Long live Joachim

Chapter 187: Massada Unless there are special circumstances, generally speaking, rainy weather is not suitable for military parades. On the north outskirts of Limerick, at the Enk Barracks training ground belonging to the New United Kingdom Army, the wooden single-layer viewing platform was almost filled with people in suits and leather shoes. Some had white hair, some were bald and chubby bellies, some looked shrewd, and some were old-fashioned;Some people are holding umbrellas, some are drenched in rain, some are eagerly waiting, and some are filled with emotion Accompanied by the sound of clattering footsteps, well-dressed and well-equipped soldiers marched in a long four-way column. Before they could approach, there was already a noticeable commotion on the viewing platform. People stretched their necks one by one, some muttering words while others started applauding early. The soldiers marched confidently, wearing the subtropical wide brimmed helmets of the New United Kingdom Army, subtropical yellow spot camouflage combat uniforms, and carrying Hubert III semi-automatic rifles, MG-43 general-purpose machine guns, and 1944 50mm individual rocket launchers on their shoulders. Except for not being equipped with the Stg-45 assault rifle, this is basically the standard light weapon equipment for the New United Kingdom Army's troops stationed in subtropical regions. As early as the First World War, people had already realized the shortcomings of traditional pure infantry units, such as slow transfer speed, weak breakthrough ability, and low combat resilience. Great powers and countries were committed to building and developing armored, motorized, and mechanized units. Even non upgraded infantry units were equipped with more field guns, anti-aircraft guns, and logistics vehicles. The team in front of us, which is even larger than an ordinary infantry regiment, does not have a single cannon, tank, or even a mule or horse. The neat and uniform appearance of the army and the high morale of the fighting spirit cannot conceal this sobering problem The inspection is not over yet, and the people in suits and leather shoes at the front of the viewing platform are already whispering and discussing incessantly. The old man in the center of the front row, with an unremarkable appearance, is David Ben Gurion, a pioneer of the Zionist movement and chairman of the Zionist Executive Committee. Beside him, a general with graying temples and multiple medals on his chest proudly reviewed the soldiers passing by with his head held high and chest held straight. The elderly Ben Gurion trembled his lips and said, "The Jews are forever grateful to you, General Randolph, for training us an elite and brave armed force, and the last time the Jews had such a proud regular force was 2000 years ago General Randolph proudly replied, "These young men are all hardworking, obedient, and most of them are diligent and eager to learn, so they were able to complete our 20 week regular training course within 14 weeks. They are all great According to a secret agreement signed between the New United Kingdom government and the Zionist organization, the New United Kingdom military has provided various forms of military assistance to Jews, including rigorous 14 week training for 3960 Jewish youths in accordance with the New United Kingdom's new recruit training standards. After the outbreak of the New Austro Italian War, the New United Kingdom carried out military mobilization and a large number of reserve personnel were re enlisted. Despite this, military training for this group of Jewish youth maintained its original rhythm and intensity, and the firearms and ammunition needed for live fire exercises were also adequately guaranteed. In this way, the Jewish youth completed a considerable amount of their 14 week "retreat training" in one day, and the best 360 of them were selected as reserve officers, who also studied a simplified version of the officer course in addition to normal training. They are the best among the young generation of Jews! "Ben Gurion said." General, I hope you can pass on your valuable experience of years of warfare to them General Randolph raised the corners of his mouth and said, "If they can stay under my command for a full year, especially young officers and non commissioned officers, they can learn a lot of experience from me in defeating enemies and preserving themselves on the battlefield. In just these 14 weeks, they only learn basic combat skills, in other words, they can manipulate various weapons and equipment and roughly understand what war looks like. In my opinion, the training period should be extended to 18 weeks. Don't underestimate the extra month. I can guarantee that after they go to the battlefield, their casualty rate can be reduced by at least 10% Ben Gurion sighed helplessly and said, "General, I believe your suggestion is well intentioned and objective. If it weren't for the situation, I would have been happy to let them stay in Ireland for another month or two. But now, our national independence movement is in a critical period of life and death. Since the outbreak of the war and the Italian blockade of the Mediterranean route, Arab armies have launched multiple attacks on us, and many of the towns we previously recaptured have fallen back into Arab hands. Now, even our victorious city of Rehovot has been captured by the Arab army, and many data points outside Tel Aviv have been abandoned due to the defenders running out of ammunition. Most of the Jewish armed forces have withdrawn to defend Tel Aviv. Although our defense in Tel Aviv is very strong, if the situation does not improve, it may become the modern-day Masada Fortress... General, do you know the story of Masada Fortress General Randolph shook his head. As a native Irish Catholic and a professional soldier who has devoted most of his life to the Irish military, it is normal for him not to