Chapter 783 The Fall of Maputo
December 20, 1888.
Maputo, which had enjoyed peace for more than half a month, once again sounded the alarm because the damn East Africans were coming again.
"Just three hours ago, the East African Navy fought with our army in the north. The enemy troops landed east of Marakwane. We just discovered the enemy navy at the lookout post on the north side of Cape Town Bay. They are heading into the bay. "
The outlet of Maputo Bay is nearly 20 kilometers long, so it is impossible to be completely blocked. Of course, Maputo City is built at the mouth of the bay further inside. There is no risk of being breached from the sea.
Just facing the artillery fire coverage of enemy ships is enough to make Davis, the current top military commander in Maputo, feel aggrieved and frightened.
"Let the troops be in a fighting position. Once each fort detects an enemy ship, fire immediately without hesitation." Davis ordered after calming down a little.
At this time, there is no time to worry about the landing troops in northern East Africa. Who knows if East Africa will just feint a shot and attack Cape Town directly.
In fact, even if we know that the East African army in the north is the main force, we cannot allocate too many manpower to destroy the East African army that landed in the north.
Because just three days ago, an unknown small force penetrated between Maputo and the southern defense line, and carried out a devastating blow to the supply channel between Maputo and the southern defense line.
In order to destroy this East African force, Maputo has sent the last reserve team to the south to encircle and suppress this small East African force.
This small force is the regiment led by Schwal. If the enemy wants to wipe out the Schwal, they must dispatch at least one brigade of troops. However, since the transfer of Earl Roberts and the Governor's Mansion, the original Nearly half of Maputo's forces went to Saukwe.
At this time, the troops were divided to encircle and suppress the Shivar tribe, which made Maputo's already weak army even worse. Therefore, the troops in the city could no longer be shared out, and some troops were even needed to be withdrawn to consolidate Maputo. defense.
Davis felt heavy in his heart and said feebly: "It seems that the East Africans are ready for a decisive battle in Maputo! Hurry up and ask the messenger to withdraw our troops. Now there is only Maputo City. If it can be used as a last resort, let’s give up on other areas first!”
At this time, there is no way to take care of the area outside Maputo City. Based on his experiences these days, Davis clearly understands that the encirclement of Maputo in East Africa has taken shape, and he has also sent an army into the encirclement. A small force was formed to cut off the connection between Maputo and the main force in the south.
Now Davis's idea is to keep the main force of the southern defense line, otherwise they are likely to be besieged by East Africa. Unlike Maputo, the southern defense line has cities, military fortresses and defense projects, as well as sufficient supplies to hold on.
Once East Africa moves south from the north or west, I am afraid that the southern defense line will be directly wiped out, and now Maputo also needs additional troops.
"The troops in the north must be the elite of East Africa. The artillery fire we just heard lasted for nearly an hour, which shows that they carry a lot of artillery and ammunition, at least the strength of a division. Now let all the northern troops They all retreated to the outskirts of Maputo. This is no longer something they can face! "
Before the Guards Division landed, the north of Maputo belonged to the hinterland of Mozambique, so there were actually not many troops, and the Guards Where the division landed, there was only one battalion with nearby support. This was also the reason why the First Brigade of the Guards Division directly and violently landed.
The total strength of all the troops in the north of Maputo is only one brigade. In this case, we certainly cannot go head-to-head with East Africa.
At the same time, Davis withdrew his southern troops, also considering this aspect. If the north was landed in East Africa, then the southern defense line would have no meaning in continuing to exist.
After all, the original idea of the coalition was to use the narrow terrain in the south to keep the East African army out of Mozambique. Now that the enemy appears behind Maputo, the so-called defense line will collapse. In this situation , Davis can only prioritize ensuring the safety of Maputo.
There are many examples in history of relying on cities to resist the enemy. To put it bluntly, there is one example in this South African War, that is, East Africa was previously trapped in the New Hamburg Port City. The New Hamburg Port City It lasted for three months. Davis thought that based on the current construction of Maputo, he should be able to defend it for a year. Even if it was finally breached, he would have surrendered after running out of ammunition and food, rather than being captured by the enemy.
……
The East African General Staff did not know Davis's thoughts. After the navy and Guards Division were in place, the General Staff issued operational orders for a full-scale offensive to the Western and Southern Military Districts.
At this time, Schwarz finally waited for the large roundabout force. After the two sides joined forces, Schvarr and the 9th Brigade switched from defense to attack.
This completely cut off the hope of the southern defense line coalition forces to withdraw to Maputo. At this time, the main force of the southern military region also began to launch a full-scale attack on the southern defense line.
Only one day later, the southern defense line of the coalition forces, which was attacked from both sides, was completely broken. At this time, the Western Military District also attacked the coalition forces in western Swaziland, heading towards Maputo in a mighty manner.
Before Davis' messenger could deliver the letter, he became a prisoner of the East African Defense Forces. When all defense lines were broken, Maputo also felt uncomfortable. The East African Navy launched a new campaign against Maputo. Round of attacks.
This century-old military fortress in the Western Indian Ocean could not withstand repeated bombardments from the main ironclad ships in East Africa, and large areas of ruins appeared in the city.
Before the coalition forces had time to clean up the ruins in the city, the Northern Guards Division began to move south, leaving the coalition forces to rely on the ruins to fight in East Africa.
But the situation is not too bad. Although many buildings in the city were destroyed, Maputo's city walls did withstand the attacks of East African artillery fire.
This kind of fortress has been reinforced by the Portuguese for hundreds of years and nearly ten years, and is far more impregnable than any city in Africa.
However, the biggest problem faced by the coalition forces at this time was the shortage of troops, not the problem of city defense. Without enough troops to defend, flaws would easily occur.
But a situation that made Davis desperate happened. On the next day, intelligence from the south and west came back, and at the same time it brought absolutely bad news. The main force of the coalition forces in the south and west was almost completely lost, and only less than one division escaped. With the strength of the troops and the withdrawal of a brigade from the north, the current number of Maputo defenders is less than 30,000.
In East Africa, there may be several times the number of Maputo defenders. At this time, Maputo is besieged on all sides, but Davis is in a stable mood.
Although the force of less than 30,000 was too small, it was more than enough as long as some of the outer areas of Maputo City were abandoned, so Davis wanted to resist to the death.
Subsequently, the East African Guards Division, the Western Military Region, and the Southern Military Region completed their rendezvous in Maputo City, with full strength and firepower advantages.
The East African Army achieved good results, but it was not enough to conquer this strong fortress in a short time, but an accident occurred.
After being bombarded by artillery fire for a day, under the planning of the East African National Defense and Security Bureau in Maputo, and under extremely pessimistic circumstances, a Portuguese regiment declared an uprising and took the initiative to introduce the East African Defense Force into the city of Maputo.
Davis never dreamed that such a situation would happen on the battlefield. That night, a fierce street battle broke out between the East African Defense Forces entering the city and the British troops who resisted. After seven hours, David was desperate. Sri Lanka could only lead his troops to surrender to East Africa.
(End of this chapter)