Chapter 366

No matter how they put on a political show, they still couldn't change the fact that the situation was deteriorating. Contradictions that had been covered up in the past also emerged one after another.

Law and order in Cape Town deteriorated rapidly. Murders, robberies, rapes … all kinds of vicious crimes emerged one after another, causing panic among the people.

The Cape Town colonial government was very weak in this regard, and the heavily bureaucratic police did nothing. They were not completely inactive. They concentrated the police force to protect the interests of the powerful.

The deterioration of law and order was a small matter. It was nothing more than an increase in gunfights. The people of the colony were not pushovers. Even if the men entered the army, the women could also use guns to kill.

After the initial chaos, the people also learned to huddle together for warmth. Anyway, everyone in the colony had a tradition of carrying a gun, and most ordinary people basically had a shotgun at home.

If there was no external interference, Cape Town would become a sacred place for gangs in the future. After this wave, it would be difficult for the gangs not to develop and grow.

A middle-aged official reported worriedly, "Your Excellency, since the outbreak of the war, the price of food in Cape Town has tripled, which has exceeded the limits of many ordinary people.

Not only food, but the prices of most daily necessities have increased to varying degrees, and some goods have even been out of stock. "

Making money from a national crisis was the basic quality of a good capitalist. Of course, this time was an exception. The blame for the skyrocketing prices should not be entirely borne by the capitalists.

Because of the war, Cape Town lost the food produced in South Africa and could only rely on imports. The cost naturally went up, and the price increase became inevitable.

Governor Delphi's expression changed, and he sternly ordered, "Pass down the order to stabilize the prices as soon as possible. We must not let the price of food rise any further.

Forget it, I won't make things difficult for you. I'll do it myself. Tomorrow night, I'm going to hold a banquet at the governor's house and invite these bastards. Whoever doesn't cooperate with the government to stabilize the prices will be sacrificed. "

Under normal circumstances, Governor Delphi would not have done such an extreme thing. But wasn't this an abnormal situation?

His backer in the Government of London had made it clear that if they lost this war, Governor Delphi would have no choice but to die. The difference was how he would die. He would die on the battlefield, or be killed by others.

Governor Delphi was naturally not afraid of offending people when he was about to lose his life. Anyway, even if he won the war, as the one who started it, he would have to go home and retire. He was not afraid of their revenge.

There was still a bottom line in political struggles in the Government of London, and it was rare for someone to be killed. It was not difficult for Governor Delphi to escape with his backer.

A middle-aged man in military uniform said, "Sir Governor, our military supplies are severely lacking. Based on the current situation, these supplies would only last for a month at most.

Based on the current situation, these supplies would only last for a month at most. For the new soldiers, we can only give them retired rifles to make do with. "

Because of the war, most of the people in the British South African colony, except for the indigenous tribes, were concentrated in the area around Cape Town and the Cape of Good Hope. There were four to five hundred thousand people, young and old.

With so many people eating and drinking, he couldn't just ignore them. Even if sea transportation could meet the demand, the pressure was still huge.

Before the arrival of Austria, the Cape Town colonial government did not consider the threat from inland, and the Royal Navy was the world's hegemon, which was enough to ensure the smooth sea route.

Before the arrival of Austria, the Governor Delphi didn't consider the threat from inland, and the Royal Navy was the world's dominant force.

Governor Delphi was one of the first to anticipate the Austrian threat. The main purpose of attacking the Boer Republic was to eliminate Austria's advantage in South Africa.

Unfortunately, the plan didn't change fast enough. Instead, they fell into the enemy's trap, causing the Boers to fall into Austria's arms.

Governor Delphi replied calmly, "I have asked for help from home. It won't take long to solve the problem."

How long would it take? This problem would test the moral integrity of the British bureaucrats. It would take three to five days at best, three to five months at worst.

There were so many processes in the Government of the United Kingdom. As long as there was a problem in one of them, it could be delayed indefinitely.

Not everyone wanted to see him win the war. There were many people in the Government of London who wanted Delphi to lose the war.

In a political struggle, internal enemies were always more terrifying than external enemies. In the eyes of many, Cape Town was a backwater, and the outcome of this battle didn't matter at all.

To put it bluntly, the greatest value of the British South African colony was to defend the Cape of Good Hope and provide supplies for the Royal Navy.

If sacrificing Cape Town could allow the Government of London to replace them, many opposition parties wouldn't mind.

What was lost on the battlefield could be taken back from the negotiation table. The British, who were unprecedentedly confident, didn't think anyone dared to go against their authority.

