Chapter 980 Multiple Choice Questions With No Choice
Unlike the defense of the British and French forces, the German defense was very flexible and layered.
As the World War continues, the firepower preparation before the battle has been extended from half an hour to a week. In order to reduce the losses caused by artillery, Germany usually does not deploy too many troops on the first line of defense and deploys more troops on the second line of defense.
The second line of defense, the third line of defense, and the troops of the first line of defense only played a warning role, so Pétain and Foch were unable to form a breakthrough even though they had an absolute advantage in strength.
The same is true for Flanders. Although the German army has only six divisions on the front line of Flanders, behind Flanders, in Ghent and Brussels, the German army still has an entire army group waiting in readiness. Once Roque launches in Flanders,
Attack, German reinforcements will arrive at the front line as quickly as possible.
Of course, Roque will not ignore this problem. Unlike when French Haig was the commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force, after Roque became the commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force, the air force that had been performing tasks in the UK finally came to France, and the aircraft still
Those planes, but the pilots have been quietly replaced by pilots from southern Africa.
Unlike Haig, who did not pay attention to new weapons, Roark also transferred strategic bombers with longer range from homeland to prepare for strategic bombing of Ghent and Brussels.
Like aircraft, new weapons that have been ignored by Haig include "water tanks". Although only 18 of the 49 tanks can be used now, if used properly, they are also a key force that can change the situation of the war.
Don't underestimate the fact that tanks only have a top speed of four kilometers per hour. During this period, the German army had no anti-tank weapons, no direct-fire guns, and no anti-tank rifles. As long as tanks appeared on the battlefield, the German army could only flee.
Of course, Rock will not take out the tanks now. After Winston became Prime Minister, Nyasaland Military Industrial Group finally got the long-awaited order. The first batch of 250 tanks has been shipped in Walvis Bay.
After arriving at the French battlefield ten days later, it will be time for the expeditionary force to launch an attack.
On July 1st, elite troops from the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force arrived in France. There were 11 infantry divisions, including the 2nd Cavalry Division, all from southern Africa. The British Expeditionary Force had more than 1.5 million troops in France.
A force of 1.5 million people consumes astronomical amounts of supplies every day. Roque placed the supply base closer to the rear in the port city of Dieppe, where the largest field hospital and air base of the expeditionary force are also located.
Among these 1.5 million people, there are 200,000 troops from southern Africa and 120,000 troops from Canada. After several fierce battles, the ANZAC now has a total strength of only about 180,000 troops. Kitchener recruited locally
Of the millions of troops sent to France, only 350,000 were sent to France, and the remaining 650,000 came from India.
So don't think how powerful these 1.5 million troops are. The ANZAC suffered heavy casualties and the morale of the troops was greatly hit. It will take a long time to restore their combat effectiveness.
The troops from the British mainland are all new recruits. Many of them have never been on the battlefield. They need time to adapt to the battlefield environment.
As for the Canadian troops, this is even more of a tragedy. Unlike Australia and New Zealand, which are doing their best to support their homeland, Canada, which has a total population of 9 million, almost twice as much as Australia, has only mobilized 120,000 troops since the outbreak of the world war.
These 120,000 troops have been defending in Flanders before. Although no large-scale battles broke out, small-scale battles occurred all the time. The Canadian troops now only have about 100,000 troops left, and they are in urgent need of new troops. Before the new troops arrive in France,
, it is difficult for Canadian troops to play a decisive role.
Well, that's putting it mildly, but in fact Canadian troops never played a decisive role in the First World War.
The greater tragedy is the Indian Army. Although Canada has fewer troops, it has not lost its courage. The strange thing about the Indian Army is that although India had 2 million troops in Europe at its peak, it has never appeared in various battles in the world wars.
The record of the Indian Army is simply miraculous.
No wonder that in another time and space, Canada and Australia gained greater autonomy after the World War. Even Southern Africa got Southwest Africa, but India, which sent the most troops, got nothing.
Britain promised before the war that if India performed well in the world war, it would give India the same autonomous status as other dominions after the war. As a result, after the war, Britain never mentioned the promise made before the war and severely punished the Indians.
Rinse it.
Here in Roque, the Indians couldn't be lazy. It was impossible to hide in the second line and enjoy peace and quiet. In order to deal with the French, Roque ordered the troops from India to attack. As a result, the generals of several Indian regiments all looked embarrassed.
"Lord, the training of the Indian troops is insufficient, and they are not yet able to undertake combat missions-"
"Many soldiers can't even shoot. Equip them with grenades. They often blow up their own people. We can't have any hope for the Indians -"
"These people are not good at fighting, but they are very active in eating. Getting sick is a common occurrence. They are all lazy and cowards——"
There is no need for Rock to complain, the generals of the Indian Army will immediately complain to the Indian Army with just one look and a word.
