Chapter 199: Scandal
The choice that the Greeks believed to be correct was undoubtedly unsatisfactory to both sides, and it can be said that it displeased everyone.
The Russians could reluctantly accept it. No matter where the Greeks directed their attacks, it still diverted a chunk of the Ottoman Empire’s resources. Now was the critical moment, one more ally meant one more source of strength, increasing the odds of victory.
Britain and France, however, found it unbearable, particularly the British who deemed Greece’s actions a blatant act of betrayal.
The 1850 conflict between the two nations was conveniently brushed aside by the British government. They conveniently overlooked the falling out that occurred years ago when Palmerston ordered the blockade of the port of Piraeus.
Of course, John Bull was also reluctant to provoke the Greeks at this time. In case they charged straight at Constantinople recklessly, cutting off their supply lines along the way, the allied forces on the Balkan Peninsula would be finished in less than half a month.
While the British Parliament pondered opening up a new front, Foreign Secretary Palmerston found himself in hot water. Unable to restrain his lower body, he had an affair with one of the queen’s maids.
This was nothing much, the rotten things aristocrats did were too numerous, one more was harmless. Having a secret affair, even if discovered, it could just be ignored and smoothed over.
Unfortunately, their misfortune lay in their tryst taking place right within the palace, and worse yet, they were caught in the act by Prince Albert himself.
With the matter brought into the open, it became a palace scandal. Prince Albert was furious, and so was Queen Victoria.
If they didn’t take this seriously, where would the dignity of the royal family be?
As the situation escalated, the unfortunate pair, Palmerston and the maid, were apprehended on the spot by the palace guards and were given a thorough “hospitality”.
Under the butterfly effect initiated by Franz, history took a turning point. In history, Palmerston’s misdeed with the queen’s maid was a private matter.
The facade was not yet shattered, leaving room for a possible turnaround. In history, Palmerston paid a painful price for his actions. Not only was he ousted, but he also had to expend considerable effort to mediate, engaging in exchanges of political interests before finally returning to the political stage.
Now caught red-handed, not to mention what would happen afterwards, just getting through the present calamity was an issue.
If news of the Foreign Secretary’s scandalous affair were to spread, it would create quite a stir. The British public’s hunger for gossip was exceptionally fierce, and who knows what sensational narratives they might concoct.
John Russell was stunned. He was speechless in admiration for Palmerston. He was impressed by the romantic escapades of this colleague, and Russell was even more impressed by his ability to court death.
Then, he had to find a way to handle the aftermath. The royal family needed an explanation, and his colleague couldn’t simply vanish without a trace either.
Palmerston was no small character. Not only was he the Foreign Secretary of the British Empire, he was also the spokesperson of the bourgeoisie in the government, wielding considerable influence among the public.
Prince Albert asked, “Prime Minister, how do you think this issue should be handled?”
After capturing the man, Prince Albert regretted it immediately. There would be countless opportunities to deal with Palmerston later. Why did he have to take action right away?
If they don’t keep this under wraps, who knows what kind of narratives would take shape beyond the palace walls? There’s a possibility that some might even think this is a scheme concocted by the royal family to persecute a minister.
For the sake of the royal family’s reputation, this matter was destined to be handled discreetly. Prince Albert, with his sharp political acumen, naturally chose to shift the responsibility to others.
……
The scandal that erupted suddenly, directly affected the efficiency of the British government, delaying the opening of the second front and creating an opportunity for the Russians.
Inside a dilapidated small village in Plovdiv, Bulgarian guerrillas were secretly having a meeting.
“Gentlemen, we have just received intelligence that the Ottoman Empire has withdrawn the troops encircling us. Replacing them are 30,000 British infantry that just arrived.
This is both a challenge and an opportunity. The British are much more formidable in combat than the Ottomans. Without two or three times the superior force, we are simply not their match.
Clearly, we do not have so many troops. This is the challenge we are about to face.
From the mouths of captives, we know that there are deep-seated conflicts between the British and the Ottomans. Despite being allies, the arrogant British only see the Ottomans as cannon fodder.
This is an opportunity. Since there is discord between them, it is very difficult for them to cooperate closely.
