To be fair, before Rock served as the British Expeditionary Force, only the German General Staff among the participating countries could truly play a staff role. The British and French general staffs were all pretentious, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire did not even bother to appear. Condela
After all, the General Staff has no power to participate in decision-making.
After Roque became the Commander-in-Chief of the Expeditionary Force, the role of the General Staff increased. In order to cover up the fact that the Battle of the Somme had actually failed, the British War Department regarded the offensive launched after Roque became the Commander-in-Chief of the Expeditionary Force as a so-called attack.
Part of the Battle of the Somme, at least on the surface, although Britain suffered heavy losses in the Battle of the Somme, it had opened up the situation in Belgium, invaded Belgium, and wiped out hundreds of thousands of German troops. This was still an unprecedented victory.
After Operation Victory Horn, although the propaganda of the Allied Powers stated that the German losses were more than 200,000, the actual number was less than 100,000.
So far in the Battle of the Somme, the losses of the German army have exceeded 300,000, which is basically the same as the losses of the British and French coalition forces. Considering that the Battle of the Somme was initiated by the British and French coalition forces, the attackers would have suffered some losses. This exchange
The ratio is acceptable.
Of course, according to the consistent policy of the British and French Allied Forces, the losses of the German army were doubled in propaganda, and the losses of the British and French Allied Forces were reduced by half in propaganda. If anyone is willing to count the German losses reported by the Allied media after the outbreak of the World War, they will know
At least one fifth of the Germans were found dead.
Regardless of what the Allied media promoted, the capture of Ypres did not accomplish the campaign goal set by Roque. The expeditionary force had to continue its offensive to capture all the ports along the Belgian coast.
"It is difficult for us to continue the offensive. There are four German divisions defending Bruges and six divisions in Ghent. The recent weather has been erratic, the roads are muddy and the rivers are swollen. This is very detrimental to our armored forces. The Germans have begun to look for ways to deal with the armored forces.
Our armored forces have suffered heavy losses, and now there are less than 200 tanks that can still be used to continue the attack." Paul Coker frowned, Henry Wilson was sent to Paris by Roque, Paul Coker
He actually assumed the role of chief of staff.
The losses of the armored forces are not all battle losses. Although the tanks produced in southern Africa are more reliable than the "water tanks" developed by the British Admiralty, there is not much difference in essence. They are still weapons of the same era. The engine should explode.
The cylinder exploded when the engine was about to explode, it would still break down when it should break down, and its track would break even when it should break.
The tanks produced in Southern Africa performed well on the battlefield, mainly because Rock prepared better logistics for the armored forces. After the tanks were damaged, they could be repaired in time, and non-combat losses were reduced as much as possible, so they can still have
Nearly two hundred tanks are ready for combat. Otherwise, I'm afraid half of them would still be operational now.
In terms of performance, the "Light Cavalry" is still a light tank after all. Although it is fast, the armor thickness and weapon system are not strong enough. Although rifles and heavy machine guns cannot penetrate the "Light Cavalry" armor, grenades and landmines can still attack it.
Tanks pose a certain threat. So far, tanks damaged in battles have basically been caused by grenades and mines. The German army lacks active weapons to deal with tanks.
However, considering the strong industrial capabilities of the German army, this advantage is unlikely to last long. It is not difficult to change the German light artillery into direct-fire artillery. If the current "light cavalry" is directly hit by the 76mm field gun equipped by the German army, it will
The result is definitely a hit, and Rock wants to gain more results before the German army finds a real way to deal with the "light cavalry".
"To stop our armored forces, it is not enough to dig holes manually. We order the troops to continue the attack according to the original plan. We must conquer all ports in Belgium." Roque is not merciful. He just digs a hole and wants to stop the armored forces. That is not possible.
The role of drills is too underestimated.
Regarding the confrontation between infantry and armored forces, many exercises have been conducted in southern Africa. The infantry was racking its brains to deal with the armored forces. Of course, the commander of the armored forces will also try every means to break through the infantry's defense line.
This method of digging holes has been used many times in exercises in southern Africa. Therefore, the accompanying infantrymen who cooperate with the armored units carry various explosive bags with them. If necessary, the accompanying infantrymen can blow up obstacles in front of the tank units at any time.
Lose.
"We have the cooperation of the Royal Navy. Can we organize a landing behind the German defense line and attack Bruges and Ghent from behind?" Paul Coker has rich experience and has the cooperation of the fleet. He will not hesitate when the German Navy is huddled in the military port.
If you dare to move out, it is not easy to land behind the German defense lines.
"Then contact the Royal Navy. We also have the air force to cooperate. If necessary, we can send airborne troops behind the German army." Rock doesn't stick to formalities, as long as he can defeat the German army.
