One thing must be made clear: a country's war potential is closely related to its population.
Before the outbreak of the world war, Britain had 54.65 million people, France had about 40 million people, Germany had 67 million people, and the Russian Empire had 170 million people. In terms of population alone, the Russian Empire had the greatest war potential, so the United Kingdom would rather have everyone
It will provide the Russian Empire with 20 million pounds of monthly aid, but also keep the Russian Empire in the Allied Powers.
The above lists are all domestic populations. If colonies are added, the population of Britain will become 500 million and the population of France will become 100 million. Therefore, if the war lasts too long, it will be very detrimental to Germany.
Of course, more than half of the 500 million people in the UK are Indians. Considering India's strength, they are almost negligible.
Relatively speaking, the United States, with a population of 98 million, is very important. If the United States joins the war in advance, then the world war in this time and space may end earlier than the world war in another time and space.
The mobilization of the United States indeed reflects the strength of the United States. After Woodrow Johnson issued the mobilization order, the United States mobilized 1.2 million people in one phase, and the number will continue to increase. In about half a year, American soldiers will arrive on the European battlefield.
No matter what the U.S. government and the Allies talk about, Rock's biggest task after coming to France is to stabilize the defense line. 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 in a stalemate. Italy
There is still a stalemate, and all fronts cannot achieve a breakthrough in a short period of time.
In order to avoid causing unnecessary trouble, Roque did not even meet with Haig. After meeting Joffre in Paris, Roque immediately expressed his attitude to Joffre. The British Expeditionary Force would stop the Battle of the Somme until Roque
When deemed appropriate, the British Expeditionary Force will continue to attack the German army.
"Marshal Locke, when attacking the German army, the needs of the entire front cannot be stopped at will. If the German army makes a breakthrough in Verdun, the entire front will collapse. This is an unbearable consequence for us." Xiafei firmly disagreed to end the attack.
The Battle of the Somme has been going on for twenty days so far.
In these twenty days, the British Expeditionary Force suffered 170,000 casualties, of which nearly 60,000 were killed in action, and the French Army suffered 40,000 casualties, of which nearly 10,000 were killed in action.
Rock didn't know why Haig was able to fight the battle like this. The Fourth Army had less than 150,000 people in total, which was equivalent to the British Expeditionary Force losing an entire army in twenty days.
By the way, the commander-in-chief of the Fourth Army, Henry Rawlinson, has also been sent back to England by Rock. It is said that only Henry Rawlinson's wife and daughter went to pick him up. Now Henry Rawlinson is a sinner in Britain, and his military career has ended.
.
"If it was just to contain the Germans, it would be easy to do." Rock would certainly not let Germany break through Verdun, but Rock had a smarter way to contain the Germans.
"What do you want to do?" Xiafei didn't know what kind of medicine Roque bought in his gourd. His mind only had attack, attack, and attack again, and there was no room for 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 out of class soon, and the French cannot tolerate the loss of French troops.
"This does not conflict with the army's attack." Joffre did not want to give Roque too much time. The Battle of Verdun had reached its most critical moment. If the British Expeditionary Force stopped attacking at this time, Verdun might be lost.
Roque's decision will not change because of Joffre'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 British standpoint, it is in Britain's best interest for France and Germany to lose both sides. Just like when French came to France, Kitchener also had a long talk with Roque when he left London.
Rock's attitude was basically the same as Kitchener's. If possible, Rock would resolutely stand still and preserve the strength of the British Expeditionary Force as much as possible.
Returning to the British Expeditionary Force headquarters, Rock immediately made a series of adjustments.
The Fourth Army has now been crippled and has withdrawn to the second line to regain strength. It will not be able to return to the battlefield for three months.
The Canadian Army and the Anzac Army are currently attacking the German army. The Canadian Army has a small number of people, only about 120,000 people. Although the Anzac Army has a large number of troops, it has suffered heavy losses after a series of battles, and the officers and soldiers are relatively resistant to the attack.
.
Roque first moved the First Army still in Flanders to the Somme River, and then moved the Anzac Army to Flanders to fill the First Army's defense line. The elite troops of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force had not yet arrived in France.
Roque mobilized the Indian Army Corps, which was originally assigned to the second line for logistics tasks, to participate in the war.
The same colonial servant armies, 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 Army was worrying, and Rock had 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 Locke's decision at the military council.
"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 put continuous pressure on the German army. If Falkenhayn dares to move troops to Verdun, then the First Army will
Launch an attack." Rock 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 Rock does not attack, Falkenhayn will not dare to move the troops away.
