Chapter 194: On Which Bureaucratic Technology Is Strong

The fighting in the Balkans was re-ignited. This conference battle was the largest ever in the European continent, and the total troops invested by the two sides on the front of more than 400 kilometers exceeded 1 million.
This battle, destined to be famous in history, was very comedy. In theory, the coalition was not adequately prepared. As the initiator of the battle, the Russians should take advantage of the situation and even directly lock the victory.
The reality is very tragedy. As the party launching the offensive, the Russian army has also seen confusion.
The artillery chief Preston scolded: "Hell, we are artillery. You actually sent me a bunch of bullets. Do you want me to feed the cannon with bullets?"
The military officer who transported the supplies replied: "Sorry, Mr. Colonel, this is the order above. If you have any questions, please contact the headquarters. Now you are requested to sign the supplies."
The artillery regiment of Preston had just arrived. The infantry regiment originally stationed here had moved forward, but the logistics department still distributed supplies according to the original plan.
Preston frowned and replied, "We responded to that, Mr. Major. Now these materials, I have no use at all, you can pull them back!"
The major officer said solemnly: "No sir, I have been instructed to send this batch of materials here to the garrison. Please be sure to sign for it.
As for how to deal with these materials, you can take care of it yourself. You can dispose of it privately, or you can find a place to throw it away. After the war, you can report the damage directly.
These supplies are a supply for the infantry regiment in the next week, and there are many good things in it. You won't lose the colonel. "
After hesitating for a moment, Preston still signed his name, and the money delivered to the door was not earned for nothing.
Anyway, the artillery is the treasure of the headquarters. Unlike the gray animals that are not valuable, a report goes up and their supplies will come down.
...
This time the main force of the Russian army was divided into two. Fitzroy Summers led four infantry divisions, two artillery regiments, and a cavalry regiment. A total of more than 73,000 men launched an offensive against Sofia.
The battlefield is ever-changing, with frequent troop movements, the logistics system cannot keep up. Unlike the last battle, it was in the Danube Basin at that time, and it was easy to resupply. Even if it was wrong, it could be adjusted quickly.
It ’s not the same now. The front has been pushed forward by two hundred kilometers. The logistics and supplies have to be delivered for several days. Without a telegram, we can only rely on the notification of the commander.
At this time, the mechanical Russian bureaucracy came into play. Military officers who transported logistics materials must transport the materials to designated locations.
Even if the original troops are gone, they will also hand over the supplies. The receipt of infantry by such artillery as Colonel Preston is no exception.
Fitzroy Somerset is a good general. He must manage such things. How can he fight without solving logistical problems?
"The logistics department was ordered to increase the supply of the frontline troops to one month, and future supplies will not be at a fixed location and must be handed over to their units.
The units at the division level are not transported separately, and all are sent to the division for uniform distribution of materials. The artillery and cavalry regiments are sent directly from the headquarters. "
A middle-aged officer reminded: "Her chief of staff, it would be rude to do this, I'm afraid ..."
Fitzroy Somerset shook his head and said, "Don't worry, I will explain this to the country. Now I'll send someone to contact Commander Mishkov, I believe he has encountered the same problem."
...
The logistics supply model was changed, and the Russian army's logistics supply chaos was finally reluctantly resolved. Of course, the lost supplies in the previous delivery must not be recovered, and all of them are considered to be damaged.
The battle of Sofia started, and the Russian army was 30 kilometers away from Sofia. The two sides had already started a firefight.
Sofia Coalition Command, Montes asked, "Is the enemy's troop investigation clear?"
"His Excellency Commander, it is clear. The Russian army dispatched a total of 7 infantry divisions, 2 artillery regiments, and 1 cavalry regiment.
In addition, there are about 20,000 Bulgarian guerrillas. However, they seemed to be at odds with the Russians and did not act together. "
In response, an Ottoman officer investigated the enemy's situation, naturally they did it with their head down. If the British soldiers were sent out, they could not understand the language and lost their way.
