The General indeed detested the dogs of the Third Bureau, but he never underestimated them.
Since the establishnt of the Third Bureau, more than a handful of regional governors have fallen at their hands, and most of the gendarrie that overthrew these governors were not of Hestingov’s rank.
Arthur, ard with information received from Gogol, asked first, "My lord, logically speaking, having soone like you serve as an Imperial Envoy is truly overkill. Investigating the history of Pugachev’s rebellion is sothing that even a minor clerk in the Ho Office could handle. Why trouble you with such a task?"
Balakov glanced at Arthur, removed his gloves, and said, "I am a soldier; a soldier must obey orders. It was a direct order from the Duke Inspector Korsakov of Zaporozhye, passed through the Ho Office, to have investigate Pugachev’s rebellion history. The order is in my suitcase; do I need to show it to you?"
Balakov’s tone was very cold and chanical, since with his status, there was really no need to use the Russian word ’you’ towards Arthur.
Even though Arthur only had a rough grasp of Russian, he knew that in Russian, ’you’ not only expressed respect but also indicated a sense of distance and indifference.
For people like that, Arthur generally wouldn’t bother with a warm face greeting a cold backside.
But ever since he learned about Balakov’s unit number, the habit of British agents probing for information made him toss and turn in bed, unable to sleep.
The 2nd Ukrainian Cossack Cavalry Regint, participants in the Caucasus War.
Generally speaking, the British have little interest in the Caucasus; aside from mountains and large swaths of forest, there isn’t much of note there.
But the problem is, the Persians do not think that way.
Several small countries in the Caucasus region were for a long ti vassals to Persia’s Qajar Dynasty, but beginning in the 19th century, Russia’s sphere of influence began to enter the Caucasus region. In 1801, Russia annexed Georgia, in 1804 Russian forces occupied Gangzha.
And to protect their suzerainty over the Caucasus region, the Persians naturally declared war on Russia.
In the early stages of the war, due to the difficulty of Russian supply lines, progress was slow, and the Persians had so initial success. But soon Russian reinforcents arrived, and the situation quickly took a turn for the worse, with Russia occupying large stretches of the Southern Caucasus shortly thereafter. By 1812, Russian forces won a decisive victory at Aslanduz by the banks of the Aras River, heavily defeating the main Persian army.
Persia, unable to retaliate, was forced to cede Jelbent, Baku, Gangzha, Kubin, Shilvan, Shaki, Karabakh, and northern Talish, abandoning all claims to Georgia and Dagestan, and promised not to station troops in the Caspian Sea region.
Logically speaking, warfare between Russians and Persians shouldn’t concern the British.
But the issue is that Persia holds a very crucial position.
If the Russians were to control Persia, they could then access the Afghan Plateau, thereby threatening Britain’s largest and most important overseas colony, India.
Therefore, to protect this most dazzling jewel in the British Empire’s crown, the British Foreign Office decided early on to establish a foothold in Persia.
The defeat of Persia in the Russo-Persian War was a heavy blow to Britain, which was striving to bring Iran under control and militarily dominate the Caspian region.
And to prevent Persia from fully submitting to Russia, thereby harming British strategic interests, Britain ’forgave’ and ’forgot’ the past incident of Persia’s alliance with Napoleon and the expulsion of the British Representative.
In 1809, Britain and Persia signed a renewed alliance that stipulated Persia must sever all relations with France and any nation hostile to Britain, and promised Persia that during its conflicts with Russia, Britain would provide Iran with cash, weapons, and other support.
After Napoleon’s first abdication, the treaty was updated in 1814, specifying that Persia must not allow the army of any European power to traverse Iran to attack India, and must ensure that Persia’s vassal states like Khwarezm also do not allow any European power’s army to traverse their territories to attack India, among other points.
At the sa ti, the treaty reaffird that during Persia’s war with any European country, Britain would provide financial and other support or directly dispatch troops from India to support Persia.
With British support, calls for revenge against Russia grew loud within Persia.
Finally, in July 1826, Persian Shah ’Fath-Ali Shah Qajar’ proclaid nationwide to launch a Jihad against the Caucasus region, officially declaring war on Russia.
In the early stages of the war, the newly trained Persian army, trained by British instructors, launched a surprise attack, catching the Russian forces off guard, who then retreated, allowing Persia to reclaim large areas.
But once the Russians regained their composure, their reorganized forces quickly demonstrated their prowess on the battlefield. The Cossack artillery units from Cria and other regions, seasoned by the Napoleonic Wars, taught the Persians a harsh lesson on the Shamkhar Heights near Gangzha, showing them why ’artillery is the god of war,’ resulting in the near-total annihilation of the painstakingly trained new Persian army.
With the outco of the war determined, Iran was forced to sign a ceasefire agreent with Russia in February 1828. According to the new agreent, the Persians not only failed to recover their territory but also lost consular jurisdiction and were compelled to pay military reparations among other losses.
Regarding the agreent Persia signed with Britain?
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