Chapter 513 Choice
This time, East Africa did not hold back in order to provide a platform for the Russians. It gradually sent enough weapons and ammunition to Afghanistan to arm 30,000 people. This is no small amount, as Britain currently has 30,000 to 40,000 troops stationed in Afghanistan. Because the Afghan authorities have surrendered, some of them have been withdrawn, but there are still about 30,000 left.
These 30,000 do not include the Indian vassal army, which is Britain's own son, the army. Although this son seems to have no human rights at home, the British are not stingy with their own people.
The British Army usually looks pitiful, but it depends on who it is compared with. Compared with its own Royal Navy, its funding is naturally a drop in the bucket. However, compared with the armies of other countries in the world, the British Army does have some respectability. At least in terms of weapons and equipment, it is at the same level as several top powers. Therefore, even if the British Army pretends to be poor, it is still the stupid son of a landlord. The treatment of the armies of other countries may not be as high as that of the British.
So even though the British Army was ridiculed for its poor level, it was able to join forces with France to compete with Tsarist Russia in Crimea. So there is no problem in playing a supporting role, as long as it is not in the lead, like the Boer War and the Afghanistan War in the previous life, which were all shameful.
Because of East Africa, the First Boer War that was supposed to happen did not happen. Ernst did not know whether the British and the Boers would fight again. The Orange Free State, which had just been incorporated into Cape Town, was still in the honeymoon period with Britain, so East Africa had no way to intervene.
However, Ernst believed that the Boer War would still happen. After all, the British relied on sweet words, but their hands had already reached into the Boers' pockets. This was like an old scumbag deceiving an innocent young girl and not wanting to take responsibility.
With the addition of the Boers who returned to Orange from the Transvaal Republic, the overall strength of the Orange Free State remained strong. After all, the Boer base in Cape Town was relatively large, and Ernst's expulsion of the Boers from the Transvaal Republic could be regarded as a landmine planted in Cape Town.
…
Elijah looked at the Afghan resistance army that had suddenly become "rich" and felt mixed emotions. He was happy that they now had enough equipment, which, although a little outdated, were still usable. He was worried that the financial backers behind Afghanistan did not provide much ammunition.
Looking at the sentimental Ilya, Mulla asked: "Mr. Ilya, the equipment is sufficient now, why don't you look very satisfied?"
Ilya shared his concerns with Murati: "Although we have enough weapons, how do we solve the problem of ammunition? We can't just fight a single wave of war! Even if we win, without ammunition replenishment, the British can still successfully counterattack later."
Murati was not too worried. He said to Ilya, "If we don't have ammunition, we can rely on captured ammunition, and we can make gunpowder using traditional methods. As long as we shoot more accurately, we can save some money."
Compared with the Tsarist Russian army that was used to living a prosperous life, the Afghans were not picky about food, and gunpowder was not a big problem. Even guns could be made by hand, so they carried out large-scale manual repairs of the guns in East Africa.
Because it is free support, it is naturally impossible for East Africa to check Afghanistan's gun problems, let alone repair them. Although East Africa has this ability, Ernst believes that the Afghans do not need it.
Ilya thought that there was some truth in what Murati said about the captured weapons, because among the weapons provided by East Africa, apart from the muzzle-loading flintlock rifle, the most common one was the British Enfield, which happened to be the same model as the British Army.
"Besides, we can make gunpowder weapons by hand in Afghanistan, but the British don't have this capability. Their weapons and supplies must be transported from the rear, so we can find a way to swallow them."
Elijah also thought that this plan was very reliable. The British invasion of Afghanistan was not much better than crossing mountains and rivers. They had to pass through Khyber, Kurram, Bolan Pass, etc. to enter Afghanistan. This shows the complexity of Afghanistan's terrain. Therefore, it was definitely not an easy task for the British to transport supplies from India to Afghanistan. Not only was the cost high, but the risk was also high.
Thinking of the desperate mountain roads in Afghanistan, Ilya said excitedly: "Chief Murati, you are a genius. We can take advantage of the terrain to ambush the British supply lines. This will definitely be beneficial for you to recover Afghanistan."
Murati disagreed: "No, our primary target is still Kabul. Only when the flames of war in Kabul are reignited will the Afghan heroes who are dissatisfied with the British invasion take action. If it is just a small fight, it will not hurt Britain."
Ilya said seriously: "Are you sure you want to choose Kabul as your target? Kabul is not easy to attack. We have only accumulated so many troops who can use firearms in the past few months. What if they are exhausted?"
"But we still want to drive the British out of our land as soon as possible!" Murati said firmly.
As for the fact that the war with the British would last too long, Murati was worried. Murati was not worried about Britain, but about his own partner - Russia!
Britain's colonization of Afghanistan is indeed the primary issue, but Murati believes that Russia is not a good bird either.
Moreover, the Russians gave more verbal support. If it were not for the support of the "patriotic" wealthy businessmen, the resistance organization would not even be able to gather weapons. The Russians would send a few people to try to make Afghanistan and Britain fight to the death, and then reap the benefits after both Britain and Afghanistan were defeated! Afghanistan is right next to Russia, so we have to be on guard.
Murati was a man with some foresight. He did not have a very good impression of Britain and Russia, and he knew that relying on the power of others would not work.
Of course, in order to prevent Ilya from being unhappy, Murati added: "Of course, when we concentrate most of our forces to attack Kabul, we can also instigate our brothers in the south to harass the British supply lines."
However, Murati was worrying too much. After knowing that Murati wanted to attack Kabul, Ilya felt that this method seemed quite good!
Don't get me wrong, Ilya thinks it's a good thing not because it's good for Afghanistan, but because it's good for his own career, which is still related to Ilya's mission.
Ilya's order was to cause trouble for the British, not to help the Afghans win, because Russia did not believe that Afghanistan had the ability to defeat Britain, especially when it was concentrating on dealing with the Ottoman Empire and was unable to take care of Afghanistan.
If trouble is caused to Britain, then any problems in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, will surely be the most eye-catching. If any problems occur in Kabul, the country will know about it very quickly.
If I follow my plan and attack Britain's supply lines, it would be safer, but it would not be conducive to my fame!
Regardless of whether the Afghans' attack on Kabul will be successful, as the person in charge of the area near Kabul, Ilya's resume will be greatly enhanced, and he may even be promoted and transferred back to the country.
After all, the mission is to cause trouble, not to defeat Britain. There is no bigger trouble than attacking the capital of Afghanistan, so it is a win-win for you anyway.
So Ilya immediately changed his words and said, "Chief Murati, you are right. Kabul is the political center of Afghanistan. Only by attacking and retaking it can we inspire people. So we should make retaking Kabul our primary goal and put other things aside for now."
(End of this chapter)
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