Lieutenant Zhong Liang took out his notebook and recorded what happened during the day under the light of the lantern. There were many such lights in Pretoria at this time, but most of them were torches.
"… February 3rd, during the day, we entered Pretoria, which the British gave up. The Zulu troops showed curiosity about the city, not the bestiality common to white people. From what I saw and heard during the day, these black brothers also had disputes, but not against the city. Assigning areas and arranging accommodation are very tedious matters. It would be strange if there were no disputes. After dark, I looked out of the window of the house and saw that people were living in all the houses. … "
"… Probably because they're used to living in thatched huts, the Zulu people are very serious about controlling the lights in their rooms …"
"… The British giving up Pretoria was obviously a trick to lure the enemy. The Zulu's quick capture of Pretoria was also a very bold plan. At least the British originally had to fight the Zulu and the Boers at the same time, but now they've pulled out and let the Boers and Zulu fight. But from a strategic point of view, the Zulu recapture of this important town is indeed not a stupid move … "
After writing for a while, Second Lieutenant Zhong Liang closed his notebook. Writing a diary was his hobby. If it weren't for his family's poverty, Second Lieutenant Zhong Liang would have liked to study in the Chinese Department. In this era where it was generally believed that if one learned mathematics, physics, and chemistry, one would not be afraid to travel the world, those who dared to ask to study liberal arts were probably true love. At least Second Lieutenant Zhong Liang's science and engineering grades were quite good. So good that he was even given priority admission to military schools.
Now the young lieutenant was wearing the yellow-green uniform of the East African security forces, which was said to be very suitable for the local environment in Africa, but Lieutenant Zhong Liang didn't believe it. The country had begun to introduce camouflage uniforms, and after trying them himself, the lieutenant believed that it was the most suitable uniform for various environments. Compared with camouflage, all the solid-colored uniforms were too conspicuous. However, the main force of the East African army was black, and Lieutenant Zhong Liang didn't think it was necessary to arm this black army to such an extent.
At the end of February, South Africa was still very hot, and the lieutenant felt that the heat radiating from the flames in the lantern made him a little anxious. Extinguishing the light, the lieutenant unbuttoned his uniform and lay down on the camp bed. The reason for his anxiety was simple. Pretoria was on the edge of the Liberation Army's Air Force reconnaissance unit. If the enemy came close and launched a surprise attack, the Zulu army in Pretoria would not be able to get the first warning from the Chinese air force. Previously, the Zulus were able to attack and defend with the British, and even gain a lot of advantages in some details. It was not that the Zulu people's combat effectiveness had improved, but that the Chinese Air Force had given the Zulu people very accurate battlefield intelligence.
A few days of marching had accumulated a considerable amount of fatigue. Even if he was anxious, even if he felt that he should think more about the problem. But after two mouthfuls of water, a cool breeze blew in from the open window. After struggling with his eyelids for a short period of time, Lieutenant Zhong Liang fell into a deep sleep.
The next morning, when the wake-up call sounded, First Lieutenant Zhong Liang opened his eyes and got up from his military uniform. Pretoria was still a war zone. For soldiers, they had to stay alert at all times. Pretoria has a railway to Mozambique. This was a project that China had forced the Portuguese colonial government in Mozambique to accept. Now, the railway was completely owned by China. One of the orders Lieutenant Zhong Liang received was to pay attention to the movement on this railway.
There were more than 10,000 Zulu soldiers here, which was nothing compared to the 300,000 British expeditionary forces. Even compared to the 60,000 to 70,000 Boer militias that now existed, the Zulu army was at a disadvantage. Lieutenant Zhong Liang ate breakfast and continued to write. The level of a country's mobilization power determined everything. As long as the gap in strength exceeded the limit, it was useless whether one was good at fighting or not. Accumulating small victories into great victories, using a large number of tactical victories to reverse the disadvantageous strategy, the army that was at an absolute disadvantage in terms of military strength would be exhausted first. If the British or the Boers besieged Pretoria, at least there would not be a shortage of water here.
Lieutenant Zhong Liang could not simply record. During the day, he was sent to supervise the Zulu brothers in building a defense system. The Boers had built part of the defense system here, and the British had continued to strengthen part of the defense system here to counter a possible Boer counterattack. On the basis of these two aspects, China also began to help the Zulu Army build a more effective defense system.
The city of Pretoria was square, so it was easy to build a defense system. As for how far the Black brothers could play the defense system, Lieutenant Zhong Liang had no confidence at all. He wrote with a little melancholy: "Pretoria is really beautiful. No wonder the Boers eventually built a country here after crossing the Orange River."
Two days later, in the evening, after Zhong Liangwen had finished his dinner, he continued writing under the glow of the setting sun. "Today, 6th of February, a small detachment of Boers appeared. Their troops were all cavalry, and they displayed remarkable mobility. After shooting at the Zulu troops from afar and wounding a Zulu soldier, the Boers chose to retreat. I suspect that they are not here specifically to fight, but to send a small force to determine who is in control of Pretoria. The Zulu cavalry performed well in pursuit. At least their horse breeding skills have improved rapidly, and the horses generally do not have diarrhea problems. "
… …
"On February 8th, several groups of Boer cavalry appeared outside Pretoria. It was obvious that the Boers wanted to recapture their former capital. So they blocked the railway first, intending to besiege it.
