Reborn South Africa as a police officer

Chapter 1002 The Hindenburg Line

After Roque became the commander-in-chief of the British Expeditionary Force, the British Expeditionary Force never took the initiative to hold such strange things as receptions and dinners.

The world war is going on, the poor French are going to eat dirt, and the senior French military officers are still in the mood to party. I have to say that the French are really big-hearted.

This is also their tradition. No matter how busy you are at work, you should also remember to relax yourself properly. You can only work if you know how to live, and you can work more efficiently if you have a good rest.

It sounds like there is nothing wrong with it, but I always feel that something strange is mixed in.

Families can be brought to the banquet, but there is no one for Rock. Phyllis and the children are in Nyasaland, Ada is in Pretoria, and the dogs around Rock are all male.

"Although there have been some twists and turns, we have finally reached an agreement with our allies. I wish us a smooth victory over the Germans. Let's toast to the victory!" Nivelle wore a gorgeous marshal uniform with only a few medals on his chest, and Not enough portion.

However, Nivelle was in good spirits and looked very excited. It turned out that the white man's face was flushed when he was excited.

"For victory!"

The generals surrounding Nivelle raised their glasses in response.

Rock also raised his glass, but he didn't say anything. The battle hasn't been fought yet. Cheers to some kind of victory.

"We achieved brilliant victories last year. We won the Battle of Verdun and the Battle of the Somme in succession, causing huge damage to the German army. Now the Germans are a wall full of holes. As long as we lightly One push and it will collapse, and Sherman Dedham will become the Waterloo of the Germans, and we will definitely win the final victory—" Nivelle was in high spirits, desperately beating the generals around him.

Waterloo seems to be a disgrace to the French, isn't it embarrassing for Nivelle to bring Waterloo out on such a happy occasion?

There are also the Battle of Verdun and the Battle of the Somme. Whether the British and French allied forces have achieved a real victory remains to be measured. The German army did suffer heavy losses in last year's war, but France also suffered great losses. I don't mention it, but all the senior military officers present are well aware of the actual situation, so it doesn't exist if I don't mention it?

Self-deception.

Nivelle also did not mention the victory of the British Expeditionary Force in Belgium. This is probably shameless. Compared with the British Expeditionary Force, the performance of the French generals is really hard to describe.

"For victory!"

The French generals toasted again, and the British generals present were a little embarrassed. The commander-in-chief, Roque, was not active enough in shouting slogans. Let's see how well the commander-in-chief of the French army made the atmosphere.

The British generals who attended the banquet with Roque included Henry Horn, Commander of the First Army of the British Expeditionary Force, Julian Bean, Commander of the Third Army, Hubert Gough, Commander of the Fourth Army, and Commander of the Anzac Army Officer Brad Nancy, and Canadian Corps Commander Max Lloyd.

When Nivelle poured chicken soup to the French generals again, the generals of the British Expeditionary Force also gathered around Roque, listening to Roque talk about his understanding of war.

"The scale of the world war is unprecedented, the efficiency of weapons is getting higher and higher, more powerful, and more types, which means that the thin red line tactics we have always adhered to are no longer suitable for the current war. Tactics should be improved." Rock is already a recognized master of tactics and is moving towards a master of strategy.

Julian Bean and Hubert Goff were the generals who were single-handedly promoted by Roque after he served as the commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force. Max Lloyd was an old friend of Roque, and Brad Nancy was Roque during the Mediterranean expeditionary force. Although the Anzacs suffered heavy casualties in the Mediterranean, it was not Rock's responsibility. After coming to the Western Front and fighting under Haig's command, Brad Nancy realized that Haig and Rock's gap.

"The participation of planes and tanks has completely changed the way of fighting in the past. In the Battle of the Somme last year, we lost 6 people in one day. This kind of tragedy must not happen again. We must protect ourselves. Effectively attacking the enemy, killing one thousand enemies and losing eight hundred is not worth advocating, only by rationally using every resource of ours can we win the final victory." Rock once hoped to use the world war to consume as much power as possible in Europe, and when the war broke out, Rock just realized the destructive power of the World War. Now Rock only hopes that the generals of the British Expeditionary Force will mature as soon as possible. Britain and France will also undergo upheavals similar to the Russian Empire.

"My lord, then shall we take the initiative to attack the German army?" Hubert Gough previously served in the Fifth Army. After Roque dismissed Henry Rawlinson, he appointed Hubert Gough as the commander of the Fourth Army .

