Reborn South Africa as a police officer

Chapter 910 Victoria Cross

Even if Rock's military rank was higher than Haig's, Haig wasn't something that Rock could beat up whenever he wanted, and Haig could also report to the king, so George V soon found out about the big ball.

Unlike Haig’s imaginary storm, there was no joint investigation team, no reprimands, and no dismissal from office. George V sent a telegram to Roque in his own name. The telegram never mentioned what happened on the front line on Christmas Day. Instead, he praised the performance of the Southern African Expeditionary Force in France and Belgium, and invited Rock to Windsor Castle at an appropriate time.

Windsor Castle is the residence of George V. After the outbreak of the World War, George V gave up his German surname and changed the royal family to "Windsor" in order to express his break with his German cousin, thus creating the Windsor Dynasty.

Nominally, Buckingham Palace is the residence of King George V, but London is now a famous "fog city", so George V will not stay in London as a human-type haze remover, a country house with beautiful scenery and fresh air, and a bustling university. Cities are obviously more suitable for human survival.

Rock certainly would not refuse the king's summons. Before leaving, Rock did not forget to arrange for Paul Cocker to strictly order the troops to prevent similar incidents from happening again.

If you quarrel with Haig, you still have to give the face that should be given. Rock is not stupid, and he won't fight Haig on this kind of matter.

There is only the English Channel between Belgium and the United Kingdom. Rock set off from Ypres and arrived at Windsor Castle the next day. This day happened to be the first day of the New Year in 1914.

The short-lived warmth became history. On the first day of the new year, Joffre organized a full-scale offensive. Battles broke out in Flanders, Argonne, Alsace, Verdun and other places. The battles were extremely bloody. Nearly 1914 people were killed or injured every day, and [-] kicked off with unprecedented cruelty.

On the cold Eastern Front, the fighting has been going on, and Christmas has not stopped. With the powerful weather bonus, the Russian Empire finally blocked the German and Austrian Allied Forces in the Corpathian Mountains. The Ottoman Empire was retreating steadily. Constantinople advanced, and Damascus was surrounded by a coalition of southern African troops and the Najd Sultanate.

Farther away in the Far East, after Japan declared war on Germany, it besieged Germany’s colonies in the Qing Dynasty. After the East India declared war on Germany, it also launched an attack on Germany’s colonies in the Pacific Ocean. German New Guinea, Western Samoa, and the Mariana Islands successively Occupied by the East India, the German immigrants were imprisoned in concentration camps and waited to be sent back to Germany after the war. The big capitalists waved their checks and rushed to the East India. Islands with an area of ​​hundreds of square kilometers can be privately owned for only a few hundred pounds. property.

There are more than 17000 islands in the East Indies.

On the first day of the New Year, the Southern African Expeditionary Force also participated in the attack of the British and French allied forces. The 11th Division was withdrawn to Calais for reflection because some soldiers played football with German soldiers. The 102nd and 103rd Divisions participated in the attack. It was already Christmas The 201st Division was restored before the festival.

Due to insufficient shells, these three divisions did not attack with the assistance of artillery units, so they suffered heavy losses. The 103rd division was the most unlucky. It just resumed its organizational system before Christmas, and was immediately disabled and pulled back to Calais to rest. The 102nd and 201st divisions also suffered losses. However, they all completed the scheduled combat missions and captured the German positions.

The full-line attack lasted for a week, and the British and French allied forces paid another 5 casualties. The result was that they successfully advanced the front line by an average of 500 yards, which is about 457.2 meters in conversion.

Looking at the number of casualties now, Roque has become numb, and Roque has also gained a new understanding of the phrase "one general succeeds and ten thousand bones die". If a general wants to win on the battlefield, he must have this kind of indifference to the number of casualties Be ruthless, or your mentality will really collapse.

London was celebrating the New Year at a time when tens of thousands were dying on the front lines.

The world war has been going on so far, the British and French allied forces have lost 130 million people. Both the Battle of the Marne and the Battle of Ypres have been publicized by newspapers as great victories for the British and French allied forces. The German generals are butchers who can only attack mechanically. The current loss rate of the German army continues If the war continues until the summer, Germany should run out of human resources and have to stop the war.

In order to celebrate last year's "victory", the British government held a parade of thousands of people in London. The parade started from London Bridge and crossed the Thames River and gathered in the square of Buckingham Palace. George V delivered a passionate speech, calling on all citizens to unite , to launch a final assault on the evil Allied Powers bloc.

When George V delivered his speech, Rock, Kitchener, and Winston stood behind George V. Rock, Kitchener, and Winston were all wearing the gorgeous uniform of a field marshal, and Winston was in a suit.

