Chapter 878 Winter Offensive and Guerrilla

The winter in Afghanistan is very cold, but the severe cold did not stop the war. I don't know if the British are too incompetent or the Russians are too powerful.

In the last month of 1889, the Russian army took over Mazar Sharif, Kunduz, and Chahcharan successively, and one-fifth of the territory of Afghanistan changed hands.

Even the Wakhan Corridor and Herat, where the British army gathered heavily, were crumbling and could be conquered at any time.

Open the window and the cold wind blows through. Looking at the flying snowflakes, Lieutenant General Patrick shuddered.

The ghost weather of minus ten degrees is really unfriendly to the British army. Britain has never had such a cold day.

Don't say go out to fight, even in the command headquarters where the fire is burning, Lieutenant General Patrick feels the cold wind.

The bureaucrats in the country miscalculated the situation, and the pre-cooling cotton-padded clothes prepared were configured according to the domestic temperature, which was not a big deal at all.

Fortunately, the bureaucrats of the logistics department carried forward the fine tradition and prepared cotton-padded clothes according to the previous number.

Soldiers who are killed or missing are naturally not needed, and officers and soldiers who go out to perform tasks can put on two layers of cotton coats.

Even so, the non-combat attrition of the British army has increased sharply since the beginning of the winter. In some areas, the number of non-combat attritions exceeded the number of casualties in combat with the Russian army.

The defeat of the front line is not so much because the Russian army is too powerful, but because the winter in Afghanistan is too harsh.

Especially for some Indian soldiers living in the tropics, the winter in Afghanistan is hell on earth.

Hands, feet, ears, face... As long as the whole body is exposed, nothing is good.

In contrast, the Russian army on the opposite side is much better, although there are also non-combat attritions, but that is only a very small number.

Except for a few regions, the winter in Afghanistan can be called a warm winter compared to the Russian Empire.

As a result, it goes without saying that the Russian soldiers are like a fish in water here, and the British army is living here like a year.

The roar of artillery fire continued, and the Herat offensive and defensive battle began again. Lieutenant General Patrick, who was on the front line and commanded, was panicked at this moment.

He finally understood why the Russians dared to go to war before winter came.

"When will the domestic reinforcements arrive?"

Indian reinforcements cannot be counted on. The war has been going on for three months, and the Governor of India has sent him 150,000 reinforcements.

The number seems to be a lot, but unfortunately the combat power is too touching. Relying on fortifications to defend is not bad, and participating in field battles is a gift.

Especially after winter comes, many Indian soldiers who have lived in tropical regions for many years suffered frostbite, and nearly one tenth of them lost their combat effectiveness.

In contrast, the native British soldiers were much better, not only in combat effectiveness, but also in frost resistance.

There are also winters in the British Isles. Although it is not so cold, the weather is still a few degrees below zero.

In this context, the general adaptability of British soldiers is much stronger than that of Indian soldiers who have never seen snowflakes.

The middle-aged officer behind him replied, "If nothing else happens, the first batch of reinforcements from the country will arrive in a month and a half."

It only took four and a half months from the outbreak of the battle to the arrival of reinforcements, which was also a qualitative improvement for the British Empire.

According to the past practice, the ability to send reinforcements within half a year is due to the courage of domestic bureaucrats.

Of course, this high efficiency is also forced out. The enemy is the mighty Russians, and they are coming for India. It is difficult for the British government not to be nervous.

Although this efficiency is not low, Lieutenant General Patrick is still not satisfied. The situation on the front line cannot be delayed, and the longer it drags on, the harder it will be to fight the next battle.

"Send someone to remind them, and inform them to prepare the cold-proof items. The winter in Afghanistan is not easy."

Although it may be a little late to say this now, Lieutenant General Patrick chose to remind.

The commander of the expeditionary force is not easy to do, and the casualties of the Indian colonial army do not matter, but once the main British army suffers heavy casualties, Lieutenant General Patrick will be unlucky.

It is impossible to count on the domestic short-term. Although the situation encountered by the expeditionary force has been reported, but when the gang of gentlemen in the country make a decision, and then organize production and delivery, the winter is probably almost over.

Let the reinforcements prepare for the cold, in fact, let the officers and soldiers find their own way.

The British army had to pass through many areas along the way. In theory, it was possible to purchase some cold-proof materials.

