Reborn South Africa as a police officer

Chapter 979

One thing must be made clear, the war potential of a country is closely related to the population of the country.

Before the outbreak of the World War, there were 5465 million people in Britain, about 4000 million in France, 6700 million in Germany, and 7000 million in the Russian Empire. In terms of population alone, the Russian Empire had the greatest war potential, so Britain would rather give a The 2000 million pounds of aid from the Russian Empire will also keep the Russian Empire in the Allied Powers.

The above list is the population of the country. If the colonies are added, the population of Britain will become [-] million, and the population of France will become [-] million. Therefore, if the war lasts too long, it will be very unfavorable to Germany.

Of course, more than half of the [-] million people in the UK are Indians. Considering India's strength, it is almost negligible.

Relatively speaking, the United States with a population of 9800 million is very important. If the United States joins the war early, then this world war in time and space may end early in another world war in time and space.

The mobilization of the United States does reflect the strength of the United States. After Woodrow Johnson issued the mobilization order, the United States mobilized 120 million people in the first phase, and the number will continue to increase. After about half a year, American soldiers will arrive on the European battlefield.

Regardless of what the U.S. government and the Allies talk about, after arriving in France, Roque's biggest task is to stabilize the line of defense. At this time, the Battle of the Somme is in a stalemate, the Battle of Verdun is also in a stalemate, and the Eastern Front is also a stalemate. Italy It is still a stalemate, and all fronts cannot make a breakthrough in a short period of time.

In order to avoid unnecessary trouble, Roque did not even meet Haig. After meeting Joffre in Paris, Roque immediately expressed his attitude to Joffre. The British Expeditionary Force will stop the Battle of the Somme until Roque The British Expeditionary Force will continue to attack the Germans as it sees fit.

"Marshal Locke, the need for the entire front when attacking the German army cannot be stopped at will. If the German army breaks through in Verdun, the entire front will collapse. This is a consequence we cannot afford." The Battle of the Somme, the Battle of the Somme has been going on for 20 days so far.

During these 20 days, the British Expeditionary Force suffered 17 casualties, of which nearly 6 were killed, and the French army suffered 1 casualties, of which nearly [-] were killed.

Rock didn't know why Haig was able to fight the battle like this. The Fourth Army had a total of less than 15 people, which was equivalent to the loss of an entire army in the UK within 20 days.

By the way, Henry Rawlinson, the commander-in-chief of the Fourth Army, has also been sent back to England by Roque. It is said that only Henry Rawlinson's wife and daughter picked him up. Now Henry Rawlinson is a sinner of Britain, and his military career is over. .

"If it's just to contain the Germans, then it's easy to do." Roque will certainly not allow Germany to break through Verdun, but Roque has a smarter way to contain the Germans.

"What do you want to do?" Joffre didn't know what kind of medicine was in Rock's gourd. He only thought about attack, attack, and attack again, and couldn't accommodate other words.

"I need time to adjust, you know, the British Empire has just changed its prime minister, and the expeditionary force has a new commander-in-chief. My troops and I need time to get familiar with each other." Rock will not show all his cards, Joffre should be leaving class soon, and the French can't tolerate the loss of French troops.

"This doesn't conflict with the troops' attack." Joffre didn't want to give Rock too much time. The Battle of Verdun had reached the most critical moment. If the British Expeditionary Force stopped attacking at this time, Verdun might fall.

Rock's decision will not change because of Xiafei's attitude. Although the western front is dominated by French troops, the British Expeditionary Force is not a vassal of the French army.

From the standpoint of the United Kingdom, it is in the best interests of the United Kingdom that both France and Germany will suffer. Just like when Frenzi came to France, Kitchener also had a long talk with Roque when Roque left London.

Rock's attitude is basically the same as that of Kitchener. If possible, Rock will resolutely hold back and preserve the strength of the British Expeditionary Force as much as possible.

Back at the British Expeditionary Force Headquarters, Rock immediately made a series of adjustments.

The Fourth Army has now been disabled and withdrawn to the second line to recover its strength. It will not be able to return to the battlefield within three months.

The Canadian Army and the Anzac Army are now attacking the German army. The Canadian Army has a small number of about 12 troops. Although the Anzac Army has a large number of troops, they have suffered heavy losses after a series of battles. The resistance of the officers and soldiers to the attack is relatively large .

Rock first transferred the First Army still in Flanders to the Somme, and then transferred the Anzacs to Flanders to fill the defense of the First Army. The elite troops of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force had not yet arrived in France. Rock transferred the Indian Army, which was originally assigned to the second line to be responsible for logistics tasks, to join the battle.

They are also colonial servants, the Southern African Expeditionary Force, the Anzac Corps, and the Canadian Corps fought bloody battles, while the Indian Corps lived leisurely on the second line. How can there be so many good things.

