Chapter 787 Attack on Natal
Shao Kui.
Bougival said gloomily, "East Africa has surrounded Chokwe. It is almost certain that all the troops from other directions have been annihilated by East Africa. Now we are completely trapped in an isolated city."
Of course, Bougival was still too pessimistic. It was not so easy to destroy the British army, especially the main force of the British army in the west. So far, the coalition forces of São Jorge and Mapai had not surrendered voluntarily.
However, they were unable to break through the blockade of East Africa and join forces with Chokwe's coalition forces in the east.
In this case, it is actually similar to what Bougival said, except for some differences in details. The outcome is already determined.
"There are currently about eight or nine divisions of troops in East Africa, which have surrounded Shaokwe tightly. There is basically no possibility for us to break out." Earl Roberts said with a gloomy face.
Having fought in wars all his life, the South African War can be said to be the one that Earl Roberts regretted the most. He should not have participated in this war, otherwise he would still be a respected hero.
However, if he was defeated in East Africa, Earl Roberts' past achievements would be overturned. After all, Earl Roberts' former opponents were the Abyssinian Empire, Afghanistan, India, Myanmar and so on.
In most cases, the British army relied on its advantage in weapons and equipment. Once defeated in East Africa, its past achievements would be labeled as "bullying the weak and failing to attack the strong", which was unacceptable to Earl Roberts.
"Javier, how many of us are left now?" Earl Roberts asked.
"Reporting to the commander-in-chief, there are still about 70,000 people in the entire Chokwe area, including nearly 10,000 British troops, more than 20,000 Portuguese troops, and the rest are Indians and blacks."
After hearing about the situation of the army, Roberts frowned. It seemed that the military strength was about the same as that of East Africa, but it was estimated that there were actually less than 30,000 people who could fight against East Africa.
However, thinking of his "tragic" future, Earl Roberts decided to fight to the death with the East Africans. Tomorrow is Christmas, and if nothing unexpected happens, both sides will cease fire for a day. However, Earl Roberts decided to break this traditional agreement and try to break through to the northwest on Christmas Eve.
…
Christmas Eve on the 23rd.
Facts proved that Christmas Eve was not peaceful at all. The equally unethical East Africans directly launched a surprise attack on the British army at night.
“Boom boom boom…”
On the Tugela River, East Africa had begun organizing artillery to bombard British positions on the opposite bank. At the same time, the East African Defense Force began to lay pontoon bridges under the cover of machine guns and artillery.
Because the British army had withdrawn to the Natal colony before, they destroyed all the bridges and ships on the Tugela River. As a result, East Africa could only cut down trees directly from the surrounding areas to cross the river.
It is worth mentioning that now that the Central Railway has been reopened to traffic, logistical supplies are continuously transported to the port city of New Hamburg via rail, which is also the basis for this campaign in East Africa.
Artillery shells and bullets covered the enemy positions as if they were free. Under the cover of artillery fire, East Africa successfully laid a number of pontoon bridges and then began to clear out the British troops on the south bank.
The British army and Indian servant troops in the Natal colony had almost no ability to fight back. It was difficult for more than 3,000 British people to mobilize more than 30,000 Indians. On the contrary, the British army's defense line was breached because the Indian servant troops deserted in the face of the enemy.
"These damn Indian bastards!" Commissioner Marshall, who was watching the battle from a high place, was immediately defeated, while Bids next to him was like a piece of wood, motionless, but his eyes were full of gloating, as if he had expected it.
"Major General Biddes, what should we do now?" Marshall asked awkwardly.
Bides held back his laughter and said in a serious tone, "There is no other way now. We can only retreat towards East London. I think you, Commissioner, have seen the character of Indian soldiers. It is impossible to expect them to fight against East Africa. At the same time, the firepower comparison between our two sides is also very obvious. Now the East Africans are completely superior to us in firepower. Therefore, the fundamental reason for the failure of the South African War is that we misjudged the strength of the East Africans before the war. It is no exaggeration to say that their military strength has reached the standard of the great powers."
Seeing Marshall's ugly face, although Biddes was gloating, he still analyzed some details of the war to Marshall.
Marshall seemed to have suddenly realized something and said, "I was wondering why the East Africans were so difficult to defeat. Their firepower is indeed beyond common sense. Could it be that foreign countries are secretly supporting them?"
It is no wonder that Marshall thought so. The British Army has always had the advantage in firepower, but the South African War was obviously different. The "colonial country" in East Africa was even stronger in firepower than the British Empire, which naturally made it difficult for Marshall to accept it for a while.
Biddes ruthlessly exposed the facts and said: "East Africa has a complete national defense industry, which is particularly evident in the war. As the war progresses, their firepower has become stronger than before the war, so the war has stimulated East Africa's war potential.
At the same time, we cannot ask other countries to provide large-scale support to East Africa. Although we are at a disadvantage in the South African battlefield, it does not affect our global military layout. The most important thing is that Suez and British Somaliland are in our hands. Countries like Germany and Austria-Hungary are simply unable to provide support to East Africa. "
Marshall: "Didn't the East Africans import weapons from Europe or elsewhere?"
Bides: "East Africa has obviously been planning this for a long time. They had long anticipated that war would also break out on the African continent, so they began to build their own defense industry in the 1970s, and it was consolidated in the 1980s. So far, this defense industry system in East Africa has obviously supported East Africa's war needs, so it was a mistake for us to start a war from the beginning.
Many people, by inertia, think of East Africa as a country like other colonies. However, under the rule of the Hechingen royal family, East Africa accepted advanced European technology and knowledge, and inherited the militaristic tradition of the German countries. So from the beginning, we were fighting a weakened version of the German Empire. "
In Biddes's words, East Africa has even become a country that can be compared with Germany, but there are still huge differences between the two. It can be said that each has its own advantages and disadvantages, but now East Africa's overall strength is still far weaker than Germany, and it is even less comparable to Germany. The only thing that can be praised is East Africa's vast land area.
But now is not the time for Marshall and Birds to chat. The East African Defense Force has landed on the south bank of the Tugela River, and the Natal colony is in danger.
So Biddes said: "Your Excellency the Commissioner, I'm afraid we have to retreat, otherwise we will become prisoners of East Africa and that will not be good. Now go back to Durban and then take a ship to East London Port, where we can continue to fight against the East Africans."
Marshall looked grim. He had just arrived here for less than a week and yet he had to leave by boat. This was a humiliation for him. However, the situation was stronger than him and saving his life was the most important thing.
On the same day that the Southern Military District launched the landing operation in Natal, the Southern Military District also launched a cross-river operation in the Orange region and engaged in fierce fighting with the British army in Cape Town.
However, the British army in Cape Town was not as easy to defeat as the British army in Natal. The remnants of the Boer Republic provided Cape Town with a relatively sufficient supply of troops, so they could continue to rely on the Orange River to confront East Africa.
(End of this chapter)
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