Chapter 205： Highest state of pit (1/2)

The British reinforcements had just arrived in the Balkans, and had not had time to take over all the defense areas. The Bulgarian guerrillas launched a comprehensive counterattack. This time the Russians also cooperated very well and suppressed the frontline coalition forces.

Facts have proved that Plovdiv is indeed a decoy set by the British and is preparing to slay the main force of the Bulgarian guerrillas here, but they just control the beginning and do not control the outcome.

As soon as the fighting began, the situation changed. More than a dozen cities, including Plovdiv, were attacked by guerrillas.

Most of them are predatory attacks, but this turmoil has been exposed before the British have completed the layout.

There is no way. Although the Greeks are weak, the timing of their selection is too good. Who knows if they will go all the way to Constantinople? For security reasons, the Ottoman Empire had to deploy troops to contain them.

The city's strength was insufficient, and there were leading parties in the city, and the offensive might also break the city. If these places were lost, the coalition forces in Sofia would be trapped in the encirclement, and the British army had to send in reinforcements.

The Bulgarian guerrillas were too weak to bully the Ottomans' second-line troops. The frontal battlefield was just like the British.

But hitting does not mean that there is no way to hit. The British troops who have just arrived at the front line have not dealt with them. The arrogant British commander directly treats them as indigenous people in the colony.

There is nothing wrong with this understanding. In theory, Bulgaria can also be regarded as a colony of the Ottoman Empire, but it is directly owned.

In terms of strength, this gap is wide. Anyway, Bulgarian guerrillas have also been trained by Russian and Austrian instructors. Coupled with high morale, the fighting effectiveness erupted is not weak.

With a bang, the British troops marching were attacked again by the guerrillas. After a while, the gunfire stopped abruptly, and the guerrillas apparently retreated.

A young officer said pale: ”General, the enemy was attacked in front, two soldiers were killed and seven soldiers were injured!”

”How many times have we been attacked by the enemy?” Major Oliver asked

”Eighteenth!” The young military officer whispered.

”That's nonsense, please send someone to chase me!” Major Oliver ordered.

The Bulgarian guerrillas did not cause them much casualties, except that the number of attacks was frequent and their marching speed was delayed. Not to mention, the key is to combat the morale of the troops.

Major Oliver is not the master who will not fight back after losing money, of course, he must fight back.

Due to the lack of experience in fighting with the guerrillas, most of the time the enemies will be gone halfway, and if they are unlucky, there will be more traps waiting for them.

In this round of confrontation, the British army did not take advantage, let alone say, the key is to delay the best fighter. By the time they reached their destination, the main force of the guerrillas had long since disappeared.

Everyone knows that the Bulgarian guerrilla base camp is in the Balkan Mountains, and Major General Oliver's task is to siege the guerrillas.

But when he entered the Balkan Mountains, he attacked the enemy with his short strength. It was difficult for the large troops to operate and the artillery was lost. In this environment, the casualty ratio between the two sides was almost 1: 1.

For a British soldier to exchange a guerrilla, Major Oliver is not crazy yet. If he dares to do so, the days of going to military court are not far off.

Major Oliver is directing the troops for the first time, otherwise as a gilded relationship, he would not take on this unlucky task.

The British generals who have been mixed in the Balkans for a long time would rather die on the front line with the Russians than enter the mountain guerrillas.

The former enemy saw that the British army's combat effectiveness was slightly superior. As long as it was not sieged by the enemy several times, the risks were controllable; the latter appeared to be a small risk. It's just different after entering the mountain.

Major-General Oliver thought of himself and arranged a bait to seduce the Bulgarian guerrillas.

The result is now obvious. The enemy was fooled. Unfortunately, he overestimated the marching speed of the British army. They could not gather the pocket array in time under the attack of the enemy.

...

Plovdiv, most of this strategic place has been occupied, and the defenders are still stubbornly resisting. Offensive battles are not the strengths of the guerrillas. Even if there are internal and external forces in the city, they will not be able to win the city in one fell swoop.

Guerrilla commander Edimier ordered: ”Order the troops to stop the offensive, collect strategic materials as much as possible, and take them away with them. Those who cannot take them will be burned and cannot be left to the enemy.”

The middle-aged officer reluctantly said, ”Commander, it's a pity that so many babies have been burned. If we organize a civilian husband to rush for the shipment, it can still be shipped out.”

Eddie Mille stared and said, ”Don't stop talking nonsense. With so much supplies, are we still running? If we were bitten by the British, our strength would increase tenfold, and they would not be their opponents! ”

Etimir is satisfied that he can destroy this part of the supplies. Although it was a bit regrettable that they did not win the entire Plovdiv, they could politically declare their capture here and fight for a better position with the Russians.

The Russians are very realistic. At the beginning of the treatment of the Bulgarian guerrillas, they would not starve to death. Since they tore the front of the Sardinian army and broke through behind the enemy, the guerrillas have been treated as Russian troops.

Logistical supplies were temporarily unavailable, but the Russians issued a batch of weapons and equipment to them and transported them through the Balkan trails.

Many guerrilla officers, including Edimir, have obtained the official ranks of the Russian army, and they are now staffed.

Fitzroy Somerset also promised that those who are willing to join the army after the war will be able to obtain the official Russian army number and be in charge of Bulgaria;

”independent”? Don't dream anymore, the Russians are not here to do charity. Fortunately, they have been fighting so long for the independence of Bulgarians.

Now the demands of Bulgarians are not so high, autonomy is their highest goal. Most also want asylum from the Russians to ensure that they are not enslaved by the Ottomans.

In particular, the personnel in the religious world is the standard pro-Russian faction. It has very high expectations for Bulgaria's joining the family of the Russian Empire.

In the future, Bulgaria is nothing more than a province, autonomous province, or Russia joining the name of an autonomous principality. The specific situation depends on the decision of the tsarist government.

The prerequisite is that the Russians won the war. If they lose all the rest, the losers are not eligible for the spoils.

...

Sofia

In the coalition command, Lieutenant General Montes had greeted all the relatives of Major General Oliver, and his teammates did not want to do this, let alone their own people?

Had it not been for the so-called pocket array, which delayed the time of receiving the defense, the Bulgarian guerrillas would not have been able to take advantage of it, and have successfully conquered three and a half cities in just one week.

The cities are all Ottomans. Even if Montes is captured, they don't care. The problem is that they hoard the materials in the city.