Of course, it wasn't the top government officials who thought so, or else Governor Delphi would really be dead.

Once the British and Austrians compromised, the war would be over. However, as the main culprit of losing the city and land, Governor Delphi would be cursed and court-martialed. He wouldn't even have a chance to redeem himself.

Even his supporters would be implicated. When the colony fell, the Colonial Department would naturally be the first to bear the brunt. Without the support of their supporters, Delphi would really be doomed.

Such a terrible situation didn't happen. The politicians in the Government of London were still intelligent enough to not listen to the command of the bombastic party.

Austria was powerful on the African continent. If they lost Cape Town, it was completely unknown whether they could get it back in the future.

If the Government of Vienna didn't buy it, could they still take it by force?

It wasn't an exaggeration: at sea, even if the Austrian Navy doubled in size, the Royal Navy would still be able to beat it; on land, it was the exact opposite. If the British Army doubled in size, it wouldn't even be enough to die on the African continent.

Relying on "deterrence at sea" to force Austria to make concessions was an ideal situation. Even if the Government of London went all out, they would at most be able to seize a few insignificant Austrian colonies, and they wouldn't be able to conquer the African continent.

Sending the Royal Navy to the Adriatic Sea to block the door was originally the most powerful deterrent. Unfortunately, things were different now. If the Royal Navy dared to enter the Mediterranean Sea, they had to be mentally prepared for a one-way trip.

The French occupied Sicily, and the Mediterranean Sea had essentially been divided into two. At this time, the risk of sending the Royal Navy into the Mediterranean Sea was greatly increased. If the FAO and France joined forces to attack them, the Royal Navy might be destroyed.

This possibility wasn't just an issue; it was inevitable. The FAO didn't join forces to attack the British mainly because they didn't have an opportunity to do so.

Otherwise, in the face of benefits, the two parties would have already made a move. The FAO and France joined forces to attack the British, and they had similar plans from the beginning.

…

The deafening roar of artillery fire kicked off the prelude to the war. After the artillery fire, the black mass of people with all kinds of weapons charged at the British position.

Intense gunfire rang out, and the charging crowd fell one after another. The heavy casualties caused the charging team to lose all morale, and many people even turned around and fled.

Putting down the binoculars in his hands, Viscount Fickney's eyebrows were almost knitted together. Obviously, he was very dissatisfied with the probing attack this time.

After a sigh, Viscount Fickney gave the cruelest order, "Send out the supervision team to supervise their attack. Those who don't fear the enemy and those who flee from the battlefield will be killed without mercy.

From now on, they would launch attacks day and night. Unless our cannon fodder troops are all dead, we can't stop the attack. "

This was the classic tactic of using lives to exhaust the enemy, and it was also known as: The Worst Tactic.

Using this method to attack the city was completely hurting the enemy. Even if they won the war in the end, their side would suffer too many losses, and the results of the battle would be bleak.

Viscount Fickney wasn't worried about this problem at all. Since they were using cannon fodder troops, he wouldn't feel the pinch no matter how many died.

From Viscount Fickney's point of view, as long as they could capture Cape Town, it would be worth it even if the 100,000 cannon fodder troops were all used up.

A young officer immediately replied, "Yes, Your Excellency."

This probing attack wasn't completely fruitless. At the very least, it exposed the enemy's firepower.

Without needing Viscount Fickney's order, the frontline commander had already made some minor adjustments during the second round of artillery attack.

This time, it was no longer a bombing in all directions, but a focused bombardment, specifically targeting the areas with the most intense firepower.

In an instant, the British position suffered heavy losses, and the 6th Colonial Division stationed in the north of Cape Town became the first victim.

Colonel Belding, who was hiding in the fortress, scolded angrily, "Have our artillery troops gone to eat sh * t? They still don't f * cking know how to fight back!

Guards, connect me to the headquarters and request fire support. We have to be quick, or else the 6th Division will be wiped out. "

It was an exaggeration to say that the 6th Division would be wiped out. Even after two rounds of bombardment, the 6th Division's casualties were no more than a hundred and eighty people.

It was just that being passively beaten was very demoralizing, which made Colonel Belding angry.

It wasn't that the British artillery troops didn't launch a counterattack, but they suffered a small loss in the previous artillery bombardment.

After all, the area of Cape Town was limited, and there were many buildings in the city, so there were not many places suitable for the artillery to be set up.

It was different for the "Boer Republic" troops attacking from outside. There were plenty of places for the artillery positions to be set up.

Even though it was more difficult to command after they were scattered, it wasn't a big problem with the phone. Considering the increased safety of the artillery positions, it was completely worth it.