When the time came to 1916, all participating countries were on the verge of collapse.
A revolution is brewing in St. Petersburg, the capital of the Russian Empire. This winter, a serious fuel crisis broke out in St. Petersburg. Many factories were forced to shut down due to lack of fuel. There was still flour in the bakery, but the lack of fuel could not make the flour into bread. After a day's work
Women queued for hours without food, and the whole city was in uneasy commotion.
The situation in Germany is equally dangerous. The bombers of the British Expeditionary Force are bombing military targets in Belgium, but the German army lacks the ability to counterattack due to various reasons. In order to increase the number of workers in the factory, the Germans forcibly recruited Belgians to enrich the factory, but to no avail.
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Germany's logistics supply has serious problems. Germany needs aircraft to compete with the British Expeditionary Force's air force, direct-fire artillery to deal with the British Expeditionary Force's increasing number of tanks, and conventional weapons to meet the consumption of frontline troops.
According to the importance of supplies, machine guns and rifles were given priority as the most important supplies. In early 1916, arsenals in Germany could produce 3,000 machine guns and 125,000 rifles per month, but they were still unable to meet the needs of the front line.
Just as Falkenhayn worried, after Hindenburg and Ludendorff came to power, their ambition for power spread uncontrollably to other areas. After New Year's Day, Hindenburg and Ludendorff decided to weaken Britain's war capabilities.
Unrestricted submarine warfare began, and at the same time it was decided to establish the Kingdom of Poland in order to gain the loyalty of the Poles.
Both decisions were bad ideas. Unrestricted submarine warfare not only attacked military targets, but also began to attack civilian targets. British merchant ship losses skyrocketed, reaching an unprecedented 650,000 tons in January.
However, this failed to make Britain surrender. Instead, it made the whole country unite and the cabinet became more united. If there was a possibility of peace talks before, now the war can only end unless one party is completely eliminated.
The establishment of the Kingdom of Poland was also a failure. Hindenburg and Ludendorff were both soldiers. They should focus more on how to defeat the Allies instead of easily getting involved in areas they are not good at.
When deciding to establish the Kingdom of Poland, Ludendorff hoped to recruit 1 million Polish soldiers, which would greatly alleviate the German army's shortage of troops.
In the end, only a few thousand Poles joined the army, which was almost negligible.
Throughout January, Robert Nivele was trying to unite the British Expeditionary Force to launch a new offensive against the Germans.
Roque rejected Robert Nivelle's plan, and the British Expeditionary Force continued to consume the German troops in Belgium at its own pace.
Compared with the French army, the efficiency of the British Expeditionary Force is also obvious to all, which gave Roque enough confidence to reject Robert Nivelle.
After the New Year, the Expeditionary Force bombers began bombing strategic targets in Belgium. The German army lacked fighter jets to protect its airspace. With almost no interference, the bombers were very efficient. Now the number of bombers involved in the bombing has reached 400, a total of
Divided into ten regiments to attack, almost all valuable military targets in Belgium have been destroyed. Starting in February, the expeditionary force bombers began to penetrate deep into Germany.
At the same time, the precision shooters of the expeditionary force also resumed "clocking in". At most, more than 600 precision shooters were participating in "hunting operations" on the front line. There were thousands of German casualties every day. Every day, this
Although the figures are not large, accumulated over more than a month, the price paid by the German army is equivalent to the losses caused by a medium-sized battle.
In mid-January, high-level Allied powers held a meeting in Rome. France finally realized the power of the new weapons equipped by the British army. Aircraft and tanks were new forces that could change the shape of the battlefield. France had already obtained the "Strong Wind" fighter jets and the "Light Wind" fighter jets.
The production of "cavalry" tanks is authorized, but it will take time to achieve scale, so the French army cannot do without the assistance of the British army.
In Belgium, the French army has even been in a auxiliary position, and the British Expeditionary Force is the main force in Belgium.
French Prime Minister Briand proposed at the Rome Conference whether a joint command could be established to uniformly command the Allied forces to fight the Allies more effectively.
Of course it is possible to establish a joint command, but command authority is a big issue. Brian hopes that the current French commander-in-chief Robert Nivel will serve as commander-in-chief.
Winston also had something to say on this issue. From a historical record point of view, Roark's record was far better than that of Robert Nivele, who performed well in the later stages of the Battle of Verdun. As the British Expeditionary Force continued to increase its troops, the British military in the West
The strength of the front line is no less than that of France, so Roque should be the commander-in-chief to better fight against the German and Austrian forces.
Brian gave in and agreed to Roque as deputy commander-in-chief.
The Commander-in-Chief of the Kingdom of Italy, Canadogi, who attended the meeting, and the new Chief of General Staff of the Russian Empire, General Alexeyev, also said that they did not want to compete for the Commander-in-Chief, but there must always be a deputy commander-in-chief.
