Holy Roman Empire

Secretary of the Army Rosario shook his head: "These problems do exist, but we have no choice, do we?

The Russians don't care whether we have difficulties, as long as they are ready, the Russian army will come.

For the safety of India, we must take the initiative to fight.If we don’t fight the war of defense of Afghanistan now, we will have a war of defense of the Ganges in the future.

As for the difficulties we are facing now, it is not impossible to overcome them. The last thing we need is labor force.

It is enough to recruit labor directly from the Indian region. The part with the highest labor cost is nothing more than the domestic production and transportation process.

With the financial situation of the Russian Empire, it is impossible for them to compete with us for the Afghan region for a long time.

As long as you defeat the Russians once or twice, let them realize the gap in strength between the two sides, and the rest of the problem will be easy to handle. "

Spending money is something that has to be done.

The strength of the Russian Empire is not weak, but the biggest problem is its finances. The rich and powerful Britain has no reason to let go of this obvious loophole. Instead of fighting with them for financial resources, it ran to play Armageddon.

Stud played the decisive battle all at once, which seemed majestic, but in fact he danced with his head on his waist, and if he failed, he would win the fate of the country.

Can an empire on which the sun never sets without India be considered an empire on which the sun never sets?I am afraid that within three to five years, he will have to abdicate to make way for the virtuous.

This is also the most tangled place for everyone. Sending troops to reinforce is too expensive, and Britain, which has a large family and business, will feel pain; if not sending troops to reinforce, and worrying that the front line will lose control, the Russians will threaten India's security.

After hesitating for a moment, Prime Minister Gladstone said slowly, "Let's vote collectively and report the final resolution to Parliament."

When the situation is unclear and you are unwilling to take responsibility alone, collective resolution is undoubtedly the best choice.

Even if there are certain problems in the resolution, it is the result of democracy, which can minimize everyone's responsibility.

As for the price, it is naturally that the efficiency has dropped a little bit.The cabinet can make a decision immediately, but when it comes to parliamentary discussions, no one knows how long it will take.

But one thing is certain, as long as the Anglo-Russian War breaks out, the efficiency of the British Parliament will also be passively improved.

……

In St. Petersburg, there have been frequent good news from the front line recently, and Alexander III's mood has also improved.

It is not easy to be the tsar of a fighting nation, and one must always pay attention to changes in the battle situation on the front line.

In case of a defeat on the front line, the Tsar must deal with the aftermath as soon as possible, so as not to make things worse and affect his reputation.

Alexander III asked: "The channel to go south to Afghanistan has been opened. Now it depends on the logistics department. How long will it take for you to transport supplies to the front line?"

Logistics Minister Argent hurriedly replied: "In two months at most, we will be able to deliver all the strategic materials in the plan to the combat troops on the front line."

I don't know when it started, going south to India became the most important national policy of the tsarist government, and all strategic plans were carried out around this core.

At this critical moment, Argent dare not discount it.Even if he was dissatisfied with the Russian army on the front line, he would not dare to make trouble here.

Otherwise, if something goes wrong on the battlefield, the tsar will kill people, and even without the tsar's action, the domestic interest groups will shut him up forever.

Alexander III frowned, then shook his head: "No, the speed is still too slow.

We are preparing, and the British are not idle.The British Parliament is discussing whether to increase troops in Afghanistan. Once the enemy's main reinforcements arrive, it will be difficult for this war to end in a short time. "

The British Parliament has no secrets, and any valuable news that enters here will appear in London newspapers in the shortest possible time.

It was published in the newspapers, and no matter how weak the czarist government's intelligence capabilities were, it would still receive the news.

In order to be able to resolve the battle quickly and avoid falling into a stalemate like the Prussian-Russian War, Alexander III must of course be in a hurry.

Wandering around in his heart, Argent gritted his teeth and said, "Your Majesty, the attack can actually be advanced.

It is not possible for the troops on the front line to consume all their supplies in one day.Judging from the current material reserves of the troops in Central Asia, they can fully support continuous operations for more than [-] days.

During this period, we will have supplies arriving one after another.The actual combat time that the frontline troops can support will be longer.

As long as the frontline troops don't rush forward, our logistics will be able to keep up and there will be no problems. "

In theory, there's nothing wrong with Argent's claim.

There is a part of the material reserves on the front line, and the logistics department will deliver the materials in batches. As long as the connection is good, there will be no problems. There is no need to wait for all the materials to arrive.

However, these are all theoretical.If it is actually operated, it will test the organizational ability of the tsarist government.

The military required to stockpile combat materials half a year in advance before launching a full-scale attack. Apart from the need to rest and reorganize the troops just after the Central Asian War, most of them still couldn't trust the domestic bureaucrats.

In case there is a problem in any link during the transportation process, the materials are a step behind, or the delivery location is mistaken, it is enough to kill an army.

