Chapter 194 On Which Bureaucracy Is Stronger

The war in the Balkans was ignited again. This battle was the largest in the history of the European continent, with a total of more than one million troops on the front line of more than 400 kilometers.

This battle, which was destined to be remembered in history, unfolded very comedy. It stands to reason that the coalition forces were not fully prepared. As the initiator of the battle, the Russians should take advantage of it, or even directly secure the victory.

The reality is very tragic. As the attacking party, the Russian army is also in chaos.

The artillery regiment commander Preston scolded angrily: "Damn, we are artillerymen, you actually sent me a bunch of bullets, do you want me to feed the cannon with bullets?"

The officer who delivered the supplies replied mechanically, "Sorry, Colonel, this is the order above. If you have any questions, please contact the headquarters, and now please sign for the supplies."

Preston's artillery regiment has just arrived, and the infantry regiment stationed here has moved forward, but the logistics department still distributes supplies according to the original plan.

Preston frowned and replied: "We responded to the top, Mr. Major. Now these supplies, I have no use at all, you should pull them back!"

The major officer said solemnly: "No, Your Excellency, the order I received is to deliver this batch of supplies here to the defenders, please be sure to sign for it.

As for how to deal with these materials, you can decide for yourself. You can dispose of them in private. You can also throw them away in a place. After the war, you can directly report the battle damage.

These materials are the supplies of an infantry regiment for the next week, and there are many good things in it. Colonel, you will not suffer. "

After hesitating for a moment, Preston still signed his own name, and the money sent to the door was not worth it.

Anyway, the artillery is the treasure of the headquarters, and it is not the same as the gray animals that are worthless. When a report goes up, their supplies will still come down.

...

In this battle, the main force of the Russian army was divided into two parts. Fitzroy Somerset led four infantry divisions, two artillery regiments, and a cavalry regiment, with a total of more than 73,000 people attacking the Sofia area.

The battlefield is ever-changing, and troops are frequently mobilized, and the logistics system cannot keep up. Unlike the last battle, it was in the Danube Valley, and it was easy to supply supplies, and even if it made a mistake, it could be adjusted quickly.

It's different now. The front line has advanced 200 kilometers, and it takes several days for the logistics materials to be delivered. Without telegrams, we can only rely on messengers to notify them, and the news received by the military department is often delayed.

At this time, the mechanical Russian bureaucracy came into play. The officers who transported the logistics materials had to transport the materials to the designated location.

Even if the original troops are gone, they have to hand over the supplies. It is not an exception for an artilleryman like Colonel Preston to receive infantry supplies.

Fitzroy Somerset is a good general. He has to take care of such things. How can we fight without solving logistical problems?

"The logistics department was ordered to increase the supply of materials for the front-line troops to one month, and the supply of materials in the future is not in a fixed location and must be handed over to the troops.

The troops below the division level are not transported separately, but all the materials are sent to the division headquarters for unified distribution, and the artillery regiment and cavalry regiment are sent directly from the headquarters. "

A middle-aged officer reminded: "Your Excellency Chief of Staff, this is not in line with the rules, I am afraid it will..."

Fitzroy Somerset shook his head and said: "Don't worry, I will explain this issue to the country. Now send someone to contact Commander Menshkov. I believe he has encountered the same problem."

...

The logistical supply mode was changed, and the logistical supply confusion of the Russian army was finally resolved. Of course, the materials that were lost in the previous transportation will definitely not be found, and all of them are considered battle damage.

The Battle of Sofia has begun, and the Russian army is only 30 kilometers away from Sofia, and the two sides have begun to exchange fire.

Sofia Coalition Command, Montes asked, "Has the enemy's forces been reconnaissance clear?"

"Your Excellency, Commander, I have figured it out. The Russian army dispatched a total of 4 infantry divisions, 2 artillery regiments, and 1 cavalry regiment, with a total of 73,000 people.

In addition to this, there are Bulgarian partisans of about 20,000 people. But they seemed to have a disagreement with the Russians and did not act together. "

The person who answered was an Ottoman officer, and the investigation of the enemy's situation was naturally done by them bowing their heads. If you send British soldiers out, you won't know how to get back if you don't understand the language and get lost.