Under the premise of having bombers, it is logical to form a paratrooper force. The technical content of parachutes is much simpler than that of bombers. Roque has been prepared for this. The 31st Division that has just arrived in France is an airborne force, and all the officers and soldiers of the division have received it.
Parachute training.
While Rock and Paul Coker were thinking of a solution, the fighting on the front line never stopped. The large-scale battles were also composed of countless small-scale battles. There was no real truce period on the Western Front, and the battles took place almost every day.
occur.
Huang Hai's new partner is Horace, a third-class soldier who just joined the army just after the outbreak of the world war. He arrived in France only half a month ago.
Huang Hai's military rank has been promoted to sergeant. His hand was injured in a previous battle. Although the injury looked serious, it was actually not serious. After receiving a simple bandage, Huang Hai returned to the army and continued to fight.
The Second Cavalry Division is in great need of experienced veterans like Huang Hai.
"Sir, the coffee and banana you want -" Horace respected Huang Hai very much. On the night of the German night attack, Huang Hai and his partner Fox performed very well. Fox died bravely in battle and was posthumously awarded the Medal of Valor. Huang Hai
I was awarded the Medal of Heroes, which is the highest honor a soldier in the expeditionary force can receive.
"Thank you, sit down and rest for a while. When the battle starts, you will never find a chance to rest again." Huang Hai was good to Horace, but he was not very enthusiastic. After the Second Cavalry Division joined the battle, Horace was
Huang Hai's fourth partner, Huang Hai felt that he no longer had any extra enthusiasm for Horace.
This sounds a bit cruel, but it is the fact. Every time a partner is changed, it is a life and death parting. Huang Hai was very sad when the first partner died in the battle. Huang Hai was only a little sad when the second partner retired from the army due to injury. When Fox
When he died in battle, Huang Hai was already numb.
It was also cruel for Huang Hai to witness his comrades leaving one by one, so many soldiers became mentally ill after the war.
"Sir, I'm not tired. It's my honor to serve you." Horace smiled brightly. He was actually less than 20 years old. He didn't even have a beard on his face. His appearance was unshaven. He was at least half a year old. The Yellow Sea without construction is much stronger.
Huang Hai didn't speak. He just smiled and drank coffee and ate bananas. This confused Horace. The current Huang Hai was really different from the legendary "God of Death" who killed everyone.
"Huang, get ready, we will set off in half an hour." When the second lieutenant platoon leader passed by Huang Hai, he specially greeted Huang Hai. Ordinary soldiers did not enjoy this treatment. Although Huang Hai was not a sergeant major, he was definitely a sergeant major. Qualified candidates.
Huang Hai didn't answer, but raised his hand to salute a somewhat perfunctory military salute, holding an uneaten half of a banana in his hand.
Huang Hai, who had experienced life and death, was very careful when eating, chewing each bite many times before swallowing it, even the soft and waxy bananas.
"Sir, are we going to fight the Germans later?" Horace's face turned red with excitement. He pulled out the scabbard, inserted it in, and then pulled it out again——
"Maybe, but you don't have to look forward to him, you will get tired of it soon -" Huang Hai was not excited, his eyes and voice were full of indifference.
"Why?" Horace was puzzled. New recruits always have endless questions. After they have experienced one or two battles, they will have fewer and fewer questions, and then they will become as taciturn as Huang Hai.
"Killing, or being killed, stabbing a bayonet into the enemy's chest, or watching the enemy stabbing a bayonet into your chest, is actually a very boring thing." Huang Hai's whole person exudes the message that no strangers should enter. He drank the last sip of coffee, shook the cup and put it in his bag, as if he was going home after work.
"I haven't killed anyone yet, but I have killed sheep at home. Once again, two thieves came to the farm. My father, my two brothers, and I came out with guns. The two thieves were frightened like chaff, but we I didn't make things difficult for them. They were two extremely hungry children who had no choice but to steal something to eat. My father later gave them a few eggs." It's not that Horace talked too much, it was caused by excessive secretion of adrenaline in his body. physiological excitement.
"There are still people in southern Africa who are so hungry that they become thieves?" Huang Hai left southern Africa for Port Elizabeth several years ago and does not know much about the current southern Africa.
"The father of those two children lost his farm and then shot himself. We sent those two children to the orphanage. The orphanage will take care of them." Horace looked normal, an irresponsible person. It's found everywhere, and southern Africa is no exception.
"There are still guns, why do you want to commit suicide?" Huang Hai shook his head and was speechless. There were also many people in the Umbrella Company who were forced to become mercenaries. Huang Hai didn't understand the mentality of those who committed suicide.
All I can say is that people are different.
(I’m sorry for yesterday. I’ll resume updating today. I’ll be back after the injection at noon——)