Chapter 235: The Dreadful Disease
Palace of Versailles
Foreign Minister Auvergne said, “Your Majesty, the New Holy Roman Empire’s envoy in Paris has sent us a diplomatic note. They propose that our two countries take joint action on the Greek issue.
It seems that the Austrian government is worried that the British might take the opportunity to annex the Kingdom of Greece, threatening their interests.”
At the time, the population of Greece had just exceeded one million. And in this war, Greece suffered significant losses among its young and strong population.
If the British wanted to make the Kingdom of Greece their colony, it would not be very difficult.
These concerns were clearly not unfounded. Annexing Greece could have significant strategic benefits for the British, not only blocking the Russians from the Mediterranean but also increasing their influence in the Near East.
The French government was equally worried about this situation. The ‘cake’ of the Near East was only so big; if the British took more, it would inevitably squeeze out their interests in the region.
After some thought, Napoleon III said, “The British annexation of the Kingdom of Greece is very detrimental to our Near East strategy. Send someone to talk to the Austrians. As long as our interests do not conflict too much, we will join forces with them.”
Alone, Napoleon III was quite apprehensive about confronting the British, but he was fearless when joining forces with Austria. In this era, the power disparity between Britain, France, Russia, and Austria had not yet widened significantly. Even though the British had the upper hand, they could not face two adversaries simultaneously.
Common interests are always the basis for cooperation. France and the New Holy Roman Empire are involved in a struggle for dominance over continental Europe; theoretically, the two should be in deep conflict.
At the moment, however, the continental overlord is still Russia. Before the “Russian Bear” falls, both countries are only supporting actors and it’s not yet time for them to turn against each other.
Influenced by the Napoleonic Wars, every move France made on the European continent was closely watched.
Under such circumstances, any external expansionist action by France on the European continent could be misinterpreted by the outside world and lead to joint resistance against them. Therefore, the French government must keep a low profile at present.
The New Holy Roman Empire is also keeping a low profile. Although Austria has developed considerably in the four years under Franz’s leadership, this development has merely allowed Austria to keep up with the times and has not created an advantage over other countries.
After the annexation of Southern Germany, the newly established New Holy Roman Empire entered a period of internal integration. In the short term, they do not have the capacity to stir up trouble, and Franz currently does not have plans to vie for dominance over continental Europe.
Both parties are behaving themselves so that a Franco-Austrian conflict has not yet reached the point of ignition. This undoubtedly creates favorable conditions for their upcoming cooperation.
Minister of the Interior Persigny analyzed: “Your Majesty, the intentions of the Austrians are probably not so simple.
As far as we know, since the failure of the unification of Germany, there have been increasing calls within the Austrian government for the establishment of overseas colonies.
With the situation in Europe now stable and Austria’s path to German unification cut off, it’s likely that Russia and Austria have already reached an agreement regarding the Balkans.
Regardless of the outcome of the Near East War, Austria’s expansion on the European continent has reached its limit. Even the advantages they’ve gained in the Balkans are questionable as to whether they can be fully absorbed.
Under these circumstances, the Austrians will likely abandon the policy of the Metternich era and resume their overseas colonial strategy.
We need to prepare in advance; a new competitor may soon enter the scene.”
Not long ago, the French government determined its next course of action — temporarily abandoning continental expansion to focus on developing overseas colonies.
Now that Austria has joined the overseas colonial activities, it’s natural for the French to be on alert.
At present, it’s still the era of sail-powered navies, and there’s no revolutionary gap in naval technology between the nations. For the established European powers looking to expand their navies, the difficulty isn’t insurmountable.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that France is afraid of Austria joining the colonial race. On the contrary, France had an absolute advantage over Austria in overseas colonization.
But in the competition for colonies, Austria is not the only rival. There are many competitors, and typically, there’s mutual restraint in the scramble for colonial territories.
As long as it’s not a struggle over core interests, conflicts tend to be limited to power plays in specific regions, and it’s rare to see an all-out effort for domination.
If disputes led directly to war, it would be a winner-take-all situation. This is obviously impractical. With so many competitors, suppressing one will only lead to the emergence of another.
