AHC: Russian Control over the Ganges Basin

But as I said Russian occupation of India is possible only wth the help of ASB. Meteorite rains of fire and huge stones all over the British Isles. London preferably destroyed to the ground with no survivors at all, not a single soul, even a cat :D

I just had a lovely reply to that, but then I noticed the "post-1900 POD" clause. :(
(The scenario I had in mind had a POD in the 17th century, and even with that in mind was still borderline ASB. Then again, there's always a chance that the top 60ish people in the British succession randomly die, leaving the throne to Alix of Hesse who just happens to already be married to Nicholas II of Russia... :D)
 
Thanks

What force composed this (below)? I just felt the implication that there were guard units with it as it was under the command of Catherine's favourite, but maybe that was a totally incorrect assumption?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_Expedition_of_1796

Best Regards
Grey Wolf

I was talking about the 1870s onwards. This particular persian expedition was manned this way:

Caspian Division (Gudovich):

- Nizhegorod and Astrakhan Dragoon regiments (both were fairly senior regular cavary units, one later became a cuirasseer outfit).
- Khopyor Cossack Regiment (Don Cossacks). The cossacks had the attached engineers with the pontoons.

- Volga Cossack Regiment (Terek Cossacks)
- Col. Mashlykin's regiment (Don Cossacks)

Brigade Divisions as of April '96

Bulgakov:

2 battalions Kuban Jaeger Corps
2 battalions Caucasus Grenadier Regiment

Rimsky-Korsakov:

1 bat. Combined Grenadiers (Vladimir and Kabardin Musketeer Regts.)
1 bat. Voronzeh Infantry Reg.
1 bat. Tiflis Musketeer Reg.

Benningsen:

Vladimir Dragoons Regt. 7 sq.
Nizhegorod Dragoons Regt. 7 sq.

Apraksin:

Taganrog Dragoons Regt.
Astrakhan Dragoons Regt.

Platov (Cossack Division) (under lieut-col. Baranov until the invasion of Daghestan)

Khopyor Regt. (3 squadrons)
Volga Regt. (3 squadrons)
Mashlykin Regt. (3 squadrons)

Mozdok Cossack Regt. (Terek) (3 squadrons)
Reserve Legion Cavalry (1 squadron)
Grebensk Cossack Host (3 squadrons)
Terek (Semeynoe) Cossack Regt. (1 squadron)

Corps artillery was probably distributed organically among all brigades (about 18 guns in all?)

Naval Troops:

Frigates: "Tsarytsin", "Kavkaz", "Astrakhan"; Bombardier Ships: "Mozdok", "Kyzilyar"; brigantines: "Slava", "Pobeda"; packet-boats: "Sokol", "Letuchiy"; Infantry Ship "Orel", transports: "Ural", "Volga".

Naval Descent team (Rakhmanov):

1 bat. Vladimir Musketeer Regt.
1 bat. Kabardin Musketeer Regt.
1 "hundred" of Black Sea Cossacks naval infantry

1 battery of Corps field artillery

Total: 30,00K, of which 8,000 went to protect Tiflis and the rest went to storm Derbent.

Once Derbent was taken, it was garrisoned by (additionally):

Saveliev:

1 combined Gren. batallion (Moscow and Kazan Musk. Regt.)
1 bat. Caucasus Jaeger Corps
2 "hundreds" Cossacks, with 4 guns (+ 29 captured from Persia)

The advance on Baku was reinforced with (Zubov):

1st Chuguyev Cossack Regt.
Count Orlov's Don Cossack Regt.

During the operations in the interior, Uglich Light Infantry (+4 guns) was also involved and arrived from Tilflis.

As you can see, a good mix of senior and juinor regiments, lots of cossacks, and the Caspian flotilla of course. Lots of very senior commanders involved.
 
Last edited:
There is nothing extraordinary in getting 100 000 Russian soldiers from Russia into previously conquered and pacified Iran. Where all the needed provisions had already been prepared and stored. No problems so far about supply lines or anything like that.
Here the Russian army has a rest for several months and only after that they invade India. So no overmarching and hunger.
And India is rich enough to support the army of invasion. As Napoleon said 'the war should feed the war', the army is supposed to feed itself from the country it is in. That's the point.

There is certainly something extraordinary about getting 100,000 soldiers into Russia. It takes an extraordinary amount of food to supply 100,000 people. It's a small city. Getting any army together that size as one coherent unit is remarkable. Furthermore, there's no way they could get something that big together without the British being tipped off, who would then have a good bit of time to prepare themselves.

And yes, the Russians would have to have supply lines. Sherman's March to the Sea was incredible because he did it with 62,000 men, through land much richer than Afghanistan and Baluchistan, not to mention Gujarat and the Great Indian desert - all of which the Russians would have to pass through to reach the Ganges Basin. There's no way you can supply what is essentially a moving city through forage. It just ain't gonna happen.

And even if the Russians did get there, and massacred every village to take all their food (because that's what they'd have to do to get enough food) they would never be able to exert control over the region - not when they're massacring everyone in their path.

Cheers,
Ganesha
 
And even if the Russians did get there, and massacred every village to take all their food (because that's what they'd have to do to get enough food) they would never be able to exert control over the region - not when they're massacring everyone in their path.
Hmmm... Russians massacring everyone in their path...
No, no, not everyone. The little girls are spared - to be boiled (preferably alive) and eaten by hungry soldiers. That's a good old Russian military tradition as you know. :D:D
One little girl makes a nutritious breakfast for a dozen Cossaks! :D

Sherman's March to the Sea was incredible because he did it with 62,000 men, through land much richer than Afghanistan and Baluchistan, not to mention
That's a faulty wrong comparison. The very point of Sherman's March to the Sea was to destroy as much as possible. That's what this march was intended for. The essence of this march was not moving the army from point A to point B; the meaning was to destroy everything from point A to point B.
You'd better take another example of Napoleon's movements all over Europe with the armies bigger than Sherman's. Napoleon was not massacring everyone in his path though he usually fed his armies from the land he was fighting on, as a rule.
IIRC the Alexander the Great's army was from 30 to 50 thousand when he invaded India. And it was not followed by enormous train of supply. And we never heard of his problems with supply in India.

There is certainly something extraordinary about getting 100,000 soldiers into India... Getting any army together that size as one coherent unit is remarkable.
I did not say that it was 100 000 from Persia to India in one piece. They might make two armies 50 000 strong each or three armies 33000 strong each. Or something like that.

Furthermore, there's no way they could get something that big together without the British being tipped off, who would then have a good bit of time to prepare themselves.
As I previously said it is ASB scenario involving something like a meteorite rain levelling London to the ground. There is no way that the British would let the Russians into Persia. The main British-Russian war would have been fought in Persia in this case.
 
Last edited:
Top