In the "Achilles Heel" plan, the most important task is the ANZAC Corps composed of Australian troops and New Zealand troops. The scheduled landing point of the ANZAC Corps is Goba Mound. Rock's order to the ANZAC Corps
The purpose is to establish a beachhead after landing, attract as many Ottoman troops as possible, and create favorable conditions for subsequent combat plans.
In order to cooperate with the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force in completing 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 that had just been commissioned in southern Africa.
cruiser and six destroyers.
Considering the caliber of artillery, the main task of the southern African warships is mine clearing. In the previous stage of the battle, trawlers have proven to be unable to complete the mine clearing task well. In the current Mediterranean fleet, mine clearing tasks are all handled by destroyers.
Under the cover of the most powerful fleet in the world, the Anzacs landed successfully, but the landing point was not at Goba Mound, but at a beach 1.2 kilometers away from Goba Mound.
1.2 kilometers is not too far, but for landing operations, it may cause serious consequences.
Rock's choice of Goba Mound as the landing point for the Anzac Corps was also the result of careful consideration by the staff.
Goba Mound is not a real mound, but a rather prominent highland. Zanders tried his best to organize defense, but the Fifth Army only had 87,000 men, and the coastline of the Garibaldi Peninsula was more than 100 miles long.
There are many landing sites, and it is impossible for the Fifth Army to cover them all.
According to Rock's plan, after the ANZAC landed on Goba Mound, they would establish defensive positions on the highlands, which would give them a better geographical advantage. There were no Fifth Army troops around Goba Mound, and the closest ones to Goba Mound were
It would also take a day for the Fifth Army troops to reach Goba Mound.
One day was enough 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 was only 1.2 kilometers, but this mistake was fatal. When Rock knew about this problem, it was already a day later. In just one day, the third
A regiment of the Fifth Army has occupied the Goba Mound, suppressing the headless rat-like ANZAC on the unobstructed beach. The ANZAC has indeed completed the task of attracting the troops of the Fifth Army, but can only be passively beaten.
,lost heavily.
After Roque learned about this, he was silent at the command headquarters for half an hour.
Although Rock is confident when facing anyone, only he knows the pressure of Rock. The lives of hundreds of thousands of soldiers of the Expeditionary Force are under Rock's control. Any small mistake will cause serious consequences. The Expeditionary Force
So far, there have been more than 200,000 casualties, of which 150,000 were killed. With the victory of "Operation Victory Horn", the expeditionary force initially gained the trust of the British and French coalition forces. If the Dardanelles fails, the trust accumulated in the previous stage will be lost.
If the situation is serious, Roque may even lose command of the Southern African Expeditionary Force.
Don't think that this situation can't happen. There are countless people in the British and French forces waiting for Roque to make a mistake. The flowers and flowers are covering up the fire. If a mistake is made, it will become the straw that breaks the camel's back.
"No retreat, stay where you are!" Rock's order was ruthless. Anyone who made a mistake would have to pay the price for the mistake. The plan had already begun to be implemented. No matter what problems occurred, the plan would not change.
It is the duty of soldiers to obey orders. This sentence is full of cold-bloodedness and cruelty.
Ordering the ANZAC to continue to hold the beachhead will definitely bring huge casualties to the ANZAC, but as long as the battle is finally won, the current casualties will be worth it. There have been more than one million casualties since the British and French coalition forces began. Xiafei and
Ferenczi was not blamed in any way.
"Yes, General Brad Nancy hopes to get more grenades and mortars." Ian Hamilton also knew that the plan could not be changed. Hundreds of thousands of people had worked hard for months to achieve the "Achilles Heel"
, will not stop because of the safety of 30,000 people.
Brad Nancy is the commander of the Anzac Corps. Before the Anzac Corps set off, they did not carry much supplies and could only support their combat needs for a few days.
Even so, the Anzacs had only landed for one day, which reflects how intense the fighting was.
"He will have enough grenades and mortars to send a message to General Brad Nancy that he must hold the position no matter what, and also send a message to General John Fisher that the landing force needs fire cover-" Luo
Croat will provide support to the ANZAC as much as possible, but it cannot change the fact that the ANZAC suffered heavy casualties.
After the expeditionary force began the landing operation, the Mediterranean Fleet had already started to clean up all the ships of the Ottoman Empire in the Dardanelles Strait and the Sea of Marmara according to the scheduled plan, and bombarded the forts on both sides of the Dardanelles Strait to cover the landing troops.
Gradually weaken.
