South Africa was a mountainous region to the southeast and a desert to the north. From south to north, there was a large area that could only be described as a desert. This desert was not completely barren. At least after rain, there would be large patches of tender grass. However, during the dry season, it was really bare.
On this relatively flat desert, from south to north, there were three railways. These three railways were the main transport routes for the British to attack the Boers, and they were also targets that the Boers wanted to destroy. On the 7th of March, a large number of strange-looking trains appeared on all three railway lines. The front of these trains was the same as the others, but the body of the train was very different. The British had mounted a huge cannon on the chassis of the train.
If one was a member of the navy, they would probably be able to tell at a glance that this was a 4.5 inch cannon. This type of cannon had long disappeared from the main ships of China and the British. They were not even seen on medium-sized warships. Because the muzzle was small and the firepower was weak, the 4.5 inch cannon was abandoned by the China and British navies who used the heavy cannon route. However, these old cannons were put to good use by the British. The trains dragged these heavy cannons forward slowly. In front of these heavy cannons were maintenance vehicles. On both sides of the train were British cavalrymen.
These cavalrymen had signal flags on their waists. When they spotted a suspicious target, they would pull out a small flag to contact their allies. In recent days, the Boer harassment squads had become more and more arrogant. Whenever the British train passed by, these people would ride over to harass them. Although the train was fast, it had to run along the tracks. The people on the train could only watch as the Boer harassment squads showed off their presence beyond the range of their rifles. This put a lot of pressure on the British troops.
Now that the train was moving, the Boers soon appeared. The English horsemen did not pursue him as they had done before, like hounds after rabbits. Although the British cavalrymen boasted of their strength, compared to the Boers who were familiar with the terrain, the British cavalrymen were no match. Not being able to catch up and letting the Boers escape was not a bad ending. The worst thing was that the Boers often set up ambushes, causing the pursuing British cavalrymen to suffer heavy losses.
The cannoneers on the train were very relaxed. These people were basically seconded by the navy. Compared to the turbulence of the ships at sea, the train's progress could be described as calm. At sea, the enemy's position changed very quickly. Coupled with the ups and downs of the sea, the requirements for the cannoneers were very high. On land, many things that involved the elements could be canceled.
"188 degrees, 5 kilometers," the signalman shouted in a calm tone.
"Ready, 188 degrees, 5 kilometers," the artillery commander replied. The train had already stopped, and the huge cannon next to the artillery commander was equipped with several gun carriage pillars. One end of the pillar was on the cannon, and the other end was propped up on the ground.
Soon, the cannoneer adjusted his position. Everyone covered their ears with their hands. With a loud bang, the ground beneath the train shook with the sound of the cannonball.
The English cavalry, who directed the bombardment, now reined up a slight rise, and watched the enemy cavalry under a tree. There were also some shrubs and trees in the wilderness. Then, a cannonball fell from the sky, smashing the trees into pieces and stirring up smoke and dust on the ground. Judging from the effect of the explosion, the Boer cavalrymen by the tree were probably dead.
The English cavalryman had long wanted to see those damned Boers die, and he spurred his horse straight in the direction of the trees. A few minutes later, he arrived at the place where the trees used to be. The broken tree stump was burning under the high temperature. The bark had already been charred, and it was pitch black and ugly to look at. Counting carefully, the English cavalryman found that there were one, two, three, four, five corpses of men and horses under the tree. This made the English cavalryman very happy. He was about to move forward to see if there were any other dead men, when he heard a loud bang, and then the sound of the cannonball slicing through the air. You get used to this kind of sound after hearing it many times, but what the English cavalryman could not get used to and could not accept was that this cannonball seemed to be flying towards them.
Turning his horse, the English cavalryman immediately began to gallop. Before he could run more than a few steps, the cannonball exploded more than 200 meters away from the cavalryman. The cavalryman was shocked. For the artillerymen, the correction of the data was just a little off, and the cannonball would fall right on the English cavalryman's head. Feeling that he had just escaped death, the English cavalryman spewed out obscenities like a machine gun. As he cursed, the English cavalryman sped up and fled the area. God knew when the next cannonball would come. In addition to running to a safe area as soon as possible, the English cavalryman also wanted to find out which bastard gave the order to fire the cannonball. At this time, he was in such a mood that even if it was the commander-in-chief who gave the order to fire, the English cavalryman was determined to kill him.
The three trains loaded with artillery did not move very fast. Cooperating with the English cavalryman's search, the British expeditionary force was doing their best to destroy the Boer bases in the wilderness on both sides of the railway. After all, this was the wilderness, a place with an average precipitation of less than 400 meters. In winter, it was a barren wilderness. The Boers did not have a railway, and for them, horses were the only means of transportation. The English only had to do to limit the harassment of these Boer cavalrymen.
Turning his horse, the English cavalryman immediately began to gallop. Before he could run more than a few steps, the cannonball exploded more than 200 meters away from the cavalryman. The cavalryman was shocked. For the artillerymen, the correction of the data was just a little off, and the cannonball would fall right on the English cavalryman's head. Feeling that he had just escaped death, the English cavalryman spewed out obscenities like a machine gun. As he cursed, the English cavalryman sped up and fled the area. God knew when the next cannonball would come. In addition to running to a safe area as soon as possible, the English cavalryman also wanted to find out which bastard gave the order to fire the cannonball. At this time, he was in such a mood that even if it was the commander-in-chief who gave the order to fire the cannonball, the English cavalryman was determined to kill him.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
