I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 745 The key is to find the right person

The technological strength demonstrated by Germany in World War I was far inferior to that in World War II. Apart from the super cannon, it hardly left much of an impression on people.

At the beginning of the war, the German army used the 420mm Big Berth to capture the Liege Fortress in Belgium, and became famous in one battle.

During the Michael Offensive in the spring of 1918, the German army used the Paris Cannon with a range of up to 130 kilometers to bombard Paris, shocking the world.

The caliber of the Paris Cannon is only 210 mm, and the barrel is 36 meters long, with an astonishing length-to-diameter ratio of 172 times. In order to offset the bending of the barrel caused by its own weight, the entire gun body is supported by a bracket so that it can be used normally.

Both of these super guns were produced by Krupp.

Unfortunately, although the Paris Cannon was incredibly powerful, it was not very effective. Not only was it costly, but it also lacked accuracy. Even when shelling Paris from 120 kilometers away, its hit rate was less than half.

The shells of the Paris Cannon caused severe wear and tear on the barrel. After every 50 shells were fired, the barrel had to be returned to the factory to expand the inner chamber.

Therefore, the caliber of the Paris Cannon was expanded from the original 210 mm to 240 mm, and then to 260 mm. Eventually even the Germans abandoned it and only three guns were built.

Although the actual performance of the Paris Cannon was poor, after the German army was defeated, Russia towed two of the three cannons back to Russia for research.

The last one was blown up by the Germans themselves in France.

Felix had no interest in cooperating with the British government.

However, Felix did not refuse immediately. Instead, he used the negotiations as an excuse to delay the British and wear out their patience.

Compared with Fuad, who was wavering, Hussein Ali completely leaned towards Constantinople and acted as a pioneer in resisting British colonial rule.

Almost at the same time that the Kingdom of Hejaz announced that it would no longer provide protection to adventurers, the French explorer Provence lost contact within the Kingdom of Hejaz.

The expedition to Provence was sponsored by several large French companies, and the French government called the Kingdom of Hejaz and asked it to find the whereabouts of Provence.

Hussein Ali agreed to help, but asked the French government to pay for it.

The territory claimed by the Kingdom of Hejaz is as large as 225 million square kilometers, 99.999% of which is desert. Finding an expedition team of more than a hundred people in such a large area is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

The terrain in the desert is constantly changing. Sand dunes can accumulate 200 meters overnight. The Provence expedition team may be buried under a sand dune. Just dig slowly.

The French government also knew how difficult this matter was, so it let it go.

Just as the explorers were feeling threatened, attacks against British officials around the Persian Gulf were increasing rapidly. From April to May, within just one month, six British officials and staff were killed in attacks.

This situation rarely occurred even during the Ottoman Empire.

On May 5, in response to the rapidly deteriorating security situation in the area surrounding the Persian Gulf, Britain decided to send additional troops to the region.

The decision once again put Arthur Balfour, the British ambassador to the League of Nations, in the spotlight.

The first person to fire at Balfour was Abdullah Shehri, the Hejaz ambassador to the League of Nations.

As soon as he took office, Shehri targeted the Balfour Declaration, saying that it was an insult to all Arabs and fully reflected Britain's arrogance and rudeness.

"If you really care about the Hebrews, why don't you follow Russia's example and establish a Hebrew self-governing state in Britain, allowing the Hebrews to live freely under the protection of the British Empire?"

While Shehri was stepping on the British, he also complimented Russia, without losing out on either end.

"Without the help of the British Empire, you couldn't even get rid of the colonial rule of the Ottomans. You should be grateful to the British Empire instead of being full of resentment."

Balfour tried to divert attention and keep silent about the Balfour Declaration.

"Your so-called help is just using us to fight the Ottoman Empire. You only paid with words, but we paid with our lives. In the end, we have to be grateful and accept your arbitrary manipulation. What is the difference between you and the Ottomans?"

Shehri opened fire at full speed, making it difficult for Belfort to cope.

If we talk about the difference, there is actually one.

The Ottomans demanded submission from the Arabs.

The British made the Arabs kneel on the ground, pried open their mouths, and fed them shit.

Let’s not talk about whether shit is disgusting or not, let’s just talk about whether you can eat enough.

"Your Excellency, London should reflect on the fact that the world today is no longer the world of 100 years ago."

Little Nicholas became a messenger of justice and upheld justice for weak countries.

To be honest, in terms of national image, Russia is much better than Britain.

Russia fought with the Ottoman Empire for more than 200 years, supported a series of countries in the Balkan Peninsula, and successfully won the gratitude of the Balkan countries.

If it were the UK, they would most likely replace the old with the new, keeping the land but not the people.

If you think it is impossible, please refer to the United States, Canada, and Australia.

"Your Excellency the Grand Duke, Constantinople should also reflect on this!"

Balfour never expected that Britain's situation in the League of Nations would be so bad.

