Chapter 206: 93

Translator: 549690339

The defeat at the front exacerbated the infighting within the London Government, and with the recent political scandal, Prime Minister John Russell was forced to resign.

The Whig Party lost in the new elections, and the Pier faction joined forces with the Conservative Party to form a government, with George Hamilton-Gordon ascending the stage of history.

With the new government came a new atmosphere, and for the George Hamilton-Gordon administration, the most important issue at the moment was the Near East War.

Retreating was not an option, as it concerned the United Kingdom’s international status. In an era of competition between England and Russia, if the London Government retreated at this time, it would be a capitulation to the Russians, tantamount to acknowledging the Russians’ world dominance.

Not to mention the heavy losses in interests, just the blow to the spirit alone was something the British people could not accept.

As the leader of the Anti-war faction, George Hamilton-Gordon understood John Russell’s difficulties. It was a war that had to be fought.

No matter how great the casualties, the fight must go on. If the Russians’ expansion were not curtailed now, the Great Britain Empire would pay an even greater price in the future.

10 Downing Street

“Gentlemen, it’s our turn to clean up this mess now. The situation on the Balkans battlefield is extremely unfavorable for us, and according to the battle reports from the front, the Allied Forces could be defeated at any moment.

The question now is, should we continue to open a second or even a third battlefront?” George Hamilton-Gordon asked.

It was evident that Prime Minister George Hamilton-Gordon’s heart was not at peace, the few wrinkles between his brows betraying his inner turmoil.

Minister of the Navy James Graham replied, “Prime Minister, strategically, there’s no problem with opening a second front in the Crimea Peninsula.

The Russians have formidable strength, but due to the transportation within their own country, their force projection is limited. Because we were prepared, the Russians have the capacity to support both the Caucasus War Field and the Balkans battlefield at the same time.

In actuality, on the Balkans battlefield, the Russians heavily rely on Austria’s logistical support, otherwise, they would have run out of steam long ago.

If we open a new battlefront, it will quickly exceed the Russian’s limit of endurance. Even if we cannot achieve a complete victory on the battlefield, we can wear them down to death.

Now that the Russian Black Sea Fleet is finished, we can launch an attack at any time. If needed, we can turn the entire Ukrainian coast and the Crimea Peninsula into battlefields, exhausting the Russians to their breaking point.”

There was a cabinet reshuffle, but the higher-ups in the government didn’t change much, and the Ministers of Army and Navy related to the war all retained their positions.

It was not surprising that the Minister of the Navy supported the plan. How else could they demonstrate the significance of the navy if a second front could not be opened?

Power struggles are ubiquitous, and being uncontroversial is impossible. Even though the Royal Navy held an absolute advantage and firmly suppressed the army, they still needed to make their presence known regularly.

“Opening a second front is fine, but the situation on the Crimea Peninsula is a bit complicated. The climate there differs significantly from our homeland, and if we attack rashly, non-combat casualties will be severe.

Why not land on the Ukrainian coast first, cut off the Crimea Peninsula from the mainland from behind, and starve the Russian Army on the island to death,” Minister of Army Stanley suggested.

“Mr. Stanley, aren’t the French the main force in this offensive?” Minister of the Navy James Graham asked.

The dispute over the route of attack had turned into a struggle for dominance between the army and navy.

As it turned out, given the British Navy’s much greater strength than the army, the result of this struggle for dominance was self-evident.

Paris

Napoleon III had already lost his patience. This war could be afforded militarily, but not politically; France could take the loss, but he personally could not.

Upon receiving notification from the British, the French government made its decision with utmost speed, deploying an army of two hundred thousand to launch the Crimean War.

After discussions, on February 12, 1853, England and France reached an agreement to jointly send three hundred thousand troops to open a second front on the Crimea Peninsula.

By then, the great battle on the Balkan Peninsula was approaching its climax. Under the relentless attack of the Russians, the Allied Forces still could not hold the Sliven Region.

Aimable Jean Jacques Pelissier successfully made the Ottomans take the blame. It seemed, on the surface, that the Russians broke through the Ottoman defense line and then completed the encirclement.

Seeing the situation was lost, on February 14, 1853, Aimable Jean Jacques Pelissier ordered the French Army to break out. Well-prepared, the French troops easily breached the Russian encirclement.