Montes said calmly: "Our reinforcements will arrive tomorrow night, order the troops not to rush to engage the enemy, and leave a small number of troops to check the enemy's marching speed.

Except for a few important strongholds that must be held, the rest are withdrawn, and the enemy will be decisively fought after the reinforcements arrive. "

Not calm or not, Montes is a rare "veteran" in the British army. He once commanded a battalion of troops and suppressed hundreds of colonial rebellions.

There is no way, who has made the British Empire peaceful and peaceful in the last ten years? In the absence of a major war, the British Army could only bully the colonial natives in addition to suppressing the Irish mob.

The largest battles were also held at the regimental level. It is rare to see such a high-level general in the field of Montes, so he became the commander of the British Expeditionary Force.

There is no experience to learn, and now Montes is doing very well, completely in accordance with the requirements of the art of war, even if it does not take advantage of it, it will not suffer a big loss.

...

evening

In a camp, soldiers gathered in twos and threes to look up at the stars.

A Genoese-accented man asked, "Arturo, you said that China sent us to the Balkans to fight the Russians. What are you trying to do?"

Arturo said indifferently: "Didn't those gentlemen say that this time the Russians were beaten for revenge. It is said that the Russians supported Austria in the last Ossa War, and they are still allies now.

Aonzo, what are you asking about? We are all trying to make a living. If we could find a job in China, who would come here to suffer! "

"No, just ask casually. I always feel that there is a problem here. It is not normal for us to go to the Balkans to fight the Russians for no reason.

Even if it is to take revenge, it is the nobles and capitalists who need to take revenge. We poor people have nothing to lose, why come here? ' said Aonzo, shaking his head.

Doubts are doubts, they are not educated, they can't think so much. They enlisted in the army for the sake of eating and drinking.

"I said what are you talking about, hurry up and pick up tomorrow's food. If you miss the time, you can solve it yourself."

A familiar voice came, and the two stopped talking and ran over to line up to receive provisions at the fastest speed.

After receiving the food, Aonzo's face became ugly, and he complained, "Damn Brits, do they like corned beef and hard biscuits so much?

Not even providing a piece of bread, this life is simply not lived. They are deliberately treating us badly, and these supplies are probably not as good as the Ottomans! "

In this war, the expenses of the Sardinian army were borne by the British, and the logistical supplies were naturally handled by the British.

Deliberate mistreatment is not to mention, and the British soldiers were given the same supplies as they did. It's all uniform, 2 pounds of corned beef and three hard biscuits per person per day, and then nothing. (1 pound equals 0.4536 kilograms)

Not to mention fruits and vegetables, not even a piece of brown bread. The British did not do this to save costs. If you consider the cost, the price of beef is not low, and it is much cheaper to replace it with brown bread.

The reason for this tragedy is the bureaucracy. The bureaucrats of the British Quartermaster Department thought that corned beef jerky was easy to transport, and then it became a supply for the British army in this war.

On the surface, beef is eaten every day, and this kind of food is not bad. If you replace it with beef jerky and eat it every day, the feeling will not be so wonderful. The first thing to test is whether your teeth can stand it.

Not only is the beef tough, the biscuits issued are even tougher, which may be the earliest compressed biscuits. If you don't put it in the water to bubble, if you can bite it, it's iron teeth and copper teeth.

This kind of food is simply disastrous for delicious Italians.

No matter how poor the Sardinian kingdom is, their army never saves on food expenses, and the food grade is much higher than that of the British.

"Don't complain about Aangzo. If the Ottomans know about it, they don't mind changing with you. Are you really willing to change with them?" Arturo said with a smile.

Happiness is a comparison, the food provided by the British is most unpalatable, at least there is no need to worry about starvation.

These beef jerky can also be processed for a second time. If you have the conditions, you can get some vegetables and cook them together without adding salt.

The supplies of the Ottoman army are really bad, and there are those who are required to bring certain dry food to the battlefield. What kind of food you can get depends on luck, and it is a good season to eat until you are full.

Ottoman bureaucrats also have a good habit of discounting according to regulations because of their daily empty wages. If there is no shortage of a certain army, then prepare the whole army to starve.

