Chapter 358 War preparations

During the construction of Soga City, the Central Canal project was also in full swing. The Ndebele people were organized and divided into two groups to dig the canal. Coupled with the construction of the Lake Malawi Industrial Zone and the Northern Industrial Belt at the same time, the eastern part of the East African Kingdom is developing rapidly.

When these projects were started, the army in Zimbabwe had already begun military training. The training was mainly focused on how to capture the wandering Boers in the wild.

"Faced with the kingdom's superior troops and powerful firepower, it is impossible for the Boers to confront us head-on. Then they will be like cockroaches, crawling all over the dark corners, and may suddenly attack you anywhere. This By that time, your enemies are no longer backward natives with spears, but Boers who have certain military experience and also master thermal weapons. If we encounter Boers with this style of fighting, how should we deal with them? "

Following the instructor's inquiry, the soldiers below began to discuss. In fact, many people have seen guerrilla warfare, but it was done by the indigenous people before. The tactics are very effective, but without advanced weapons, it is basically equal to death. Facing the indigenous people's Sneak attacks can often be dealt with calmly by East African soldiers.

The indigenous people who can use guerrilla tactics are already relatively smart in the African region. More indigenous people are confused and defeated by East Africa, or they are simply unable to organize to fight against East Africa. The disparity in weapons was too great for ordinary natives to think of resisting.

“First of all, it is the tactics of division and encirclement, guerrilla warfare, guerrilla warfare, and guerrilla warfare, so the enemy must be restricted to a certain area so that they cannot guerrilla everywhere.

Secondly, it is necessary to cut off the communication between the Boers, ensure that the Boer soldiers within the jurisdiction cannot obtain any supplies from the Boer villages, and cut off their food, water and other supplies, so that they cannot survive in the wild.

Finally, we must remember not to pursue the enemy, and do not be fooled by the Boers. Be careful of being ambushed. As long as we stick to the residential areas and conduct regular raids on the areas under our jurisdiction, the last living space of the Boer soldiers will also disappear. "

This is basically the battle plan in East Africa. Send troops quickly to seize Boer cities and villages, and then deal with counterattacks from those who slip through the trap.

The Transvaal Republic established by the Boers was quite special, so East Africa had to take over its national power in a very short period of time, which placed very high demands on the capabilities of the East African Kingdom's army.

First of all, there must be a detailed map to guide the army. For this, the East African Kingdom entered the Boer settlements from the east by disguising themselves as German merchants or expedition teams, and conducted detailed exploration of the Transvaal Republic. Everywhere they visited, Supplement the map.

These drawings were then transported back to the East African Kingdom by sea and compiled by the Hechingen Military Academy. The above information was summarized and unified into military maps, marking the Transvaal's terrain, rivers, forests, swamps, etc.

At the same time, feasible routes are drawn on the map for all the cities, villages and towns in the Transvaal Republic. As long as the military governor of the East African Kingdom marches according to the instructions on the map, the Transvaal Republic can be occupied in a very short time. The whole territory.

But the premise is that the Boers will not resist, which is obviously impossible. Even if the East African Kingdom takes a surprise, the depth of the Transvaal Republic is relatively large for the East African army.

"When dealing with the Boers, we must also be careful of external countries, including the Orange Free State and the British Cape Colony, taking advantage of the situation. Our people must react quickly to capture the entire Transvaal Republic in more than a month. In this way, when the news reaches Cape Town, the British will have no way to do anything to us. As for whether it is an effective occupation, it doesn't matter. We only need to let the British know that the East African Kingdom has annexed the Transvaal Republic."

The operation against the Transvaal Republic had to be done with lightning speed, which put very high demands on the East African army. In order to improve the physical fitness of the soldiers, the army began to increase the food supply and increase the amount of training to ensure that the troops could march more than 40 kilometers every day.

The straight-line distance from the southernmost to the northernmost point of the Transvaal Republic is about 500 kilometers. As long as the East African army can reach the amount of peacetime training, it can attack from the northern part of the Transvaal Republic to the southern part of the Transvaal Republic within a month. It just can be done.

Regarding the attitude of the Boers, the East African Kingdom decided to keep the good ones and discard the bad ones. There is also an Orange Free State to the south of the Transvaal Republic, which can be chosen by the Boers who are dissatisfied with East African rule.

In fact, today's Transvaal Republic itself is very poor. The climate of the Transvaal Republic is dry and hot, and the land is barren. The Boers can only make a living by running pastures. This is the livelihood that the Boers have supported their families for generations, but it is inevitable that the economy The shortcomings of a single structure and a weak economic foundation.

There is not a single modern industrial enterprise in this country, and not one inch of railroad has been built. In 1866, the Transvaal Republic's total annual fiscal revenue was only 66,000 pounds, and the Boers' treasury deposits were only nine shillings and twelve pence, less than one pound.

The reason why the Transvaal Republic can continue to exist as a country is because of unity. The government stipulates that any male citizen of the Transvaal who is over sixteen years old can apply to the state to allocate 2,400 hectares of land in return. These Boers need to pay grain and taxes to the country, and must serve as soldiers to fight for the country in wartime. Land means pasture, and conquering more land means more pasture, so the Boers continued to fight against the black tribes inside and outside the country.

The greatest enemy of the Boers was the black Zulu Kingdom. The Zulu and Boers had a bloody feud at the Battle of Blood River. But the Zulu people are different from ordinary black indigenous tribes. The Zulu people are not only brave and capable warriors, but also surpass the primitive tribe in organizational structure. They have established their own kingdom and can fight in large groups.

The Ndebele regime that was wiped out before in East Africa was a branch of the Zulu people, and its capabilities were indeed remarkable among all the indigenous people encountered in East Africa. The most cunning thing about the Zulus is that they are good at using diplomacy to take advantage of the contradictions between the Boers and the British to sow discord. The same is true for the Ndebele people who can get support from the Boers.

However, the Transvaal Republic is now facing a catastrophe without realizing it. East Africa is not like the British. The British obtained colonies and are best at deceptive tactics (the Transvaal Republic was deceived when it joined the United Kingdom in 1876), and the East African Kingdom Like the Prussian barbarians, they always advocated force.