Chapter 1135： crossroads

The Cape of Good Hope, as the fuse of this world war, has now come to an end.

Witnessing the lines of defense constantly being breached by the enemy, but unable to do anything, the suffering Lieutenant General Stad was haggard.

Unlike the last South African War, the British had naval fire support, and now the Cape of Good Hope is an isolated island.

Every time the Royal Navy comes over, the enemy's air force will follow one after another, and there is no room for display at all.

In order to reinforce the Cape of Good Hope, in just two months, Britain has already paid a heavy price for the sinking of 3 warships and 18 merchant ships.

It is not how powerful the enemy's air force is, but the key is how powerful the enemy assists. Among the many ships that Britain sank, none were directly sunk by the enemy.

Including the three warships that sank, they were all killed under the waves after being injured by the enemy.

There is no way, the Horn of Despair has wind and waves of more than two meters all year round, and the waves of six or seven meters are commonplace, and there are typhoons of more than magnitude 11 from time to time.

Ships traveling intact and undamaged are dangerous. If the hull is injured, not to mention, God bless you whether you can get your life back.

In order to avoid the attack of the Shenluo Air Force, the logistics supply was forced to be carried out at night, and the waves during the day were dangerous, not to mention at night.

Fortunately, the southern hemisphere is now in summer. If it catches up with winter, Bofa’s monsoon and the mysterious "killing waves" will make it suffocating to think about.

Rubbing his forehead, the exhausted Lieutenant General Stodd told the guards: "Let's ask the domestic generator again, when will the reinforcements arrive?"

Up to now, the Cape of Good Hope has received three waves of reinforcements, with a total strength of more than 200,000 troops.

Regrettably, most of these reinforcements are the Indian colonial army. It's okay to make up the cannon fodder, even if the combat effectiveness is not mentioned.

The only ones with a little fighting power are the two Austrian new divisions, but unfortunately this fighting power is also very limited.

Anyway, he was crushed and beaten by a group of noble private troops, and he was completely desperate for the colonial army, Lieutenant General Stad. Now the only hope is to send reinforcements from the local area.

The telegrams for help have been called many times, but they have been rejected by the country on the pretext of "expanding the army."

Lieutenant General Stad fully understands the domestic difficulties. The army’s organization is so large that it has expanded more than ten times after the army’s expansion. There is a serious shortage of grassroots officers, and basically all veterans have become officers.

All of them are newly formed troops. Without running-in training, there is no way to enter the battlefield.

It is understandable, and time waits for no one on the battlefield. Just relying on a group of colonial forces to confront the enemy, there is no way to fight back.

Although the combat effectiveness of the newly formed domestic troops is equally worrying, at least the officers are veterans, and no matter how hard they are, they are better than the cannon fodder from the colonies temporarily pulled out.

There is no way, most of the British colonial forces came from India, but now India is also the front line.

The colonial forces with a little combat effectiveness were all kept there by the Indian governor, and those sent out to reinforce other areas were temporarily pulled out to make up the number.

These troops are used to do miscellaneous tasks, and they must be watched. When they are on the battlefield, they are to give the enemy heads.

Lieutenant General Stadt is not a master of morality and cleanliness. If he can keep the Cape of Good Hope just by relying on the head, he doesn't mind using cannon fodder to fill the hole.

It cannot be said that it was completely ineffective. The cannon fodder troops still slowed the enemy's attack speed, but unfortunately they could not stop the enemy's attack.

Looking at the shrinking line of defense, Lieutenant General Stodd was "seeing it in his eyes and anxious in his heart" for fear of losing this strategic location in his own hands and becoming a sinner in Britain.

The only good news is that there are not only one unlucky person, but also a worse back.

The Far East Fleet lost Malacca and Cam Ranh Bay was also in danger. The British East Africa was also trapped in an isolated city next door, and reinforcements were unable to enter. It is estimated that the fall was just a few days ago.

Everyone is defeating the war, and the people's heart tolerance has been tempered. As long as they perform better than their colleagues, the possibility of escape is very high.

In particular, London was still trembling under the enemy's bombardment, which attracted the attention of the people. The firepower was all attracted by the domestic gangsters.

Without the cooperation of his colleagues, according to past practice, Lieutenant General Stad, who had fought a series of defeats, was either in the military court at this moment or on his way to the military court.

