is. We can't send reinforcements from all directions at the same time, can we?

We don't have that many troops on hand. The reinforcements promised by the country haven't set off yet. It will be two months before they arrive.

Although the reinforcements from the Indian region have arrived, we have brought the elite troops from the Indian colony. Most of the reinforcements now are newly formed troops. There is no hope for them to fight.

Moreover, the operation to encircle and annihilate the guerrillas has reached a critical juncture. Recently, the frequency of the exchange of fire between the enemy and us has increased significantly. If we retreat now, all our efforts will be wasted.

If we miss this opportunity, we will have to face the double threat of the Russians and the Afghan guerrillas. The future war will only be more disadvantageous for us. "

Because of the encirclement and annihilation of the guerrillas, nearly half of the British troops in the Regions of Afghanistan had to dig into the ravines. Other than a few strategic locations at the front line, there were insufficient troops in other areas.

This deployment of troops could not be considered wrong. After all, the Afghan guerrillas were a huge threat to the British army. At their most rampant period, they could cause hundreds of casualties in the British army every day. They had to encircle and annihilate them.

It could only be said that the British army was unlucky. When they were encircling and annihilating the guerrillas, they were attacked by the Russian Army.

Howell shook his head. "We can't care so much now. The guerrillas can only disgust us, but the Russians have the ability to take the Regions of Afghanistan from our hands.

Splitting the troops to reinforce the guerrillas is not the best choice, but we have no other choice now. Once the Russians enter, it will be difficult to drive them out.

I suggest leaving a division of troops to keep an eye on the guerrillas to prevent them from causing any trouble. The rest of the troops should immediately reinforce the front line.

Since we are not sure of the main direction of the enemy's attack, I think we can set up a few command centers to coordinate the front line troops. It would be best if a few of us personally lead the troops.

Before the communication problem is solved, it is not appropriate to leave the command center in Kabul. We will not be able to make it in time to collect the corpses at the front line when we receive the news. "

…

The two deputies argued endlessly, and Lieutenant General Patrick felt a headache coming on. Both of them had a point, which made the problem even more complicated.

Deep in his heart, he still hoped to eliminate the guerrillas first before fighting the Russians. Unfortunately, reality left him with no other choice. No matter how big the threat of the guerrillas was, he had to ensure that the front line did not collapse first.

After careful consideration, Lieutenant General Patrick made a decision. "Howell is right. The command center in Kabul is just a decoration. It will not be able to play a role at all.

From now on, we will set up three command centers in front of the enemy. The three of us will be the commanders.

The left army will consist of the first division, the third, fourth, and sixth infantry divisions, the fifth, sixth, and seventh artillery regiments, and the first cavalry division. I will personally be the commander. We will reinforce the Hetela area.

The center army will be … "

The plan changed quickly. Just when the British army gave up on encircling the guerrillas and sent reinforcements to the front line, the battle at Anduj also entered a critical moment.

After bitterly holding on for a week, the 9th Infantry Division guarding Andhuy still collapsed. The 5th Division reinforcements that Colonel Makau was looking forward to didn't appear from start to finish.

It was not that the commander of the fifth division did not see the big picture, but the problem was that the Russians had already appeared in the Mazar Sharif area, and the battle was imminent.

In a situation where the future was uncertain, how would the fifth division dare to deploy reinforcements to Anduj?

As the last line of defense was broken, the Russian Army had already broken through all of the fortifications in Anduj. If they continued to defend, they could only fight in the streets.

Colonel Makau was not crazy to expect the morale of the Indian Colonial Division to fight in the streets with the Russians.

Looking at the hundreds of people gathered around him, Colonel Makau knew that the situation was hopeless. He helplessly ordered, "Retreat!"

…