Nanyang Storm 1864

Kimberley, South Africa

At this time last year, the town of Kimberley was besieged by Boer General Botha, who led six to seven thousand men. Several attacks were repelled, but this important diamond-producing town was finally saved.

Several Chu officers and French officers came to the town's tavern to have a drink, chatting and laughing.

The war that broke out in South Africa was tortuous and difficult, which attracted the attention of military powers around the world. They sent military observation teams to the front line to observe the fighting situation.

This includes major powers such as Chu, France, the United States, Germany, and Russia, all of which have officers of varying sizes concentrated in military observation groups.

Since we were just watching a play, everyone was in a relaxed mood.

"This is top-quality Colombian Blue Mountain coffee, rich and mellow, a true gift from God." French Lieutenant Colonel Enrique took a sip of coffee and said with some exaggeration.

Major Mo Yuanhang smiled, stirred the silver spoon in his hand gently, and changed the subject.

"Very good, Mr. Lieutenant Colonel Ennick. I have a question. Among the allied forces invading Northern China, the French army will withdraw to the Saigon Governor's Palace instead of returning to the mainland. Is this preparation for launching a new military operation in Indochina?"

"Dude, who told you that?"

"There's no need to hide this. The Great Chu Empire has very reliable information channels in Indochina, and we have always been very concerned about affairs in the region."

"Those people in Paris are still a little unwilling to give up. Perhaps they can use this coalition victory to completely eradicate the warlord forces entrenched in Haiphong. I think this is one possible option."

"In other words, a third Indochina war might break out?"

"Who knows? Maybe there is, maybe there isn't." Lieutenant Colonel Enrique shrugged indifferently. Seeing the other party's interest, he added two more words.
"No one likes a homeless person living in their yard. The victory of the Eight-Nation Alliance may ignite Paris's interest in completely resolving the Indochina issue. I say it's just a possibility, after all, the previous two times failed."

"What do you think if a third Indochina war breaks out?"

"There is no doubt that the French Expeditionary Force will win the final victory, because I am French and I have great confidence in this."

"hope so!"

Major Mo Yuanhang responded casually and looked outside through the glass window of the cafe.

This topic is not sensitive. The Third French Republic is a democratic government. If a third Indochina war is launched, it must be a government resolution and approved by parliament, not something that can be decided privately by anyone.

Social opinion should be publicized to find just reasons for the colonial war and to warm up public opinion guidance.

After being approved by Parliament, funds must be allocated as additional war expenses for overseas military deployments, rather than encroaching on the already tight military budget. There is a complete set of procedures for this.

Thus

It will inevitably become known to everyone in society, and there is no question of keeping it confidential.

Lieutenant Colonel Enrique looked at Major Mo Yuanhang with a half-smile, picked up his coffee and took a sip before saying, "Dear Mo, you are so concerned about the Indochina Peninsula issue. Do you still have ulterior motives? Or are you secretly supporting the Black Flag Army?"

"Hahaha... You really think too highly of me, Mr. Lieutenant Colonel Enrique. Is this something a mere major like me can participate in?" Mo Yuanhang burst into laughter.

He used laughter to deflect the other party's sensitive questions. There are some things that everyone knows, but it is not easy to bring them to the table for discussion, as that would be taboo.

The British knew what was going on, and so did the French, the Germans, and the Americans.

But the Great Chu Empire never admitted it. This was a thorn buried between France and Chu, which made the relationship between the two countries always bumpy and full of twists and turns.

no way

It is impossible for the Chu Empire to sacrifice its own geopolitical interests to win the favor of France. This is a matter of principle.

No negotiation, no compromise.

The relationship between the world's major powers has always been one of both cooperation and conflict.

Due to the huge differences in systems, nationalities, religions, cultures and other aspects, the Chu Empire and France disliked each other and maintained a relationship of both competition and cooperation.

Mo Yuanhang looked at the British soldiers marching in formation outside the street, armed with live ammunition. He couldn't help but curl up the corners of his mouth, and said while taking a sip of coffee.

"Let's not talk about those unpleasant topics. Look, the British have redeployed again."

This topic instantly aroused the interest of Lieutenant Colonel Enrique. As a Frenchman, whenever he saw the British being humiliated, he felt as refreshed as drinking ice water in the hottest days of summer.

Lieutenant Colonel Enrique turned his head and looked at the long line of British soldiers passing by. His eyes were full of joy and he smiled and replied:

"My God! These Boers have given the British a hard time. It's unbelievable that these stupid British gathered 40 troops and turned the war into a stalemate."

"Even if our Chu Royal Army were to fight, it wouldn't end up like this."

"Yes, the British Royal Navy is indeed powerful, but when it comes to the combat effectiveness of the army, well... it's just average."

"Have you heard? Two German journalists disguised themselves as pastors and infiltrated a Boer concentration camp. They have solid evidence of the British brutally abusing Boer women and children, and they plan to expose this to the European media."

