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November 11, Beijing, Xinhua Palace. After a week of fierce fighting between Chinese and British and French forces in the Kingdom, Wang Yuze summoned senior ministers from the cabinet and the military to discuss the current situation.

"In the desert of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, our brave soldiers are fighting fiercely with the British and French forces, although we are inferior in terms of troops, but we have an advantage that the British and French forces do not have, and the final victory will definitely belong to us! Next, the Chief of the General Staff will introduce you to the latest battlefield situation! Wang Yuze's words revealed a firm confidence. In this big battle with the British and French forces, China will not lose and cannot lose. Otherwise, all the previous efforts will be in vain. Moreover, the ownership of the Middle East is even more related to China's future in the future, and China must use all means to win this war.

After Xiong Wu, chief of the general staff, saluted Wang Yuze, he then said: "The battlefield between the imperial army and the British and French forces is mainly in two places, one is the sea. At present, the main force of the Indian Ocean Fleet of the Imperial Navy is facing off with the British and French navies in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Now, the channel of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait has been completely blocked, and no ship can pass through it from here. However, the navies of both sides are relatively restrained, and so far, there is no intention of changing this status quo! "Actually, it's not that the Chinese Navy doesn't want to change this status quo, it's that it's powerless. The British and French navies assembled six new battleships north of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, all of which were aimed at the main channel, and once the battleships of the Chinese Navy entered it, they would be besieged, and no battleship could resist them. Similarly, two 'Qin-class' battleships and two 'Zhonghua-class' battleships of the Indian Ocean Fleet of the Chinese Navy. The main channel of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait was also blocked from the south, and although the four battleships had only 32 305-mm guns, no battleship in the British and French navies could resist such dense firepower. Therefore, the navies of the two sides have entered a stalemate stage across the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, and no one can help anyone!

"The other battlefield is the land battlefield in the western part of the Kingdom. At the moment, the Anglo-French forces are on the offensive. Our army is on the defensive. Especially in the field of Medina, the British and French troops invested 100,000 men, and we fought very hard. However, under the stubborn resistance of the soldiers, the British and French forces suffered heavy losses. So far, nearly half of the casualties have been lost, but they have still not been able to take Medina. Most of the Medina city was under the control of the Imperial team. In the battle for Medina, the troops and civilians of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia also showed extraordinary courage, although they were relatively weak, but they were very brave. Dare to die with the Anglo-French forces. Considering these factors, although the situation in Medina is relatively critical, our army should not have much problem holding Medina! Chief of the General Staff Xiong Wu said.

"Lord Bear. I wonder how many casualties our army had? Prime Minister Yang Hua asked. The Anglo-French army lost nearly half, and I'm afraid the squadron lost a lot! Although the squadron was stronger than the Anglo-French forces, it was also limited in strength.

"So far, the latest battle report shows. The 15th Division of the Army and the 8th Division of the Marine Corps stationed in Medina suffered more than 8,000 casualties. Of these, more than 2,100 were killed and more than 1,800 were seriously wounded. Chief of the General Staff Xiong Wu said. However, the casualties of the Kingdom's military and civilians are not counted. According to incomplete statistics, more than half of the two divisions of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have suffered casualties, and the Saudi civilians in Medina have suffered heavy losses.

The battle damage is almost 1 to 6, this ratio makes everyone more satisfied. After all, Britain and France belong to one of the old powers, and it is still very difficult for the squadron to achieve a battle loss of more than 1 to 10.

"Lord Xiong, we only have eight divisions of troops in the Kingdom, which is almost one-third the size of the Anglo-French army. Why can't more troops be sent to the Kingdom? Foreign Minister Ng Dinh Fong asked. If enough troops were sent to the Kingdom, the troops would not have been bogged down.

"Fighting in the Middle East, because of the climate and geography, we can't send too many troops, otherwise we will be crushed by logistical supplies. In order to maintain the operation of eight divisions on the front line, the Kingdom has organized a transport force of 300,000 people. If one more army group is added, the transport team will have to be doubled! Chief of the General Staff Xiong Wu smiled bitterly.

After listening to this explanation, everyone nodded in agreement. In modern warfare, logistics is the fight, especially after the squadron is equipped with a large number of heavy weapons, the requirements for logistics are even stricter. If the smooth flow of logistics cannot be guaranteed, no matter how many troops are sent, it will be sent to death.

