Chapter 129： Northwest General

Chapter 129 Northwest General Battle

In the next few days, Werner Joli and others went north along the shore of the Great Lake (Lake Victoria) one after another, surveying several places.

From south to north, only dilapidated villages can be seen at the beginning, and some fishing villages built by the lake are also empty.

After passing Entebbe, the shores of the Great Lake (Lake Victoria) began to deflect eastward, gradually becoming more populated, until Kampala, the capital of the Buganda Kingdom, became more prosperous. The central part of the Buganda Kingdom has not been significantly affected by the war.

After passing Kampala, Werner Yori and his team set off eastward and drove for about 200 kilometers. Along the way, they could see that the eastern part of the Buganda Kingdom and some basic tribes were not affected.

Finally, Werner Yori and others arrived in Kisumu, the capital of Western Kenya, to replenish supplies, and then went south to Mwanza to report the situation.

…

In April, information about Werner Joli was sent to the Central District, and the East African colonial government sorted out and analyzed the information and sent it to Ernst in Europe by telegram.

In the telegram, the Middle East African government believes that the conditions for annexing the Northwest Region are now ripe, especially the southern countries in the Northwest Region, which have obviously suffered heavy losses, and even countries such as Buganda in the north have also been deeply affected.

If we engage in a large-scale campaign and recruit more people, there will be no problem in taking this place.

After carefully reading the report of the East African government, Ernst issued an order to take down the south first. As for the Kingdom of Buganda and the few countries in the north that have not suffered serious losses, do not move yet.

After the construction of Kisumu and Western Kenya is completed, you can concentrate your forces and attack the Kingdom of Buganda from the east and south.

This can effectively avoid casualties in the East African colonies, and at the same time conform to the principle of putting the easier ones first.

In the telegram, Ernst emphasized that in order to occupy a place, one must clear it and not leave an indigenous population in the area. As for Arab businessmen and foreign explorers, they can be arranged to evacuate.

Speaking of this, of course, it is not to slaughter the aborigines, but to drive the aborigines to the north and let them flee to the place of their former allies.

The west is the primeval forest of Congo. If you rush into it without sufficient preparation, it is basically equivalent to a narrow escape, so it doesn't matter if the aborigines want to flee west.

According to Ernst's own thinking, the ruling class of those southern countries will definitely choose to flee north. After all, they fought against the invasion of the Eastern Bantu tribes with their allies last time.

As for resisting the East African colonies, after being hit hard by the Eastern Bantus and the plague, these southern countries have not slowed down. Whether they can organize a sizable army is a problem.

In fact, after planning the last "purge" campaign, after a few months of testing, it seems that the effect is very good now. The East African colonies solved the problem of the whereabouts of the aborigines without having to do it themselves, and at the same time weakened the aborigines in other areas. power.

After receiving Ernst's order, the East African colonial government and military began to formulate a combat plan for the smooth progress of this battle.

April 5, 1868.

East African Colonial Central Government Conference Hall.

"This operation is an act of war. Our government is mainly cooperating with the military. Therefore, Your Excellency Yarman, it is up to you to introduce the battle plan, so that our government departments can make corresponding arrangements." Director von der Leyen made It sets the tone and shows the attitude of the government.

"Okay then, I'll talk about the general plan on behalf of the military." Alman stood up from the chair, walked to the map, held a baton, pointed at the Karavi Kingdom and said, "This time, according to Ens According to the instructions of His Royal Highness Prince Te, in the first stage, we will mainly attack from the south. The military is preparing to repeat the last "purge" campaign. The main targets are the Kingdom of Rwanda, the Kingdom of Igara, the Kingdom of Karawi and the Kingdom of Burundi. nation.

The combat area is about 60,000 to 70,000 square kilometers. According to the request of His Royal Highness Prince Ernst, it is necessary to ensure that the indigenous people in the area are cleared.

Therefore, we are also responsible for driving all the remaining indigenous forces in the area to the north, so as to continue to attack the remaining four northern countries and prepare for the second stage of operations. However, the second stage of operations still depends on Prince Ernst. Your Highness's plan. "Yarman said.

"How many people do you plan to send in the first phase of operations?" Director Anderson asked.

"Currently, at the border between Burundi and the Kingdom of Karawi in the Lake Solon and Great Lakes regions, in order to prevent the Eastern Bantus from returning to the East African colonies, we have deployed a defense line of more than 3,000 people, including more than 300 regular armed forces. .

My prediction is that on this basis, at least 6,000 militiamen and 1,000 regular armed forces need to be mobilized from the rear. "

Yarman went on to say: "The scale of this battle is not expected to be too intense. After all, several local kingdoms have been severely damaged by the Eastern Bantus before. Although the local nobles suppressed the Eastern Bantus, they basically hurt the enemy. Thousands, self-defeating eight hundred.

