African Nationhood

Thessaloniki is not a good place to land. This place has a typical Mediterranean climate.

The winters were too cold, wet and rainy, and the summers were dry and hot. For those British and French soldiers who lived in a temperate maritime climate, this was tantamount to purgatory.

To make matters worse, they are located in swamps and mountains, where countless mosquitoes will breed.

In the coalition military camps, malaria was as rampant as death. It was more difficult to defend against the infectious diseases brought by malaria than to defend against the enemy.

(Post-war statistics show that a total of 2.5 British and French troops died in battle, but the total number of soldiers infected with malaria was as high as 16.5.)
Soldiers were required to take quinine regularly and stay away from all pools of water.

In addition, due to the divisive behavior of the Greek government, the British and French coalition forces have been unable to play a role here.

And because of the harsh natural conditions here, when the British and French forces arrived here, they did nothing and directly started major infrastructure projects.

Maurice Sarrell, the former commander-in-chief of the British and French coalition forces, became the general contractor of the Salonika area. He led his officers and soldiers to build ports and roads, and built his own barracks, supply warehouses, command posts and defense systems.

The East-West Front of World War I was in full swing, but the situation here in Salonika was stable. The officers and soldiers here did not have to worry about the enemy coming over. What they worried about most was how to prevent and treat malaria.

In order to prevent mosquitoes, the soldiers here will wear mosquito repellent clothing that looks like a scarecrow. As soon as you get closer, you can smell the pungent smell of mosquito repellent.

The most useless front in World War I was this. Not only was it useless, it also wasted a lot of soldiers.

The British sent 4 reserve divisions here, the French sent 9 reserve divisions, and Italy and Tsarist Russia also sent 1 division each, plus 25 soldiers who had retreated from Serbia.

Four hundred thousand Allied soldiers gathered in the entire Salonika area, but for more than three years, they failed to make any achievements.

Absolutely ridiculous!
In the end, Marshal Foch, the commander-in-chief of the British and French forces, couldn't stand it anymore and kicked Maurice Sarrier away and replaced him with Louis Franchet Desprey.

The new coalition commander was a pragmatic man, and he strongly advocated advancing eastward.

The original time and space was the man who opened a new chapter in the Balkans by marching eastward in 1918, allowing the front lines in this region to show some vitality and vitality.

……

The second batch of soldiers shipped from Nanhua was only 3, led by Commander Zheng Tong, who had previously participated in the Tanga War in East Africa.

After arriving in Salonika, he first visited Lieutenant General George, the British representative. This incompetent Lieutenant General behaved quite arrogantly when facing Zheng Tong.

This made Zheng Tong very unhappy, so the two exchanged casual greetings for a few words, and Zheng Tong left.

Next Zheng Tong went to visit General Desprey.

Desprey's face is very small, especially his chin, which is very small and the whole face is a bit uncoordinated.

The complexity of his name caused headaches for the British General Staff, who were unable to pronounce his name correctly and gave him the nickname: "Desperate Frankie".

Although this veteran's beard and eyebrows have turned gray, his eyes are firm and he is very excited about the arrival of the Nanhua Army.

"Please take a seat, Colonel Zheng."

The other party behaved humbly and politely, so Zheng Tong would naturally respect the veteran.

"Thank you."

The two parties took their seats. Desprey looked at Zheng Tong with his pipe in hand and asked in English: "I want to know the strategic intentions of your army?"

At this point, there is no need for Zheng Tong to hide his secrets.

He got straight to the point: "The mission we got when we set off from our homeland was: break the Allied blockade here, liberate Serbia, and then invade the Austro-Hungarian Empire."

Hearing this, General Desprey nodded approvingly, "Okay, very good, your army is pragmatic, and I have the same idea.

I wonder if you have thought about specific strategic breakthrough points? "

Zheng Tong nodded, "Doylan Lake."

Lake Doilan is a freshwater lake at the junction of Greece and Serbia, 8.9 kilometers long and 7.1 kilometers wide (now the boundary lake between North Macedonia and Greece). Last year (1917), the British army and the Bulgarian army fought a battle on this lake.

At that time, 4.3 British troops faced off against 3 Bulgarians. In the end, the British suffered 1.2 casualties and the first Battle of Lake Doilan failed.

In the original time and space, General Despere launched the second Battle of Lake Doilan here, with 7.5 Allied forces fighting against 3 Bulgarians again.

In the end, the Allied forces won the victory with nearly 8000 casualties, while Bulgaria suffered less than 3000 casualties.

……

"Oh, you also like this place?

It's so nice and I think this place deserves a break.

It's just that we lack heavy artillery and aircraft, and many people in the coalition are opposed to continuing the campaign here. "

Zheng Tong chuckled, "Among them is Lieutenant General George?"

General Desprey nodded, "Yes, he is the main opponent."

"We will provide the heavy artillery and aircraft, but how about the coalition forces act as the ground troops?"

General Desprey was naturally a little unhappy when he heard what Zheng Tong said, but he had nothing to do.

I don’t know how long it will take to wait for the headquarters to transport artillery equipment. If Nanhua can invest in armaments, this will be very meaningful for the Southern European front.

General Desprey thought for a while and said hesitantly: "This proposal should be difficult to pass."

Zheng Tong smiled and said: "Transfer anyone who does not support it. As the commander of the coalition forces, you should have this authority, right?

If there is no or no such determination, then I have nothing to say. I will directly report to the mainland and withdraw from the Salonika theater. "

Hearing Zheng Tong's threat, General Desprey was troubled, but his inner desire to make achievements finally prevailed.

He nodded and said, "I'm willing to give it a try."

Zheng Tong's goal was achieved, so he stopped talking and stood up to leave.

After leaving the French residence, the Serbian crown prince came to visit Zheng Tong.

Zheng Tong didn't have much favorable impressions of the flattering crown prince, and just told him that the coalition forces would launch a spring offensive next and asked them to cooperate.

The crown prince was naturally happy after hearing the news and left happily.

……

The coalition commander Desprey requested the British and French commander-in-chief Marshal Foch to transfer Lieutenant General George from Salonika. He continued to spread war-weariness and seriously affected the morale of the military.

Chairman Nan Hua Shi also sent letters to Marshal Foch and Prime Minister Lloyd George, requesting the transfer of Lieutenant General George.

After exerting influence through two channels, Prime Minister Lloyd George had to transfer Lieutenant General George and replaced him with General Ian Hamilton, who failed to command the "Gallipoli Landing Battle". He replaced Lieutenant General George as the British commander. Position.

……

Facing the former enemies on the South African battlefield, today we are allies fighting side by side.

General Hamilton was in a complicated mood and wanted to write an 8000-word essay, but the current atmosphere did not allow it. He maintained his grace and met with Zheng Tong.

After reaching an agreement, the two men attended a military conference led by the French.

This military meeting went very smoothly. After all, everyone wanted to make achievements.

Several parties agreed to launch the second Battle of Lake Doylan in mid-February. The period before the launch of the battle is to facilitate the deployment of troops and transportation of weapons and equipment. (End of chapter)