After all, the British are outsiders. They are not familiar with the Bulgarian terrain. Right now, they are in the process of taking over from the Ottomans, and short-term chaos is inevitable.
According to the information from insiders, the 5,000 Ottoman troops inside Plovdiv withdrew yesterday. Now, there are fewer than 2,000 remaining, with only 800 of them being British soldiers.
This is an opportunity. If our forces join together to capture Plovdiv in one stroke, dismantling the enemy’s supply hub, it will undoubtedly impact the war on the Sofia battlefield.”
The speaker was a middle-aged man, one of the main leaders of this alliance of Bulgarian guerrillas, Dimitar.
Despite the Bulgarian guerrillas now having considerable numbers, they don’t have an established system. Actually they have not united at all, still fighting independently.
The real reason why the Russians were supporting them was to create chaos for the Ottoman Empire. They had no plans to let them actually gain independence at all, so naturally they would not let them unite.
In this era, Bulgarian nationalism had not yet awakened. Bulgaria’s national founding father in later history — Hristo Botev, was still a little kid in kindergarten. (AN: If there were kindergartens at that time)
The driving force behind the Bulgarian resistance mainly stemmed from the Ottoman government’s oppression and religious persecution.
A young black-haired, green-eyed military officer stood up and disagreed: “Mr. Dimitar, Plovdiv is only 15 kilometers from Asenovgrad and only 30 kilometers from Pazardzhik.
This means that once we launch an attack at Plovdiv, reinforcements from enemy-occupied Asenovgrad can arrive on the same day, and Pazardzhik’s reinforcements will arrive at most by the next day.
Pazardzhik still has 3,000 defending soldiers, and Asenovgrad has 2,000. We would be facing not 2,000 enemies but a total of 7,000.
The enemy has just withdrawn 5,000 troops; they will undoubtedly have new forces coming in to replace them. We haven’t received any intelligence on this matter, which is highly unusual.
For this situation to occur, there are only three possibilities: First, the enemy commander forgot and overlooked Plovdiv’s importance. Second, something went wrong with our intelligence network. Third, this is the enemy’s trap, deliberately trying to lure us in.
The first situation is obviously impossible. The enemy isn’t so stupid as to not even see such a simple issue.
The intelligence we receive comes from the Bulgarian people across various regions. Large-scale troop movements cannot be kept secret. Based on the intelligence we have received, there are currently no significant forces heading towards Plovdiv.
So the possibility this is a trap is very high. If we cannot occupy Plovdiv quickly in a short time, within three days at most, the surrounding enemies would swarm over and trap us here.”
Dimitar explained: “Sephillos, you’re right. This very likely could be an enemy trap, but the temptation is just too great.
We all know that the enemy has stockpiled large quantities of supplies in Plovdiv. Even if this is bait, this is an opportunity to destroy those provisions.
Although I’m uncertain just how many strategic supplies the enemy has stocked up in Sofia, looking at the importance they place on logistical transport, I can judge that the stockpile of strategic supplies in Sofia is insufficient to support the frontline troops until the end of the war.
After destroying these supplies, we can retreat. As for the city of Plovdiv, let’s leave it to the Ottomans for now. After this battle is over, we can come back.”
Dimitar’s analysis was well-founded. By now, the battle had progressed to the point enemy forces in Sofia had declined to 80,000 troops. Even then, FitzRoy Somerset still pulled out 15,000 British soldiers to handle logistical transport.
Due to a significant portion of forces being allocated to logistics, the result is the current predicament on the Sofia front where the allied forces are being pounded into the ground by the Russians.
It was because his fighting force was stretched thin that FitzRoy Somerset requested reinforcements from the homeland. Dimitar was impatient to make a breakthrough, mainly because enemy reinforcements would soon arrive. If they do not strike now, victory will become elusive.
This hurried response from the allied forces is a consequence of the ongoing war. The Russians were well-prepared, and as a result, the frontline forces of the alliance suffered heavy losses and had to immediately withdraw for replenishment.
Replacement troops were all sent to Wallachia. They were not directly sent to the frontlines because logistical constraints meant they could only wait by the Danube.
