Reborn South Africa as a police officer

Chapter 912 New Year's Offensive

Rock and Jan Smudge had a great conversation.

In fact, Roque was not in a good mood when he met Yang Smother. As Roque imagined, Prime Minister Asquith did not give Roque the promise he wanted. Southwest Africa and Tanganyika Attribution is still up in the air.

This is not surprising. Asquith is now under great pressure. The predicament Britain is facing now shows that Britain is not fully prepared for the world war. Congress now doubts whether Asquith can lead Britain to win the war. Victory and keeping his position as prime minister is the main problem for Asquith now.

Roque added fuel to the flames. He had just ordered Walvis Bay to temporarily suspend the supply of supplies to Europe through a telegram. All freighters temporarily suspended sailing on the grounds that the waterway faced the threat of German submarines. I believe that Roque will get what he wants in a short time. thing.

These British politicians don't shed tears when they see the coffin. It is estimated that they think that southern Africa dare not stop the supply of materials to Europe.

Although in southern Africa, Yang Smozi was against Roque everywhere, but Yang Smozi's purpose was not to overthrow southern Africa, but to think that his own way could make southern Africa go on the right path , get the best development.

Facts have proved that Rock's method can protect the interests of southern Africa to the greatest extent, so after fully realizing this, Yang Smotz decisively accepted London's invitation to leave southern Africa.

In all fairness, Yang Smozi is not a bad person. No matter when, Yang Smozi hopes that southern Africa will develop better.

The real disagreement comes between Rock and Winston.

After the outbreak of World War II, Winston has always dreamed of playing a bigger role. The Minister of the Navy could not fully satisfy Winston’s request. The British and French coalition forces encountered stubborn resistance from the German army in Belgium, and the battle fell into a stalemate. After the New Year, Joffre launched An all-out attack failed again, with France losing another 9 men at Champagne, Winston hoping to open a second front in the Dardanelles, and Roque hoping to capture Damascus.

"Damascus is too far away from Europe, and the Dardanelles are more important. We cannot just sit back and watch the Russian Empire occupy Constantinople. This is not in our interests." The group army launched an attack on Constantinople, but it did not win as expected. Now the opportunity still exists. If the Russian Empire occupies Constantinople, then the Russian Empire will have the Black Sea outlet, which is in line with the interests of the United Kingdom Seriously inconsistent.

Britain wanted to keep the Russian Empire confined to the mainland, and the Dardanelles were the choke point for controlling the Black Sea.

"It is very difficult to launch a landing operation in Constantinople. At least 20 troops are needed to achieve the campaign goal, maybe 30. Damascus is already surrounded by us. If we occupy Damascus, we can send troops to the Asia Minor peninsula. Launch an attack——" Rock was also stubborn. Winston had a serious shortage of troops. Only [-] ANZAC troops could not complete the mission, so he hoped to deploy southern African troops in Port Elizabeth to participate in the attack on Constantinople.

But the coalition forces of Southern Africa and the Sultanate of Najd have surrounded Damascus, and Field Marshal Colmar von der Goltz from Germany is trying his best to organize the defense line. Woltz too much time.

Goltz has an unparalleled overall strategic vision. He was once one of Schlieffen's competitors. After the outbreak of the World War, Golz first served as the governor of Belgium. Last year, he was invited by the Ottoman Empire to serve as the commander-in-chief of the Ottoman Empire's First Army.

In another time and space, Goltz led the Ottoman army to withstand the crazy attack of the Russian Empire, and then wiped out the British and Indian expeditionary forces in Baghdad.

"You have never served in the navy, and there is no navy in southern Africa. You know nothing about landing operations—" Winston was rude to Rock.

"I really don't understand, so what do you know, a prisoner?" Rock was even more rude, and immediately exposed Winston's scars.

Winston stood up angrily from his chair, put his hand on his waist and looked at Rock fiercely.

Rock was not afraid. He half-lyed on the chair and swayed his legs complacently. When asking for help, he must have the attitude of asking for help. Winston had approached Kitchener before, hoping to get local recruits who had just finished training, but Kitchener disagreed. .

Kitchener not only disagreed with the opening of a second battlefield in the Dardanelles, but also did not agree to invest more troops in Belgium. On the contrary, Kitchener hoped to open up the Eastern Front and open the situation from East Prussia.

Rock could vaguely feel that Kitchener hoped that both Germany and France would suffer losses, and then the locally trained troops landed from the Eastern Front to make a final decision.

This idea is a bit dark, but if it succeeds, the direction of the world will be completely different from what Rock knows.

"Two divisions, at least two divisions are needed." Winston had no choice but to get four divisions, including the third cavalry division.

"Winston, think carefully. Once the attack on the Dardanelles fails—" Roque was also very helpless. In another time and space, Winston was forced to resign because of the failure of the Dardanelles. It shows that the failure of the Battle of the Dardanelles is not the reason for Winston, but this battle has also become a stain that Winston can never get rid of personally.

