Chapter 330 Running away

As the East African army approached step by step, the distance between the two armies was only about 500 meters.

Wiggins was still waiting for East Africa to enter the shooting range, but the East African army would not give him this opportunity, because this distance was already within the fire range of the Dreiser rifle.

The maximum range of the Dresser rifle is about 600 meters, while the range limit of the rifles equipped by the Ndebele people can only reach 300 meters. At a distance of five hundred meters, it can already exert about 60% of the power of the Dresser rifle, which is enough.

"Fire!" followed the command from the East African commanders.

The East African Army suddenly launched an attack, and the gunfire from Dreiser's rifle broke the oppressive silence between the two sides.

"Bang...bang...bang..."

Wiggins was caught off guard by East Africa who suddenly opened fire, "What's going on, these East Africans..."

Before the words were spoken, some of the Ndebele soldiers in the front row had been shot and fell in large pieces. At this time, the Ndebele soldiers were also stunned by the sudden fire from East Africa. Some of them started to attack based on instinct without orders. As the East African army opened fire, this was a stress response that broke out in the face of danger warning.

However, the East African army fired first and the teammates around them fell. The Ndebele soldiers, who had briefly received training from the Boers, were a little panicked and made frequent mistakes. Even the soldiers in the second row were so nervous that they came directly to the surviving comrades in front. One shot.

"you……"

The Ndebele soldier, who had been shot by his own men, fell unwillingly in a pool of blood, his eyes wide open.

The entire Ndebele camp fell into chaos, with shouts, wailing, and gunshots mixed together.

Wiggins was stunned for a moment, then immediately reacted, "Asshole, who told you to shoot? Stop shooting!"

If the Ndebele people shoot now, they won't hurt a single hair of the East Africans at all. At most, they will make the East African Army listen.

Facing the sound of gunfire, Wiggins shouted to Lobengula: "Your Majesty, there is something wrong with the equipment of the East Africans! Their rifles have a longer range, and we must change our tactics immediately."

Lobengula was already blue in the face with anger and angrily shouted: "Didn't you say that as long as we wait for the East Africans to come to our door, we can defeat them with muskets? Why did they open fire in advance before they reached the predetermined area? Can it cause harm to us?"

Wiggins: "Your Majesty, there is something wrong with the equipment of the East Africans. They must have ordered more advanced weapons from Europe. I didn't figure this out. The responsibility lies with me, but now is not the time to hold people responsible. We must deal with the enemy's attack."

Lobengula said in a panic: "What should we do now? Retreat?"

Lobengula was really desperate. Even a fool knew that the weapons of the East Africans were different from the "scrap iron" he bought with gold. He could not even reach the corners of the enemy's clothes, so how could he fight them.

Wiggins: "No, Your Majesty, let our people rush forward with muskets. We must have more people than the East Africans. It doesn't matter if some of us die. As long as we rush to half the distance, the muskets in our hands can kill us." East Africa fought back, and we fought in close combat with the East Africans!”

Retreat is impossible. Once retreated, the morale of the army will not be stable. When the time comes, our side will not retreat, but will be defeated. Wiggins is sure that as long as the retreat is ordered, these natives will run faster than anyone else. , even the command will collapse by then. Now try to break into the East African side, maybe you can turn defeat into victory with the advantage of numbers.

It doesn't matter if some people die! Although he was very angry, Lobengula had no other choice but to try Wiggins' method. "Attack the whole army! Warriors of the kingdom, follow my steps and defeat these East Africans."

Lobengula took the lead in the charge, boosted morale, and temporarily stabilized the morale of the Ndebele people. Now they can only fight with their last resort.

"Kill!"

Lobengula raised the Arabian scimitar in his hand and took the lead in killing the East African army, followed by the Ndebele warriors.

But the East African army had figured out what the Ndebele were up to.

"Ready the artillery! Fire!"

"Boom...boom...boom..."

The shells bombarded the Ndebele camp, which greatly weakened the Ndebele people's desire to fight. However, the Ndebele people, as a "fighting" ethnic group among the indigenous people, still did not collapse. Lobengula set an example and took the lead in the charge. The improvement of morale is still effective. The king will not hesitate to die, so why not die as a result.

