Chapter 204: Chapter 91, “How a Fugitive Soldier is Made

Translator: 549690339

After the Battle of Sofia, Montes, who had a narrow escape, was summoned back to his country by the London Government, awaiting his day-long court-martial, which was a major embarrassment for the British.

Despite Montes’s repeated explanations that it was the traitor’s betrayal that led to the defeat, they were all in vain.

A loss was a loss, even if tactically they had caused greater casualties to the Russians, but everyone knew that in this campaign, the Allied side had lost.

The main culprit was the failure of the British Army to hold the defense line, allowing the Russians to break through. The incident of being sandwiched by the guerrilla teams was promptly shied away from by everyone, and the British were too embarrassed even to bring it up.

Oliver, who had merited a promotion for his role in the rescue, was elevated to the Commander of the British Army, a promotion which should have been a happy occasion, yet Major General Oliver didn’t show the slightest bit of joy.

He was self-aware, after all, his so-called meritorious rescue was just an excuse; if not for his deep background, he would also have been hard to exonerate from this war’s failure.

If he hadn’t concocted the so-called decoy plan, attempting to wipe out the guerrilla teams in one fell swoop, and if the reinforcements hadn’t been stationed at various key points in advance, allowing the main force of the guerrilla teams to assemble and launch a surprise attack from behind, this campaign was actually a trap that cost Montes his life.

This kind of thing might fool the domestic bureaucrats and soldiers engaged in combat, but it couldn’t deceive the officers on the front lines.

Under such circumstances, with him taking up the role as the commander of the expeditionary force, could he really inspire everyone’s confidence?

“Have we tallied up our casualties?” Oliver asked.

The middle-aged officer with a beard replied, “We’ve only counted a portion so far: the Third Corps of the Expeditionary Army has 6,876 killed, missing, or captured, and 2,847 injured.

For the First and Second Corps of the Expeditionary Army, the casualties are still being tallied; so far, we’ve gathered 11,621 stragglers, including 924 wounded. It’s said that some stragglers have retreated to the Macedonian Region with the people of Sardinia.”

This was no longer a case of heavy losses; the expeditionary force had been crippled. After half a month with no returnees, the chances of anyone rejoining were very slim.

There was nothing that could be done about it; in the panic of flight after a defeat, people ran in all directions, with no one caring about which way they were supposed to go.

Following the disastrous outcome of the Battle of Sofia, the entire southwestern region of Bulgaria was now under Russian control, so the number of those who could escape the pursuit of the Russians and the Bulgarian Guerrilla Team was an unknown.

In these times of poor communication and language barriers among the soldiers, even if they managed to escape by luck, finding their way back would be extremely difficult.

If they had no sense of direction, it was not impossible to end up going the exact opposite way.

Oliver slapped his forehead; of the 80,000 men in the British Expeditionary Force with which he started, he was now left with just over 30,000. Even accounting for those who had fled to the Macedonian Region with the Sardinians, the number would not exceed 40,000.

More critically, there was an utter lack of morale and fighting spirit. Due to prolonged bitter fighting, the soldiers were rife with war-weariness, including the recently arrived Third Corps.

If the fighting strength of the British Army was a 10 before, it had now dwindled to a mere 5. Without a half year to recover and rehabilitate, it would be impossible to regain combat effectiveness.

But the battle must go on; the French had already demanded that they construct a defensive line to block the enemy coming from the west.

If possible, Oliver wouldn’t mind retreating all the way back to fight a defensive battle at Constantinople. Fighting in coastal areas, they could receive naval fire support, which would make it easier to achieve an advantage.

Clearly, this was not possible, not to mention the Ottoman’s opinion; currently, the Allied Forces and Russians were still fiercely engaged in the Sliven Region, and it simply wasn’t feasible to pull back.

A blind retreat would likely turn into a rout, which would be disastrous.

