Reborn South Africa as a police officer

Chapter 923 A Soldier Like an Ostrich

In the "Achilles Heel" plan, the most important task is the Anzac Army composed of Australian troops and New Zealand troops. The planned landing site of the Anzac Army is the Goba Mound. Rock's order to the Anzac Army is After landing, establish a beachhead, attract as many Ottoman troops as possible, and create favorable conditions for subsequent combat plans.

In order to cooperate with the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force to complete the landing mission, the attack fleet led by John Fisher included 200 transport ships, 18 battleships, 14 cruisers, 35 destroyers, and 8 submarines, including two light ships just commissioned in southern Africa. cruiser and six destroyers.

Considering the caliber of the artillery, the mission of the southern African warships is mainly to clear mines. In the previous stage of operations, the trawler has been proved not to be able to complete the minesweeping task very well. In the current Mediterranean fleet, the minesweeping tasks are all carried out by destroyers.

Under the cover of the most powerful fleet in the world at the moment, the Anzacs landed smoothly, but the landing point was not on Goba Mound, but on a beach 1.2 kilometers away from Goba Mound.

1.2 kilometers is not far, but for landing operations, it may cause serious consequences.

Roque's choice of Goba Mound as the landing site for the Anzac Army was also the result of careful consideration by the staff.

Goba Mound is not a real mound, but a very prominent highland. Zanders tried his best to organize defense, but the Fifth Army only had 8.7 people, and the coastline of the Garibaldi Peninsula was more than 100 miles long. There are many places for landing, and it is impossible for the Fifth Army to cover everything.

According to Rock's plan, after the Anzacs landed on the Goba Mound, they would establish a defensive position on the high ground, which would allow them to have a better geographical advantage. There was no Fifth Army troops around the Goba Mound, and the closest to the Goba Mound It will take a day for the troops of the Fifth Army to arrive at Goba Mound.

One day was enough time for the Anzacs to establish a strong defensive position.

No matter how perfect the combat plan is, there may be deviations during execution. The deviation of the Anzac Army is only 1.2 kilometers, but this mistake is fatal. It was already a day after Rock knew this problem. In just one day, the first A regiment of the Fifth Army has occupied the Goba mound and suppressed the headless Anzacs on the unobstructed beach. The Anzacs have indeed completed the task of attracting the troops of the Fifth Army, but they can only be beaten passively ,lost heavily.

After Rock found out about this, he was silent at the headquarters for half an hour.

Don't look at Rock's confidence in facing anyone, but only he knows the pressure on Rock. The lives of hundreds of thousands of soldiers of the expeditionary force are under Rock's control. Any slight mistake will cause serious consequences. Up to now, there have been more than 20 casualties, of which 15 were killed. With the victory of "Operation Horn of Victory", the expeditionary force initially gained the trust of the British and French coalition forces. If the Dardanelles fail, then the trust accumulated in the previous stage will be lost. If the situation is serious, Rock may even lose command of the Southern African Expeditionary Force.

Don't think that this kind of situation can't happen. I don't know how many people in the British and French allied forces are waiting for Roque to make mistakes. The current flowers are full of flowers, which cover up the burning oil. After making mistakes, they will become the straw that crushes the camel's camel.

"Don't retreat, stay where you are!" Rock's order was ruthless. Those who make mistakes will have to pay for their mistakes. The plan has already been implemented, and no matter what happens, the plan will not change.

Soldiers take obeying orders as their bounden duty. Behind this sentence is full of cold blood and cruelty.

Ordering the Anzacs to continue to stick to the beachhead will definitely bring huge casualties to the Anzacs, but as long as the battle is finally won, the current casualties are worthwhile. After the British and French allied forces started the war, there have been more than one million casualties. Frenzi was not blamed either.

"Yes, General Brad Nancy wants more grenades and mortars." Ian Hamilton also knew that the plan could not be changed. Several 10 people worked hard for the "Achilles heel" for several months , will not be suspended for the safety of 3 people.

Brad Nancy is the commander of the Anzac Army. Before the Anzac Army set off, they did not carry much supplies, which could only support the combat needs of just a few days.

Even so, the Anzacs had only landed for a day, which reflected how fierce the fighting was.

"He'll have enough grenades and mortars to send a telegram to General Brad Nancy to hold the position no matter what, and another telegram to General John Fisher that the landing force needs covering fire—" Rowe Ke will provide support to the Anzacs as much as possible, but it cannot change the fact that the Anzacs suffered heavy casualties.

After the expeditionary force started the landing operations, the Mediterranean Fleet has begun to clear all the ships of the Ottoman Empire in the Dardanelles and the Sea of ​​Marmara according to the scheduled plan, and bombarded the forts on both sides of the Dardanelles to cover the landing troops. gradually weakened.

