Chapter 205： Highest state of pit

The British reinforcements had just arrived in the Balkans, and had not had time to take over all the defense areas. The Bulgarian guerrillas launched a comprehensive counterattack. This time the Russians also cooperated very well and suppressed the frontline coalition forces.

Facts have proved that Plovdiv is indeed a decoy set by the British and is preparing to slay the main force of the Bulgarian guerrillas here, but they just control the beginning and do not control the outcome.

As soon as the fighting began, the situation changed. More than a dozen cities, including Plovdiv, were attacked by guerrillas.

Most of them are predatory attacks, but this turmoil has been exposed before the British have completed the layout.

There is no way. Although the Greeks are weak, the timing of their selection is too good. Who knows if they will go all the way to Constantinople? For security reasons, the Ottoman Empire had to deploy troops to contain them.

The city's strength was insufficient, and there were leading parties in the city, and the offensive might also break the city. If these places were lost, the coalition forces in Sofia would be trapped in the encirclement, and the British army had to send in reinforcements.

The Bulgarian guerrillas were too weak to bully the Ottomans' second-line troops. The frontal battlefield was just like the British.

But hitting does not mean that there is no way to hit. The British troops who have just arrived at the front line have not dealt with them. The arrogant British commander directly treats them as indigenous people in the colony.

There is nothing wrong with this understanding. In theory, Bulgaria can also be regarded as a colony of the Ottoman Empire, but it is directly owned.

In terms of strength, this gap is wide. Anyway, Bulgarian guerrillas have also been trained by Russian and Austrian instructors. Coupled with high morale, the fighting effectiveness erupted is not weak.

With a bang, the British troops marching were attacked again by the guerrillas. After a while, the gunfire stopped abruptly, and the guerrillas apparently retreated.

A young officer said pale: "General, the enemy was attacked in front, two soldiers were killed and seven soldiers were injured!"

"How many times have we been attacked by the enemy?" Major Oliver asked

"Eighteenth!" The young military officer whispered.

"That's nonsense, please send someone to chase me!" Major Oliver ordered.

The Bulgarian guerrillas did not cause them much casualties, except that the number of attacks was frequent and their marching speed was delayed. Not to mention, the key is to combat the morale of the troops.

Major Oliver is not the master who will not fight back after losing money, of course, he must fight back.

Due to the lack of experience in fighting with the guerrillas, most of the time the enemies will be gone halfway, and if they are unlucky, there will be more traps waiting for them.

In this round of confrontation, the British army did not take advantage, let alone say, the key is to delay the best fighter. By the time they reached their destination, the main force of the guerrillas had long since disappeared.

Everyone knows that the Bulgarian guerrilla base camp is in the Balkan Mountains, and Major General Oliver's task is to siege the guerrillas.

But when he entered the Balkan Mountains, he attacked the enemy with his short strength. It was difficult for the large troops to operate and the artillery was lost. In this environment, the casualty ratio between the two sides was almost 1: 1.

For a British soldier to exchange a guerrilla, Major Oliver is not crazy yet. If he dares to do so, the days of going to military court are not far off.

Major Oliver is directing the troops for the first time, otherwise as a gilded relationship, he would not take on this unlucky task.

The British generals who have been mixed in the Balkans for a long time would rather die on the front line with the Russians than enter the mountain guerrillas.

The former enemy saw that the British army's combat effectiveness was slightly superior. As long as it was not sieged by the enemy several times, the risks were controllable; the latter appeared to be a small risk. It's just different after entering the mountain.

Major-General Oliver thought of himself and arranged a bait to seduce the Bulgarian guerrillas.

The result is now obvious. The enemy was fooled. Unfortunately, he overestimated the marching speed of the British army. They could not gather the pocket array in time under the attack of the enemy.

...

Plovdiv, most of this strategic place has been occupied, and the defenders are still stubbornly resisting. Offensive battles are not the strengths of the guerrillas. Even if there are internal and external forces in the city, they will not be able to win the city in one fell swoop.

Guerrilla commander Edimier ordered: "Order the troops to stop the offensive, collect strategic materials as much as possible, and take them away with them. Those who cannot take them will be burned and cannot be left to the enemy."

The middle-aged officer reluctantly said, "Commander, it's a pity that so many babies have been burned. If we organize a civilian husband to rush for the shipment, it can still be shipped out."

