Chapter 437: , Take advantage of the fire

"First of all, we have to admit that we have suffered a painful defeat this time. Our revolutionary strength has suffered a huge loss. During the siege of Athlone and later in the process of blocking British reinforcements, we paid The first and second divisions and local troops sacrificed more than 14,000 people. In addition, there were nearly 10,000 wounded who had to leave the revolutionary army because of their injuries. After paying such a high price However, none of the several combat goals we set before the war were achieved. So now, we must summarize the root cause of our failure.
For this question, I personally think so.
First of all, because of previous achievements, many comrades in our federation, including me, are proud and proud. Therefore, it is not possible to study and analyze problems based on reality. Instead, he patted his head casually and made a decision. Now think about it, how sloppy we were when we made this operational deployment!
We are blindly optimistic just because of some past victories, thinking that as long as we pretend to attack, we will definitely be able to mobilize the enemy, and the enemy will definitely come for reinforcements without sufficient preparations, and we will definitely ambush us as if the enemy is Those under our command must obey our orders. As for what to do in unexpected situations, we have not prepared all kinds of contingency plans in advance. When things come to an end, it's a rush to change things, so it's strange not to fail.
Was our mistake made by accident? No, there are accidental mistakes, such as accidentally walking and falling, it may be accidental. However, there are so many mistakes in such matters related to the destiny of the country. This can never be accidental. This is our own thinking, and there is a problem with our own style!
We are proud, and when we are proud, we tend to be arrogant, and we cannot look at ourselves objectively. We are like the frog in "Aesop's Fables", thinking that we can be bigger than a cow by bulging our stomachs. If you are proud, you will definitely look down on others, and you will not be able to judge others objectively. So our predictions for the British are hardly correct. If you are proud, you will be lazy, and will not use your brain. So we didn't even have a plan for contingency.
Therefore, this failure was not accidental, but because we ourselves had problems in our thinking and style. If we cannot correct our attitude and change our style, this failure will never be the last. Therefore, for a period of time in the future, even during our lifetime, we must always be vigilant and constantly rectify our style of work. This is the guarantee of the victory of the revolution.
Comrades, although we have suffered another setback, our confidence in the victory of the revolution is unshakable. Comrades, think about our original situation. In general, isn't the situation much better? Looking at our enemies again, isn't the decline in their power still obvious compared to before? The road of revolution is tortuous, but the future of revolution is bright. We must have full confidence in the victory of the revolution..." "Russell's Speech at the Summary Meeting of the First Attack on Athlone"
On the British side, of course it was a joy at this time. Although this victory failed to wipe out the main force of the "Irish rebels," it was already the biggest victory since the "Counter Insurgency". The British newspapers naturally promoted this, and the Governor of Norfolk was awarded the Grand Cross of the Knights for this. Everyone congratulated him one after another and wished him that he could quickly wipe out the rebels.
But the Duke of Norfolk did not show much joy about this. He told his friends in private that the situation in Ireland was still severe. He even used physical discomfort as an excuse to hope that the British government would approve his retirement and send someone to take his place. Substitutes are difficult.
However, the British government refused his request without hesitation. Don't read the newspapers to blow up this victory, but those who have access know that the main force of the Irish rebels is still there, and this peach is not easy to pick. So to celebrate, to celebrate, to issue medals to medals, I want to find someone to top the tank, ha ha...
But soon the British were not happy because something happened again in North America.
Since the French started the development of Louisiana, the path of American expansion to the west has been almost completely blocked by the French. Because the dividing line between northern Louisiana and the United States is not clear, there have been a lot of frictions between the French and Americans in the border areas over the years. At first it was Americans fighting against "French overseas citizens", then Americans fighting Indians, then "French overseas citizens" fighting Americans, and then Americans fighting Indians, "French overseas citizens" "Fighting with Indians, in the end, it is the Indians supported by the French and the Indians supported by the Americans.
Although there are a lot of small fights, there is still basic peace between the Americans and France. The Americans also know that with Louisiana blocking there, the success rate of westward advance is very low. So the Americans set their sights on their northern neighbor Canada.
In the original history, the Americans, in order to seize the Canadian region, took advantage of the British power to be restrained by France in 1812, declared war on Britain, and tried to seize Canada. Of course, this strategic goal was not achieved, but the presidential palace was burned. But in the end, the Americans declared ~EbookFREE.me~ that they had won the war. However, it is strange that the British also believe that they have won the war. In a typical zero-sum game like war, there is a story in which both parties involved are victors.
In this time and space, the Americans' westward road was blocked by the French, but the Americans did not have the confidence to fight the French. At this time, it seemed that Britain and France were about to fight again, and the Irish people in the United Kingdom were quarreling again. The Americans immediately had an idea: If you don’t want to destroy Canada at this time, are you still waiting for the French to completely defeat Britain? Man, then everyone take Canada together?
So the Yankee made an excuse, saying that the rabbit didn't wear a hat, ah, that's wrong, it meant that the British and Indians colluded with the Americans. Then war was declared on the British.
To say that the British colluded with the Indians to attack the Americans, this really did not wrong the British, they did such a thing. However, they are not only targeting the United States. "French overseas citizens" are also targets of attacks. However, the Americans also colluded with the Indians to attack Canada and "French overseas citizens." Then "French overseas citizens" also colluded with Indians to attack Canadians and Americans.
This is a minor problem when everyone is evenly matched, but it is different when the British are held back by the French. So the Americans used this as an excuse to declare war on Britain.