407 If you don’t see the rabbit, don’t let the eagle fly.
To be honest, this result surprised the British government, the German government, and even the federal government of Southern Africa.
Although the Northern Rhodesian Division performed well in the Natal Rebellion, no one really paid attention to the combat effectiveness of the Northern Rhodesian Division even in southern Africa.
After all, the Natal rebels are just a mob. Although the Natal rebels have defeated the Cape Servant Army before, that does not mean that the Northern Rhodesian Division has the qualifications to be compared with the newly promoted "World's No. 1 Army".<
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The Second Tanganyika Division is a touchstone. If the strength of the German regular army is measured with a perfect score of 10, then the Second Tanganyika Division can at least get a passing grade.
Now that the Nyasaland troops have wiped out the entire 2nd Tanganyika Division within an hour and a half, what should be the combat effectiveness of the Nyasaland troops?
In fact, all speculations by the outside world on this issue are wrong, because they have no idea that Roque only sent a regiment of 1,800 people to fight in Tanganyika. If this standard is not clear, then Nyasaland cannot be punished.
There is a correct measurement of the combat effectiveness of the troops.
As Roque's status increases, the British government's requirements, or expectations, for Roque are also getting higher and higher.
"Locke, you did very well in Tanganyika, but it's not enough. You will encounter greater tests next. I hope you can perform better. There are also positions of earl and marquis waiting for you-"
The Earl of Selborne has high expectations for Roque, but the London government in the strategic contraction stage is a bit stingy. Apart from a harmless title, there are no actual benefits.
"My lord, it's hard to be honest. There are only two under-staffed divisions in southern Africa, which are pretty good for dealing with the Tanganyika servant army. If the Germans deploy a large number of regular troops from the mainland -" Rock was also half-said.
Keep half, the British government wants Roque to perform better, and it will definitely not work without giving him some actual benefits.
Wilhelm II really did not want to give up Tanganyika, so the German General Staff has decided to deploy more troops to Tanganyika.
However, Germany's current energy is focused on the arms race, and the Army does not have excess troops to reinforce Tanganyika.
Therefore, the German General Staff issued a mobilization order to form three new reorganized divisions in Germany and head to Tanganyika.
Germany's establishment, three reorganized divisions, is about 50,000 people. Although it is far from Erich von Falkenhayn's requirements, it is already the limit of Germany's mobilization capacity.
Even now, it has affected the German Navy's shipbuilding plan, arousing strong opposition from the naval generals. In the words of the navy people, a colony like Tanganyika cannot generate profits, but consumes a lot of money, manpower and material resources to maintain.
, it’s totally unnecessary.
"Locke, I believe you. The three newly formed divisions of the Germans look powerful, but in fact they are not. Even if those farmers who have just put down their plows pick up rifles, they will not be as skilled as using plows. I am waiting in London.
With your good news." Earl Selborne could not give Rock more promises, he could only give some unnutritious encouragement.
"Lord, during the Boer War, those members of the Boer Allied Forces just put down their plows and picked up their rifles -" Rock said without mercy.
It sounds like what Earl Selborne said is right. In fact, the difference between farmers and soldiers in this era was not obvious. The farmers in the Boer coalition also defeated the British army in the early days of the Boer War, making the British Empire lose its
To save face, the British government had to mobilize troops from all over the world to reinforce Cape.
However, Rock is also secretly changing the concept. Soldiers and professional soldiers are also different. This was evident in the battle just past. In front of the Northern Rhodesian Division, the Second Tanganyika Division did not behave professionally enough.
As a result, one division was completely wiped out by one regiment of the Northern Rhodesian Division.
As for the auxiliary Glory Castle rebels, those people can fight with the wind, but once the situation is unfavorable, they will be defeated like a mountain.
This is the difference between soldiers and farmers.
"Locke, what do you want?" Earl Selborne finally realized that without providing some actual benefits, Locke would definitely not continue to cause trouble to the Germans as the British government expected.
"The biggest problem is insufficient funding. The federal government has just been established and there is not much money to support military construction. Now the federal government only has two divisions. The third and fourth divisions are still on paper, and even the third division is still on paper.
Neither the First Division nor the Second Division is full, and they are not fully integrated divisions. In this case, let alone supporting the rebels in Fort Glory, the defense capabilities from Bechuanaland to Nyasaland are not enough—" Luo
Of course, it requires money, but it doesn’t need to be too much. Funding for one or two dreadnoughts is enough.
Anyway, Tanganyika must have had an impact on Germany's shipbuilding plan. Since Germany has reduced the number of shipbuildings, Britain should also reduce it accordingly, and the money saved can be used to support southern Africa.
