Chapter 630: War Can Also Be Traded
In order to make Prime Minister Fallier more resolute, Philip mentioned another factor that was favorable to France, "As far as I know, the mercenary corps in North Africa was formed by Lady Anne's husband."
"That American tycoon? How is that an advantage?" Prime Minister Fallière chuckled. Whenever France wanted to take any military action, it would need the help of the Americans.
"Mrs. Anne's husband is a smart and wealthy businessman, and he is also the Pasha of the Ottoman Empire." Philip corrected calmly, "This wealthy businessman has a very good impression of France. If we can contact the commander of his mercenary corps and get their cooperation, we can create facts without bloodshed, and the efficiency will be much faster."
This is true. Sheffield is not only a friend of the French, but also a friend of the Germans, the Ottoman Empire, and even has a charlatan friend in Imperial Russia. He has no friendship with his own citizens. When the comprador attributes of a monopoly capitalist flare up, he targets foreign countries, and has only a tough approach to his own country.
Hmm? Prime Minister Fallier pulled his beard involuntarily and asked uncertainly, "Are you sure?"
"If I don't do it, I won't be sure!" Philip had full confidence in this. He thought he had a good relationship with the powerful Lady Anne and could get a lot of useful information.
Now all that is needed is for Prime Minister Fallière to understand this private contact. Philippe has achieved his goal. Prime Minister Fallière has been successfully persuaded. On the issue of colonies, Italy is really not enough for France to consider.
"Thanks to the invention of radio, unfortunately the technology is not mature enough for us to make transoceanic calls." When Sheffield received another call from his wife, he sighed heartfeltly and immediately said that he could tell John Connor the news directly and let them talk about it themselves.
Can France take action in North Africa without using its own troops? Sheffield knew that it was possible, because Algeria and Tunisia were in the hands of the French, and there were many French immigrants there, who could support a military operation without the need for support from the mainland.
Among the current French colonies, the most important one is Algeria. Many French people do not consider Algeria a colony, but an overseas department of France. There are a large number of French immigrants in the area. Since the Seven Years' War, France has changed its attitude towards its colonies.
Why did France lose the Seven Years' War? In addition to the fact that the British Navy defeated the French Navy, leaving the French mainland unable to rescue, the other reason was that the British colonial population far exceeded the French colonial population. Therefore, after the Seven Years' War, the French attached great importance to the population of their own immigrants.
The first country affected by this change was Algeria, which is closest to the mainland. There are now hundreds of thousands of French immigrants in Algeria, which is the center of French Africa. Together with Tunisia, it is on the edge of the battlefield. Gathering 30,000 to 50,000 armed forces across the border will not be a problem for the local French garrison.
"Okay, then I'll contact Tunisia directly!" Annie answered readily. She knew that Black Gold Company had a base in Tunisia, which was used to deploy forces on the Mediterranean route.
While Sheffield was preparing to surrender to the French, the Balkan War was still in full swing. After mobilization, the Balkan League launched a full-scale attack. In order to quickly defeat the Ottoman army and end the war, the Bulgarian army assembled most of its forces in the direction of Constantinople.
The First and Third Armies of the Left first launched a fierce attack on the Ottoman troops in Gechigili, Seriolu, Eskibalus and Petra in eastern Thrace. After five days and nights of fierce fighting, they defeated the main force of the Ottoman Army, the Third Army, and occupied the important town of Rosegrad in eastern Thrace.
The Bulgarian Second Army on the right wing surrounded the famous city of Adrianople, which had 60,000 Turkish garrisons.
The two armies fought fiercely at Luleburgaz, and the Turkish Fourth Army was defeated, but the Bulgarian army failed to organize a resolute pursuit of the enemy. The Turkish army built a defense line at Chatarja, 40 kilometers west of Constantinople, and the Bulgarian army tried to break through the defense line and directly attack Constantinople without success.
At this time, the Greek commander, Prince Constantine, suggested sending two divisions to reinforce the Bulgarian army to strengthen the attack, but because the Bulgarian army wanted to occupy the city alone, the suggestion was not adopted. The Greek army launched an attack on the Turkish army in southern Macedonia, Epirus and southern Albania, and captured Selva the next day.
While the war was going on on land, the Greek naval fleet took the initiative to attack and blockade the Ottoman Empire at sea. They also met the Ottoman naval fleet near the Dardanelles. The two sides fought a naval battle near the strait. This battle was so close to Constantinople that many Greek sailors believed that it was a replica of the decisive battle between the Greek navy and the Persian fleet more than 2,000 years ago.
