Chapter 207: How Deserters Are Made

After the battle in Sofia ended, Montes, who had escaped a calamity, was summoned by the London government to return home, waiting for him to take a day trip to the military court, this time the British were shamed.
Although Montes repeatedly explained that the defeat of the war caused by the betrayal had no effect.
If you lose, you lose. Even if they tactically caused more casualties to the Russians, but everyone knows that this battle, the coalition side lost.
The culprit was the failure of the British to defend the line of defense, allowing the Russians to break through. The incident of being pinched by guerrillas before and after everyone decisively ignored it, and the British were embarrassed to mention it.
The successful rescue of Oliver was promoted to the commander of the British Army. Promotion was originally a good thing, but Major Oliver was not happy.
He still knows himself. The so-called rescue achievements are all excuses. If it is not for the deep background, he would be hard to blame for the failure of this war.
Had it not been for his so-called bait plan, attempting to wipe out the guerrillas in an all-round way, the reinforcements would be stationed in various places in advance, and the main force of the guerrillas would not have been able to assemble to attack from behind, this battle actually killed him.
This kind of thing fools the domestic bureaucrats and fools the soldiers, but they can't blind the officers on the front line.
In this case, can he be convinced by his role as expeditionary commander?
"Have our injuries been counted?" Oliver asked.
The bearded middle-aged officer replied: "It's just a part of the expeditionary army's 3rd Army. A total of 6,876 people were killed, missing or captured, and 2,847 were injured.
The Expeditionary Forces Corps 1 and 2 Corps are still counting casualties. At present, we have collected 11,621 troops, including 924 wounded, and it is said that some of them were retreated to the Macedonian region with the Sardinians. "
This is not just a heavy loss, the Expeditionary Force has been maimed. Did not return to the team for half a month, the chances of being able to return to the team are very low.
There is no other way. When we lost our battle and ran for our lives, everyone was rushing around, who cares what direction and direction.
With the defeat of the Sofia Campaign, the entire southwest of Bulgaria was a Russian territory. How many people can escape the pursuit of the Russians and Bulgarian guerrillas is unknown.
In this era of poor communication, the soldiers did not speak the language, and even if they had escaped, it was very difficult for them to find their way home.
If the sense of direction is not strong, it is not impossible to run directly.
Oliver patted his head. Now that 80,000 British expeditionary forces have hit, there are more than 30,000 people left in his hands. Even if he and the Sardinians run to Macedonia, it will not exceed 40,000.
What's more important is the lack of morale and morale of the army. For a long time, these soldiers have been fighting hard, even if they have just arrived in the Third Army.
If the British combat effectiveness was 10 before, now there are only 5 left. Without half a year of trimming, combat effectiveness cannot be restored at all.
But the battle is still going to be fought, the French have asked them to build a line of defense to prevent the enemy from coming from the west.
If possible, Oliver didn't mind retreating all the way back to fight a Constantinople defense. Fighting in the coastal areas, they can get naval fire support, and it is easier to gain advantage.
Obviously, this is impossible, and apart from the Ottoman opinions, the coalition forces and the Russians are still fighting hard in the Sliven area and cannot withdraw at all.
A blind retreat is likely to become a defeat, and the consequences will be serious.
Oliver said solemnly: "In any case, we must now block the Russians in Kazanlak and the old Zagora, otherwise the coalition will fail this time.
The London government has issued a death order, and we must not fail the battle because of our reasons.
I have requested reinforcements from the country, and the cabinet government has promised that at least 50,000 reinforcements will arrive in two months.
After the war in Sofia, the Russians also suffered heavy casualties. They also need time to repair. They should not launch a major offensive in the next two months. "
A young military officer questioned: "Hi Commander, IMHO, even if the Russians launch a tentative attack, I may not be able to stop it.
On the way back, we lost all our artillery. One-third of the soldiers now do n’t even have a rifle. Without repairs, the troops would not have any combat power at all. "
This is not nonsense. If a main division of the Russian army comes over at this time, more than 30,000 British troops will continue to run.
Oliver glared at him and said, "Colonel Ferhu, you have to worry about it. The loss of weapons and equipment has been supplemented in China, and it can be made up for up to half a month.
The morale of the army depends on everyone's efforts. Now we will not have new combat missions, just do a good job of detention and wait for reinforcements to arrive. "
Passive or not, Oliver can't care less. He knew that if he now relied on the fortifications to defend, soldiers could still play a part of their combat effectiveness. If you take the initiative, you have to write a book-"How the Deserter Was Born."
...
Kraljevo, Serbia
Lieutenant Colonel Haydn encountered a major problem in the third battalion of the fourth division of the newly-incorporated seventh division of Austria. A large number of soldiers collapsed in his defense zone.
A young officer, about 22 to 23 years old, whispered, "Lieutenant Colonel, the British sent a representative."
Haydn said lightly, "Invite him in."
The situation is a bit special now. Austria remained neutral during the war between Britain and Russia, but Austria was an ally with the Russians and was still fighting the British ally Ottoman Empire.
This complicated international relationship made Colonel Haydn very embarrassed. If this is the Austrian territory, then as a neutral country to disarm the British and return to their country after the war.