At that time, even if all the responsible persons are found out, it will be of no value to the overall situation.

After contemplating for a while, the somewhat tempted Alexander III reconfirmed: "Can the logistics department really guarantee that the supplies will arrive on time?"

Guarantees do not exist, and all logisticians know that there are too many unexpected situations, especially the force majeure of nature.

Argent bit the bullet and replied: "The logistics department will try its best to ensure that most of the supplies arrive on time, and there is no way to guarantee each unit.

In addition to the military notifying us of the combat plan in advance, the logistics department must prepare in advance so that it is possible to keep up with the rhythm of the frontline troops. "

After hearing this explanation, Alexander III was happy instead of worried.As long as the total supply is sufficient and the supplies of individual troops are delayed, it is a minor problem.

The battlefield is ever-changing. Today the troops are stationed in the east, tomorrow they may go to the west, and the day after tomorrow they may change places.

Before there were no radio stations, once the logistics transport convoy set off, they had to chase after them on horseback if they wanted to contact them. It was normal that they couldn't coordinate.

After a pause, Alexander III said solemnly: "I'll give you another half a month to deliver as much supplies as possible to the front line. We can't miss this opportunity."

Seeing the tsar's resolute attitude, Marshal Ivanlov hesitated to speak.He always felt that there was a problem, but he couldn't find where the problem was.

Chapter 131 Slow

On September 1889, 9, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs handed over the letter of war to the British Minister in St. Petersburg. Following the end of the First Near East War, Britain and Russia entered the battlefield again.

There was plenty of time this time, and the Russian army launched the offensive only on the third day after the declaration of war, which was in full compliance with international law.

Of course, this is not the rule of the tsarist government.The main reason is that the Afghan region is deep inland, and the British have not had time to lay wired telegraphs, and it will take more than a week to deliver the message at the fastest.

London

Inside the British government building, Prime Minister Gladstone frowned and asked, "Didn't it mean that the Russians were not ready for war? Why did the war break out early?"

Britain is not a stubborn man. While preparing for war, it did not forget to collect information on Russian preparations.

Just yesterday, Prime Minister Gladstone was assured that the Russians would not be ready for war for at least three months.

It is now late September, and the Russian Empire will be covered in ice and snow in less than three months. Generally speaking, the Tsarist government will not launch a war at this point in time.

In the end, the British government came to the conclusion that the war would break out in March and April next year, and the preparations for the war were carried out according to this progress.

Foreign Secretary George replied very depressed: "The Russians are indeed not ready for war, and our intelligence personnel lurking in the Russian Empire have confirmed it many times.

The war broke out ahead of time, perhaps because the tsarist government was aware of our plan and took the lead. "

There is no problem with the intelligence, and the judgment of the British government is also logical, but the Russians did not play their cards according to the routine.

When this kind of thing happened, everyone present couldn't escape if they wanted to be held accountable. Naturally, Prime Minister Gladstone would not pursue it further.

After contemplating for a moment, Prime Minister Gladstone asked uncertainly: "The Russians launched the war ahead of time, can our troops in Afghanistan hold it?"

In recent decades, all the wars between Britain and the European powers ended in failure, and even the Afghan natives suffered heavy losses.

Now that we are going to war with the Russians, it is really difficult for Prime Minister Gladstone to raise confidence in an army with such a series of glorious victories.

Defeating the Russians is of course the best choice, but Prime Minister Gladstone doesn't think the troops on the front line are that powerful, otherwise he won't ask for more troops in the country.

At this time, Prime Minister Gladstone had to be thankful that he had thrown the issue of reinforcements to Parliament.

If the reinforcements were not timely and caused heavy losses on the front line, the parliament also shared most of the responsibility.

Secretary of the Army Rosario shook his head: "The Russians are aggressive, and they will not stop until they take over the Afghan region.

The Russo-Prussian War is a lesson from the past. At its peak, the Russians mobilized 500 million troops, and the front-line combat troops remained at 200 million.

Although Central Asia is no better than Eastern Europe, the Russians cannot invest millions of troops, but they can still do it by investing 50 million troops.

If the troops in Afghanistan are all elite troops, I can guarantee that they will be able to defend Afghanistan and even have the strength to launch a counter-offensive.

But the problem is that most of our troops in Afghanistan are Indian colonial divisions, and their combat effectiveness is less than one-tenth of that of the main force.

Unless the Russians put no more than 20 troops into the attack, it will be difficult for us to take advantage. "

Could the Russians have put in less than 20 troops?

This is obviously impossible.To attack the Three Khanates in Central Asia, the tsarist government successively invested more than [-] troops.

Next, to compete with Britain for the Afghan region, only tens of thousands or 10,000+ troops will be invested, unless the tsarist government has lost its mind.

After a pause, Rosario continued to add: "The war has already broken out. In view of the complicated situation in Afghanistan, the Ministry of the Army proposes to expand [-] infantry divisions, [-] artillery regiments, and [-] cavalry divisions..."

