After Rock became the Commander-in-Chief of the British Expeditionary Force, the British Expeditionary Force never took the initiative to hold such strange things as cocktail parties and dinners.
The world war is going on, the French are so poor that they are eating dirt, and the senior French officers are still in the mood to party. I have to say that the French are really big-hearted.
This is also people's tradition. No matter how busy you are at work, you must remember to relax appropriately. Only when you know how to live can you work, and when you have a good rest, you can work more efficiently.
It sounds like there's nothing wrong with it, but I always feel like something weird is sneaking in.
Family members can be brought to the banquet, but Roque cannot bring anyone with him. Phyllis and the children are in Nyasaland, Ada is in Pretoria, and the dogs around Roque are all male.
"Although there have been some twists and turns, we have finally reached an agreement with our allies. I wish us a smooth victory over the Germans and toast to victory!" Niweiler was wearing a gorgeous marshal uniform, but there were only a few medals on his chest, and
Not enough weight.
But Nivele was in good spirits and seemed very excited. It turns out that even white people's faces glow red when they are excited.
"For victory!"
The generals surrounding Nivel raised their glasses in response.
Rock also raised his glass, but said nothing. The battle has not yet started, so he drank to some kind of victory.
"We achieved brilliant victories last year, winning the Battle of Verdun and the Battle of the Somme in succession, causing huge damage to the German army. Now the Germans are a broken wall riddled with holes. As long as we gently
It will collapse with one push, Sherman Dedham will become the Waterloo of the Germans, and we will definitely win the final victory -" Nivele was in high spirits, trying his best to give the generals around him blood.
Waterloo seems to be a shame to the French. Isn't Nivelle really embarrassed to mention Waterloo in such a happy occasion?
There are also the Battle of Verdun and the Battle of the Somme. Whether the British and French allied forces achieved a real victory remains to be measured. The German army did suffer heavy losses in last year's war, but France's losses were also great. Although Nivelle mentioned Dudu
Not to mention it, but the people present are all senior officers and they all know the actual situation well. If not to mention it, it will not exist?
Deceiving yourself and others.
Nivelle also failed to mention the victory of the British Expeditionary Force in Belgium. This was probably too shameless to mention. Compared with the British Expeditionary Force, the performance of the French generals was really hard to describe.
"For victory!"
The French generals toasted again. The British generals present were a little embarrassed. Roque, the commander-in-chief, was not active enough in shouting slogans. Look how well the French commander-in-chief managed to create an atmosphere.
The British generals who attended the banquet with Rock included Henry Horn, commander of the First Army of the British Expeditionary Force, Commander of the Third Army, Julian Byng, commander of the Fourth Army, Hubert Gough, commander of the Anzac Army, and Bush, commander of the Anzac Army.
Ladd Nancy and Canadian Legion Commander Max Lloyd.
When Nivelle was feeding the French generals chicken soup, the generals of the British Expeditionary Force also gathered around Roque, listening to Roque talk about his understanding of the war.
"The scale of the world war is unprecedented. Weapons are becoming more and more efficient, more powerful, and more and more types. This means that the thin red line tactics we have always insisted on are no longer suitable for today's wars. The thin red line must be
Improve tactics." Rock is already recognized as a master of tactics and is on his way to becoming a master of strategy.
Julian Bean and Hubert Gough were the generals promoted by Roque after he became commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force. Max Lloyd was Roque's old friend. Brad Nancy was Roque's general during his time in the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force.
Although the Anzac Corps suffered heavy casualties in the Mediterranean, it was not Rock's responsibility. After arriving on the Western Front and fighting under the command of Haig, Brad Nancy realized that Haig and Rock's
gap.
"The participation of aircraft and tanks has completely changed the way we fight in the past. In last year's Battle of the Somme, we lost 60,000 people in one day. This kind of tragedy must never happen again. We must protect ourselves on the premise of
Effectively attacking the enemy, killing a thousand enemies and damaging eight hundred is not worth advocating. Only by rationally utilizing every resource of ours can we achieve final victory." At one time, Roque also hoped to use the world war to consume as much of Europe's power as possible. After the war broke out,
Only then did Rock realize the destructive power of the world war. Now Rock only hopes that the generals of the British Expeditionary Force will mature as soon as possible. The world war has come to an end. The blood has been shed, morale has dropped to the bottom, and human resources have been exhausted. If the war continues,
Britain and France will also undergo drastic changes similar to those in the Russian Empire.
"Lord, do we still want to take the initiative to attack the German army?" Hubert Gough previously served in the Fifth Army. After Rock dismissed Henry Rawlinson from his post, he appointed Hubert Gough as the commander of the Fourth Army.
