Chapter 482 Packaging Is Very Important

The war continued, and Franz had already made plans for post-war Africa. At this point, the Anglo-Boer War has turned into a confrontation between Britain and Austria.

In the whole changing international situation, the South African battlefield is only a part of it. Now that the world is completely divided up, it is very difficult for everyone to continue to exercise restraint.

It is conceivable that colonial conflicts will continue to be staged in the future. This South African war is just a warm-up match, a new way to solve the international conflict.

The strong prey will be the theme of this world, and the competition between the great powers is becoming increasingly fierce. The strong get more cakes and become stronger; the weak are squeezed, and the living space is further compressed.

South Africa, Western Victoria.

The endless trains and the rolling gray balls seemed to cover everything. The vehicle squeaked forward, winding for dozens of miles on a makeshift road.

Bathed in the morning light, quilts thrown on the carriage, shining red; rakes, shovels, and small wooden barrels are all standing upright, like sentries...

There are also busy people in the distance, clearing obstacles on the road. In this era, South Africa was vast and sparsely populated. There were only a few indigenous tribes along the way, and there was almost no road traffic.

The road they are taking now is still built by the British in order to attack the Boer Republic, and many places have been damaged along the way.

Infantry marching, these difficulties can be overcome, but the truck convoy cannot, and the road must be repaired first.

The original cannon fodder troops have now turned into engineers and are struggling fortunately. From time to time, there are overseers wielding leather whips, urging, wanting to speed up.

Viscount Fickney, who was acting with the large army, looked at the time and asked, "How long will it take for the baggage convoy to arrive?"

Like most wars, now the "Army of the Boer Republic" is waiting for the baggage. There is no way to go deep into the enemy's territory to fight, and it must be the large army that opens the way, followed by the cargo convoy.

Because the front was advancing too fast, the logistics gradually couldn't keep up.

It was originally planned to transport supplies through the river, but unfortunately it is the dry winter etiquette, and the British destroyed the river during their retreat, making water transport a dream.

In this war, the biggest enemy is time. Viscount Fickney has arrived in Worcester with his troops, which is not far from Cape Town, and he can attack the city in at most two days.

The war has come to the present, and the British have abandoned the defense lines along the way and concentrated on the defense of Cape Town.

Cape Town is now crowded with troops, and reinforcements from the British are still coming. If the war cannot be ended within the year, it means that this battle plan will go bankrupt.

The advantage of sea power is so great. John Bull relies on sea transportation for supplies, and supplies are not a problem at all.

Austria, on the other hand, had to rely on horse-drawn carts and ox carts to transport supplies, and the troops that could be invested in this offensive and defensive battle were extremely limited.

If there is no time difference, the war will be ended before the main force of the British army is assembled, and the offensive and defensive situation will be changed.

"The first batch of supplies will arrive tomorrow night; the second batch of supplies is expected to arrive in a week."

The person who answered the question was a young officer in his twenties. His voice was sonorous and powerful, and he looked particularly energetic with his military uniform, as if it was tailor-made for him.

After thinking it over in his heart, Viscount Fickney ordered: "I urge the logistics department again to bring the supplies as soon as possible at all costs.

Order the Second Corps of Engineers to clear the river as soon as possible. Allowing them to recruit native laborers on the spot must complete the task in this dry season! "

Viscount Fickney is no longer a junior in secondary school. The credit for conquering Cape Town is tempting, but this war is not easy to fight.

If the previous war had not destroyed the morale of the British, he would not have launched this winter offensive.

Now the British are concentrating their forces around Cape Town. In this area of ​​more than 1,000 square kilometers, they have gathered an army of more than 85,000 people.

Most of them were white troops, and the cannon fodder troops were basically depleted in the preceding battles, and it was too late to replenish.

In this respect, Governor Delphi is qualified. Although the city lost its land, it kept the main force.

For Viscount Fickney, that's not a good thing. The enemy on the opposite side is the slippery old fried dough stick, and he will not have a main decisive battle with him at all.

In a war, the first to win is not the winner, the last winner is the real winner. In order not to be overturned by the British, Viscount Fickney is also preparing for the aftermath.

Dredging the river is one of the links, as long as the logistics and transportation are guaranteed. Even if the British won the defense of Cape Town, at most they would keep the corner of the Cape of Good Hope.

If you want to counterattack back, first expand the British Army by two or three times! Otherwise, the pocket version of the Army is not enough to fill this hole.

"Yes, Your Excellency Commander."

As soon as the words fell, a young officer got up, walked dozens of meters away, and picked up the phone to convey the order.

That's right, the phone is already present in the military. Like many countries, the most advanced technologies are usually used in the military first and then in the civilian population.

Because of the war, the telephone was also brought into the army of the "Boer Republic". It's just that the time of appearance is too short, and it is only used as a tool for short-distance information transmission, and telegraph is still used for long distances.

Contacts within the headquarters have now been replaced by phone calls. Originally, the messengers needed to make a trip, but now they are notified directly by phone.

After the voice of "didididi...", the call of the logistics department

After being connected, the young officer quickly conveyed the order, and then connected to the engineer headquarters...

After a short pause, an army staff officer suggested: "Your Excellency Commander, this Cape Town offensive and defensive battle is not easy to fight. In order to reduce losses, I suggest recruiting as many cannon fodder troops as possible.

If the attack is blocked, it will directly fill up with human life. We can also learn from the experience of the Russians in attacking St. Petersburg. "

This is not the best way, but it is the most effective way. The heavy artillery Vienna government has long been prepared and is already on its way to transport.

While using heavy artillery to attack the city, it is also inevitable to take human lives. Don't look at everyone wearing the vests of the "Boer Republic" army, they are actually Austrian troops.