The importance of the failure of the Battle of the Dardanelles lies in the fact that it broke the myth that the British Royal Navy has been invincible at sea for nearly a hundred years. Since then, the British Navy has begun to decline. This serious consequence always needs a scapegoat.

"It's impossible to fail. Our intelligence shows that the defense of Constantinople is empty. The Ottoman Empire's army is involved in Damascus and Russia. We just took advantage of it. This is our best chance." Winston is now completely Without thinking about failure, he was carried away by temptation.

"Nothing is absolute, we know the importance of Constantinople, and so do Berlin and Vienna, so if we capture Constantinople, then we will be the target of public criticism, and if it is the Russian Empire that captures Constantinople Constantinople, the occupying forces will also be besieged, and we don’t want to force the Ottoman Empire to surrender by occupying Constantinople, the Ottoman Empire has moved its capital to the Asia Minor peninsula, and the Asia Minor peninsula is our correct direction of attack.” Rock will definitely not give up the fat in his mouth and capture Damascus, and the crisis in Egypt will also be lifted at the same time. Winston will not fail to see this benefit.

"Give me two divisions, and I will support Southern Africa's annexation of Southwest Africa, Tanganyika, and Damascus. As long as you can capture it, it will be yours." Winston made a condition, and this temptation was something Rock could not refuse .

"In two months, you will get two divisions—" Rock finally let go. After two months, the battle in Damascus should be over, and Rock can draw troops from Damascus by then.

"Deal!" Winston was satisfied. It took a long time to prepare for a large-scale landing operation, and two months was just right.

Rock stayed in London for a week, and when he returned to France, the Anglo-French coalition forces had been forced to stop the New Year's offensive.

Joffre and Frenzi called this attack the "New Year's Offensive". The meaning was good, but the result was terrible. In just one week, the British and French allied forces suffered 17 casualties across the board, which meant that the Germans themselves had problems. That's why they failed to counterattack in time, otherwise the British and French allied forces would suffer more serious losses.

While the British and French allied forces were fighting each other, there were also many contradictions within Germany.

Falkenhayn, who succeeded Little Moltke, needs a major victory to prove that he is the savior of Germany. At the beginning of the new year, recruits from four other German armies can be sent to the front. There are major differences in the use of these troops within the German army.

After the war broke out, the German army was progressing smoothly on the Eastern Front. The commander of the Eastern Front, Hindenburg, and his chief of staff, Ludendorff, hoped that Falkenhayn would send more troops to the Eastern Front. Konrad, the Chief of Staff of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, I also hope that Germany can send reinforcements to the Austro-Hungarian Empire to assist the troops of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Russian Empire in fighting.

Falkenhayn rejected all demands, first from Conrad's winter offensive and then from sending reinforcements to the Eastern Front.

Hindenburg and Ludendorff had already shown strong personalities at this time. They transferred three and a half divisions of the Ninth Army to the Austro-Hungarian Empire to cooperate with the troops of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Falkenhayn protested against Wilhelm II and demanded the dismissal of Hindenburg and Ludendorff.

Hindenburg and Ludendorff also protested to Wilhelm II, demanding a replacement of the German chief of staff.

The former chief of the general staff Moltke, who was at home, was also making waves. He tried to make a comeback with the support of Prime Minister Bettmann Holweg. Queen Augusta Victoria and Crown Prince William also did not like Falkenhayn.

Under many contradictions, William II retained the post of Chief of Staff of Falkenhayn, but dismissed Falkenhayn as Minister of War.

This seemingly compromised choice was actually even worse. It not only damaged Falkenhayn's authority, but also failed to appease the others. At this time, the German army ushered in the "New Year's Offensive" of Joffre and Frenzi. The offensive forced the German army to temporarily put aside disputes, a result that even Joffre Frenzi did not expect.

Another more serious consequence of the failure of the "New Year's Offensive" is that the French army will transfer the Ninth Army led by Foch to Chambani to strengthen its defense, which means that only the British Expeditionary Force is left in Flanders Fight alone.

This is not a bad thing for the British Expeditionary Force. Although the British Expeditionary Force has many internal problems, when the British and French allied forces fight side by side, the command system is very chaotic. Often the position of the British Expeditionary Force is next to the position of the French Ninth Army. Next to the position of the Ninth Army is the position of the Southern African Expeditionary Force. The troops are not under each other, the communication is poor, and the command system is a mess.

During the New Year's Offensive, the British Expeditionary Force also suffered heavy losses. The Southern African Expeditionary Force, which "performed poorly" in the New Year's Offensive, hardly suffered any losses. Therefore, after the Ninth Army was transferred to Flanders, the Southern African Expeditionary Force Finally became the most powerful force in Flanders.

(End of this chapter)