Chapter 498 Cape Town Treaty
The sudden plague made the situation even more complicated. If it is limited to South Africa, it will be fine. If it spreads to the entire African continent, Franz will cry.
There is no way, a colony is a colony. Although Austria has been operating on the African continent for more than ten years, it still cannot change the status quo of backward medical conditions.
Don't look at the small number of infected people now, but the high mortality rate cannot be held up. Many patients went to see God without knowing what was going on.
Franz is also a fan of the authorities. If he looks at the information carefully, he will understand why the death rate is high.
At present, the most infected are the cannon fodder troops. Because they do not pay attention to hygiene and do not carry out effective treatment, the mortality rate is naturally high.
Franz couldn't do anything other than order enhanced epidemic prevention work.
Since there is an epidemic in the "Army of the Boer Republic", the surrounding indigenous tribes do not want to escape the disaster. The number of deserters in the cannon fodder army has always been high, and it is normal to leave with the virus.
Viscount Fickney has a total of 30,000 or 40,000 troops in his hands, and he has to ensure the combat effectiveness of the troops. He can't leave opportunities for the British, and there are at most a few thousand soldiers who can be used to monitor the cannon fodder troops.
Several thousand people are used to look after more than 100,000 to 200,000 people, and it is inconspicuous to run away from the 180th. In addition, due to the battle, there are many casualties every day, which makes supervision more difficult.
Unless it's running in groups, and usually a guy is missing, the officers don't care.
There are patrols outside, and if they encounter it, they are unlucky. Those who escape are blessed by God, although they may not believe in God.
Franz's judgment is not wrong. The epidemic has indeed broken out in South Africa, and the consequences are beyond imagination.
However, the highest death rate was not the local indigenous people, nor the colonists, but the Indian colonial army soldiers in the city.
Poor sanitary conditions have created good conditions for the breeding of viruses. The small site, high personnel density, and insufficient medical resources have collided with so many harsh conditions, which accelerated the spread of the virus.
The real culprit for the death rate of Indian soldiers was caused by acclimatization. Of course, it is also directly related to diet. The bureaucrats in the London government did not take into account the living habits of Indians, and directly forcibly gave them potatoes and bread.
There is no way to do this. The officials of the London government don't even pay attention to their own people, let alone these cannon fodder?
Compared with the Near Eastern War, the British logistics system has not changed much, and it still follows the rules.
The relatively good thing is that there are at least fresh fish in the Cape Town area, which is much stronger than eating beef jerky every day.
Of course, most Indians don't eat beef, but the logistical standards the British give them are not enough to supply beef.
Even rubbish beef jerky is much more expensive than potatoes. Indians will never encounter this trouble. The bureaucrats in London have always treated them so cheaply, or else how to make money?
The worsening of the epidemic has made the life of the Governor of Delphi difficult, because the interests of the two sides are too different, and the negotiations have fallen into a deadlock.
The plague spread in the city again, and looking at the increasing number of deaths every day, the whole person of the Governor of Delphi was not well.
From zero until now, the death toll due to the plague has accumulated to 3,817, and this number is gradually increasing at a rate of 500 per day. If it goes on like this without the enemy attacking, they will be tossed out by the plague.
The biggest problem in containing the epidemic is water shortage. Unfortunately, since the news of the plague broke out in Cape Town, the supply ships that come every day have not increased but decreased.
People are afraid of death, and no one is willing to join the plague pile. If there is no way, the Governor of Delphi wants to run away.
Even with a 50% increase in shipping costs, there are still not many people willing to risk transporting supplies, which makes the situation in Cape Town even worse.
There are now 150,000 troops in the Cape Town area, half of which are Indian colonial corps. It was with these cannon fodder troops that the two sides reached a deadlock.
Don't look at the fortresses and bunkers at the rear, which are all rubbish constructions. The buildings in the city are still genuine. The Indian Colonial Corps and the African Expeditionary Army are also rivals.
Looking at the flag of the Red Cross hanging outside the city, Governor Delphi was disgusted and wanted to order the troops to fight out.
If you win, you will naturally be in good form. Breaking the siege of the enemy, getting rid of the water crisis, reducing the population density, the epidemic prevention work is easy to do.
Losing is not too bad. Depleting the population through war reduces population density and reduces demand for freshwater resources. It has a very positive effect on epidemic prevention work.
After thinking about it, if he really wanted to do it, Governor Delphi still wouldn't dare. Now the two sides are still negotiating, and rashly provoked a war. If they win, it is fine, but if they lose, they must go to a military court.
Can you win? The Governor of Delphi already had the answer to this question. With the current morale of the army, going out of the city to find the Austrians for a decisive battle, the probability of mutiny is greater than the probability of winning.
In fact, from the outbreak of the war to the present, the Governor of Delphi has suppressed the mutiny five times, and he really does not dare to stimulate the fragile nerves of the soldiers.
There is no way, the rabble is just like that. Most of the white soldiers in the city were recruited temporarily from the colonies, or they were reinforcements drawn from the colonies by the London government, and the regular army was only a few.
In the eyes of many in the London government, suppressing the Army is more important than this war. The Anglo-Boer War in the original time and space was so badly fought that it was actually suppressed by the London government.
