The Rise Of Australasia
Chapter 561: Chapter 438: Battle of the Somme_3

Although the current performance of British tanks is quite touching, in this era, tanks are lethal weapons that can effectively resist German rifles and machine guns.

While it is true that firearms can cause damage to tanks, German artillery cannot accurately target these tanks, especially since they are now close to the German front lines, where there are many German soldiers.

On the way forward for these tanks, countless trenches and iron wire mesh that could block the British and French forces were easily crushed, and the German troops had no power to resist at all.

Under the cover of more than ten tanks, more than five divisions of British soldiers launched an attack on Germany.

In just five hours, these tanks pushed the front line forward by more than five kilometers, something the British and French forces had not achieved in the previous days.

However, the British excitement soon came to a halt because they found, to their tearful dismay, that only less than five of the 15 tanks could move by the second day, and the other tanks either had damaged parts or had some unknown reason for not starting.

Five tanks could no longer play a crucial role in the battle, and the number of British soldiers they could cover was limited, not to mention that there was no guarantee that these tanks would not break down again.

This is why the British advance was halted and the advantage that tanks had brought to the British disappeared instantly.

In the British rear, when Winston Churchill heard that more than 40 tanks had only pushed the front line by five kilometers, he said in disappointment, "I'm shocked that Haig (River Somme Battle British Commander) exposed this big secret to the enemy on such a small scale!"

The British government's secret weapon, the tank, had only pushed the front line forward by five kilometers. What was even worse was that not only the Allies knew about the existence of tanks, but Germany also learned about the existence of such weapons.

Given Germany's technology, it should not be difficult to replicate a tank like this. Although the performance of tanks is not currently well guaranteed, during critical offensive and defensive battles, a sufficient number of tanks can indeed pose a deadly threat to the enemy.

No matter how much criticism Churchill and the British government had against Haig, the fact that the British had missed the opportunity could not be changed.

After the public exposure of tanks as secret weapons, the British had no other options but to use a sufficient number of human lives in the Battle of the Somme.

Following this, the Battle of the Somme had virtually become another Battle of Verdun, a gladiatorial arena for British and German soldiers.

What was even worse was that, for most of the Battle of Verdun, the French Army was in a defensive posture, which helped ensure that its casualty rate was slightly lower than that of the German Army.

However, the Battle of the Somme was an offensive war launched by the British and French forces, a counterattack against Germany.

This made the British and French forces the attackers, while the true defenders were the Germans.

With a sufficient number of machine guns and firearms, the Germans were able to take considerable advantage in the Battle of the Somme, causing massive casualties to the British and French forces.

The Battle of the Somme lasted for over a month, and aside from inflicting over 200,000 casualties on the British and French forces, they only gained a narrow strip of land several kilometers wide and more than 20 kilometers long.

The French government's much-touted Somme counterattack not only failed to achieve results, but also plunged the French government into an obvious quagmire, following the Battle of Verdun.

General Neville, who performed well in the Battle of Verdun, took over as the new Commander-in-Chief of the French Army after the stubbornness of Cynthia in the early stages of the Battle of Verdun and his penchant for intervening in politics but not wanting to be ordered by the government were taken advantage of by French politicians to bestow on him the rank of Marshal but at the cost of returning to civilian life.

As a side note, General Hague, who was criticized by the British for prematurely revealing tanks, not only retained his position as commander of the British Expeditionary Force but was also awarded the rank of Field Marshal and continued to control the British Expeditionary Force.

On the German side, the German military paid great attention to the Battles of Verdun and the Somme, even calling them the only chance for Germany to win.

Knowing that Germany was at a disadvantage in terms of manpower and material resources, Ludendorff rushed to the front line of the Somme as soon as the war broke out and, based on his own understanding of the situation, devised a new war theory for the frontline soldiers, namely "The Way of Conducting Defensive Warfare".

The German Army no longer sent large-scale infantry to rush to the front lines but instead deployed part of the machine gunners at the forward positions.

As long as the enemy's attack went deeper and deeper, the fortresses and trenches that greeted them would become tighter and tighter.

At the same time, the German Army placed a large number of infantry in places that could not be reached by enemy artillery, waiting for opportunities to launch local or forward counterattacks.

Although in the Battle of the Somme, Germany was in a defensive posture and this military theory was not much needed.

But in history, this new military theory has greatly helped Germany's later offensive, effectively slowing down the speed of Germany's defeat.

Although Rudolf's shortsightedness in strategy led to Germany's ultimate failure, his brilliant tactics delayed Germany's failure progress.

Experience tales with M V L

In comparison, Rudolf's contribution to Germany was greater than his faults and he was still indispensable in World War I.

The outbreak of the Battle of Verdun and the Battle of the Somme successively was not good news for Britain, France and Germany on the Western Front.

These two battles in history caused heavy casualties to Britain, France, and Germany, and in this time and space, it would only be more severe.

However, for Australasia and Arthur, this might not necessarily be bad news.

First of all, the war of attrition consumes manpower and material resources, and Australasia is heavily dependent on the export of materials to Europe.

In other words, because of these two wars of attrition, Australasia would make more profits and indirectly raise Australasia's position among the Allies.

As for the consumption of Britain and France in these two wars of attrition, Arthur could only laugh and say that the two allies could take it on themselves without any problem.

Actually, The Allies seemed to be united as one, but they also had considerable disputes internally.

It has been nearly two years since the outbreak of the war, and various struggles within the Allies have never stopped.

First there were Britain, Australia, and Russia tricking France, Britain, and Russia tricking the French, Britain, and Australia tricking France and Russia, and now Russia and Australia tricking Britain and France; it can only be said that it was an endless cycle of vengeance from which no one could escape.

Actually, this is also normal, as Britain, France, and Russia are all old powers, with deeply-rooted domestic forces and interest groups, and it is impossible for them to sacrifice their own interests to save their allies.

Take the territorial demands of Britain, France, and Russia for example, the French want to annex large areas of Germany, which the British do not allow; Russia wants the region of Iran, which the British do not allow.

Previously, France also opposed Britain gaining Syria, Palestine, and Iraq, but eventually, it was divided by Britain and Australasia together.

In addition, the relationship of the great powers in the Constantinople area is also very complex. If they want to control Constantinople in order to get a stable exit to the Black Sea, both Britain and France do not allow it.

But on the other hand, in order to prevent Russia from withdrawing from the war in the middle, the British made a vague promise to Russia, promising that after the war, under the agreement of Russia, the fate of the two straits of Constantinople would be settled.

Actually, if one looks closely at the internal contradictions of the Allies, a considerable part of it is the contradictions between Britain and other countries.

The contradictions between France and Russia, Australia, and all other countries are not that big. It is precisely because of this that the British are eager to win over Australasia, form a stable alliance after the war, and ensure that France and Russia will not ally against Britain.

The British are also afraid of the alliance of France and Russia. If the war is victorious, France and Russia will be the two strongest countries on the European Continent.

The agitating nature of the British does not allow France and Russia to grow bigger, so they can only seek the support of faraway Australasia to maintain their continental balance policy.