Before Rosario could finish speaking, the Secretary of the Navy, Sir Astley Cooper Key, interrupted forcefully: "Your Excellency, are you not joking? Not long ago, the Army has expanded by three infantry divisions, and the total strength of the Army has reached A staggering 30.

According to the current military expansion plan of your Ministry of the Army, the total force must break through the 100 million mark.

As far as I know, the mountains in Afghanistan are not conducive to the movement of large troops at all.The Russians will invest 50 million troops at most, and no amount of logistics will drag them to death.

We have already taken advantage of the first move. The frontline troops can rely on the terrain to build fortifications and defenses on the spot, and they don't need many troops at all.

100 million army, are you going to fight all the way from Central Asia to Moscow? "

If you don't object, you can't. Britain's military expenditure is not unlimited. If the army gets more, the navy will get less.

Because of the war in Afghanistan, the British government stopped the arms race, and the navy has long been dissatisfied.

Now that the army is jumping out to grab resources under the banner of war, Sir Astley Cooper Key really can't bear it!

As for the need for war, this in itself is a fallacy.Different styles of play require completely different troops.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Hudge Childers: "Sir is right that we don't need that many troops in Afghanistan and we don't have the capacity to support millions of troops in Afghanistan.

The army is not our strong point, and it is simply unrealistic to fight the Russians in Afghanistan.

What we need is to defend the Afghan region and stop the Russians from thinking of going south, instead of having a decisive battle with the Russians in Central Asia.

For pure defense, the Indian colonial army can also be used.We have as many such troops as we want, no matter how heavy the casualties are, there will be no trouble, and the cost is much lower. "

It was the lion who opened his mouth, and Rosario did not expect the government to agree, and it was expected that he would be opposed.

"I'm afraid the two of you didn't understand the seriousness of the problem. War is not a game. The enemy will not follow our plan. The Russians provoked the war in advance to prove it.

The troops on the front line cannot fight forever. The troops need to be rotated and replenished. We must have enough reserves.

陆军部是按照3:3:4计算的，既投入前线的作战部队30万，在印度地区再驻扎30万可以随时增援、轮换，国内准备40万部队应对突发情况。

Judging from the casualties of the Prussian-Russian War, such troops are actually very few, and the Indian colonial army is still needed to supplement them.

The expansion of the army cannot be completed in a day or two, but the situation on the battlefield is constantly changing, and we must consider the worst case.

......"

Lord of the Admiralty, Sir Astley Cooper Key: "Arrogance, the Army is going to fail from the start, can it be..."

Seeing the escalation of the quarrel, Prime Minister Gladstone stopped it and said: "Enough! The Russians have all come over, if the quarrel continues, everyone is ready to collect the corpses of the frontline troops!

Ordered the Governor of India to form another 50 troops, and authorized Governor Lytton to send troops to reinforce the Afghan battlefield at any time according to the changes in the frontline battle situation.

In addition, seven infantry divisions were drawn from the mainland, and one infantry division was drawn from Canada, Australia, and New Zealand to immediately reinforce the Afghan region.

The army immediately began to expand, first expanding 40 troops, and if necessary, it will be discussed later according to the actual situation. "

Originally, Prime Minister Gladstone wanted to reinforce the [-] infantry divisions on the front line at one go, but there were not so many troops in the country.

If you want to continue to increase the number of troops in the mainland, then wait until the expansion is completed. Now you can only let the Indian colonial army take the lead.

The military expansion plan was slashed in the middle. Rosario originally planned to continue to fight for it, but after glancing at the expressions of everyone, he decisively chose to give up.

It is already very difficult to get everyone to agree to expand the army.If the game is overdone, maybe these guys think that the army is too expensive, and they want to use cheap colonial troops to fight the Russians.

Regardless of Rosario's efforts to belittle the combat effectiveness of the colonial army, in fact there are still a few capable troops in the British colonial system.

The combat effectiveness is not as good as the main force of the British army. It is because the colonial army's weapons and equipment are too poor. If it is really replaced with the same equipment, it is still unknown which one is stronger or weaker.

The British government did not wantonly use these cheap troops with strong combat effectiveness, not because everyone didn't want to, but mainly because they were worried about loyalty.

The arrogant soldiers are not joking. These guys with strong combat capabilities are not as good-tempered as the Indian colonial army. If they are not good, there will be trouble.

Everyone understands the reason why tigers are infested.There are so many colonies in Britain, but there is no such thing as a local enlargement, which relies on this kind of caution.

……

Chapter 132 The Most Incorruptible Department

In the Palace of Vienna, since the news of the outbreak of the Anglo-Russian War came, Franz felt relaxed.

After being an emperor for so many years, he has always been cautious, just to avoid the situation of being besieged by people in the original time and space.