"Then why can the Anglo-French army gather hundreds of thousands of troops in the Middle East? Isn't there a lot of logistical pressure on them? Such questions have also been raised. The equipment of the Chinese Army and the Anglo-French forces is almost the same, and since the squadron is under heavy logistical pressure, the Anglo-French forces should also be the same! But now the result is that the Anglo-French army has amassed almost half a million troops in the Middle East.

"Britain and France are closer to the Middle East, for example, France, from the ports in the south of France, you only need to cross the Mediterranean. Egypt is again a British colony, and they can be of great help. And the distance from the empire to the Middle East, which is as high as 10,000 miles, is even more difficult. In addition, the current battlefield of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is mainly concentrated in the western part of the Kingdom, which is close to the Red Sea, and the entire Red Sea is under the control of the British and French navies, and their logistical supply lines are much closer than ours. Chief of the General Staff Xiong Wu replied.

"The reason why the British and French navies preemptively blocked the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and prevented us from entering was to shorten their logistical supply lines. It's just that now the Navy does not have the ability to break through the blockade of the British and French navies and enter the Red Sea region for the time being! Admiral Minister Zhang Cheng's face was a little unnatural. Although the Navy has not been established for a long time, it has already achieved numerous great victories. The Imperial Navy has also become a world-class navy. But I didn't expect that this time it was played by the British and French navies.

"So, how should we deal with the current situation?" Wang Yuze spoke. He doesn't value the process, he values the result!

"Your Majesty, the current war in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is very unfavorable to us. Although the Anglo-French attack was resisted by us, on the whole, their superiority in strength and logistics allowed them to unscrupulously increase their troops and attack us, and if we continued, even if we could hold on, we would pay a heavy price! Xiong Wu said.

Wang Yuze nodded and motioned for Xiong Wu to continue.

"After discussions, the General Staff decided to abandon the western regions of the Kingdom and transfer the battlefield to the central regions of the Kingdom. In this way, our logistical supply lines were shortened, and the logistics supply lines of the Anglo-French forces were extended. The Anglo-French forces were huge, and if the logistical supply lines were extended, it would put a lot of pressure on them. As long as we continue to persevere, we can drag them to death! Chief of the General Staff Xiong Wu said.

"Is this a trade in space for time?" Wang Yuze said. In the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in later generations, in the face of the Japanese attack, didn't the Kuomintang army do this? Although the Japanese army won a great victory in the early stage, as the battle line was lengthened and the forces were scattered, did it not also fail in the end?

That's what it means! We are using a temporary retreat to get out of the current disadvantage and buy time for the counterattack! Xiong Wu said.

"Then do what the General Staff has planned! However, the General Staff is also about to start planning a counterattack, this war, the time cannot be delayed for too long, if it can be ended before the end of the year, it will be great! Wang Yuze said. Now the empire is developing rapidly, and the outbreak of war, to a greater or lesser extent, will have an impact on the empire's economy, and if the war can be ended before the end of the year, then, it will not have too much impact on China.

"Yes, Your Majesty, the General Staff is already planning a counterattack, and if it goes well, it will be implemented at the end of the month!" Chief of the General Staff Xiong Wu said. In the plan of the General Staff, in order to carry out a counterattack and completely defeat the Anglo-French forces, it was first necessary to inflict heavy damage on the British and French navies, obtain sea supremacy in the Red Sea and even the eastern Mediterranean, and then encircle and annihilate the Anglo-French forces assembled in the Middle East. If it succeeds, then Britain and France will no longer have the strength to continue fighting, and can only recognize China's entry into the Middle East.

Next, the Chinese General Staff gave the order to the troops in the Kingdom to retreat. The squadrons assembled in the northwestern part of the kingdom will retreat east to the Khayl region, and the squadron in the Medina region will retreat to Buraidah in the Qasim region. The southern squadron stationed in Mecca will retreat to Riyadh, shifting the battlefield from the western region of the kingdom to the central part of the kingdom. In this way, the front of the Anglo-French forces will be stretched, their logistical supply lines will become extremely vulnerable, and when the time comes, it will be time for the squadron to counterattack.

On November 12, the fierce fighting in Medina continued, but the Anglo-French forces, which had suffered heavy losses, were no longer able to launch a large-scale battle, and their siege of Medina became full of holes. The squadron and the army of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia were no weaker than the Anglo-French forces in terms of strength, and if it were not for the sake of avoiding casualties, they could have launched a large-scale counterattack against the Anglo-French forces and drove them out of Medina. It's just that in this case, there will be a large number of casualties. If you continue to hold on, you can benefit from the good fortifications that have been built, and kill and injure the living forces of the British and French forces as much as possible!