Oliver gravely said, “No matter what, we now must hold off the Russians at the Karzanlek, old Zagora area; otherwise, the Allied Forces will fail in this campaign.

The London Government has handed down an explicit order that we must at all costs avoid a campaign failure due to our actions.

I’ve already requested reinforcements from home, and the Cabinet Government has promised at least fifty thousand reinforcements within two months.

After the great battle at Sofia, the Russians also suffered tremendous casualties, and they too need time to recuperate; they’re unlikely to launch a major offensive within the next two months.”

A young officer questioned, “Commander, if I may be so bold, even if the Russians launch a probing attack, I might not be able to hold them off.

On the retreat, we’ve abandoned all our artillery, and now a third of the soldiers don’t even have a rifle. Without reconsolidation, the troops basically have no fighting power at all.”

This was no exaggeration; if the Russian Army sent a main force division over at this point, these thirty thousand British troops would have to keep running.

Oliver glanced at him and said, “Colonel Fuhu, you worry too much. The home country has already replenished the loss of weapons and equipment, which should be restored in at most half a month’s time.

As for the issue of morale, that depends on our joint efforts. Now we won’t have any new combat tasks, we just need to do our defensive jobs well and wait for the reinforcements to arrive.”

Active or passive, Oliver couldn’t afford to be selective anymore. He knew that if they relied on the fortress for defense, the soldiers could still exhibit a part of their combat effectiveness. If they were to be on the offensive, that would be tantamount to writing a treatise on the creation of deserters.

Serbia Kralevo

At Austria’s newly compiled Seventh Division Fourth Battalion Third Camp, Lieutenant Colonel Haidun encountered a big problem; a sizable number of stragglers had appeared in his defense sector.

A young officer around 22 to 23 years old said in a low voice, “Lieutenant Colonel, a delegate from the British has arrived.”

Haidun said indifferently, “Let him come in.”

The current situation was somewhat special; while maintaining neutrality in the war between Britain and Russia, Austria was an ally of the Russians and was also at war with the Ottomans, allies of the British.

This intricate web of international relations put Lieutenant Colonel Haidun in a tough position. If this had been Austrian territory, as a neutral country, he would simply disarm the British and repatriate them after the war.

Unfortunately, Serbia’s sovereignty still belonged to the Ottoman Empire. If the British were uncooperative, Lieutenant Colonel Haidun wasn’t sure whether to forcibly disarm them or to expel them from the country.

Before long, a somewhat disheveled British officer walked in. Lieutenant Colonel Haidun greeted him, “Pleased to see you, Colonel Daniel. Would you like something to drink?”

Colonel Daniel politely replied, “Thank you, coffee would be fine, and some pastries would be nice, if possible.”

It was clear from the grumbling of his stomach that it was protesting. The “gurgle gurgle” sound rose, reminding him it was time to eat.

Lieutenant Colonel Haidun shrugged and said, “Sorry, I don’t have any pastries, but I do have bread, canned food, and beef jerky. Would you like some?”

Here on the battlefield, even inside the city of Kralevo, the Austrian Army was not so well-off as to supply pastries.

Colonel Daniel spoke plainly, “Bread and canned food will be fine.”

During their escape, they had carried beef jerky to stave off hunger, and now they were almost sick of eating it. At this point, bread was a welcome option.

Lieutenant Colonel Haidun ordered, “Guard, brew Colonel Daniel a cup of coffee and bring a loaf of bread and two cans.”

Both men were soldiers, and communication between soldiers was always straightforward.

After a brief pause, Lieutenant Colonel Haidun stated the conditions, “Colonel Daniel, you have two choices:

Either we, as a neutral third party, will disarm you according to international custom, and any subsequent issues will be dealt with through communication between the London Government and Vienna. After the war, you will be repatriated.

Or, you leave immediately. For the sake of the friendship between our two countries, I can pretend to have seen nothing. If you leave the Kosovo area now and cut through the Macedonian Region, you still have time to make it back.”