With such a dynamic, nations would be too busy suppressing rivals to have the energy to open up new colonies. There are limits to colonial expansion; blind expansion could lead to catastrophic losses.
Not all land has colonial value; even within the same region, different outcomes may arise depending on which nation governs it.
Colonies with no strategic value and mediocre economic prospects usually go to whoever occupies them first; but for colonies with high strategic value and rich benefits, fierce struggles are inevitable.
After the mid-19th century, various countries had disputes over overseas colonies, but wars between colonial empires caused by the scramble for colonies were very rare.
The reason was that the most fertile lands had already been divided among the powers, and the remaining territories weren’t worth waging war over. Ultimately, everyone was acting for profit, and no one wanted to engage in a losing deal.
After pondering for a moment, Napoleon III said confidently, “This should be a good thing for us. If the Austrians start colonizing overseas, they will inevitably have to increase their naval development efforts.
This will greatly reduce the military pressure we face on our homeland. Compared to the Austrians, our advantage at sea is much greater than on land.
Due to geographical reasons, the Austrians are at a natural strategic disadvantage in the competition for overseas colonies.
If they do not focus on expanding from the Mediterranean to the African continent to develop in other areas, they will have to pass under our watchful eyes, as well as the watchful eyes of the British.
The more they invest in overseas forces, the less they will dare to confront us diplomatically in the future, because we can cut off their supply lines at any time.”
After speaking, Napoleon III’s face darkened. Austria’s situation was indeed as he described it; starting overseas colonization put them at a disadvantage and exposed their weaknesses to their enemies.
But aren’t the British, who control the Strait of Gibraltar, also in a position to cut them off? In the event of a war between the two countries, the British could easily split the French navy in two, preventing them from supporting each other.
Why did the Austrian government give up on establishing overseas colonies in the past? Could it really be that they were not interested in the benefits of colonization?
Of course, this is unlikely, as everyone understands the substantial benefits that overseas colonization can bring. However, for overseas colonization, Austria’s geographical location is a great disadvantage, which can cause them to suffer losses in the process.
As long as they don’t develop and strengthen, it’s okay; relying on Austria’s power, they can maintain colonies of average strategic and economic value. But once they encounter richer opportunities, they definitely can’t compete with the likes of Britain and France.
For a few colonies of low strategic and economic value, investing a large amount of financial resources in the development of a navy seemed disproportionate in terms of cost and benefit from the perspective of the previous Austrian government.
However, times are changing. With the development of industrialization, those overseas colonies that once seemed insignificant are revealing their value again.
Don’t underestimate Austria because of its geography; Franz understands that with the development of naval technology, this weakness will become less important in the future.
In the era of sailing warships, Austrian overseas colonization faced the fatal challenge of having to travel thousands of miles more than Britain and France, significantly increasing both costs and risks.
However, with the advent of the ironclad era and the use of steam engines in warships, the problem of distance would gradually be solved.
Especially after the opening of the Suez Canal, the journey from the Mediterranean to the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic Oceans will be much shorter, which will greatly improve safety.
This is also one of the reasons why the Austrian government is easing relations with France. The idea of digging a canal to connect the Mediterranean and the Red Sea was proposed by Franz.
This requires cooperation with the French, as Austria’s influence in Egypt is still too weak. Even after Franz’s rise to power and his efforts to increase his influence in the region, it’s unlikely that they will be able to catch up in a short time.
……
The Crimean Peninsula was the scene of a fierce war between Great Britain, France, and Russia. However, casualties on the battlefield were still within the tolerance of all parties involved.
But the humid climate, a variety of small insects, and the vicious attack of blood-sucking parasites led to the spread of disease, causing large numbers of non-combat casualties that became unbearable.
In the spring of 1854, for the first time, the number of non-combat casualties among the allied forces exceeded the number of battlefield casualties. The Russians were not spared, of course, but they were better adapted to the local climate, so their non-combat casualties were relatively few.
Russian military commander Gorchakov could never have imagined that it wasn’t the arrival of new equipment that equalized the ratio of casualties between the enemy and themselves, but disease instead.
