In jungle society, strength is always king. Only strong strength has enough say. In the past, the British and French coalition forces did not need to consult the Southern African Expeditionary Force to organize the New Year's Offensive. After the French Ninth Army was transferred from Flanders, the British and French coalition forces again
If you want to organize a new offensive in Ypres, you must first obtain Roque's consent.
Otherwise, with the few troops in France's hands, he would be unable to do anything.
When Roque returned to France, the Southern African Expeditionary Force had begun to take over the positions of the French Ninth Army.
The position of the British and French coalition forces is a semicircle formed around Ypres. The northern and northeastern parts of Ypres are defended by the Belgian Army and the British Expeditionary Force. The southeastern and southern sides are guarded by the Southern African Expeditionary Force. In France,
Of the six African divisions, five are responsible for frontal defense. Three divisions, the 103rd and 201301, are responsible for the slightly weaker southern side of the German army. The 2nd Cavalry Division and the 11th Division are the reserves of the entire army.
Roque's headquarters is located in Dunkirk, only 40 kilometers away from Ypres. It became famous for "Operation Dynamo" in World War II. It is still just a small town. Roque took over Calais' headquarters.
The field hospital was moved to Dunkirk, and a field airfield and logistics base were built in Dunkirk.
Dunkirk is also very close to Dover.
"During the New Year's Offensive, Marshal Xiafei and Marshal Forenzi repeatedly asked us to send troops to cooperate with the British and French coalition's offensive. We only sent artillery troops to cooperate with the coalition's offensive, and did not exclude other troops. Now some people think that it was because of our lack of cooperation that we
As a result, the New Year's Offensive completely failed. The artillery shells stored for the First Artillery Division were all used up in the New Year's Offensive. It would have to wait at least half a month before launching another offensive." When Rock was in London, Paul Coker was a senior official in Southern Africa.
The chief steward of the expeditionary force.
"Our troops are mainly focused on defense. We will transfer the troops on the east side to serve as reserves, and send the 2nd Cavalry Division and the 11th Cavalry Division to defend." Roque can understand the mood of some people, with hundreds of thousands of casualties.
People gain nothing, and someone always has to take the blame.
However, it is impossible to blame the Southern African Expeditionary Force. The reserve force is used to fill holes. It goes wherever there is danger. Good steel must be used on the blade.
"The Second Artillery Division has boarded the ship in Whale Bay and arrived in France a week later. It is necessary for us to establish a divisional artillery unit and then use the divisional artillery units intensively." Paul Coker actively suggested that the Second Division arrive in France.
After that, the Southern African Expeditionary Force will have two artillery divisions, equipped with large-caliber field artillery that the British and French forces are in urgent need of, so Joffre and French will definitely be jealous.
In order to ensure the command of the artillery units, it is necessary to split up the artillery divisions and then use them centrally, so that no one can find an excuse.
"Then split up and tell Don Juan and Wei Zheng that their mission is to hold the position and not attack without orders." Luo Ke strictly ordered the troops. The world war will last for several years, and trenches must be dug now.
In another time and space, the Battle of Ypres was fought three times, in 1914, 1915, and 1917.
It is estimated that the fight in this time and space will not be so miserable, but we must be prepared for a long-term battle, and a complete defense system is indispensable.
Later, Roque met Franzi in Ypres.
French has been in frequent contact with London recently. He hopes to get more reinforcements. The British Expeditionary Force suffered heavy losses in the New Year Offensive. French's troops are not as many as Roque's. As the commander-in-chief of the British Expeditionary Force, French
It's really a bit embarrassing.
Roque did not want to irritate French, so he did not wear the Victoria Cross. However, French congratulated Roque in a graceful manner. After all, everyone knows how difficult it is to win Britain's highest honor.
The only one that is as difficult as obtaining the Victoria Cross is the Order of the Garter, which has the longest history in the world. However, the Order of the Garter is also not difficult for Rock. As long as the Southern African Expeditionary Force can maintain its current performance, then the Order of the Garter will also be available.
Wave to Rock.
"We lost another 30,000 people in the New Year's Offensive, but the front did not advance forward. The War Department is very dissatisfied with our performance. Next, we have to do something to restore the War Department's trust in us." Ferenczi was very happy.
He has a sense of crisis, and his current situation is similar to that of Joffre before the Battle of the Marne.
Before the Battle of the Marne broke out, the French government was discussing whether it was necessary to change the commander-in-chief to save the defeat. The Battle of the Marne saved Joffre, and all doubts disappeared. However, after the Battle of Ypres and the New Year Offensive, doubts about Joffre reappeared.
.
The same goes for French. After arriving in France, the performance of the British Expeditionary Force was not outstanding. In the Battle of the Marne, the British Expeditionary Force had few opportunities to perform. In the Battle of Ypres, the British Expeditionary Force suffered more than half of its casualties, but it did not achieve the great success expected.
Victory, Ferenczi is now under great pressure, and Kitchener is considering opening up the Eastern Front battlefield, which fully proves Kitchener's disappointment with Ferenczi.