"We can also activate a preparatory plan and send troops to land on the other side of the Goba Mound to reduce the pressure on the ANZAC." Ian Hamilton suggested that the combat plan formulated by the staff also included responses to various accidents.
Preparatory plan, but to launch a new landing operation, the troops prepared for landing in the northern part of the Garibaldi Peninsula will be transferred, which will affect later operations.
A single unexpected factor will not affect the entire campaign, but if accidents continue to occur, the entire campaign will be affected, and ultimately the victory of the campaign will be affected.
According to the staff plan, if the situation is very bad, in the end the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force will at most maintain an invincible situation with the Fifth Army, that is, the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force will occupy the Garibaldi Peninsula, but will be unable to launch an attack on Constantinople.
.
This result actually meant the failure of the entire campaign, because simply occupying the Dardanelles Strait and the Sea of Marmara, without occupying the Bosporus Strait, would not be able to open the passage between the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea.
The goal of the Battle of Kitchener Rock was to capture Constantinople, with the ultimate goal of opening a channel to the Black Sea.
"No, it's not possible now, wait a minute -" Rock is not in a hurry to invest in the reserve team. He has to make the ANZAC pay a high price. This is not to punish the ANZAC, but to retain the reserve team to deal with the situation.
greater danger.
Of course, this is also a reminder to other troops not to make the same mistakes as the ANZAC.
Roque's decision also put the Anzac Army into greater danger.
The situation of the Anzac Corps was indeed very bad.
It was not until one day after landing that the Anzacs discovered that they had not landed at the scheduled landing point. At this time, 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 Mounds, and even if he paid a huge price for it, Brad Nancy would not hesitate at all costs.
The Fifth Army troops occupying the Goba Mound clearly had a huge advantage. They were commanding and equipped with Maxim heavy machine guns. The ANZAC offensive troops still used traditional thin red line tactics. Soon the bodies of the ANZAC soldiers were lying on Goba.
A full layer of ground was laid in front of the mound position. The Anzac Army suffered nearly 3,000 casualties and basically lost its offensive capabilities.
What was originally a great and favorable situation was forced to complete the dead end and was unable to attack. The ANZAC had no choice but to turn to defense. Fortunately, the ANZAC also had naval gun cover and supplies were continuously sent ashore. Otherwise, the ANZAC would have been unable to attack.
You can only withdraw from the position.
At the forefront of the Anzac Corps, the Carbine Regiment from Sydney was defending. Behind them were civilians who were urgently building fortifications. These civilians were recruited from the Port of Beirut by the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force before the war.
"How can we use sand to build fortifications? We should use stronger materials -" a soldier with the rank of corporal muttered in a low voice. His face was covered with freckles and small red pimples. He was definitely no more than 18 years old.
"This is a beach. What else can we use without sand? Don't worry, the defense line formed by sandbags will be very protective as long as you use enough sandbags." A sergeant with a weathered face comforted him.
Military medals clearly indicate that he participated in the Second Boer War.
Australia's conscription plan covers all adult males in Australia between the ages of 18 and 45. Among all the British colonies and dominions, Australia's mobilization is the most thorough.
"I suspect that our commander-in-chief sent us to die!" Freckles and Pimples were very dissatisfied with Rock. It was indeed Rock who ordered them to come to the Garibaldi Peninsula.
"Don't talk nonsense. Lord Nyasaland didn't let us die. It was our commander who took the wrong path. As a result, we old pitiful people became clueless ducks. If you want to blame us, our officer sir is to blame."
The old pitiful man obviously understood the situation better. After William II's evaluation of the British troops spread, "old pitiful man" has become a self-deprecating pronoun used by British soldiers.
Like the Southern African Expeditionary Force, the Anzac Corps is also a British force.
"Isn't Lord Nyasaland a military officer?" Freckles Xiaozou's hostility towards Rock is inexplicable. The Imperial Viscount from the colony——
hmm——
Why the hell not me!
But life is obviously not that simple, and the poor old man understands this more deeply: "Lord Nyasaland is not an ordinary military officer. The cigarettes you smoke, the cans you eat, the clothes you wear, and the weapons you use - including what we have here
The boats we took when traveling were all produced by Lord Nyasaland’s factory, so you should respect Lord Nyasaland a little. For people who are better than you, even if you don’t like them, you should give them enough respect.
."
The freckles and small acne no longer spoke loudly, and fell into silence with a thoughtful look on his face.
They were no longer in the mood to chat. The heavy machine guns of the Fifth Army on the Goba Highlands were firing again. This was to lure the Anzacs to die. The little freckles lay on the ground and tried to bury their heads in the sand, just like when they were in danger.
