I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 288 Bombardment

The Boer coalition forces without heavy machine guns and artillery were able to achieve a battle loss ratio of 43:1.

How much can be fired with heavy machine guns and artillery?

It wasn't that the Boers were so brave and good at fighting, but that the British army was so unbearable that the Boers had a battle-loss ratio like a god coming down from heaven.

The only successful record the British army has achieved in recent years is to defeat local indigenous people in South Africa with heavy machine guns.

This is also thanks to the fact that the weapons of the local indigenous people are too primitive, only leather shields and javelins.

As long as the South African natives had bows and arrows, the British army would not be able to win so easily.

The last trade between Vladivostok and the Transvaal triggered strong protests from Britain.

This time, the British attitude was even more intense. Some British MPs actually clamored to refuse ships related to Vladivostok to pass through the Suez Canal and cut off the connection between Vladivostok and Europe.

I have to say that the British are quite naive.

Most transportation between Vladivostok and Europe is carried out by merchant ships from third countries, many of which are even British merchant ships.

The destination of these merchant ships was not all Vladivostok, many of them were destined for the Qing Empire.

After the signing of the peace agreement, the Aceh Sultanate acquired a large area of ​​land south of the old port, and the entire northern Sumatra Island has fallen into the Aceh Sultanate's sphere of influence.

But American experience has proven that Vladivostok has a way to bypass tariffs, but the effect of this method is not good.

But for his younger brother George, Yasan didn't have any good ideas.

The Sultanate of Aceh is not idle either.

Ya San's attitude was very clear. He himself was willing to maintain friendly relations with the British Empire.

On March 3, British Prime Minister Robert Cecil, Marquess of Salisbury, visited St. Petersburg and discussed the issue of Vladivostok with Alexander III.

After Robert Cecil returned to London, British aid to the Netherlands increased sharply.

Robert Cecil said that Britain would safeguard British interests in a British way.

Ya San drew a red line.

After the peace agreement was signed, the Dutch mainland and the East Indian government began to prepare for war. In the past two years, the Netherlands not only built four new ironclad ships, but also trained more than 10 troops in the Netherlands and Batavia.

As long as it doesn't involve the Russian Empire, whatever.

If all ships related to Vladivostok are to be prevented from passing through the Suez Canal, then the Suez Canal must be filled up.

Britain will not use military means unless it is absolutely necessary.

The implication is that I can't control my younger brother. If you have the ability, you can let him go.

But if Britain dared to launch an attack on the Amur Governorate, it would trigger a war between Britain and the Russian Empire.

Because in Aceh, even women have to receive a certain degree of military training.

Everyone knew that the peace agreement between the Dutch East Indies government and the Aceh Sultanate was only temporary.

While the Dutch East Indies were preparing for war, the Sultanate of Aceh was also expanding its military. According to George's standards, the Sultanate of Aceh had more than 2 combat troops.

What the UK can do is, like the US, to raise tariffs on Vladivostok goods in the UK.

By Dutch standards, everyone in Aceh is a soldier.

Aceh's current population has exceeded 120 million.

So even if there is no such thing, the problem in Aceh cannot be delayed any longer.

Every day it drags on, Aceh becomes stronger.

If we don't take action now, Aceh will counterattack Batavia.

On April 4, the Dutch East Indies government used the Aceh Sultanate to invade Jambi and launch the Fourth Aceh War.

The Dutch East Indies government was well prepared. One hundred thousand troops were divided into three directions, attacking the Aceh Sultanate from three directions: Aceh, Lansha, and Jambi.

At the beginning of the war, the East India government went very smoothly and occupied Aceh and Lansha on the day the war was declared.

Based on the last experience, the East Indian government no longer blindly attacked, but built bunkers along the transportation routes and gradually advanced inland in an attempt to completely strangle the Aceh Sultanate.

While the East Indian government attacked Aceh, British reinforcements from Australia and India gradually arrived in the Straits Settlements, and the war on the Malay Peninsula also broke out.

On April 4, the ocean-going cargo ship "Giant" from Dolgorukov Ocean Shipping Company was intercepted by the British Channel Squadron in the waters of Lion City on the grounds that the "Giant" was involved in illegal trade with the Justice Company.

The captain of the "Giant" Musaev refused to allow British sailors to board the ship for inspection.

The British sailors did not forcefully board the ship, but detained the "Giant" at the port of Lion City.

George immediately called Frank Gray, the British Minister in Vladivostok, to Yuriev Palace and cursed him.

"Your Highness, the Strait Squadron is investigating. As long as it is proven that the 'Giant' has nothing to do with the Justice Company, the 'Giant' will naturally be allowed to leave."

Gray was helpless. If he could, he would not serve as minister to Vladivostok.

