Chapter 860 Political Art

There is no accident. After Austria took over the blame, the relationship between France and Austria deteriorated sharply, and the foreign ministries of the two countries fought every day.

For a time, there were many doubts in Europe, Britain and Russia were confronted on the Central Asian issue, and France and Austria were entangled again for China and Europe.

Rounding it up is about equal to: the Anglo-French alliance and the Russian-Austrian alliance are aligned.

Two points of the world, this is clearly the prelude to the outbreak of the European War.

The most uneasy is the two countries, because of the aggressive relationship of the French, they have been lined up.

It seems that Austria took action to relieve them, but actually pushed them to the opposite side of France.

Originally, the three countries of Fabius and Germany were also expected to reach an agreement on the coal export issue to avoid the escalation of conflicts. It is a pity that it was mixed by Austria, and there is no possibility of easing.

Because of their interests, the French capitalists will not tolerate the government's concessions; the two countries, Germany, whose nationalism has risen, are also unable to make concessions now.

The problem has fallen into an infinite loop, and no matter how you deal with it, you cannot satisfy all parties. Contradictions are temporarily suppressed, and they are just gathering strength for the outbreak.

...

In the Afghan region, the British army that swept over all the way, finally encountered trouble.

I don't know since when, the guerrillas in Afghanistan have emerged, and they have been attacking the logistics of the British army.

Especially in the past month, not only the logistics transport team has been attacked, but even the main force has been attacked dozens of times.

The loss caused by a single attack is not large, but the number of attacks launched by the Afghans cannot be sustained!

As a result, the British army does not dare to act alone now, but if the number is less than one company, they will be ambushed when they go out.

Not that I don't know, but I was startled. Last month alone, 112 British soldiers were killed and 313 wounded in attacks by Afghan guerrillas.

This is only the loss of British soldiers, Indian soldiers, and has not been counted.

All together, the British lost a regiment in the last month alone.

This number of casualties is not inferior to the casualties in the decisive battle with the Afghan government forces, and the number of daily losses is slightly exceeded.

Looking at the increasing number of casualties, Lieutenant General Patrick was about to collapse. He had no idea how to write a report to London.

Kabul, British Army Headquarters

A middle-aged officer with a bandage on his arm suggested indignantly: "Your Excellency Commander, the guerrillas are too rampant, we must take the initiative to attack."

Undoubtedly, the officer was the unlucky and lucky one who was wounded in the guerrilla attack.

Generally speaking, high-level officers like him are under the protection of layers, and the guerrillas cannot get close.

Unfortunately, Makau had bad luck and was hit by the Afghan home-made artillery at the temporary command headquarters, and a shrapnel just hit his arm.

Compared with the many officers who were killed collectively at the scene, he was undoubtedly lucky as the only remaining seedling.

Lieutenant General Patrick nodded and said slowly: "Colonel Makau, calm down. Everyone knows the importance of destroying the guerrillas.

However, we took the initiative to attack dozens of times, but did not achieve the expected results.

The enemy didn't fight us decisively at all. Every time the encirclement and suppression war just started, these guys went into the mountains.

By the time we pulled out, these guys were sticking up again like psoriasis. As soon as we turned around, these guys ran away again.

If the weak points of the guerrillas are not found, no matter how hard they attack, they will end in vain.

Judging from the news from Central Asia, most of our allies, the Three Khanates of Central Asia, will not be able to hold on, and at the end of the year we will become neighbors with the Russians.

Before that, we must first remove these mice hiding in the ground, or let them hook up, it will be a big trouble. "

In fact, Patrick's words are not finished. The hidden dangers in Afghanistan are not just guerrillas.

The bigger problem is, in essence, religious fanatics. These talents are the main force of the attack, relying on the local religion to exist, and they like to attack the lonely British soldiers the most.

The British who have just arrived have not yet figured out for the time being. Most of the twists and turns here are recorded on the guerrillas.

Of course, this is not wrong, they are originally a family - the Afghan resistance organization.

