Reborn South Africa as a police officer

Chapter 564: No Rabbit, No Eagle

To be honest, this result surprised the British government, the German government, and even the federal government of Southern Africa.

Although the Northern Rhodesian Division performed well in the Natal rebellion before, no one really paid attention to the combat effectiveness of the Northern Rhodesian Division even in southern Africa.

After all, the Natal rebels are a mob. Although the Natal rebels defeated the Cape servants before, that does not mean that the Rhodesian Northern Division has the qualifications to be compared with the newly promoted "World's No. [-] Army".

The Second Tanganyika Division can be regarded as a touchstone. If the strength of the regular German army is measured with a perfect score, then the Second Tanganyika Division can at least get a passing grade.

Now that Nyasaland's troops have wiped out all of Tanganyika's second division within an hour and a half, what should be the combat effectiveness of Nyasaland's troops?

In fact, all the guesses from the outside world on this issue are wrong, because they don't know at all. Rock only sent a regiment of 1800 people to fight in Tanganyika. There is a correct measurement of the combat effectiveness of the troops.

With the improvement of Rock's status, the British government's requirements, or expectations, for Rock are getting higher and higher.

"Locke, you did a very good job in Tanganyika, but it's not enough. Next you will face a bigger test. I hope you can perform even better. There is also the position of Earl and Marquis waiting for you—" The Earl of Selborne had high expectations for Roque, but the London government in the strategic contraction stage was a bit stingy, and there was no actual benefit except for a harmless title.

"My lord, to be honest, it's very difficult. There are only two divisions in southern Africa, which are not enough to deal with the Tanganyika servant army. In case the Germans send a large number of regular troops from the mainland—" Rock also said half Keep half of it, the British government wants Rock to perform better, and it will definitely not work without giving some practical benefits.

William II really didn't want to give up Tanganyika, so the German General Staff has decided to send more troops to Tanganyika.

However, Germany's current energy is focused on the arms race, and the army does not have extra troops to reinforce Tanganyika.

Therefore, the German General Staff issued a mobilization order to form three new reorganization divisions in Germany and head to Tanganyika.

In Germany's establishment, the three reorganization divisions are about 5 people. Although there is a gap between Erich von Falkenhayn's requirements, it is already the limit of Germany's mobilization capabilities.

Just now, it has already affected the German Navy's shipbuilding plan and aroused strong opposition from the admirals. In the words of the navy, a colony like Tanganyika cannot generate benefits, but consumes a lot of money, manpower and material resources to maintain it. , it is not necessary at all.

"Locke, I believe you. The three new divisions formed by the Germans look powerful, but they are not. Even if the farmers who have just put down the plows pick up their rifles, they can't be as proficient in using them as they are with plows. I'm waiting in London. I'm waiting for your good news." Earl Selborne had no way to promise Roque more, and could only give some unnutritive encouragement.

"My lord, during the Boer War, those members of the Boer coalition had just put down their plows and picked up their rifles—" Rock said indifferently.

It sounds like what Earl Selborne said was right. In fact, the difference between farmers and soldiers in this era is not obvious. Out of face, the British government had to mobilize troops from all over the world to reinforce Cape.

However, Rock is also secretly changing the concept. Soldiers and professional soldiers are also different. This was evident in the past battles. In front of the Northern Rhodesian Division, the Second Tanganyika Division was not professional enough. As a result, a division was wiped out by a regiment of the northern Rhodesian division.

As for the auxiliary Honor Fort rebels, those people are fine if they fight with the wind, but if the situation is unfavorable, they will be defeated like a mountain.

This is the difference between a soldier and a farmer.

"Locke, what do you want?" Earl Selborne finally realized that without any practical benefits, Rocke would definitely not continue to cause trouble for the Germans as the British government expected.

"The biggest problem is the lack of funds. The federal government has just been established, and there is not much money to support the construction of the army. Now the federal government only has two divisions. The third and fourth divisions are still on paper, and even the first Both the first division and the second division are not fully staffed yet, and they are not well-managed reorganized divisions. In this case, let alone supporting the Fort Honor rebels, the defense capabilities from Bechuana to Nyasaland are not enough—” Luo Of course, Ke wants money, and he doesn't need too much, just one or two dreadnoughts is enough.

Anyway, because of Tanganyika, it must have had an impact on Germany's shipbuilding plan. Since Germany has reduced the number of shipbuilding, the UK should also reduce accordingly, and the money saved is just used to support southern Africa.

