Chapter 178： Ottoman crisis (1/2)
It is the third day that the news of the outbreak of the Near East War reached London. Even after thinking about it, after receiving the news, the senior British government still had a headache.
Even Queen Victoria, who rarely got involved in politics, couldn't sit still and held a high-level meeting in Buckingham Palace.
Queen Victoria asked: ”The outbreak of the Near East War, the Russians and Austria got together. This time the Ottomans are in great trouble. What will the government do to keep our interests in the Near East?”
The Ottoman Empire has a long history of power, and even if it has fallen in this era, Tiger Power still has a bit of it. Coupled with the fact that the Ottoman government has just completed its institutional reforms, it appears that they are already a modern empire.
In the view of Queen Victoria, even if the Ottoman Empire was not an opponent of Russia and Austria, they had such a large area, and there were millions of troops, and they would cut a little meat at most, and they would not die for a while.
This is also the mainstream view in Europe. No one knows how weak the Ottoman Empire is.
The well-prepared Prime Minister John Russell replied: ”Her Majesty, we have joined forces with France and are ready to interfere in this war together.”
Prince Albert questioned: ”His Prime Minister, this time the Russian-Turkish war is different from the past, and the Austrians have joined the war.
Even if we join forces with the French, we want to make them compromise, I'm afraid we can't do it? Otherwise, this war will not be fought! ”
Queen Victoria does not like participating in politics, and Prince Albert is different. Many of Britain's major decisions have his shadow.
John Russell explained: ”His Royal Highness, the Russian and Austrian alliance is only temporary, because the relationship of interests will sooner or later be parted.
Our current enemy is Russia. Austria can put it aside first, and their appetite will be the same. Even if the Balkans are given to them, they will not be able to eat.
The government is ready to join forces with the French to support the Ottoman Empire and the Russians, and the Austrian Foreign Ministry can handle it. ”
Send troops to intervene in the Near East War? Whether in history or now, the British were not prepared to play in person at the beginning.
In history, the British sent troops to participate in the Crimean War, which was built on the condition that the Ottoman Empire could not stand up, and the French were willing to serve as the main force.
Now that the million male lions of the Ottoman Empire are still there, before they start, who knows that these troops are all goods?
Many people within the British government think that as long as they provide loans to the Ottomans, it is enough to sell them some weapons and equipment.
Of course, it is possible to send a navy to help, and it is in the British interest to extend its tentacles into the Black Sea Strait.
The Army did not have confidence in the Russians. The Navy suppressed the Russian Black Sea Fleet. They did not advise.
...
Paris
Compared to the British, Napoleon III was much more active. In his view, the Near East War was simply the best opportunity to divert domestic conflicts.
If he can defeat the Russians and report to the uncle's revenge on Waterloo, he can obtain huge political capital.
It doesn't matter if you lose, anyway, you fought in the Ottoman Empire, you can throw it to your allies, as long as the French army can win several times, you can take it back for propaganda.
Napoleon III asked with concern: ”Ruue, what do the British say, are you ready to join us?”
Rueus replied: ”His Majesty, the London government is still hesitating. It is initially determined that they are preparing to support the Ottoman Empire behind the scenes and are not ready to send troops to participate in the war.
However, if we send troops to support the Ottomans, the British also support them. They also want to teach the Russians on the battlefield. ”
This conclusion is quite sloppy. The Ottoman Empire has not yet been defeated, and the British can certainly not play. If the Ottoman army is defeated, can the British still sit?
In the event that the Ottoman Empire is cold, all of their initial investment will be lost, even their interests in the Mediterranean will not be guaranteed.
Napoleon III dared to send troops to interfere in the Near East War. It was also established that the Ottoman Empire had a certain strength, otherwise they were singled out by the Russians. In fact, the French were also very irritated.