Eddie Mille stared and said, "Don't stop talking nonsense. With so much supplies, are we still running? If we were bitten by the British, our strength would increase tenfold, and they would not be their opponents! "

Etimir is satisfied that he can destroy this part of the supplies. Although it was a bit regrettable that they did not win the entire Plovdiv, they could politically declare their capture here and fight for a better position with the Russians.

The Russians are very realistic. At the beginning of the treatment of the Bulgarian guerrillas, they would not starve to death. Since they tore the front of the Sardinian army and broke through behind the enemy, the guerrillas have been treated as Russian troops.

Logistical supplies were temporarily unavailable, but the Russians issued a batch of weapons and equipment to them and transported them through the Balkan trails.

Many guerrilla officers, including Edimir, have obtained the official ranks of the Russian army, and they are now staffed.

Fitzroy Somerset also promised that those who are willing to join the army after the war will be able to obtain the official Russian army number and be in charge of Bulgaria;

"independent"? Don't dream anymore, the Russians are not here to do charity. Fortunately, they have been fighting so long for the independence of Bulgarians.

Now the demands of Bulgarians are not so high, autonomy is their highest goal. Most also want asylum from the Russians to ensure that they are not enslaved by the Ottomans.

In particular, the personnel in the religious world is the standard pro-Russian faction. It has very high expectations for Bulgaria's joining the family of the Russian Empire.

In the future, Bulgaria is nothing more than a province, autonomous province, or Russia joining the name of an autonomous principality. The specific situation depends on the decision of the tsarist government.

The prerequisite is that the Russians won the war. If they lose all the rest, the losers are not eligible for the spoils.

...

Sofia

In the coalition command, Lieutenant General Montes had greeted all the relatives of Major General Oliver, and his teammates did not want to do this, let alone their own people?

Had it not been for the so-called pocket array, which delayed the time of receiving the defense, the Bulgarian guerrillas would not have been able to take advantage of it, and have successfully conquered three and a half cities in just one week.

The cities are all Ottomans. Even if Montes is captured, they don't care. The problem is that they hoard the materials in the city.

Even if the British Empire is a big cause, if you don't care about such a small loss, you have to consider political influence?

The immediate consequence now is to make Montes unable to look up in front of the French. The deeper impact is that the Bulgarian region has become more unstable, and more and more people have seen the hope of getting rid of the Ottoman rule and turned to support the guerrillas.

"Give an order to Major Oliver, so that he can immediately recover the lost ground and ensure the smooth flow of our army's logistics transportation line." Montes ordered

The siege of the guerrillas, let ’s talk about it later. It ’s really impossible to leave it to the Ottomans. Anyway, this is not the territory of the British Empire. Montes does n’t care so much.

"Yes!" The attendant replied

At the time of this order, Montes hadn't noticed that the danger was approaching, and Fitzroy Somerset was already planning a decisive battle.

At the beginning, the Sofia battlefield was the Russian 73,000 + 20,000 Bulgarian guerrillas VS 50,000 British forces + 20,000 Sardinian troops + 30,000 Ottoman troops, the strength of both sides is comparable.

Now that the Russian army has been replenished, the total strength is still more than 70,000, and the Ottoman army is less than 10,000 in the coalition. Only 35,000 of the remaining 42,000 British troops are on the front. The Sardinian army has 1.9. Million.

I have to say that the Italians are good at saving lives, and they have the lowest casualty rate among the warring parties. The battlefield life-saving manual that Franz had tossed back then has been deeply rooted in the Sardinian army.

This means that when the coalition reinforcements were held down by Bulgarian guerrillas, the Russians already had an absolute advantage on the battlefield.

The Ottoman army had been beaten, the Sardinian army was paddling all over the court, and the remaining British troops could not stand up to double the Russian forces.

On December 27, 1852, led by Fitzroy Somerset, the Russian army launched an onslaught in the Sofia region.

Unlike the previous offensive, this Russian army was caught by the Sardinian army's line of defense. Since the Bulgarian guerrillas had been killed from here, Fitzroy Somerset realized that this was the weak point of the coalition's line of defense. .

However, I missed the opportunity at that time. In order to prevent the British from plugging in this loophole, it became the target of the Russian army's attack in the later period. The artillery fire every time was not effective.

