After the dinner, Roque took the car back to his temporary residence in Paris.
It’s Christmas again, but there is no festive atmosphere on the streets. Perhaps because the banquet ended a little late, there are almost no pedestrians on the streets, there are not many lights on both sides of the streets, and few street lights on both sides of the roads are on.
, in the thick haze, the dim lights were as eerie as will-o'-the-wisps.
One winter, London was nicknamed the "Smog City". Paris was actually not much better. Every winter, a large amount of firewood was consumed for heating, and the entire city was shrouded in thick smoke, which made it unbearable for southern Africans.
.
Unlike the cold winters in Europe, the winters in southern Africa are not too cold. Only the southernmost Cape Town will snow in winter, and the amount of snow is not large. There is no snow all year round in the central and northern parts, and it is not necessary to burn things to keep warm in winter.
, so from this perspective, southern Africa really has a pleasant climate, and it is simply a paradise compared to Europe.
Rock's temporary residence was in the suburbs. When the motorcade was leaving the city, a thick tree appeared in the middle of the road for some unknown reason.
An Qi, who was sitting in the passenger seat, silently pulled out her gun and watched as the guard in the car in front got out of the car, cursed and moved the tree away. Nothing unexpected happened.
Roque didn't say anything, but An Qi explained: "The security in Paris is very chaotic now, and thefts and robberies often occur. The road we are walking on now had a robbery a few days ago."
Rock could understand that in the third year of the world war, the damage of the war became more and more obvious. A severe famine broke out in India. Britain and France were not much better. The soldiers on the front line would not be affected at all, but the situation of the civilians in the rear was very serious.
Oops.
For old imperialist countries like Britain and France, at Christmas in previous years, not only delicacies from the mountains and seas were on the dining tables of civilian families, but at least turkey and bacon were indispensable.
The situation this year is relatively tense. A few days ago, French newspapers even started teaching housewives how to make potatoes taste like chicken. It seemed a bit funny, and the problems reflected were shocking.
Returning to the headquarters, Rock was concerned about what the logistics department had prepared for the soldiers of the expeditionary force during Christmas.
"Beef stewed with potatoes, fresh fruit, unlimited alcohol and tobacco, as well as fish and chicken legs, and still enough coffee -" Sidney Milner was confident that the British government's life was much easier than that of the French government. After all,
There are colonies all over the world to loot.
After Rock became the Commander-in-Chief of the British Expeditionary Force, Sidney Milner's status also increased. He is now the Director of Logistics of the British Expeditionary Force. This position does not require permission from the British War Department, and Rock can appoint it himself.
Of course, Britain also has to pay for supplies from southern Africa, and the prices are subject to market conditions. At most, for the sake of the sovereign country, the prices will be a little lower than other countries.
Even so, the British government can't bear it. As more and more troops are on the front line, the British government borrows more and more from Rand Bank. This year alone, the British government's loans from Rand Bank exceeded 500 million pounds.
The total loans exceed one billion. These loans are not given directly, but used for local purchases. This is one of the conditions for Rand Bank to be so generous.
So why can Rock serve as Commander-in-Chief of the British Expeditionary Force?
This has a lot to do with Roque's outstanding performance as commander-in-chief of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, but that is not all. Factors in companies such as Rand Bank and Nyasaland Military Industrial Group are also very important. At least no one doubts Roque now.
loyalty to the British Empire.
Once the British Empire loses this war, these loans from the Rand Bank will be lost.
Therefore, in order to successfully recover the loan, Rock will also do his best for the British Empire.
"How is the situation with the French government?" Roque is of course also concerned about the logistics of the French army. Britain, France and Russia are the three major customers in southern Africa, and all orders are fulfilled immediately.
The difference is that the United Kingdom and France can not only borrow money from the Rand Bank, but also owe money when they don't have enough money to buy supplies. The Russian Empire must deal in cash, and there is no loan door.
The "debts" here also bear interest, and in business, not even a big penny is missing.
"The situation is a bit bad. The logistics of the main French army are okay, but the colonial servant army——" Sidney Milner curled his lips, obviously unable to finish his sentence.
This is normal. The logistics supply within the British Expeditionary Force is also focused. British troops and troops from southern Africa are at the top of the supply chain, followed by the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, the Canadian Expeditionary Force, the Indian Army, and then
They are colonial servants and colonial laborers.
The situation in France is also hierarchical. The French troops must have everything they need, but the logistical supply of the colonial servant army is much worse. From what Rock knows, bread is good, and meat can be eaten occasionally, and fresh fruits are not even a thought.
I think there is no limit to the amount of flavored cigarettes and alcohol.
Roque ignored the logistics of the French army, turned around and called Paul Coker over, and ordered the troops to use the winter truce period to seize the time to build fortifications in preparation for next year's battle.