Montes said calmly: "Our reinforcements will arrive tomorrow night, ordering the troops not to rush into combat with the enemy, leaving a small number of troops to check the enemy's marching speed.
Except for a few important strongholds, the rest must be withdrawn, and after the reinforcements arrive, they will fight against the enemy. "
It's not calm or not. Montes is a rare "veteran" in the British army. He once commanded the forces of a battalion and suppressed hundreds of colonial rebellions.
There is no way, who has made the British Empire Guotai Min'an safe in the last ten years? Without a big war, in addition to suppressing the Irish mob, the British Army could only bully the colonial aborigines.
The largest battles also stayed at the regiment level. There were few high-ranking generals on the battlefield like Montes, so he became the commander of the British Expeditionary Force.
You can learn without experience. Now Montes is doing very well. According to the military requirements, even if you ca n’t take advantage, you ca n’t lose a lot.
...
Evening
In a camp, the soldiers gathered in pairs and looked up at the stars.
A man with an accent in Genoa asked, "Arturo, you said that we sent us to the Balkans to fight the Russians. What is the picture?"
Arturo said indifferently: "Did the old men say that this time the Russians were beaten for revenge. It is said that the Russians supported Austria in the last Osa war, and now they are still allies.
Aonzo, what do you ask? We all want to dine, if anyone can find a job in the country, who will come here to suffer! "
"No, just ask casually. I always feel that there is something wrong here. For no reason, let us run to the Balkans to fight Russians. It doesn't look normal.
Even if revenge is needed, it is the noble masters and capitalists who need revenge. We poor people do n’t lose any money. Why come here? "Aonzo shook his head and said
Doubts come to doubts, they are not educated, they can't think of so much. They all joined the army for food and drink.
"I said what you guys were talking about, hurry up and pick up tomorrow's food. If you miss the time, you can solve it by yourself."
A familiar voice came, and the two stopped talking and ran as fast as possible to get their supplies.
After receiving the food, Aonzo's face became ugly, and he complained: "Damn the Englishman, do they like to eat corned beef and hard biscuits so much?
Even a piece of bread is not provided, and this day is hardly a human life. They are treating us deliberately, and these provisions are probably not as good as the Ottomans! "
In the war, the expenses of the Sardinian army were all borne by the British, and the logistics were naturally the British.
It is impossible to talk about deliberate misdeeds, nor is the provision of British soldiers. It's a uniform standard, 2 pounds of corned beef and three hard biscuits per person per day, and then it's gone. (1 lb is equal to 0.4536 kg)
Don't talk about fruits and vegetables, not even a piece of dark bread. The British do not do this to save costs. If you consider the cost, the price of beef is not low, and it will be much cheaper to switch to black bread.
The cause of this tragedy is-bureaucracy. Bureaucrats at the British Quartermaster Department thought that corned beef jerky was easy to transport, and a slap on the head became the British supply during the war.
On the surface, beef is eaten every day, and this meal is also good. If you switch to beef jerky and eat it every day, the feeling will not be so wonderful. The first thing to test is that the teeth can not stand it.
Not only beef is hard, but the biscuits distributed are harder. This may be the earliest compressed biscuits. If you don't put bubbles in the water, if you can bite, it is iron teeth and copper teeth.
This kind of food is simply disastrous for Italians who are looking for delicious food.
Even if the kingdom of Sardinia is poor, their army will never save food, and the food quality is much higher than the British.
"Aonzo don't complain, if you let the Ottomans know that they don't mind changing with you, would you really like to exchange with them?" Arturo said with a smile.
Happiness is in contrast. The food provided by the British is the most unpalatable, at least not to worry about hungry.
These beef jerky can also be processed twice. If conditions permit, you can bring some vegetables together and cook them, without using salt.
The supply of the Ottoman army was really bad, and some were required to bring some dry food to the battlefield. What kind of food you can get depends on luck, and it ’s a good time to eat seven or eight full.