"Your Excellency, Marshal, it is not enough to just put continuous pressure on the German army. We must gradually consume the strength of the German army, so that the Germans can be afraid." Henry Wilson and Haig Joffre are exactly the same. Rock really misses getting along with Ian Hamilton.
time.
After Rock was transferred to Commander-in-Chief of the British Expeditionary Force, Ian Hamilton was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. It is now impossible for him to continue to serve as Chief of Staff to Rock.
After all, Rock wants to improve, and so does Ian Hamilton.
"We suffered 170,000 casualties in twenty days. Are the Germans afraid?" Rock had no unrealistic illusions. If Henry Wilson said it, the Germans were not afraid and the British Expeditionary Force would rebel.
"The German casualties were also over 100,000." Henry Wilson refused to accept it and killed 800 of the enemy and suffered a loss of 1,000. There is nothing to be proud of.
Rock didn't waste any time and sent Henry Wilson to Paris that night to be responsible for coordinating with the French army. He moved his headquarters to Amin, which was closer to the front line.
The chief of staff is very important to Rock, but not indispensable. Without Henry Wilson, Rock also has Paul Coker and a total of more than 300 staff members, who are more important than Henry Wilson.
More important and more competent.
The key is to be more obedient.
While mobilizing the troops, Roque ordered the troops on the second line to start building more complete permanent fortifications.
The scale of the fortifications was built according to the standards of the Maginot Line. The front line responsible for the British Expeditionary Force is about 120 miles long. The total strength of the British Expeditionary Force is now about one million people. It is not easy to be responsible for such a long front line.
Gram was very dissatisfied with the previous fortifications of the British Expeditionary Force. Compared with the Germans who were good at learning, the fortifications built by the British Expeditionary Force were far behind.
"How many troops do we have in Flanders?" Roque will not blindly defend. Attack is the best defense. However, it is definitely wrong to choose the Somme River as a breakthrough point. Joffre is considering the interests of France, so he
Rock advocated launching the Battle of the Somme. In this regard, Rock agreed with Haig's opinion that the British Expeditionary Force should start from the coastal areas.
Before launching the Battle of the Somme, Haig's original intention was to attack from the Belgian coast and capture the port cities along the Belgian coast, which would be more conducive to spreading the German forces.
If they fight from the coast of Belgium, then the British Expeditionary Force can get help from the Royal Navy, and it will be easier to obtain supplies. Although Haig is a butcher, he is not useless. Unfortunately, facing Joffre, Haig is not strong enough, so
The British Expeditionary Force was forced to launch the Battle of the Somme.
Roque did not quarrel with Xiafei. For a man who could not be commander-in-chief for a few days, Roque could not afford to get angry in a hurry. Roque had his own offensive rhythm and would not change his decision easily because of Xiafei.
"There is a Fifth Army in Flanders. If we add the Anzac Army, our total strength exceeds 400,000 people. As for our enemies, Germany has less than six divisions in Flanders." Paul Coe
Kerr was shocked. With such a huge disparity in strength, could it be that Joffre and Haig couldn't see it?
The answer is that it can be seen, but it is useless to see. Think about last year's autumn offensive. The French army had 27 divisions in Champagne and the German army only had 7 divisions. The offensive still ended in failure.
In Artois, where the disparity in military strength was even greater, Foch commanded 17 divisions at the time, while the Germans only had two divisions. Foch still made no progress. This cannot be described as incompetent, it was simply dereliction of duty.
"Order the staff to come up with a plan. I will attack the German army in Flanders and then recapture the ports along the Belgian coast - send a telegram to Marshal Jellicoe that the expeditionary force needs the help of the Royal Navy." Rock didn't mind the advantage.
If it can be bigger, if it can crush Germany with its absolute superior force, Rock will be happy to see it happen.
"Yes, Lord -" Paul Coker was very motivated. When Haig was the Commander-in-Chief of the Expeditionary Force, Paul Coker was directly marginalized. Now that Rock is the Commander-in-Chief of the Expeditionary Force, Paul Coker watched again.
Arrived at hope.
Don't look at Luo Ke's toughness in front of Xiafei. The new official has three things to do when he takes office. If there is a chance, Luo Ke will certainly be willing to take the initiative to attack.
Just think of it as a gift to Winston.
(The third update is here. How many red envelopes did brothers give out in 520? It’s really strange, why men give them to women. Female compatriots can’t be more generous——)
