709 Harsh

When the War Ministry learned of the attack on Tanganyika from southern Africa, it was already August 15th, the day when the Germans, led by Ludendorff, had captured the fortress of Liège and the gates to Paris were completely open.

In order to conquer the fortress of Liege, Germany leased from Austria-Hungary a 305 mm Škoda assault mortar, a huge artillery piece affectionately known as the "Slim Emma" by the German troops.

The reason why the 305 mm caliber is still called "slim" is because the German army also has a huge cannon with a caliber of 420 mm, the "Big Berta".

The "Big Berta" is produced by Krupp Steel, this big guy weighs 75 tons, each shell weighs a ton, must be split into five parts before it can be transported by rail, when used on a special reinforced concrete base, driven by electricity, 200 soldiers work together, and can fire ten shells per hour.

The "Big Belta" is so powerful that it can destroy all targets, and before each launch, the artillerymen have to hide three hundred yards away, and although the range of the "Big Belta" is only nine miles, its ballistic trajectory is very high, and the shells fall almost vertically on the target, and the delay insurance allows the shells to explode after passing through the target.

During the assault on the Ronsen battery, the shells fired by the "Big Berta" detonated the ammunition depot of the battery, causing a chain explosion and completely destroying the entire battery, in which General Lehmann was captured, and when he woke up, he said to the German officer who had captured him: I ask you to testify that I was in a coma when you found me.

The fall of the fortress of the Sun represented the imminent face of a German invasion by France, against whom Britain had declared war ten days earlier, and the expeditionary force that had been formed for the war was ready to be formed, the commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force was John Frenzi, who had distinguished himself during the Second Boer War, and had just been promoted to field marshal a few months earlier, having previously served as chief of the British General Staff.

"John, you have a great responsibility, and you should be careful when you go to France." War Secretary Kitchener was earnest, and his attitude was not what Forrenzi expected.

The British Expeditionary Force consisted of five divisions, four infantry divisions and one cavalry division, which included almost all the units that the British could mobilize.

According to Frenzi's vision, Britain would have to go all out to defeat the Allies after entering the war.

In fact, before this, there had been a lot of controversy in Britain about whether Britain should maintain its alliance with Russia, whether Britain should enter the war, and even whether Britain should choose to join forces with Germany.

These controversies were ultimately won by the main war faction led by Kitchener and Winston, and before Britain declared war on Germany, several cabinet members resigned in protest, but no one cared about them, and the main war faction's promise that only the Royal Navy would participate in the war was already a thing of the past, and the expeditionary force was soon formed, and the Londoners rejoiced, hoping to fight in Berlin within three months to end the war, not realizing how cruel the world war was.

"The fortress of Liège has fallen, there is no danger to defend on the southern front, and the German army is pressing the border, we must set off as soon as possible." Frenzi advocated the importance of speed, but others did not think so.

Kitchener and Winston looked at each other, both of them had worries in their eyes, it was not appropriate to entrust the expeditionary force to Frenzi, he was too aggressive, he did not know how to serve politics, and it was a blessing or a curse for such a person to be the commander of the expeditionary force.

If he could, the commander of the expeditionary force would definitely not be Frenzi, but there was no better choice for the traditionally predominantly naval Britain, and Frenzi was already the best army general, unless Kitchener personally led the expedition, but Kitchener was also needed to be in charge of the homeland.

During the Second Boer War, Kitchener was Count Roberts, who was originally a better candidate for commander of the expeditionary force, but Count Roberts was too old and had basically taken a back seat and was not suitable to be the commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force.

"John, your men are the only mobile forces in the British Empire, so—" Kitchener tried to get Frenzi back on the right track.

Frenzi did not speak, and stared at Kitchener, who was suddenly speechless.

"John, the commander-in-chief of the French army is Joseph, and the expeditionary force went to France to fight with France, not the main force, so you must always pay attention to the situation of the troops and not put the troops in danger." Winston is more direct, the native expeditionary force is all white, and it cannot be given to France as cannon fodder in vain.

"You mean to let me save my strength, then we just don't go to France, it's not bad to go to the docks to help move things, that's also to contribute to the victory over Germany." What Frenzi feared the most really happened, as the commander of the expeditionary force, if he did not perform well, then Frenzi would definitely be blamed at home.

But even if it is a good performance, if the losses are heavy, domestic public opinion will not let go of Frenzi, so this is a rat drilling bellows at both ends of the please, everyone wants to easily defeat the Germans, but the Germans do not agree.

