Chapter 713: Counterattack in the making
Although this landing battle in the Dardanelles was shorter, the extent of the losses was not reduced. The British prepared for this landing battle for a longer time, mobilized more ships, and transported more soldiers.
In about three months, the fighting between the British and Ottoman armies became more intense, but now they have to admit that they cannot achieve their goal. If manpower can be compensated from British India, Britain and France have lost several battleships in this war, which is even more intolerable when combined with the Battle of Jutland.
Most importantly, unlike in history, this time the British retreat was discovered by the Ottoman Empire. The ensuing pursuit and the chaos of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps scrambling to escape brought huge casualties. At the end of the Dardanelles landing battle, the British and colonial troops had a cumulative death toll of nearly 200,000. In the final retreat, more than 50% of the landing troops were killed by the pursuing Ottoman soldiers, accounting for a large part of the 200,000 dead soldiers. Together with the wounded in the battle, this was a complete defeat.
Ottoman soldiers rushed out from eleven fortresses near the strait and, under the cover of nearby fortress artillery, reaped the already dispirited attacking enemy.
Another major reason for the heavy casualties, just as the severe winter helped the Russians defeat Napoleon, was the harsh climate of the peninsula, which caused various battlefield diseases to spread and directly led to serious non-combat casualties in the troops. The coalition soldiers died in one suicide charge after another, but still could not occupy the predetermined target and could only be trapped on the extremely narrow and thin beachhead.
When the landing battle began, the climate on the peninsula was still hot, and the battlefield was full of rotting corpses that could not be dealt with, which led to the spread of diseases such as dysentery, diarrhea, and enteric fever. In winter, the terrain of the battlefield facing the mountains and backed by water further exacerbated the lethality of the cold weather. Severe frostbite and other seasonal diseases quickly spread among the soldiers, more than 20,000 people were frostbitten, and many people were even frozen to death, which was extremely tragic.
For the Ottoman Empire, this great victory in the defensive operation gave birth to a new star general, who later became the founding father of Turkey, Kemal. He led the territorial army to successfully block the landing of the Allies twice, and won the reputation of "the savior of Istanbul". Due to his outstanding military exploits, it was a foregone conclusion that he would become a general.
When the news came, Sheffield opened champagne. The opening masterpiece of the decisive year was definitely not his. It was better not to fight such a hateful battle. William Pasha was absolutely not jealous of the hero of the Ottoman Empire appearing at this time, and he thought that the other party deserved it.
The women were already used to seeing the Allies' victory over the slave owners. Louisa Morgan didn't even want to ask stupid questions like why they were happy. Instead, she said, "My dear, you seem to think highly of this general named Kemal."
"No, everyone makes mistakes. Otherwise, there wouldn't be countries that continue to grow strong and then perish." Sheffield tilted his head. He didn't have any special admiration for the father of Turkey. He remembered the rumor that Kemal said before his death: "If I have to participate in a world war, I must stand on the side of Britain."
In fact, in the Second World War that Kemal had predicted, Britain could no longer be compared with the United States and the Soviet Union in the war, and was just a nominal Big Three. Kemal's expectations of the British were too high. In the Second World War, Britain was already unable to deal with Germany alone, and its national strength and leadership were no longer good enough.
"The most frustrating thing is that the First Lord of the Admiralty Churchill actually resigned." Sheffield sighed and asked, "Which family did the Churchill family marry into?"
"The Jerome family was a new elite in the United States at that time, with assets worth tens of millions of dollars. Of course, looking at it now, it is almost the same as the Vanderbilt family." Louisa Morgan knew all about this kind of thing, and Edith Rockefeller nodded.
"The Vanderbilt family has helped me, and I don't allow you to say that." - Sheffield glanced at Louisa Morgan and Edith Rockefeller's faces, and did not target Evelyn and others on the side. Others did not have the confidence to laugh at the Vanderbilt family.
Not to mention decades ago, even a few years ago, it was common for wealthy people in the United States to marry European aristocrats for social status. In the eyes of many people, Sheffield was such a person.
It was not easy for the newly emerging wealthy business class to enter the upper class. At that time, the main members of the upper class were descendants of the Dutch, that is, people from families like Alice Roosevelt.
