At the same time that Roque arrived in Cyprus, the Mediterranean Fleet could not wait to launch an attack on the Dardanelles Strait.
In fact, as early as last November after the Ottoman Empire entered the war, Winston sent a warship to the Dardanelles Strait.
A mere warship destroyed the outermost fortress in the Dardanelles Strait in just half an hour. At that time, the defense of the Dardanelles Strait was very empty. If Winston could make up his mind at that time, then he could rush
Capture the Dardanelles before the Ottoman Empire can withdraw its troops from Mesopotamia.
Now the Ottoman Empire has formed a fifth army, with a total strength of about 87,000 people. The commander is Otto Liman von Zanders from Germany.
London's trust in Roque is still very limited. Although Roque was appointed commander-in-chief of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, Roque does not have the right to appoint a chief of staff. Roque's chief of staff is the former commander-in-chief of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, Ian Hamilton.
Compared with Rock, Ian Hamilton was really miserable. He only served as commander-in-chief of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force for less than a month, and then he was demoted to chief of staff.
Roque could understand Ian Hamilton's mood, so Roque placed his headquarters in Cyprus, but Ian Hamilton remained on Lemnos. Roque did not ask Ian Hamilton to report as soon as possible.
The island of Lemnos belongs to Greece and is only about 60 kilometers away from the southernmost tip of the Garibaldi Peninsula on the side of the Dardanelles Strait. Because the Battle of the Dardanelles was launched relatively suddenly, the War Ministry's plan was not detailed.
The plan was for ground troops to land from the Garibaldi Peninsula, and the Mediterranean fleet to pass through the Dardanelles and attack the Bosporus, eventually capturing Constantinople.
There is a question here, whether the ground troops land first or the navy attacks first. According to Rock's thinking, the fleet must first cover the landing of the ground troops. The landing troops gradually clear the forts on both sides of the Dardanelles Strait, and then the fleet passes through.
Dardanelles Strait.
Sackville Carden didn't think so. On March 5, as soon as Roque arrived in Cyprus and before the ground troops had been assembled, Sackville Carden ordered the Mediterranean fleet to move forward to the Dardanelles.
"Send a telegram to General Carden and ask him not to rush to attack. Without the cooperation of ground troops, can those battleships that are about to be retired get wings and fly across the Dardanelles?" Rock really couldn't figure it out, Sackville.
Carden is also a veteran of the Navy, having joined the Navy in 1870. It is really hard to understand that he would make such an obvious mistake now.
It is also normal. The Royal Navy has been invincible in the sea for hundreds of years. If you own the ocean, you have everything. It is also difficult for soldiers from island countries to understand the mentality of soldiers from mainland countries.
To put it bluntly, everyone thinks they can be the savior.
“General Carden’s telegram stated that the mines deployed by the Ottoman Empire in the Dardanelles Strait must first be cleared to facilitate the navy’s next move——” Before Ian Hamilton came to Cyprus, Cecil Milner temporarily served as Cyprus.
Gram's chief of staff.
This is a fucking mess. Cecil Milner has never held any military position. The rank of colonel is given temporarily. He is qualified to be a secretary. What does he do as chief of staff besides helping Rock draft telegrams?
None of them can help.
But Rock can accept it. At least Rock has a good relationship with Cecil Milner. Although Cecil Milner doesn't understand military affairs, he has a huge advantage. He knows when to speak and when not to speak.
Even if he talks, he won't find any quarrel with Roque.
"Without the cooperation of ground forces, what is the use of clearing mines?" Rock was furious. The narrowest point of the Dardanelles Strait is only 1.2 kilometers. Without the cooperation of ground forces, the Mediterranean fleet would clear mines during the day and retreat at night. The Ottoman Empire
No matter how bad the navy is, it can still accomplish tasks like laying mines in the dark.
Zanders is not a fool. He also has "Von" in his name. Although there may be a gap between him and Goltz who died in the battle, it is not too far away.
The key is that the navy's early action will also lead to another serious consequence, which is to expose the strategic goal of the Allied Powers to open a second battlefield in advance, giving the Ottoman Empire enough time to respond, which will make subsequent operations more difficult.
The Ottoman Empire has noticed the Allied Powers' intention to open a second battlefield, but it does not yet know that the British and French coalition will choose the Dardanelles Strait as its target. The other side of the Garibaldi Peninsula is also one of the backup options. Al-Shabaab leader Enver Pablo
Enver Pasha was the actual master of Constantinople. He once commanded the Caucasus Campaign, but the Ottoman army suffered a disastrous defeat. Now Enver Pasha wisely gave up the command to Zanders, who inspected the Ottoman Empire.
After the military deployment on the Garibaldi Peninsula, he said worriedly: I hope Ian Hamilton can give him eight days.
Like Roark, Zanders does not believe that the navy is the key force in deciding the Battle of Garibaldi Peninsula. Only the decisive battle of the ground forces can determine the outcome of the Battle of Garibaldi Peninsula. Zanders does not yet know that Roark has replaced Ian.
