Luo Ke and Yang Smozi had a very pleasant conversation.
In fact, Roque was not in a good mood when he met Yang Smuts. Just as Roque expected, Prime Minister Asquith did not give Roque the promises he wanted. The plans for Southwest Africa and Tanganyika
Vesting remains pending.
This is not surprising. Asquith is now facing a lot of pressure. The dilemma that Britain is facing now shows that Britain is not fully prepared for a world war. Congress now doubts whether Asquith can lead Britain to win.
Victory and keeping his position as Prime Minister are Asquith's main problems now.
Rock added fuel to the fire. He just ordered Whale Bay via telegram to temporarily stop the supply of materials to Europe. All cargo ships have temporarily suspended sailing on the grounds that the waterway is facing the threat of German submarines. I believe that it won't be long before Rock will get what he wants.
thing.
These British politicians will not shed tears until they see the coffin. They probably think that southern Africa dare not stop supplying supplies to Europe.
Although Yang Smuts opposed Rock at every turn when he was in Southern Africa, his purpose was not to overthrow Southern Africa, but to think that his own way could make Southern Africa go on the right path.
, get the best development.
Facts have proved that Rock's method can best protect the interests of southern Africa, so after fully realizing this, Yang Smuts decisively accepted London's invitation to leave southern Africa.
To be fair, Yang Smuts is not a bad person. No matter when, Yang Smuts hopes that southern Africa will develop better.
The real disagreement arises between Rock and Winston.
After the outbreak of the World War, Winston has always dreamed of playing a greater role. The Minister of the Navy could not fully meet Winston's requirements. The British and French allied forces encountered stubborn resistance from the German army in Belgium, and the battle fell into a stalemate. After the New Year, Joffre launched
An all-out attack failed again, and France lost another 90,000 people in Champagne. Winston hoped to open a second battlefield in the Dardanelles, while Roque hoped to occupy Damascus.
"Damascus is too far from Europe, and the Dardanelles is more important. We cannot sit back and watch the Russian Empire occupy Constantinople. This is not in our interests." Winston was stubborn, and the Russian Empire dispatched the Eighth Route Army in November last year.
The group army launched an attack on Constantinople, but did not win as expected. The opportunity still exists. If the Russian Empire captures Constantinople, then the Russian Empire will have the outlet of the Black Sea, which is in line with British interests.
Serious discrepancy.
Britain wanted to confine the Russian Empire to the mainland, and the Dardanelles was the chokepoint that controlled the Black Sea.
"It is very difficult to launch a landing operation in Constantinople. It requires at least 200,000 troops to achieve the campaign goal, and perhaps 300,000 troops. Damascus is already surrounded by us. If we occupy Damascus, we can attack the Asia Minor Peninsula.
Launch an attack—" Rock was also stubborn. The troops in Winston's hands were seriously insufficient. Only 30,000 Australian and New Zealand troops could not complete the mission, so he hoped to mobilize the southern African troops in Port Elizabeth to participate in the attack on Constantinople.
However, the coalition forces from Southern Africa and the Sultanate of Nejd have surrounded Damascus. Field Marshal Kolmar von der Goltz from Germany is trying his best to organize the defense line. Goltz is an outstanding marshal, and Roque dare not give Goelz
Ertz too much time.
Goltz has an unparalleled overall strategic vision and was once one of Schlieffen's competitors. After the outbreak of the world war, Goltz first served as governor-general of Belgium. Last year, he was invited by the Ottoman Empire to serve as commander-in-chief of the Ottoman Empire's First Army.
In another time and space, Goltz led the Ottoman Empire army to withstand the crazy attack of the Russian Empire, and then completely annihilated the British-Indian Expeditionary Force in Baghdad.
"You have never served in the navy, and there is no navy in southern Africa. You know nothing about landing operations-" Winston was rude to Rock.
"I really don't understand, so what do you, a prisoner, know?" Rock was even more rude and started to reveal Winston's scars.
Winston stood up from the chair angrily, put a hand on his waist and looked at Rock with fierce eyes.
Rock was not afraid. He was half lying on the chair and was smugly still shaking his legs. When asking for help, you should have a begging attitude. Winston had approached Kitchener before, hoping to get newly trained local recruits, but Kitchener disagreed.
.
Kitchener not only disagreed with opening a second battlefield in the Dardanelles Strait, but also did not agree to invest more troops in Belgium. On the contrary, Kitchener hoped to open a battlefield on the eastern front and start from East Prussia.
Roark could vaguely sense that Kitchener hoped that both Germany and France would suffer losses, and then the locally trained troops would land on the Eastern Front to seal the deal.
This idea is a bit dark, but if it succeeds, the world will be completely different from what Rock knows.
"Two divisions, at least two divisions are needed." Winston was helpless. He originally hoped to get four divisions, including the Third Cavalry Division.
"Winston, think carefully, once the attack on the Dardanelles fails -" Rock was also helpless. In another time and space, Winston was forced to resign because of the failure of the Battle of the Dardanelles. Although subsequent investigations
It shows that the failure of the Battle of Dardanelles was not the cause of Winston, but this battle also became a stain that Winston could never get rid of personally.
