No matter how difficult it is, Rock will still have to overcome obstacles.
It didn't matter that there were not enough troops. After the troops from southern Africa and the Sultanate of Najd captured Damascus, the danger in Egypt was lifted. The troops transferred to Egypt before the world war were released, and Roque's men had two more divisions.
East India received a steady stream of reinforcements. After 501 and 502 arrived at Lemnos Island, East India mobilized three more divisions, which arrived in the Mediterranean a month later and could be used for follow-up attacks.
Reinforcements are also coming in from southern Africa. The latest reinforcement, the 3rd Artillery Division, has passed through the Strait of Gibraltar and will be ready for combat in a week.
The British 29th Division was finally in place. They wanted to land on the east side of the Dardanelles Strait. However, Roark also received an order from Kitchener and did not allow the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force to establish a long-term position on the east side of the Dardanelles Strait.
So the 29th Division was just a diversionary force.
France was still holding back. Roque originally thought that France would provide a locally trained reorganizer, but he did not expect that it would be a colonial servant army from French East Indies. This is no problem. French East Indies is Annan, Annan.
The troops are still quite effective, at least more effective than the African Servant Division.
The key is that the weapons are not good. They are also colonial servants. The Southern African Expeditionary Force is strong and armed to the teeth. The equipment of the Annan Army is a bit mixed. It is only equipped with some Lebel rifles. Most of the soldiers are still equipped with MLE1859 carbines. Rock
I have never heard of this kind of gun. After Sidney Milner introduced me, I learned that this kind of gun participated in the American Civil War——
These are all antiques that can go into museums.
It seems that Britain treats its colonial servant troops well. At least even the Indian Army is equipped with Lee Enfield.
It is a pity that the advanced Lee Enfield is not even as good as a fire stick in the hands of Indian soldiers. The fire stick can at least make fire.
The Ministry of War appointed Roque as the commander-in-chief of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, which gave Roque great power. Therefore, after the French troops were in place, the first thing Roque did was to change the equipment of the French troops, all of which were replaced by Lithium-ion batteries produced in Nyasaland.
·Enfield, the cost is of course paid by the French government.
The Annan soldiers here have not yet received their new weapons. The bad news came that the Greek government fell and the three divisions Roque hoped for came to nothing.
The fall of the Greek government originated from a telegram sent to Athens by the Foreign Minister of the Russian Empire, Psyche Sasonov. In the telegram, Psyche Sasonov directly stated: Under no conditions, we will not allow Greece to join the Allied Powers against
Any action in Constantinople.
The consequences of this telegram are very serious. It is understandable that the Russian Empire attaches great importance to Constantinople, but it is inappropriate to send such a telegram at this time.
British Foreign Secretary Edward Gray acted urgently and promised to allocate Constantinople to the Russian Empire after the war. However, it was too late. After Athens received a telegram from Psyche Sasonov, the government directly
collapsed and the new government was more aligned with the Allies.
The queen of King Constantine I of Greece was the sister of German Emperor Wilhelm II.
Constantine I's mother was the aunt of Tsar Nicholas II.
So Constantine I was also the cousin of King George V of England.
As good fortune never comes in pairs, misfortunes never come singly. Roque had just lost three divisions, and the Mediterranean Fleet also suffered huge losses.
The Mediterranean Fleet launched an attack on the Dardanelles on March 5. After the first day of bombardment, Commander-in-Chief Sackville Carden fell ill the next day.
The doctor checked Sackville Carden's body and confirmed that there was nothing wrong with Sackville Carden's body. However, Sackville Carden insisted that he was not feeling well and could not direct the next actions, so he started from the second
From the beginning of the day, the Mediterranean Fleet was actually commanded by Deputy Commander John Drobeck.
John Drobeck did not want to launch an attack without the cooperation of ground troops, but the fighting had already begun, so the bombardment continued the next day.
On the second day of the attack, the Mediterranean Fleet lost a mine-clearing trawler.
This did not attract the attention of John Drobeck. It was just a trawler, and it was cannon fodder for the navy.
By March 12, the Mediterranean Fleet finally completed the minesweeping mission in the Dardanelles Strait, but to no avail. The Ottoman Navy's "Nusret" minelayers evaded the blockade of destroyers and sailed along the coastline.
He laid 20 mines and then returned to the military port without anyone noticing.
The crux of the problem is that the Mediterranean Fleet did not know that the Ottoman Empire's minelayers had broken through the fleet's blockade.
On March 13, before the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force had been assembled, Annan's forces finally obtained Lee Enfield, but before they had time to get familiar with it, John Drobek's fleet had already entered the Dardanelles Strait.
The French commander of the Mediterranean Fleet asked French battleships to serve as the vanguard of the fleet and strive for the honor of entering the Dardanelles Strait first.
John Drobeck agreed to the French commander's request.
Two hours later, the French battleship "Bouvier" exploded, sank at an extremely fast speed, and disappeared from the sea in two minutes. 600 crew members were killed.
