Lloyd George failed to withstand the surging public opinion attack. The third phase of the war had just begun. Lloyd George resigned sadly because of the two thousand pounds three years ago. George V recalled Winston and bypassed Prime Minister Asquith.
Winston was directly appointed to take over the post of Lloyd George, and the Prime Minister also fell into a crisis of confidence.
The current British government is really in danger. Lloyd George was forced to resign after only one month as Minister of Munitions. Although Winston regained trust, his conflict with Prime Minister Asquith became more and more serious.
deep.
The situation of Secretary of War Kitchener is equally difficult. When the World War broke out, Kitchener had absolute power in the War Department. Now because of the poor performance of the expeditionary force, Kitchener is widely questioned and has to report to 23 people every week.
Submit a written report to the Cabinet of Ministers.
Francois, who was far away in France, was also worried. His position was in jeopardy, and he could only rely on victory on the battlefield to get out of the predicament.
French has been acting more and more crazily recently. He sends telegrams to Kitchener every day, hoping to get more reinforcements and supplies.
Sent a telegram to Asquith complaining that the War Department was not providing adequate support to the expeditionary force.
Sent a telegram to George V, blaming the expeditionary force's failure on the front line on the expeditionary force's inconsistent command system.
This is indeed a disadvantage, but it is not the main reason. The composition of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force is also very complex, so Roque's command was not affected much.
Like Frenchy, after the resignation of Smith Dolin, Haig became the second-in-command of the British Expeditionary Force. If Frenchy resigned before the outbreak of the Dardanelles, Haig would be the undisputed choice for commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force.
.
Now because the performance of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force is getting better and better, the choice of commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force has begun to become uncertain.
Haig had a long-standing ambition to be the commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force. When the expeditionary force was first established, Haig hoped to obtain the position of commander-in-chief. However, because his ability and prestige were insufficient, Kitchener finally chose French.
Entering July, the Eastern and Western Fronts were still anxious, and the scale of the war was getting bigger and bigger. The Kingdom of Italy joined the war, and Greece once again considered joining the Entente. However, at this time, the main contradiction no longer came from the Russian Empire, but from Bulgaria.
Bulgaria has not yet joined the war, but has already carried out nationwide mobilization. Greece is worried that sending troops to various places to participate in the war will leave domestic strength empty and give Bulgaria an opportunity to take advantage of it. Therefore, Greece hopes that while participating in the war, Bulgaria will also participate in the war.
Roque had no hope for the three Greek divisions, nor for the five divisions of the Kingdom of Italy. The 2nd Cavalry Division and the 11th Cavalry Division in France did not participate in the second battle of Artois. French and Black
Roque was very dissatisfied. After the Battle of the Dardanelles entered the third stage, Roque needed more troops. Kitchener had no troops to send. Roque hoped to combine the 2nd Cavalry Division and the 11th Division as well as the two artillery divisions.
Transferred to the Mediterranean battlefield, in order to get French and Haig to agree, Roque was willing to transfer the ANZAC troops to France in exchange.
The ANZAC already had five divisions in the Mediterranean battlefield. French basically agreed with Roque's request, but left two artillery divisions in France. The British Expeditionary Force needed large-caliber artillery in southern Africa.
France paid for the large-caliber artillery equipped by the artillery division. Roque had no hope of moving the artillery division to the Mediterranean. The 2nd Cavalry Division and the 11th Cavalry Division were Roque's targets.
However, the ANZAC is currently fighting and will need to wait until the Ottoman troops in Gazikoy are annihilated before they can be transferred to France.
There are now four divisions of the Ottoman Empire's Second Army in Gazikoy. The Second Brigade of the 19th Division is surrounded by these four divisions. Outside these four divisions is a larger encirclement. The 29th Division is advancing towards Kavak.
Launching an attack, the Mediterranean Fleet launched its first attack on the Prussian Strait on July 15th, destroying coastal forts and bombarding Constantinople.
The reinforcements that Rock was expecting finally appeared. The Russian Empire would not sit back and watch the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force capture the Bosporus. Although occupying the Bosporus would not allow the Russian Empire to completely control the Black Sea outlet, the Russian Empire did not want to lose it.
this opportunity.
On July 17, the newly formed 11th Army of the Russian Empire took more than 300 ships and landed at Demirchi on the other side of the Bosporus to launch an attack on Constantinople.
After the Russian Empire made a comeback, the pressure on the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force suddenly eased. Although the dignitaries of the Ottoman Empire had abandoned Constantinople, Zanders still dispatched some troops to Constantinople on July 25th.
, the British 29th Division, with the cooperation of the Mediterranean Fleet and Air Force bombers, finally broke through the Second Army's positions. The 29th Division suffered 4,000 casualties, and the Ottoman Empire's Second Army suffered more than 60,000 casualties.
Look, under the premise of tacit cooperation between various arms, the British army, which did not perform well in France, can also achieve miraculous results in the Mediterranean.
