Chapter 743 The First Phase
While Rost had a headache, the Ninth Brigade successfully withdrew to the New Hamburg Port City, and even the 2nd Regiment and the 1st Battalion, which was in charge of the rear, successfully returned to the New Hamburg Port City.
As for the enemy's pursuit, there is no such thing at all. The piles of corpses of Indian soldiers on the front line alone are enough for the British army to clean up for a while.
The only pity is that the results of this battle cannot be counted, and the Ninth Brigade does not know the specific casualties of the British army, but it can be determined that this Kronskop Blockade and the previous Tugela River Blockade, They all achieved excellent results, effectively killing the enemy's effective forces and undermining the enemy's arrogance.
……
The first town.
The war has started for a week, and the intelligence on each front is also being collected quickly towards the first town.
Sweite reported to Ernst: "The overall condition of the front line is currently good. Our army has withstood the first wave of coalition offensives. Except for the western region, several other major fronts have effectively delayed the enemy's military operations. Operation, the most stable one is the Southern Military District. The only pity is that the British army has too many people in the southeast, so the Tugela River defense line has been breached.
At present, the Ninth Brigade has withdrawn to New Hamburg Port City and is preparing to respond. The British army's next round of attack, but the Ninth Brigade also overfulfilled its mission. According to their battle report, at least thousands of British troops were annihilated, especially the most lethal to the Indian troops.
At the same time, machine guns were fired at It played a huge role in the war, and the only drawback was the excessive consumption of ammunition.”
"The Eastern Defense Line is also facing a similar situation to that of the Ninth Brigade. However, because it is close to Matabele Province, ammunition can be replenished in time. Currently, the two sides are engaged in a fierce artillery battle on the Eastern Defense Line. The British and Portuguese troops are The firepower is not inferior to our army at all, but in most cases, our army is located on a higher terrain, so it has a visual advantage over the enemy and is more lethal."
"The only flaw was. It is the western region. The number of our troops in the western region is too small. As expected before the war, the Portuguese army launched a relatively fierce offensive, and on some fronts, it has broken through into our territory. However, the offensive suddenly entered a sluggish state the day before yesterday. At present, Our army is organizing a counterattack. "
The Angolan colony has the main force of the Portuguese army. Once the war started, Portugal was in an all-round advantage, and the strength of the two sides was too disparate.
So the East African General Staff mainly adopts the strategy of exchanging space for time in the west. The important reason why the Portuguese army's offensive is currently stagnant is exactly as judged by the East African General Staff.
That is, the logistics system cannot keep up with the progress of the war. The Angolan Portuguese army has been advancing with great success. It seems that the results are brilliant, but in fact it has also lengthened the front line.
Moreover, East Africa has implemented the same "fortify the wall and clear the field" strategy in the west as in the southern border provinces. The enemy cannot obtain supplies on the spot, and cannot even guarantee the most basic food.
As for the construction of East Africa in the west, it is not much better than the colony of Angola. Angola has a considerable population in the coastal areas and a relatively developed economy. In comparison, the provinces in western East Africa are vast and sparsely populated and have poor transportation. Inconveniently, there are still a large number of black people living in many areas.
Of course, the Portuguese army is not completely unable to solve the food problem. Africa is still relatively rich in product resources, especially meat and fruits. However, the Portuguese army mainly lacks grains and other basic living supplies.
Even drinking water is a big problem, but many Western countries do not pay attention to water source issues in this era, and they are not as "hypocritical" as the East African Defense Forces.
“At present, there are two main problems reported by various units of the National Defense Force. One is the personnel problem. Our army has gained advantages on multiple fronts, but it is unable to organize an effective counterattack due to insufficient personnel. For example, the previous garrison in Tu Aridotus, the brigade commander of the Ninth Brigade on the Gela River, said that if he doubled the reinforcements, he could double the results of the Kronskop Blockade. The numbers are about the same. Artillery battles often occur, which consume a lot of ammunition. The machine guns attached to the troops also play a huge role in the war, but the machine guns consume a lot of bullets. Many troops' machine gun bullets have been consumed. They are exhausted, and the frontline troops are in urgent need of more machine guns, weapons and ammunition.”
“At present, our army can basically guarantee the stability of the front in the first stage. However, this defensive posture cannot actually give full play to the advantages of East Africa, especially when the enemy comes from three directions, allowing us to The military strength is dispersed and unable to engage in large-scale battles with the enemy. The central industrial zone is greatly threatened, and the pressure on the other defense lines is suddenly increased."
"To get rid of this situation, we must disrupt the enemy's strategic deployment. , achieve breakthroughs in key areas, threaten the enemy's hinterland, and disrupt its overall strategy. "
"At present, there are two main points that have the ability to achieve this, one is the Zambezi River defense line, and the other is the southern defense line. The two areas are areas where our military strength is superior. The enemy has adopted the same defensive measures as we have in areas where our military strength is weak, so now it is a matter of who can defeat the other side's weak points first and gain the strategic initiative."
Regarding this point, Sweet's war intention is very clear, that is, East Africa is now in an extremely passive state, Britain and Portugal are on the offensive, and East Africa is on the defensive.
Due to the dispersion of its forces, East Africa was unable to effectively attack the enemy coalition forces. Although East Africa had many tactical advantages on the battlefield, due to various reasons, it was unable to expand these tactical advantages into strategic advantages.
So if East Africa wants to break the deadlock, it must quickly gain advantages in local areas, thereby mobilizing more troops to the eastern region of East Africa, where it is most urgently needed.
The focus of this is the Boer Republic and northern Mozambique. East Africa has a military advantage here. If progress can be made in these two places, it can threaten the enemy's rear and at the same time, it can use relative redundancy. The troops were released to the main battlefield in the east.
The reason why these two locations currently force East Africa to accumulate a large number of troops is mainly due to factors such as terrain, just like the three sides of the Boer Republic and East Africa. If East Africa removes this point, then East Africa only needs to deploy one side, and the other The troops on both sides can be used for other battlefields.
Furthermore, the Boer Republic is in a very bad location, threatening the hinterland of Cape Town, the core British colony. If East Africa gains an advantage here, the British army will have to spend more energy deploying troops here.
However, the traffic conditions in Cape Town near East Africa are very poor. It is located in the center of the plateau. It is not easy to transport supplies and troops here. This will further bleed Britain.
As for the Zambezi defense line, it is mainly responsible for the Eastern Military Region. There are currently not many battles in the Eastern Military Region. The main offensive of the coalition forces is mainly aimed at the central and western parts of East Africa.
So the troops of the Eastern Military Region going south can effectively alleviate the current military pressure in the central and western regions. Of course, this also has certain risks, that is, the Eastern Military Region is responsible for the military in many developed areas in East Africa, including the Central Province. Safety.
If it goes south, it may cause security problems in the current economic and political center of East Africa. However, the main threat to the east comes from the sea. As long as the East African navy is not completely wiped out, it can ensure the security of the east in a short time.
The Central Province also has a Guards Division responsible for land security, but it cannot radiate to the entire east. However, as long as the strategic security of the first town and city is ensured, military and political stability across East Africa can be guaranteed.
(End of this chapter)