The small Ismailia was the weakest link in the entire British Suez Canal defense system. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

Unfortunately, with the fall of Port Said and Suez City, which were impossible to capture, Ismailia became the last strategic support point for the British army.

The British commander, Lieutenant General Donald, was so ruthless that he concentrated the last of the less than 30,000 British troops in Ismailia for the last resistance.

The plan of the British base camp was to hold the Suez Canal for at least three years, and even if supplies were blocked, it would still be able to hold on for a year. As the commander, Donald predicted that the Suez Canal could hold out for half a year, and if it was attacked by at least 100,000 Chinese Imperial Shence troops, he could hold it for three months at most.

However, Suez City was breached in one day, and Port Said, which was heavily defended, fell in three days, which made Donald very angry, knowing that the Suez Canal was gone, but as a general, if he was defeated too badly, how could he mix in the British Imperial army in the future.

Therefore, Lieutenant General Donald was ruthless and directly blocked the gates of Ismailia, completely eliminating the possibility of the British army escaping.

It's a battle to the death!

After a small day of panic among the remaining 20,000 British troops, all the British officers who opposed Donald's actions were executed, and it was in front of all the British troops that they were finally deterred.

Since he can't get out, he can't escape anymore, so he can only fight to the death with the Chinese Imperial Army.

At this time, the perimeter of Ismailia had been completely surrounded by the Chinese Imperial Army, but the warships of the Indian Ocean Fleet of the Chinese Imperial Navy had not yet been able to reach the city, because the British had sunk a large number of patrol ships, gunboats, and transport ships into the Suez Canal channel, forcing the Chinese Imperial Navy to spend a lot of effort and time to clean up these sunken ships.

When the victory of Port Said came, the 100,000 soldiers of the Chinese Imperial Army who were the main attackers felt disgraced, and they frantically attacked Ismailia.

This was a battle without naval and air support, and the battle of land against army alone was destined to be bloody.

It's also a duel of willpower!

For the first time, the British army fought bloody, they had no way to retreat, they had to fight hard!

The Chinese Imperial Army fought a real fire, the main attack turned into an assist, and without the support of the air force and navy, they did not weaken the prestige of the army.

It's a steel rain feast!

Hundreds of artillery pieces of the Chinese Imperial Army fired a salvo for five hours, I don't know how many rounds were fired, anyway, the barrels were red, the rifling was smoothed, and tens of thousands of tons of shells all hit the city of Ismailia, destroying everything that was more than a meter high.

The fire is scorching, and the smoke covers the sky.

Ismailia was in ruins, and the Imperial Chinese Army began a ground offensive, with hundreds of tanks clearing the way and roaring over the corpses of the British.

Donald was buried in the rubble, and with great difficulty crawled out, spitting out a mouthful of mud and sand.

Of the more than 20,000 British troops, less than 5,000 were able to breathe at the moment, and most of them were wounded.

Being able to survive this feast of steel rain is a miracle in itself.

"Prepare for battle!"

Donald couldn't find his own gun, he probably was buried somewhere, so he could casually pick up a gun from the surrounding ruins and direct the battle.

It's just that after a few shots, Donald was stunned because he found that there were no bullets.

"Damn, where's the ammunition?"

"Report sir, it's estimated that they're all buried in the rubble!"

"Then dig it out!"

……

In this case, it is obviously impossible to dig out, because the heavy howitzers of the Chinese Imperial Army have a characteristic, that is, they are specially dug pits, and every time they explode, a huge pit will be blown open, and the sediment in the pit will be blown nearby by the shock wave, piling up small mounds.

The ruins are in a mess, and they don't recognize their original appearance at all, even if the ammunition box was placed next to them at the beginning, they don't know where it is at the moment, because most of the people have been swept away by the blast wave at least once, and the position dug before has been filled, and the trench is more than two meters deep, even if it is dug, it will take time!

It's a pity that the Chinese Imperial Army has already rushed up and will not give the British time to dig up the ammunition boxes.

"General, surrender! There is no point in us resisting like this! ”

As soon as a British soldier finished speaking, he was shot by Donald.

"General, what can you do if you kill us all? Can you change the ending? ”

Another British soldier expressed his displeasure and was killed by Donald again.

However, Donald soon found that the British soldiers around him were already full of resentment when they looked at him, which was to cause the rhythm of mutiny!

Ay!

Donald sighed helplessly, pressed the rifle to his throat, and his foot reached out of his open-mouth boot and pulled the trigger.

Bang!

The gun went off, Donald committed suicide, and the body fell to the ground!

The surrounding British officers and soldiers just froze for a moment, and immediately let out the joy of the rest of their lives, and frantically shouted to the Chinese Imperial Army on the opposite side.

"We surrender!"

"Surrender!"

"Don't kill us!"

……

The Battle of the Suez Canal ended with the destruction of 100,000 British troops, and the Chinese Empire won the victory and occupied the Suez Canal at the cost of less than 3,000 men.

As the attacking side, the strong combat effectiveness of the Chinese Empire was manifested at this moment, causing panic in the entire Entente bloc.

Today, the whole world is singing the praises of the Entente bloc, believing that they cannot win the war, and that they have no chance of even ending it with dignity.