The Jerome family could not get the approval of the Dutch descendants, so they tried to marry into the European nobility. Although the British nobility lived a stable life, they were also stretched to the limit. Hit by the globalization of American wheat, the nobility, who relied heavily on agricultural income, generally began to spend more than they earned, and it was common for them to sell their property in order to maintain a luxurious life.
At a summer social dance, Jenny met 23-year-old Randolph Churchill. Randolph invited Jenny to dance. The two fell in love at first sight. Just three days later, Randolph proposed to her, but both parents disapproved.
For the Jerome family, Randolph was only the third son of the Duke. According to the British primogeniture system, Randolph had neither a title nor money, which was of limited help in improving his status. For the Churchill family, Jenny was a suspicious American woman and was very unwelcome.
The Jerome family entered the upper class of New York's Dutch descendants through marriage with British aristocrats. Since then, the Jerome family's operations have been imitated by the wealthy in the United States. Later, the fruit of this marriage was born, named Winston Churchill, who just stepped down from the position of Minister of the Navy because of the failure of the Battle of the Dardanelles to go fishing.
This joint British and American Navy Secretary is more acceptable to the United States than the Chamberlain father and son, who have the potential to become German traitors. If the United States must sell out its country, why not choose a richer country to cash in?
"Blood is thicker than water!" Sheffield sighed with a sarcastic smile. "In my heart, I really don't want to be hostile to the British. This situation is really not what I want. In fact, as long as the British promise not to continue military operations in the Persian Gulf and recognize that the coastal lands of Oman all the way to Basra belong to me, we can completely avoid fighting."
The atmosphere in the room froze awkwardly. No woman believed Sheffield's words. No matter what, Sheffield still stuck to Louisa Morgan and said pitifully, "Don't you Morgan family have connections in the UK? Can't you say something for me? Let the UK recognize my interests in the Persian Gulf, so that I don't have to sacrifice my life. Although I know that Indian lives are worthless, it's not good for everyone to tear each other apart. I don't want to use money to incite the Indian Peace Corps to jihad, and the British don't want British India to be unstable. Why can't we both take a step back?"
At the Eighth Army Headquarters in Kuwait City, John Connor held a telegram sent back from home. There was only one line of letters on it, "The wood used to build the church should be used."
After putting away the telegram, John Connor said to Zidselayan, "General Zidselayan, I believe you understand the situation we are facing now. Although the British Indian Army has not posed a fatal threat to Kuwait, the situation is still quite tense. You know us. If it were not for the survival of Christians in the Middle East, with our boss's wealth and social reputation, we would not have to intervene in this unprecedented war."
"And now, we must break the current deadlock. Our primary goal is to annihilate the British and Indian troops that are currently semi-encircling Kuwait." John Connor said solemnly, "Not only does it require a victory, but a huge victory, so that the almost endless manpower of British India will no longer be poured into your homeland."
After Sheffield became the Pasha of Kuwait with territory, the Black Gold Company in Kuwait used this rhetoric to promote it in the Middle East for many years. It is not terrible to lie once, but it is terrible to never tell the truth. Christians in the Middle East, whether Assyrians or Armenians, can be said to have heard these words since they were children. Now they have served in the army and have long believed in such words.
Zidselayan was certainly not a soldier who had just joined the army as an adult, but he also did not doubt John Connor's words. These people from another country, with the support of their bosses who had been investing money for many years, really did what they said, so there was nothing to doubt.
“I and all the soldiers of the 29th Army have always been willing to fight for survival. The Armenians helped William Pasha fight with a grateful heart,” Zidselayan assured.
"Okay, the 29th Army, like the 28th Army, is composed entirely of Armenians. It has been serving as a reserve in Basra and is now intact. The entire army has 45,000 people. The trucks and motorcycles of the Eighth Army are in your hands. The value is simply unimaginable to ordinary people. Now there is an important task for you!" In this case, John Connor did not keep the secret and revealed his plan.
In order to complete a large-scale deep raid plan, this motorized corps must be kept intact. In the world of 1916, there was no motorized corps that did not exist. The Kuwaiti command had been thinking about this for a long time, but they did not know whether the plan could be successfully implemented.
"After the plan begins, the Kuwaiti defenders will counterattack across the board, but the fate of the entire battle is in your hands. You must make good use of your mobility to bypass the British and Indian Corps' defenses as quickly as possible and cut off their retreat from behind." John Connor looked at Zidselayan with burning eyes, "Can you do it?"
(End of this chapter)
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