I believe this reason is acceptable to London. Even if Southern Africa becomes autonomous and a federal government is established, Southern Africa is still nominally part of the Commonwealth. Therefore, allocating money to Southern Africa is also maintaining the territorial integrity of the British Empire.
"How many troops were there in total that entered Tanganyika before?" Earl Selborne finally asked this question. Rock thought that Earl Selborne didn't care.
"One regiment, 1,800 men." Rock couldn't help but be proud. No matter how nice he said, he still had to achieve results on the battlefield to be convincing.
"A regiment? 1,800 people?" Earl Selborne was simply unbelievable.
After the Battle of Helmut, the federal government did not report the specific facts to London, but only vaguely reported part of the situation of the Battle of Helmut.
This kind of thing cannot be reported. If there is any written record or something, it may leave hidden dangers in the future, so the federal government did not even include the information about federal troops participating in the war in the report.
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Before receiving the report, the British government also made an assessment of the outcome of the Battle of Helmut.
The British government estimates that at least one division, or about 8,000 men, was needed in southern Africa to achieve this result.
That's why Earl Selborne looked so surprised when he learned that Roark had only sent one regiment.
It’s really not just an act.
"Yes, there is only one regiment with 1,800 men. To deal with troops like the Second Tanganyika Division, it is not worthy of dispatching the entire Northern Rhodesian Division." Rock can now say proudly, Tanganyika Colonial Servants
Army, in front of the Northern Rhodesian Division, they are all scum.
Although the Northern Rhodesian Division is nominally a colonial servant army.
Earl Selborne nodded repeatedly, his expression still a bit complicated.
After all, it was the newly promoted "World's First Army". Even in the colonial servant army, the officers were all regular officers serving in the German army. After the Franco-Prussian War, the British government also evaluated the strength of the German army. As for the results -
—
Therefore, Britain will be more determined to develop its navy and maintain its naval superiority.
Don’t think that the “Empire on which the Sun Never Sets” is powerful and invincible in the world. Look at the Boer War that just passed. In order to deal with the Boers with a total population of only 450,000, the British government mobilized 440,000 troops from all over the world. What was it like?
combat effectiveness!
So before the Franco-Prussian War, France could be proud to say that it was the world's best army.
Then after the Franco-Prussian War, Germany became the new world's number one army.
As for the United Kingdom, the British government has no confidence in its own army.
Therefore, Earl Selborne is obviously re-evaluating the strength of the southern African army.
In other words, it is a measure of the strength of the Nyasaland troops, because Earl Selborne clearly knows the strength of the colonial servants in Cape and Natal.
In the past, the colonial servant armies in Cape and Natal could not even defeat the rebels in Natal. Their strength was nothing to say. They could be used to maintain order during peacetime, but they were of no use at all in wartime. "If there are enough funds, the third and fourth divisions can be successfully formed, and then the first and second divisions can be used for overseas operations." Roque's words are meaningful.
The federal government's troops went to Tanganyika for overseas operations, and of course they went to Europe for overseas operations.
In Europe today, anyone who knows the situation knows that the arms race will definitely end in war.
After the Three Emperors Alliance disintegrated due to conflicts between Russia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the Balkans, Britain and France signed the "Sincere Agreement" three years ago. In order to receive assistance from the United Kingdom and recover strength as soon as possible from the shadow of the failure of the Russo-Japanese War,
Britain and Russia signed the "British-Russian Treaty" this year, and the Three Kingdoms Entente was formally formed.
In order to cope with the pressure brought by the Triple Entente, Germany could only choose to get closer to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria. In this way, the two major military alliances were formally established, and the outbreak of war was getting closer and closer.
Once a war breaks out, Britain will certainly have strong strength at sea, but on land, even the British government will not be confident in the combat effectiveness of the British Army. When the time comes, Britain will still have to dispatch troops from colonies around the world to participate in the war.
So if we help the federal government build troops now, will it be helpful for the upcoming war in the future?
This issue does not require discussion.
"Locke, London needs to see your performance before it can decide how far it will go." The Earl of Selborne is also a master of not letting go of eagles when they see rabbits.
Britain has nothing but money. The cost of building a dreadnought is millions. The British government has no upper limit at all. If the German navy dares to build one, the British navy will build two. Therefore, part of its military expenditure is used to support southern Africa.
, it is not a question of whether there is money, but whether it is worth it.
Under normal circumstances, the cost of a dreadnought ship is about the same as setting up an infantry division.
Calculated this way, it is obviously more cost-effective to give money to southern Africa.