Chapter 553 The British Army's Strategic Transformation
Government House, Calcutta.
After Ramsay and Brown discussed and exchanged views.
General Robert finally arrived belatedly from the front.
"Your Majesty General, I'm very sorry, but I have to ask you to come back."
This meeting was called by Ramsay.
So out of politeness, he expressed his apologies to the two generals one after another.
The rebellion that occurred on the home front was, strictly speaking, caused by Ramsay's fault.
If he had stronger control over the local area, it would be possible to avoid such a situation.
He should take necessary measures when problems with ammunition paper casings arise.
In other words, before the Battle of Dhaka started, troops were mobilized from local areas.
Ramsay must do a good job in preventing local rebellions.
The military and political affairs of the entire Indian colony were under his control, so if something like this happened, he could not escape the blame.
There is no executive relationship between him and Robert.
Therefore, Ramsay still felt a little guilty when he recalled Robert this time and asked him to stop the battle that was already more than half in progress.
Any general would find it difficult to accept such a thing during a war. One moment, the servant army almost mutinied, and the other moment, there was a large-scale rebellion in the rear.
"Your Excellency, Governor, how could such a situation occur? Do such rebellions often occur here in India?" Robert asked when he came up, indeed he was a little unhappy.
Now that the battle on the front line has reached such a stalemate, he is very upset.
Whether it was the previous trouble caused by gunpowder paper shells or the local uprising in India, they all caused serious interference to his operations.
When he was commanding the battle in Crimea, he did not encounter such a problem.
"Your Excellency, General, although rebellions often occur in India, they have never been on such a scale, and those rebellious states do not have such means."
"This incident and the previous gunpowder paper case incident are probably all conspiracy. It seems that our enemies always like to use such despicable methods." Ramsay said.
In fact, he also knew that this great uprising had a lot to do with the colonial authorities' increase in alliance fees.
But to attribute it to a conspiracy would take away the responsibility from himself.
"Conspiracy, Burmese?" Robert asked.
"No, no, no, the Burmese people don't have such ability yet. It should be the people behind them who are doing the trick," Ramsay said.
"Humph...are we just going to let them do whatever they want?" Robert punched the conference table with his fist, showing no gentlemanly demeanor. As a general of the British Empire, only when they bully others can they tolerate being bullied.
"General, those people in the country want to continue to maintain trade with those people and are not willing to go to war directly. Otherwise, our navy should have blown up their coast long ago." Ramsay said helplessly.
Robert could only say angry words and start a war with a big country, and a powerful country at that. He did not dare to provoke such a thing easily.
"Did the Governor ask me to come back because of the rebellion in the rear?" Robert knew there was no need to continue on that topic, so he turned to the topic.
Ramsay had informed Robert of the Tamil and Northern Alliance rebellions.
Hundreds of thousands of rebels are indeed not a small number.
The Tamils from the south have even reached the northern part of Ceylon, which is an important transit point in the Indian Ocean.
There is absolutely no room for error.
"Yes, General, the situation in India is very bad now. We have lost control of more than a dozen princely states. The most important thing is that land transportation between the east and west may be blocked."
"Now the rebels from the northern kingdoms are gathering to attack eastward. They are very likely to join forces with the rebels from Assam in the east. By then, the entire Ganges River Basin may be lost. At that time, even if we recapture Dhaka
What's the use?" Ramsay said.
He hoped that Robert could voluntarily give up attacking Dhaka and change his current strategy.
If Robert insists on continuing to attack Dhaka and then quell the rebellion in the princely states after defeating Burma, Ramsay has no choice.
"So, Governor, do you want to change the current strategy?" Robert was very upright and asked directly.
"I want to seek the general's opinion. The current situation in the north is that General Brown's 50,000 men alone cannot take the initiative. But in the current situation, passive defense can only make the situation worse. Our troops in various places
The garrison is too small." Ramsay continued to explain, trying to make the difficulties as clear as possible in order for Robert to accept the suggestion.