·Hamilton served as commander-in-chief of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, which was one of Roque's strengths.
In fact, by the time Roark was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, the eight days Zanders had hoped for had already passed. If he had followed Ian Hamilton's plan, Zanders would have had close to a month to prepare.
Roque would not give Zanders so much preparation time. When Ian Hamilton served as the commander-in-chief of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, not a single unit could be commanded. Before Roque arrived in Cyprus, the 501st Division and the 502nd Division had already left the port of Beirut.
Heading to the island of Lemnos.
Winston was right to choose Roark to replace Ian Hamilton. Ian Hamilton served as Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, and all required logistics had to be coordinated by the War Department.
Roque's appointment as Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force has many benefits. Don't forget that in addition to being the Minister of Defense and War in Southern Africa, Roque also owns a lot of companies. After Roque became the Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, the Southern African Navy and the Nigerian Navy
The strength of the Saran Ocean Shipping Company has also been integrated. Compared with the British Royal Navy, the Southern African Navy is weak, but it can still complete tasks such as escort and mine clearance. When encountering the huge but backward fleet of the Ottoman Empire,
, the more technologically advanced light cruisers are not without their ability to fight. The ships that sent the 501st Division and the 502nd Division to Lemnos Island were the transport ships of the Nyasaland Ocean Shipping Company.
The ship that also transported the Anzac Corps from Alexandria to Lemnos was also from the Nyasaland Ocean Shipping Company, and the ships that transported supplies and logistics for the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force were also from the Nyasaland Ocean Shipping Company.
It will only appear when Rock serves as the commander-in-chief of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. If Ian Hamilton still serves as the commander-in-chief of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, then logistical support will not be mentioned. Just for the troops to reach the scheduled combat position, it will indeed require a
moon.
As for logistical support, that was another disaster. When another space-time coalition landed, the artillery and artillery shells were not on the same ship. As a result, the artillery troops could only be passively beaten after landing. It was not until the third day of landing that the artillery had the artillery shells to fight back.
.
This situation will definitely not happen now.
"What's the use of getting angry with me? General Carden has to show his worth." Sidney Milner and Rock were not polite either. Getting angry will not solve the problem.
"When will the three divisions promised by Greece be in place?" Roque's main task now is coordination. After the Greek troops join, the situation of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force will be more complicated.
"Athens is bargaining with London. It will be difficult for Greece's three divisions to be in place in a short time." Sidney Milner is not optimistic. There are still some countries that have not participated in the war, such as Greece and Italy. Both of these countries are likely to join.
On the Allied side, the Allied diplomats are trying their best to persuade these two countries.
Although the troops of the Kingdom of Italy performed poorly in the Italian-Turkish War, the Kingdom of Italy had a huge advantage in that it had a large enough population. Before the outbreak of the World War, the Kingdom of Italy joined the German-led Allies, but after the outbreak of the World War, it remained neutral and claimed that
The Three Kingdoms Alliance is only for defensive purposes and has not officially entered the war.
The so-called "alliance" is just talk. As long as it does not participate in the war, it is possible to switch to the Allied Powers. Both Britain and France hope that the Kingdom of Italy can join the Allied Powers because the Kingdom of Italy mobilized one million troops after the outbreak of the war.
The current one million troops are of great use to the Allied Powers, but Britain and France do not have a clear understanding of the army of the Kingdom of Italy. The Allied Powers still imagine that the one million troops of the Kingdom of Italy can change the situation of the war after they join the war. No one has
Thinking about that is another tragedy.
Tragedies are everywhere, the Kingdom of Italy is a tragedy, and so is Greece.
Greece's problems were mainly in the Russian Empire.
Considering the distance between Greece and Constantinople, one of the requirements for Greece to join the Entente was to obtain Constantinople after the war.
Not to mention, for this purpose, the Russian Empire is absolutely unacceptable. Kitchener chose the Dardanelles Strait as the second battlefield. One of the reasons was the telegram from the Tsar to Kitchener, hoping that the British and French forces would open up the third battlefield.
battlefield of World War II, reducing the pressure on the Russian Empire on the Eastern Front.
It is estimated that the Tsar never expected that Kitchener would choose the Dardanelles as the second battlefield.
After this purpose was notified to the Russian Empire, the Eighth Army of the Russian Empire had stopped all military operations. Hundreds of ships assembled by the Russian Empire in the Black Sea were parked in the military port. Kitchener originally hoped that the Eighth Army would continue the offensive and reduce the risk of
Under the pressure of the British and French allied forces in the Dardanelles Strait, the Russian Empire did not expect that it would not be able to capture Constantinople on its own, and it was unwilling to let others capture Constantinople.
This is the situation Rock faced. Before accepting the commander-in-chief of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, Rock knew that the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force was a mess, but he did not expect it to be so bad.