Their retreat was smooth, but the Allied Forces took the bitter hit. There’s no need to mention the Ottoman Army; they were directly betrayed, with less than thirty thousand of the three hundred thousand-strong force escaping after the battle.

The British also tragically suffered; they were busy reorganizing troops to recover combat effectiveness when the Russians attacked from behind, leading to a hasty and disordered escape.

When taking stock of the losses, Major General Oliver was so angry that he was lost for words. This battle’s failure had nothing to do with them, but the losses on the battlefield were a cause for angst.

Without a doubt, the rank of Expeditionary Force Commander was downgraded for him. He could barely be considered the rank of a division commander, retaining over nine thousand troops, couldn’t he?

As for the rest, they were scattered, and only God knew how many died in battle, how many were captured, and how many were lost.

Constantinople Coalition Command

Major General Oliver roared furiously, “Pelissier, you bastard better give me a reasonable explanation, or the Great Britain Empire will not let this go!”

Of course, they couldn’t let it go. With such heavy losses to the British Expeditionary Force, how could they explain the situation without any justification?

“General Oliver, calm down, please. The position was suddenly overrun by the enemy, and we were surrounded. We had no capacity to inform you,” Aimable Jean Jacques Pelissier explained forcefully.

“Scoundrel, such an excuse is for fooling children! Even if the Russians broke through the line, they couldn’t have completed the encirclement so quickly. You didn’t have time to send a message?

If you hadn’t used us as a scapegoat, perhaps the French Army could not have retreated so intact!” Major General Oliver said with a cold sneer.

“Perhaps you cannot blame us for that. The fifty thousand reinforcements promised by your government should have arrived twenty days ago, and we still have not seen them. If this troop hadn’t been delayed, we wouldn’t have lost the battle in the first place.

At this point, you also can’t shirk responsibility. It was the erroneous information provided by your government that misled the military deployment of the Allied Forces, leading to this failure,” Aimable Jean Jacques Pelissier retorted sharply.

Who doesn’t know how to pass the buck? At a critical moment, it is definitely every man for himself; without the allied troops covering the rear and blocking the Russians’ pursuit, could the French Army have retreated so intact?

If they had notified the British to run first, the part of the Russian Army that the British were blocking could have flanked from the side, and the French Army might have been completely wiped out.

Even if the French Army had some kind of cheat code, being able to escape with half of the troops while faced with enemies ahead and pursuers behind would have been a blessing from God.

Now it’s much better; the French Army sacrificed over twenty thousand casualties, but they managed to rescue all of their main forces.

With the firepower support of the navy, these French forces could even hold Constantinople. From the French interest perspective, Aimable Jean Jacques Pelissier’s decision wasn’t wrong.

However, the aftermath was quite severe, as, aside from the always-slacking People of Sardinian, on the Balkan Peninsula, the main forces of the Allied Forces were now solely French.

The Ottoman Empire became the biggest loser, literally losing their shirt. After receiving the message, Abdulmejid I was so angered that he fainted.

The Ottoman Government was in a dilemma, unable to vent their frustrations like Oliver, as they did not have the backing of the Great Britain Empire.

The Balkans Peninsula was now under France’s control — if pushed into a corner, Aimable Jean Jacques Pelissier was capable of murder; could they really expect the Sultan Government to intervene?

Whether they liked it or not, they were stuck with the blame. As long as the French can hold Constantinople, the London Government would tacitly accept the outcome.

Interests always trump truth; even if they were conned to the point of spitting blood, the Sultan Government still had no choice but to continue relying on the French.

Over seven levels of the Ottoman Empire’s financial income came from the Balkan Peninsula, with the majority of its industry clustered around the area of Constantinople (Istanbul region).

Without the Balkan Peninsula, the Ottoman Empire’s strength wouldn’t even compare to Sweden or Belgium, a consequence beyond what the Sultan Government could bear.

Aimable Jean Jacques Pelissier’s actions were successful militarily, but politically they brought endless troubles to the Paris Government.

Of course, Napoleon III was personally willing to face these troubles. Between two evils, choose the lesser; international political troubles that affect French interests are better than losing on the battlefield and shaking his own ruling foundation.

