Chapter 735 Gurkha
While New Hamburg Port City was actively preparing for war, Commander Wilson of the British Royal Navy in the Indian Ocean was at a loss.
“New Hamburg Port City is said to be a seaside city, but in fact it is still some distance away from the sea. If we really want to say it, it should be regarded as a lakeside city. There is only a narrow waterway less than a kilometer wide connecting the interior, and East Africans There must be forts placed on both sides of the waterway, and we want to attack New Hamburg from here. It is simply impossible in a port city. ”
“Not only that, the coastline around the New Hamburg Port in East Africa is too flat and has many reefs and shoals, which is not conducive to ship navigation at all. This is similar to our Durban Port. "It is difficult to attack this terrain from the sea," the adjutant added.
In fact, the British army cannot even approach the entrance to the narrow waterways in New Hamburg Port City. It is possible to send small ships to land in New Hamburg Port City, but that would require a lot of ships and manpower. This is the beginning. What the Cape Town Navy does not possess.
"The navy of the New Hamburg Port City also avoids fighting. Isn't our trip in vain?"
The New Hamburg Port City Navy only has five main battleships, so of course it will not bite the bullet and fight with them. The British fought, and now the navy is nestled in the inner waters of New Hamburg Bay (Richard's Bay), and its defense work mainly relies on the artillery of the army.
The construction of the coastal defense artillery in the New Hamburg Port City is of the highest standard in the entire East Africa. It is composed of semi-bunker type, mobile artillery, fixed turret and other coastal defense artillery systems made of reinforced concrete. Naturally, it is not The British can easily defeat it by sending just a few warships, and they are not the main battleships of the British army like the previous battle at Lamu Bay.
Of course, compared to the navy of the New Hamburg Port City in East Africa, the British Cape Town Navy is still powerful enough. After all, the New Hamburg Port City Navy is also equipped with two wooden sail warships. It would be too early to bring this kind of goods out. It just can’t keep up with the times.
……
Along the Tugela River.
“Sir, our third river-crossing operation failed. The firepower in East Africa on the opposite side was too strong to achieve a breakthrough. Moreover, the water volume of the Tugela River was relatively large, and our army still lacked large-scale river crossing ships. Every time The small-scale river crossing operation simply cannot succeed."
East Africa is worried about the large number of British troops in the Natal colony, but the British have already begun to "swear."
Although the British had an absolute advantage in terms of army numbers and firepower, the Ninth Brigade of the 513th East African Division relying on the Tugela River for defense was not an easy bone to chew on.
The number of East African troops has not increased significantly for so many years. A large amount of military expenditures have been used to upgrade weapons and equipment systems. Coupled with the improvement of East Africa's military industrial capabilities, this makes the weapons and equipment level of the East African National Defense Force not much worse than that of Europe.
Therefore, the situation faced by the British was that they encountered an army with the same level of weapons and equipment for the first time in the colonies.
East Africa has deployed a large number of artillery, machine guns and other weapons along the Tugela River. The firepower density far exceeds the opponents encountered by the British in Southeast Asia and South Asia.
It is worth mentioning that the current British army in the Natal colony is mainly composed of Indian soldiers. Previously, the main force of the British army had been transferred to the Mozambique region by the British Commander-in-Chief Earl Roberts, which also included many important forces. Weapons are also given priority to Mozambique.
So although Natal has a large number of troops, its weapon advantage is not too great. Of course, even so, the number of British artillery in the Natal colony is about three times that of East Africa.
But now East Africa is on the defensive side, and its main purpose is to interfere with the British army's plan to cross the river, so the conversion of firepower advantage is not significant.
"Pull all the artillery of our division, including the explosive ones of other Indian infantry divisions, to the river. We must suppress the firepower of the East Africans and provide fire support to the troops crossing the river."
"Also, the front A huge failure point in the several river crossings was that the Indians disturbed the morale of the troops. This time, our people and the Gurkhas took the lead in crossing the river. If there are any more Indians who become deserters, they will be punished on the spot. Throw your body into the Tugela River!"
British division commander Rost gritted his teeth and said that although East Africa is not weak, this is not the reason for its failure. After all, there is only one brigade on the opposite side, and Nata There is one British division and three Indian divisions here, which are several times the enemy's firepower and troop strength. They can't take down the small East African Infantry Brigade, which is a total embarrassment to the empire. So Rost blamed this result on the Indian army, which was the cannon fodder for the charge. In Rost's view, it was the Indian soldiers' inherent lack of courage that led to the failure of the previous operations.
Of course, Rost’s shirking of the blame can be regarded as the right idea. The problem of the Indian servant army is indeed huge, and it was solved with the most "excellent" third river crossing operation. Word.
The collapse of the Indian servant army did not even cross one-third of the river. This is unreasonable!
The average width of the Tugela River is only about 100 meters, and the narrowest places are only more than 20 meters. If you don't pay attention to this distance, the boat may pass by.
So the Indians' fighting will is too weak. Rost considered himself a person with a relatively peaceful personality, and was very angry at the Indians' performance.
Of course, the Indians did not admit Rost's accusations. Several Indian officers blamed it on "East Africa's strong firepower."
In fact, in terms of firepower, Rost's troops suppressed the East African artillery fire. Under this situation, the Indians' words were all "quibbles" in Rost's ears.
It's okay to use this excuse for the failure of the first river crossing, because Rost also didn't expect that the firepower of East Africa was not inferior to the European army. However, for the second and third times of crossing the river, Rost increased the fire support to a considerable capacity. Basically suppress the army. After all, no matter how powerful the firepower is in East Africa, the opposite side is only equipped with a brigade.
With the issuance of Rost's order, the British and Gurkhas took the lead in crossing the river this time.
The Gurkhas, also known as Gurkha mercenaries, can be said to be the most heroic and capable army in Britain in the 19th century. Their fighting will is more vigorous than that of the British army.
Furthermore, Gurkha mercenaries are very loyal and the price is very low. Since most Gurkha soldiers are forced by life and have been soldiers for generations, the Gurkhas often say unabashedly: "When Soldiers are just for money and have no other purpose."
The British are naturally very satisfied with such an army, and it is also a useful arm for the British to rule India.
The Gurkhas often suppressed Indian uprisings, so Rost used the Gorkhas to supervise the war, which was very consistent with the position of the Gurkhas. They often did this in India.
Of course, the main purpose this time is to use the Gurkha mercenaries' fearless fighting spirit to break through the East Africans' Tugela River defense line.
As long as he can seize the coastal position on the north bank of the Tugela River, even if there is a gap, Rost's goal will be achieved.
The fourth river-crossing operation was about to begin. In order to stimulate the enthusiasm of the Gurkhas, Rost specifically promised them large rewards, and the Gurkhas followed suit.
Everyone’s eyes were filled with blood, as if they wanted to tear the East Africans on the other side of the river into pieces. After all, poverty is the most terrifying thing for the Gurkhas. They would sell their lives for pounds. Got it!
With the Gurkhas taking the lead, the "East African phobia" of the Indian servants seems to have been alleviated to a certain extent this time. The British soldiers are in better condition than the Indians, but their enthusiasm is obviously not as high as that of the Gurkhas. Compared to country bumpkins.
(End of this chapter)