There are new things happening in the brutal battle every day. In a village in Flanders, two wounded soldiers who had not had time to move to the rear depended on each other. One of them had both arms injured and his jaw was injured.
When smoking, he had to ask another wounded soldier with a leg injury to help him, so the wounded soldier with a leg injury smoked the pipe, and the wounded soldier with injuries to his chin and arms smelled the pipe, making him the most pitiful man in Flanders.
The Southern African Expeditionary Force retreated to Calais to rest and recuperate after the Battle of Ypres. The end of the war was far away, and the endurance of the frontline soldiers was limited. Every three weeks, the frontline troops had to withdraw to their rear positions to rest for a week, and then return to the frontline.
The stubborn Joffre and French both hoped that the Southern African Expeditionary Force would assume a more important task and break through the German defense lines.
However, the British and French allied forces had a serious shortage of backup troops. Rock was worried that even if the Southern African Expeditionary Force captured the German positions, they would not be able to hold on due to insufficient reinforcements.
Different from the "offensive first" recognized by the British and French coalition forces, Southern Africa has always emphasized the first step of stabilizing the defense, and then relying on sufficient mobilization capabilities to gradually consume the enemy, and finally win the victory, striving for the maximum gain at the minimum cost.
Compared with Germany's superior army, the greatest advantage of the British and French coalition forces was the vast colonies that could provide continuous support, so Rock firmly opposed taking the initiative to launch an attack on the German army when the German army had the advantage.
Entering November, Joffre began to use his "eat small and slow" tactics, but the effect was not good. By mid-November, the French army had lost another 20,000 people and failed to make any progress.
"The 2nd Cavalry Division has the largest number of machine guns in the entire British and French coalition, and now with the help of large-caliber artillery, it has the ability to launch an attack on the German army. We need to recapture South Persia Chen, otherwise we will not be able to stabilize the defense line."
Fei is always thinking about attacking and does so at all costs.
Roark was unmoved. Guarding South Persia was the most elite First Guard Regiment of the German army. The commander was Prince Eitel Friedrich, who performed outstandingly in the Battle of the Marne. In the Battle of the Marne, he was
It was because Eitel Friedrich led the First Guard Regiment to hold the position that the German First Army and the Second Army were able to retreat unscathed.
There are also problems with the Southern African Expeditionary Force. Although the artillery unit has arrived in France, due to heavy rains in Flanders some time ago and Albert I opening the floodgates, Flanders has become a vast ocean and cars cannot drive at all.
It takes 16 draft horses to send a 120mm howitzer to Ypres. Rock hopes to wait until winter arrives and the ground freezes before attacking. Now the British and French forces do not have enough cotton clothes. This is an urgent problem that the British and French forces need to solve.
"Our troops need more cotton-padded clothes. The soldiers are fighting in trenches full of rats and silt. Our biggest enemy is not the Germans, but the damn weather. If there are not enough cotton-padded clothes before it snows, you all know it."
What consequences will that lead to?" Rock repeatedly emphasized the issue of cotton-padded clothes. The logistics of the British and French coalition forces was too bad.
In fact, Germany is not much better. Although it has not snowed yet in November, the weather is already very cold. Many soldiers on the eastern front further north have suffered from frostbite. The weather has become Russia's biggest boost. Germany and Austria
The coalition's offensive is slowing down, and the Russian Empire is gradually stabilizing its defenses.
Compared with the British and French coalition forces, weather poses a greater threat to the Southern African Expeditionary Force. In southern Africa, only Cape Town, the far south, occasionally snows. It almost never snows in places like Saran, Rhodesia, and the troops are not prepared.
When they came to France, the soldiers of the Southern African Expeditionary Force only had one blanket. Many soldiers on the front line had to put on all their clothes, still unable to resist the increasingly cold weather.
"There will be cotton-padded clothes. The most important task now is to drive the Germans out of Belgium and win the battle. We need a great victory to unite people's hearts." This is the consensus of Joffre and Frenzi. For this reason, they did not hesitate to drive
Soldiers on the front line launched a group charge towards the German positions.
This is almost like asking soldiers to die.
"Lord Nyasaland, before you asked for the command of the troops, you got it. Then you asked for more artillery. Now you have it. Now you ask for enough cotton clothes. When will your troops be able to attack the German army?
What about attacking the position?" French's dissatisfaction with Rock was also increasing. There were many internal conflicts in the British Expeditionary Force, and the troops from the colonies did not obey French's orders very much.
Originally, the Canadian Legion and the Indian Legion were quite obedient. Although the combat effectiveness of the Canadian Legion and the Indian Legion was not very good, the Canadian Legion and the Indian Legion did not lose their courage. After arriving in France, they fought bravely and were not afraid of sacrifice. Then they suffered heavy losses. Now they are all
Has withdrawn to Calais for rest.
