Chapter 330 Escape
As the East African army approached step by step, the distance between the two armies was only about 500 meters.
Wiggins is still waiting for East Africa to enter the firing range, but the East African army will not give him this opportunity, because this distance is already within the fire range of the Dreiser rifle.
The maximum range of the Dreiser rifle is about 600 meters, while the range limit of the rifles equipped by the Ndebele people can only reach 300 meters. At a distance of five hundred meters, it can already exert about 60% of the power of the Dresser rifle, which is enough.
"Fire!" followed the order from the East African commanders.
The East African Army suddenly launched an attack, and the gunfire from Dreiser's rifle broke the oppressive silence between the two sides.
"Bang...bang...bang..."
Wiggins was caught off guard by the East Africans who suddenly opened fire, "What's going on, these East Africans..."< br>
Before the words were spoken, Ndebe was in the front row. Some of the Le soldiers had been shot and fell in large areas. At this time, the Ndebele soldiers were also stunned by the sudden firing from East Africa. Some of them instinctively started to fire at the East African army without orders. This was an early warning of danger. Explosive stress response.
However, the East African army fired first and the teammates around them fell. The Ndebele soldiers, who had briefly received training from the Boers, were a little panicked and made frequent mistakes. Even the soldiers in the second row faced the front nervously. The surviving comrades fired directly.
"You..."
The Ndebele soldier who was shot blackly by his own people fell unwillingly in a pool of blood, his eyes wide open.
The entire Ndebele camp fell into chaos, with shouts, wailing, and gunshots mixed together.
Wiggins was stunned for a moment, then immediately reacted, "Assholes, who told you to shoot, stop shooting!"
The Ndebele people are shooting now, and they can't hurt the East Africans at all. A hair on his head can at most make the East African Army listen.
Against the sound of gunfire, Wiggins shouted to Lobengula: "Your Majesty, there is something wrong with the equipment of the East Africans! Their rifles have a longer range, and we must change our tactics immediately."
Lobengula At this time, his face was blue with anger and he angrily shouted: "You don't Are you saying that as long as we wait for the East Africans to arrive, we can defeat them with muskets? Why did they fire in advance before they reached the predetermined area and still cause damage to us?"
Wiggins: " Your Majesty, the equipment of the East Africans There is a problem. They must have ordered more advanced weapons from Europe. I did not figure this out. The responsibility lies with me, but now is not the time to hold accountable. We must deal with the enemy's attack."
Loben. Gula was a little flustered Said: "What should we do now? Retreat?"
Lobengula is really desperate. Even a fool knows that the weapons of the East Africans are different from the "scrap iron" he bought with gold. , you can't even reach the corners of the enemy's clothes, how can you fight?
Wiggins: "No, Your Majesty, let our people rush forward with muskets. We must have more people than the East Africans. It doesn't matter if some of us die. As long as we rush to half the distance, the muskets in our hands can kill us." East Africa counterattacked, and we fought in close combat with the East Africans!”
Retreat is impossible! , once they retreat, the morale of the army will not be stable. When the time comes, it will not be a retreat, but a rout. Wiggins is sure that as long as the retreat is ordered, these natives will run faster than anyone else. They are all going to collapse. Now try to break into the East African side. Maybe you can turn defeat into victory with the advantage of numbers.
It doesn’t matter if some die! Although he was very angry, Lobengula had no other solution. He could only try Wiggins' method, "Attack the whole army! Warriors of the kingdom, follow my steps and defeat these East Africans."
Lobengula took the lead in the charge, boosted morale, and temporarily stabilized the morale of the Ndebele people. Now they can only fight with their last resort.
“Kill!”
Lobengula raised the Arabian scimitar in his hand and took the lead in killing the East African army, followed by the Ndebele warriors.
But the East African army has seen the Ndebele people's intentions.
"The artillery is ready! Fire!"
"Boom...boom...boom..."
The artillery shells hit the Ndebele camp, greatly weakening Ndebele The Bele people have a desire to fight, but the Ndebele people, as a "fighting" people among the indigenous people, have not collapsed. With Lobengula leading by example and taking the lead in the charge, it is still effective in improving morale. The king will not hesitate to die, why not Death.
Seeing that the Ndebele people could still attack normally, Sweite ordered: "Cavalry, prepare!"
