Chapter 747 Battle of Fetter River
Merke's statement is not an exaggeration, because the Boers do not have an electric power system, so they cannot coordinate and organize counterattacks on various battlefields in a timely manner.
The construction of telegraph lines in East Africa is second to none in the entire Africa, but there is only one professional telegraph line in the Boer Republic, which leads from Cape Town to the Kimberley mining area.
The current Boer Republic is not like its previous life, which controlled the gold mines of South Africa, so it is very backward in all aspects of construction. Moreover, they have to maintain a huge military force and have basically zero infrastructure construction.
As for the telegraph line in the Kimberley area, it was built by British businessmen in the diamond-producing area, the only important mineral in the Boer Republic, under the control of the British.
These were reported to the East African government by the East African Defense and Security Bureau. Therefore, the Boer Republic is not only a small country and has a small population, but is actually very backward. This backwardness is nothing short of very detrimental to the progress of the war in the Boer Republic.
……
Midnight.
There is silence on both sides of the Fete River. Although it is the rainy season in South Africa, the two sides of the Fete River, which is far inland, actually do not encounter too many rains, which brings some convenience to East Africa. .
East Africa is very well prepared for crossing the river. From the day the Transvaal Republic was eliminated, the East African government has clearly known about the bad relationship with the Boers, so the two sides will definitely still fight.
Therefore, unlike the previous British army on the Tugela River, which was not even fully prepared for its ships, the East African side had prepared countless plans to attack the Orange Free State during peacetime, and ships that broke through the Orange River were indispensable. Equipment, almost every stronghold has a certain reserve.
This time, East Africa directly dispatched 30,000 troops. Under the cover of darkness, they began to cross the Fite River. Although it is located in the hinterland of the South African plateau, the rain here is not very abundant, but the troops from the Drakensberg Mountains Abundant rainwater replenishes various tributaries of the Orange River.
This is very similar to the Shabelle River and Juba River in Somalia. Rainfall in Somalia is scarce, but the abundant precipitation on the Ethiopian plateau makes these two rivers large rivers with considerable flow all year round.
The large-scale movement in East Africa was still discovered by the Boers, but at this time, it was supposed to be rest time. Many Boer soldiers did not even come out of the camp, and the East African troops had already landed.
The East African army after landing was not so easy to deal with, and the reason for this result was the Boer's laziness. East Africa had been in a defensive posture in the previous three months and had not launched an attack.
In this state, the Boer frontline soldiers were easily paralyzed, and in fact this was true. The East African Defense Forces attached great importance to discipline construction because of Ernst.
But as the younger brothers of the British, the Transvaal people did not have this consciousness. They can be said to have learned from the British army in military construction, and it is more appropriate to describe them as "bandits".
The only pity is that East Africa did not give these "bandit armies" the opportunity to rob East Africa itself. This can be seen from the industrial layout of East Africa. The industrial zones in East Africa are all located in the rear, in the south. Agriculture on the border has not been developed much.
“The East Africans are coming!”
The first person to discover the East Africans was Lawrence, a Boer drunkard. As a logistics worker, Lawrence could often get a lot of good things, such as Today, the British imported whiskey, got drunk with a few Boer soldiers during the day, and ended up waking up at midnight to go to the river to solve physical problems.
Then in his blurred vision, he seemed to see a faint light in the river, which was the light reflected from the East African helmet.
Lawrence woke up instantly, but faced the increasingly approaching East African army, he was a little overwhelmed. It took him three seconds to react and started running towards the position.
As Lawrence shouted, more and more Boer soldiers began to be awakened and hurriedly organized resistance. Facing the bustling Boers, they responded with artillery fire from East Africa.
As the East African troops came ashore, the artillery began to organize attacks on the Boer bunkers. Of course, the artillery that crossed the river this time actually used grenades, which were used on a large scale. Lightweight portable small-caliber artillery used in the East African Army.
Although the small boat can bear the weight of East Africa's heavy artillery, it is unstable and inefficient. In addition, it is not convenient to carry during night raids.
But it should be enough to deal with the Boers. The Boers' equipment can be said to be the worst among the coalition forces, especially the lack of heavy weapons.
And their heavy weapons can't work at this time. Because of the night, they don't know the specific location of the East African army at all. They only feel that there are people everywhere.
It is hard to believe that the Boer defenses were very rough and even more defeated than before the war. You must know that this was not done by the East Africans.
The real reason is that the rainy season caused the Boer defense line to collapse to a certain extent, and East Africa has not launched an offensive for a long time. In the past three months, the Boers have gradually become less concerned about maintaining the fortifications.
Originally, the Boer defense lines were very rough, mostly made of civil structures. Although there was little rain in South Africa, it had a certain destructive power on such rough fortifications.
But the main reason was caused by the Boers' improper maintenance of these fortifications. Now the Boers have to pay for their carelessness.
As the grenade shells fell, these fortifications were completely vulnerable. East African artillery generally made few mistakes by positioning the "fire".
Most of these fires were bonfires used for lighting or heating at night, and now they have become a reminder for the Boers.
Even if a smart person starts running into the darkness, it is easy to be accidentally injured. The darkness itself also has certain dangers, such as tripping over debris or being pushed by other people.
The entire Boer position was in chaos. After all, it was the first time to face such a scene in the dark, and it was difficult to be calmed down.
The Boer officers watched the chaos occurring among their own soldiers, but were unable to do anything. Even if they wanted to organize a counterattack at this time, it was impossible to achieve it.
Due to the darkness of night, it can be said that the Boers now do not know the generals and the generals. Coupled with the huge noise of artillery bullets in East Africa, it is even more difficult to command, or in other words, the command of the Boer army now The system is completely paralyzed.
After a round of artillery fire, the Boers had completely collapsed, and the East African army began to harvest them. Of course, because of the darkness, many Boers chose to run away and did not confront the East African army.
At this time, it is very difficult for the East Africans to pursue these deserters. However, as long as the Boer riverside positions are captured, the Boer Republic in the rear will no longer be in danger, and the Boer Republic government will not be able to defend it in a short period of time. Gather these troops.
The three-line offensive in East Africa went very smoothly. Only the west encountered a little trouble. The British army there was obviously more experienced than the Boers, but it only lasted a little longer than the Boers.
Although the current number of Boer frontline troops is large, the short-term expansion of the army has also left the Boer army with a mixed number of soldiers, especially some Orangemen who have no intention of fighting at all.
Under their leadership, the Transvaal people also chose to flee. Only many of the original landlords of the Transvaal Republic were staunch resisters. After all, East Africa had actually harmed their interests before. , more bottom-level Boers collapsed without a fight.
(End of this chapter)