Reborn South Africa as a police officer

Chapter 922 Anzac Army

What makes Rock unbelievable is that when Rock was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, the British War Department did not have any plans for the Battle of the Dardanelles. There was only one clear goal, the capture of Constantinople.

But between Constantinople and the Dardanelles there is the Sea of ​​Marmara with an area of ​​11350 square kilometers. Even if the Sea of ​​Marmara is the smallest sea in the world, it is a sea, not a lake. Marmara The sea is 170 miles long and 50 miles wide. After crossing the Sea of ​​Marmara is the Bosporus Strait where Constantinople is located. The British War Department only determined that the purpose of the campaign was to occupy Constantinople. Where to land on the Garibaldi Peninsula, how to occupy the Dardanelles, how to control the Sea of ​​Marmara, and even how to attack the Bosphorus, the Ministry of War does not have any clear plans.

The reason for such a strange situation is that apart from the hasty launch of the Battle of the Dardanelles, one of the reasons is the lack of attention to the staff department. The British War Department currently has only a few hundred professional staff members. Rock’s There are more than 300 staff members in the headquarters, divided into twelve war rooms, responsible for all aspects of the entire Dardanelles campaign.

Sand table production is one of the tasks of the staff department. Ian Hamilton is the most touched by this. Think about it. Ian Hamilton’s knowledge of the Dardanelles was limited to a tourist brochure, not to mention the sand table, even about There are no photographs of the garrison positions in the Dardanelles.

Photos related to the military cannot appear in tourist brochures.

The staff members of the Southern African Expeditionary Force are still very rigorous. Every road, every river, every bridge, and even the mountain trails on the sand table are made very carefully.

As Rock's chief of staff, Ian Hamilton introduced to John Fisher the combat plan designed by all the staff of the staff who worked hard for nearly a month.

This work has begun since the day Roque was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force.

"Achilles' heel! This plan is very good!" John Fisher appreciated Rock's plan very much. According to British tradition, Rock named the whole plan "Achilles' heel".

Achilles' heel means the heel of Achilles. It is said that the heel of Achilles is the only part of Achilles' body that has not been soaked in the river Styx, so it is the only part of Achilles' body. Weakness, in the Trojan War, Achilles was shot in the ankle by a poisoned arrow and died.

Interestingly, the Trojan War took place in the Dardanelles, and the ruins of the city of Troy are on the south side of the Dardanelles.

In Rock's plan, the weakness of the Fifth Army of the Ottoman Empire lies in the poor logistics of the Ottoman Empire, so the Fifth Army was attracted to the south of the Garibaldi Peninsula, and then landed from behind the Fifth Army to cut off the logistics of the Fifth Army , became the top priority of the entire campaign.

To complete this huge plan, the close cooperation between the Mediterranean Fleet and the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force is required. If the Mediterranean Fleet cannot control the Dardanelles, then Rock's plan cannot be carried out.

"Controlling the Dardanelles is not easy, but it is very simple to cut off the Ottoman Empire's support to the Fifth Army through the Dardanelles. Just sink all the ships of the Ottoman Empire! There will always be a time to be exhausted!" Although John Fisher was old, his thinking was still quick, and he immediately grasped the key to the problem.

"Yes, we're going to sink all the Ottoman ships around the Dardanelles and not let a single ship out of port. The Fifth Army has less than 9 men. We've got 20 now, and there will be more As long as the fifth army is wiped out, we will have a smooth road to Constantinople." Rock is still very proud, and the battle of the Dardanelles is like another time and space, "Ah "Karius' heel" is obviously more complete, more reasonable, and more massive.

When Rock was full of domineering, Ian Hamilton was in a bitter mood.

When he was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force had less than [-] rabble and nothing else. The navy, which should have been the biggest advantage, was also invincible before the war. Led by the general who resigned due to illness, the future is gloomy.

Now that Rock is the commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force, the mob-like troops are being integrated, and there is a steady stream of elite troops from southern Africa. The southern African expeditionary force is now recognized as the most elite force of the Allies, and Kitchener has already sent a telegram to Ferenzi , Without the cooperation of the Southern African Expeditionary Force, the British Expeditionary Force is not allowed to launch any offensive.

In the attack launched by Haig in March, the British Expeditionary Force lost 4 people within a week. Not only did it fail to capture Ghent, but it led to the retreat of the front to Ypres, and Frenzi was already on the verge of dismissal.

Rock can vaguely feel that the reason why Frenzi has not dismissed get out of class is because there is no result on the Dardanelles. If Rock can lead the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force to win the Battle of the Dardanelles, Then it won't be far before Ferenzi gets out of class.

