Putting it into ordinary people's thinking, after finally becoming the commander-in-chief, with millions of soldiers and great power in hand, no matter what, you have to organize and plan one or two battles that will be famous in history to be worthy of your status as commander-in-chief.
It would be bad if you really think so. The previous Commander-in-Chief of the British Expeditionary Force, the Commander-in-Chief of the French Army, and even the Chief of the German General Staff thought so. As a result, French and Haig have returned to their homeland, and Joffre is in the United States guiding the Americans.
While training new recruits, Nivelle was sent to Italy by Pétain to fight against the German-Austrian Allied Forces. Moltke was writing his memoirs at home, and Falkenhayn continued to quarrel with Nivelle in Italy.
For Rock, there are many ways to be remembered in history. As long as Rock forces Germany to surrender while serving in the British Expeditionary Force, then even if Rock does nothing, Rock can still be remembered in history. There is no need to dye it red with the blood and lives of soldiers.
Your own medal of merit.
In fact, he really has no reputation as a good warrior. It seems that Roque has not done many amazing things since he became the commander-in-chief of the British Expeditionary Force. But in fact, the "resilient" defense currently implemented by the British Expeditionary Force is very
Offensively, after Ludendorff stopped attacking last winter, the fighting on the Western Front did not completely stop. Small-scale battles and sniper battles continued. The expeditionary force was carried out piecemeal, causing hundreds of casualties to the Germans every day.
It doesn't matter whether it's a day or two, but the cumulative effect is too much for the German army. It's only been ten days since the New Year, and the German casualties have increased by nearly 10,000, scattered among dozens of divisions. Each division may only have lost one person.
There are two hundred people, but if you add one more, it is close to a division.
Ludendorff still has 191 divisions in his hands, with a total strength of nearly 3.5 million men.
It is hard to imagine that after last year's tragic losses, Ludendorff still has so many troops in his hands. The information Roark received is that Germany has relaxed the age of conscription to 50 years old. Among the current German troops, all
It is a unit composed of soldiers over 40 years old.
While engaging in military activities, Ludendorff also recruited a large number of female soldiers. Since the World War, nearly 2 million people in Germany have died on the front lines, one-third of whom are married officers and soldiers. Now in Germany, at least
700,000 widows are living in dire straits.
Ludendorff tried every means to solve this problem, and eventually absorbed 91,000 women into the army, responsible for logistics work, or serving in field hospitals.
Winston did not know these specific details. He was a man unwilling to be left alone. This time he participated in the high-level meeting of the Allied Powers. Winston also had a proposal. Just as he had previously advocated the Dardanelles Campaign, this time Winston turned his target to Italy.
Kingdom, hoping to launch a counterattack against the German-Austrian Allied Forces in the Kingdom of Italy, thereby opening up the situation.
This plan was strongly opposed by Rock. The reason for the objection was the same as Haig's objection to launching the Battle of Dardanelles. There were no more troops on the Western Front to be transferred to the Kingdom of Italy.
"The Austro-Hungarian Empire is already on the verge of collapse. The Austro-Hungarian Empire has been in contact with us before, hoping to end the war in a peaceful way. What we have to do now is to give the Austro-Hungarian Empire a bigger blow and force the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Ottoman Empire to
To withdraw from the war and further weaken the power of the Allies, in that case, Germany will definitely be unable to survive alone-" Winston's idea is actually similar to Rock's, which is to force Germany to surrender without causing huge casualties. Past battles have shown that Austria-Hungary
The Imperial troops were easier to deal with than the Germans.
"There are still 3.5 million German troops on the Western Front. Regardless of whether we attack the German army or not, Germany is already on the verge of collapse. In fact, if Germany could not obtain new supplies from the Brest-Litovsk Peace Agreement,
Germany will collapse within three months, and now it seems that this process may be prolonged. Ludendorff has gone crazy, and he will fight to the death. We must retain enough troops." Rock really dare not mobilize troops now.
, like Germany and Austria-Hungary, the United Kingdom issued a new "Conscription Order" after the New Year, and British people under the age of 18 are also included in the conscription.
Before the new "Conscription Order" was promulgated, southern Africa had already begun recruiting young people under the age of 18 to join the army.
What is different from the British mainland is that the young people under the age of 18 recruited in southern Africa are almost all Africans in southern Africa. Whites and Chinese are not included in the recruitment. After the outbreak of the world war, so far, southern Africa has
A total of nearly 2 million people have been conscripted into the army in Africa, 70% of whom are Africans. There are currently about 650,000 people serving in France and the Mediterranean.
"Don't worry, we won't be sending troops from the Western Front to Italy. There will be 250,000 Americans arriving in France this month. They are enough to deal with the Austrians." Winston's abacus was good and he wanted to use every force to the extreme.
.
After gaining independent command authority, more and more U.S. troops arrived in Europe. In October last year, when the German army had not stopped attacking, 89,000 U.S. troops arrived in Belgium. In November, 150,000 U.S. troops arrived in Belgium.
