Cyprus is still extremely important to Britain, or the Mediterranean is extremely important to Britain itself.
Otherwise, Britain would not hold on to Gibraltar. As long as the situation in the Mediterranean is under British control, Britain will have enough motivation to support the framework of a global empire.
Alan Wilson seems to remember that there has always been a British military base in Cyprus. The number of British troops in Cyprus is only smaller than the number of British troops in Germany, even in the 21st century.
There is a saying in British political circles that the borders of the British Empire are at the roof of the world. This certainly does not mean that British India still exists.
It's because of the British garrison in Nepal that this saying is spread.
As for the military bases in the Middle East, they are in Oman, and in Southeast Asia, Brunei. Compared with the current situation, the UK will only have these military bases left in a few decades, which is of course quite shabby.
When the Comet airliner landed in Cyprus, Alan Wilson put on his formal clothes and went to see Mountbatten, the commander of the Mediterranean Fleet who had just arrived. After all, they were a family, and he should do this regardless of circumstances or reasons.
Mountbatten expressed congratulations to his father-in-law. Mountbatten was very happy and asked his son-in-law whether the situation in the Middle East was very troublesome. Alan Wilson replied, "Everything we are doing is delaying, and I cannot solve the fundamental problem."
"We can only choose the delaying plan with the least impact on the UK. We hope that after the Prime Minister's second term ends, the UK will be able to focus on its own interests without relying on financial support from other countries."
After secretly expressing his distrust of the United States, Alan Wilson asked his father-in-law how he felt. How far is he from his dream of being the First Sea Lord?
"It should be said that there is still one step left!" When Mountbatten heard this question, he couldn't help but curl up the corners of his mouth and said, "If I can become a general within half a year, then the next time I return to London, I can be the third general.
A Sea Lord."
"That's so happy." Alan Wilson bowed before the powerful. Mountbatten was too modest to only target the First Sea Lord.
He remembered that Mountbatten retired with the rank of Admiral of the Navy, and successfully established the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee and became the full-time head of the British military. Regardless of the elected Secretary of Defense, Mountbatten was the talker of the British military.
Britain has been shrinking since the Suez Canal War, and its situation has not delayed Mountbatten's promotion trajectory. Alan Wilson has reason to believe that it will be the same in this time and space.
"Actually, it's nothing. It also depends on the cabinet's recognition of me, which coincides with my dream." Mountbatten was very happy. Although his youngest daughter's husband was always running around, he was obviously much more ambitious than the other son-in-law.
This is a harmonious scene between father-in-law and son-in-law. Mountbatten also mentioned the situation of his daughter, saying that he was ready to be a grandfather and welcome the emergence of new members.
Alan Wilson also expressed expectations, but also made indirect hints, because weapons have become more and more expensive in modern times. Maybe the British Empire will have to consider reducing its armed forces in the future, and all branches of the military may not be able to escape. I wonder if Mountbatten has any plans.
"Pamela said that you have always had countless plans for the future. It seems that my daughter did not lie." Mountbatten was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and smiled bitterly, "Are you really not going to try the election? In fact,
The election is not difficult. First, you need to find a constituency that is very easy to win, and then build a good relationship with the party leader. Once your party wins, the appointment of all ministers will be in the hands of the party leader. This is the time to compete for personal relationships. If you
The leader of your political party is very optimistic about you, and you can become the number two figure in the party in an instant."
What Mountbatten said is very simple. In fact, whoever is right is to join a political party, choose a constituency that has a tradition of supporting this party, wait for your party to win, and then directly become a minister.
The theory is such a theory that if everything goes well, there will be no problem, but this no problem is no problem in Mountbatten's eyes.
Seeing that his son-in-law was not interested, Mountbatten stopped talking and talked about what his son-in-law said, his own plan for the layout of the British army if Britain had to shrink.
As soon as he became the commander of the Mediterranean Fleet, he began to think about the matter of the Secretary of Defense. If Alan Wilson asked others like this, there might be a big problem, but this person is Mountbatten, so there is no problem.
As the Fourth Sea Lord, he had done all the work of the navy. Now he was planning the deployment of the British army from an overall perspective. Mountbatten didn't feel anything was wrong at all.
In front of his son-in-law, Mountbatten made no secret. With the background of shrinking the establishment, he said that in terms of reform of the leadership organization, he might propose to abolish the staff departments of various services and establish a joint planning staff unified by the three services, and he would serve as this
The permanent chairman of the institution.
