African Entrepreneurship Records

  Chapter 358 War Preparation

  During the construction of Soga City, the central canal project was also in full swing. The Ndebele people were organized and split into two groups to excavate 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 started, the army in Zimbabwe had already started military training, and the training mainly focused on how to capture the Boers fleeing in the wild.

"Facing the kingdom's superior military strength and powerful firepower, it is impossible for the Boers to confront us head-on. Then they will definitely be like cockroaches, crawling all over the dark corners, and they may be anywhere, and suddenly attack you. This At that time, your enemy is no longer the kind of backward natives holding spears, but Boers who have certain military experience and also master hot weapons. If we encounter Boers who play this way, how should we deal with them? "

Following the instructor's questioning, the soldiers below began to discuss. In fact, many people have experienced guerrilla warfare, but it was done by the aborigines before. The tactics are very effective, but without advanced weapons, it is basically equivalent to death. Facing the aborigines Sneak attacks are often handled by East African soldiers calmly.

  The indigenous people who can use guerrilla tactics are already more intelligent in the African region, and more indigenous people lost to East Africa in a daze, or they couldn't organize to fight against East Africa at all. The gap in weapons is too large, so that ordinary natives can't bring up the idea of ​​​​resistance.

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

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

  Finally, we must keep in mind that the poor should not chase after them, and don’t be fooled by the Boers. Be careful of being ambushed. As long as we stick to the settlements and regularly sweep 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 capture the cities and villages of the Boers, and then deal with the counterattack of the fish that slipped through the net.

  The Transvaal Republic established by the Boers is quite special, so East Africa must take over its state power in a very short period of time, which puts forward very high requirements 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 residence from the east by disguising as a German businessman or an expedition team, and conducted a detailed exploration of the Transvaal Republic. Complements the map.

  These drawings were transported back to the Kingdom of East Africa by sea, and compiled by the Hechingen Military Academy. The above information was collected and unified on a military map, marking the terrain, rivers, forests, swamps, etc. of the Transvaal.

At the same time, draw feasible routes for all cities and towns in the Transvaal Republic on the map. As long as the military chief 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 makes 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 foreign countries, including the Orange Free State and the British Colony of Cape Town. Our people must react quickly and take the entire territory of the Transvaal Republic within more than a month. In this way, when the news reaches Cape Town, the British will have nothing to do with us. It doesn’t matter whether it is an effective occupation or not, we just need to let the British know that the Kingdom of East Africa has annexed the Transvaal Republic.”

  The actions against the Transvaal Republic must be done with lightning speed, which puts quite high demands on the East African army. In order to improve the physical fitness of the soldiers, they began to increase the army's food and increase the amount of training to ensure that the troops can march for more than 40 kilometers every day.

From the southernmost point of the Transvaal Republic to the northernmost point, the straight-line distance is about 500 kilometers. As long as the East African army can achieve the usual training volume, it will attack from the northern part of the Transvaal Republic to the southern part of the Transvaal Republic within one month. It just can be done.

   Regarding the attitude of the Boers, the decision of the East African Kingdom is to choose the good ones and keep them, and abandon 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 the rule of East Africa.

In fact, the Transvaal Republic itself is poor today. The climate of the Transvaal Republic is hot and dry, and the land is barren. The Boers can only make a living by running pastures. The disadvantages of single structure and weak economic foundation.

  There is not a single modern industrial enterprise in this country, and there is not a single inch of railroad built. In 1866, the total annual fiscal revenue of the Transvaal Republic was only 66,000 pounds, and the treasury deposits of the Boers 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 to hold together. The government stipulates that any male citizen of the Transvaal who has reached the age of 16 can apply to the state for the allocation of 2,400 hectares of land in return. These Boers need to pay food and taxes to the country, and they have to serve as soldiers to fight for the country in wartime. Land means pastures, and conquering more land means more pastures, so the Boers continued to fight against black tribes at home and abroad.

  The biggest enemy of the Boers is the black Zulu Kingdom. The Zulus and the Boers had a **** feud at the Battle of the River of Blood. But the Zulus are different from the general black indigenous tribes. The Zulus are not only brave and skilled fighters, but also surpass the form of primitive tribes in terms of organizational structure. They have established their own kingdoms and can fight with large corps.

  The Ndebele regime that was eliminated in East Africa before is a branch of the Zulus, and its ability is 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 diplomatic means, taking advantage of the conflict between the Boers and the British to sow discord, and 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 knowing it. East Africa is not like the British. Like the Prussian barbarians, he has always advocated force.

  (end of this chapter)