After the outbreak of the World War, Winston suggested strengthening the defense of the Belgian port, hoping that the Ministry of War would grant him the title of Commander of the Belgian Allied Forces.

Kitchener rejected Winston's request, and wanted to award Winston the rank of lieutenant general out of compensation, but was rejected by the prime minister, so Winston, the Minister of the Navy, strictly speaking, did not even have a military rank, and he was not a real soldier. soldiers.

After George V's speech, Roque was received by George V at Buckingham Palace. In order to reward the performance of the Southern African Expeditionary Force in France, George V awarded Roque the highest honor of the British order system-the Victoria Cross.

The Victoria Cross was set up by Queen Victoria at the request of her husband, Prince Albert in 1856. It was named after Queen Victoria and awarded to the most heroic person in the battle against the enemy.

Initially, the Victoria Cross was only awarded to living British soldiers. Colonial soldiers could not receive this honor, but British officers serving in the colonies were an exception. In 1902, King Edward VII issued an order. This honor can also be given posthumously, and it is allowed It was awarded to all officers and men serving in the service of the British Empire, a practice that continues to this day.

The Victoria Cross does not use precious metals such as gold and silver, but is cast in bronze. It is said that the material of the Victoria Cross comes from the Russian cannon captured in the Battle of Sevastopol. Each medal is made of a cannon. Made of bronze.

When George V wore the Order of Victoria on Rock's chest, both Kitchener and Winston looked envious. Among the surviving British field marshals, only Earl Frederick Roberts, who is now the commander of the British mainland, is the only one. Roque is the second to have won the Victoria Cross.

During the dinner, Roque sat on the left hand side of George V. George V was very interested in the battles on the Belgian front, but Roque could not introduce too much detail, so he could only pick some interesting things to tell George V.

For example, an unlucky ghost who has a bad mouth and can only smell the smell, or an officer who is having an affair with his mistress, but happens to encounter an enemy attack, and jumps into the trench to command the battle before he even has time to wear his pants. That officer is actually very lucky It is really lucky that he survived until the end of the battle.

"What do you think about the war on the front line?" George V seemed casual, and Kitchener and Winston, who were laughing, immediately calmed down, and everyone focused on Rock.

"My opinion is the same as that of Marshal Kitchener. The war cannot end in a short time. We'd better be prepared that the war may last for several years." Pull a few more.

George V did not speak, his expression was dignified, he put down the knife and fork in his hand and listened attentively.

"The main problem now is that the leadership of the coalition forces is not unified. I, Generals Gallieni and General Foch all tend to stabilize the defense, gradually consume the strength of the German army, and finally win the victory. Marshal Joffre does not think so , He always ordered the troops to attack and attack again, as if investing some more troops would defeat the entire German army, but this is obviously not the case.” Rock did not mention Frenzi and Haig, which in itself showed Rock’s attitude .

In fact, there is no need for Rock to complain. Rock believes that even if George V did not go to the front line, George V would know everything about the front line. The world war is related to the national destiny, and George V cannot let go of it.

"The Air Force of the Expeditionary Force performed well. Around Christmas, it shot down 16 German airships, effectively protecting the safety of London. The Admiralty just received the first aircraft carrier. More carrier pilots are needed. Southern Africa should play a more important role. Great role." George V affirmed the contribution of the southern African pilots. During this time, Roque had been in France, and he really didn't notice that Edward Dockyard had delivered the first aircraft carrier.

The British Air Force has not yet been sent to France to perform missions. When the Southern African Expeditionary Force launched an offensive some time ago, Rock also asked the Ministry of War for support, but was rejected by Kitchener.

"Before the war broke out, I had a discussion with the Marshal. Southern Africa can indeed take on greater responsibilities. Our greatest advantage is in terms of industrial capabilities and logistical support. Southern Africa is far away from Europe and will not be harassed by war. Southwest Africa and Tanganyika have surrendered, and there will be no more wars in Southern Africa—" Rock confirmed the bottom line, after occupying Southwest Africa and Tanganyika, Southern Africa will not expand outward.

Just before Rock's arrival in London, the Tanganyika Germans formally surrendered.

George V was noncommittal. Kitchener and Winston looked at each other with no expression on their faces. It was inappropriate for them to say anything at this time, and keeping quiet was the best choice.

Rock did not speak, waiting for George V's decision. If George V did not agree to allow Southern Africa to manage Southwest Africa and Tanganyika, then the twelve boot camps in Southern Africa would be disbanded tomorrow.

In order to better support European operations, Southern Africa has set up 12 recruit training camps in its territory to train recruits to supplement European combat troops, ensuring that at least [-] soldiers go to Europe every six months.

This figure is still very important for Britain, which lacks an army.

(End of this chapter)