Seeing that the Ndebele people could still attack normally, Sweet ordered: "Cavalry, prepare!"

The East African cavalry who had been waiting for a long time drew their sabers and stepped forward to prepare for battle.

The South Salzburg border force is equipped with two cavalry companies, which are not large in scale, but make the South Salzburg border almost equipped with three army services: infantry, artillery, and cavalry.

The weapons of the East African cavalry are not exactly the same as those in Europe. Except for the Prussian Dresser carbine, which is the same model used exclusively for cavalry, the cold weapon equipped by the East African cavalry is the East African fixed knife.

The East African straight knife is an improved version of the Huanshou knife of the Han Dynasty. Its basic function is similar to that of the Han Dynasty knife. It has a single edge, a thick ridge, and a certain arc, but the overall vision is relatively straight. It is mainly used for chopping and thrusting.

The blade is 1.12 meters long, and the handle is wrapped with sisal braid, making use of the moisture-absorbing and sweat-wicking properties of sisal to make it easy to hold. The diameter of the blade ring is equal to the width of the handle. At the same time, a metal buckle is installed on the scabbard to facilitate hanging on the waist.

The shape of the East African fixed knife was completely based on Ernst's personal preference. He himself had a gold-inlaid cold jade Han knife specially made with a lot of money as a private collection.

Although the use of straight swords by the East African cavalry was subject to Ernst's personal subjective influence, it is true that the straight swords were unexpectedly accepted and loved by the East African cavalry. The main reason was that there were almost no cavalry of the same size among the enemies faced by East Africa, so they could not use them. Weapons such as lances.

More actual combat cases of the East African cavalry were to rush into the fleeing natives with straight knives and capture young and strong laborers. The Dresser carbine is used only when it is necessary to destroy the enemy and perform medium and long-range shooting.

The East African fixed knife is light and easy to control, which can ensure the safety of slaves. If it is disabled, the slave will have no use value.

Sweet: "Cavalry attacks!"

The cavalry kicked the horse with spurs. As the East African cavalry moved out, a cloud of dust was immediately raised on the battlefield, and the sound of horse hooves rumbled.

"kill!"

The sharp East African straight swords gleamed in the sun. After running a certain distance, the war horses collided with the Ndebele people who were rushing at the front.

The seven to eight hundred kilograms passed directly by the Ndebele warriors, but followed closely by the bright East African straight swords.

When he raised the knife and dropped it, plasma burst out from the Ndebele man's body and splashed to the ground.

Lobengula was not hit by the straight sword of the East African cavalry, but it was even more terrible. A war horse directly pushed him to the ground, and then trampled over him mercilessly with its hoofs.

Lobengula, a Ndebele strongman weighing nearly 200 kilograms, couldn't even breathe. He felt his heart heat up, and then he fainted. He didn't know whether it was because of the impact or the stampede.

Two cavalry companies rushed into the Ndebele camp, directly and completely disrupting the Ndebele attack.

With the blessing of war horses, the East African cavalry carried out a killing spree in the crowd. The Ndebele people completely lost their command, and the peripheral soldiers began to collapse.

Sweet also ordered at this time: "Everyone, attack across the board!"

All the East African Army pressed forward and joined the battlefield. The battlefield turned directly into a slaughterhouse. The smell of blood mixed with smoke and dust filled the battlefield. On the outskirts of Bulawayo, more and more Ndebele bodies were seen.

At some unknown time, Wiggins and several Boer instructors secretly sneaked around to the rear of the battlefield while the Ndebele people were not paying attention.

"It's over! It's all over!" At this time, Wiggins said to several Boer instructors: "We must evacuate immediately. The defeat of the Ndebele people has been determined. We cannot fall into the hands of the East Africans."

"What about the Ndebele people? Should we call them?"

"Death is death. Now we have to run away. While they can still resist the East Africans for a while, leave quickly!" Wiggins urged.

Wiggins directly chose to betray the Ndebele people.

"Let's get the horses first, go directly to the west, then take a detour to the southwest, and finally turn back to the Transvaal." Wiggins directed.

So several people hurried to the residence in Bulawayo, where the horses they brought from the Transvaal were stored.