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"Of course, we can't win without taking the initiative, but we must pay attention to the way we attack and coordinate as closely as possible with the infantry, tank troops, artillery units, and even the air force. In the past, artillery washed the ground and infantry groups charged.
The combat method is outdated. If the German army has complete defensive positions and sufficient reserves, then it cannot easily launch an attack. This requires all our troops to cooperate closely and pay attention to looking for loopholes in the German defense line. Once a loophole is found, we must
A decisive attack will not give the Germans a chance to fill up the defense line." Rock couldn't go into more details. Infantry and artillery coordination was okay, as well as infantry-tank coordination and air-ground coordination. The British Expeditionary Force had just begun to try in this area.
"Wonderful -" Rock was saying happily when Nivel's voice suddenly came from behind him.
Nivele finally fed the French generals enough chicken soup. As soon as he arrived at Roque's side, he heard Roque's words.
Rock smiled, whether it was exciting or not had nothing to do with the French army. The French army had no tanks or aircraft, so it was impossible to play infantry-tank coordination and air-ground coordination.
"So, Lord Nyasaland, how are you going to break through the German defense line in Reims?" Nivele sat down on the sofa opposite Rock. More generals gathered around, and everyone held their breath.
"It depends on the situation in Reims. The Air Force is observing the German troops in Reims. I can't determine the attack action until I get enough information." Even if Rock had a plan, he wouldn't say it here.
Not long ago, something happened that made Rock laugh and cry.
After the Rome Conference, the Kingdom of Italy sent a telegram to the Russian Empire, which revealed that the British and French forces would launch a new offensive in March.
Unfortunately, this telegram was intercepted by Germany, and the British government learned through intelligence agents in Germany that German intelligence agents had cracked the code used by the Kingdom of Italy.
Compared with the cute and cheerful Italians, the French's principle of confidentiality is not much stronger, so even if Roque had a plan, he would not dare to tell it openly at the banquet, unless it was a smoke bomb.
The telegram intercepted by the German army gave Ludendorff time to adjust the defense line. The German army's new defense line was called the Hindenburg Line, which was located behind the current defense line. When the German army retreated, the British and French forces had an opportunity to attack. Now they have the opportunity.
In a flash, Ludendorff calmly ordered the troops to retreat to the Hindenburg Line. The British and French allied forces advanced fifteen miles, but faced greater difficulties.
After retreating to the Hindenburg Line, the German defense line was 25 miles shorter than before, making more effective use of the terrain. The German army released 13 divisions of troops. These troops were regarded as reserves and placed behind the Hindenburg Line.
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At the same time, after a winter, another group of recruits came out of the German training camp. Ludendorff reorganized the field troops. The infantry division after the reorganization was slightly smaller than the previous one, but equipped with more weapons.
Machine guns and mortars, as well as direct-fire artillery against allied tanks, this was bad news for the British Expeditionary Force.
After reorganizing the troops, Ludendorff had 37 new infantry divisions in his hands. In addition to the 13 infantry divisions released due to the shortened defense line, Ludendorff's reserve force reached 50 divisions. Regardless of Ludendorff's
Whether these 50 divisions are deployed on the Western Front or the Eastern Front, it is a force that can change the situation of the war.
The new Hindenburg Line was a huge challenge to the British and French forces.
At the front of the Hindenburg Line were undefended trenches, which were ten feet deep and 15 feet wide to defend against British and French tanks.
Behind the trenches, there are five rows of barbed wire. Each row of barbed wire is about five feet thick and ten feet high, which translates to about three meters. The distance between the barbed wires is twenty meters, and the total width is one hundred meters wide. The British and French forces have to pass through.
Only after trenches and barbed wire could the Hindenburg Line be truly threatened.
But the challenge has just begun at this time. The Hindenburg Defense Line is different from the previous trenches. It is composed of dark rooms and secret passages buried underground. The bunkers are connected through tunnels. There is about 6 meters of soil above the bunkers. Even if it is surrounded by large
Caliber artillery is not necessarily destroyed if it is hit directly.
Think about it, when the British and French soldiers finally passed through the trenches and barbed wire after all the hardships, they would face crossfire carefully arranged by the German army.
Oh, by the way, there are landmines under the barbed wire. After the Hindenburg Defense Line built along the ridge, the German artillery positions are located on the reverse slope behind the defense line. It is difficult to be directly attacked by the artillery of the British and French allied forces. Such a defense line has almost no weaknesses.
, if you want to achieve a breakthrough at any point, you must be mentally prepared for heavy casualties.
The previous prediction given to Rock by the British Expeditionary Force Staff was that the capture of Brussels would cost 300,000 casualties.
To Rock's regret, Nivele didn't know what he was going to face yet, and actually claimed that the battle would be over within 24 hours, or 48 hours.