Chapter 676 Mountbatten’s Support

Cyprus remains extremely important to Britain, or the Mediterranean itself is extremely important to Britain.

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 that in Germany, even in the twenty-first 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 is because of the British garrison in Nepal that such a 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 his 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 that will have 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 it from the dream of becoming 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 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 marshal, 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 this will be the case 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 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 had 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 either. First you have to find a constituency that is very easy to win.

Then build a good relationship with the party leader. Once your party wins and all ministerial appointments are in the hands of the party leader, it's time to compete for personal relationships. If the leader of your political party thinks highly of you, you can become the number two person in the party in an instant. "

Mountbatten said it is very simple. In fact, this simple classification is right: 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 his own plan for the deployment of the British army in the context of what his son-in-law said if Britain had to shrink.

As soon as he became the Commander of the Mediterranean Fleet, he began to think about the Minister 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 staff of each service and establish a joint planning staff unified by the three services, and he would serve as this The permanent president of the institution.

Mountbatten had always advocated the unification of the three services. While still in the war, he said: "My personal opinion is that all officers should have the opportunity to serve in all branches of the army. They should serve in turns at Dartmouth, Cranwell and Sandhurst. Change place 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 careers. The staff courses and tactics courses should focus on the three services. The staff of a certain service should work for a period of time in the other two services. During his time in Southeast Asia, he was in charge of the joint operations headquarters. , that’s what it does.

"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. It 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 Combined Near East Command was established, the Combined Middle East Command was established in Aden, and the Combined Far East Command was established in Singapore. This new command structure played a great role in improving the British army's rapid response capabilities.

Mountbatten knew that, in a sense, his son-in-law went to Iran for his daughter's property. But to say that he was interested, he must be interested in the colonies. This time he spent most of the time in Africa on inspection, so he asked if there was any gain from this trip.

"The gain is that you must not be lenient 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 kill chickens and scare 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 satisfying.”

"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 considering a question, whether to focus on co-optation or 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. However, 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 provincial government 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, or even not providing support at all, just passing a word to increase the confidence of Farouk I, who took action, would be a thousand-fold return.

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 it's okay. The Mediterranean Fleet has a base in Alexandria and is still operating so far. 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."

"Of course I don't want it. We'd better not get involved in this kind of thing openly. 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 can do it. On the one hand, he is Mountbatten, and on the other hand, Mountbatten is really Alan Wilson's father-in-law.

"That's all the Prime Minister can do!" Alan Wilson let out a sigh of relief. Nelson and Wellington probably weren't as worried as he was now.

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