Unfortunately, Serbia's sovereignty still belongs to the Ottoman Empire. If the British did not cooperate, Colonel Haydn would not know whether to disarm them forcibly or to deport them.
Not long after, a somewhat embarrassed British officer came in, and Colonel Haydn said, "Good to see you, Colonel Daniel. What do you need to drink?"
Colonel Daniel replied politely: "Thank you, the coffee is just fine, it would be better to order some pastries."
It can be seen that his stomach has protested again, and the sound of "Grumbling" is reminding him that it is time to eat.
Colonel Haydn shrugged and said, "Sorry, I don't have pastries here, but I still have bread, canned food, and beef jerky. Would you like some more?"
This is the battlefield, and while in Kraljevo, the Austrian army is not luxurious enough to serve pastries.
Colonel Daniel said lively: "Just bread and cans."
When they escaped, they were all hungry beef jerky, and now they are about to vomit, and it is good to have bread at this time.
Colonel Haydn ordered: "The guards make a cup of coffee for Colonel Daniel, get a piece of bread and two cans."
Both men are soldiers, and exchanges between soldiers have always been straight.
After a pause, Colonel Haydn stated the conditions: "Colonel Daniel, you have two options:
Or, in accordance with international practice, as a third party neutral state, we will disarm you. The latter issue will be communicated by the London government and Vienna, and you will be repatriated after the war.
Either you leave now, for the friendship between the two countries, I can pretend that I have seen nothing. You are now leaving from the Kosovo region, and it is too late to intersect from the Macedonian region. "
He did not want to clash with the British at this time. There are a lot of British soldiers entering the Kraljevo area. If it is not handled in time, it is likely to cause trouble.
Colonel Daniel replied without hesitation: "We chose the first one. The Russians have already occupied Kosovo and our path has been cut off.
We agree to be disarmed, but you must provide us with status-matched treatment and guarantee that we can only be returned to our country after the war. "
Lieutenant Colonel Haydn was a little bit crying when he heard Daniel open his eyes and talk nonsense. He finally understood why such a person would stray into the Kraljevo area.
What's wrong with this, it just came over intentionally.
This war lasted for almost a year, and the British were in the war for more than half a year. After fighting for such a long time, the troops have not been rotated. It is natural for everyone to be more war exhausted.
The treatment of British Army soldiers in this era is not high. If you look at the logistics supply, you will know that if they have a status, the bureaucracy of the logistics department will not dare to mess with it.
Compared with the navy, they are raised by the queen mother, and they are paid less than one third of the navy soldiers. This differential treatment naturally inspired their dissatisfaction.
Now that everyone's war exhaustion is high, it is natural to find a way to escape this war. When deserters are not desirable in the first place, this is subject to military law.
With the defeat of the Sofia campaign, their chance came. This time it was defeated across the board, and it was definitely about to escape.
If you run back, you will inevitably go to the battlefield later. When the Russians surrendered, the bears had a bad reputation this time, and they were afraid of being slaughtered.
What's more, when the prisoners of war said that it was not glorious to go out, the bears were enemies, and they had no chance to surrender even for treatment.
At this time, smart people thought of a way, ran to a neutral country to be disarmed, and then waited for repatriation after the war.
You can avoid war without worrying about being liquidated at home. It is normal to panic on the battlefield, and who knows that the Austrians occupied Serbia?
Anyway, the London government did not send a document to inform them. Everyone can pretend that they don't know, they can infer that it was a normal retreat and then entered the Austrian territory by mistake.
The bureaucrats of the London government must recognize that this is in compliance with the rules. They rely on this set of mechanical rules to safeguard their own interests. Naturally, it cannot be easily broken.
In fact, not only did the British do this, but some people in the Sardinian army followed, but only because of their hatred against Austria, not many people came over.
As to whether it will cause trouble to the London government or affect British-Olympic relations, this is beyond their consideration.
Anyway, the Austrians must treat them deliciously and deliciously. This is a bargaining chip with the London government.
In order to be more persuasive, they also found a step, insisting that the Russians had occupied Kosovo and cut off their way back.
Lieutenant Colonel Haydn thought for a while and said, "Yes, but all British soldiers must sign the agreement.
Make sure that you entered Kraljevo by mistake. Because the Russians cut off their way home, you lost your logistical supplies and asked us for help. "
After changing the speech, everyone's face was taken care of. I also changed the disarmament argument. In the future, Britain and Austria will not have conflicts because of this issue.
Colonel Daniel complained: "No problem, then Colonel Haydn please provide us with supplies as soon as possible. We have not eaten a ton of normal rice for several days along the way."
Lieutenant Colonel Haydn asked, "Yes, how many of you are there, and I will send someone to send you a batch of supplies right away."
Colonel Daniel replied: "A total of 1,531 people, including 426 Sardinian soldiers, must enjoy the same treatment, and there are 62 wounded, who need to be treated.
There should still be some troops behind, this number may continue to increase in the future, you better prepare some more supplies. "
This is not an individual who fled, it is just that the officer took the soldiers to run collectively, and also ran so fresh and refined.
Lieutenant Colonel Haydn nodded and ordered people to prepare supplies. In any case, let's stabilize these British soldiers first.
Lieutenant Colonel Haydn has no opinion on Daniel's request for morale, and the London government will pay for them anyway.
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