Chapter 484: Chapter 478: Pinduoduo Version of the Ottoman Army
"The Ottoman Empire dares to fool us with these troops! How dare they try to deceive me with these!" In the tent, Baron Lagren stood with a sullen face, arms behind his back, and after pacing back and forth twice, he couldn’t help but complain.
Standing beside him, the French Commander, Marshal Saint Arno, also wore an unpleasant expression, frowning and sighing deeply, "Things have come to this point, what’s the use of complaining? What we must discuss now is whether to continue advancing to the Silistra Fortress. According to intelligence obtained from Varna, the Russian Empire has already mobilized the 13th, 14th, the Polish Corps, and the Guard Division to encircle the Silistra Fortress completely. It seems Paskievich is determined to eliminate this obstacle to Varna, so he can engage us on this plain."
Upon hearing Saint Arno’s response, Commander Lagren showed some skepticism, as the intelligence systems of the British and French armies were not interconnected. Moreover, the intelligence network of the British Army under Commander Lagren in the Near East was even inferior to that of the Ottoman Empire, making it impossible to verify the authenticity of the intelligence from Marshal Saint Arno’s mouth.
However, Commander Lagren did not inquire much further and chose to trust Marshal Saint Arno’s intelligence.
As for how Marshal Saint Arno obtained such detailed intelligence, he naturally owed it to the Russian Army.
In fact, even before the Paskievich battle started, Saint Arno had established contact with certain Russian military personnel inclined towards the Western European faction through intelligence personnel of the Foreign Intelligence Bureau. (In a way, these Western European faction members are remnants of the Decembrists.) From them, he learned about the Russian Empire’s recent military actions, ensuring that the meat grinder battle near the Silistra Fortress never escaped Saint Arno’s sight from the beginning.
Because the Ottoman Empire and the Sardinian Kingdom’s troops had yet to arrive, Marshal Saint Arnu suppressed the impulse to engage in battle with the Russian Imperial Army at Silistra Fortress, waiting for reinforcements from the Sardinian Dynasty and the Ottoman Empire.
And the Sardinian Kingdom’s troops did not disappoint Saint Arno’s expectations, arriving in the Varna Region on the afternoon of the 24th.
Leading this force was the Sardinian Minister of War, La Marmora. The twenty thousand carefully selected troops of the Sardinian Dynasty were greeted with attention from the Anglo-French Army commanders as soon as they disembarked.
Marshal Saint Arno and Commander Lagren, along with Franco-British divisional commanders, watched the orderly ranks of reinforcements with smiles on their faces.
Judging by Sardinia’s military appearance and formations, their combat effectiveness, though possibly not matching the Franco-British Army, was not too far off.
With the addition of this fresh force, the British and French armies finally made up some of the numerical deficiencies.
La Marmora himself, thanks to the Sardinian army, earned the respect of both Marshal Saint Arno and Commander Lagren.
The Sardinian troops were stationed in the open space south of the French Army.
That evening, a welcome ceremony hosted by Marshal Saint Arno was held in the French Camp, gathering the commanders-in-chief and various level commanders of the three armies of Britan, France, and Sardinia in the tent.
During the banquet, the Minister of War, La Marmora, clearly sensed the primary and secondary roles within the joint command.
Although Commander Lagren and Marshal Saint Arno repeatedly emphasized the choice of Anglo-French cooperation without priority, during these days of mutual interaction, the British commanders were attracted by the French commanders’ daring and aggressive spirit.
Gradually, a trend formed in the army, with France as the principal force and Britain as the support.
Of course, neither Lagren himself nor the Duke of Cambridge would acknowledge France as the leader of this war. They also wouldn’t blindly oppose the instructions from the French Army, as long as the strategies could lead to the defeat of the Russian Army, they wouldn’t mind following French orders.
As the third country to join the anti-Russian war and also the one with the smallest population and army in the anti-Russian war, La Marmora had a deep self-awareness. The Sardinian Army’s presence here was to win the favor of the British and French armies and their governments behind them.
The fight for command authority was merely a "private matter" between the two major Anglo-French powers; even with ten times the courage, La Marmora wouldn’t dare command the Anglo-French Army... unless La Marmora himself had drunk too much.
During the banquet, La Marmora promptly expressed to Marshal Saint Arno and Commander Lagren that the Sardinian Army was determined to obey the orders of the Joint Command. If the Joint Command told them to go west, they absolutely wouldn’t go east.
La Marmora’s sensible attitude brought smiles to the faces of Saint Arno and Commander Lagren. After all, who wouldn’t want a compliant and capable younger brother in the army?
Marshal Saint Arno and Commander Lagren repeatedly toasted with La Marmora, leaving La Marmora unable to refuse but to "accept the challenge."
In the end, under the barrage from Marshal Saint Arno and Commander Lagren, La Marmora succumbed to the effects of alcohol and fell, after which his adjutant apologized to the Franco-British commanders and carried La Marmora back to the Sardinian camp.
The banquet was declared dissolved after La Marmora’s departure.
