Chapter 283 Another "Western Front"

Tijani could hardly believe what Charles said was true. He thought Charles was joking, but Charles was serious.

Marines are needed for landing operations.

But there was no concept of "Marines" at that time, even the British Navy, which had been using warships to seize colonies all over the world, was the same.

The British Navy had the "Royal Marine Division", and the 29th Division, which was fighting in the Dardanelles at this time, was one of them.

But the "Royal Marine Division" was not an independent branch of the military, nor was it an independent branch of the military. It was an army attached to the navy. The navy used naval guns to beat the enemy out of temper, and the "Royal Marine Division" rowed ashore to occupy the target.

They were "going ashore" rather than "landing".

The British believed that as long as the enemy was still armed on the coastline, they could be solved with naval guns.

This was indeed the case when facing the natives with earth guns, earth cannons or wooden sticks and bows and arrows. The sound of the naval guns scared them, and the "Royal Marine Division" could row ashore with wooden boats without any resistance.

But facing a country with guns and cannons, especially this country had German support, the result was another matter.

Tijani was born in the navy, studied and trained in the army academy, and even participated in actual combat, so it was perfect for him to form the Marine Corps.

But Tijani became nervous: "Colonel, although I am willing, I am worried..."

"Are you worried that you are not competent?" Charles asked.

"Yes." Tijani nodded, with hesitation on his face: "I was trained for land warfare, and the only actual combat experience was the Battle of Cape Town."

Tijani was a little embarrassed, and this only actual combat was a shameful thing.

Then, Tijani raised his own question: "If I were to be a regiment commander, I wouldn't even know where to start, I have no idea..."

"It's very simple." Charles replied: "You just need to think about one question. Teaching the troops to use the ships you produce is like making an instruction manual, what to pay attention to, when to use it, etc."

Tijani half opened his mouth: "That's it?"

"That's it." Charles nodded: "Then it's the land warfare you learned."

Seeing that Tijani still had doubts, Charles added: "I heard that you are looking at war equipment in another way, like a work of art?"

"Yes." Tijani responded: "Many people don't believe it, but I do think so."

Then Tijani hurriedly explained: "But this will not affect my command, I promise! I can separate it from the war, I know these are two different things, I should keep my public and private affairs separate..."

"No, General." Charles interrupted Tijani: "I don't want you to 'keep your public and private affairs separate'."

Tijani looked at Charles with a puzzled look, and he thought Charles was joking again.

Charles explained: "War itself is an art. If you can really look at equipment and war in this way, you will be an excellent commander, General!"

Tijani was stunned.

Charles's point of view is very novel, and no one has ever said this before.

In military academies, it is always said that the cruelty of war is the unswerving execution of orders and the achievement of goals, which is different from the free play of art.

But Tijani felt that Charles was right. If you think about war from another height from the perspective of appreciating art, you will not be restricted by rules and regulations, at least you will not be entangled in which "offensive theory" or "defense theory" is correct.

Then Tijani figured it out.

Charles commanded in this way, and his command was an art, an art that was not restricted by any theory.

Perhaps war should be like this. It should respond to specific circumstances instead of looking at what is said in the textbook. If the textbook says it, then the enemy can guess it, and it is not war!

Tijani suddenly gained confidence, and he stood up and said: "I understand, Colonel. Then, the troops I command..."

Charles turned his eyes to Gallieni.

Gallieni said "hmm", opened the drawer, took out a prepared document and handed it to Tijani: "I transferred the 105th Regiment from the 6th Group. This is a unit that fought in the Battle of the Marne River and has rich combat experience."

In the past few days, Gallieni reorganized this unit, transferred the units with poor combat effectiveness and poor performance, and more importantly, conducted a screening and transferred some officers who did not support Charles from their posts.

Galieni believes that the latter is more important, although there are not many of them.

This is not just a problem of command difficulty. These officers may also be bribed by capitalists to target Charles.

Tijani took the document and flipped through it, looking at Gallieni impatiently: "General, when can I see my troops?"

"Anytime." Gallieni replied: "They are already resting at the Paris Police Training Base!"

"Great!" Tijani raised the information, excited like a child: "I, I'll go right away."

As soon as Tijani left, Lieutenant Colonel Fernand hurried forward and handed over a telegram: "General, another battleship was sunk, it was the 'Triumph'!"

Galieni was stunned.

The last time the battleship was sunk was at night, which could be attributed to the sneak attack of the Ottoman Empire's "torpedo boat", but this time it was during the day.

After taking the telegram and reading it, Gallieni's expression gradually became solemn. He handed the telegram to Charles: "It was confirmed to be a submarine. The German submarine rushed to the Dardanelles and sank the 'Triumph' with a torpedo."

The telegram was very detailed.

Because the Goliath had been sunk before, the British battleships were very cautious even when carrying out bombing missions during the day.

At that time, the Triumph was on high alert: it was protected by two destroyers, anti-torpedo nets were set up around the hull, and the watertight compartments were completely closed.

But the German torpedoes were equipped with net breakers, which easily cut through the anti-torpedo nets and then hit the Triumph.

The Triumph discovered the submarine, and it opened fire in panic but did not hit the submarine, but hit a British supply ship and caused a fire.

Soon, Gallieni received another telegram.

Gallieni's eyes were somewhat helpless: "They have withdrawn all the battleships to the anchorage, which means that the support of the warships on the other side may be weakened. Are you still confident about the landing?"

Charles replied: "That depends on what the purpose of the landing operation is."

"What do you mean?" Gallieni looked at Charles puzzledly.

Isn't the purpose of the landing operation to defeat the Ottoman Empire or force it to surrender?

To go a little further, it is to open up a new battlefield behind the Western Front to break the deadlock.

Charles calmly replied: "If we land in the Dardanelles without warning and catch the enemy off guard, it may be possible to break the deadlock. But now it has been more than a month..."

Gallieni nodded thoughtfully: "The Ottomans are already prepared, they just need to dig trenches, and there will be another Western Front!"

Therefore, the strategic goal of "breaking the deadlock" is doomed to be impossible to achieve.

If it can be achieved, the Western Front with more sufficient supplies will be enough, why is it necessary to transport troops, supplies, and ammunition to the Ottoman Empire?