"We can also start a preparatory plan and send troops to land on the other side of the Goba mound to reduce the pressure on the Anzacs." Ian Hamilton suggested that the combat plan formulated by the staff also included dealing with various accidents However, in order to launch a new landing operation, it is necessary to deploy troops to be used for landing in the northern part of the Garibaldi Peninsula, which will affect the later operations.

A single unexpected factor will not affect the entire battle, but if accidents continue to occur, the entire battle will be affected, and ultimately the victory of the battle will be affected.

In the plan of the staff, if the situation is very bad, then in the end, the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force can at most maintain an unbeatable situation with the Fifth Army, that is, the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force occupies the Garibaldi Peninsula, but is unable to attack Constantinople. .

This result actually means the failure of the entire battle, because just occupying the Dardanelles and the Sea of ​​Marmara, as long as the Bosphorus is not occupied, the channel between the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea cannot be opened.

Kitchener gave the goal of the Battle of Rock to capture Constantinople, and the ultimate goal was to open up the channel with the Black Sea.

"No, not yet, just wait—" Rock is not in a hurry to join the reserve team, he has to make the Anzacs pay enough. This is not to punish the Anzacs, but to keep the reserve team to deal with it. greater danger.

Of course, this is also a reminder to other troops not to make the same mistakes as the Anzacs.

Rock's decision also put the Anzacs in greater danger.

The Anzac situation is indeed dire.

It was not until one day after landing that the Anzacs discovered that they had landed at a different landing point. At this time, the Goba Mound had been occupied by a regiment of the Fifth Army, and the Anzacs still had a chance to correct their mistakes.

Brad Nancy chose to attack the Goba mound, even if it cost a lot, Brad Nancy would not hesitate to do it.

The Fifth Army troops occupying the Goba mound obviously have a huge advantage. They are condescending and equipped with Maxim heavy machine guns. The Anzac offensive troops still use the traditional thin red line tactics. Soon the bodies of the Anzac soldiers were in Goba There was a full layer in front of the mound position, and the Anzacs suffered nearly 3000 casualties, basically losing their offensive capabilities.

Originally a good and favorable situation, the Anzac Corps had no choice but to turn to the defense when it was forced to complete the dead end and was unable to attack. Fortunately, the Anzac Corps was still covered by naval guns, and the supplies were continuously sent ashore. Otherwise, the Anzac Corps Can only withdraw from the position.

At the forefront of the Anzacs, the carbine regiment from Sydney was defending, and behind them were civilian men who were urgently building fortifications. These civilian men were recruited from the port of Beirut by the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force before the war.

"How can sand be used for building fortifications? We should use stronger materials—" a soldier wearing the rank of corporal muttered in a low voice. His face was covered with freckles and small red pimples, and he was definitely no older than 18 years old.

"This is a beach, what else can you use without sand? Don't worry, the line of defense made of sandbags, as long as you use enough sandbags, the protection is good—" a sergeant with a frosty face comforted, and the line of defense on his chest Military medals clearly show that he participated in the Second Boer War.

Australia's conscription program covers all adult males in Australia between the ages of 18 and 45. Among the British mainland and all British colonies and dominions, Australia's mobilization is the most thorough.

"I suspect that our commander-in-chief sent us to die!" Freckles was very dissatisfied with Rock, and it was indeed Rock who ordered them to come to the Garibaldi Peninsula.

"Don't talk nonsense, Lord Nyasaland didn't send us to die. It was our commander who went the wrong way. As a result, we poor old people became mindless ducks. If we want to blame, we can blame our officer." The poor old man obviously knew the situation better. After William II's evaluation of the British troops spread, "poor old man" has become a synonym for self-deprecating British soldiers.

Like the Southern African Expeditionary Force, the Anzacs were a British force.

"Isn't Lord Nyasaland an officer?" Little Freckles' hostility towards Roque was inexplicable, the Viscount of the Empire from the colony——

hmm——

Why the hell isn't it me!

But life is obviously not that simple, and the poor old man has a deeper understanding of this: "Lord Nyasaland is not an ordinary military officer. The cigarettes you smoke, the canned food you eat, the clothes you wear, and the weapons you use—including the The boats I was riding in when I was a child were all produced by Lord Nyasaland’s factory, so you should have a little respect for Lord Nyasaland. For those who are better than you, even if you don’t like him, you should give him enough respect .”

Freckles and small acne stopped talking nonsense, and fell into silence with a thoughtful expression on his face.

I am not in the mood to chat anymore. The heavy machine guns of the Fifth Army on the Goba Heights are firing again. This is to lure the Anzacs to die. The freckled little acne is lying on the ground and trying to bury his head in the sand, just like when he is in danger. Like an ostrich.

(End of this chapter)