Mountbatten has always advocated the unification of the three services. During the war, he once said: "I personally believe that all officers should have the opportunity to serve in various branches of the armed forces. They should serve in Dartmouth, Cranwell and Sands respectively.
Hester served on a rotating basis, changing places every year.
In this way, they can not only receive general training, but also learn special skills." He also advocated that military academy cadets can usually choose their own profession, and that learning staff courses and tactics courses should focus on the three services, and the staff duties of a certain service should be
Work for a period of time in the other two military services. This is what he did when he was in charge of the joint operations headquarters in Southeast Asia.
"There may be difficulties." Alan Wilson has no objection to Mountbatten saying that he himself is in charge of the British armed forces. Why would he object to having a strong backer? But where there are people, there will be struggles. It will definitely not be easy to realize Mountbatten's idea.
.
"Yes, Allen, there will definitely be resistance. If we really can't pass for a while, we have to find a roundabout way." Mountbatten also nodded and mentioned another idea to put it into practice in overseas garrisons, respectively in Cyprus.
The Near East Combined Command was established, the Middle East Combined Command was established in Aden, and the Far East Combined Command was established in Singapore. This new command structure played a great role in improving the rapid response capabilities of the British army.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Mountbatten knew that, in a sense, his son-in-law went to Iran to work on his daughter's industry. But if he was interested, he must be interested in the colonies.
I was interested and spent most of my time in Africa during this inspection, so I asked if I had gained anything from this trip.
"The gain is that you must not be merciful when dealing with races that are too backward." When Alan Wilson heard this question, he directly took on the tone of an imperialist and said through gritted teeth, "The move to merge colonies is still happening in various places.
Residue, we must not do similar things. The situation in the Middle East is dominated by repression, and in Africa, I am ready to find a scapegoat to scare the monkeys."
Mountbatten also knew that his son-in-law was a colonialist who was born in the wrong era, but his contempt for him still surprised him, "Something happened."
"General, you should be aware of the domestic controversy over the Helsinki Olympic delegation. If the Labor cabinet had not done a good job in recent years, it would have caused waves." Alan Wilson said without concealment, "This proposal was suggested by me.
The purpose is to see local public opinion, and the response so far is very satisfactory."
"However, national interests and citizens' will do not necessarily coincide. Once the sequelae of the colonial empire occur, Britain may repeat the deeds of the Roman Empire in the future. I have been thinking about a question, whether to focus on co-optation or on deterrence. It seems that the effect is not good.
.”
This time, Alan Wilson apparently formed a delegation from the entire British Empire. In fact, he wanted to remind local citizens not to relax their vigilance in this regard. Politicians can do things for the sake of profit by letting in different races.
of.
It was within the scope of Alan Wilson's authority that he had enough time to implement it. But dealing with the Free Officers Organization was another matter. He had to obtain Mountbatten's support.
Now that the backer has arrived, this matter should be made clear. The province should worry about the explosion of the Suez Canal War. After all, the Suez Canal is too important to Britain, and now is not the time to let it go.
With the existing strength of the British Mediterranean Fleet, providing support to Farouk I, even without providing support at all, just passing a word to increase the confidence of Farouk I, who takes action, can be rewarded a thousand times.
There were only a few hundred members of the Free Officers Organization when they launched coups in history. Just like after successful coups in many countries, when people recall the strength of the coup team, it is like a joke.
Even if it is impossible to eliminate the existence of fish that have slipped through the net, it can be maintained for a few years, which is not a bad thing for the current United Kingdom.
Hearing what his son-in-law said, Mountbatten, who had no idea about the Free Officers Organization, was silent for a moment and agreed decisively, "I think there is no problem. The Mediterranean Fleet has a base in Alexandria and it is still operating. It can be given to Farouk I.
Provide certain assistance, of course, what I hope more is that this thief does not need our help and can handle his own affairs well."
"Of course I don't want it either. We'd better not get involved openly in this kind of thing. Just because the Suez Canal is too important, we have to give firm support to Farouk I." Alan Wilson breathed a sigh of relief.
A visit to Cyprus is not in vain.
No general would be able to agree so easily if he were the commander of the Mediterranean Fleet. Only Mountbatten could do it. On the one hand, he was Mountbatten, and on the other hand, Mountbatten was really Alan Wilson's father-in-law.
"The Prime Minister is nothing more than that!" Alan Wilson let out a sigh of relief. Nelson and Wellington probably weren't as worried as he was now.