Reborn South Africa as a police officer

Chapter 920

No matter how difficult it is, Rock will overcome all obstacles.

It doesn't matter if there are not enough troops. After the troops from Southern Africa and the Sultanate of Najd captured Damascus, the danger in Egypt was lifted. The troops transferred to Egypt before the World War were released, and Roque had two more divisions under his command.

The reinforcements from the East India continued to flow. After 501 and 502 arrived at Lemnos, the East India mobilized three more divisions, which arrived in the Mediterranean a month later and could be used for follow-up attacks.

There is also a steady stream of reinforcements from southern Africa. The latest addition, the Third Artillery Division, has passed through the Strait of Gibraltar and can be put into combat in a week.

The British 29th Division was finally in place, and they were going to land on the east side of the Dardanelles, but Rock also received an order from Kitchener not to allow the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force to establish a long-term position on the east side of the Dardanelles. So the 29th Division is just a diversion force.

France is still holding back. Rock originally thought that France would provide a locally trained reorganization division, but unexpectedly it was a colonial servant army from the French East Indies. This is no problem. The French East Indies is Annan, Annan The troops are still relatively effective, at least stronger than the African servants.

The key is that the weapons are not enough. They are also colonial servants. The Southern African Expeditionary Army is strong and armed to the teeth. The equipment of Annan’s army is a bit miscellaneous. It is only equipped with some Lebel rifles. I have never heard of this kind of gun. I only learned from the introduction of Sidney Milner that this kind of gun participated in the American Civil War——

These are all old antiques that can enter the museum.

From this point of view, Britain treated the colonial servants well, at least even the Indian Army was equipped with Lee Enfield.

It's a pity that the advanced Lee Enfield is not even as good as a fire stick in the hands of Indian soldiers. The fire stick can at least burn fire.

The Ministry of War appointed Roque as the commander-in-chief of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, which gave Roque a lot of power, so after the French troops were in place, the first thing Roque did was to change the French troops and replace them all with Nyasaland-produced Lee · Enfield, the cost is of course paid by the French government.

Annan's soldiers here have not yet received their new weapons. Bad news comes, the Greek government collapses, and the three divisions that Rock hoped for have come to naught.

The downfall of the Greek government stemmed from a telegram sent to Athens by the Foreign Minister of the Russian Empire, Psyche Sasonov, in which Psyche Sasonov directly stated: Under no conditions, we will not allow Greece to join the Entente against Any action in Constantinople.

The consequences of this telegram are very serious. It is understandable that the Russian Empire attaches great importance to Constantinople, but it is inappropriate to send such a telegram at this time.

British Foreign Secretary Edward Gray acted urgently and promised the Russian Empire that Constantinople would be allocated to the Russian Empire after the war, but it was too late. After Athens received a telegram from Psyche Sasonov, the government directly collapsed, and the new government leaned more towards the Allies.

The queen of the Greek King Constantine I was the sister of the German Kaiser Wilhelm II.

Constantine I's mother was the aunt of Tsar Nicholas II.

So Constantine I was also a cousin of King George V of England.

Blessings are unparalleled, but misfortunes never come singly. Rock has just lost three divisions, and the Mediterranean Fleet has also suffered huge losses.

The Mediterranean Fleet launched an attack on the Dardanelles on March [-]. After the first day of bombardment, Commander-in-Chief Sackville Cardon fell ill the next day.

The doctor checked Sackville Carden's body and confirmed that Sackville Carden's body was fine, but Sackville Carden insisted that he was not feeling well and could not direct the next action, so from the second Since the beginning of the day, the Mediterranean Fleet has actually been commanded by Deputy Commander John Drobeck.

John Drogbeck did not want to attack without the cooperation of ground troops, but the fighting had already begun, so the bombardment continued the next day.

On the second day of the offensive, the Mediterranean fleet lost a minesweeping trawler.

This did not attract the attention of John Drobeck, a trawler, which is cannon fodder for the Navy.

By March NO.12, the Mediterranean Fleet finally completed its mine-sweeping mission to the Dardanelles, but it was useless. The "Nusret" minelayer of the Ottoman Navy escaped the blockade line composed of destroyers, along the coastline 20 mines were laid, and then returned to the military port without anyone noticing.

The crux of the problem is that the Mediterranean Fleet did not know that an Ottoman minelayer had broken through the fleet's blockade.

On March NO.13, the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force had not yet assembled. Annan's troops finally got Lee Enfield, but before they had time to get familiar with it, John Drogbeck's fleet had entered the Dardanelles.

The French commander of the Mediterranean Fleet asked the French battleship to serve as the vanguard of the fleet and strive for the honor of being the first to enter the Dardanelles.

John Drogbeck agreed to the French commander's request.

Two hours later, the French battleship "Bouvier" exploded, sank at an extremely fast speed, and disappeared on the sea 2 minutes later, killing 600 crew members.