However, the combat effectiveness of the Indian Legion is worrying. Rock has not yet established absolute authority within the British Expeditionary Force. Chief of Staff Henry Wilson questioned Rock's decision.

Henry Wilson was smart enough not to openly question Rock's decision at the military meeting.

"The Battle of the Somme is over. It is impossible for us to launch an attack on the German army in the short term. The purpose of bringing up the Indian Army is to keep the pressure on the German army. If Falkenhayn dares to transfer troops to Verdun, then the First Army will Launch an attack." Roque will not send troops to die, there are many ways to contain the German army, as long as there are enough troops in the Somme, even if Roque does not attack, Falkenhayn will not dare to move the troops away.

"Your Excellency the Marshal, it is not enough to put continuous pressure on the German army. We must gradually consume the strength of the German army, so as to make the Germans fear." Henry Wilson is exactly the same as Haig Xiafei, and Rock really misses getting along with Ian Hamilton. time.

After Rock was transferred to be the commander-in-chief of the British Expeditionary Force, Ian Hamilton was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. It is now impossible to continue to serve as Chief of Staff for Rock.

After all, Rock needs to improve, and so does Ian Hamilton.

"We suffered 20 casualties in 17 days. Are the Germans afraid?" Rock had no unrealistic illusions. If Henry Wilson said, the British Expeditionary Force would rebel before the Germans were afraid.

"The casualties of the Germans were also more than 10." Henry Wilson refused to accept, killing [-] enemies and harming [-], what is there to be proud of.

Rock didn't talk nonsense, and sent Henry Wilson to Paris that night to be responsible for coordination with the French army, while he himself moved the headquarters to Yaming, which was closer to the front line.

The chief of staff is very important to Roque, but he is not indispensable. Without Henry Wilson, Roque has Paul Cocker beside him, and there are more than [-] staff members in total. They are more important than Henry Wilson. Important, more competent.

The key is to be more obedient.

While mobilizing troops, Rock ordered the troops on the second line to start building more complete permanent fortifications.

The scale of the fortifications was built with reference to the standard of the Maginot Line. The British Expeditionary Force was responsible for a front of about 120 miles long. The total strength of the British Expeditionary Force is now about 100 million. It is not easy to be responsible for such a long front. Compared with the Germans who are good at learning, the fortifications built by the British Expeditionary Force are far worse.

"How many troops do we have in Flanders?" Roque will not blindly defend. Offense is the best defense, but it is definitely wrong to choose the Somme River as the breakthrough point. He strongly advocated launching the Battle of the Somme. In this regard, Rock agrees with Haig's opinion that the British Expeditionary Force should open the situation from the coastal areas.

Before launching the Battle of the Somme, Haig's original intention was to attack from the Belgian coast and take down the port cities along the Belgian coast, which would be more conducive to the dispersion of German forces.

If fighting from the coast of Belgium, then the British Expeditionary Force can get the help of the Royal Navy, and it will be easier to obtain supplies. Although Haig is a butcher, he is not useless. Unfortunately, Haig is not strong enough to face Joffre, so The British Expeditionary Force was forced to launch the Battle of the Somme.

Roque didn't quarrel with Xiafei either. A person who can't be the commander-in-chief for a few days, Roque can't afford to get angry. Rock has his own offensive rhythm and won't change his decision easily because of Xiafei.

"Flanders has the Fifth Army, and if you add the Anzacs, our total strength exceeds 40 men—as for our enemy, the Germans have less than six divisions in Flanders—" Paul Coker was taken aback. With such a disparity in strength, couldn't Joffre and Haig see it?

The answer is that it can be seen, but it is useless to see it. Think about the autumn offensive last year. At that time, the French army had 27 divisions in Chambani, and the German army only had 7 divisions. The offensive still ended in failure.

In Artois, where the military strength is even more disparate, Foch commanded 17 divisions at the time, and the German army only had two divisions. Foch still made no progress. This can no longer be described as incompetent, it is simply dereliction of duty.

"Order the staff to come up with a plan. I want to attack the German army in Flanders, and then regain the ports along the Belgian coast - send a message to Marshal Jericho, the expeditionary force needs the help of the Royal Navy." Rock didn't mind the advantage. Bigger, if Germany can be overwhelmed with an absolute superior force, Rock is happy to see it happen.

"Yes, Lord—" Paul Cocker was full of energy. When Haig was the commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force, Paul Cocker was directly marginalized. Now that Rock was the commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force, Paul Cocker looked at Here comes the hope.

Don't look at Rock's toughness in front of Xiafei, the new official takes office three fires, if there is a chance, Rock is of course willing to take the initiative to attack.

Consider it a gift for Winston.

(Sent at the third watch, how many red envelopes have been sent by brothers 520--it's really strange, why are men sending them to women, female compatriots can't be more generous--)

(End of this chapter)