Army results.
If it is a regular army and has a double strength advantage, the Governor of Delphi will not be so useless, and he will be pressed and beaten from beginning to end.
From a military point of view, the ability of the commander to be able to keep most of the troops in the case of continuous failure is also passable. Of course, long-distance running generals are not counted, but it is not enough to be able to run.
Although the north was passive, this sudden plague still promoted the negotiation process of Yingbo. The deteriorating situation is also constantly refreshing the bottom line of the British.
This time, the Cape Town colonial government led the negotiation. It had a clear understanding of the situation and did not dare to drag it on.
Due to the plague, the number of transport ships has decreased, and the supplies in Cape Town have not grown, but have continued to decline. In particular, fresh water resources are scarce.
There is no way, it is not easy to save a large amount of fresh water, and it can only be put into a reservoir or a storage tank. Now is the time of war, so don't think about the reservoir.
The artillery outside the city is not vegetarian, and shells explode in the reservoir from time to time. Even if you don’t care about gunpowder and heavy metal poisoning, the reservoir can’t hold water!
No, the British can only build a large number of water storage tanks, which is not so easy to complete, and it is not a small project to solve the drinking water problem of so many people.
This is not just digging a hole to solve the problem. If the leakage problem is not solved, it is estimated that the water will leak out before winter.
In order to save water, the British army in Cape Town has already started to limit the supply of water to 5 liters of water per day for white soldiers and 3 liters of water for Indian soldiers per day.
Just drinking water, this is almost enough, the rest may be used to wipe a face, the British soldiers save a little, and it is estimated that they can wipe their bodies.
This is only in theory, domestic water is not just for drinking. It is impossible for people not to wash their clothes, wash their hands, and take a bath all the time. Of course, Indians do not take a lot of baths in this era.
This supply can only guarantee survival, and don't expect anything else. Unless the British play the sea desalination, they will not be able to meet the demand at all.
There is no way to detect the internal situation of Cape Town, but the number of ships entering the port every day cannot be kept secret.
The number of ships entering and leaving Cape Town is decreasing every day. This is a math problem that is easy to calculate. Everyone knows that this is a decrease in the amount of materials being transported.
Without enough supplies, Cape Town will fall sooner or later, which makes the "representatives of the Boer Republic" more confident in the negotiations.
Of course, this is only theoretical. In fact, the "Boer Republic Army" outside the city will not dare to attack the city for a day if the plague does not end.
The Cape of Good Hope is important, but it is just as important to Austria, and it is not enough for Franz to win it at all costs.
It is not impossible to solve the lack of materials, as long as the number of troops stationed is reduced, and the plague is the best barrier anyway.
If they attacked the city despite the plague and occupied the Cape of Good Hope, the Boer Republic army would be almost destroyed. This "waste" refers not only to casualties, but also to military morale.
When a soldier is war-weary and unwilling to work for the country, no matter how powerful the army is, it will instantly turn into a soft-footed shrimp.
Seeing winter approaching day by day, the British couldn't hold it any longer and had to make major concessions.
On June 18, 1871, the two countries signed an armistice treaty in the barracks outside Cape Town, announcing the end of the war that lasted for more than a year.
Contents of the treaty:
1. The war between the United Kingdom and the Transvaal Republic and the Orange Free State was a complete accident. For the sake of world peace, the two sides ended the war from the date of the treaty; (June 18, 1817)
2. The British side paid a ransom of 3.6 million pounds to buy back the land within a 200-mile radius of Cape Town;
3. The two sides exchange prisoners of war with each other, and the excess shall pay ransom in accordance with international practice. The agreed price is: 180 pounds per soldier, and officers ranging from 300 pounds to 20,000 pounds according to rank and title.
There is no accountability for the war, no mention of the outcome of the war, as if it was a trivial conflict, not worth mentioning.
The reality is so cruel, and Britain also wants to save face. It is not so easy for them to admit that they lost the war. Even if the Cape Town colonial government would accept it, the London officials would not agree.
It is absolutely impossible to cede land and pay indemnity. The London government could not bear the political impact of the defeat of the war. On the contrary, the ransom of land and prisoners of war is more acceptable.
Anyway, most of the lost land belonged to the South African colonial company, not the British government.
If you are thick-skinned, when the colonial company's colonial activities fail, the London government will buy back a colony from the Boers.
Prisoner of war ransom is simpler, European society does not reject this. If the number of prisoners was a bit large this time, and the amount of ransom paid was relatively large, the sentence of exchange of prisoners would be covered.
If shameless, it can be declared a great victory. Strategically smashed the enemy's conspiracy to plot the Cape of Good Hope, forcing the enemy to give up this unrealistic fantasy.
Politics has always been like this, including the Anglo-Boers War, which can be blamed on the South African Colonial Company. Anyway, this unfortunate company has gone bankrupt during the war, and no one will come out to defend it.
In fact, the Governor of Delphi has already started doing it. As a qualified politician, even if you lose a battle and sign an unfavorable treaty, you should still minimize your responsibility for war.
In any case, the Cape Town colony survived. Although it is a reduced version, the British people will not know,
No one cares how big the Cape Town colony is, thousands of miles away.