Chapter 515: Dog-Eat-Dog
The next day.
The British Governor in Kabul stood grim-faced, looking over the bodies of the British soldiers recovered from yesterday's fighting—there were even more among the puppet troops.
"How many died yesterday?"
"Three hundred eighty-five of our men, sir. Total casualties amount to 2,407. The Afghan government forces lost just over two hundred, with about five hundred casualties overall."
"Why did we lose more men than the Afghan government forces?" the governor asked, shocked.
He didn't care how many puppet soldiers died—but British imperial troops? That was a different story. And the fact that the Afghan government forces had lower casualties than the British was infuriating.
Sensing the governor's anger—and eager to shift blame—a British officer quickly said, "Your Excellency, it's clear the Afghan forces didn't pull their weight. They were either sympathetic to the rebels or just afraid. They didn't fight wholeheartedly."
That much was obvious. The puppet forces were hated by most Afghans. Collaborating with the British was seen as betrayal. These soldiers were just trying to earn a living—not die for Britain's empire.
The Governor sighed. "We lost so many men… thank heavens we didn't lose Kabul, or we'd never live it down back home."
Three hundred British dead was a serious defeat. In the Zulu War of Ernst's former world, only about 1,300 British soldiers were killed. Worse, the Kabul uprising would likely inspire similar revolts across the country. Casualties were sure to rise.
"Your Excellency, the rebels clearly had inside help. We were caught off guard, and we didn't have numerical superiority. Since the Afghan government troops were faking their loyalty, we were left to fight the terrorists alone. That's why the death toll was so high."
British troop strength in Kabul wasn't particularly large. Britain had never fully conquered Afghanistan. The central government had surrendered, but local powers didn't necessarily agree. Many remained neutral.
Some even denounced the central government as traitorous and declared independence. This forced the British army to spread itself thin across the country to deter resistance.
If British forces had been concentrated in Kabul, Murtaza never would've dared attack the city.
Still, the British performed well. Despite the chaos, they regrouped quickly and held the capital—saving the governor from disaster.
But disaster had already struck. Now, the governor had to deal with the aftermath and prepare for the next storm.
If only he knew that, in another timeline, the Kabul uprising killed him—he might take some small comfort in his survival here.
"Immediately investigate and round up all suspicious elements in the city. Impose a three-day curfew. Arrest anyone who resists. I don't want a repeat of yesterday."
Although troops had already conducted a sweep after the battle, the governor remained deeply uneasy after the assassination attempt.
Suddenly remembering something, he added, "By the way, the mayor of Kabul died heroically yesterday. Let his family choose someone to replace him."
The poor mayor—used as a human shield—might have felt honored to be remembered by the governor. At least his sacrifice wasn't ignored.
"Notify the rest of our forces—tighten security. We can't let these rebel groups exploit any weakness. Have we confirmed the identities of yesterday's attackers?"
"Yes, sir. Their leader is a man named Murtaza. He used to be a religious figure here in Kabul. After we took the city, he disappeared. Turns out he joined the terrorist movement."
"Find that Murtaza. I want him hanging from Kabul's city walls."
…
News of the uprising couldn't be hidden. Too many had died—and it had happened in Kabul. Uprisings like these were contagious. One shot fired could spark fires everywhere. A single spark can ignite a prairie fire.
Sure enough, the south erupted with new revolts. The British found themselves overwhelmed, and Afghanistan's terrain made suppression difficult. The situation turned rapidly, from stable occupation to full-blown crisis.
The governor in Kabul had no choice but to request reinforcements from London. They had already swallowed Afghanistan—spitting it back out now would be disgraceful. Britain had no choice but to push forward.
10 Downing Street.
Prime Minister Benjamin's administration was forced to turn its full attention to Afghanistan. Having been embarrassed in East Africa the year before, they couldn't afford another failure. If they couldn't hold Afghanistan, what was the point of an empire?
Benjamin was a staunch imperialist. Just two months ago, the Treaty of Gandamak had been his proudest achievement. Now, it looked like it might unravel entirely. There was no way he'd let it go.
"What the hell is going on in Afghanistan? How did things fall apart so quickly?"
"Prime Minister, the situation is still under control. But the Kabul uprising has had a major psychological impact. It's inspired others to rise up. The Governor says Afghanistan's fragmented terrain and size demand more troops to maintain order."
"Hmph. He should've died in the uprising."
"Please calm down, sir. He did the best he could. And Afghanistan is notoriously difficult to govern. Otherwise, rebels wouldn't have gotten outside support."
"Speaking of which, where are the rebels getting their weapons?"
"We believe the most likely source is Russia. They're Afghanistan's closest neighbor—and used to be allies."
"Are you sure? Why didn't Russia interfere when we invaded, and why are they acting now?"
"Prime Minister, you may recall—they were busy with the Ottomans at the time and needed to keep us happy. Now the Russo-Ottoman War has entered a stalemate. Bismarck is trying to mediate. Russia may be reaching out to Germany to end the war. With more freedom, they've started poking us."
"Isn't that just speculation?"
"Our agents found something interesting when confiscating rebel weapons. There's a huge variety—British, French, German—but very few Russian weapons. That's suspicious. It could mean the Russians are helping secretly, but hiding their involvement."
Benjamin thought it over. That did make sense. Russia hated how easily Britain had taken Afghanistan. But being tied down by war, they couldn't act openly—so they turned to covert support.
"If that's the case, we can't let them rest. Idle Russians always cause trouble. If they get involved in Afghanistan, everything we've done so far will be wasted."
"So what should we do?"
"Reach out to the Ottoman Empire. Sabotage any peace talks. Help the Ottomans keep Russia occupied. If Russia stays at war, they won't have the energy to meddle elsewhere."
Benjamin gave one more order: "As for Afghanistan—summon more troops from India. Reassign some forces from Cape Town to fight in Afghanistan. We cannot allow things to spiral out of control."
While Britain plotted how to give Russia more problems, Ilya's report on the Kabul uprising reached Moscow. As the mastermind behind the operation, he took most of the credit. Though he held little actual influence in the Afghan resistance, that didn't stop him from exaggerating in his report.
The Tsar's government responded swiftly: Increase pressure. Keep the British busy. They even sent Ilya another batch of weapons to strengthen his standing among the rebels.
Thanks to East Africa's secret support, the British and Russians had entered a premature "dog-eat-dog" phase. Some of the British troops originally deployed to counter East Africa from Cape Town were now being sent to Afghanistan.
In the short term, Britain had no capacity to bother East Africa again.
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