John Drobeck didn't know what happened. At that time, the battleship "Bouville" was having an artillery battle with the Ottoman Empire's urgently repaired fort. He thought it was the Ottoman Empire's fort that hit the ammunition depot of the battleship "Bouville".
After the mines have been ruled out, this is the only reason that can explain why the battleship "Bourville" sank so quickly.
The remaining three French battleships retreated, six British battleships filled the defense line, and trawlers were dispatched again to search for remaining mines.
John Drobek did not believe that Ottoman minelayers broke through the naval blockade, which was a huge dereliction of duty.
The trawler came under concentrated bombardment from the battery. The captains turned around and ran away, and the battleships went up again. A few minutes later, the battleship "Indomitable" was also hit by a mine and was severely damaged and had to withdraw from the battle.
A few minutes later, the destroyer "Irresistible" also hit a mine and was unable to evacuate the battle. It was sunk by the British Navy on its own initiative.
The battle lasted only a few hours, and the Mediterranean Fleet lost four battleships, two of which were sunk and two of which were severely damaged and needed to be returned to the factory for repairs.
It has little repair value. It is a battleship that is about to be scrapped, and the repair cost is too high.
Fortunately, the battleship "Queen Elizabeth" was okay, otherwise Winston would be heartbroken to death.
While the Mediterranean fleet suffered heavy losses, the British Expeditionary Force, unwilling to be left alone, launched another attack on Ghent.
The current battle line has moved from Ypres to Ghent. In the past, the German army surrounded Ypres on three sides. Now, the British Expeditionary Force surrounded Ghent on three sides. The north and east sides of Ghent are responsible for the British Expeditionary Force and the Southern African Expeditionary Force.
The south side of Ghent, and the section of defense between Ghent and the Ardennes Forest.
The French Fifth Army was responsible for defending the Ardennes Forest. The commander-in-chief before the Battle of the Marne, Lanrezac, did not escape the fate of being dismissed by Joffre. He did not even enjoy the glory of winning the Battle of the Marne. In the Battle of the Marne,
Before the outbreak, Lanrezac was dismissed by Joffre, just hours after Joffre dismissed Gallieni as commander-in-chief of the Sixth Army.
So now in France, the glory of the Battle of the Marne belongs to Joffre.
The Southern African Expeditionary Force, whose command was still with Roque, resolutely refused to attack Ghent. The snow in Belgium had melted in March. It took three months for the German army to regain its strength. The Prussian army was completely wiped out in "Operation Victory Horn".
The First Guard Regiment was not revoked. Falkenhayn transferred elite troops from the German Eighth Army, which won a series of battles in East Prussia, to rebuild the Prussian First Guard Regiment. The commander was still the Prussian Prince Eitel, who had returned from injury.
Friedrich.
Now the German army is holding its breath. They want to avenge the failure in "Operation Victory Horn". The British Expeditionary Force is attacking now, which is equivalent to sending it to the guns of the German troops. Only Haig, the "butcher", has the courage.
.
The Second Army led by Haig was in charge of the battle. Before the attack began, the commander of the First Army, Smith Dorling, firmly opposed it, but French remained unmoved.
The day before Haig launched his attack, Smith-Dolin sent a telegram to Ferenzi: If the expeditionary force must launch an attack, Smith-Dolin was ready to resign.
On the day of Haig's attack, Smith-Dolin boarded a speedboat returning to homeland.
French finally learned Joffre's tactics and began to dismiss senior commanders from their posts at every turn.
However, it was obvious that Smith-Dolin was right. Haig's attack had no effect. Eighteen thousand soldiers were lost in two days. The Germans subsequently launched a counterattack. The British Expeditionary Force retreated steadily. Not only did they fail to capture Ghent
, but instead lost the results achieved at great cost by the 11th Division in "Operation Victory Horn" and retreated all the way to Ypres.
In order to maintain the front line, the Southern African Expeditionary Force had to retreat with the British Expeditionary Force, otherwise it would be surrounded by the superior German forces.
Rock was devastated when he received the battle report, and wanted to be ready to resign like Smith Dolin.
But Rock couldn't leave. There were too many of Rock's disciples in the Southern African Expeditionary Force, and Rock couldn't leave them alone.
Winston did not abandon the Mediterranean Fleet. He determined that it was Winston's decision to open a battlefield in the Dardanelles Strait. He had to finish the fight with tears in his eyes. On March 13, the Mediterranean Fleet
After losing four battleships, Sackville Carden, who had boasted before the war that he could capture Constantinople in three days, "resigned due to illness." John Drobek's ability and qualifications were not enough to command this paper force.
The most powerful fleet in the world, Admiral John Fisher, who was re-recruited after the outbreak of the world war, became the new commander-in-chief of the Mediterranean Fleet. He brought four Dreadnought-class battleships that were built only after the arms race began.
The Battle of the Dardanelles finally got on track.