Reborn South Africa as a police officer

Chapter 897

Without being there, you really can't feel the power of large-caliber artillery.

The destructive power of large-caliber artillery is not the shell fragments, but the pervasive shock wave. Each shell of the "Great Bell Tower" weighs one ton, and there is no possibility of surviving a direct hit by the shell. The surrounding soldiers will also be shocked by the shock wave of the shell. Death, so the trenches of the 11th Division are full of pits everywhere, just to reduce the damage caused by large-caliber shells.

If a well-established trench like the 11th Division falls into a "Big Bell Tower" shell, all the soldiers in this trench will die. The logs and sandbags on the trench can't hold the large-caliber shells at all. The weight, even the structure of the reinforced concrete structure cannot bear it.

The top of the fortress of Liege is more than one meter thick, and it was also directly pierced by shells, and then exploded inside the fortress.

In a sealed environment, the shells are more powerful, so the small-caliber artillery has no choice but to fortify the fortress. After a single shell is fired, there are basically no survivors.

Fortunately, the German army did not have many large-caliber artillery, otherwise this battle would not have been fought.

While the frontline soldiers were suffering, Rock was also suffering in the rear.

The 11nd Cavalry Division and the 202th Division had no major problems, and the [-]nd Division could withstand it. The rest of the troops were very difficult. The Canadian Legion, which had just been sent to the battlefield, was completely disabled on the third day of the war and was forced to withdraw to the Calais rested, and they also needed time to adapt to the cruelty of the World War.

The Anglo-French-Belgian coalition forces fought against the Germans in the downpour and seawater. The seawater was stained red with blood. The bodies of the soldiers who died in the battle were too late to clean up. Clean drinking water became the most scarce material on the front line just like bullets. The Southern African Expeditionary Force had 5 soldiers Many people need at least [-] tons of drinking water every day. Rock called [-] trucks to deliver water to the front line. This was also ridiculed by Haig. Haig didn't think that the soldiers on the front line had even needed a special supply of drinking water. Degree.

"For you, a soldier's life is a record, but for me, every soldier represents a family. The soldier's family gave him to me because he wanted him to serve the country and gain glory, not to give I earn honor, and this is the only thing we can do now. Soldiers are fighting on the front lines, and those of us do logistics well. If we can’t even do this job well, what are we going to do?” Rock doesn’t like Haig’s disregard for life However, it is a pity that most of the high-level coalition forces are now "butchers" like Haig.

In fact, there is no way. The width of the battlefield on the western front is only 400 kilometers. Within this 400 kilometers, the combined forces of the British, French and German forces now exceed 400 million, and an average of 1 people are fighting each kilometer. Tactics are no longer important. Now, the strategy is not important, the generals can't focus on the number of casualties, they can only focus on the organizational defense line.

After the Southern African Expeditionary Force arrived at the combat position, it has been rushing to build fortifications, and was once ridiculed by the British and French coalition forces.

Now the perfect fortifications are finally working. Compared with the British and French allied forces, the casualties of the Southern African Expeditionary Force are very low. Basically, the three divisions still have reserve troops. The British and French allied forces are the real casualties. Rock arrived in France. In time, more than a dozen troops have withdrawn to the rear to rest.

"A difficult environment can hone the fighting spirit of the soldiers. The flowers in the greenhouse cannot withstand the baptism of the scorching heat and cold. Of course, we must provide the best logistics for the soldiers on the front line, but it is not the meticulous care of this kind of nurse." Haig The words sound reasonable, but in fact they are not.

"Then what is your so-called best logistics? Our soldiers are not flowers in a greenhouse. This can be seen from the battle report. Both the 7th Division and the 65th Division have withdrawn from their positions one after another. Persisting." Rock put the facts and reasoned, Haig's so-called "best logistics" is probably not starving to death, drinking water is fine.

It has been raining in Flanders since autumn, and Albert I opened the sluice gates again. Flanders has become a vast ocean, and the groundwater is seriously polluted. If there is no clean drinking water at this time, the troops will have problems.

The actual situation is also like this. The environment on the front line is inherently harsh, and disease is also a major factor that threatens the health of the troops, because the non-combat attrition caused by the disease is also recorded as part of the loss. After the Canadian Legion arrived in France, it had already collapsed due to disease. There are nearly a thousand people, and the troops in southern Africa basically do not have the problem of acclimatization, which has a lot to do with the strict requirements for diet.

"We are also learning the way of logistics supply for the southern African army. The number of non-combat attrition in the army is decreasing, and the soldiers' complaints about logistics are also decreasing. This shows that Lord Nyasaland's approach is effective. "Ma Cos Lloyd stood on Rock's side. The Canadian Legion and the Southern African Expeditionary Force were both guest troops, and they had to help each other in France.

