The Battle of Verdun was different from all previous battles. It lasted a long time and cost a lot of money. Both France and Germany regarded Verdun as a Shura field to consume the other side's strength. The German army believed that the French army's casualties in two months exceeded
200,000. France also believes that both sides believe that the other side will exhaust its war potential within a few months and have to withdraw from the war.
The main disagreement among the German command over the Battle of Verdun was the choice of the main battlefield. Falkenhayn insisted on consuming the French army's strength in Verdun, while the Crown Prince believed that the offensive line should be expanded to include Dead Man's Mountain on the west bank of the Meuse River. The key point was
It is an artillery position for the French army. At the same time, the German army must be more cautious about the use of reserves. If the German army's casualties are the same as the French army, then the German army should stop attacking.
Falkenhayn's goal remained unchanged. He never wanted to defeat France, but to destroy France so that France would lose the courage to confront Germany.
William II said nothing. He was disappointed with both the Crown Prince and Falkenhayn. The war did not end in a few months as William II imagined, and turned into a protracted trench war. The longer the war lasted,
The more unfavorable it was for Germany, the war potential of the Allies was far inferior to that of the Entente, and William II knew this very well.
The final result of the meeting was that the German generals were convinced that the Battle of Verdun must be fought, otherwise the previous sacrifices would be meaningless.
While Germany was unifying its thinking, Joffre and Haig were planning a new attack.
After the failure of the Battle of Mons, Haig deeply realized that without the cooperation of the French troops, the British Expeditionary Force could not defeat the German army. So when Joffre proposed a new campaign plan, Haig readily agreed.
Joffre was preparing to launch an attack on the Germans on the Somme River for the same reason as Haig before. Most of the German troops were involved in Verdun, and the Somme River was empty of power. This was a rare opportunity for the British and French forces.
Preparations for the battle had begun after the Autumn Offensive last autumn, after Joffre moved the artillery from the fortified fortress of Verdun to support the Battle of the Somme.
In order to preserve as much strength as possible to launch the Battle of the Somme, Joffre rejected Pétain's request for reinforcements, appointed Pétain as commander of the Verdun Theater, and requested support from the Russian Empire.
Last winter, at the operational planning meeting of senior Allied commanders, the Russians complained that the Allies could not trust each other and could not provide timely support when needed. Nicholas II sent Chief of General Staff Mikhail Alexeev
The general attended the meeting, and Mikhail proposed that the Allied Powers should establish a cooperative combat mechanism: whenever a certain battlefield is threatened, other countries must take the initiative to attack the Allied Powers to relieve the pressure on the attacked party.
The reason why Mikhail made this suggestion was that when the Russian Empire was driven out of Poland by the German army last year, the British and French allied forces did not come to help.
At that time, the British and French allied forces were focused on the Dardanelles Strait, and no one paid any attention to the situation of the Russian Empire.
General Mikhail's proposal was approved by most of the participating generals. Both Joffre and Haig believed that the current Allied Powers were in disarray. They wanted to change the status quo, but they did not know how to start.
Now France was attacked by Germany at Verdun. According to the agreement reached at the end of last year, Joffre requested support from the Russian Empire. After discussing with his chief of staff, Nicholas II decided to assist France, and the British were acrimonious.
In sharp contrast.
However, it will not be easy for the Russian Empire to launch an attack on Germany. Spring is coming, the snow will melt, and flash floods will trigger the annual "circuit break period." The Russian Empire faces many difficulties.
Nicholas II still decided to attack Germany, and he had to do it before the snow melted. The remaining question now was where to launch the attack. Nicholas II had three options, one was Hindenburg and Luden
On the Eastern Front led by Dolph, Germany had 180,000 troops in this direction and the Russian Empire had 300,000 troops.
The second direction is the central part, where 700,000 Russian Imperial troops fight against 360,000 German troops. However, most of these Russian troops are new soldiers. They lack sufficient training and cannot even guarantee basic weapons. On average, two soldiers only have one rifle.
The third direction is the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Russian and Austrian troops in this direction each have 500,000 troops. However, the Austro-Hungarian Empire has a geographical advantage, and the Russian army has no advantage in attacking.
After comprehensive consideration, Nicholas II chose Hindenburg and Ludendorff on the Eastern Front.
In early March, Nicholas II mobilized troops and ordered some people to be relieved of their posts, and the more capable General Alexey Eft and General Alexey Kuropatkin were transferred to the East.
Line command battle.
Compared with the proactive Russians, British support remains superficial.
Perhaps only Haig in the whole of Britain agrees with Joffre's plan. The cabinet does not agree to launch the Battle of the Somme. Haig's previous attack failed and the troops almost mutinied. The cabinet now seriously doubts Haig's ability.
The generals within the expeditionary force also did not agree to launch an attack on the Somme River. In the third year of the World War, all participating countries have realized the importance of defensive fortresses. The trenches are becoming more and more perfect, the tunnels are dug deeper and deeper, and the mines are more dense.
The more you bury, the more troops are allowed to attack at this time, which means you are risking death.