"Your Excellency Governor, I can understand that our recovery of Dhaka is also for the stability of the colony. This has no contradiction with quelling the rebels, so I am not opposed to changing the strategy." Although Robert is a bit proud, he will not because of himself
Personal emotions affect the overall situation.
He is a pure soldier and only thinks about problems from a military perspective.
Since from a military perspective, it is more advantageous to put down the rebels first, then put down the rebels first.
Robert would not insist on spending time outside Dhaka because he felt sorry for himself by withdrawing his troops from Dhaka.
Only the weak will do such impulsive behavior.
So Ramsay actually misunderstood Robert, and all the explanations he prepared for this were in vain.
"Haha, General Robert is really understanding and reasonable. I hope the general can transfer the main force to quell the rebellions in various states. As for Dhaka, we can station ten or twenty thousand people on the west bank of the river. I believe those Burmese people are not capable of crossing the river.
Attack us," Ramsey said.
"It seems that the Governor has already made plans. In this case, I also agree to give up the attack on Dhaka for the time being." Although Robert endured the pain of Ramsay, he still said expressionlessly.
"However, we do not need the navy to participate in counterinsurgency, so I suggest that the navy lead part of the army's partial division to attack coastal cities such as Yangon and Mawlamyine in Myanmar."
"In addition, since the Governor believes that the Renaissance Army has played a disgraceful role here, then I wonder if we can contact Singapore to strengthen the inspection of the Renaissance Army ships. The Indian Ocean belongs to the British Empire, and everything here is up to us.
Well, since they want to come here they must abide by our rules." Robert suggested.
"The general's suggestion is very good. I will negotiate with the Navy, and I will also send documents to Singapore. These Renaissance forces are bullying people too much. It's time to give them some color," Ramsey said.
"Your Majesty the Governor, I think we should deploy the navy to launch an attack on Yangon before the army retreats. This way we can catch them by surprise and prevent them from having time to send troops to support." As for the specific combat deployment, Robert still had a lot to say.
Said.
Brown and Ramsay also agreed with Robert's plan.
"Your Majesty the Governor, as for the division of labor in counter-insurgency, I want to lead part of the army and navy to quell the rebellion of the Tamils. A part of the main force will be assigned to General Brown to quell the rebellion in Uttar Pradesh. I just don't know how many troops General Brown needs.
?" Robert asked, looking at Brown aside.
Now the 30,000 British troops in his hands have basically suffered no losses. After the replenishment of the servant army, there are still 70,000 to 80,000 troops.
"This..." Brown seemed a little embarrassed to speak. It seemed a bit abrupt to ask someone directly like this.
Having less people is not enough, and having more people seems to be too incompetent.
"It doesn't matter, General Brown, just say, I know that there are more rebels in the north, so I can allocate more troops to you. Let's put it this way, according to the intelligence about the Tamils passed by the Governor, I only need
Just leave at least 30,000 people."
The information Ramsay gave Robert gave a very detailed introduction to the current strength and equipment of the Tamils.
The total strength of the Southern Alliance currently being formed by the Tamils is around 60,000 to 70,000 people.
Of course, they may also gather more troops, but the combat effectiveness of those newly recruited troops cannot be guaranteed at all.
Robert estimates that the actual number of Tamil warriors may be only about 30,000.
The others should be militiamen they brought in.
Considering that the Tamil people are brave and good at fighting and all the people are soldiers, the combat effectiveness of these militiamen should not be weak.
That's why Robert ordered 30,000 soldiers and horses, which was considered to be a sign of respect for the Tamils.
"General Robert, you don't need so many people. You only need to give me 15,500 British troops and 35,000 servants. Combined with the troops currently defending the northern front, there will be 100,000 people.
This way I will have the confidence to wipe out these rebels."
"When we look back, we might be able to deal with the rebels in Assam."
"By then, I think the general has pacified the Tamils. At that time, we will join forces to attack the Burmese and wipe this kingdom from the world!" Brown made his request and imagined the subsequent battle.
planning.
"Okay, I wish us success!" The three of them raised their glasses of red wine and clinked them together.
The war with the Burmese suddenly turned into a counter-insurgency war in India.