After a winter, more German soldiers will come out of the training camps, and the German troops will also be able to find ways to deal with tanks. After a short period of glory, tanks will be greatly restricted in use next year. If there are no accidents on the Western Front,
They will fall into trench warfare with heavy losses.
Roque must be prepared now. More tanks, more aircraft, more artillery shells and grenades. Now one hundred thousand British troops arrive in France every month. These are all troops from the British mainland. By next year
By the middle of the year, the total number of British Expeditionary Forces will exceed 2 million. By then, regardless of whether the Americans will join in, Rock will have the strength to fight the Germans decisively.
While Rock was recuperating, in distant Antwerp, the 2nd Cavalry Division was also recuperating.
In fact, it is not considered to be recuperating. Sporadic firefights occur every day. However, the Second Cavalry Division and the German troops on the opposite side have a tacit understanding not to organize large-scale battles and try to let the soldiers feel some festive atmosphere. Precision shooters are great.
It was amazing that hundreds of people were killed every day by precision fire. The Germans suffered slightly more casualties, but the British Expeditionary Force had fewer casualties.
The dead on the British Expeditionary Force side were not the officers and soldiers of the 2nd Cavalry Division, but the 28th Indian Division, which assisted the 2nd Cavalry Division in fighting.
Like the German army, the British Expeditionary Force's defense line is also composed of several lines. The first line of defense is defended by cannon fodder, the real elites are on the second line of defense, and the third line of defense is artillery, reserves, and cavalry.
The position of the second division is on the second line of defense.
On the Antwerp side, the distance between the first and second lines of defense is 1.5 kilometers. If the German army launches an attack, such a long distance is enough for the Second Cavalry Division to be ready for battle.
Every morning, the precision shooters of the Second Cavalry Division ride off-road vehicles to the first line of defense in search of prey, and return collectively at six in the afternoon. The precision shooters call this kind of combat "going to work." The entire Second Cavalry Division already has 65
A precision marksman received the Hero Medal.
The criterion for obtaining the Hero Medal is to kill one hundred enemy soldiers.
Unlike the British Expeditionary Force, where at least half of the troops were colonial servants, the German troops were all composed of white Germans. Therefore, one of the biggest benefits of the sniper war was that it completely broke the fear and preparedness of southern Africans towards white Europeans. Looking at
White people were shot to death one by one, and the racial concepts that it took white people hundreds of years to establish around the world also collapsed. Especially for the Chinese in southern Africa, this is very important.
Qin Ling is the most outstanding precision shooter in the Second Cavalry Division. The number of German soldiers killed by him has reached 265. This is not the most in the Second Cavalry Division. The one with the most has returned to Nyasaland to serve as a sniper instructor, and has personally killed
More than 300 German officers and soldiers were killed, and the Second Cavalry Division was recognized as the "god of death".
Qinling sets off on time at six o'clock every morning. A team of seven people is dedicated to serving Qinling. Qinling does not live in the army barracks, but lives in a young woman's home in Antwerp. This situation is very common in the Second Cavalry Division. As long as it is not
The senior leaders of the expeditionary force will not care about the risk of human life being infected without being infected by some indescribable virus.
They are all young people in their twenties, the age when hormones are most intense. It is impossible to lock them all in a military camp. If you don't make mistakes in this area, you will have to make mistakes in other areas. Officers can bring their families, but soldiers can't.
After a year or two, I didn’t know the taste of meat, so the expeditionary force’s management in this area was gradually relaxing.
Of course, one thing must be emphasized. In any case, ensuring health is the prerequisite. If you are infected with some indescribable disease, you will be thrown to Shark Island. This is not humane.
Around Christmas, Qin Ling also wanted to take a break and no longer go to work on the front line. The various benefits given to Qin Ling by the expeditionary force were also sent to his "girlfriend"'s house by Qin Ling. The Second Cavalry Division has always been very generous in this regard.
, Qinling received all kinds of supplies in duplicate. In addition to the standard supplies for the expeditionary force, there were also various condolences from southern Africa. There were so many things that Qinling had to use a car to deliver them.
"Girlfriend" house.
"Thank you William, do you want to come in and sit for a while? I got a bottle of wine from Oak Town." Qinling is very happy today. The expeditionary army is not short of wine, but top-quality wine is still very rare. The wine from Oak Town is
Very in demand.
This does not mean that the quality of Oak Town's wine is good, the quality of French wine is also good, but Oak Town's wine is the most popular among the expeditionary force, especially the more senior generals, who only drink Oak Town's wine.
Just at Qin Ling's feet, there were a lot of things of various sizes piled up. Behind Qin Ling stood a graceful blonde woman, who was smiling politely at William.
(Brothers may not believe it. I thought about the name Qinling for half an hour, so I was a little late——)