understand Jewish history. Even though I have been living with a large group of Jewish youths day and night for over three months, it is difficult to quickly integrate into the Jewish religion due to its unique characteristics. According to the Jewish Chronicles of War, Masada was first fortified as a fortress during a certain period in the 1st or 2nd century BC. Between 37 and 31 BC, Herod the Great further reinforced and expanded Masada, building two magnificent palaces, a bathhouse, a drainage system, and surrounding walls. Although Herod the Great was fierce and irritable, he successfully maintained the relative independence of the Jewish dynasty in Israel. Since his death, the first Roman Emperor, Octavian, began to appoint Roman officials as governors from 6 AD to strengthen control over Jewish areas, leading to intensified conflicts between the Romans and Jews Around 66 AD, the Jewish rebel army defeated the Roman garrison and took control of the holy city of Jerusalem. At the beginning of the uprising, the heroic figure Ben Garry led his troops to seize Masada. The Roman governor urgently appealed to the infamous Roman Emperor Nero and received reinforcements from the Roman army led by General Vespasian. The following year, the northern Galilee region was pacified by Vespasian. As Vespasian marched towards Jerusalem in the south, Roman Emperor Nero died suddenly, and Vespasian withdrew his troops and returned to Egypt, proclaiming himself emperor in Egypt in 69 AD one year later. The following year, he led his army back to Rome and officially became the emperor of the Roman Empire. After ascending to the throne, Vespasian sent his son Titus to continue suppressing the Jewish uprising. Three elite Roman legions besieged Jerusalem In the year 70 AD, Jerusalem fell and the Jewish Temple was reduced to ashes. The rebels were brutally slaughtered and crucified throughout the area, to the point where 'there is no place to erect a cross, no cross can be used to nail people'. Seventy thousand Jews were sold into slavery. The leader of the uprising, Ben Garry, was also killed, and his nephew, Liashar, managed to escape Jerusalem and establish the last Jewish base in Masada. Since then, Jews who were being pursued by the Romans have come here one after another, and Masada has become the last stronghold and persisted in the struggle for three years This period is also the most heroic, tragic, and glorious period in the history of Massada. In 72 AD, Roman General Flavius Silva led the Tenth Legion to besiege Massada. The Romans used stone crossbows to throw stones at the Jewish camp located at a high place and built a huge slope on the west side of the cliff of Massada, successfully shortening the relative height difference of capturing Massada to 30 meters. Before the general attack, a large number of slaves were used to push the giant siege carts to the edge of the Massada city wall, broke the city wall with siege boats, and prepared for a fire attack. In the end, after a seven month siege, the Jewish defenders were at a loss and forced to make the final decision of fate. The sentence is: According to records, when Masada was about to be captured, Liashar gathered all the remaining people and said, 'We were the first to rise up against Rome and the last to stop fighting. Thank God for giving us this opportunity. When we die peacefully, we are free people. No matter how much the enemy wants us to be alive prisoners, they cannot stop us. Unfortunately, we were unable to defeat them... At dawn, we will no longer resist. Thank God for allowing us to freely choose and die with our loved ones. Let our wives not be trampled to death, and let our children not die as slaves! Burn all our possessions and the entire castle together.' But don't burn the food, let it tell the enemy: our death is not due to lack of food, but from beginning to end, we would rather die for freedom than be born as slaves!’ Afterwards, the Jews chose collective suicide and selected ten brave warriors as the executors of the suicide. Everyone hugged their wives and children tightly, lay on the ground, and voluntarily accepted the merciful sword of their comrades. After killing everyone, these ten warriors used ceramic shards to draw lots to select one of them, killed the remaining nine, and the last one set fire to the castle before committing suicide After Ben Gurion finished recounting these, General Randolph changed his expression and said with regret and admiration, "This is an extremely tragic story, especially the last scene. Hopefully, such a tragedy will never happen again Ben Gurion said, "Because we don't want such a tragedy to happen again, we urgently need these young men to return to Tel Aviv and defend our last stronghold General Randolph nodded in understanding. In fact, the reconnaissance plane taking off from Tel Aviv City Airport flew over the defensive positions around the city defended by tens of thousands of Jewish militiamen and thousands of Irish foreign soldiers, flying south along the coast, and everywhere it went was ruins. Not long ago, Jewish armed forces joined forces with the Irish Foreign Legion to launch a annihilation battle around Rehovot, dealing a heavy blow to the elite forces of the Arab Kingdom government army and greatly improving the situation of the Jewish independence war. However, after the outbreak of the New Austro Italian War, the Mediterranean shipping line was interrupted, and the Arab Kingdom and Syria launched an attack on the Jewish armed forces that declared the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine. At the beginning, Jewish armed personnel and Irish foreign troops held various strongholds, resisting the successive attacks of the Arab coalition. However, as time passed, the scale advantage of the Arab coalition gradually emerged, and the casualties and ammunition consumption of the defenders increased day by day, leading to a worsening situation.