Inspired by this sentiment, the Greek navy, which was already more powerful, won the victory at sea. In this way, just a few days after the war, the Ottoman Empire seemed to have ushered in a situation of complete defeat. Nearly one million soldiers of the Balkan Alliance rushed towards Constantinople like a tsunami.
If the war in the North African enclaves could not make the residents of the capital feel the pain, now the Balkan coalition has reached the capital of the Ottoman Empire. For hundreds of years, the capital, as the heart of the Ottoman Empire, has faced a huge threat for the first time. Many residents fled Constantinople and wanted to run to a safe place.
There were also Ottoman patriots who came to the west of Constantinople to help the Ottoman troops there strengthen their defenses, showing their determination to live and die with the country. When the disaster came, many people made different choices.
Tunis is shaded by date palms, palm trees and olive trees, like a white lotus floating on the Mediterranean Sea. In the northeastern suburbs are the sunny streets, theaters, public baths, aqueducts, broken walls, pillars, stone tablets and other relics, most of which were rebuilt during the Roman occupation period, from which we can get a glimpse of the luxurious scene of the past. The best preserved Roman theater. The theater is an open-air semicircular building with stone-level auditoriums built against the mountain.
This was once the center of the ancient Mediterranean, and now it is France's most important stronghold in Africa. The most important colony for France is Algeria, but the most important Mediterranean port is Tunisia. Many important raw materials needed in the mainland are transported back to the mainland through here.
There is no doubt that this is also an important base in Africa for many internationally renowned shipping companies, including the Black Gold Transport Company. The Italo-Turkish War was not very intense. Even the slave owners across the Atlantic Ocean felt that this war was a bit of a joke, and they were not prepared to really fulfill their identity as Ottoman Pasha and fight the Italians to the death.
With such a boss, his subordinates would naturally follow suit, with the main goal of preserving their manpower. The mercenaries they summoned would do the hard work, and although they were not as strong as the friendly troops who were surrounded, they firmly implemented the slave owner's strategy of retreating when the enemy advances.
Brown and John Connor took turns to take vacations. Anyway, they might not encounter a large-scale battle for more than a month, so the two of them took turns to travel to Tunisia. In the past two months, Brown was here, appreciating the customs of the ancient Roman Empire.
Brown, who was making coffee, finally welcomed his guest, Gabriel, the commander of the French garrison in Tunis.
"Colonel Gabriel, hello!" Brown took the initiative to extend his hand and greet the other party, speaking understandable French, which aroused the latter's favor. The reason why Brown was asked to do this was because Brown could speak French.
"Your French is pretty good!" Gabriel praised. "Very surprising!"
"I was born in Louisiana, and there are still some people who speak French there." Brown smiled indifferently and watched the other person take off the French military cap on his head. The weather in North Africa is very hot. Although Tunisia is a good place, it is not out of the climate of North Africa. The hotter the area, the more tightly the residents wrap their bodies. He was already accustomed to this at the Kuwait base, and even discovered the benefits of doing so.
"Mr. Brown, I received a secret notice from the country. Although I didn't know you before, the glory of France told me that you will bring good things." Gabriel smiled and said, "You are a very powerful person. The world's largest private army is in your hands."
"These are all the boss's people. I am just an employee waiting for my salary." Brown said nonchalantly, "But Colonel Gabriel guessed one thing right. I received a message from the boss's wife, and she is going to make a deal that will benefit you, France, in a private and secret occasion."
The two men ate fruit while enjoying the sea breeze and exchanged information with each other. Soldiers are always tough. Like most soldiers, Colonel Gabriel is also tough on foreign countries and is always working for the expansion of France.
Brown did not hide anything and brought out the attitude of the United Company towards the Italo-Turkish War, which made Colonel Gabriel overjoyed. However, he looked puzzled and asked, "You have more than 50,000 soldiers. Are you just going to lay down your weapons like that?"
"Colonel, my boss is a businessman. Of course, he formed this mercenary army because of the favorable conditions given by the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. But we are not a real army, and few of the mercenaries are locals in North Africa. We came here from a long distance. Do we really want to fight with Italians for a strange land? We are a company, and it is very legitimate to do things for money, but forget about the sense of honor of defending the country. The sense of honor is more suitable for you real national soldiers." Brown took two puffs of a cigarette and said, "It would be great if we can take the opportunity to withdraw with dignity."
"It seems that this war is a deal for you." Gabriel chuckled and shook his head.
"Yes, it's a transaction, and we have to choose someone with strength to make the transaction." Brown nodded solemnly, indicating that Gabriel did not misunderstand.
(End of this chapter)
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