"Oh, that's good news. Did these two Germans succeed?"

"No, he was discovered by the British Military Police Command and is now detained in the Cape Town Barracks."

"That's terrible! Someone should convey this news to the German ambassador as soon as possible and exert pressure through diplomatic channels to release the detained German journalists." "Well, don't worry, man. Someone has already done it."

During this period of time
The Boer guerrillas led by General Botha penetrated deep into the Cape Province and launched more than a dozen attacks in succession. They appeared and disappeared like ghosts, causing great suffering to the British army's long logistics line.

Even the town of Kimberley was subjected to a tentative attack.

Seeing that the British army had a large number of troops stationed there and it was difficult to break through in a hurry, the Boer cavalry quickly withdrew.

The vast South African plateau is a fertile land that is very suitable for cavalry's deep penetration and assault.

The Boers mastered the essence of cavalry guerrilla warfare and specifically targeted the British army's weakly defended logistics railway lines and warehouse areas to launch attacks.

Hit the target immediately and move away immediately, never dither.

All the supplies that could not be taken away were burned. The train station in Kimberley was also attacked, destroying two trains and more than 10 kilometers of railway tracks, and a large amount of supplies were burned.

The Boers' plan was very cunning. If the British army left Kimberley Town to provide support, they would ambush the reinforcements.

If they could not lure the British army into a trap, they would burn the trains and supplies and flee immediately.

From the Boers' flexible tactics
Military observation groups from various countries were greatly inspired. The British army proved with tragic casualties that

The rigid and inflexible line infantry tactics are no longer suitable for today's rapidly developing science and technology, and changes must be made to the army.

This will be a disruptive change in the Army's tactical thinking, tactical system, and combat formations, and is also something that officers in the observation group often discuss.

The British Expeditionary Force was greatly annoyed by the continuous defeats on the battlefield, and they vented their anger on the Boer women and children who were detained in severe concentration camps.

The conditions in the concentration camps were extremely harsh, and it was difficult to get enough food and clothing. A large number of Boer women and children died from cruel abuse, and some young Boer women were secretly sold to the Congo River Governorate.

There, a young white girl could be sold for a high price of 1,500 to 2,000 silver dollars, and a beautiful white girl could even be sold for 3,000 to 4,000 silver dollars.

The Chinese farmers and ranchers who became rich through the war have no shortage of money in their pockets.

Whenever there are huge profits, there will always be people who take risks.

It is no secret that at least several thousand white girls were trafficked to the Congo River Governorate for millions of silver dollars, or more than 130 million pounds.

Its source is the Boer concentration camp.

Many British military officers were involved in this, facilitating this secret transaction and making considerable profits from it.

The British Army has recently recruited tough and combative Chinese cavalry from the Congo River Governorate to participate in the encirclement and suppression of the Boer guerrillas in the form of mercenaries.

This colonial war that broke out in South Africa was characterized by many bizarre events during the fierce fighting between the two sides, which is not surprising.

Even though the regular army was defeated, the Boer guerrillas still fought tenaciously against the British.

From 1900 to 1901, under the heavy siege of the British Expeditionary Force, they used flexible tactics and tenacious fighting spirit to frantically tear apart the British Empire.

This war made the arrogant British Empire feel difficult to move forward. The huge war consumption was like a bottomless pit, swallowing up a huge amount of wealth.

According to British statistics

By the end of 1901, Britain had paid a heavy price of 2.21 million pounds and more than 2 casualties for this war that seemed to have no end in sight.

This is just the official British statistics. In fact, the number of casualties far exceeds the official statistics, more than double.

Fortunately, the casualties of many colonial troops involved in the war, such as the British Indian Division and the Sri Lanka Rifles, were simply ignored and not included in the statistics at all.

The old age and weakness displayed by the British Empire in the South African War tore apart the protective divine light that it had created, allowing people to see the faltering steps of this old empire.

Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany said proudly, "Everyone can see that the British are not invincible. They have ruled the world for too long. New forces must participate and lead the world."

Having seen through the Germans' ambitions, Britain is rapidly approaching the Franco-Russian alliance against the backdrop of this international situation.

Tried to use international military alliance to contain the military alliance of Germany, Austria and Italy led by Germany.

Before this
Britain and France have extensive overseas colonies and many areas of conflicting interests that are difficult to reconcile. These thorny issues need to be resolved first.

Only then can we talk about mutual trust and a back-to-back military alliance.

In the British's considerations, they tried to drag in the two foreign powers, Chu and the United States, because they were attracted by the strong population and industrial economy of these two powers.

If we can join the military alliance of Britain, France and Russia, our chances of winning will be even greater.

corresponding

The difficulty of unifying positions and reaching consensus is increasing exponentially. Chu and the United States themselves have very sharp strategic contradictions and cannot work together at all.

It is extremely unlikely that they can be forced together. (End of this chapter)