Before French left England, Kitchener reminded French to preserve his strength.
Although some problems occurred during this period, which caused the British Expeditionary Force to fight to the end with the Germans, a series of battles showed that French did not fulfill Kitchener's requirements, and the British Expeditionary Force did not receive the honor it deserved.
, so it is very likely that Frenzi will be dismissed earlier than Joffre.
"It's best for us to do nothing now. The battles at the end of last year and the beginning of this year showed that attacking German positions without adequate preparation will have no effect except increasing our casualties. My suggestion is to wait -"
Roark has no sense of crisis. Even if Roark performs worse, Ade will not remove Roark as commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force.
After Rock left southern Africa, Ade invited the old Marshal Hopkins to come back and serve as the commander-in-chief of southern Africa. However, Hopkins was too old and in poor health and could not handle the work. The work of the Ministry of National Defense was specific.
It's run by Derek Dodd.
Neither of these two people has the ability to replace Roque, and Martin is even worse.
"You can't win by waiting!" Ferenczi became angry and anxious, and Rock could feel the anxiety in Ferenczi's heart.
"A hasty attack will only lead to loss of troops and generals!" Roque insisted on his principle. Attacking is not impossible, but it must be carried out in Roque's way.
The meeting ended on bad terms, but in order to take care of Ferenzi's mood, Roque promised Ferenzi that if he found an opportunity, he would order his troops to attack.
The opportunity came soon.
January in Flanders is the middle of winter, the ground has long been frozen, and the seawater and rainwater accumulated last autumn have also turned into ice. On the 15th, dense fog appeared in Flanders, and the fog became thicker and thicker.
With visibility less than ten meters, Roque issued an attack order to Tang Juan, commander of the 2nd Cavalry Division, and Wei Zheng, commander of the 11th Cavalry Division in the early morning of the 15th.
"When will the artillery attack start?" Wei Zheng thought Roque was going to launch a New Year's Offensive-level battle.
"There is no artillery." Luo Ke's answer made Wei Zheng stunned.
"How can we attack without artillery?" Wei Zheng has now degenerated. In wars of this era, before any battle is launched, a fire strike must be carried out for half an hour to an hour.
"Enter the village quietly, don't use guns -" Roque asked the 2nd Cavalry Division and the 11th Cavalry Division to sneak attack the German positions. The thick fog was the best protective color.
"Old Wei, think about what we did during the military exercises -" Don Juan was under the umbrella and had long been accustomed to launching attacks without artillery cover.
Wei Zheng suddenly realized.
In recent years, the Ministry of Defense of Southern Africa has often organized military exercises, and mercenaries from the Umbrella Company are often drawn out to act as imaginary enemies. In order to win, the generals of the Ministry of Defense and the executives of Umbrella do everything possible. Sneak attacks are commonplace, and night battles are commonplace.
Otherwise, the soldiers in Southern Africa are equipped with so many pistols just to kill the enemy more effectively in hand-to-hand combat.
No one stipulates that pistols cannot be used in hand-to-hand combat. The Japanese army did not unload bullets before bayoneting, but turned off the rifle's safety to prevent accidental injuries.
In order to increase the range and lethality, rifle bullets are pointed bullets. It is normal for a bullet to penetrate three or four people at close range. Pistols use round-head bullets. It is difficult to cause penetrating wounds after hitting the target. The bullets will
Staying in the target's body effectively prevents accidental injuries during close combat.
"It's foggy in the summer and foggy and snowy in the winter. Heavy fog is likely to be followed by heavy snow. I have ordered other troops to attack at the same time to maximize the results before the German army reacts, and then solidly defend after the heavy snow falls. In order to ensure the suddenness of the battle,
Your attack has no fire cover. At this time, don't worry about whether you are a gentleman or not. Killing the enemy is the best gentleman." Rock's troops were in danger. The British and French forces had just suffered heavy losses in the New Year's Offensive and needed time to regain their strength. The German army could not do anything.
Unexpectedly, the Southern African Expeditionary Force would launch an attack at this time.
The first sentence of "Sun Tzu's Art of War" is that soldiers are crafty, and the good and the good complement each other. The British and French allied forces and the German army are fighting head-on. The Southern African Expeditionary Force can occasionally make a sneak attack.
Just when Rock issued the combat mission, the frontline troops were already ready to attack.
In recent years, the Ministry of National Defense of Southern Africa has often conducted some training subjects that are not available in the military of this era, such as emergency gatherings at night for long-distance training, and having to go into combat immediately after arriving at the combat position. These training subjects are very unfamiliar to the European armies of this era.
, but the armies in southern Africa have become accustomed to it.
The attacking troops of the 11th Division were the 1st and 2nd brigades, with a total of 11,000 troops participating in the attack. Such a large number of troops had to be ready for the attack before dawn, which was impossible without long-term rigorous training.
If the British and French forces wanted to organize an attack, it would take a week just to mobilize the troops.