British diplomats in the Far East, whether in the Qing Empire or Japan, were like emperors, living a comfortable life and doing whatever they wanted.

Only Vladivostok is a chore for all diplomats.

The former Minister to Vladivostok, Walter, resigned last year due to illness, leaving the position of Minister to Vladivostok vacant for three months. Gray was an ordinary staff member of the British Embassy in St. Petersburg. He was not originally qualified to serve as Minister to Vladivostok. It was his turn because no one was interested in this position.

"All the fruits loaded on the Giant are fruits. For this season, you know what it means; if the fruits loaded on the Giant are damaged due to seizure, you must compensate in full."

George knew that it was useless to scold Gray anymore, he was just a mouthpiece, and he had no say in the matter.

Among the 5 troops in Batavia, about 3 came from the Netherlands, about troops from East India, and the remaining came from India.

Britain's unreserved support for East India was essentially broken. At this time, protests were useless. The only way to make the British give in was to give them a thorough beating.

The seizure of Vladivostok ships was itself part of the British plan.

If East India wants to defeat Aceh, it must first cut off Aceh's external aid, otherwise it will be impossible.

Aceh is right next to Malacca. As long as ships from Vladivostok can freely pass through the Strait of Malacca, it will be impossible to cut off Aceh's external aid.

It was impossible to count on the Dutch Navy to do this job, so the Royal Navy had to give up.

Now that the Royal Navy has come to an end, there is no point in arguing. The war will not end unless one side completely admits defeat.

The British had long anticipated the consequences of the war.

But what the British did not expect was that the impact of the war would erupt so quickly.

Almost at the same time that the Fourth Aceh War broke out, the British army in the Lion City invaded the Kingdom of Johor. Under the protection of the Strait Squadron, two divisions of the Australian Army landed in Xiangfei City.

The Far East Fleet also dispatched warships to protect troops from India landing in Kuantan.

On the third day after the British army seized the "Giant", the Lion City was bombarded from the direction of the Kingdom of Johor.

This is the first time the Lion City has been attacked since it became a British colony in 1867.

The Sultanate of Aceh and the Justice Company simultaneously issued statements that in view of the British and Dutch incursions, the Strait of Malacca is no longer safe, and any ship passing through the Strait of Malacca may be attacked.

As soon as the news came out, the British and Dutch invasion immediately aroused widespread concern around the world.

Especially the French and Russian empires, which had extensive interests in Asia.

The statements of the Aceh Sultanate and the Justice Company did not target the British and Dutch ships.

This meant that French and Russian Imperial ships passing through the Strait of Malacca could also be attacked by the Aceh Sultanate and the Justice Company.

Then the problem arises.

Since the United Kingdom and the Netherlands cannot guarantee the security of the Strait of Malacca, why do you occupy Malacca?

The Aceh Sultanate's statement was not just rhetoric. The day after the Lion City was bombarded, a British merchant ship sank in the Strait of Malacca for unknown reasons.

The British and Dutch East Indies governments also realized something was wrong at this time.

Everyone knows the relationship between the Aceh Sultanate and Vladivostok. Although George never admitted it, everyone knows that Aceh is a colony of Vladivostok.

The Sultanate of Aceh had proven its strength in the Third Aceh War by forcing the Dutch to admit defeat and seek peace.

It's unusual for Justice Company, an organization that emerged from nowhere, to have great strength.

On the night when Justice Company shelled the Lion City, more than 60 shells fell on the Lion City in just ten minutes.

Based on this firepower calculation, Justice Company has at least one artillery regiment.

Artillery is a high-tech branch.

How could the Justice Company have artillery of this size?

Looking around East Asia, apart from Britain and France, the only ones with this capability are the Russian Empire.

So the British accused the Amur Governorate of supporting the Justice Company behind the scenes.

George shrugged off the accusation.

The Amur Military District has only one corps and only one artillery battalion.

So how is it possible to send an entire artillery regiment to the Malay Peninsula?

A week after the Lion City was shelled.

Aceh was also shelled.

This time the scale is larger. According to the firepower density, there is at least one division.

After the news came out, the hearts of the British and Dutch people were already cold.

Countries like the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, with sparse native populations, launched colonial wars entirely by relying on the substitution of weapons, using artillery to bully bows, arrows and javelins, and they created colonial myths one after another.

Really facing opponents of the same level, not to mention the Netherlands, even the United Kingdom cannot win alone.

Let’s not talk about the Malay Peninsula. Although Aceh is small in area, it has complex terrain and inconvenient transportation. If the Netherlands wants to defeat the Aceh Sultanate, it will not be enough to rely on 10 people.

Aceh had only been shelled.

In Jambi, the Dutch East Indies troops encountered a strong counterattack by the Acehnese army. A total of 2 people were surrounded in Jambi and were shelled by the Acehnese army every day.

(End of this chapter)