Holy Roman Empire - Chapter 197

Chapter 197: Chapter 84: Opening a New Front

Translator: 549690339

Constantinople

Abdulmejid I’s countenance was ominously dark, the great battle in the Balkans may have been a minor episode for England and France, but it was fatal for the Sultan Government.

For this war, the Ottoman Empire had already exhausted all its strength. There was no doubt that this was all the power they had.

Mobilizing a million-strong army, regardless of its combat effectiveness, the entire fortune of the Ottoman Empire was at stake.

The outcome on the battlefield, however, was extremely disappointing to Abdulmejid I. Initially, the Allied Forces should have had a slight advantage, but unfortunately, any such small advantage had vanished after the struggle for command between England and France.

Resolve the conflict between England and France? Stop dreaming. The two World Wars had concerned their very survival, and still, they held each other back, so how could one expect them to cooperate wholeheartedly now?

Abdulmejid I said gravely, “Have the Foreign Ministry contact the London and Paris governments and tell them that if they continue to conserve their strength on the battlefield, we will lose this war.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” the Minister of Foreign Affairs Fuad replied.

Despite the intense battles, the casualties of the English and French were not significant; it was primarily the Ottoman Army that was dying on the battlefield.

Since the British had a gun to the Ottomans’ necks, forcing them to deplete the Russians on the battlefield, the French naturally did not mind following suit.

In the Sliven Region, the Russians started by severely pounding the French, and in order to conserve their strength, the French naturally used the Ottoman Army as cannon fodder.

After all, it was the Ottomans begging England and France for help, and even if they were extremely unreasonable, the Sultan Government could only endure it.

Up to now in the battle, less than fifteen percent of the English and French forces had been reduced, including non-combat personnel, while the Ottoman Army had lost over twenty-five percent.

Under normal circumstances, with such heavy losses, the Ottoman Army should have already collapsed, but having a Supervisory Team made things different.

To some extent, England and France holding guns to their necks and forcing them onto the battlefield also had a positive aspect, at least causing significant losses to the Russians.

War Minister Mudra tentatively suggested, “Your Majesty, let’s ask England and France to send more troops. Given the current situation, it is impossible for them to cooperate well. The only way to win this war is to rely on overwhelming strength.”

The battle has progressed to this point, and we are already at a disadvantage. Even if the British Army and French Army are willing to fight to the death, it will only result in mutual destruction.”

Abdulmejid I sighed, smiling bitterly, “It’s not that simple. This battle is not so important to England and France, it won’t matter much even if they lose.

Perhaps in their view, moving the battlefield to the coastal areas, or even a defense of Constantinople, could lower the cost of the war.

Even because of the extended front, the logistical pressure on the Russians would greatly increase, which would inevitably reduce the number of troops they could deploy to the front, actually increasing the Allied chance of victory.”

England and France could afford to do so, but the Ottoman Empire could not. If they were to let the Russians come and fight in the coastal areas, the heartland of the Ottoman Empire would become a battlefield.

Even if they won the war, their foundation of rule on the Balkan Peninsula would be destroyed. Not to mention regaining lost territories, it would already be quite difficult to maintain the current range of actual control.

The reality is so cruel, England and France only allied with them to strike at the Russians; the life or death of the Ottoman Empire was simply not within their consideration.

Having paid such a huge price for this war without a single benefit, and possibly even losing most of the Balkan Peninsula, it would be strange if Abdulmejid I didn’t hold any resentment.

Yet the conflict between the Ottoman Empire and the Russians was too deep; even if the Sultan Government wanted to show submissiveness, the Russians would still come after them, forcing them to sell their lives following England and France.

London

As the situation in the Balkan Peninsula became deadlocked, the British Government started to suffer headaches. Don’t think that just because they’re wealthier and mightier, they can disregard the situation.

From an interest standpoint, ending the war as quickly as possible and focusing the Great Britain Empire’s energy on colonial expansion was the best choice.

After dawdling about for over half a year, the British troops promised finally arrived; the last batch of reinforcements had set out from the British Isles to the Balkan Peninsula.