The Sardinian army on the opposite side also cooperated very well. It was common to shoot a gun at the sky, and the two sides made a fierce look.

Montes was fooled, and really thought it was torn open by the Bulgarian guerrillas. It was the first time the Sardinian army was unfamiliar with the environment and the guerrillas found a path to break through.

Coupled with the tense strength, the Sardinians seemed to be struggling again, playing vigorously on the battlefield, and withstanding the Russians' offensive, he did not let the British army join them in defense.

In the long run, Montes' approach is correct. If the British army and the Sardinian army defend together, it is estimated that this elite British army will soon be abolished.

Mantua is not a good general, but he must be a good boss. In order to reduce the casualty rate of soldiers, he emphasized safety first with three orders and five beeps, and was loved by soldiers.

In the eyes of the Sardinian soldiers, this is not their war, they are on the battlefield to earn that salary. So they have been able to paddle, and they have never done anything.

All this, it is clear that General Mantua, who understands humanity, is very clear. This army is the political capital for his return to the Kingdom of Sardinia in the future. It is necessary to buy the army.

He can't do this by leading everyone to victory and snatching trophies to make a fortune. Then only the generals who lead everyone to save their lives will be welcomed.

Now that the trouble is so great, the Russians on the opposite side don't cooperate, and Mantua has a headache. Abandon the line and run, just think about it. If you do, the angry British will surely hit him.

What about allies? Could it be that the Kingdom of Sardinia could not only take the British apart from protesting?

A middle-aged officer suggested: "General, it is better that we open a mouth at the junction with the British defense line and let the Russians pass. Even if the British find a fault after the war, we can put the responsibility on them."

Being reprimanded by the British every day, the Sardinians also have a temper, and the disparity in treatment has exacerbated this dissatisfaction.

In nominal terms, everyone's feeding is the same, but after arriving at the place, the British always get some fruits, vegetables, potatoes, bread and other supplies.

Due to the limited number, only British officers can obtain it, and naturally they have no part.

Even a general such as Mantua was not treated much better. If he wanted to improve his meals, he would have to pay bribes to British quartermasters.

They did not protest to the British, but the British bureaucrats took out the contract signed by the two countries, which clearly stated that the British Empire provided logistical support for 20,000 Sardinian soldiers.

Since they say they are "soldiers", they can only enjoy the treatment of soldiers. In the opinion of Sardinian officers, equating them with soldiers is no longer a matter of pure treatment, but also insults their personality.

In this case, even the coalition commander Lieutenant General Montes was powerless.

The bureaucracy in London was not something he could afford to provoke. People acted in accordance with regulations and fully complied with British law. It was also useless to complain to the Mainland.

There is no other way in London. Can I get some Ottomans?

Obviously, this is impossible. Just look at the situation of the Ottoman army. In addition to the guaranteed treatment of high-ranking officers, the soldiers at the bottom also need the British army to help.

Had it not been for the London bureaucracy machinery, which had always been replenished according to the standard number of people at the time of departure, Montes had distributed the extra beef jerky and biscuits to the Ottoman army, and now the frontline Ottoman soldiers would have to fight hungry belly.

Mantua shook his head and said, "You can't do this. If we trace it afterwards, we will not escape the relationship. We cannot bear the responsibility of losing the line of defense, which will affect the national reputation."

The pit teammates can, but they must have skills. If the operation is not good, put them in. Mantua would not do such a thing without technical content, and let go of the line of defense.

"What should we do? The Russians attacked so fiercely, our losses were very heavy, I'm afraid it won't be long." An officer said with a grin.

Mantua frowned, lowering his voice and saying, "This war can't go on. We don't have to stay to kill the Ottomans.

Order the troops to abandon the forefront positions, and by the way, forget the British deployment information on the battlefield and make it clearer.

Remember to use Bulgarian, anyway, the Russians can understand it. This pot can only be used by Ottomans, and it is normal for them to have Russian spies in their army.

With this information, the Russians will definitely divert their offensive targets. Once the line of defense was lost, we withdrew our forces into Kosovo and returned to Thrace from Macedonia. "

Apparently he was well prepared, and even the escape route had been planned. If the British were overwhelming and blocked the Russians' offense, then it was easy to do. Check out the Russian spies in the coalition!

The first object of suspicion was the Ottoman army. In theory, the British and Sardinian army were foreigners. The Russians did not have time to penetrate.

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