"Gentlemen, learn from what the French did at Verdun -" Roque was cruel and could not send the Southern African Expeditionary Force to the battlefield as cannon fodder. Roque was reluctant to do so. The Southern African Expeditionary Force that had just arrived in France
You also need time to rest.
For the same reason, real British troops cannot be sent as cannon fodder. Both French and Haig were forced to leave their posts because of heavy casualties of the British troops. Roque did not want to follow in the footsteps of French and Haig.
There is a fact that must be explained first. Rock hopes that both the Entente and the Central Powers will suffer losses, but he never wants Britain to fall. A strong Britain is in the best interest of southern Africa. Rock needs Britain to help southern Africa strive for more interests, so in the end
It will take at least a few more decades, when southern Africa is fully fledged, and the British Empire can smile and go west.
Times make heroes. It is most conducive for Rock to achieve results as Commander-in-Chief of the Expeditionary Force at this point in time. If it is too early, Rock will not be able to prove how good he is. If it is too late, the strength of the British Expeditionary Force will be greatly damaged.
Even if Roque takes over, he can only wait for the Americans to be the savior.
There is no harm without comparison. If the British Expeditionary Force under the command of Haig did not suffer 60,000 casualties in one day, Rock's medal would not be valuable. After all, even if Rock wiped out all the German troops without dying, there would still be people who would find fault with him.
, saying some sarcastic remarks such as "Maybe someone else would be better".
Now even under the command of Rock, the British Expeditionary Force still suffered heavy casualties, and Rock would be criticized much less. After all, the British had no choice, and Rock was the last hope.
After hearing Rock's words, all the generals in the headquarters had serious expressions.
Roque's meaning is very clear. Since the French army has already used the supervisory team in the Battle of Verdun, of course the British Expeditionary Force can also use it. Either they die during the attack, and the supervising team must be shot as deserters.
Officers and soldiers who die in battle can receive pensions, but if they are shot as deserters, they will have nothing and their loved ones will be left with nothing but humiliation.
Very simple multiple choice question.
"Either send Indian legions or local troops, you decide for yourself -" Roque still talks about democracy. After all, it is a democratic country. When making decisions, we must pool our wisdom and cannot act arbitrarily.
The officers of the Indian Army are all white British, so there is actually no choice in this multiple-choice question.
On July 2, the British Expeditionary Force's offensive resumed.
Rock would not continue to bombard for a week like Haig. The bombardment only lasted two hours.
A major change was that Roark no longer dispersed the use of heavy artillery across the entire front, but concentrated it on one area, carrying out key artillery bombardments on a small section of the German position. The infantry units also regarded the key artillery bombardment areas as key attack areas.
.
In order to verify the effect of focused bombardment, Roque transferred all three artillery divisions in southern Africa in France to Carnot on the north bank of the Somme River. The density of heavy artillery reached one gun every five yards. The air force was dispatched at the same time as the bombardment, correcting the impact point of the bombs.
, to conduct reconnaissance of German artillery positions.
This was the first time that Rock commanded a real coordinated air-ground operation. The German army also had aircraft on the Somme. In the previous stage of the operation, the German air force had a greater advantage. The British truck drivers were unable to compete with the German air force.
Since the Battle of the Somme, the British Expeditionary Force has lost 120 aircraft.
The aircraft of the British Expeditionary Force in France were all "Strong Wind" fighter jets produced in southern Africa. Before the outbreak of the World War, Germany's main air force was the airship force, which did not pay enough attention to aircraft. The airship force was indeed used to attack Belgium in Germany.
It played a great role in the process, but when the war spread to France, the role of the airship force continued to weaken. In the face of increasingly powerful fighter jets, the weaknesses of the airship were exposed, and it is now gradually being eliminated.
The main disadvantages of airships are low flying altitude and slow speed. Although the airship has a relatively large bomb load, once it is targeted by an aircraft, it is almost difficult for the airship to escape.
After occupying the Belgian seaport city, Germany used airships to bomb the British mainland.
Southern African pilots flew "Strong Wind" fighter jets into the sky to meet the enemy. The German airships suffered heavy losses and eventually had to use the darkness to launch bombings on the British mainland. However, the effect of the airship troops dispatched at night was not good, so Germany was forced to start
Research on aircraft.
I have to admit that Germany's scientific research strength is indeed strong. Although Germany's research on aircraft started late, it has made rapid progress. Although German aircraft cannot yet compare with the "Strong Wind", they are already better than the aircraft used by the French army.
Better.
The aircraft used by the French army is a copycat model of the "Strong Wind" fighter jet. The French stole the appearance of the "Strong Wind" but did not get the essence of the "Strong Wind". In terms of engines and airborne weapons, southern Africa is at the forefront of the world.
(Rock is about to turn on the God of Killing mode, why don’t you brothers give some encouragement by counting the votes——)