Everyone's nominal leader is the Amir King, although the hapless king hides in the mountains and forests and dares not come out.

Another officer suggested: "I think it's better to capture the Afghan king first. Without the leader of the Amir, these resistance groups are scattered."

Colonel Makau didn't buy it: "Come on, Hedes. The Afghans hate us so much that we don't have any roots here.

Who knows where Emile's mouse's burrow is. He can't go over the mountains and fight one by one, right?

Moreover, the Afghan resistance organization was originally a mess, and the leader of the Amir had little influence.

This can be seen from the fact that they attacked us. The number of attacks was many, but the number of people they dispatched each time was limited.

Since the defeat of the Afghan government forces, who has encountered more than 3,000 resistance forces?

All of them are a group of stragglers, vulnerable to a single blow on the frontal battlefield, and can only hide behind their backs and shoot black guns. "

That's the problem

The point is that although the resistance organization is a mob, but this mob is not slippery!

Hudders sneered: "So what, these mice also have to eat, the big deal is that we pull the net to block them and trap them in the mountains.

In a hurry, we can also set fire to the mountain and burn it all the way.

If it really doesn't work, they impose heavy taxes on the local people, so that they have no food to support the guerrillas.

The joint sitting method can also be implemented, but if anyone colludes with the guerrillas, all the residents within a five-mile radius will be executed.

I don't believe that Afghanistan has been wiped out by us, and there are still guerrillas that cannot be wiped out. "

Sounds like a good idea, but it's not that simple to implement.

Pull-net-style blockade, as soon as I heard it, I knew that it would require a lot of troops.

The area of ​​Afghanistan is not small, and it is densely covered with mountains and forests. It is simply not something that these infantry divisions can block.

Setting a mountain on fire seems to be very simple, in fact, not all mountains can be set on fire at one point, and a large amount of fuel needs to be put into the fire.

Not to mention the heavy tax collection, then the local government must be established first, and the British soldiers are expected to collect the tax. It is estimated that the local people will have to defect to the guerrillas.

The real deterrent is probably the even sitting method, but it is not easy to operate, and maybe more people will be involved in the guerrillas.

Seeing that there was no objection, after weighing the pros and cons, Lieutenant General Patrick said slowly: "If you don't have a better way, then let's give it a try!

I will seek reinforcements with the country, but this requires everyone to be unified. Mere Afghan guerrillas can't attract the attention of the gangsters in London. "

To shirk responsibility is a traditional skill that bureaucrats have learned by themselves. The Afghan guerrillas do not have enough weight, so they can only be drawn to the Russians.

After some artistic processing, what was originally the result of the Afghan guerrilla attack on the British army fell to the Russian army.

...

The black pot that fell from the sky, I don't know how the Russians feel, anyway, the London government is pissed.

If the Russians are doing things in secret, that's all. Such an upright attack on the British army would violate the rules of the game.

After receiving the news, Gladstone's chief immediately roared: "The Russians are provoking Britain, and we must retaliate."

There is no doubt about the authenticity of the frontline battle report. Is Prime Minister Gladstone a fool?

the answer is negative!

Pretending to be confused is a basic skill of politicians. Knowing that the Russians couldn't fly to Afghanistan, Prime Minister Gladstone could only recognize it by pinching his nose.

Otherwise, there is no way to explain the losses of the British troops on the front line to the country. Although the main responsibility lies with the military, they can't escape as a cabinet either.

The arrogant British people can tolerate the loss of hundreds of thousands of people when a war breaks out with the foreign powers, but they cannot tolerate the killing of thousands of people by the indigenous guerrillas.

This pot can only be carried by the Russians, so as to minimize the political impact, and by the way, it can also allow Congress to freely allocate funds and send reinforcements to the Afghanistan region.

As for wronging the Russians, that's not a problem at all. Anyway, Britain and Russia are destined to be enemies in Central Asia. If the relationship deteriorates, how bad can it get?

...