"On February 9th, the battle began. The Boers' level of design was mediocre, and they had no advantage against the Zulu. The Zulu saw that there were not many enemies on the opposite side, so they rushed out to surround the enemy. As a result, they were led by the nose by the Boers and fell into the encirclement. The follow-up troops had a hard time rescuing them. The Zulu troops suffered heavy losses, and the Boers also suffered many losses.
"February 10th. The officer who led the pursuit was dismissed, which confirmed my concern about whether the Zulu would lose their courage after such a blow. In fact, their choice to attack was not wrong, but their ability to execute it was limited, which led to losses. The military school teacher repeatedly stressed that mistakes in execution and mistakes in choice were not the same thing. Whether an army is alive or not does not mean that the army is invincible, but whether the army can identify the problem as quickly as possible when it encounters a setback, so that the next time it encounters a similar problem, it can be more targeted and prepared. The Zulu's removal of the commander was not necessarily wrong, but they did not make a targeted discussion at the time of the removal. At least I do not know of any reflection on yesterday's battle in the Zulu army, nor did they emphasize how to guard against ambushes during the pursuit. "
"February 11th. The Boers suffered a loss. They charged forward bravely and without planning, only to be attacked by rapid-fire cannons in front of the barbed wire defense line. The Zulu pursuit was very slow, and by the time the pursuit troops left, the Boers had already run away with the wounded. "
"February 14th. The Boer cavalry has surrounded Pretoria. The Zulu army has brought enough food and ammunition, and there is no shortage of water here. As long as the Boers do not have heavy artillery, they cannot break the city. But at this stage of the war, I think the impact of the number of troops on the outcome of the war is too great! "
"February 15th. Fierce fighting broke out today. The Boers tried to rush into Pretoria, and the Zulu, at the suggestion of our advisory group, opened a passage for the Boers. When the Boers rushed into the edge of the city, they surrounded them with superior forces. The Boers were really fierce. Seeing that the situation was not good, they started a bayonet fight with the Zulu with the new rifles supported by the British. I originally thought that the Boers were probably no match for the Zulu, who were used to using cold weapons. But when I was watching the battle, I discovered that the Boers were generally much taller than the Zulu. Although the Zulu looked very savage, in terms of ferocity, the Boers were actually far superior to the Zulu. As a result, the Boers had the upper hand in the bayonet fight, until a large number of Zulu spearmen joined the battle, and with superior forces, they won the battle of annihilation. "
"February 16th. There was no fighting today, but I was in a bad mood. The advisory group's assessment of the battle was that the Boers were better at fighting. The Zulu's mobilization ability was insufficient, their troops were inadequate, and their combat experience was obviously insufficient. It was really difficult for them to fight far from their base in the mountains. It was generally agreed that the next opportunity would be to persuade the Zulu to leave Pretoria. "
"February 19th. The British had probably reached some agreement with the Boers. According to our observations, there were at least 5,000 to 20,000 Boers gathered around Pretoria, and it seemed that they intended to capture the city. I was not worried about the Boers, but the British team in Kimberley. The diamond-rich town had a large number of British expeditionary forces stationed. This was probably the reason why the Boers had been slow before. Before reaching a reliable agreement with the British, the Boers probably would not be foolish enough to come up and fight the Zulu to the death. "
"On February 20th, the headquarters telegraphed that they believed the British would not intervene in the short term. If Pretoria fell into Zulu hands, the British would have ample opportunity to play tricks on the Boers. And if Pretoria fell into Boer hands now, the Boers would probably immediately continue to raise their weapons against the British. The advisory group agreed with this attitude. As long as the British forces stood by, the simple Boers would not be able to enter Pretoria. We also telegraphed to the headquarters that it was completely unrealistic to expect the Zulus to destroy the Boers at the moment. We hoped that the headquarters would understand our thoughts and send reinforcements as soon as possible. "
The latest telegram reached the Madagascar military region first, and the military commanders' views were basically the same. Everyone agreed to 'leave it for now.' Then the telegram was forwarded to the East African administrative region.
Wang Mingshan understood the meaning of the Madagascar military region at a glance, so Wang Mingshan said with a straight face, "Those bastards!"
The reason Wang Mingshan had such a reaction was that this group of advisers was nominally part of the East African administrative region. It was part of the East African administrative region's military expansion plan proposed by Wei Kun and supported by Wang Mingshan. The East African administrative region hoped to be able to build a standing army of 400,000 men in four years. Although this standing army would definitely rank in the top ten of the world's great powers, compared to the vast area of the East African administrative region, this number was nothing at all.