On the morning of the 25th, at nine o’clock, the so-called "300,000" Ottoman Empire troops from Constantinople finally dragged their feet and arrived in the Varna Region.
Full of anticipation, Marshal Saint Arno and Commander Lagren ran ahead to welcome them, five kilometers from the camp, hoping that even if the "300,000" army claimed by the Ottoman Empire was downsized, it would still be around 80,000!
Eighty thousand Ottoman troops, plus twenty thousand Sardinian troops, plus twenty thousand British troops, and sixty thousand French troops (a portion from Constantinople, a portion from Rhodes Island, a portion from the Holy Land, with only sixty thousand troops in the Varna Area), altogether amounting to 180,000 troops. With these 180,000 troops, the Sevastopol Fortress could be decisively dealt with.
However, before the Allied Forces could march towards Sevastopol Fortress, they still needed to repel the Russian Army besieging the Silistra Fortress to proceed to the next action.
But the Ottoman Empire’s army deeply disappointed these two expectant commanders.
Standing on the hillside gazing at the distant expansive Ottoman Empire army, like a long dragon, Marshal Saint Arno and Commander Largren stood as if struck by lightning, unable to move for a long time.
The army before them hardly resembled a proper army, it was more like a begging army.
Crooked formations, vacant eyes, tattered clothing, and those flintlocks of unknown vintage (some even wielding spears and scimitars)... these were the characteristics of this army.
And the one responsible for commanding this "three hundred thousand" army was Selim Pasha, the son of Omer Pasha, wearing a sky-blue uniform, riding a Turkish warhorse surrounded by Bashbozuk Cavalry, he seemed out of place with this beggar army behind him.
When Selim Pasha discovered Marshal Saint Arno and Commander Largren on the hillside, he quickly nudged his horse’s side to head towards their location.
Infuriated by the disarray of the Ottoman Empire army, Marshal Saint Arno and Commander Largren did not meet with Selim Pasha but sent their subordinates to instruct Selim Pasha to organize his troops before meeting them.
The furious Marshal Saint Arno and Commander Largren turned their horses back to the camp, which resulted in the previous scene.
After about half an hour, the calmed Saint Arno and Commander Largren began to contemplate how to bolster the Ottoman Empire army.
After further discussion, Marshal Saint Arno and Commander Largren decided to deploy additional troops based on the existing ones; only this way could they repel the Russian Empire’s army at the Silestra Fortress.
The French Empire’s army was directly increased to 30,000, while the British army also increased to 10,000, plus Sardinia’s 20,000 troops, totaling about 60,000.
These forces, combined with the 40-50,000 troops originally stationed in Silestra, totaled about 100-120,000.
This number compared to the Russian Empire’s troops on the Danube River was not that significant; with the England, France, and Sardinia troops also equipped with Minie Guns, they had a clear equipment advantage, ensuring the Russian Empire would face defeat.
Just as Saint Arno and Commander Largren prepared to completely abandon the Ottoman Empire army, a soldier guarding the camp entered to report Selim Pasha’s arrival.
"To meet or not to meet!" Commander Largren asked Marshal Saint Arno.
Thinking of the Ottoman Empire army he had just seen, Marshal Saint Arno immediately felt his blood pressure rise.
After a moment of contemplation, Saint Arno decided to meet with Selim Pasha. After all, Selim represented the Ottoman Empire in the anti-Russian war.
Saint Arno nodded at the soldier, who turned and brought Selim Pasha inside.
"Marshal, Commander!" Entering the tent, Selim Pasha respectfully saluted Marshal Saint Arno and Commander Largren.
It was only then that Marshal Saint Arno and Commander Largren noticed that this Pasha was excessively young, looking only about twenty-five, intensifying their disdain for the Ottoman Empire’s perfunctory attitude.
"Truly young and promising! At your age, I was still a Lieutenant!" Commander Largren said to Selim Pasha in a sarcastic tone.
Hearing the sarcastic remark, Selim Pasha’s face grew hot with embarrassment.
Commander Largren was right, holding a command position at his age was indeed quite an excessive promotion.
But, it was because he was personally appointed by Abdulmejid I as the Commander of the Ottoman Expeditionary Army.
And Selim Pasha himself knew that he was appointed to this position solely because His Majesty the Sultan recognized his father’s steadfast defense of the Silsidara Fortress, hence granting him the current position.
This move, not without the intention of compelling Omer Pasha to continue defending.
Selim Pasha himself, upon seeing the Ottoman Empire Expeditionary Army, was equally reluctant to take this position.
However, the Sultan’s orders were hard to defy, so he could only brace himself to accept this ragtag army.
On the journey from Constantinople to Varna, Selim Pasha pondered what attitude the British and French commanders would take towards him.
Reprimands, insults, or perhaps...
Now, Commander Largren’s attitude was already within Selim Pasha’s expectations.
"Commander Largrens, Marshal Saint Arno, my name is Mikhail Selim, my father is Omer Pasha, he is currently fighting against the Russian Empire at the Silestra Fortress!"