Anyway, your life is yours, whether you want to spend money in order to increase your chances of survival on the battlefield - feel free.

...

Against the cold wind, a transport convoy slowly drove out of Jerman City. Judging from the direction in which the convoy was heading, it could be roughly determined that it was heading to Afghanistan.

"It all cheered me up. I'm about to enter Afghanistan. It's not peaceful there. If I'm not careful, I have to see God in advance."

The loud voice of the middle-aged officer spread throughout the transport convoy, and everyone's expressions became serious.

The Afghan region is not very peaceful. There are Russian troops outside the border, guerrillas at home, and even old farmers who seem to be honest and responsible may attack the transport team at any time.

In less than a year, British convoys were attacked 476 times, 46 of them suffered heavy losses, and 5 were completely wiped out.

A total of 1,371 guardsmen and soldiers were killed, and 3,476 civilians were killed, and the loss of materials is even more unaccountable.

high

Risk also means high reward. Although escorting materials is a threat, the harvest is also rich.

Generally speaking, material transportation is allowed to occur loss. This is everyone's financial resources, as long as the upper limit is not exceeded, the above will not interfere.

If you encounter a guerrilla attack, you can also report the loss and make a fortune.

As long as it doesn't go too far, the above will also open one eye and close the other. Of course, the share that should be distributed must be given.

If it weren't for the rampant guerrillas in Afghanistan, the delivery of supplies would actually be a good business.

There is a lot of oil and water, the danger is small, the front line is won, and the transport convoy is not small; if the war is lost, it has nothing to do with them, and it is usually the first choice of gilded officers.

It is a pity that Afghanistan is an exception. From the perspective of casualty ratio, the casualty rate of the transport team is not smaller than that of the front-line troops.

Those with a background in the expeditionary force are all responsible for the transportation of materials in India, and those who are sent to Afghanistan to perform transportation tasks are those with insufficient background.

A young officer replied: "Don't worry, Lieutenant Colonel. We have walked this road more than a dozen times, and we encountered an attack by rioters. The really dangerous road is ahead."

This is a fact, and the deeper it goes into Afghanistan, the more dangerous it is. This has been the consensus of the British army. Most of the attacks occurred in inland areas, especially the most dangerous forest areas.

After a long-term attack and counter-attack struggle, the British army also summed up a set of plans to deal with the guerrillas.

For example, in case of an accidental attack, the aborigines in the surrounding area were retaliated against, forcing them to stand on the opposite side of the guerrillas.

In order to establish prestige and slaughter the village and destroy the town, the British army did not do much. While inspiring local hatred, it also brought fear.

Human nature is the most complicated, not all Afghans can take death as their fate, and there are also two or five young men who betrayed the guerrillas to join the British army for their own interests.

The more densely populated areas, the less conducive to the latent guerrillas. It was not easy to run after the attack, so most of the attacks were moved outside the city.

"Shut up, Weir! Your experience is shit, and if you want to live long on the battlefield, the most important thing is to be cautious..."

Before the middle-aged officer could finish his words, a bullet came flying and hit his right arm.

Immediately afterwards, the chaotic gunshots sounded, and everyone knew that the guerrillas were coming. In the panic, the people who rhymed the supplies were already in a mess, and some of the carriages had already galloped out.

The guarding officers and soldiers hurriedly took their guns to fight back. The injured middle-aged officer endured the pain and continued to command the battle.

It seems that they realized that the transport team is not easy to mess with. After about a quarter of an hour, the guerrillas gave up their preparations to continue the storm, leaving behind a few corpses and sped away.

Similar attacks are staged in Afghanistan almost every day. The guerrillas went out to ambush from time to time as a matter of routine.

Regardless of the strength gap between the two sides, they attacked when they encountered the British army. Retreat immediately after the attack, without any hesitation.

Seeing the guerrillas retreat, the injured middle-aged officer breathed a sigh of relief, and hurriedly shouted to his subordinates: "Stop chasing, quickly count the casualties, and continue on the road."

Their mission was to deliver supplies, not to chase down the guerrillas. Destroying the guerrillas was just an accidental military exploit, but if the guerrillas were destroyed because of the loss of materials, they would have to go to a military court.