Because of the daily empty time, the Ottoman bureaucrats still have a good habit of discounting according to regulations. If there is no shortage of a certain unit, prepare for the entire army to be hungry.
Aangzuo shook his head and said, "I didn't say it, but the British logistics officer really should be shot. I bet there are definitely more soldiers killed by them than on the battlefield."
Arturo said with a smile: "I don't know about this. Maybe the British have different stomachs than we do. They can stand it.
Not to mention these, we remember that during the day, you also pulled a few vegetables, I have two potatoes here, and I will stew them with beef jerky tomorrow. "
The two looked at each other and smiled. Even if the logistical supply standard is low, the Italians can use their talents to improve their food as much as possible under limited conditions.
In this respect, the Sardinian army also contributes. Their arrival directly improved the quality of life of the British army and reduced the number of scurvy patients in the British army.
The British soldiers who accompanied them quickly learned these excellent experiences and promoted them as quickly as possible. In the past, when they went out, they simply robbed their belongings. It was too wasteful.
Now that everyone has learned, the crops in the field and the cattle and sheep on the hillside can be turned into loot. Even many soldiers have learned to preserve food and use all conditions to store food.
The direct sequelae of this is that the marching speed has greatly decreased, and the military discipline has become more scattered. There are old churros in the Sardinian army. Whatever they order, what do they do?
The law does not blame the public. In the face of a group of big men in a unified position, officers do not dare to treat them.
By the way, the British were also damaged, and everyone found the power of unity. As long as they are united, the officers will not dare to move them.
The final arrival in Sofia was two days later than Montes expected. On this battlefield of life, two days are enough to change things.
The most direct thing is that the Russian army has been overwhelmed. Due to the lack of strength in the surrounding bases, Montes did not dare to divide too many troops to station, and it has now been exhausted.
The delayed arrival of the reinforcements, the coalition forces have lost the best fighter, it is too late to launch a counterattack while the Russian forces are not stable.
Montes growled angrily: "Your group of rice barrels, Lu Chen is so delayed for two days, are you out on the road? Do you know what military law is?"
Major General Mantua of the Sardinian army lied solemnly: "Lord Commander, we were attacked by guerrillas on the road, and caused dozens of casualties to us. It took time to wipe out the guerrilla.
Everyone is not a fool. In order to escape the military and law, everyone said that it was a guerrilla attack and the wounded was proof.
"The guerrillas are so rampant, you have so many troops, they dare to attack?" Montes asked in confusion.
Mantua said, "Here is your commander, the guerrillas are very cunning. They don't fight us directly, they just sneak in."
They dig into the road, put cold arrows at night, it is very difficult, and there are still a lot of people. In order to prevent these people from cutting off our army's back road, we killed them. "
He wasn't talking nonsense. Some soldiers fell into the trap. They just accidentally fell when they went to the mountains to find their prey. Cold arrows also exist, and they were also encountered in the mountains by Ottoman hunters.
This high-level talent who lied and changed his face was still encountered by Montes for the first time. British officers were more honest, and Italian officers were totally two concepts.
Mantua did not do it for the first time. When they were mixed with Marshal Bardolio, they collectively deceived the country. Now it is natural that there is no pressure on Montes, who has little experience.
Montes gave a cold drink: "Hum!"
Then he scolded his head and scolded: "Even so, you shouldn't delay so long. Don't you leave a small army to besiege the guerrillas and come with the main force?
Do you know how much loss your army has caused to your delay, and you have missed the best chance of counterattack! "
However, at this time he did not mention the military law, and everyone was relieved. Mantua also did not continue to explain, scolded for fear, and would not lose a lot of meat.
After the defeat of the Osa War, there were not many generals in the Kingdom of Sardinia who could keep the general title, and Mantua could be one of them, not because he could fight, in fact his military capabilities were very limited.
His greatest ability was to be able to speak well, to discern words, to pass on all responsibilities to others, and to stand on the side of the king for the first time and gain the trust, only then had this opportunity to resurrect.
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