Persian Empire 1845

Chapter 655 The Trouble of the Minor Alliance
"Destruction? Submission is eternal destruction! Today you accept their 'gift,' and tomorrow you will find that all power is in the hands of the governor they sent! All laws must conform to the interests of the Empire! Our descendants will forget why they fought, and they will comfortably live as second-class citizens! This is betrayal! It is a betrayal of all our sacrificed compatriots!"

The speaker was another insurgent leader, Bokov, a poet and one of the most steadfast revolutionaries.

Karavilov clutched his head in anguish: "But continuing the fight means everyone will die! I just received news that Burgas fell not because it was breached, but because the people inside opened the gates themselves! They couldn't take it anymore! Hunger, disease, and the constant promises from the Turks... We are losing the hearts and minds of our people!"

"This is capitulationism! Did we shed our blood in this uprising just to gain a few pitiful official positions?"

This internal division at the top quickly spread to the lower ranks. The rebel soldiers heard the rumors and their morale plummeted. Some began to secretly desert and return to their hometowns; others prepared for a final, desperate battle.

On April 12, after a brutal siege lasting nearly a month, the city ran out of ammunition and food. Some of the defenders, lured by promises of autonomy, opened the city gates, and the city fell to the new rulers. At this point, the rebels only had Sofia and nearby territories left.

Just as the Bulgarian uprising was reaching a low ebb, Greece, Serbia and Montenegro, the three Balkan allies that had initiated the war, were also experiencing the severe test brought about by the war.

Serbia faced the most difficult situation and suffered the heaviest losses among the three countries. Their crushing defeat at the Battle of Šenica was not only a huge loss of manpower, but also a devastating blow to the morale of the Serbian army and the confidence of its people. This elite force, which had been on whom high hopes were placed, was unable to recover its fighting capacity in the short term.

After being stalled in Senica, the Serbian advance into Bosnia came to a standstill. The arrival of Ottoman reinforcements dampened the Serbian army's offensive momentum, and they began to construct defensive lines along the Bosnian border, creating a stalemate with the Ottoman forces.

The constant stream of lists of fallen soldiers and wounded veterans being brought back from the front lines began to fuel grief and discontent within the country. Voices questioning the cost of the war emerged in parliament, and the public's expectation of a swift victory turned into fear and weariness of a protracted conflict. Meanwhile, the heavy casualties meant that many families had lost their primary breadwinners, causing not only social tragedy but also plunging many families into economic despair, requiring state aid and further exacerbating the financial burden.

Meanwhile, an army of 15,000 men assembled from Bosnia followed the Ottoman reinforcements northward to launch an offensive against Užice. To hold onto this only gain, Serbia had no choice but to continue deploying troops. Like the Russian army on the Danube, Užice became a site of bloodshed for Serbia.

The massive conscription drew the strongest labor force from farms and workshops to the front lines, severely disrupting agricultural and handicraft production. The impact on spring planting foreshadowed a food crisis in the autumn.

The Russian defeat at the Danube made the Serbs realize they could not rely entirely on this northern giant. Tragically, however, they were forced to cling even tighter to Russia, frantically requesting more weapons, funds, and direct military intervention from St. Petersburg, trapped in a cycle of disappointment and inescapable dependence.

At this point, the overall focus had shifted to defense and reorganization. They were no longer capable of launching large-scale offensives; their primary objective was to hold onto the small amount of territory they had already seized in Bosnia and northern Macedonia, while anxiously observing the outcome of the Danube front and Russia's next move. The Greek war effort was also far from satisfactory, its grand ambitions facing harsh reality. Its naval blockade of the Ottoman Aegean coast had not yielded decisive results. The Ottoman navy adopted a strategy of avoiding direct combat and preserving its ships, its main force holed up in the Dardanelles and Constantinople, protected by powerful coastal fortifications. The Greek navy, however, lacked the strength and courage to forcefully break through the straits.

What's even more troubling for Greece is that Iranian and Ottoman raiding ships have begun appearing in the Aegean Sea and even the eastern Mediterranean, attacking Greek merchant ships and threatening its maritime trade routes, which has put considerable pressure on the Greek economy.

On land, the main Greek army's offensive in the Thessaly direction encountered fierce resistance from the Ottoman army. The Ottoman forces relied on pre-established defensive lines and towns for defense, while the Greek army, lacking heavy artillery and sufficient experience in siege warfare, made slow progress.

Moreover, the Greek economy is heavily reliant on maritime trade, shipping, and exports of agricultural products such as raisins. After the outbreak of war, the Aegean Sea routes became significantly more risky, severely restricting the activities of its merchant fleet and leading to a sharp decline in shipping revenue. Simultaneously, the obstruction of export channels resulted in the stockpiling of its staple agricultural products, causing prices to plummet and severely impacting farmers' incomes and government tariffs. The enormous expenses of maintaining the navy and army, coupled with the disruption of trade, placed a heavy burden on Greece's already fragile finances.

Despite the support from Britain and France, their main focus was on maritime and broader strategic matters, and they provided limited direct assistance to Greece's predicament on land, which made Athens feel somewhat neglected.

As for Montenegro, their fighting spirit remains strong, and their long tradition of fighting for independence has made them accustomed to fighting in harsh conditions. However, the ongoing fighting is beginning to deplete their limited human and material resources. Montenegro's war-fighting capacity depends almost entirely on the amount of aid that Russia and Serbia can provide. It has no economic room for maneuver and is the most vulnerable and least able-bodied link in the entire alliance.

They continue to conduct active, small-scale military operations in their border regions. However, they cannot change the course of the war alone; their fate is closely tied to the situation in Serbia, and they desperately hope that the Russian army can achieve a breakthrough on the main front, creating a greater opportunity for them.

The small alliance's national strength could not withstand such a huge drain, especially with the war becoming a protracted conflict. If Russia could not break the deadlock, they would probably have to negotiate peace with the Ottomans.

The three countries, almost simultaneously, sent letters to Russia seeking help through various means, but besides pleading, their messages also contained a hint of distrust. Were the Russians failing? How come they couldn't even break through the Ottoman Empire?

They continued to explain the situation to their allies, assuring them that reinforcements were on their way. To maintain the alliance, Russia was prepared to send 4000 million rubles to the three countries. Hopefully, they could make one last effort to liberate their land and people, and achieve their goal in this final push.

(End of this chapter)