He did not want to clash with the British at this time. There were too many British soldiers entering the Kralevo area, and if they were not dealt with promptly, it could lead to chaos.

Without hesitation, Colonel Daniel answered, “We’ll take the first option. The Russians have already occupied Kosovo, and our retreat has been cut off.

We agree to disarmament, but you must provide us with treatment befitting our status and ensure that we are repatriated only after the war.”

Hearing Colonel Daniel’s blatant lie, Lieutenant Colonel Haidun couldn’t help but be amused and exasperated. He now understood why these men had mistakenly entered the Kralevo area.

This was not a mistaken entry at all; it was deliberate.

The war had lasted nearly a year, and the British had been involved for over half of that time. After such a long period of fighting, without troop rotation, it was natural for war weariness to rise.

The treatment of British Army soldiers in this era was not generous, evident from the logistical support they received. If they had held any status, the logistics bureaucrats would not dare to mess around so carelessly.

Compared to the Navy, they were treated like stepchildren, not even receiving a third of the benefits given to naval personnel. Such differential treatment naturally stirred discontent.

With war weariness on the rise, they naturally sought ways to avoid the conflict. Desertion was not an option since that would lead to court-martial.

With the defeat at Sofia, an opportunity arose. Since it was an all-out defeat, they had to flee.

Escaping back would inevitably lead to another battlefield. Surrendering to the Russians—the notorious Mao Xiong—was feared as it might lead to slaughter.

Moreover, becoming a prisoner of war was not something to be proud of, and as the enemy, the Russians would leave them no chance to negotiate their treatment.

That’s when the clever ones devised a plan: escape to a neutral country, disarm, and then wait to be repatriated after the war.

They would avoid the war without fear of being accountable back home. It’s normal to flee in panic on the battlefield, and besides, how would they know that the Austrians held Serbia?

The London Government had not informed them via documented orders, so everyone could feign ignorance, claiming that they had retreated normally but mistakenly entered Austrian territory.

The bureaucrats of the London Government had to acknowledge this as within regulations, as they depended on this mechanical set of rules to safeguard their own interests. Naturally, they would not easily break them.

It wasn’t only the British doing this—some from the Sardinian Army had followed suit, though in fewer numbers due to animosity towards Austria.

Whether it would trouble the London Government or affect Anglo-Austrian relations was beyond their consideration.

After all, the Austrians were obliged to treat them well, and that was a bargaining chip to negotiate with the London Government.

Even going so far as to find an excuse, they insisted that the Russians had taken Kosovo and cut off their path of retreat.

Lieutenant Colonel Haidun thought for a moment and said, “That’s fine, but every British soldier must sign the agreement.

You must confirm that you entered Kralevo on your own error and that, with your retreat path cut off by the Russians, you lost logistical support and thus sought our help.”

By phrasing it differently, everyone’s face was saved. Even the concept of disarming was repackaged in a way that wouldn’t cause future conflict between Britain and Austria.

Colonel Daniel complained, “No problem. Then please hurry and provide us with supplies, Lieutenant Colonel Haidun. We’ve had no proper meals for several days on this journey.”

Lieutenant Colonel Haidun asked, “Alright, how many people do you have? I will immediately have someone send a batch of supplies to you.”

Colonel Daniel replied, “We have a total of 1,531 men, including 426 Sardinian soldiers. They all must receive equal treatment. Additionally, there are 62 wounded that need treatment.

There might be more troops following, so the number may continue to increase. It’s best if you prepare extra supplies.”

This was not just a few individuals fleeing; it was officers leading soldiers en masse to flee, and they did it with such a novel approach.

Lieutenant Colonel Haidun nodded, then instructed someone to prepare the supplies. At any rate, stabilizing these British soldiers came first.

Lieutenant Colonel Haidun had no objections to Colonel Daniel’s loyal requests. After all, it was the London Government that would foot the bill.