Chapter 743： The first stage

Chapter 743 The first stage

While Rost had a headache, the 9th Brigade successfully withdrew to the New Hamburg Port City, and even the 1st Battalion of the 2nd Regiment, which was in charge of the rear, successfully returned to the New Hamburg Port City.

As for the enemy's pursuit, there was no such thing. The piles of corpses of Indian soldiers on the front line alone were enough for the British army to clear up for a while.

The only pity is that the results of this battle cannot be counted, and the Ninth Brigade does not know the specific casualties of the British army. However, it can be determined that both the Kronskop Blockade and the previous Tugela River Blockade achieved excellent results. The result of the battle was that the enemy's effective strength was effectively killed and the enemy's arrogance was dampened.

…

The first town.

The war has started for a week, and the intelligence on each front is being collected at the first town and city at a rapid pace.

Sweet reported to Ernst: "The overall condition of the front line is currently good. Our army has withstood the first wave of coalition offensives. Except for the western region, several other major fronts have effectively delayed the enemy's military operations. Among them, the most stable It was the Southern Military District. The only pity was that there were too many British troops in the southeast, so the Tugela River defense line was breached.

At present, the Ninth Brigade has withdrawn to the port city of New Hamburg to prepare for the next round of British attacks. However, the Ninth Brigade also overfulfilled its mission. According to their battle reports, at least thousands of British troops were annihilated, especially those against Indian troops. The most lethal,

At the same time, machine guns played a huge role in the war. The only drawback was that they consumed too much ammunition. "

"The Eastern Defense Line is also facing a similar situation to that of the Ninth Brigade. However, because it is close to Matabele Province, ammunition can be replenished in time. Currently, the two sides are engaged in a fierce artillery battle on the Eastern Defense Line. The British and Portuguese troops are The firepower is not inferior to our army at all, but in most cases, our army is located on a higher terrain, so it has a visual advantage over the enemy and is more lethal."

"The only mistake was made in the western region. The number of our troops in the western region was too small. As expected before the war, the Portuguese army launched a relatively fierce offensive, and on some fronts, it had already broken through into our territory. However, the offensive suddenly occurred the day before yesterday. It has entered a slow state and our army is currently organizing a counterattack."

East Africa's construction in the west is not much better than that of the Angola colony. Angola has a considerable population in the coastal areas and a relatively developed economy. In comparison, the provinces in western East Africa are vast and sparsely populated, with inconvenient transportation. Many areas are still poor. There are a lot of black people living there.

Therefore, the East African General Staff mainly adopts the strategy of exchanging space for time in the west. The important reason why the Portuguese army's offensive is currently stagnant is exactly as judged by the East African General Staff.

Furthermore, East Africa has implemented the same "fortify the wall and clear the field" strategy in the west as in the Southern Frontier Province. The enemy cannot obtain supplies on the spot, and cannot even guarantee the most basic food.

The Angolan colony has the main force of the Portuguese army. Once the war started, Portugal was in an advantageous state in all aspects. The strength of the two sides was too disparate.

That is because the logistics system could not keep up with the progress of the war. The Angolan Portuguese army was advancing with great success. It seemed that the results were brilliant, but in fact it also stretched the front line.

Of course, the Portuguese army is not completely unable to solve the food problem. Africa is still relatively rich in product resources, especially meat and fruits. However, the Portuguese army mainly lacks grain and other basic living supplies.

Even drinking water is a big problem, but many Western countries do not pay attention to water sources in this era, and they are not as "hypocritical" as the East African National Defense Forces.

"Currently, there are two main problems reported by various units of the National Defense Force. One is the personnel problem. Our army has gained advantages on multiple fronts, but it is unable to organize an effective counterattack due to insufficient personnel. For example, the Ninth Army stationed in the Tugela River was previously Brigade, brigade commander Aridotus said that by giving him twice as many reinforcements, the results of the Kronskop Blockade could be doubled." "Secondly, there is the issue of weapons and ammunition. Our army and the British army are about the same number of artillery pieces. Artillery battles often occur, which consume a lot of ammunition. The machine guns attached to the troops also play a huge role in the war, but the machine guns consume a lot of bullets. Many troops have exhausted their machine gun bullets, and the frontline troops are in urgent need of them. More machine guns and weapons and ammunition."

"At present, our army can basically guarantee the stability of the front in the first stage. However, this defensive posture cannot actually give full play to the advantages of East Africa, especially when the enemy comes from three directions, which makes our army dispersed and unable to fight with The enemy has carried out a large-scale battle, the central industrial zone is under great threat, and the pressure on other defense lines has also increased suddenly."

“To get rid of this situation, we must disrupt the enemy’s strategic deployment, achieve breakthroughs in key areas, threaten the enemy’s hinterland, and disrupt their overall strategy.”

"At present, there are two main things that have the ability to achieve this. One is the Zambezi defense line and the other is the southern defense line. These two areas are areas where our military strength is superior. The enemy adopts the same defense as we do in areas where our military strength is weak. Measures, so now it’s about seeing who can break through the opponent’s weak points first and gain the strategic initiative.”

Regarding this point, Sweet's war intention is very clear, that is, East Africa is now in an extremely passive state, Britain and Portugal are on the offensive, and East Africa is on the defensive.

 East Africa was unable to effectively attack the enemy coalition forces due to the dispersion of its forces. Although East Africa had many tactical advantages on the battlefield, due to various reasons, it was unable to expand these tactical advantages into strategic advantages.

So if East Africa wants to break the deadlock, it must quickly gain advantages in local areas, thereby mobilizing more troops to the eastern region where East Africa is most in need.

The focus of this is the Boer Republic and northern Mozambique, where East Africa has a military advantage. If progress can be made in these two places, it can threaten the enemy's rear and at the same time liberate relatively redundant troops to the main east. battlefield.

At present, these two locations force East Africa to accumulate a large number of troops. Mainly due to factors such as terrain, it is like the border between the Boer Republic and East Africa on three sides. If East Africa removes this point, East Africa only needs to deploy troops on one side, and troops on the other two sides can be used. for other battlefields.

Moreover, the Boer Republic is in a very bad location, threatening the hinterland of Cape Town, the core British colony. If East Africa gains an advantage here, the British army will have to spend more energy deploying troops here.

However, Cape Town is close to East Africa and has very poor traffic conditions. It is located in the center of the plateau. It is not easy to transport supplies and troops here, which will further bleed Britain.

As for the Zambezi defense line, it is mainly responsible for the Eastern Military District. The Eastern Military District currently does not have many battles. The main offensive of the coalition forces is mainly aimed at the central and western parts of East Africa.

Therefore, the troops of the Eastern Military Region moving south can effectively relieve the current military pressure in the central and western regions. Of course, this also has certain risks, that is, the Eastern Military Region is responsible for the military security of many developed areas in East Africa, including the Central Province.

If it goes south, it may cause security problems in the current economic and political center of East Africa. However, the main threat in the east comes from the sea. As long as the East African navy is not completely wiped out, it can ensure the security of the east in a short time.

There is also a Guards Division in the Central Province responsible for land security, but it cannot radiate to the entire east. However, as long as the strategic security of the first town and city is ensured, military and political stability across East Africa can be guaranteed.

(End of this chapter)