There are a lot of negative teaching materials in this regard. Some people are caught in the trick of turning tigers away from the mountains. As soon as the front foot goes out to investigate, the guerrillas take over the transport convoy on the back foot; some people investigate the guerrillas for entering the mountain, and they are directly pushed back by others, and the end is miserable... …

The transport convoy was not large, except for more than 800 people, there was only one battalion of escorts, and the speed of counting the casualties was very fast.

After a while, Vail's young officers came forward to report: "Lieutenant Colonel, this time we have suffered heavy losses.

There were 184 casualties in total, including 27 guards and soldiers injured and 11 killed, 127 civilians injured and 19 killed, and 7 vehicles lost in supplies..."

The middle-aged officer waved his hand, probably because of the wound he touched, his face suddenly turned pale, and he endured the discomfort and commanded: "Go on and continue on the road.

We had to get to the next stronghold before dark, or it would be dangerous at night. "

This is the experience summed up by Lieutenant Colonel Jack, but any convoy targeted by the guerrillas will not attack only once.

In many cases, the guerrillas will attack even though they know that the attack is unlikely to be successful. It's like brown sugar, as long as it sticks to it, it can't be thrown away.

Not to mention the dozens of guerrillas, Jack didn't dare to stay longer even if they were attacked by the Lone Ranger.

Finding that Lieutenant Colonel Jack's right arm was injured, Ware asked with concern: "Lieutenant Colonel, take care of your injury first, it will easily become inflamed if you drag it down."

Gunshot wounds are fatal these days. Even if it only hits the arm, if it is not handled in time, once the wound becomes inflamed, it may also die.

Many soldiers who were amputated did not say that the shrapnel blew their limbs away, it was likely that they were just scratched by the bullet. Because the body could not resist, the wound became inflamed and had to be amputated.

Lieutenant Colonel Jack shook his head: "What to do? There is no military doctor here, and we don't have time to delay.

Don't worry, I've already bandaged it. It's winter now, and it's not that easy to get inflamed.

Take the wounded and leave immediately. The officers and soldiers who died in action will leave it alone, and when they come back, they will collect their bodies. "

The reality is so cruel, even for middle-level officers, there is no guarantee of safety on the battlefield.

The British military TCM hospital is very limited, and it is not luxurious enough to equip the transport team with medical staff.

Even if there were medical staff, Lieutenant Colonel Jack would not dare to receive treatment at this time.

As the commander of this transport convoy, Jack knows very well what his subordinates are.

Even though they had just repelled a guerrilla attack, if the guerrillas attacked again, it was unknown whether they would be able to stop it.

It's not that the troops have no combat effectiveness, it's mainly that the morale of the army has been tossed away.

Originally, everyone felt a lot of grievances in their hearts to deliver supplies in the snowy days. If morale is lost, the soldiers will run away.

It happened before. Because the transport team was attacked by guerrillas many times, the officers and soldiers who escorted the materials could not bear the pressure and ran away.

In order to reduce the risk of being attacked again, Lieutenant Colonel Jack had to hurry up. So much so that the bodies of the officers and soldiers who died in action were not handled well.

Anyone with discernment knows that coming back to deal with it is just a procrastination. By the time everyone escorted the supplies and folded them back, the corpse would have no idea what to feed and mobilize.

But people are all selfish, not to mention the problem of tasks, just the matter of sleeping in the wilderness, everyone sincerely rejects it. It's not that you can't endure hardship, it's mainly that it's really dangerous.

As the convoy left, the ground returned to calm again, and only the messy corpses on the ground proved that a battle had taken place here.

As night fell, the British army transport convoy finally arrived in the small town of Takar, and the dangerous journey was temporarily over.

In the wilderness, several young men were whispering beside a bonfire.

A middle-aged man with a beard said sharply: "I don't agree with your plan, it's not time for a decisive battle with the British, and storming the town of Takar will only bring us unnecessary losses.

The Russians are only our temporary allies, you wouldn't be naive to think that they really came to help us expel the British, would you? "

Short-handed, soft-eaters.

After receiving the weapon assistance from the Russians, the combat effectiveness of the Afghan guerrillas has improved a lot, which can be seen from the success rate of recent incidents.

No matter how it was improved, there was still a lot of pressure to rely on a guerrilla force of several hundred people to go to storm the towns controlled by the British.

...