Little Nicholas' speech won the collective support of all the younger brothers.

Clemenceau just watched the fun without saying anything, which in itself represents the attitude of France.

What made Balfour feel disappointed was that in the face of the attacks by Nicholas the Younger and Shehri, the French did not help, and the British brothers did not help either, which made Balfour alone and helpless. This could not be blamed on the brothers for not helping, but it could only be said that when the wall fell, everyone pushed it.

The British Empire's colonial system not only harmed global trade, but also caused increasing damage to Britain's overseas dominions and colonies.

During the World War, in order to support Britain, India ignored the domestic food shortage and would rather ship Indian rice to Britain for British farmers to feed their cattle than let Indians fill their stomachs.

At least 2000 million people starved to death in India due to famine.

This is not the first time this has happened in the UK. Between 1845 and 1850, in Ireland under British rule, starvation caused the population to drop by nearly a quarter and the death toll exceeded one million.

The Irish and the British are all white people, yet the British are so cruel.

Indians were not considered human beings at all in the eyes of the British.

It is really hard to understand why Indians are so proud of British colonization.

India is still in the midst of a severe famine, and no one knows how many people starve to death every year. The data released by the media are all estimates, and the British colonial government has never conducted relevant statistics.

If it is not counted, it does not exist.

What makes Indians feel disheartened is that as Russia's grain production has repeatedly hit new highs, international grain prices have been falling in the past two years.

Indian merchants wanted to import grain from Russia and ship it to their country for profit, but were strictly prohibited by the British colonial government on the grounds of trade protection.

Under such circumstances, no matter how peace-loving Indians are, it is difficult for them to maintain their loyalty to the British Empire.

Even India is dissatisfied, not to mention other overseas dominions.

"What are you reflecting on? Are you reflecting on the fact that I'm not like you, plundering the whole world under the banner of free trade? Are you blind too?"

Little Nicholas held a grudge, and Edward Grey certainly could not have imagined that even if he escaped back to London, he would still be humiliated by Little Nicholas.

"Your Excellency the Grand Duke, you are going too far!"

Balfour hoped that little Nicolas would have some shame.

"Compared to you, I am a six-winged archangel!"

If little Nicholas had any dignity, he would not have been sent to the League of Nations, which is a shithole, by George.

While Balfour was under siege by the League of Nations, the canal blockage had finally reached a point where it had to be resolved.

On June 6, the Russian Mediterranean Fleet held exercises in the eastern Mediterranean according to the previously announced plan.

This exercise was very grand. In addition to the four Gangut-class battleships serving in the Mediterranean Fleet, the Baltic Fleet and the Pacific Fleet respectively sent the battleship Alexander I and the battleship Russia to participate in the exercise.

In addition to 7 battleships, Russia also dispatched 6 armored cruisers, 11 light cruisers, more than 20 destroyers, and an unknown number of submarine forces. It is estimated that more than 100 warships participated in the exercise.

To offset the impact of Russia's military exercises, the British Mediterranean Fleet plans to hold exercises in the central Mediterranean.

The plan was stopped at the last minute by the British Admiralty.

The exercise area of ​​the British Mediterranean Fleet partially overlaps with the exercise area of ​​the Russian Fleet.

This means there is a possibility of accidental conflict between the two countries.

Britain, which had just experienced the World War, could not afford the risk of going to war with Russia and had basically no chance of defeating Russia.

Britain took full advantage of the grudges between France, Russia and Germany, and joined forces with France and Russia to defeat Germany and win the final victory in the World War.

If a war breaks out with Russia, even Britain's overseas dominions and colonies will not help Britain wholeheartedly as they did during the world war.

Britain's breach of promise has broken the hearts of its younger brothers.

Compared with the World War, although Russia lost Japan, it consolidated the relationship between the Balkan countries and, by the way, won over a large number of Free Trade Organization member states, all of which will provide Russia with varying degrees of assistance.

Let’s not talk about other countries for now.

If Russia went to war with Britain, the Germans would certainly go all out.

In this situation, Bonar Law could only take the initiative to put out the fire.

What Bonar Law didn't expect was that the chain reaction caused by compromise was also something he could not bear.

Bonar Law made a series of stupid moves after taking office, starting with the repayment of U.S. debt, which caused ridicule from the British Parliament and media.

At the same time, the canal blockage problem could not be resolved, which continued to disappoint the British.

Now Bonar Law's weakness in his foreign attitude has completely shattered the British people's last psychological defense line.

On June 6, Bonar Law resigned voluntarily due to internal and external troubles, and Finance Minister Stanley Baldwin became Prime Minister and was responsible for forming a cabinet.

The first thing Stanley Baldwin did after taking office was to contact Constantinople, hoping to discuss with George in person how to resolve the canal crisis.

That’s right. If you want to solve a problem, the key is to find the right person.

(End of this chapter)