"Don't worry, the troops sent by Lord Nyasaland have already departed from Walvis Bay and will arrive in Calais in a week." Winston didn't care, as long as he could win, it didn't matter if he was a Frenchman, and he didn't die in poverty.

Calais was located in France's closest border region to Belgium, and the War Department arranged for reinforcements from southern Africa to go directly to the French war without going through the home rest.

"Hopefully, Calais will still be in our hands by then." Frenzi laughed angrily, the fortress of Liège had fallen, and then the German army was in front of a flat river, Calais bore the brunt, what did the Anglo-French army take to resist the German attack?

"John, I hope you understand, this is for the good of the British Empire." Kitchener adjusted his mentality, and for the sake of the national interest, personal sacrifice was not worth mentioning.

What's more, it's just a sacrifice in this aspect of the three views of morality, history is written by the victor, as long as the war is won, all actions are politically correct, the rout on the battlefield can be glorified as a strategic retreat, the preservation of strength can also be said to be the search for fighters, abandoning allies is a great strategic choice, in short, the British Empire is right to do anything.

"Well, I'll be careful—" Frenzi had to bow his head in front of the interests of the Empire, and compared to the interests of the Empire, personal honor and disgrace really had to be put aside for the time being.

"Gentlemen, Southern Africa has launched an offensive against South-West Africa." Commander-in-Chief of Defense, Count Roberts, brings good news.

"That's great news!"

"Good!"

Winston and Kitchener applauded, and Frenzi squeezed out a hard smile, and after hearing so much bad news, there was finally uplifting news.

"The third shipment of rifles from Nyasaland has arrived in Brighton, this one is 300,000 rifles." Earl Roberts had good news.

"Great!" Kitchener was in a happy mood, the three batches of rifles added up to a total of 800,000, although it still did not reach one shot per person, but the embarrassment of some time ago had been greatly alleviated.

"But I have bad news, Southern Africa is on the offensive towards Tanganyika, having captured Usombra and Dar es Salaam—" Count Roberts was not all good news, and both Kitchener and Frenzi frowned at the news.

For Kitchener and Winston, the attack on South-West Africa by Southern Africa was a welcome surprise, while the attack on Tanganyika was unexpected.

Compared to South-West Africa, which is mostly a barren and barren desert, Tanganyika has a large area and abundant resources, and has greater potential for development, and both Kitchener and Florency participated in the Second Boer War and know the value of Tanganyika.

In fact, the four people in the room all participated in the Second Boer War, but their positions are different, so their attitudes towards this matter are also different.

"Great, we can defeat the Germans more easily if we cut off Tanganyika and South-West Africa from the German mainland." Winston doesn't care about Tanganyika, his relationship with Roque is there, and whether he worries about the future or not, Winston has to maintain contact with Roque during the World War.

"Why did Southern Africa, when it was able to attack South-West Africa and Tanganyika at the same time, send only one division to Calais?" Kitchener was not concerned with Tanganyika either, he was only concerned with the strength of southern African support for the British.

"The five divisions attacking Southwest Africa were originally intended to be sent to Calais, but the War Department ordered Southern Africa to launch an offensive against Southwest Africa, so these five divisions were to be used in Southwest Africa." Winston learns about Roque's battle plan.

"And what about Tanganyika? The War Department did not order the southern African offensive against Tanganyika. Kitchener was not satisfied with this explanation, and in his view, southern Africa should provide greater support to the homeland.

"Tanganyika is too close to Nyasaland to pose a great threat to industry in Nyasaland, which is now the industrial centre of southern Africa, and Lord Nyasaland must have his reasons for doing so." Winston's inclination is evident, and Roque's efforts over the years have finally made a huge difference.

"In any case, our biggest enemy now is Germany, Lord Nyasaland is not our enemy, Southern Africa can also provide us with much-needed supplies, as well as more reinforcements, and the Southern African Ministry of Defense has decided to form ten more divisions ready to be sent to France to fight, they will be a strong supplement to us." Winston was adamant, the Second Boer War did not leave him with a good memory, and in his opinion, the colonies had also become a burden on the British Empire, so Winston would resolutely promote autonomy in southern Africa during his tenure as Deputy Minister of Colonial Affairs.

"John, your chance has come—" Kitchener put aside the fact that southern Africa took the initiative to attack Tanganyika, Franczi wanted to make a contribution, Kitchener and Winston wanted to preserve their strength, and now there is cannon fodder, although there is not much, but southern Africa will send more cannon fodder.

What else can be demanded of such a southern Africa.

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