Plus before, the land abandonment and plague caused by the war, famine and disease greatly weakened the local population.

So, we only need to pay attention to the large military forts and cities of these kingdoms, and basically we will not encounter large-scale battles.

But if you want to sort out such a large area carefully and complete the expulsion of the locals, you need at least more than 10,000 people. This battle is different from the past. It is a typical battle outside the territory. Only Mwanza and Kigoma A city has the ability to support the battle for a short time, so the number of people cannot be small. "

The high-level people in East Africa agreed with Yarman’s explanation, because this battle is indeed different from the past. The countries in the Northwest are deeply located in the interior of East Africa, and the center of gravity of the East African colony is currently in the east. The Lake Sauron area is the westernmost region in East Africa. , its material supply is more difficult than other regions, so it is indeed a lot of pressure to ensure the front-line material supply.

"In addition to the number requirements, the government also needs to follow up on the migration of immigrants. The immigrants in the past few months should give priority to the Northwest Region. At the same time, the second phase of the battle should also be considered. The immigration in Western Kenya should also be strengthened. The immigrants should give priority to supplying these areas. Two areas." Said Schott of the staff department.

"Then how should the recent immigration distribution be divided?" Someone asked von der Leyen.

"Six, three, one. In the next period of time, 60% of the new immigrants will go to the newly occupied area in the northwest, 30% will be allocated to the Western Kenya area, especially the area bordering Buganda, and the remaining 10% will be allocated to Omorat. Omorat is not far from Western Kenya and can support operations in the Western Kenya region," Von der Leyen said.

"Agreed, this happens to enrich the population of the entire west," Anderson said.

"Everyone can put forward any good suggestions." Von der Leyen said to the government personnel.

"The new immigrants should be arranged as close to the front line as possible. It would be better to form a vacuum in the rear than to let the aborigines come back." Someone suggested.

"Agreed, next."

"In addition, the recently formed Neihu Army can also be used, and it is more convenient to transport food and other materials from Mwanza by water."

"Adopt."

…

After a while, von der Leyen's attention returned to the military after the government discussed it late.

"Your military, what other requirements do you have? You can ask them, and our government will try our best to meet them," Von der Leyen asked.

Several military generals discussed it carefully, and then Yarman said: "It is necessary to ensure the smooth transportation of materials. The new immigrants and materials can be delivered to the front line at the same time, so that the safety of food and grass can be guaranteed, and the immigrants can be followed up. Take root in the Northwest Territories, so that in the second phase, we can also recruit more militias from the local area."

"So, new immigrants to the Northwest should receive military training as soon as possible, otherwise they will not be able to catch up with the second phase of combat missions! Our military can draw more instructors from the rear."

"Our staff department will do a good job in related work." Sitte said, the training of the militia must also be staffed by the staff department.

The staff department, most of which are students of the Hechingen Military Academy, are bilingual and can better deal with the training issues of the German region, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Far East immigrants. At the same time, it is an important force for Ernst to monitor the local and military forces in East Africa.

"Are there any questions?" Von der Leyen said.

"No more." Everyone replied.

"In that case, everyone, go back and get ready! The meeting is over," Von der Leyen said.

The war machine in East Africa is activated, this time for the first time the entire colony is involved.

The last Zanzibar war actually only used the power of the coastal area, but this time the whole of East Africa was mobilized.

Even areas that were not directly involved in the war were affected, such as the priority supply of immigration and materials to the front line. All developed areas have temporarily entered a stage of uniform development.

West Kenya, Lake Solon (Lake Tanganyika) and Great Lakes (Lake Victoria) are most affected.

Army and militia began to gather towards Lake Solon and the Great Lakes region, and the immigration speed in Western Kenya was also accelerated in advance.

The Neihu Force led by Werner Jory also began active activities on the west bank of the Great Lake (Lake Victoria), drawing a map of the lakeshore, looking for suitable places for materials and personnel to land, and preparing for the follow-up and the convergence of the front.

This battle is advancing steadily, because the local population needs to be driven away, so the front line is basically a straight line, advancing steadily from south to north.

As for the replenishment of troop materials, part of them is transported by land from the rear, and part of them is completed by Neihu troops.

After the first phase of the battle is completed, the new immigrants should also be placed as close to the northern border as possible to isolate the natives before returning to the occupied area of ​​the East African colony.

New immigrants can also provide militia and labor for the East African colonies to attack the four northern countries in the second stage. The closer they are to the temporary border, the more convenient it is to facilitate subsequent battles.

(end of this chapter)