Chapter 513 Choice
This time, East Africa was not stingy in setting up a platform for the Russians. It has successively sent arms to Afghanistan, enough to arm 30,000 people. This is not a small sum, because the British currently have 30,000 to 40,000 troops stationed in Afghanistan. The Afghan authorities have already Because of the surrender, some of them were withdrawn, but there were still about thirty thousand left.
These 30,000 do not include the Indian servant army, which is the British's own son, the Army. Although this son seems to have no human rights at home, the British are not stingy with their own people.
The British Army usually looks pitiful, but it all depends on who it is compared with. Compared with its own Royal Navy, its funding is naturally a drop in the bucket. But compared with armies around the world, the British Army is also good, at least in terms of weapons. In terms of equipment, it is at the same level as that of several top powers. Therefore, the British Army is also a stupid son of the landlords even if it pretends to be poor. The treatment of the armies of other countries may not be as high as that of the UK.
Therefore, the British Army is ridiculed for its poor level. It can also join forces with France to compete with France in Crimea and Tsarist Russia, so there is no problem in playing support. As long as it is not led by itself, it is just like the Boer War and the Afghan War in previous generations. .
Because of reasons in East Africa, the first Boer War that was supposed to happen did not happen. Ernst did not know whether the British and the Boers would do it again. The Orange Free State, which had just been merged into Cape Town, and Britain is still in the honeymoon period after marriage, and East Africa has no choice but to interfere.
However, Ernst believes that the Boer War will happen again. After all, the British rely on sweet words, but their hands have already reached into the pockets of the Boers. This is like an old scumbag deceiving a simple girl without wanting to take responsibility.
Coupled with the Boers returning to Orange from the Transvaal Republic, the overall strength of the Orange Free State is still strong. After all, the Boer base in Cape Town is relatively large. Ernst originally drove away the Boers in the Transvaal Republic. People can be considered as laying a landmine for Cape Town.
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Ilya looked at the Afghan resistance that suddenly became "rich" and felt mixed feelings. He was happy that the equipment was sufficient now. Although it was a bit backward, it was still usable. But he was worried that the financial backers behind Afghanistan did not provide much ammunition.
Looking at the sentimental Ilya, Mulla asked: "Mr. Ilya, the equipment is enough now, why don't you look very satisfied?"
Ilya shared his worries with Mulati and said: "Although the weapons are enough, how to solve the problem of ammunition? We can't just fight one wave of war! Even if we win, there will be no ammunition replenishment, and the British can still do it later. The counterattack was successful.”
Mulati didn't have too many worries. He said to Ilya: "If we don't have ammunition, we can rely on seizures, and we can use local methods to make gunpowder. As long as we shoot more accurately, we can also save some."
Compared with the Tsarist Russian army, which is accustomed to living a wealthy life, Afghans are not picky about food and have little problem with gunpowder. Even guns can be made by rubbing them by hand. They have carried out large-scale manual repair of East African guns.
Because it is free support, it is naturally impossible for East Africa to check gun problems in Afghanistan, let alone repair them. Although East Africa has this capability, Ernst believes that the Afghans do not need it.
Ilya also thinks that the seizures mentioned by Mulati make some sense, because apart from the front-loaded flintlocks, the most weapons provided by East Africa are the British Enfield, which happens to be the same model as the British army.
"And we can make gunpowder weapons by hand in Afghanistan. The British do not have this ability. Their weapons and supplies must be transported from the rear, so we can find a way to swallow these weapons and supplies."
Ilya also felt that this plan was very reliable. The British invasion of Afghanistan was not much better than crossing the mountains. It passed through the Khyber, Gurram, Bolan Pass, etc. before entering Afghanistan. This shows that the terrain of Afghanistan is complex. , so it is definitely not a simple matter for the British to transport materials from India to Afghanistan. Not to mention the high cost, the risk is also high.
Thinking of the desperate mountain roads in Afghanistan, Ilya said excitedly: "Chief Mulati, you are a genius. We can rely on the advantage of the terrain to ambush the British supply lines, which will definitely be beneficial to your recovery of Afghanistan. .”
Mulati had a different opinion: "No, our primary goal is Kabul. Only when the war in Kabul reignites will Afghan martyrs everywhere who are dissatisfied with the British invasion take action. If it is just a small fight, it will not be good for the British." superficial."
Ilya said seriously: "Are you sure you want to choose Kabul directly as your target? Kabul is not easy to fight. We have only accumulated so many troops who can use firearms in the past few months. What if we are exhausted?"
"However, we still want to drive the British out of our country as soon as possible!" Mulati said firmly.
As for fighting the British for too long, Mulati is worried. It's not that Mulati is worried about the UK, but that he is worried about his partner - Russia!
The British colonization of Afghanistan was indeed the primary problem, but Mulati believed that Russia was not a good bird either.
Moreover, the Russians gave more verbal support. If it weren't for the support of "patriotic" wealthy businessmen, the resistance organization would not even have the weapons. The Russians would send a few people to try to fight Afghanistan and the United Kingdom to death. After that, both the United Kingdom and Afghanistan would suffer losses. Pick peaches! Afghanistan is right on the edge of Russia, so we have to guard against it.
Mulati is a somewhat far-sighted person. He doesn't have a very good impression of Britain or Russia, and he also knows that relying on the strength of others is not enough.
Of course, in order to prevent Ilya from being displeased, Mulati added: "Of course, when we concentrate most of our forces to attack Kabul, we can also incite our brothers in the south to harass the British supply lines."
However, Mulati was a little worried. After knowing that Mulati wanted to attack Kabul, Ilya felt that this method seemed quite good!
Don't get me wrong, Ilya thinks it's good not because it's good for Afghanistan, but because it's good for his own career. This is still related to Ilya's mission.
The order Ilya received was to cause trouble for the British, not to help the Afghans win, because Russia did not believe that Afghanistan had the ability to defeat the British, especially when it was concentrating on dealing with the Ottoman Empire and was unable to take care of Afghanistan. .
To cause trouble for Britain, problems in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, must be the most eye-catching. If there are problems in Kabul, the country will soon know about it.
If you follow your own plan and attack the British supply line, although it is safer, it will not be conducive to your fame!
Regardless of whether the Afghans can succeed in attacking Kabul, as the person in charge of the area near Kabul, Ilya can add a lot to his resume, and maybe he can be promoted and transferred back to the country.
After all, the mission is to find trouble, not to defeat the British. There is no bigger trouble than attacking the Afghan capital, and you will make money no matter what.
So Ilya immediately changed his tune and said: "Chief Mulati, you are right. Kabul is the political center of Afghanistan. Only attacking and recovering there can inspire people more. So we still take the recovery of Kabul as our primary goal, and other things can come first." Let it go."