diymy Chapter 48 Ochinlek's Support
Chapter 48 Ochinlek's Support
In Assandri, Ochinlek, who served as commander-in-chief, had an officers' quarters, and he was sitting at his desk organizing records from the North African campaign.
This is the "property" his father left him, a legacy his father, a former artillery colonel, always tirelessly reminded him of:
"Failure is not terrible; what is terrible is the unwillingness to face it."
"Only by summarizing the reasons for each failure and carefully analyzing them can you improve yourself."
"At this point, you have triumphed over defeat!"
Guard Drake refilled Ochinlake's half-finished coffee.
"General, why don't you choose to return to England?" he asked.
Ochinlake recently rejected Churchill's appointment of him as "Commander-in-Chief of Persia and Iraq" and is now "on standby".
So, Ochinleck was free to go anywhere in principle, but Drake thought he should go home and visit his family.
Ochinlek's gaze remained fixed on his battlefield log, his pen scribbling something on the paper, responding casually:
"So, why do you think they appointed me as 'Commander-in-Chief of Persia and Iraq'?"
"Everyone knows there's no war there, Drake."
"I won't be needed in places where there's no war!"
Drake strongly agrees, believing that London is more of a tool to exploit the General.
When North Africa was in crisis, London sent Ochinlake to North Africa to replace the disastrous Wavell.
However, just as Ochinlake was about to lead the British army to victory, Montgomery was replaced.
(The image above shows Wavell, who suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Rommel in North Africa. Churchill brought in Ochinlake to take charge when the situation was on the verge of collapse. Logically speaking, Wavell's performance on the battlefield was far inferior to Ochinlake's; Ochinlake was the hero who saved the day. However, because Wavell was a nobleman, his official rank was always higher than Ochinlake's, and he was even Ochinlake's superior.)
"Because I come from a military family, Drake," Ochinlake answered calmly.
"I'm not like them, they're aristocrats, and that's the problem."
"They're afraid I'll return to Britain and use my influence and military achievements to seize power from them!"
Drake suddenly realized, a look of disdain on his face, seemingly looking down on the nobles' petty behavior.
Ochinleck pauses briefly.
Looking back now, he thinks that the reason why the domestic media mocked his failure from various angles might be because some aristocratic politicians were behind the scenes.
However, he didn't care and didn't want to compete with them.
Ochinlek smiled calmly and continued calculating on the manuscript paper.
He hoped to perfect his theory of "desert mobile defense" so that he could truly stop Rommel's Afrika Korps offensive, or other similar German offensives.
So, what changes need to be made?
Soldier quality?
tank?
Commander!
Just then, there was a knock at the door. The communications officer reported, "General, your telegram is from Lieutenant General Ramsden."
Ramsden?
Ochinlek was somewhat surprised. What did this guy mean by sending him a message?
With a sense of doubt, he took the telegram that Drake had brought:
"Your Excellency, today someone has actually challenged your tank warfare theory, and completely overturned it."
"That's ridiculous. He said tanks should be completely independent of infantry and form their own system. I don't believe that at all."
"While self-contained systems offer some advantages, such as more specialized accompanying infantry, training all infantry is only a matter of time."
……
Ochinlake initially found it as ridiculous as the telegram described, but the more he read, the less he could laugh, and soon he was even captivated by the idea.
Then, following the instructions in the telegram, he quickly wrote and drew on the manuscript paper.
After a long while, he finally looked up and sighed:
"Great tactic, it seems like the truth, and it's entirely feasible!"
"Whoever came up with this theory is a genius."
"Could it be Montgomery?"
Ochinleck gave a bitter smile. If that were the case, then Montgomery replacing him would have been the right choice.
Soon after, the signalman delivered another telegram:
"General, I know this theory is worthless."
"The person who proposed this theory also lacked command experience. Although he performed exceptionally well in actual combat, this does not prove anything."
"You must have heard of him; he once buried an entire armored division in a salt marsh."
"But that utilizes salt marshes; tank tactics are another matter..."
Ochinlek was stunned.
It wasn't Montgomery, it was Thorne.
This theory originated from Thorne.
"Good heavens," Ochinlek laughed. "He's really something!"
"Let's get straight to the point," Ochinlake called back. "What do you want me to do, Johnny? Don't try those tricks!"
(Note: "Johnny" is Ochinleck's nickname for Ramsden)
It was clear that Ochinleck had seen through Ramsden's intentions.
Ramsden, on the other hand, felt somewhat embarrassed and responded nervously:
"I think we should use this theory to reform the armored forces, General."
"But as you know, I have just been promoted to army commander and lack prestige. I am worried that my subordinates may have opposing opinions and be unwilling to cooperate."
"If you could step forward and support this theory, it would definitely be much more effective."
After sending the telegram, Ramsden paced anxiously back and forth.
What if the general doesn't agree?
If Thorne were a veteran or a field-grade officer, it would be better, but he was just a captain, a 19-year-old captain who had only recently joined the army.
Using his arguments to refute Ochinleck's theory is simply a pipe dream!
Ramsden sighed.
"What a foolish thing I'm doing!" he said. "This is impossible!"
But just as Ramsden was about to give up, a communications soldier handed him a telegram.
Ramsden took it and looked at it:
"This theory is correct, I completely agree."
"Go ahead and do it. I'll talk to the others about it."
"Also, you should have a detailed talk with Thorne, and it would be best to implement the reforms under his guidance!"
Ramsden didn't react for a long time.
So, you agree?
And you want me to reform under Thorne's guidance?
--------
The next morning, Major General Briggs, commander of the 1st Armored Division, was inspecting the newly arrived tank crew operating their tanks.
But what happened made him burst into curses:
"You think this is bumper cars?"
"That's a tank, you idiots."
"On the battlefield, you might not be killed by the enemy, but rather by crashing into each other!"
At that moment, a telegram was delivered to him. He unfolded it and read:
"We should discuss new tactics, Brice."
--------
Major General Getthouse, commander of the 10th Armored Division, was discussing the application of "Desert Mobile Defense" with his staff at the time.
"This is a tactic left behind by General Ochinlek," he said.
"If anyone still doesn't know how, there's still a chance to learn."
"Otherwise, we won't be able to reach a consensus on command, understand?"
"Understood, General," the staff officers responded in unison.
At this moment, a communications soldier delivered a telegram, which read:
"Forget about 'mobile defense' tactics, Gates, it's a pile of garbage!"