Different from the rotational rest of the Southern African Expeditionary Force, the Canadian Army and the Indian Army were directly disabled, so they had to retreat, just like the Southern African Expeditionary Force some time ago.
"Your Excellency, Marshal, my troops will only go into battle when they are fully prepared." Rock insisted that after the Battle of the Marne River, the Southern African Expeditionary Force never lost its position again.
Previously, the 2nd Cavalry Division was defending. After the 2nd Cavalry Division took a break, the French Ninth Army took over the position.
As a result, the Ninth Army not only failed to defend South Persia, but also abandoned a large amount of supplies while losing its position, many of which were urgently needed by the German army.
Before the World War, all the participating countries seriously underestimated the consumption of the World War. Ever since the Battle of the Marne, the British and French allied forces began to have difficulties in supplying supplies, as did Germany.
The better thing is that although Britain blocked Germany's coastline, preventing Germany from obtaining supplies from the outside world, Germany had strong industrial capabilities and outstanding scientists, and they solved the problem of shortage of industrial raw materials in a very short period of time.
For example, camphor, one of the raw materials necessary for making gunpowder, was imported by Germany from Japan before the World War. After the war broke out, Japan quickly declared war on Germany and launched an attack on German colonies in Asia. All trade related to Germany was
was suspended, Germany could not obtain enough camphor and could not produce enough gunpowder.
German scientists solved this problem in a very short time and began to extract camphor from turpentine.
The same goes for nitrogen. Before the outbreak of the World War, Germany had to import Chilean seaguano to extract nitrogen, but scientists soon discovered that enough nitrogen could be extracted from the air.
Later, German scientists also used wood instead of American cotton to extract acetone and used it to make nitroglycerin. In short, through their own efforts, German scientists found many supplies in Germany that needed to be imported before the outbreak of the World War, which effectively supported the frontline battles.
To be honest, if there is anything in Germany that Rock envies now, it is German scientists. After another world war in another time and space, the United States became the biggest winner. This time Rock will definitely stop Hu.
"Then there will never be a time when you are fully prepared." Haig ridiculed mercilessly. The better the performance of the Southern African Expeditionary Force, the more incompetent the generals of the British Expeditionary Force will be.
Rock didn't respond to his remarks and expressed his helplessness. Three days later, London sent 50,000 cotton-padded clothes to Dover. This was just the first batch, and more cotton-padded clothes would be sent in the future.
These cotton-padded clothes were ordered by the British War Department from the United States.
In mid-November, the British government underwent a reorganization. Prime Minister Herbert Henry Asquith, Minister of War Kitchener, Minister of Navy Winston and Minister of Finance Lloyd George formed the War Committee. This committee was the British
The highest body of the expeditionary force.
Later, in a survey conducted by the Morley Survey Company, Lloyd George's evaluation as prime minister ranked third among all British prime ministers, with Winston ranking first.
When Lloyd George was Minister of Finance, he was Winston's sworn enemy, or rather the sworn enemy of the entire British aristocracy.
On August 10, 1911, the British Parliament passed the Parliament Act, which for the first time clearly stipulated the legal relationship between the two houses of the British Parliament.
The "Parliament Act" determines that a finance bill is a "public relations bill". After each finance bill is certified by the Speaker of the House of Commons, the House of Lords cannot amend or reject it. It will become law as soon as it is approved by the King of England.
On the surface, this law simplified the approval process of fiscal laws, increased government revenue, and made it easier for Britain at that time to cope with the arms race.
In fact, the "Parliament Act" fundamentally deprived the House of Lords of the power to discuss financial bills. The British House of Lords is composed of aristocrats, and the House of Commons is composed of the emerging bourgeoisie. This bill caused the Upper House to lose its power to approve financial laws, and then the British government used
The "Parliament Act" began to rob the rich and help the poor through taxation, and the assets of the nobles once again became the hardest hit area.
Regardless of the relationship between Lloyd George and Winston, facing the powerful Germany, Lloyd George and Winston could only put aside their disputes for the time being. Both of them were smart people and they knew what to do when.
thing.
Roque is also a smart man. Since the War Council has once again satisfied Roque's request, Roque must also repay the trust of the War Council. Therefore, on November 25, the 101st and 102nd Divisions, which had received additional strength and reestablished their structure, launched an attack on South Persia.
.
At this time, the defenders of Chen Boshen in South Persia were no longer the First Guard Regiment, but the newly established 92nd Infantry Division, and the German army also had to take turns.
At 7:30 in the morning, the 1st Artillery Division, which finally arrived at the scheduled combat position, began to bombard South Persia. This was the first time that the British and French allied forces used large-caliber artillery on a large scale.
The effect of the large-caliber artillery was astonishing. Half an hour later, the entire South Persia area disappeared from the ground. When the 101st Division rushed to the German position, the German position was completely silent.
