Chapter 515: Dog bites dog
the next day.
The British Governor in Kabul looked at the bodies of the British soldiers collected yesterday with a grim face. The number of puppet troops was even greater.
“How many people died yesterday?”
"Only 385 of our men died, with a total of 2,407 casualties. The Afghan government troops lost more than 200 men, with a total of more than 500 casualties."
"Why are our losses so much greater than those of the Afghan government forces?" the Governor asked in surprise.
He didn't feel sad about the number of deaths of Afghan government troops, but he was troubled by the death of so many British soldiers. Moreover, the Afghan government troops suffered fewer casualties than the British troops?
Knowing the Governor's doubts and eager to shirk responsibility, the British general hurriedly said, "Your Excellency Governor, it is obvious that the Afghan government forces did not work hard. They may have sympathized with the terrorist armed forces or were afraid of death, so they did not fight with all their heart and soul."
This is certain. After all, the government forces in Afghanistan are now a puppet army that is hated by everyone and are assisting the British in suppressing Afghanistan. Of course, these government soldiers are also trying to make a living and there is no need for them to fight bloody battles for Britain's hegemony.
The Governor of Kabul sighed and said, "We lost so many people this time. Fortunately, Kabul was not lost. Otherwise, I'm afraid we would have a hard time explaining it back home!"
The death of more than 300 people was definitely a major defeat for the British army. You should know that in the previous Zulu War, only more than 1,300 British soldiers were killed. Moreover, the Afghan resistance organizations in various places will probably be ready to move, and the number of casualties will continue to rise.
"Your Excellency the Governor, the insurgents colluded with people within the government, which caught us off guard. Many soldiers were unable to react, and our numerical advantage was not obvious. The Afghan government forces were acting up, so we could only rely on our own people to fight the terrorist militants, which led to the excessive number of casualties this time."
There were actually not many British troops in Kabul, because Afghanistan had not been completely conquered by Britain. The central government had surrendered, and local forces might not be in agreement with the central government, so most of them chose to wait and see.
Some forces in remote areas even claimed that the Afghan central government was a traitor and was therefore an illegal government, and chose to set up their own regimes. This resulted in the main force of the British army having to be dispersed across the country to deter Afghan opposition forces.
If the main force of the British army was concentrated in Kabul, even if Mutila had ten times the courage, he would not choose Kabul as his target.
The British fighting capacity was still good. After the chaos, they quickly assembled and entered combat status, which prevented Kabul from falling into the hands of the enemy. Otherwise, the Governor-General in Kabul would have been in big trouble.
In fact, his own troubles were already big, so the British Governor in Kabul began to worry about the aftermath and at the same time had to prepare for a bigger storm.
However, if the British Governor in Kabul knew that his own self in another time and space was killed by the Kabul rebels, I wonder if he would feel some comfort in his heart.
"Immediately check for suspicious individuals in the city. At the same time, the entire city will be under martial law for three days. Anyone who refuses to cooperate will be arrested. I don't want yesterday's incident to happen again."
Although the British army had already searched the entire city after the battle ended yesterday, the Governor-General in Kabul was still in shock after the assassination attempt.
Suddenly, as if remembering something, he added, "Oh, by the way, the mayor of Kabul died heroically yesterday. Let his family choose someone to take his place!"
I wonder if the mayor of Kabul, who was used as a scapegoat, would feel relieved that the Governor-General in Kabul still remembered him. At least the Governor-General in Kabul was kind enough to not forget the kindness of taking the bullet for him.
"Notify the troops in all places to strengthen their defenses and make sure they are not taken advantage of by the Afghan resistance. Also, have the identities of the gangsters from yesterday been confirmed?"
"It has been confirmed that their leader is called Murati, a religious leader in Kabul. He disappeared after we occupied Kabul. I didn't expect him to join a terrorist armed organization."
"We must catch this terrorist named Murati. I want to hang him on the walls of Kabul."
…
The news from Kabul could not be concealed. After all, so many people died and it happened in Kabul. Moreover, in an uprising, as long as someone fired the first shot, others would follow suit. As the saying goes, a single spark can start a prairie fire.