The importance of the failure of the Battle of the Dardanelles is that it broke the myth that the British Royal Navy was invincible at sea for nearly a century. From then on, the British Navy began to decline. This serious consequence always requires a scapegoat.
"It is impossible to fail. Our intelligence shows that Constantinople's defenses are empty. The Ottoman Empire's army is involved in Damascus and Russia. We just happened to take advantage of it. This is our best opportunity." Winston now has no chance.
Without thinking about failure, he was carried away by temptation.
"Nothing is absolute. We know the importance of Constantinople, and Berlin and Vienna also know it, so if we capture Constantinople, then we will be the target of public criticism. If the Russian Empire gets the crown,
Constantinople, the occupying forces will also be besieged, and we cannot force the Ottoman Empire to surrender by occupying Constantinople. The Ottoman Empire has moved its capital to the Asia Minor Peninsula, and the Asia Minor Peninsula is the correct direction of our attack."
Roark will never give up the fat he is talking about, and by capturing Damascus, the crisis in Egypt will be lifted at the same time. Winston will not fail to see the benefits of this.
"Give me two divisions, and I will support Southern Africa's annexation of Southwest Africa, Tanganyika, and Damascus. As long as you can capture it, it's yours." Winston offered the conditions. This temptation was something Rock couldn't refuse.
.
"In two months, you will get two divisions -" Roque finally relented. In two months, the battle in Damascus should be over, and by then Roque can mobilize troops from Damascus.
"Deal!" Winston was satisfied. A large-scale landing operation requires a long time to prepare, and two months is just right.
Roque stayed in London for a week. When he returned to France, the British and French forces had been forced to stop the New Year's Offensive.
Joffre and Frenzi called this attack the "New Year's Offensive", which had a good meaning, but the results were terrible. In just one week, the British and French allied forces suffered casualties of 170,000 across the board, which meant that the Germans themselves also had problems.
, so they failed to counterattack in time, otherwise the British and French coalition forces would suffer more serious losses.
While the British and French forces were fighting each other, Germany was also full of internal conflicts.
Falkenhayn, who succeeded Moltke, needed a major victory to prove that he was Germany's savior. At the beginning of the new year, Germany had four more new armies that could be sent to the front. There were major differences within the German army over the use of these troops.
After the outbreak of the war, the German army was making good progress on the Eastern Front. Eastern Front Commander Hindenburg and his Chief of Staff Ludendorff hoped that Falkenhayn could put more troops into the Eastern Front. Conrad, the Chief of Staff of the Austro-Hungarian Empire,
It is also hoped that Germany can send reinforcements to the Austro-Hungarian Empire to assist the Austro-Hungarian Empire’s army and the Russian Empire’s army in fighting.
Falkenhayn refused all demands, first refusing Conrad's winter offensive and then refusing to send reinforcements to the eastern front.
Hindenburg and Ludendorff had already shown their strong personalities at this time. They transferred three and a half divisions of the Ninth Army to the Austro-Hungarian Empire to cooperate with the Austro-Hungarian Empire's troops.
Falkenhayn protested to Wilhelm II and demanded that Hindenburg and Ludendorff be dismissed.
Hindenburg and Ludendorff also protested to Wilhelm II and demanded the replacement of the German Chief of Staff.
The former Chief of General Staff Moltke, who was unemployed at home, was also making trouble. He was trying to make a comeback with the support of Prime Minister Bertmann Hollweg. Queen Augusta Victoria and Crown Prince William also did not like Falkenhayn.
Under numerous conflicts, Wilhelm II retained Falkenhayn as chief of staff, but dismissed Falkenhayn as minister of war.
This seemingly compromised choice was actually worse. It not only damaged Falkenhayn's authority, but also failed to appease others. At this time, the German army ushered in the "New Year's Offensive" of Joffre and French. The British and French forces
The attack forced the German army to temporarily shelve its internal disputes, a result that even Joffre Frenzi probably did not expect.
Another more serious consequence of the failure of the "New Year's Offensive" is that the French army will transfer the Ninth Army led by Foch to Champagne to strengthen defense, which means that only the British Expeditionary Force is left in Flanders
Fight alone.
This is not a bad thing for the British Expeditionary Force. Although the British Expeditionary Force is also full of internal problems, when the British and French allied forces fight side by side, the command system is very chaotic. Often the position of the British Expeditionary Force is next to the position of the French Ninth Army.
Next to the position of the Ninth Group Army was the position of the Southern African Expeditionary Force. The troops were not under each other, communication was poor, and the command system was a mess.
In the New Year Offensive, the British Expeditionary Force also suffered heavy losses. The Southern African Expeditionary Force, which "performed poorly" in the New Year Offensive, suffered almost no losses. Therefore, after the Ninth Army was transferred to Flanders, the Southern African Expeditionary Force
Finally became the most powerful force in Flanders.