1890 King of Southeast Asia

Alvin's actions in the rear were fatal to the British army. Although they were not many in number, their position was very important.

In one day, Alvin knocked out 3 artillery battalions, 27 supply stations and 16 wounded battalions, destroyed all the bridges along the way, and set up many obstacles on the road.

The British battle was greatly affected by this. Faced with the possibility of collapse of part of the front line, the British had to retreat, and the German army took the opportunity to open up the situation.

The war dragged on until June 10th. The German army paid the price of more than half of the casualties of the 4th Reserve Army, the 2nd Infantry Army, and the 15th Reserve Army to recapture the 17-kilometer position, and the front line returned to the position at the beginning of the battle.

This is a tug-of-war, the most terrifying battle with the largest casualties.

As a result, the series of battles surrounding the battle for Verdun were given the title of Verdun Meat Grinder. After one month of the war, the total casualties of the three countries of Britain, France and Germany had exceeded 500,000.

...

"Winston, your 6-land cruiser plan failed. This expensive plan did not achieve the expected results."

"The Battle of the Dardanelles also failed. I began to doubt your position."

At the wartime meeting, Winston's political opponents fired at him with a series of achievements.

"This is the most appalling slander I have ever heard. I am a gentleman and a glorious officer of the former 6th Army Cavalry Regiment. If this is on the street, I must duel with you."

Winston stood up, put his hands on the table, stared at his gray-haired political opponent opposite him, and said confidently.

"Really? It's okay here. The men of the Florence family will not be afraid of any challenge, never." The political enemy was not a vegetarian either, and he was about to throw white gloves to Winston.

"Okay gentlemen, the purpose of today's meeting is to discuss the progress of the war." Asquith tapped his civilized stick and gave the two a step down.

"The war has only been going on for a year and a half. Military spending has reached 700 million pounds in the first half of this year. The total military spending this year will definitely exceed 400 million pounds."

"We have issued a total of 5 billion pounds of national debt and 800 million pounds of foreign debt. In order to maintain the combat effectiveness of the French and Russians, we have to spend 200 to 300 million pounds every year."

"London's gold reserves have been consumed by 20%, and at least 10 billion pounds of cash has flowed into China recently. The financial situation is not optimistic."

"We need to end the war as soon as possible. The results of the negotiations are not ideal. The Germans are still unwilling to admit defeat."

Asquith is very tired. In a year and a half, the British government has been impoverished. Now the British government is like a beggar, asking for money everywhere.

The most uncomfortable thing is that this beggar not only has to take care of himself, but also has to take care of France and the Russian Empire. If he borrows some money, he has to keep it close to France and the Russian Empire.

France was fine, as it had money, but it just couldn't withdraw it for a while. After the war began, the financial industry in Paris was in chaos, and the French government had difficulty in financing. However, as the war progressed, it was gradually recovering, and Britain was helping the transition.

The most difficult was the Russian Empire, which relied on the British Empire to give a little assistance to keep it alive.

However, the British Empire really didn't dare to let it die, otherwise the nearly 2 million troops of the three Allied countries on the Eastern Front would have been liberated.

"We plan to launch an offensive in the north of Verdun. The French were preparing before that, but unfortunately they were delayed by the Battle of Verdun."

"The Battle of Verdun currently involves a large amount of military supplies. To organize a decisive offensive, it will take about two months to reserve logistical supplies."

Admiral Douglas, commander-in-chief of the British Army on the Western Front, put his hands on his temples and rubbed them gently.

Douglas is a very traditional military officer, and he is also experienced and has participated in many important wars.

As a British Army officer, he may not understand anything, but he must be able to calculate accounts.

The peak of British military expenditure in peacetime was in 1913, about 140 million pounds a year, of which the navy accounted for less than 50 million pounds, and it seemed that the army accounted for the majority.

In fact, the navy only needs to be responsible for the fleet and several major ports, such as Majia, Cape of Good Hope, Suez, etc.

Since Britain has a large number of old warships, it only needs to send these warships out, and the consumption is not large. The main funds can be invested in the main battleships, and even the local ports can get subsidies from the colonial authorities, and there is still profit.

And what about the army? In addition to the local army, it is also necessary to maintain the rule of more than 30 million square kilometers of land, including Egypt, Persia, Central Asia, British India and other places. A large number of troops are stationed, and Africa is also being explored and developed.

That's all. There are still a lot of noble officers to support in the mainland. These noble officers are well treated, the number is huge, and the total expenditure should not be underestimated.

So, although the army can get nearly two-thirds of the military expenditure, it actually can't use much, and it was only two years before the outbreak of the war that the army could get so much military expenditure.

