As the situation on the Afghan battlefield continued to deteriorate, the views of the British Government's senior officials were also changing.
Secretary of War Rosario said, "The Russians' rapid advances on the Afghan battlefield are entirely thanks to the support of France and Austria.
"The enemy we face now is not the Russian Empire alone, but a three-nation alliance in which the Russians provide troops while France and Austria provide money and supplies.
"Britain may be powerful, but it does not possess the strength to confront Europe's three great powers at once. If we want to win this war, we must cut off France and Austria's support for the Tsarist Government."
A defeat at the front always had to be accounted for at home. Besides, Rosario was not talking nonsense; the Russian Army's victories truly could not have been achieved without the support of France and Austria.
More precisely, it was Austria's support. The French Government was also backing the Russians, but constrained by the Anglo-French Alliance, its actions were more limited.
For the War Office, the goal of expanding the army had already been achieved. What mattered most now was finding a way to win the war.
Rosario knew the British Army's capabilities very well. In the short term, it had no ability to turn defeat into victory. The best way to win the war was to cut off the Russians' foreign aid.
Without the money and material assistance of France and Austria, the Russians' own strength alone would not be enough. If the war dragged on for a year or so, the Tsarist Government's finances would be unable to bear it.
Whether they defeated the Russians head-on or wore them down to death, victory was all that mattered. Rosario was a pragmatist and had no use for so