Once bitten, twice shy; Major General Oliver now greatly admired the foresight of his predecessor and was firmly opposed to joint operations with the French.

The London Government was also dissatisfied with the actions of the French and exerted political pressure on Napoleon III, demanding an explanation.

With the British leading the way, the Ottoman Empire naturally protested as well. Under pressure from allies, Napoleon III made some concessions.

In the upcoming battles in the Balkans, the French Army would independently bear the responsibility of stopping the Russians and defending Constantinople; the British and People of Sardinian would be responsible for dealing with Greece and Montenegro; the Ottomans, having suffered the greatest loss, were appeased by being allowed to take a less active role.

War expenses, undoubtedly the British would take on the lion’s share of 50%, with France and the Ottoman splitting the remaining 25% each; if there was a shortage of funds, a UK consortium would provide loan services.

Clear division of combat tasks resolved the internal conflicts within the Allied Forces, but also cast a shadow over the impending Crimean War.

Over just a little more than two months, Prime Minister Felix had traveled through over twenty German states and now arrived at the location of the Federal Assembly—Frankfurt.

After such a long time of diplomatic efforts, Prime Minister Felix did have some achievements, at least several Free Cities openly declared their support for the “Holy Roman Empire.”

This wasn’t surprising at all; these Free Cities were the areas most heavily influenced by nationalism, with their governments being deeply swayed by public opinion.

The remaining states either expressed opposition or were hesitant. In any case, everyone was clever and looking for excuses to delay, with no one foolishly voicing outright opposition to the unification of the Germany Region.

The Kingdom of Prussia wasn’t idle either; their representatives often arrived before Felix, communicating with the governments in advance to oppose the reconstruction of the “Shinra.”

The general public was not aware of the high-level situations; most German people were optimistic about peaceful unification, for a very simple reason—no state government had directly opposed it.

The public could freely express their opinions, but the state governments didn’t dare to speak recklessly, right? They couldn’t just say that because the “Holy Rome” was unreliable, only military unification could truly bring the Germany Region together, could they?

Austria had been preparing for so long, and even Franz didn’t dare to raise the flag of military unification; not to mention those smaller state governments.

As the objects to be unified, they didn’t have enough time to oppose, so how could they possibly support it? Even to protect their own interests, they couldn’t completely block the path to rebuilding the Holy Rome.

If unification became inevitable, rebuilding the Holy Rome would be the path most aligned with their interests; so, the attitudes of most rulers of the German states were complicated.

They wanted to oppose the rebuilding of the Holy Rome but couldn’t say it outright; they could only hope that someone would take the lead in disrupting Austria’s plans.

By now, the slogan “Rebuilding the Holy Rome” had echoed through every corner of the Germany Region, and wherever Felix went, he was warmly welcomed by the local people.

If this continues, Felix might very well be remembered by posterity as the “Father of the Nation,” with no one even mentioning the name of the Butcher Prime Minister.

At this moment, he became the spokesperson for pacifism, and in the future, he might even become known as the Iron-blooded Prime Minister; after all, Franz would not come out to steal the spotlight.

Cheating people was not an easy job, especially cheating a group of old foxes. Felix kept making promises to various interest groups about the numerous benefits after unification, and he also had to respond to everyone’s questions from time to time.

He boasted to the capitalists about the advantages of a big market, assured the nobility that their interests would be protected, and sold the dream of a powerful nation to the nationalists…

In short, it was all about selling—whether they believed him or not, and whether it could be fulfilled or not, Prime Minister Felix enjoyed his extravagant boasting throughout the journey.

As one saying goes, “Every politician is an excellent salesman.”

Talking until he was hoarse, in reality, all that was accomplished was a lowering of people’s resistance.

Most still chose neutrality; they could accept the rebuilding of the Holy Rome, but asking them to exert effort was out of the question.

Everyone was of the mindset, “no seeing, no hunting”—don’t expect them to commit without seeing the benefits.

This outcome satisfied Felix. He had initially just wanted their neutrality; now, being able to persuade some supporters was already a bonus.

The focus of this public relations effort was on the South German States, where Austria’s influence was strongest, with a solid mass base, making it the easiest place to be swayed.