It's different now, unless the Cape of Good Hope falls, otherwise the London government will never be able to change.

On the one hand, there is a shortage of British officers; on the other hand, no one wants to jump into this huge pit.

The absolute power gap cannot be changed by individual power. Even with Jeffrey Amherst, the result cannot be changed.

Quiet moments are always short. With the sound of the siren, the Cape of Good Hope once again entered the state of "aircraft hanging in the air and artillery roaring".

The flames of war ignited again, and before a reply from the country, Lieutenant General Stad turned and walked towards the headquarters.

After a series of defeats, the morale of the defenders has fallen to the bottom. As for the source of the Indian colonial army, it has never had morale, so naturally it cannot be said to have fallen.

Panic, hostility, hatred, pessimism... and other negative emotions spread among the defenders.

The Cape of Good Hope at this moment is like a dynamite bag, it only needs a little spark, it will explode in a sudden "boom".

The high-levels have a hard time, and the frontline officers and soldiers are even worse. Fighting in the past few days has left them exhausted physically and mentally.

War is full of dangers, but also full of opportunities. For example, Brandt, after the war broke out, he changed from a big soldier to a captain.

Although there is no official title, the appointment has been announced. Rules are used to break, special handling during special periods, and everything simpler during wars.

Berrant is not the only case in the British army, and there are many similar lines of fire promotion. It is not that the promotion system of the British Army has changed, mainly because the death rate of company platoon officers is too high.

Because of joining the emergency army expansion, the shortage of grassroots officers is so severe that they can only promote "talents" from the veterans.

It's just that Burrant didn't want this promotion at all. There was no way, as an officer had to take the lead to charge into the battle, the supervising team stared at the back, there was nowhere to hide.

In just two months, Berrante's company has changed five company commanders, and it is impossible to be the sixth without pressure.

Perhaps it was cursed. Among the five seniors in front, one was promoted during the army expansion, two were still lying in the hospital at the rear, and the other two had already seen God.

Such a terrible casualty rate is simply a "death company commander." It is a pity that the appointment is compulsory, and Berrant cannot be allowed to refuse.

Against the rain of bullets and continuing to guard the position, Captain Berrante had no panic, and only numbness was left.

To the east, there was an extremely violent explosion, to the south, bullets flew horizontally, and at the top, there were rows of blooming bullets, like a volcano without a foot.

Lying in the temporarily dug trench, Captain Berrant buried his head very deep, without the slightest intention of looking on the sidelines.

The earth had already begun to tremble, and according to his own experience, Captain Berrant knew that the enemy's tank troops were coming up.

"The enemy is coming up, ready to fight!"

In any case, the accusation still has to be fulfilled. Although I don't think the rabble that I brought can play a role in the enemy's tank, resistance is still necessary.

...

Compared with the tension of the defenders, it is much easier to be on the offensive side. Shinra implements a national reserve service system, and the noble private army has returned to the army in accordance with the reserve system.

Now that the battle has progressed, it is not just the private noble army that participated in the war. The regular army stationed in Africa has also appeared on the battlefield.

The tank unit that launched the attack in front of them was the best. Since joining the war, it has been "God blocks and kills Gods, Buddha blocks and kills Buddhas", and the battlefield is facing each other.

The bullying is that the British army lacks anti-tank weapons and does not have enough armored units. There are tanks to fight the enemy infantry.

After all, it is a colony. No matter how important the strategic position, the British cannot put two tank divisions at the Cape of Good Hope, but the Holy Roman Empire can.

On the African continent of Novosibirsk, not to mention that it put two tank divisions, even if it put a few more, no one would object.

The British army is different, a pocket version of the army, naturally there is not much armor.

It is also a tank division, and the organization of each country is also very different. One Shenluo tank division can almost match two British tank divisions.

However, there are not many tank divisions in the British Army that have shrunk. It's not that I don't want to do it. The military expenses are limited and I can't afford to play with such expensive toys.

Although armored units also belong to the army, in terms of expenditure, they are directly aligned with the navy and air force.

In the case of infantry, a battleship can raise a division for the cost of a battleship; but in the armor department, even the most advanced battleship nowadays cannot keep up with a tank regiment. (According to the three-three-four system, 108 tanks per regiment)

They are all forced out by reality. If the British Army does not save money, how can the Royal Navy dominate the world.

If land, sea and air play together in an arms race, no matter how rich the British Empire is, it will not be able to withstand it.