The Ottoman Empire is going all-in, relying on conscripting soldiers for reinforcements. Due to the Balkan Peninsula being mostly under enemy occupation, there’s hardly any place left to conscript soldiers, and the rate of replenishment can no longer keep up with the frontline’s rate of consumption.
Britain and France were too far from the Balkans. Wanting to replenish forces required reporting back to the homeland, then through bureaucratic red tape. By the time it got approved and arrived, the opportunity would have passed.
From this perspective, the British strategy of opening a second front was indeed far-sighted. Once the Crimean Peninsula war kicks off, the Russians would be stretched thin.
Even with thorough preparation, there were limits. The dismal state of internal transportation was undoubtedly the biggest hindrance, restricting the deployment of Russian forces.
A middle-aged man sneered and said: “Mr. Dimitar, even with our guerrilla forces combined, we number barely over 5000 troops. You clearly know the state of our weapons and equipment as well.
If this is a trap, then the enemy would definitely be prepared. On the surface, the enemy force that seems to have combat power are those 800 British soldiers.
But who really knows? The Ottoman army is not without capable fighters either. If they were all useless trash, we would have liberated the country long ago.
What if these 1000 plus Ottoman defenders are the elite forces of the Ottomans, coupled with the eight hundred British soldiers? Their combat strength wouldn’t be much inferior to ours.
I believe it’s too risky to attack Plovdiv hastily. Even if we have collaborators within the city, the chances of success are too low.”
Where there are people, there is a society, and the Bulgarian guerrilla forces were originally divided into many factions, mostly formed based on geographical regions. Many were eyeing leadership within the guerrilla forces.
Dimitar was just the leader in name of these guerrilla forces, and there were quite a few discontented individuals among them. However, in the face of a common enemy, these conflicts were temporarily suppressed.
“What ideas might Mr. Hamil have?” Dimitar asked calmly.
He could tell that Hamil was not opposed to attacking Plovdiv itself, but had other plans.
Hamil smiled slightly: “Ideas might be overstating it. Since we cannot determine if this is a trap or not, we might as well test the waters first.
Let’s launch an attack on Pazardzhik, which is thirty kilometers away. We’ve already figured out the situation there. The 3,000 defending soldiers are all Ottomans, with fairly average combat capabilities. It won’t be difficult for us to unite and take them down.
If the enemy does have traps, it would be exposed by then. They cannot possibly set up an encirclement spanning 30 kilometers after all.
If there are no traps, we take shortcuts straight to Plovdiv after capturing Pazardzhik. With surrounding enemies already drawn towards Pazardzhik, chances of our sneak attack succeeding would be very high.”
Dimitar thought and said: “This is indeed a good plan that can minimize risk. However, maneuvering between the two places does put too much pressure on the guerrilla forces.
It seems necessary to contact Boris and the others. Let them be responsible for attacking Pazardzhik to break the deadlock, and we’ll assist with reinforcements.
Once Plovdiv and Asenovgrad’s defenders head out, we destroy them first, reducing the difficulty of besieging the cities.”
This would not be the first siege the Bulgarian guerrillas attempted, but it would be their first major counterattack after being defeated in the Battle of Sofia.
After more than two months of recuperation, they had regained their strength. Though not at their peak, their confidence was on the rise.
In this regard, the Sardinian military also deserves credit. If it weren’t for them creating an opportunity for the Bulgarians, these guerrilla forces would still be locked in a fierce struggle with the allied forces.
At this point, they would likely have suffered heavy casualties. The Russian Bear was also not easy to get along with. Initially using the guerrillas as cannon fodder already revealed their attitude. They ordered the Bulgarian guerrillas to break through the alliance’s defense lines, infiltrating to the rear for a pincer attack, clearly intending to kill with a borrowed knife.
Unfortunately, plans don’t always go smoothly. Who knew the Sardinians were actually so timid as to have their positions pierced through by the Bulgarian guerrillas and infiltrated their rear.
The Russians simply did not believe the guerrillas could accomplish this. Unable to coordinate in time, they lost an opportunity to win the war.
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