Chapter 172: The militia and the regular army!

The high mobilization rate of the Boers is considered a miracle in the history of war. During the Boer War, almost all young and middle-aged people in the two Boer republics joined the army. The total population of 220,000 actually squeezed 88,000. This ratio even crosses the entire Eurasian continent. The Mongolian cavalry has no such record, right?

  However, the strong force used in a state of war does not mean that these personnel are qualified soldiers. The militiamen who took up guns to fight were still militiamen even if they were fierce, and accidents occurred at the first encounter in a large-scale battle. Most of the Boer’s victory in the Boer War was due to the British underestimation and small-scale fighting. Real head-to-head is not enough. What Caliputt has to do is to transform these militias into real soldiers!

"Discipline, the most important thing is discipline. Your army can only be called a militia, not an army! A militia without discipline, training and command cannot defeat an army. How does your army fight the British? In the beginning, there was a chance to use the British's underestimation of the enemy to obtain some results, but a large-scale engagement would definitely not work." Calypte said earnestly after seeing the Boer’s so-called "large-scale" military exercises.

"Our number of personnel is inherently limited, and our standing strength is no more than two regiments at most, and almost all of the troops are very regional and family." Kruger was very calm about the accusations made by the German consultant. I admit it, I can't do it without admitting it! After seeing the German army, the Boer's armed forces can be called a militia and it has given face.

  The first thing Calipute did was to disrupt and regroup the Boers from all over, weakening the influence of the region and the family. The first lesson he wanted to teach the Boers was obedience! Obey the command of the commander instead of the patriarch or farmer! When the war broke out in the country, they needed to follow the command of the commander to fight instead of going home to protect their farm.

  The second problem is to abandon the style of guerrilla warfare. Caliput, who was born in the regular army, discovered that there is a very special phenomenon in the Boer army, that is, the preference for light weapons and mobility. The Boers are very rich. Whether they are the government or individuals, they can accumulate a lot of wealth by relying on gold and diamonds. Therefore, in the eyes of outsiders, there are a lot of expensive semi-automatic rifles and heavy machine guns in the Boer army, especially semi-automatic rifles. In just a few years, the Boers bought 15,000! The proportion of this unit with semi-automatic rifles is no less than that of the Blue Corps that swept the Japanese in the Northeast!

  The machine gun and various rapid-fire guns are also the favorites of the Boer army. Whether it is the German version of the Wicks machine gun. It is also the 57MM rapid-fire gun and 37MM machine gun. The Boers are equipped with a lot of them. These guns are very light, and two horses can pull a gun cart and ammunition cart away. The 75MM rapid-fire guns of the original division-level units were very unpopular. Because the artillery and gun carriage are too heavy. Not suitable for maneuvering.

  Some people may say that this tendency is very good! Why not support it? the reason is simple. There is no future in guerrilla warfare alone! Unable to break through the important strongholds of the British, unable to open up the external transportation line, then the resistance of the Boers will not last long, let alone victory.

  The biggest problem with a large selection of light equipment after improving mobility is that the firepower is too weak. You let the Boers set up an ambush, and use flexible cannons to cooperate with elite infantry to launch short assaults. In the battalion-level confrontation, the Boers can also use their skilled personal qualities and fortifications to block the opponent's attack, but once the size of the army increases If you get to the division level, or let the Boers tackle tough problems, then the problem will come immediately!

  Simple fortifications can easily resolve the attack of 57MM guns and machine guns. Although the Boers are brave, they lack scientific theoretical guidance. They don't know how to deal with obstacles, how to deal with minefields, and **** enemies behind the bunkers. The Germans found that in the Boer army, 100 defenders can easily defeat 5 times as many attackers! The Boer's battle itself is very rough, and once they encounter setbacks, they often choose to avoid or shrink. And this has no future!

  Why does the weaker party like to fight guerrilla warfare? Because it's easy, it doesn't need too much supplies, equipment, and personnel. As long as there is a good mass base, it can be successful. At least on the surface. In fact, although the Boer War lasted 31 months, the Boers had the upper hand for only 4 months in the first phase. When the British really got serious and decided to fight a good fight, the Boer army immediately withered....

  In the 7 months of the second stage, it was almost a continuous offensive by the British. The Boers kept retreating... First lost Orange, then Johannesburg. In seven months, the massive resistance of the Boers finally failed. The so-called Boer War that followed for 20 months was actually nothing more than a counter-guerrilla operation. Of course, if you want to evaluate objectively, the Boers played really well, and even captured a British lieutenant ~www.wuxiaspot.com~, but in fact, the battle has reached this level and has entered garbage time. Failure is a matter of time.

Guerrilla warfare is not unnecessary, but cannot be the main body of the battle. After all, the Boers can mobilize 80,000 troops. This is already a military-scale battle. If you want to defeat the British army, you can only fight with large corps. Otherwise, Guerrilla warfare can barely delay its decline.

   Therefore, Caliput asked Kruger to establish a modern logistics and staff system. The establishment of the General Staff Headquarters to command the army, and the establishment of a complete logistics system to ensure smooth supply, and even forced the Boers to learn how to face the British fortifications and learn how to break through these iron turtles instead of using harassment and simplicity The method of siege to circumvent the problem.

  Under the supervision of German instructors, the Boers must learn how to break through obstacles, how to use excellent artillery tactics to overwhelm the opponent on the front battlefield instead of knocking out a small artillery position on the other side by sneak attack. And how to overcome morale problems after an attack is frustrated. In short, Calypte did his best to increase the resilience and discipline of the Boers. Teach them how to choose the right time, severely inflict the opposing force on the frontal battlefield, and how to pull out the key stronghold of the British, instead of being as fierce as the Cossack cavalry but lacking durability, it can only destroy but not occupy.

  Thanks to the book friend Lu Lala, the arrival of the princess, bighill1982 for the reward~~~, and the book friends zsuzm and johnu for their monthly pass support~~~. The second is more~~~, please subscribe for reward~~~!