This reinforcement was urgently requested by General Montes at the frontline, because he no longer believed the Ottomans were capable of exterminating the guerrillas, nor was he certain when the French would be able to defeat the Russians.

The honor of the Great Britain Empire couldn’t be lost, and neither could that of the army. For the sake of honor, for the standing of the army at home, and for future military funding, the bureaucrats at the British Army Department showed rare efficiency for once.

Theoretically, the arrival of these thirty thousand British troops at the frontline could break the deadlock, but the British Government still lacked confidence.

Since the anti-French wars, the Russian Empire had become the most powerful country on the European Continent, and the leading land military power in the world.

The London Government had no confidence in its own army; they didn’t believe this number of troops could break the deadlock, and they never even asked the army to take the initiative to attack.

In the eyes of the British Cabinet, Britain was never a land military power, and all that mattered in the Balkans battlefield was not to lose face. The heavy task of defeating the Russians was best left to the French and the Ottomans.

Prime Minister John Russell asked, “The situation on the Balkan Peninsula has reached a stalemate; unless the Allied Forces send more troops, victory cannot be achieved in the short term. What are your thoughts?”

Foreign Minister Palmerston suggested, “Your Excellency, such a situation has arisen mainly because the Russians had been scheming and preparing for this war for over two years, while the Allied Forces were hurriedly reacting to it.

Another factor is the position of the Austrian Government, which has caught us by surprise. The Vienna Government has actually given up restrictions against the Russians and is even providing them with logistical support.

We have already contacted the Vienna Government; their stance is very firm. They made it clear they were neutral before even hearing our conditions.

We asked them to refuse to supply strategic materials to the Russians, and they rejected us using the excuse of free trade.”

“Free trade” was a concept put forth by the British, but they didn’t expect it to backfire on them so soon. And they couldn’t oppose it either; it’s the national policy of the Great Britain Empire.

At that time, there were no restrictions on neutral countries exporting strategic materials, at least no mandatory force. Now, Austria is openly doing business with the Russians.

Palmerston once considered sweeping the Austrian market clean, to cut off the Russians’ supplies. But after giving it some thought, he gave up on the idea; the domestic capitalists were not to be trifled with.

If the London Government buys goods from the Austrians without purchasing their goods, it would be disastrous if these people were to make a fuss.

As a political ally, Minister of the Navy James Graham came to the rescue, “Mr. Palmerston is right, the reason for this situation is that we misjudged the Russian-Austrian relations.

However, what’s done is done, and reviewing the error won’t help; the most important thing now is to defeat the Russians, and let bygones be bygones!

The Russians do have weaknesses, according to the intelligence we have, more than eighty percent of the Russian Army’s operational materials on the Balkan Peninsula are provided by the Austrians, with the remaining being supplies previously stockpiled by the Russians themselves.

The strategic materials in the Caucasus region are basically all supplied by the Russians themselves.

These strategic materials are mostly stockpiled along the Ukrainian coast. If we can launch a raid on these areas, it would also be a heavy blow to the Russians.”

Of course, it would be a heavy blow, as the results of two years of Russian preparation are all there. They had originally planned to use the Black Sea Fleet to transport logistics for the front-line troops.

But plans can’t keep up with changes; the English and French navies came in, and sea traffic was cut off, leaving them with only ox carts and horse carts to slowly transport supplies to the front.

If the British were to raid these supplies, just the economic losses would bring the Tsarist Government to tears.

Given the greed of Russian bureaucrats, even if the British were to only shell the area a few times, they would dare to claim significant damage to these supplies.

Palmerston suggested, “We cannot only destroy these supplies, in fact, we could also open a second battlefield along the Ukrainian coast.

With the Russians deploying their main forces on the Balkan Peninsula, we can take this opportunity to wipe out their Black Sea Fleet’s base.

Without these pesky flies, our men can land along the Black Sea coast at any time, and the Russians will have a headache.

They can abandon other places, but they dare not lose the Crimea Peninsula.

