Chapter 871: Sluggishness
On September 21, 1889, the Russian Foreign Ministry delivered a declaration of war to Britain's ambassador in Saint Petersburg. After the end of the First Near East War, Britain and Russia once again went to war.
This time, there had been ample time. The Russian Army did not launch its offensive until the third day after declaring war, fully complying with international law.
Of course, this was not because the Tsarist Government followed the rules. Afghanistan lay deep inland, and the British had not yet had time to lay telegraph lines there. Even the fastest transmission of news took more than a week.
London
Inside the British Government building, Prime Minister Gladstone frowned and asked, "Didn't we say the Russians weren't ready for war? Why did the war break out ahead of schedule?"
Britain was no fool. While making preparations for war, it had not forgotten to gather intelligence on the Russians' own military preparations.
Just yesterday, someone had solemnly assured Prime Minister Gladstone that the Russians would need at least another three months before they were ready for war.
It was already late September. Before three months had passed, the Russian Empire would be blanketed in ice and snow. Generally speaking, the Tsarist Government would not launch a war at this time of year.
In the end, the British Government concluded that war would break out in March or April of the following year, and its preparations had proceeded according to that timetable.
Foreign Secretary George answered with great frustration, "The Russians truly were not ready for war. Our intelligence agents planted in the Russian Empire confirmed it repeatedly.
"Perhaps the Tsarist Government detected our plan and struck first, which is why the war broke out ahead of schedule."
The intelligence had not been wrong, and