"Of course, if you don't take the initiative to attack, you can't win the victory, but we must pay attention to the way of attack, and cooperate as closely as possible between the infantry and tank units, artillery units, and even the air force. The charge combat method is outdated. If the German army has a complete defensive position and sufficient reserves, then it cannot easily launch an attack. This requires the close cooperation of all our troops before, and pay attention to looking for loopholes in the German defense line. Once a loophole is found, It is necessary to attack decisively and not give the Germans a chance to fill up the defense line." Rock has no way to go into more detail, infantry coordination is okay, infantry coordination and air-ground coordination, the British Expeditionary Force has just begun to try in this regard.

"Wonderful—" Rock said happily, when Nivelle's voice suddenly came from behind him.

Nivelle finally poured enough chicken soup for the French generals, and heard Roque's words as soon as he came to Roque's side.

Rock smiled. It has nothing to do with the French army whether it is brilliant or not. The French army has no tanks or planes, so it is impossible to play infantry-tank coordination and air-ground coordination.

"Then, Lord Nyasaland, how are you going to break through the German defense line in Reims?" Nivelle sat down on the sofa opposite Rock, and more generals surrounded him, and everyone held their breath.

"It depends on the situation in Lance. The Air Force is observing the German army in Lance. I can't determine the attack until I get enough information." Even if Rock had a plan, he wouldn't say it here.

Not long ago, something happened that made Rock dumbfounded.

After the meeting in Rome, the Kingdom of Italy sent a telegram to the Russian Empire, which revealed that the Anglo-French coalition forces would launch a new offensive in March.

Unfortunately, the telegram was intercepted by Germany, and it was only through intelligence agents in Germany that the British government learned that German intelligence agents had broken the code used by the Kingdom of Italy.

Compared with the cute and happy Italians, the French's principle of secrecy is not so strong, so even if Rock has a plan, he dare not say it openly at the banquet, unless it is a smoke bomb released.

The telegram intercepted by the German army gave Ludendorff time to adjust the defense line. The new German defense line is called the Hindenburg Line, which is located behind the current defense line. Originally, when the German army retreated, the British and French allied forces had the opportunity to attack. Now the opportunity After a while, Ludendorff calmly ordered the troops to retreat to the Hindenburg defense line. The British and French allied forces advanced fifteen miles, but faced greater difficulties.

After retreating to the Hindenburg defense line, the German defense line was shortened by 25 miles than before, and the terrain was used more effectively. The German army released 13 divisions. These troops were used as reserves and placed behind the Hindenburg defense line. .

At the same time, after a winter, another group of recruits came out of the German training camp. Ludendorff reorganized the field troops. The reorganized infantry division was slightly smaller than the previous one, but equipped with more weapons. Machine guns and mortars, and direct fire against Allied tanks, was bad news for the British Expeditionary Force.

After reorganizing the troops, Ludendorff had 37 new infantry divisions in his hands, plus the 13 infantry divisions released due to the shortened defense line, Ludendorff's reserve team reached 50 divisions, regardless of whether Ludendorff Putting these 50 divisions on the western or eastern front is a force that can change the situation of the battle.

The new Hindenburg Line was a huge challenge for the British and French forces.

At the head of the Hindenburg Line were unguarded trenches, ten feet deep and fifteen feet wide, designed to defend against British and French tanks.

Behind the trenches, there are five barbed wire fences. Each barbed wire fence is about five feet thick and ten feet high. In conversion, it is about three meters. The distance between the barbed wire fences is 20 meters, and the total width reaches 100 meters. The British and French coalition forces have to pass through the trenches And the barbed wire can really threaten the Hindenburg defense line.

But at this time, the challenge has just begun. The Hindenburg defense line is different from the previous trenches. It is composed of dark rooms and passages buried underground. The bunkers are connected by tunnels. There is about 6 meters of soil above the bunkers. A direct hit from a caliber gun is not necessarily destroyed either.

Think about it, when the soldiers of the British and French allied forces finally passed the trenches and barbed wire fences after going through untold hardships, they will face the carefully arranged crossfire of the German army.

Oh, by the way, there are mines under the barbed wire. Behind the Hindenburg defense line built along the ridge, the German artillery positions are located on the reverse slope behind the defense line. It is difficult to be directly attacked by the artillery of the British and French allied forces. Such a defense line has almost no weaknesses. However, if you want to make a breakthrough at any point, you must be mentally prepared for heavy casualties.

The previous British Expeditionary Force staff predicted to Rock that the capture of Brussels would cost 30 casualties.

To Rock's regret, Nivelle didn't know what he was about to face, and claimed that the battle would end within 24 hours, or 48 hours.

What else can Rock say.

(End of this chapter)