Compared with the British 29th Division, other units of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force performed equally well. In Gazikoy, the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force annihilated four divisions of the Second Army. The casualties of the Second Army were also more than 60,000.
After these two battles, in the Balkans, all the elite troops of the Ottoman Empire were wiped out. There were still 100,000 Ottoman troops around Constantinople. However, under the crazy attack of the 11th Army of the Russian Empire, Constantinople was conquered.
It's also a matter of time before we get to Tantinople.
Once Constantinople is captured, the coalition forces will open up the channel between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. The Dardanelles Strait will be controlled by the British and French coalition forces, the Bosporus Strait will be controlled by the Russian Empire, and the Marma Strait between the two straits will be controlled by the British and French coalition forces.
Lahai is a buffer zone, and no one knows what will happen in the future, but now, coalition ships can move freely.
Roark received a telegram from Kitchener on July 26. Kitchener hoped that the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force would continue to attack Constantinople after annihilating the Second Ottoman Army. If possible, he would continue to attack Constantinople.
The Bosporus was also controlled by the British and French forces.
Rock really couldn't do it. Although the total strength of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force has exceeded 200,000, after the elimination of the Second Army, the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force occupied almost all the lands of the Ottoman Empire in the Balkan Peninsula. These areas are not stable and require
It took a large garrison to suppress the rebellious Ottomans. The Kingdom of Italy suddenly became enthusiastic after the Battle of Gazikoi and sent all five divisions to the Balkans just after July.
"The Italians are here to pick peaches. You can't see the Italians when the fighting is fiercest. After the fighting, the Italians suddenly appear. I really don't want such allies." Ian Hamilton didn't like the Italians.
Telegrams were sent to Antonio Salandra every day during the month, asking for the five divisions promised by the Kingdom of Italy. However, by the end of July, only one of the five divisions promised by the Kingdom of Italy had been delivered.
Now that the five divisions promised by the Kingdom of Italy are finally in place, the fighting in the Balkans is basically over. This behavior is really shameless.
"Don't be angry. The battle in the Balkans is over. We will continue to attack the Asia Minor Peninsula. The five divisions sent by the Kingdom of Italy will be crucial in the next stage of the battle." Roque did not have high expectations for the army of the Kingdom of Italy. As long as
The army of the Kingdom of Italy, under the command of Roque, can perform better than in Isonzo.
While the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force was encircling and annihilating the Second Army of the Ottoman Empire, the first Battle of Isonzo between the Kingdom of Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire had ended.
Before entering the war, the Kingdom of Italy, which had vowed to send 1 million troops to the war, dispatched the second and third armies, totaling 19 divisions, to launch a large-scale attack on the Isonzo River area.
19 divisions sounds like a lot, but in fact each division is understaffed, and the total strength is less than 200,000. According to the standards of the British army, it is not even 11 divisions.
The main force of the Austro-Hungarian Empire is on the Eastern Front, working hand in hand with Germany to deal with the huge army of the Russian Empire. The Italian direction is in a defensive position. Commander S. B. Boyner only has 100,000 troops in his hands. The Kingdom of Italy has air force and artillery to assist.
Combat.
On paper, in the First Battle of Isonzo, there was a huge gap in strength between the two sides, with the Kingdom of Italy having the absolute advantage.
The results were shocking. The Kingdom of Italy lost 60,000 people, and only captured some of the Austro-Hungarian Empire's positions on the east bank of the Isonzo River, but failed to break through the Isonzo River.
The First Battle of the Isonzo River ended with the defeat of the Kingdom of Italy.
However, this was certainly not the most tragic defeat for the Kingdom of Italy. At least the Kingdom of Italy occupied some Austrian positions and was not without gains.
"You can't have too much hope for the troops of the Kingdom of Italy. They are not qualified as garrison troops." Ian Hamilton dismissed the Kingdom of Italy. The Kingdom of Italy is like a nuclear weapon. When it does not participate in the war, it is useless to both warring parties.
A huge threat, its true colors were revealed after joining the war. It is estimated that Edward Gray regretted it. In order to lure the Kingdom of Italy to join the war, he gave the Kingdom of Italy many promises. Now most of the promised lands in the Ottoman Empire are already under the control of the Allies, but it is the Mediterranean Sea.
What the expeditionary force captured has nothing to do with the Kingdom of Italy.
What Roque didn't expect was that the Italians didn't think so. After the remnants of the Ottoman Empire's Second Army withdrew to Constantinople, the Italians immediately jumped out and asked the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force to hand over control of some areas.
Right, the reason stems from Edward Gray's promise to the Italians.
"Wanting to be a garrison - how could such a good thing happen?" Roque would not let the Italians get their wish. Why should the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force give the land to the Italians if they fought bloody battles to capture it?
Since the Battle of the Dardanelles broke out, the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force suffered 150,000 casualties, of which 40,000 died. The Ottoman Empire suffered 400,000 losses, of which about 100,000 died in battle, and 200,000 surrendered.
(Three updates a day and nine thousand words are not enough. Brothers, you are so lost. I really miss the days of the Four Thousand Party——)