I believe London can also accept this reason. Even if southern Africa is self-governing and the federal government is established, southern Africa is still nominally part of the Commonwealth of Nations. Therefore, allocating money to southern Africa is also maintaining the territorial integrity of the British Empire.

"How many troops have entered Tanganyika before?" Earl Selborne finally asked this question. Rock thought Earl Selborne didn't care.

"One regiment, 1800 people." Rock still couldn't help being proud. No matter how nice he said, he still had to make achievements on the battlefield to be convincing.

"A regiment? 1800 people?" Earl Selborne couldn't believe it.

After the Battle of Helmut, the federal government did not report the specific facts to London, but only vaguely informed part of the Battle of Helmut.

This kind of thing can't be reported. If some written records are left, there may be hidden dangers in the future, so the federal government didn't even write the information about the participation of federal government troops in the report.

The British government also had an assessment of the outcome of the Battle of Helmut before the report was received.

The British government's estimate is that at least one division, or about 8000 people, was dispatched from southern Africa to achieve this result.

That's why Earl Selborne's expression was so surprised when he learned that Rock had only sent one regiment.

It's really not fake.

"Yes, there is only one regiment, 1800 people. It is not worth dispatching the entire Rhodesia Northern Division against troops like the Second Tanganyika Division." Rock can now proudly say that the Tanganyika colonial servant Army, in front of the Rhodesian Northern Division is scum.

Although the Rhodesian Northern Division is also nominally a colonial servant army.

Earl Selborne nodded again and again, his expression still a bit complicated.

After all, it was the newly promoted "World's No. [-] Army". Even in the colonial servant army, the officers were all formal officers serving in the German army. After the Franco-Prussian War, the British government also evaluated the strength of the German army.As for the result——

That's why Britain will be more determined to develop its navy and maintain its naval superiority.

Don’t think that the “Empire on which the sun never sets” is powerful and invincible all over the world. Just look at the Boer War that just passed. In order to deal with the Boers with a total population of only 45, the British government mobilized 44 troops from all over the world. What is this like? fighting power!

So before the Franco-Prussian War, France could proudly say that it was the world's number one army.

Then after the Franco-Prussian War, Germany became the new No. [-] army in the world.

As for the United Kingdom, the British government has no confidence in its own army.

So Earl Selborne is obviously re-evaluating the strength of the southern African army.

In other words, it was measuring the strength of Nyasaland's troops, because Earl Selborne knew very well the strength of the colonial servants in Cape and Natal.

The colonial servants in Cape and Natal in the past couldn't even beat the rebels in Natal, so there was nothing to say about their strength. It was okay to maintain order in peacetime, but it was useless in wartime.

"If there is enough funds, then the third division and the fourth division can be formed smoothly, and then the first division and the second division can be used for overseas operations." Rock's words are meaningful.

The troops of the federal government went to Tanganyika to fight abroad, and of course they went to Europe to fight abroad.

Anyone who knows the situation in Europe now knows that the arms race will definitely end in war in the end.

After the disintegration of the Three Emperors Alliance due to the contradiction between Russia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the Balkans, Britain and France signed the "Agreement of Sincerity" three years ago. Britain and Russia signed the "British-Russian Treaty" this year, and the Triple Entente was formally formed.

In order to cope with the pressure brought by the Triple Entente, Germany could only choose to get closer to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria. In this way, the two major military alliances were formally established, and the outbreak of the war was getting closer and closer.

Once the war breaks out, although Britain has great strength at sea, on land, even the British government has no confidence in the combat effectiveness of the British Army. At that time, Britain will inevitably send troops from colonies around the world to participate in the war.

So now helping the federal government to form troops, will it help the upcoming war in the future?

This question does not need to be discussed.

"Locke, London needs to look at your performance before deciding to achieve that level." Earl Selborne is also the master who does not see the rabbit or the eagle.

Britain has nothing but money. The cost of a dreadnought ship is several million. The British government does not set an upper limit at all. If the German Navy dares to build one, the British Navy will build two ships, so part of the military expenditure is used to support southern Africa. , It is not a question of whether there is money, but a question of whether it is worth it.

Under normal circumstances, the cost of a dreadnought ship is roughly equal to the formation of an infantry division.

In this way, it is obviously more cost-effective to give money to southern Africa.

(End of this chapter)