The Russian military power is not infinite; after we open a new front, they won’t be able to cope at both ends for long.”

The London Government’s misjudgment of Russian-Austrian relations was caused by an incorrect assessment made by the Foreign Office, and Palmerston must find a way to make amends.

Opening a new front is the strategy devised by his think tank. As long as the Russians are defeated, all previous mistakes are no longer worth mentioning.

Having the advantage of naval superiority, they can fight along the Black Sea coast however they wish.

The Russians would be overstretched managing three battlefields at once. The Caucasus region aside, giving up the Balkan Peninsula is impossible; they have already paid too much and are just a step away from Constantinople.

Yet they can’t lose the Crimea Peninsula either; if they do, the English and French navies would be at their doorstep every day, making it impossible for the Russians to develop a navy in the Black Sea.

Without a navy, continuing the advance on Constantinople would have only political and religious significance, and even if they were to capture it, it would be difficult to hold.

Home Secretary Henry John Temple questioned, “Mr. Palmerston, opening a second front sounds very good in theory, but let’s not forget that we are also on an expedition far from home. The Russians’ expenses are huge, but ours are greater.

Just like the current great battle on the Balkan Peninsula, the Allied Forces’ military spending is twice that of the Russians. The Russians purchase supplies directly from Austria, and our supply transportation costs are also a quarter higher than theirs.

The Ottomans’ finances are already exhausted, the Kingdom of Sardinia’s military expenses are all on us, and the French government’s financial situation is not optimistic either.

If we open a new front on the Crimea Peninsula, most of the military spending will fall on us, and there is no budget for this expense. How do we convince Parliament?”

No one likes to be on the losing end, and if they want to open a new front, the British would have to play the role of financier. This means an expense of millions, even tens of millions of British Pounds.

Palmerston calmly explained, “Mr. Henry, you worry too much. If a war should break out on the Crimea Peninsula, we would actually be at an advantage.

As long as we destroy the Russians’ stockpiled supplies along the Black Sea coast in advance, the Russians would have to transport supplies from the rear if they want to resupply.

These costs would be much higher than purchasing from Austria, and with the Tsarist Government’s ability to react, they simply won’t be able to adjust to this situation in the short term.

During such times, the more they panic, the more likely they are to make mistakes. Once the Russians make a wrong decision, our chance will come.

Even if they don’t make a mistake, fighting on three fronts will exceed their national strength limit. We would be facing an enemy who lacks soldiers, money, and supplies, winning the war won’t be a big problem.

As for the additional military spending, compared to crushing the Russians, what does paying a bit more count for?

After such a defeat, the social contradictions repressed by the Tsarist Government will burst, and under internal and external problems, the possibility of the Russian Empire’s collapse is very high.

By then, we will be able to partition the Russian Empire according to our will and completely eliminate this threat.”

For the British of that era, the Russians were the primary enemy. The possibility of merely defeating the Russians wouldn’t be enough to win over the British Parliament.

But if there’s a chance to thoroughly crush the Russians, it’s a different story; no MP could resist this temptation.

Seeing no further objections, John Russell spoke, “If there are no other opinions, let’s proceed to a vote now. Those in favor of Mr. Palmerston’s proposal, please raise your hand.”

After speaking, John Russell raised his hand first. He too couldn’t resist the temptation of defeating the Russians. If he achieved this task, he would be one of the greatest Prime Ministers in British history.

After a quick scan, John Russell continued, “Approved. Next week I will submit a motion to Parliament on behalf of the Cabinet.

Mr. Palmerston, the Foreign Office must immediately communicate with the French to reach a consensus on this issue as soon as possible.

It’s best to do it before the Parliament vote, to avoid any last-minute complications.”

No matter how good the strategy is, someone has to execute it. The British Army’s numbers are limited, and even if they sent everything they had, it wouldn’t be enough for the Russians, so the French would have to take the lead.

Napoleon III wants to gain political prestige from this war, how is it possible to do so without paying a price?

John Bull isn’t a big fool; the French won’t be able to achieve an explosion of force if they don’t contribute.