In Europe, the German Imperial Army adopted lightning tactics, thousands of Krupp tanks and thousands of Junker fighters, swept through the French battlefield, and defeated the Anglo-French army again and again.

Although on the battlefield of the Eastern Front, the Tsarist Imperial Army mobilized heavy troops to attack East Prussia in an attempt to force the German Empire to transfer troops from the Western Front to help, but unfortunately although the Tsarist Russian army has a large number of advantages, it is a large lack of equipment, resulting in firepower that cannot keep up with the German army on the Eastern Front, and even the Austro-Hungarian army and the Ottoman army on the Eastern Front battlefield do not take the Tsarist Russian army seriously, because they have been equipped with tanks and aircraft from the Chinese Empire on a large scale. A considerable number of infantry divisions and regiments were also equipped with automatic weapons imported from the Chinese Empire, and although the combat quality of their soldiers was inferior to that of the Tsarist Russian army, they were better equipped to make up for the lack of combat power and could compete with the Tsarist Imperial army.

It turned out that Britain and France urgently transported a piece of guns and ammunition to the Russian Empire, but unfortunately encountered a sudden interception by the German Imperial High Seas Fleet, and the British and French navies did not dare to fight a decisive battle with the German Imperial High Seas Fleet, and threw down a few sunken transport ships and returned to the North Sea.

In fact, the strength of the Royal Navy of the British Empire was far superior to that of the German High Seas Fleet, and with the addition of the Royal French Navy, the strength of the Anglo-French Combined Fleet was not enough to destroy the German High Seas Fleet, at least it did not have to escape.

But the British and French navies still ran away, making the whole world think that the British and French navies were afraid of the German navy.

As a result, for the first time, the German General Staff, which had achieved remarkable results on the land battlefield, began to despise the British and French navies.

This contempt was fatal, and the proud Germans soon paid a heavy price for it.

In April 1897, the European battlefield was extremely unfavorable to the Allies, and if it were not for the spring rains, which turned the French countryside into mud and made it impossible for the German tanks to climb out, I am afraid that millions of Anglo-French troops would have been completely crushed by the German blitzkrieg.

The muddy roads gave the Anglo-French troops a respite and built a large number of defensive positions, but the British and French high command was not so optimistic.

"Weapons and ammunition must be sent to the Tsarist Empire, otherwise we have no chance of winning!"

Rose and Napoleon IV exchanged encrypted telephones and reached an agreement that the main forces of the British and French navies would unify the Combined Fleet Command, led by the famous British Admiral David Lawrence, and the French Naval Commander, Vice Admiral Dale, as the deputy commander of the Combined Fleet.

The task of the Anglo-French combined fleet was to escort the arms to Tsarist Russia, and although he was prepared for a decisive battle with the German High Seas Fleet, in order to avoid unnecessary encounters, Lawrence decided to take the Arctic Ocean one after another, bypassing the Baltic Sea, and going through the Barents Sea to reach Tsarist Russia.

Although this is far away, it is better than insurance.

After all, the scope of activities of the German High Seas Fleet is concentrated on the Baltic Sea coast, and the blockade of the Baltic Fleet of Tsarist Russia is the main task, and if you go through the Barents Sea, you will avoid a decisive battle with the German High Seas Fleet, and from the position of the British and French leaders, they do not want the fleet to suffer losses, especially in the unfavorable situation of the land battlefield, the Royal Navy of the British Empire is almost the last hope of the Entente.

With this mentality of preserving strength, Lawrence and Dale set off with a huge combined Anglo-French fleet to escort 50,000 tons of munitions to Tsarist Russia.

This is the last hope of Britain and France, as long as 100,000 tons of arms reach Tsarist Russia, then at least two million Tsarist Russian troops will be armed, and they are equipped with the most advanced automatic rifles, large-caliber artillery, tanks and aircraft of Britain and France, which can directly raise the Tsarist Russian army to a higher level, enough to sweep the German and Austrian troops on the Eastern Front.

However, the poor intelligence services of Britain and France still failed to prevent the leakage of the news, and a German spy who was lurking in the top echelons of the French military automatically woke up and risked his life to send the information out.

In the Berlin Imperial Palace, after Wilhelm II saw this information sent out at the risk of death, he looked at Hitra on the side with a complicated expression.

"As you expected, Britain and France are desperate, and they are preparing for the final battle, gathering the main forces of the British and French navies together, and escorting 100,000 tons of arms to the Russian Empire through the Barents Sea."

Hitra was not surprised, but asked calmly, "What is Your Majesty going to do?" ”

Wilhelm II immediately replied: "Of course, all the strength was stopped!" I will order the main forces of the German Empire's High Seas Fleet to intercept the combined Anglo-French fleet with all its might, and never allow this batch of munitions to reach Tsarist Russia! ”

Hitra nodded, did not object, but asked rhetorically: "Then who is Your Majesty going to appoint as the commander-in-chief of the High Seas Fleet?" ”

Wilhelm II was a little puzzled and asked rhetorically: "Admiral Oskar von Huttier is currently the commander of the High Seas Fleet, and of course he personally led the fleet?" How do you ask this kind of question? ”

Hitra smiled bitterly and said, "Your Majesty, Oscar? Feng? Huthir is not up to the task, he will bury the entire high seas fleet! ”

Wilhelm II frowned suddenly, he trusted Oscar very much? Feng? Hutier, but Hitler obviously distrusts this person, and even directly said that he would bury the entire German High Seas Fleet, if it were not for the appreciation of Hitler's talent, and made great contributions to the German Empire, I am afraid that Wilhelm II would definitely be angry at this moment.