The number of troops arriving in Belgium was less than 95,000. By 1917, more American soldiers were leaving training camps. In January, 250,000 American troops were expected to arrive in Europe.
The number of U.S. troops under Pershing now exceeds 800,000, and will soon exceed 1 million. The war potential of the United States is undoubtedly revealed.
Before the outbreak of the world war, the total population of the United States had reached 99 million.
After the outbreak of the World War, more Europeans chose to immigrate to the United States. Instead of declining, the population of the United States continued to rise. It must have exceeded 100 million now. If the United States goes all out, how many troops can it explode?
Roque and Pétain resolutely defended. Even if they wait for more American troops to arrive in Europe, the war potential of Britain and France will be exhausted. The United States, the last to enter the war, is the biggest "x" factor.
Winston now also turned his attention to the United States.
"Go ahead and give it a try. John is preparing to attack the Liege Fortress, and he will not agree to dispatch troops to Italy." Roque was not optimistic about Winston's plan. Pershing had always hoped for a hearty victory.
To bring out the spirit of the American army, there is no better target than the fortress of Liege.
Just as Rock and Winston were plotting against the Americans, three Austro-Hungarian soldiers appeared in front of the Northern Rhodesian Division's position with white flags in San Dona de Piave in the northern Kingdom of Italy.
As the three Austro-Hungarian soldiers passed through a bush, they were captured by a group of soldiers from the Northern Rhodesian Division and sent to rear positions.
"Can you give us some food? We are very hungry -" On the way to the rear position, three Austro-Hungarian soldiers begged to the soldiers of the Northern Rhodesia Division who were escorting them.
By the standards of the Northern Rhodesian Division, these three Austro-Hungarian soldiers were indeed no more than beggars. Their uniforms were in tatters. Although it was winter, their cotton coats were very thin. One soldier even wore a
The single shoes issued in summer are wrapped in thick cotton for warmth.
The Northern Rhodesian Division is the ace force in Southern Africa. The supply of logistics supplies has always been of first-class standard. The soldiers wear cotton-padded coats of the latest model, and the officers wear woolen coats, which are a specialty of southern Africa.
From the nutritional point of view, the supply of the Austro-Hungarian Empire did have a big problem. The soldiers of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in Sanming were all sallow and skinny, and their bodies were thin. One soldier staggered when he walked and felt like he would fall at any time.
Another soldier was coughing non-stop, and his cheeks were abnormally flushed. Thinking of the influenza that had begun to spread, the soldier responsible for escorting them calmly moved away.
Probably seeing how pitiful the Austro-Hungarian soldiers were in Sanming, a corporal from the Northern Rhodesian Division took out a piece of chocolate from his pocket and handed it over.
The three Austro-Hungarian soldiers immediately became excited. The soldier who got the chocolate started to break it regardless of his dirty hands. A small piece of chocolate accidentally fell to the ground. The shaky soldier rushed to pick it up without hesitation.
Get up and stuff it into your mouth.
I don't care at all about the muddy spots stained by chocolate on the ground.
The soldiers of the Northern Rhodesian Division who were watching were dumbfounded. Several soldiers subconsciously took out chocolates and toffees and handed them over. The three Austro-Hungarian soldiers did not bother to say thank you and ate desperately as if they were eating.
Like a pet dog that has been wandering in the wilderness for several months.
Pet dogs basically have no ability to survive in the wilderness.
It took a long time before the Austro-Hungarian soldier who started begging for food regained his composure and then realized how rude he had just been: "Thank you, thank you, thank you very much. We only have one potato per person every day. The three of us made a mistake.
The only potato was also cancelled. I really have no choice but to bear it——"
The soldiers of the Austro-Hungarian Empire slumped on the ground, covered their faces and choked louder. If they had a choice, they would not abandon their dignity and surrender to their enemies.
The onlookers of the Northern Rhodesian Division soldiers did not urge them. They looked at the three Austro-Hungarian soldiers with pity in their eyes. War drives living people into madness. They may also be decent people at home, but on the battlefield, they are like
They are as devoid of dignity as ants.
After arriving at the rear position, the three Austro-Hungarian soldiers took a hot bath and changed their clothes. The field doctor examined the sick Austro-Hungarian soldier.
During the inspection, several soldiers from the Northern Rhodesian Division were eating nearby. Canned fruits were indispensable. The fried smoked fish with golden color on both sides was even more mouth-watering. There was fragrant coffee brewing in an iron barrel not far away.
and milk. A soldier of the Northern Rhodesian Division found a few cups and brought a cup to each of the three Austro-Hungarian soldiers. The three Austro-Hungarian soldiers had tears in their eyes.
"The officers said that you are in a more difficult situation than us, and you have already started to eat people. What a bunch of liars -" The Austro-Hungarian soldiers holding coffee could not believe it. The Northern Rhodesian Division in front of them looked nothing like it.