Aangzo shook his head and said, "I didn't say it, but the British logistics officer should really be shot. I bet more soldiers were killed by them than on the battlefield."

Arturo smiled and said: "I don't know this, maybe the British people's stomachs are different from ours, they can bear it.

Let's not talk about it, we remember that during the day, you also pulled out a few vegetables, and I have two potatoes here, which will be stewed with beef jerky tomorrow, let's eat it! "

The two looked at each other and smiled. Even if the logistics supply standard was low, the Italians could use their talents to improve the food as much as possible under limited conditions.

In this respect, the Sardinian army also contributed. Their arrival directly improved the quality of life of the British army and reduced the number of scurvy patients in British soldiers.

The British soldiers who traveled with them quickly learned these excellent experiences and spread them out as quickly as possible. In the past, when they went out, they were simply robbing property, which was such a waste.

Now that everyone has learned, the crops in the fields and the cattle and sheep on the hillsides can all be turned into spoils of war. Even many soldiers learned to pickle food, using all conditions to store food.

The immediate aftermath of this was that the marching speed was greatly reduced, and the military discipline was even more lax. With the old fritters in the Sardinian army, whatever the officer ordered, they were supposed to do whatever they wanted.

The law does not blame the crowd, and in the face of a group of big-headed soldiers who stand on a unified stand, the officers do not dare to do anything to them.

By the way, it also damaged the British, and everyone discovered the power of unity. As long as they are united, the officers will not dare to touch them.

The final arrival in Sofia was two days later than Montes had expected. In this battlefield where time is like life, two days are enough to change things.

The most direct thing is that the Russian army has been pressed up. Due to the lack of troops in the surrounding strongholds, Montes dare not divide too many troops to garrison. Now

has fallen completely.

With the delayed arrival of reinforcements, the coalition forces have lost their best fighters, and it is too late to launch a counter-offensive while the Russian army's foothold is not stable.

Montes roared angrily: "You guys, Lu Chen was delayed by two days at such a short time. Are you on an outing on the road? Do you know what military law is?"

The Sardinian Army Major General Mantua lied solemnly: "Your Excellency, Commander, we were attacked by the guerrillas on the road, causing dozens of casualties to us, and the time was delayed in order to exterminate the guerrillas."

Everyone is not a fool. In order to escape the military law, everyone said that they encountered a guerrilla attack, and the wounded was the proof.

"The guerrillas are so rampant, you have so many troops, they dare to attack?" Montes asked suspiciously

Mantua had an idea and said: "Your Excellency Commander, the guerrillas are very cunning, they don't fight us head-on, they just attack secretly.

They dug into the road and shot cold arrows at night, which was very difficult, and there were still a lot of people. In order not to let these people cut off our army's back path, we exterminated them. "

He wasn't talking nonsense. Some soldiers really fell into the trap, but they accidentally fell when they went to the mountains to look for prey. It is also possible to shoot cold arrows, and it was only when they encountered Ottoman hunters in the mountains that they were shot.

This is the first time Montes has encountered such a high-level talent who lies and does not change his face. The British officers are still relatively honest, and they are completely different concepts from Italian officers.

This is not the first time Mantua has done it. When they were with Marshal Bardorio, they had deceived the country collectively. Now, there is no pressure to fool Montes, who has little experience.

Montes snorted coldly: "Humph!"

Then he scolded his head and face: "Even so, you shouldn't delay for such a long time. Wouldn't you leave a small group of troops to surround and suppress the guerrillas and rush over with the main force?

Do you know how much damage your delay has brought to our army, and you have missed the best opportunity to counterattack! "

But at this time, he didn't mention martial arts, and everyone couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Mantua did not continue to defend, and he was afraid of being scolded, and he would not lose a piece of meat.

After the failure of the Austro War, there were not many generals in the Kingdom of Sardinia who could keep the title of general, and Mantua could become one of them, not because he could fight, but in fact his military capabilities were very limited.

His greatest ability is still to be eloquent, to observe his words, to pass all the responsibilities to others, and to stand on the king's side for the first time to gain trust, and only then has this chance to make a comeback.