As expected, many riots broke out in southern Afghanistan, causing great headaches for the British troops stationed in Afghanistan. Moreover, the terrain of Afghanistan made it difficult for the British troops to move around, and the riot areas could not be suppressed in time. Afghanistan was instantly engulfed in flames, and the good situation was reversed.
The Governor-General in Kabul had to ask for help from home and gather more troops. After all, Afghanistan was already in his mouth, and it would be too embarrassing to spit it out. Moreover, Britain was unwilling to accept this, so it had no choice but to continue to follow up.
10 Downing Street.
The Benjamin government also had to turn its attention to Afghanistan. It suffered a loss at the hands of East Africa last year. If Afghanistan can no longer be controlled, then there is no point in pursuing colonization.
Benjamin was originally a supporter of colonialism. The signing of the Gandamak Treaty between Afghanistan and Britain in the middle of the year was one of his greatest political achievements during his current term. It has been less than two months, and the achievement is slipping away again, so it is naturally impossible for him to let it go.
"What is the current situation in Afghanistan? Why did it suddenly take a turn for the worse?"
"Your Excellency, Prime Minister, the current situation in Afghanistan is still under control, but due to the adverse effects of the Kabul riots, many cats and dogs have jumped out again. The Governor-General in Kabul reported to us that Afghanistan's terrain is fragmented and the area is large, so more troops are needed to ensure stability in the area."
"Humph, he still has the nerve to say that? He should have been shot dead by the rebels at that time!"
"The prime minister has to calm down. He has no other choice. As for Afghanistan, it is indeed difficult to govern there, otherwise the rebels would not have received weapons support."
"Well, speaking of weapons support, where do the rebels get their weapons?"
"We think the biggest suspect is Russia, which is closest to Afghanistan and was previously an ally of Afghanistan."
"Are you sure? Then why didn't the Russians stop us when we entered Afghanistan before, but only did this after we occupied Afghanistan?"
"Mr. Prime Minister, you forgot that at that time the Russians had to deal with the Ottomans, so they naturally had to please us. Now it is different. Russia and the Ottoman Empire are in a stalemate. Both sides are likely to compromise, and Bismarck is trying to mediate. The Russians may have already started contacting the Germans to end the war. With free time, the Russians will naturally cause trouble for us."
"Is this just your guess?"
"When our people were confiscating the rebels' weapons, they found that the Afghan rebels had a lot of weapons, including a lot of our weapons, but not many Russian weapons. This is very unusual, so it is very likely that the Russians secretly support Afghanistan, but because the Russo-Turkish war has not yet ended, they don't want to offend us, so they can only play tricks behind our backs."
Benjamin thought about it carefully and realized that this was indeed possible. The Russians must be unhappy with Britain's easy occupation of Afghanistan, but due to their own reasons, they could not fully support Afghanistan, so they secretly provided support to the local Afghans.
"What you said is very likely. In this case, we can't let the Russians have too much free time. Once they have time, they will cause trouble for us. If they really get involved in Afghanistan at this time, our previous efforts may be in vain."
"What should we do then?"
"Contact the Ottoman Empire and destroy the chance of peace talks. We will provide some help to the Ottoman Empire so that they can continue to fight with Russia. As long as Russia is kept in a state of war, they will not have the time to pursue their own interests."
Benjamin ordered again: "As for Afghanistan, gather more Indian troops from India, and also send part of the Cape Town Army to Afghanistan to fight. We must not let Afghanistan get into chaos."
While Britain was negotiating to cause trouble for Russia, Ilya's report on the Kabul Uprising was also sent to the country. After all, as a planner and commander, his contribution was enormous. Of course, as a commander without troops, he did not have much say in the Afghan resistance organization and could only give advice to Mutirat. However, this did not affect his exaggeration of his role in the reports to his country.
The Tsarist Russian government quickly responded to Ilya, stepped up its efforts, continued to cause trouble for the British, and also provided a batch of weapons to support Ilya's voice in the resistance organization.
With the help of East Africa, Britain and Russia started a dog-eat-dog war ahead of time. Even part of the troops used by Cape Town to deal with East Africa were transferred away. It was impossible for Britain to cause trouble for East Africa in a short period of time.
(End of this chapter)
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