In France, after Pétain was appointed commander of the Verdun Theater by Joffre, Robert Georges Nivelle became the commander of the Second Army. After Nivelle took office, he stopped the rotation tactics formulated by Pétain and sent officers to charge.
A machine gun was set up behind the troops. If the charging troops dared to escape, the machine gun would kill the enemy and the deserters together. This was another first in the world war. The punishment for deserters was also very severe in the past, but it was not cruel.
To a certain extent, Nivelle set a precedent, the real flesh and blood mill came, and Verdun became a hell on earth.
Compared with Verdun, the generals of the expeditionary force are willing to maintain a "peace" state with the German army. As long as the expeditionary force does not attack, the German army will also not attack. This is most beneficial to Britain, because the strength of Germany and France is being consumed.
, the British fisherman profited.
Haig made a mistake at this time. He contacted Joffre many times without telling the War Council to discuss the details of organizing the Battle of the Somme. The British Expeditionary Force could invest 25 divisions, and the French troops were restrained by the Germans at Verdun.
Haig was extremely excited to be able to use 20 divisions to attack the German army. The British Expeditionary Force invested more troops than the French army. Haig believed that he could take the initiative in the battle. In this way, if the British and French coalition forces won, then Haig would
You can achieve results that are no less than what Roque achieved in the Mediterranean.
While Verdun was raging in war, the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force spent its days leisurely on the Asia Minor peninsula.
After the surrender of the Ottoman Empire, the Asia Minor peninsula was not peaceful. Rebels emerged one after another, and the garrison was attacked many times.
Roque will never tolerate the rebels. As long as a garrison is attacked, all Ottomans within a ten-mile radius from the attack point will be thrown into concentration camps.
For a time, the concentration camps on the Asia Minor Peninsula were overcrowded. In early March, nearly 800,000 Ottomans were imprisoned in 57 concentration camps on the Asia Minor Peninsula.
Roque is good at utilizing every manpower. Men are gathered as laborers, and women also have to work to obtain food. The total number of workers on the island of Cyprus exceeds 300,000. The railway connecting the two ports runs 20 kilometers per day.
At a rapid pace, the railway with a total length of less than 100 kilometers was repaired in less than a week. Roque conveniently built another railway around the island next to the ring road. He couldn't keep these workers in vain.
The reconstruction of Beirut and Damascus was also very smooth. Martin ordered the city wall of Damascus to be pushed down, and huge city bricks were sent to the city to pave the square. The ancient city with a history of thousands of years was razed to the ground, and new buildings were built one after another.
Martin's headquarters moved to Beirut, where the port has been expanded and is only 170 kilometers away from Cyprus.
"Marshal, our soldiers captured several spies, and these are the things found on them." Martin's adjutant came to Martin's office with a lot of things.
Martin picked up a satchel and dumped everything in the bag on the table. On top was an identification document issued by the Department of War. The arrested person was a reporter.
"They brought several cameras and have been wandering around our construction site for the past few days. The photos are being developed now. I don't know what they took -" the adjutant looked playful, whether he was a war reporter or a spy -
Well, that's a problem.
Martin noticed that there was a notepad tied with a leather cord in his satchel. When he opened it, he found a diary.
On January 15, 1914, Harry and I finally got our ID cards issued by the War Department, which were our amulets in the war zone. Harry joked about having to frame the ID cards. I thought it was not a joke, and I was going to do that too——
On February 8th, we arrived in Cyprus, where Lord Nyasaland’s headquarters is located, but we could not enter Lord Nyasaland’s headquarters. The staff refused us rudely, even if we showed our identity and proved
We were reporters from the "Daily Telegraph". The young captain still looked at us coldly with mocking eyes. What made me feel angry and humiliated was that several reporters from "The Times" were allowed to enter.
Lord Nyasaland's headquarters, which seemed to prove the rumors about Lord Nyasaland and The Times.
On April 10th, Harry and I found nothing in Cyprus, and then we took a cargo ship from Southern Africa to Cairo. The greedy captain asked Harry and I for the ticket fee of five pounds each. Harry still thought it was expensive, so he paid for it.
Just like the stingy Grandet, I'm afraid no one will think that he is an out-and-out rich man who receives a monthly salary of 120 pounds. Well, from this perspective, I am too——
On April 15th, we were finally allowed to enter Damascus. Two months ago, troops from Southern Africa and the Sultanate of Najd captured this famous city two years ago. What Jean and Harry did not expect was that this thousand-year-old city has now been destroyed.
, we saw corpses on the ground behind a sand dune not far from Damascus. Harry was so frightened that he could not hold the camera steady. Several cavalrymen from the Sultanate of Najd discovered us. We identified ourselves as cavalrymen from the Sultanate of Najd.
We were asked to leave immediately. I think I will never forget the scene at that time.
On July 6th, Harry and I ran out of film. Harry took a lot of photos that we shouldn't have taken. We didn't know what to do. If these photos appeared in the newspaper, I think a lot of big shots would be angry. Then I and I
Harry is in trouble.
Martin looked at the diary without saying a word, his expression becoming increasingly grim.