Forget about the Russian Empire, Kanadoji incurred verbal violence from many leaders of the Allied Powers.
Regarding the performance of the Kingdom of Italy in the Battle of the Isonzo River, Deputy Commander-in-Chief?
It’s funny!
Before this issue could be discussed, St. Petersburg was completely detonated on January 28, and the Russian Empire was in danger of withdrawing from the war.
All offensive plans have been temporarily shelved. Once the Russian Empire withdraws from the war, the German army's millions of troops on the Eastern Front can be completely released. The pressure on the Western Front will immediately double. At this time, forget about attacking and focus on defense first.
Okay, let’s talk about it later.
Rock was not surprised when he learned the news. The Russian Empire in another time and space decided to withdraw from the war at the end of the year. The direction of the war in this time and space was completely different from that in another time and space. Rock did not know when the thunder would hit the Russian Empire, so
It is right to solidify the defense first.
Of course, even the defense of the British Expeditionary Force was full of aggression. The tank troops were dispersed by Rock to the second line of defense to strengthen defense. The bomber troops attacked more frequently. Railway transportation lines were the top priority for bombing.
, the expeditionary force air force blew up the railway during the day, and the German army organized Belgian engineers and Russian Imperial prisoners to repair it overnight. This seemed like an infinite loop, just like what the economist Keynes said: A country will not be afraid of failure.
The war will not stop until the country's human resources are exhausted, its war resources are exhausted, and its will to fight is lost.
Throughout February to March, both the British and French forces and the German army were digging trenches on the Western Front. The British and French forces fought independently. The German army's new defense line was further back than the current line of defense, called the "Hindenburg Line."
On February 18, a conflict broke out between the 2nd Cavalry Division stationed in Antwerp and local residents.
The reason for the conflict was ridiculous. A dog handler of the 2nd Cavalry Division did not close the cage of the military dog. A military dog sneaked out of the camp and wandered around. As a result, it was caught and eaten by a group of Antwerp people.
If it is an ordinary dog, it will be eaten if it is eaten. No one will take the lead. However, the military dog that was eaten has military status. The consequences are very serious. The Second Cavalry Division was dispatched overnight to arrest
42 citizens of Antwerp were arrested and decided to put them on trial at the Songhang Military Court.
"It's just a dog. If you eat it, you will be eaten. As for using military courts?" Albert I came to Roque to intercede. Forty-two Belgians were arrested for just one dog. This made Albert I
Unacceptable in any case.
"Rayleigh is not an ordinary dog. He has his own name, his own military badge, and is a soldier of the expeditionary force. He should not be treated like this." Rock was very angry, even if Rayleigh was an ordinary dog.
The dog is also the property of the British Expeditionary Force and cannot be eaten by just anyone who wants to eat it.
"Lord, I am willing to compensate in my own name. Please let go of those Belgians who have been forced to do nothing." Albert I was obviously trying to change his concept.
"Don't say it so innocently. There is no helpless force at all. If these Belgians have no food, they can find a job in the Expeditionary Force. The Expeditionary Force is building fortifications and needs a lot of workers. Although the salary offered by the Expeditionary Force is
It's not high, but it's no problem to support the family, so why don't these Belgians go?" Roque didn't want to sound too harsh. To put it bluntly, he just likes to be idle and idle. Such people are really worse than dogs.
"Not everyone is willing to work for the expeditionary force -" Albert I sighed. The relationship between Belgium and southern Africa was not good before the World War. Even now, some Belgians still hate southern Africans.
"Do you know what Reilly's job is?" Rock said nothing about humanity.
"I don't know, what can a dog do? Hunt? Or pull a cart?" Albert I really didn't know. Apart from hunting, dogs in Belgium can probably only pull carts.
"Rayleigh is a working dog. His mission is to find landmines planted by the German army. After coming to Europe, Rayleigh has completed more than 40 missions and found 162 landmines. Now you still think that he is an ordinary dog."
Is it just his dog?" Roque's tone gradually became stern. If Albert I still didn't understand, then Roque would have no choice but to see the guest off.
Albert I remained silent. He understood the truth, but could not accept it.
"It takes at least three years for the Expeditionary Force to train a working dog. They enjoy the same treatment as ordinary soldiers in the Expeditionary Force, and even the benefits are the same. I have told you that Rayleigh is also a soldier of the Expeditionary Force and is my subordinate.
, is my comrade-in-arms." Rock didn't want to be too harsh. In Rock's heart, the value of an idle guy is really not as good as a dog.
"My lord, on what charges will they be tried?" Albert I still had the last glimmer of hope.
"Murder!" Rock completely crushed his hope.
(Remembering the news about a police dog being poisoned to death, I hope those poisonous dogs who steal dogs will be turned into dogs in their next life——)