It is definitely impossible to fill in these troops. Besides, there are not enough of them. Even now, there are only 40,000 people.

Fortunately, the British army on the opposite side is not much better. It looks like a large number of people, but the actual number of regular troops is only 20,000 or 30,000.

The rest are either young men recruited temporarily, or colonial troops from all over the country, and the situation is very serious.

Coupled with the defeats in the early stage, the continuous defeats left the military morale completely devoid of morale, so it was suppressed by Austria.

Without any hesitation, Viscount Fickney issued an order: "Order the third division to go out to recruit troops, recruit all the young men of all tribes that appear within their line of sight, and whoever violates them will be shot. Remember to levy a portion of the food and reduce it as much as possible. Logistical pressure."

Ruthless, a must for a colonist. Viscount Fickney didn't care what the consequences of this order were, as long as the war was won.

...

Cape Town is already panicking. Governor Delphi made many speeches to boost morale, but his words were not convincing in the past.

The army of the "200,000" Boer Republic is about to invade the city. How could the people in the city not panic? The rich people have already left by boat.

Those who have no money are also ready to take their family and take their family and go to the Cape of Good Hope area to avoid disaster. Although the two places are not far apart, Cape Town is unlikely to lose the Cape of Good Hope.

But it's always better to stay away from the enemy, at least for the time being.

The Pringle family was also among the people who avoided the accident. Since the family could not afford a carriage, they could only rely on human power to push the wheelbarrow forward.

On the way to escape, there are many such families. With few possessions, escape Cape Town to the Cape of Good Hope.

"Pringle, you have been recruited, hurry up and report to our troops!"

A familiar voice sounded, and Pringle fell into hell. It was this voice that brought his three sons to the battlefield, whose lives and deaths are now unknown.

Pringle hurriedly explained: "Dear Sergeant Amber, I'm 48 years old and have already passed the age of service, and I'm not in the scope of recruitment."

Both sons have entered the army, and now he can no longer go. If the pillars of the family are gone, what will happen to the three young grandsons?

In this era, women's wages are much lower than men's, and it is difficult for them to support children.

Sheriff Amber sighed, suppressed the trace of conscience in his heart, and scolded: "200,000 enemy troops are pressing down, Cape Town is in crisis.

In defense of Cape Town, the Governor's House has just issued a new decree extending the age of service to 55.

If you don't want to go to service, you pay £50 for immunization. Don't talk nonsense if you don't have money, and it's no use talking to me. "

This is obviously not the order of the Governor of Delphi. As a qualified politician, it is impossible for him to issue such a crazy order.

People in this era are getting old fast, and it is difficult to play a role on the battlefield when they are older. The recruitment order of the Governor's Palace is only aimed at young adults aged 18 to 40, and has no interest in the old and the weak.

It's just that the officials below changed the regulations in order to accumulate money. The rich spent money to escape military service, and this gap needs to be filled by someone.

Pringle, who could not afford the money, could only be forced to join the army. This is also due to his bad luck. If he ran fast enough, he might have escaped the catastrophe.

In this chaotic era, there is no Pringle or other unfortunate people to take the lead. In short, it is enough to gather enough people. It doesn't matter who the specific people are.

"200,000" This is what Viscount Fickney calls himself. The Boer Republic with a population of less than 200,000 can make up 200,000 troops. I don't know.

Anyway, Governor Delphi swore to guarantee that there are 200,000 enemies. That's right, the Boers only defeated them by relying on a large number of people, there is absolutely no doubt about this.

Telegrams to the London government said so, and of course Cape Town Colony was no exception. As long as he doesn't want to be the scapegoat for the failure of this war, he must make this number real.

The British people are also not intolerable to failure. In the case of the enemy being strong and me being weak, it is forgivable to fail once in a while.

It's up to propaganda, and Governor Delphi is clearly good at self-packaging. The responsibility for the failure of the war has been pushed to seventy-eighty-eighty.

Otherwise, the London government would have changed a long time ago, and no one can tolerate a governor who keeps failing. Especially a restless governor who took the initiative to provoke war.

The middle-aged officer report said: "Your Excellency, the new round of recruitment has been completed. This time, a total of 8,000 soldiers have been recruited."

Governor Delphi nodded and said sympathetically: "Very good, you did a very good job. It's just that the people of Cape Town suffered, and this time they need to make sacrifices for the empire."

this moment

, Governor Delphi doesn't look like a treacherous politician, but more like a compassionate Virgin.

An official immediately cooperated and said: "There is no way to do this, the enemy is fierce, and once Cape Town falls, no one can escape.

Now people join the army to protect their families from the suffering of war.

Your Excellency Governor, don't be too sad, the sacrifices of the people are all worth it, I believe everyone will understand your painstaking efforts. "

Governor Delphi, who seemed to be possessed by a movie king, shook his head and said, "It doesn't matter what the public thinks of me, it's all for the sake of the empire.

As long as Cape Town can be kept, even if I die immediately, I will not frown.

I have decided to live and die with Cape Town. This is a suicide note that I wrote. If unfortunately I die in battle, I will ask you to help me and give it to my family. "

The scene was very emotional, and everyone was moved. But this is only on the surface, and everyone knows that once Cape Town falls, the Governor of Delphi, who started the war, is finished.

Returning to London alive will inevitably involve a court-martial. The rest of his life will be spent in prison, and his family will not be able to lift their heads.

The best option was to die on the battlefield, and the situation changed in an instant. Even for political propaganda needs, the London government will turn him into a "tragic hero".

These circumstances, the Governor of Delphi is very clear, and even knows that even if Cape Town is kept, he will not have good fruit to eat.

In order to alleviate the responsibility, now he has to play this bitter drama and portray himself as a "hero".