Of course, he didn’t yet have the leisure to concentrate on this aspect. Gorchakov was also troubled by the large number of Russian soldiers falling ill, and the harsh reality of the lack of sufficient medical supplies and medical personnel left him feeling helpless.
Had he known about the dire situation of the allied forces, Gorchakov’s mood might have improved considerably. If possible, he wouldn’t mind having the Russian forces on the island go down with the enemy.
This war was now tied to the fate of the Russian Empire. At this point in the war, over three hundred thousand Russian soldiers had died. On the Crimean Peninsula alone, Russian casualties had exceeded seventy thousand.
A middle-aged officer reported back, “Commander, lately the enemy has slowed down their offensive. According to the prisoners we captured, a large number of their soldiers have fallen ill, reportedly with colds, dysentery, and even… syphilis.”
“Syphilis?” Gorchakov asked in confusion.
“Yes, Commander, syphilis!” the middle-aged officer replied affirmatively.
Receiving this answer, Gorchakov didn’t know whether to cry or laugh. Aside from warfare, there were very few entertainment activities on the Crimean Peninsula.
Gambling, alcohol, and women were the soldiers’ favorites.
Russian soldiers rarely participated in these activities, simply because they were mostly poor. Without money, they naturally couldn’t afford such luxuries, and with less participation, the chances of contracting diseases were naturally lower.
The situation was much better for the British and French allied forces. They had military pay, and where there was a market demand, a market would naturally develop. The service industry was booming among the allied forces.
They were all trying to get through the days on the battlefield, living through today without knowing if there would be a tomorrow, so naturally, they sought to enjoy themselves while they could!
Due to a lack of personal hygiene, some unfortunate souls contracted syphilis, which then quickly spread throughout the army via the service industry.
(Author’s Note: Historically, in the Crimean War, over ten thousand people died due to syphilis infection.)
At the time, there were no effective treatments for syphilis. The most reliable method was to take antibiotics shortly after infection, but unfortunately, penicillin was still in Franz’s laboratory with no expectation of being commercialized anytime soon.
Since there were no drugs, the only option was to leave it to fate and endure. After all, the normal mortality rate for syphilis was only about 20 percent. Those with good luck could mostly survive it.
Given the poor conditions in the military camps and the soldiers’ neglect of personal hygiene, the mortality rate was probably even higher.
These were minor problems compared to colds and dysentery, which could also be fatal, and their mortality rates weren’t much lower. After all, death is death, no matter the disease.
The lack of medical resources was not unique to the Russians; the allied forces were in a similar situation. The British forces were in even worse shape, with a chaotic logistics system; most soldiers didn’t even know where the field hospitals were.
Even getting to a hospital wasn’t necessarily helpful, as there were too few doctors to meet everyone’s needs. Unless one was an officer, ordinary soldiers couldn’t expect good treatment without bribing.
Many of the necessary medical supplies had to be obtained by soldiers bribing the quartermasters; otherwise, they wouldn’t even know where the supplies were stored.
Don’t be surprised or panic if you find that the medical supplies and the hospital are miles apart. This is standard procedure, and it wouldn’t be unusual for them to be several miles away.
The mechanical bureaucrats strictly followed the rules, and often, when the army moved, field hospitals were relocated but the supply depots were left behind. All the procedures had to be completed before they could be moved.
Here’s a joke: A transport ship named “Pioneer” delivered over 150 tons of vegetables to Balaklava, but the logistics department suddenly found that the ship’s paperwork was incomplete, hence forbidding the unloading of its cargo.
According to the regulations, the ship had to return to London to complete the paperwork before the supplies could be registered and stored. By the time the paperwork was completed, the 150 tons of vegetables had rotted and spoiled.
You would think they would be thrown away, right? However, the mechanical bureaucrats simply stored these supplies in the warehouse and then distributed them to the troops.
As you can imagine, the consequences were severe. Historical post-war statistics show that the losses inflicted on the expeditionary force by the British logistics department far exceeded those inflicted by the Russians.
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