This is determined by the size of the economy. The upper limit of the British Isles is stuck there.

The command can’t keep up, the equipment can’t keep up, the training can’t keep up, and the morale can’t keep up. It's an asymmetric warfare, and the battlefield is not one-sided.

At the front of the enemy, Baron von Reuters, as the highest commander on the front line, is no longer thinking about it at the moment.

British South Africa is really too small. Although the Cape of Good Hope is so famous, it is also the case for the Holy Roman Empire that sits on the Suez Canal.

Economic value is average, and strategic value is also average. "Important" is only for the British. If you control this place, you can avoid being caught by Shin Luo.

Perhaps with the continuous development of economy and technology, the tonnage of merchant ships will gradually increase, and the importance of the Cape of Good Hope in the future will become prominent.

But that is only a possibility. At present, the Suez Canal route is enough to meet the needs of commercial trade.

Even in the Holy Roman Empire, when calculating military merit, it is also unavoidable to be affected by economic and strategic values.

Generally speaking, the greater the value of economic strategy, the greater the credit for siege and land grab, and vice versa.

The importance of the Cape of Good Hope to the Holy Roman Empire is not high, which does not mean that everyone's input is not large. For this war, the aristocrats in Africa truly achieved rich and powerful contributions.

Even if the war has been carried out until now, many strategic materials on the South African battlefield have been raised and paid for by private individuals.

Although the government will pay for these expenses in the future, it also needs to convert military merits. If it's not good, who is so enthusiastic?

According to the practice of the Holy Roman Empire, everyone worked together to seize British South Africa, so after the war, it was enough to divide the land and property of British South Africa.

The problem now is that everyone has contributed to this war. There are too many people who are eligible to divide the pie, but the British South Africa pie is not big enough.

Uneven distribution of spoils has always been a taboo. If you don’t get the corresponding rewards, you will have to weigh the pros and cons in the future.

Eventually it will appear: everyone who has meat will swarm up, and no one will care about the bones. Then, it was the turn of the military knighthood system to collapse.

Similar cases have occurred in history. The most typical is the farming and warfare system of the Great Qin Empire, which collapsed because the latecomers were indivisible.

Right now, the Holy Roman Empire has also come to this crossroads. The only difference is that now that we have entered the industrial age, there is still a chance to make new choices.

Of course, this issue needs to be considered by senior government officials. As the highest commander on the front line, Baron von Reuters has not thought so much about it.

At the moment, the problem he faces is how to distribute the spoils when the spoils are not enough to satisfy most people.

Although the titles and fiefdoms were ultimately determined by the emperor; but it was Baron von Reuters who was responsible for the verification of military exploits, which also included detailed disposal plans.

Generally speaking, as long as the front-line combat merits are determined to be accurate, the division of fiefdoms and the award of titles will consider the opinions of front-line commanders.

Of course, this is only a part. There are more issues to consider in actual operation, such as: the wishes of the individual being rewarded should be taken care of as much as possible.

Relatively speaking, the nobles had smaller options for fiefdoms, and the larger the fiefdoms, the less options they had.

On the contrary, ordinary soldiers, those who have obtained more than ten hectares or dozens of hectares of land, basically respect their personal wishes.

Even if the resettlement is not enough, they will be arranged in the surrounding area, and the distance will not be too far.

Baron von Reuters has carefully calculated that the total number of all the armed forces participating in this war is as high as 230,000.****** According to the military merits calculated on the battlefield, the British South Africa slaps it. It’s not bad that ordinary soldiers who have obtained military exploits can be placed in places where they are.

There is no way, a total of 20,000 to 30,000 square kilometers, and the city, forests, and land unsuitable for farming and grazing have to be deducted. The land available for farming is really limited.

Soldiers are actually easy to handle. There is not enough land in British South Africa. Just change the place to resettle. After the war was so high, the Vienna government would certainly not lack land after the war.

The real trouble is the nobles. According to the past tradition, whoever smashes the land is given priority to whom, and those who have not participated in the war are naturally not eligible to reach out.

Before the anti-French war, the entire African continent was regarded as a battlefield, and naturally there was no such trouble.

But the Battle of the Cape of Good Hope was independent and not connected to any other battlefield. If the heroes were entrusted to other regions, it would violate the unspoken rules of the game, or they might be boycotted.

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