"Give me a reason! You have to convince me, or I'll be upset! ”

Hitra continued to smile wryly, knowing that he was not yet the most trusted man of Wilhelm II.

"Your Majesty, Oscar? Feng? Do you admit that General Hurthir is a very cautious man? ”

Wilhelm II nodded, of course he knew Oscar? Feng? Hurthir was cautious, otherwise he would not have handed over the high seas fleet to him. You must know that the High Seas Fleet is the work of more than 30 years for the German Empire, and once it is buried, it will be a disaster for the German Empire.

Hitra asked again: "This time the British and French are already cornered, and they even united all the main forces of the two navies before they dared to escort the arms to Tsarist Russia, what does this mean?" It shows that Britain and France are in a ruin, and they will transport this batch of arms to Tsarist Russia even if they die. What would they do if they were suddenly intercepted by the Imperial High Seas Fleet? That's right, fight to the death! ”

Seeing that Wilhelm II nodded in agreement, Hitra continued: "The British Royal Navy alone has already surpassed our High Seas Fleet in terms of the number of capital ships, and with the main force of the French Navy, it is twice the size of the High Seas Fleet. The British Royal Navy is a maritime hegemon for hundreds of years, with rich combat experience, and they have even fought with the Chinese Empire for 20 years, while our high seas fleet has not participated in a decisive naval battle in the steam age so far, and we have no actual combat experience. The British and French navies surpassed us in numbers, combat experience, and combat determination. Feng? General Huthir commanded the battle, and his too much caution would make him timid, and he would eventually choose to keep the ship, because he knew that if he kept the ship, he would save his life and career, and even if he was defeated and did not complete the mission, Your Majesty, you would not blame him, would you? ”

"This ......"

Wilhelm II was dumbfounded, and if that was the case, could he really blame Oscar? Feng? General Hurtier, after all, the other party's family is a German nobleman, who has assisted the royal family for generations and has great influence.

Wilhelm II had nothing to say, so he avoided the question and asked rhetorically: "Then who do you think is competent?" ”

Hitra smiled bitterly: "Your Majesty, strictly speaking, I do not approve of intercepting the British and French navies, because after many deductions, it is difficult for me to prevent this batch of arms from reaching Tsarist Russia. If I had to make a choice, I hope it would be Alfred? Feng? Tirpitz! ”

Wilhelm II frowned and said, "He is just a rear admiral, commanding a fleet of cruisers, how can he command the entire high seas fleet?" He doesn't have enough qualifications, and no one will obey him! ”

Hitra just continued: "Alfred? Feng? Tirpitz was a ruthless and cunning leader, as well as a loyal royalist, a radical in the navy, and if he came to command the High Seas Fleet, the only one had any hope of success. ”

Wilhelm II paced back and forth, skeptical of Hitler's words, but he knew very well that Hitler was right, that Wardil was too cautious, and that once the British and French navies showed valor and discriminated against them in a desperate battle, he would take the preservation of ships as his main task, and would rather be defeated than protect the safe return of the main fleet. But if, as Hitler suggested, Tirpitz was appointed to command the fleet, this guy was a ruthless and cunning, radical, even if he knew that Britain and France would fight to the death, he would fight a decisive battle without hesitation, which meant that the high seas fleet could be completely destroyed.

Steady means not being able to complete the mission, and being aggressive means that there is a risk of total annihilation.

It's a tough choice!

Especially for Wilhelm II, the establishment of the German High Seas Fleet, developed to today's strong scale, which is full of blood and tears, full of being cheated by the pit, every time I think of the year in order to establish the High Seas Fleet, I was deceived by the Chinese Empire, and spent countless unjust money to have today's high seas Fleet.

"Your Majesty, you don't have much time to decide, because the British and French fleets focus on speed, and the Imperial fleet focuses on defense, and now that the British and French combined fleets have set off secretly, we will not be able to catch up with others if we delay any longer."

Wilhelm II was still hesitant, for the first time he had become so indecisive, it was really difficult to make a decision, after all, the survival of the high seas fleet was at stake, and there was no room for sloppiness.

Hitra understood Wilhelm II's feelings, just as he had experienced the Second World War, and if he hadn't been so indecisive, he wouldn't have lost the battle.

"Your Majesty, you have two choices! The first is to appoint Tirpitz to lead the fleet to intercept British and French munitions. Instead, he continued to appoint Houdir as commander, but instead of intercepting the British and French navies now, he could wait for the British and French naval escorts to return successfully, and then attack halfway, and it was possible to win. ”

Wilhelm II sighed and finally said, "Well, I choose ......" (To be continued. )