The Min dynasty ordered the Madagascar military region to guard against the British, not allowing them to bypass the Cape of Good Hope by sea and enter the Indian Ocean freely. Therefore, the Liberation Army did not directly participate in the war, but let the Gem Wine's "private army" join the war. And the Gem Wine's "private army" joined the ranks of the East African administrative region after the Wei Wenrui incident, along with some other corporate armed forces. Therefore, from a purely theoretical point of view, this war became a war between the East African administrative region, the Boers, and the British.
Wang Mingshan's first thought was to report to the central government and let the central government make a decision. With Wang Mingshan's connections, the Madagascar military region would not be able to make things difficult for Wang Mingshan in any case. However, this idea only flashed for a moment before it was rejected by Wang Mingshan himself. After thinking for a moment, Wang Mingshan drafted a new telegram. The telegram was to inform the central government of the current situation, and then ask the central government how to plan the current situation.
As soon as this telegram reached the Military Commission, the comrades of the Military Commission immediately knew that the Madagascar boys were up to no good. However, this ghost really made it to the point where there was no way to immediately criticize them, because the current situation of the war really made the Military Commission unable to unify their opinions. If they wanted to fight, they would have to open another battlefield. The Liberation Army would have to invest a large number of troops in the vast Africa to fight the war. If they did not fight, it would not be very appropriate. At this time, the East African administrative region happened to be in the ascendant stage. Since the Min dynasty did not intend to carry out large-scale immigration in the East African administrative region and form an army with the Chinese army as the backbone. Therefore, relying on the power of the East African administrative region to carry out a war to destroy a country was really beyond the limits of the East African administrative region.
Of course, the core of Southern Africa was still the Rand gold mine. The British placed this burden at the right time. In the face of the Boers who were like mad dogs, the Min dynasty did not have a simple way to solve the problem.
This matter had to be told to Vézé. Vézé had always paid attention to the Rand gold mine. After reading this, Vézé just replied lightly, "The British want to waste time with us, so we will waste time with the British. I would like to see whether the hundreds of thousands of British expeditionary troops put more pressure on the British, or our local construction troops are more pressured. "
"Commander-in-chief, do you think the British logistics can't hold up?" Ruan Xihao, who was in charge of reporting this matter, was very puzzled.
Vézé smiled and said, "The purpose of a country like the British to go around the world is to plunder and make money. And our troops have to do construction when they go to a place. Whether it is Madagascar or the East African administrative region, they have the ability to be self-sufficient. If the British fall out, we can solve it once and for all. If the British dare not make a move, we can afford to delay. The British colony in Cape Town does not have the ability to provide food for hundreds of thousands of troops. "
With this said, Ruan Xihao could only keep silent for the time being. At the moment, there was only one problem for the Min dynasty, and that was the North American War. After the end of the North American War, the Liberation Army immediately had an army that could be used to whip the world. Even without the involvement of this armed force, let the Madagascar military region go out in full force into Southern Africa, and the British and the Boers would have to kneel. At that time, the Min dynasty even had a chance to deal with the British Grand Fleet in Southern Africa.
But the feeling of waiting was really terrible. Ruan Xihao could not help but say, "Commander-in-Chief, it's useless for me to stay in Asia. Otherwise, let me go to North America. "
"Oh?" Vézé responded, but did not immediately respond. Vézé was very relieved to let Shen Xin be in charge of North America. Shen Xin was not a person who was interested in forming cliques, and Shen Xin was the political commissar. On the other hand, one of the instincts of Ruan Xihao, this old brother, was to serve his brothers. If he went to North America, needless to say, he would definitely rope in a group of people. What Vézé hoped most at the moment was to completely crack down on the mountaintop doctrine within the army. Although there were inevitably factional problems in every generation of soldiers, there was a large number of new era troops first, and then this group of soldiers gathered into factions because of their personal emotions. It was completely different from having a faction, and then the faction absorbed new blood to form the next generation.
Based on his full understanding of this old brother of Ruan Xihao, Vézé smiled and said, "You don't have to use a butcher knife to kill a chicken. How can the Americans be worthy of you personally? The little guys can take care of the Americans. Besides, I don't want something with too much blood to be associated with us old brothers. "
Ruan Xihao quickly replied, "Commander-in-Chief, I'm not afraid! If those little things can accept it, why can't I? "
Vézé waved his hand. "That's a different matter. The Japanese are doing the dirty work, and I'm the one who gave the order to gather the Japanese. Even if those little guys think it's not right to do this, they don't dare to have any dissatisfaction with me. Let's just maintain this situation. You know how I handle things. Since I want to shoulder the responsibility, don't fight with me over it. "
Ruan Xihao originally wanted to take advantage of Shen Xin's absence to go to North America to preside over the mission of the theater of operations command, but he didn't expect Vézé to completely disagree. If it were any other reason, Ruan Xihao could still use "don't look down on me" to resist. Now that Vézé took out the "don't look down on me" reason, Ruan Xihao found that he really didn't dare to refute Vézé.
After resolving Ruan Xihao's plan to go to North America, Vézé also felt that he had completed a major task. At least in the next few months, no one would want to go to North America to seize the local command. That was the end of the matter.
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.
