"General Edmund Allenby, what is your opinion" John French tried to calm down as much as he could, turning his head to the general in charge of the offensive on the northern front.His honor had been put aside at this time, and with the lives of 300,000 soldiers killed and wounded today, John French was so depressed that he wanted to jump into the sea.Edmund Allenby was already a general in the British army at this time, and he was also a well-known general, and participated in many British foreign wars.Marshal John French was still more important to him among these people, so I wanted to hear what his opinion was."
Marshal, today the two armies are fighting.The casualties of our army were about 300,000, while the Huaxing army was estimated to be less than 100.It has become clear that if we continue to use this tactic, we will not only fail to achieve the desired effect, but also bury all the soldiers.Now it seems that we have to change our tactics and change our style of play," Edmund Allenby put forward his opinion with a serious face, and he did not support the reckless impact at this time."
Since that's what everyone meant, I respect your opinion.You have said a lot, and the casualties of our army today really shocked me.I am ashamed of the soldiers who died, and I will send a message to the king tonight to stop the tactics of quick victory.But there is one thing that you have to think clearly.What the hell did the Huaxing army want to do, why did they occupy Plymouth and never make any more moves" Marshal John French took out a cigarette and took two puffs.He is ready to take the blame and resign, but he still has to sum up his experience and stand on the last shift."
Marshal, I guess this is only the first step for the Huaxing army to attack us, and their navy has all returned, and they will definitely carry out the next strategy."
Chief of Staff Ian Hamilton was the first to give his opinion, a matter that he had been thinking about for a long time, and had already said it with considerable certainty."
The chief of staff is right, Huaxing Army dares to stay in Plymouth, there must be a plan for the next step.Otherwise, with the cooperation of the navy, they would have attacked directly to London, and there was no need to garrison Plymouth at all.I conclude that they must have deliberately lured our army over, but that the real target was London.Just wait for the defenses of London to be empty, and their reinforcements will take advantage of the weakness" General Douglas Haig, who agreed with the chief of staff, then expressed his thoughts.Huaxingjun's actions are indeed questionable, they came all the way to the UK, and they will never just want to occupy a port city in LinkedIn.As soon as his words fell, the generals in the command room immediately began to discuss, and their faces were full of solemnity."
This situation is complicated, our main naval force is lost, and we can't stop their reinforcements at sea.As soon as they attack London from the sea, we will be completely on the back foot. ”Admiral Edmund Allenby spoke at the end, and the public discussed it like this, and the truth was about to come out.But the reality was so cruel that the British army was insufficient, and if they wanted to defend London, they had to withdraw their troops from Plymouth.But the eyes of the king and the people of the whole country were fixed on this, and if he retreated without a fight, public opinion would surely frantically scold the army for its incompetence, and Marshal John French would take the blame and resign, and it would be a shame to be generous."
I know what everyone means, the Huaxing Army's attack on Plymouth is just a smoke bomb to attract our attention, and their real purpose is actually in London."
Field Marshal John French took a deep breath and nodded in agreement with the generals.In this way, all the problems can be explained.The two armies fought trench warfare, and it was always the defending side that took advantage.This was clearly seen in the European theater and against Germany.Among the British army, only Angus, who defended Plymouth, had fought trench battles with the Huaxing army, and knew the fierceness of the Huaxing army's attack.And his position is too low to participate in such high-level meetings.Otherwise, he would definitely raise objections and say that the Huaxing army was unstoppable when it attacked the trenches.The generals present still looked at the problem with the experience of the European war, and felt that as long as their side defended, the Huaxing army would not be able to take advantage of the attack.According to this thinking, all the generals were inclined to withdraw their troops from Plymouth, abandoning it for the time being.Then the whole army was assembled outside London, and as long as London was not lost, and the British capital was still there, the people would continue to resist to the end."
Do you all have any opinions?"
said Marshal John French, who was silent for a moment, and finally asked with a bitter face.He has now decided to give up the offense and play the active offense as a passive defense.Immediately return to London to prevent the Huaxing army from attacking London."
Marshal, we have only two paths at the moment.First, we made a mistake in our judgment, and the Huaxing army had no intention of attacking London.We continued to attack Plymouth, but we could not storm it, and could only engage in trench warfare with the Huaxing army.They don't have logistical supplies, they will run out of supplies very quickly, and we will attack again at that time.The second is, as we guessed.The real target of the Huaxing army is London, and we will immediately withdraw our troops from here, defend London tightly, and wait for the Huaxing army to attack. ”Chief of Staff Ian Hamilton made his final closing remarks.His duty has been fulfilled, and the rest is up to Marshal John French.Marshal John French gave a military order, and once he ordered the withdrawal of troops, he would not only have to take the blame and resign, but also face the frenzied attack of public opinion.As a marquis of the Empire, reputation is far more important than life and death, and for Marshal John French, it is really a dilemma."
I agree with the second opinion" "I also agree with the second opinion" "The chief of staff is right, it's not terrible to lose Plymouth, we can still take it back."
But if we lose London, we will not have the face to see the king and the whole country again"""The other generals have put forward their opinions, and the probability of the second scenario mentioned by the chief of staff is obviously higher than the first.The best option at the moment is to attack and defend.The Huaxing Army is alone, without material supplies, and its weaknesses will soon be exposed.If the British attacked by that time, the casualties would certainly be much smaller than they are now.The night was silent, and after the meeting of the British military leaders was dismissed, Marshal John French thought alone all night.For the sake of the lives of the soldiers and the safety of Britain, he finally agreed with the chief of staff and immediately withdrew his troops back to London.Although he himself lost face and position, if he could keep the foundation of Britain, his own honor would be nothing.At dawn, Marshal John French sent a telegram to King Edward VII and the Prime Minister, expressing his opinion to him.The Prime Minister read the Army's analysis and agreed with their choice in light of the current situation.King Edward VII didn't think so, and they went to attack more than 300,000 Huaxing troops with millions of men, and they retreated without fighting a day.This is a joke in England, retreating without a fight, and finding such an inexplicable reason is simply a loss of aristocratic face
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