John Drobek didn't know what happened. At that time, the battleship "Bouvier" was engaged in an artillery battle with the urgently repaired fort of the Ottoman Empire. He thought it was the fort of the Ottoman Empire that hit the ammunition depot of the battleship "Bouvier". With the exclusion of mines, only this reason can explain why the battleship "Bouvier" sank so quickly.

The remaining three French battleships retreated, the six British battleships filled the line, and the trawlers were dispatched again to search for remaining mines.

John Drogbeck would be remiss if he didn't think that any Ottoman minelayers had broken through the naval blockades.

The trawler was bombarded intensively by the turret, the captains turned around and ran away, and the battleship went up again. A few minutes later, the battleship "Indomitable" was also hit by a mine and was seriously damaged and had to withdraw from the battle.

A few minutes later, the destroyer "Irresistible" also hit a mine, was unable to withdraw from the battle, and was actively sunk by the British Navy.

The battle lasted only a few hours, and the Mediterranean Fleet lost four battleships, two of which were sunk and two were severely damaged and needed to be returned to the factory for repair.

There is no value for maintenance. It is a battleship that is about to be scrapped, and the repair cost is too high.

Fortunately, the battleship "Queen Elizabeth" was fine, otherwise Winston would be so distressed.

While the Mediterranean Fleet suffered heavy losses, the British Expeditionary Force, unwilling to be lonely, launched another attack on Ghent.

The current front has been transferred from Ypres to Ghent. In the past, the German army surrounded Ypres on three sides, and now the British Expeditionary Force surrounds Ghent on three sides. The north and east sides of Ghent are in charge of the British Expeditionary Force and the Southern African Expeditionary Force. The south side of Ghent, and the line of defense from Ghent to the Ardennes Forest.

The French Fifth Army was in charge of defending the Ardennes Forest. The commander-in-chief before the Battle of the Marne, Lang Lezac, did not escape the fate of being dismissed by Joffre, and he did not even enjoy the glory of winning the Battle of the Marne. Before the outbreak, Langlezac was dismissed by Joffre, just hours after Joffre dismissed Gallieni as commander-in-chief of the Sixth Army.

So in France now, the glory of the Battle of the Marne belongs to Joffre.

The Southern African Expeditionary Force, whose command is still in Rock, resolutely disagrees with attacking Ghent. The snow in Belgium has melted in March, and the German army regained its strength in three months. The First Guard Regiment has not been revoked. Falkenhayn has drawn elite troops from the German Eighth Army, which won a series of battles in East Prussia, to rebuild the Prussian First Guard Regiment. The commander is still the Prussian Prince Eitel Friedrich.

Now the German army is holding a sigh of relief up and down, wanting to avenge the failure in the "Operation Horn of Victory". The British Expeditionary Force's attack now is tantamount to sending it to the guns of the German army. Only the "butcher" Haig has the courage .

The Second Army led by Haig was in charge of the battle. Before the offensive began, the commander of the First Army, Smith Doring, firmly opposed it, but Frenzi was unmoved.

The day before Haig launched his attack, Smith Doring telegraphed Frenzi: If the expeditionary force must launch an attack, Smith Doring is ready to resign.

On the day of Haig's attack, Smith Doring boarded a speedboat back home.

Frenzi finally learned Joffre's routine and began to dismiss the senior commander at every turn.

However, it is clear that Smith Doring is right. Haig's attack was useless. Eighteen thousand soldiers were lost in two days. The German army then launched a counterattack. , but lost the results obtained by the 11th Division at a huge price in the "Operation Horn of Victory", and retreated all the way to Ypres.

In order to maintain the front line, the Southern African Expeditionary Force had to retreat with the British Expeditionary Force, or they would be surrounded by superior German forces.

Rock was heartbroken when he received the battle report, and wanted to be as ready to resign as Smith Doring.

But Roque couldn't go, there were too many Roque's soldiers in the Southern African Expeditionary Army, and Roque couldn't leave them alone.

Winston did not leave the Mediterranean Fleet behind either. It was Winston's decision to open up a battlefield in the Dardanelles. He had to finish the appointment with tears in his eyes. March NO.13, the Mediterranean Fleet was in After losing four battleships, Sackville Cardon, who boasted before the war that he could capture Constantinople in three days, "resigned due to illness." John Drogbeck's ability and qualifications were not enough to lead this paper army The most powerful fleet in the world, Admiral John Fisher, who was re-recruited after the outbreak of the World War, became the new commander-in-chief of the Mediterranean Fleet. He brought four Dreadnought-class battleships that were built after the arms race began.

The Battle of the Dardanelles is finally on track.

　I heard that there will be more changes if there are tickets. I don’t know if it’s true or not.

　　

　

(End of this chapter)