Two years before the outbreak of the war, Britain was preparing for war and carrying out military reforms in the six armies. It would cost a lot of money, and the increased military expenditure could not be retained at all.

Douglas was almost crazy when he heard that the military expenditure was more than one billion pounds a year. He was not a war maniac. On the contrary, he knew that every day of a war of this scale would cause irreversible damage to Britain.

"The Germans attacked fiercely in the Verdun area, but we must defend Verdun, otherwise the French may withdraw from the war."

Asquith nodded, seemingly saying something irrelevant, but in fact he was saying that Douglas's actions could not affect the Battle of Verdun, and Verdun must be defended.

Britain has paid so much, and if it cannot win, it cannot transfer the war crisis, then Britain will be miserable.

"No, the war between China and Japan is over. Japan has hoarded a lot of war materials, which are cheap for China. China itself also has a large amount of war materials."

"If it weren't for this war, we wouldn't be so passive in the previous battles, damn Japanese monkeys." Douglas' attitude towards the Japanese was very unfriendly, even though they were allies.

After all, the Japanese lost, not only delaying the British from pulling the Chinese into the battlefield, but also raising the price of materials.

"Speaking of this, next month, the commander of the Chinese Empire Navy in this war, Vice Admiral Xu Sunming, will come to visit the Royal Navy, and there will also be a delegation of officers."

"This incident is likely to be a prelude to China's consideration of joining the war. The relevant departments should receive it well."

When Asquith heard about China, he remembered the letter of credence submitted by China recently.

"We are ready, although there is nothing to visit here. The battlefield on the Western Front is nothing but trenches, oh, and barbed wire." Douglas spread his hands.

As a traditional British army, and a white army, it is almost orthodox to be prejudiced against countries of color.

Douglas does not want the Chinese to dictate to his army, but the situation in Britain does not allow him to be willful.

"The navy is also ready to receive Xu Sunming. He is a graduate of the Royal Naval College in Greenwich, England. We have found his classmates to receive him." Winston, the first naval minister, nodded.

"If the Chinese join the war, we can completely block the entire Allied group, and start with the Ottoman Empire, gradually compressing the living space of the Allies."

"The Chinese and the Ottomans have fought several battles, and the Chinese have the upper hand. If the Chinese can maintain this trend, then we will have a chance to open the Turkish Strait."

Winston is a thoroughgoing imperialist and a white priority, but he is first and foremost a politician who knows how to weigh the pros and cons.

If it is purely from the perspective of the navy, Winston does not care about Xu Sunming or anything like that. The British Navy is enough to deal with the Allied Navy, even if the Allied Navy is added together.

But the war is not just about the British Royal Navy, and the Royal Navy's huge fleet group cannot completely determine the outcome of the war.

What they can do is to block the Germans in the port and cut off the Germans' channels for external communication.

In particular, the Chinese Navy's pursuit and interception of the Japanese archipelago inspired the Royal Navy, and the United Kingdom also carried out a more stringent blockade, including strict inspections of American merchant ships when sailing east through the North Sea.

Of course, the Americans disagreed. They were waving the banner of free trade and talking about being neutral. The contract stated that they would send materials to the Nordic countries, but everything was contraband.

In the end, these strategic materials would be transported to Germany through the Nordic countries, and Germany would pay a high price for them, or they would be in urgent need of technology.

The high-tech companies and wealthy national finances in Northern Europe later relied on the entrepot trade during World War I and World War II to accumulate technology, and exported a large number of goods during the reconstruction stage.

Volvo rose after World War I. The three Low Countries and the French industrial zone were turned into a blank land, and German industry was restricted. The huge market gave Volvo an opportunity.

The entrepot trade had huge profits, so the Nordic countries also offered high prices to the Americans, so the Americans could not bear the impact on their "free trade" and protested to the British.

Unfortunately, at this time, Britain had more than one choice, the United States, so it ignored the protests of the Americans and blocked Germany's sea routes.

Unfortunately, Germany is a large country. The outcome of the war will be decided on the ground. It has a lot of supplies and allies bordering the ground. Blockade alone is not so useful.

Opening the Turkish Straits is Winston's concern. The failure of the Dardanelles Battle made him feel humiliated.

Moreover, opening the Turkish Straits will allow the Russian Empire to be supplied from Europe, and the price will be much lower.

Most of the supplies sent to Russia are paid by the British. In the current financial situation of the British, they can save as much as possible.

"Prime Minister, the Secretary of the Admiralty has an urgent matter to see Minister Winston. General Jellicoe is in the Admiralty." The Prime Minister's Secretary gently opened the door.

"Prime Minister, I have to leave." Winston stood up.

"Go..."

(