Marcos Lloyd is still very smart. There are currently four field hospitals in France, two of which were built by the Southern African Expeditionary Force, and the other two were established by France in the manner of the Southern African Expeditionary Force, but they have not yet been put into use. The number of doctors and medicines is also seriously insufficient, and the wounded of the Canadian Army also need to be treated in the hospital built by the Southern African Expeditionary Force, so it is not harmful for the Canadian Legion to have a good relationship between Max Lloyd and Rock.

"I didn't say it was wrong to deliver water, but it would increase the logistical burden. Our logistical supply is already very tight. Now we should reduce the burden of logistical work. It is understandable to endure some difficulties for the soldiers on the front line." Haig said forcefully, It only takes dozens of trucks to deliver water, which is actually not too much trouble.

What's more, Rock used the trucks of the 11th Division to supply water to the frontline troops, which had nothing to do with the British Expeditionary Force, although the British paid for these trucks.

At Roque's insistence, the British War Department set up a logistics base in Dover for the Southern African Expeditionary Force. The materials needed for Southern Africa did not pass through the British Expeditionary Force Command, but were sent directly from Dover to Calais, and then to the To Ypres and Étretat, where the rest of the troops are.

Etretat is a seaside city. The rest of the British Expeditionary Force is in Etretat. It is intriguing to choose this place. If the British and French coalition forces fail on the front line, the British Expeditionary Force can withdraw to the UK at any time.

"Don't quibble, it's just dozens of trucks, and it won't add much logistical burden. I don't realize the importance of drinking water. It's understandable not to pay attention to drinking water. Now I have realized the importance of drinking water, but I still don't pay attention Drinking water is a crime." Rock was blunt, Haig's stubbornness stemmed from a sense of superiority in his heart, southern Africa was a wild world to Europe, how could there be mistakes in the civilized world.

So there must be something wrong with Southern Africa.

Haig has been to southern Africa and has a deep understanding of southern Africa, but a deep understanding does not mean that he admits that southern Africa has more potential than Europe. On the contrary, it will have a counterproductive effect, leading to deepening Haig's aversion to southern Africa .

Rock didn't expect Haig to change his attitude. People like him would be stubborn even if they put the facts in front of them. Fortunately, there are smarter generals in Britain, such as Marcus Lloyd and Smith Doring. , the Canadian Legion and the First Army are also learning from the southern African army to dig trenches, supply clean drinking water, build separate toilets, and increase the number of doctors and nurses in the army. Some measures have immediate effects, and some take longer to see The effect, in general everything is looking better.

On October 25, the Battle of Ypres was not over yet, and the Ottoman Empire finally joined the war.

From the end of the Second Balkan War, the Ottoman Empire began to gradually increase its troops to Basra and Damascus.

Troop increase is actually an arms race. 10,000+ troops are concentrated in barracks around the city. The logistical pressure is increasing day by day. Serious consequences.

As the number of troops gradually increased, the logistics work began to be overloaded. The generals of the Ottoman Empire also noticed that Port Elizabeth was increasing troops. In order to gain a greater advantage, they could only be forced to increase troops. Damascus and Basra increased their troops, preparing to attack Damascus and Basra at the same time after participating in the war.

Now that there are more and more troops in Port Elizabeth, the troops in Basra have lost their numerical advantage over Port Elizabeth. The Ottoman Empire can only transfer some troops from Damascus to Basra to deal with the growing number of troops in Port Elizabeth.

"The condition of the troops is not good. Ali's troops are severely undertrained, and the recruits who have just enlisted in the army also need more training. If war breaks out now, the troops will suffer heavy casualties." Tang En shoulders a heavy responsibility. It is becoming more and more important to the Allies, and it is not an exaggeration to describe it as a lifeline.

With the increase of machinery and equipment, countries are paying more and more attention to oil. During the Second Boer War, there were not many taxis in the world. During the Battle of the Marne some time ago, Gallieni came from Paris casually. Thousands of taxis were organized, which fully proves that the popularity of cars is getting higher and higher.

Relatively speaking, the Anglo-French allied forces did not have many cars, and the southern African armies probably equipped more cars than the Anglo-French allied forces combined. The role of cars is becoming more and more important, and more and more ships and locomotives use internal combustion engines. , the world's demand for oil has been increasing.

"Our situation is not good, and the situation of the Ottomans is also not good. Ali's intelligence says that the Ottoman troops can't even shoot a single shot. They are not a modern army at all." Martin has confidence in the southern African army. , I have seen the battle scenes of millions of legions in France, and it is really impossible to look at the Ottoman troops in Basra.

(End of this chapter)