As for whether Roque can serve as the commander-in-chief of the British Expeditionary Force at that time, it still needs a chance. Whether the expeditionary force that determines the fate of the United Kingdom will be handed over to a colonial soldier or a non-white colonial soldier, it depends on London's determination to win. how big.

Or how much pressure the German army put on London.

That night Rock hosted a banquet in honor of John Fisher at the Expeditionary Force Headquarters, accompanied by Chief of Staff Ian Hamilton and Chief of Logistics Sidney Milner.

Chefs from southern Africa, France, and Italy carefully prepared dishes for John Fisher. John Fisher was obviously not in the mood for the dishes. Now John Fisher and Rock are more familiar, and the two communicate more deep.

"The oil in Port Elizabeth is very important to us, so we must ensure the smooth flow of oil pipelines! The French are eyeing Damascus, and they want to stop France's ambitions outside Damascus!" John Fisher has a clear understanding of the role of oil The understanding is that during John Fisher's presidency of the British Navy, the internal combustion engine powered by oil gradually replaced the steam engine powered by coal.

Like southern Africa, France's ambitions for Damascus are well known.

After the end of the World War in another time and space, the British overturned McMahon's promise to the Hashemites and tried to establish a brand new state in Damascus, but this idea was destroyed by the French.

In 1920, just after the end of the World War, France invaded Damascus, drove away the king Emir Faisal who had just been in office for a month, and forcibly occupied Damascus. Dominion area.

From the standpoint of John Fisher, it is not in the interest of Britain to control Damascus in southern Africa. However, compared with France's occupation of Damascus, the occupation of Damascus in southern Africa has become a better option.

"The French have no chance. They are too busy to take care of themselves now, and they can't take care of Damascus at all." Rock's dissatisfaction with France was deepening. When Haig launched an attack, Joffre was not idle, and also ordered the French army to attack the German positions.

As a result, the loss of the French army was even more severe, with nearly 9 people lost in one month. It is precisely because compared with the French army, the casualties of the British Expeditionary Force seem to be acceptable, so Frenzi can wait In the position of commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force.

"The only question now is whether your troops can complete this huge plan!" John Fisher emphasized that he indeed had more exclamation points than periods.

Britain is a traditional maritime power. Even though it has the largest colony in the world, it has never been a continental country. The title of "World's No. [-] Army" is like a floating red flag. France has nothing to do with Germany after Germany.

In the "Achilles Heel" plan, Rock will use more than 25 troops, so John Fisher is really worried about whether Rock has the ability to command 25 troops.

Before the outbreak of World War II, the total strength of the British Royal Navy was only 19.1. Later, the million-dollar army recruited by Kitchener had nothing to do with John Fisher.

"No problem. The victory of the landing operation requires brave and skilled soldiers, perfect and timely logistical support, and the cover cooperation of a powerful navy. We have all of these. The only hidden danger lies in the cooperation between the various troops—" Luo Roque's confidence is not so high. If the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force is composed entirely of southern African troops, then Roque will not have the slightest worry. The situation is very complicated now. Coordinating the cooperation between various troops is the most important thing for Roque during this time. task.

"Before victory, we must unify all thoughts!" John Fisher was determined. He would leave Cyprus tomorrow to join the Mediterranean Fleet and start his work.

In order to coordinate the connection between the Mediterranean Fleet and the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, John Fisher left his adjutant William Eisenhower with Rock, and Rock also asked Patton, who had a more stable personality, to follow John Fisher to the Mediterranean Fleet. The two will establish a solid communication channel, which is more conducive to the cooperation between the fleet and ground forces.

On April [-]th, after nearly two months of preparations, the Battle of the Dardanelles finally began. Six divisions of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force landed in five different places, all on the Garibaldi Peninsula. Rock abandoned the other side of the Dardanelles, and put all his main targets on the Garibaldi Peninsula.

This is also an adjustment based on the arrangement of the defenders of the Dardanelles. If the Fifth Army wants to defend the Dardanelles, it is impossible to only guard one side of the Dardanelles, but to distribute its troops equally among On both sides of the Daniel Strait, at most more troops will be deployed on the Garibaldi Peninsula.

Now that Rock completely abandons the southern side of the Dardanelles and concentrates his forces on the Garibaldi Peninsula, the defensive forces deployed by the Fifth Army on the southern side of the Dardanelles will be wasted, unable to provide any support for the Garibaldi Peninsula. help.

What Roque didn't expect was that although the staff department had made as detailed a battle plan as possible, and although Roque had issued detailed orders to every unit, there was still a problem at the beginning of the battle.

It was the Anzacs that went wrong.

(End of this chapter)