The East African cavalry, which had been waiting for a long time, drew their sabers and stepped forward to prepare for battle. The South Salzburg border force is equipped with two cavalry companies, which are not large in scale, but make the South Salzburg border almost equipped with three army services: infantry, artillery, and cavalry.
The weapons of the East African cavalry are not exactly the same as those in Europe. Except for the Prussian Dresser carbine, which is specially used for cavalry, the cold weapon equipped by the East African cavalry is the East African fixed knife.
The East African straight knife is an improved version of the Huanshou knife of the Han Dynasty. Its basic function is similar to that of the Han Dynasty knife. It has a single edge, a thick ridge, and a certain arc, but the overall vision is relatively straight. It is mainly used for chopping and cutting. Stab.
The blade is 1.12 meters long, and the handle is wrapped with sisal braid, making use of the moisture-absorbing and sweat-wicking properties of sisal to make it easy to hold. The diameter of the blade ring is equal to the width of the handle. At the same time, a metal buckle is installed on the scabbard to facilitate hanging on the waist.
The shape of the East African fixed knife was completely based on Ernst’s personal preference. He himself had a gold-inlaid cold jade Han knife specially made with a lot of money as a private collection.
Although the use of straight swords by the East African cavalry was subject to Ernst’s personal subjective influence, it is true that the straight sword was unexpectedly accepted and loved by the East African cavalry, mainly because there were almost no cavalry of the same size among the enemies faced by East Africa. , there is no need for weapons such as lances.
More actual combat cases of the East African cavalry are holding straight knives and rushing into the fleeing natives to capture young and strong laborers. The Dresser carbine is used only when it is necessary to destroy the enemy and perform medium and long-range shooting.
The East African fixed knife is light and easy to control, which can ensure the safety of slaves. If it is disabled, the slave will have no use value.
Sweet: "Cavalry attacks!"
The cavalry kicked the horses with their spurs. As the East African cavalry moved out, a cloud of dust was immediately raised on the battlefield, and the sound of horse hooves rumbled.
“Kill!”
The sharp East African straight sword shined in the sun. The war horse ran a certain distance before colliding with the Ndebele people who were rushing at the front.
Seven to eight hundred kilograms passed directly by the Ndebele warriors, but what followed was a bright East African straight knife.
When he raised the knife and dropped it, plasma burst out from the Ndebele man's body and splashed to the ground.
Lobengula was not hit by the straight sword of the East African cavalry, but it was even more terrible. A war horse directly pushed him to the ground, and then trampled over him mercilessly with its hoofs.
Lobengula, a Ndebele strongman weighing nearly 200 kilograms, couldn't even breathe. He felt his heart heat up, and then he fainted. He didn't know whether it was because of the impact or the stampede.
Two cavalry companies rushed into the Ndebele camp, directly and completely disrupting the Ndebele attack.
With the blessing of war horses, the East African cavalry raised their swords and dropped their swords in the crowd, killing them. The Ndebele people completely lost their command, and the peripheral soldiers began to collapse.
Sweet also ordered at this time: "Everyone, attack on all fronts!"
All the East African Army pressed forward and joined the battlefield. The battlefield directly turned into a slaughterhouse, and the smell of blood mixed with gunpowder smoke and dust filled the battlefield. Everywhere, on the outskirts of Bulawayo, the bodies of Ndebele people are increasing.
I don’t know when, but Wiggins and several Boer instructors secretly went around to the rear of the battlefield while the Ndebele people were not paying attention.
"It's over! It's all over!" At this time, Wiggins said to several Boer instructors: "We must evacuate immediately. The Ndebele people's defeat is certain, and we cannot fall into the hands of the East Africans. ”
“What about the Ndebele people? Should we call them?”
"If you die, you will die. Now we have to run away. While they can still resist the East Africans for a while, leave quickly!" Wiggins urged.
The dead Taoist friend is not the poor Taoist, but Wiggins directly chooses to betray the Ndebele people.
"Let's get the horses first, go directly to the west, then take a detour to the southwest, and finally turn back to the Transvaal." Wiggins directed.
So several people hurriedly headed towards the residence in Bulawayo, where the horses they brought from the Transvaal were stored.
(End of this chapter)