Nanyang Storm 1864

The East African princes' coalition moved very quickly. After finalizing their battle strategy on October 10, the southward-bound army, as was customary, executed criminals on October 8, used their blood to consecrate the battle flag, prayed to heaven and earth to swear an oath, and marched south from Moonlight Lake City.

Only three days later

On October 11, the eastward-bound army, totaling more than 13600 troops, set off with a flag-raising ceremony. Led by West African cavalry, the vanguard infantry regiment followed behind, forming a massive, winding infantry formation.

Each infantry regiment set off half an hour apart. The army set off around 9 a.m. and the last infantry regiment to bring up the rear did not leave the city until around 2 p.m.

Following behind were two cavalry units, responsible for holding the line, eliminating harassment from small German units within a radius of several kilometers, and protecting the main force.

The eastward-advancing army was equipped with all 580-plus trucks transporting supplies. All of them were located in the middle of the marching column, moving at a low speed of about ten kilometers per hour. Many soldiers were also on the trucks piled with goods.

Once you step into the wilderness, you enter the world of West African cavalry.

The Chinese cowboys, shouting loudly and brandishing their knives and guns, rode off on horseback. They were the best of the hundreds of thousands of Chinese cowboys in West Africa, passionate, young and courageous, skilled in riding and with excellent marksmanship.

Major General Chu-Zheng Hui, the commander of the Allied Forces, incorporated all 2200 cavalrymen into the Eastern Route Army, forming six independent cavalry units, in order to take advantage of the cavalry's strengths in flexible combat.

If they discover traces of the German army and are targeted by these independent cavalry units, they will be severely injured, if not killed.

Given the German army's tendency to avoid direct confrontation, the experienced Major General Chu-Zheng Hui led his 1.1-strong infantry force as a surging tide advancing into the occupied territory, with an unstoppable momentum.

These 2200 West African cavalrymen were the key to defeating the German army.

At a rate of 30-40 kilometers per day, the eastward-advancing army could crush its way through and occupy most of the towns in the northern part of the German East African colonies in just 30 to 40 days.

Whenever a town or local Black tribal settlement was captured, a force ranging from a battalion to a company was left behind to force the local Black natives to build an earthen city, and this process was repeated.

The Great Chu army was intimately familiar with the steps of that occupation and enslavement; they could do it with their eyes closed without making a mistake, and had developed a complete set of procedures.

Having been tempered by decades of colonial expansion, it appears thorough, experienced, and efficient.

Of the more than 3 troops who followed the princes' coalition to West Africa, nearly half were civil and colonial officials who would take over relevant affairs in an orderly manner, freeing the army from the heavy burden of colonial tasks.

The captured and concentrated local Black tribal population was first subject to gender segregation, followed by screening, and decisive elimination measures were taken against local Black tribal elders, chiefs, and native nobles.

Subsequently, hard labor camps were established, and those who first submitted were selected as hard labor foremen. The policy of "black slaves governing black slaves" was implemented, and the native laborers were forced to build earthen cities, repair and level roads, reclaim wasteland for farming, build bridges, ditches, water conservancy facilities, and so on.

Other civil officials were responsible for receiving and distributing the food supplies that were sent from the rear, registering the local population, planning the town, and gradually putting it under construction.

at the same time
Within the seven states of West Africa, campaigns calling for immigration to East Africa have begun, and young Chinese men and women from large families who are not doing well locally will gradually flock to the region.

From trickling streams, they converge into a massive wave of immigration, each wave higher than the last...

By the end of 1914
The total population of the seven states in West Africa has reached more than 2270 million and is still in a stage of rapid growth, which is very conducive to the introduction of Chinese immigrants locally.

Even if it's only 5-6%, that's still 1.3 to 1.4 million people, enough to stabilize the new occupied territories in East Africa.

In the newly occupied territories, the corresponding colonial officials performed their respective duties, thus forming an efficient and orderly industrial chain for colonial expansion.

Just over 20 days later

In mid-November 1915, the vanguard of the Great Chu Empire's African princes' allied forces had successfully completed the occupation of densely populated areas such as Rwanda and Burundi, and reached the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in Africa.

The specific location is in the Arusha region, which is more than 760 kilometers away from the starting point, Moon Lake City, and only about 450 kilometers away from the easternmost Indian Ocean ports of Tanga and Pangani.

The reason why the journey was so smooth was that it did not encounter much resistance from the German army, and the German commander, Major General Paul, chose to give up.

Six or seven sporadic firefights resulted in approximately 160 German casualties and killed several thousand Black auxiliary troops, allowing Germany to occupy a large area of ​​territory.

During this period, the main infantry forces spent most of their time marching, occupying, advancing, occupying again, and advancing again, repeating this process repeatedly.

The limited gains were mostly achieved by the cavalry. The real battle for the infantry, which took place during the capture of Kigali, Rwanda, was a somewhat decent one.

That battle took place half a month ago.

Kigali is a Black town with a population of nearly 2. It is surrounded by dozens of German-American rubber plantations and has several hundred German-American residents. It is considered one of the larger towns along the route.

After a barrage of artillery fire and several volleys of gunfire, the local Black auxiliary troops who were defending the area scattered in disarray.

The rest of the time was spent on continuous clearing and one-sided killings, with almost nothing to say about it.

The greatest achievement was the killing of a German captain and more than ten junior officers, and the capture of more than 30 white German soldiers. That was all.

"Commander-in-Chief, our troops must rest here and escort no fewer than 1 black convicts to build an earthen city in this open field, laying the foundation for future railway construction." Deputy Commander Major General Mo Yuanhang, mounted on his horse, pointed to a field in front of him with his whip.

This vast, untouched wilderness stretches for hundreds of kilometers, a paradise for lions, wildebeest, bison, and other wild animals.

Arusha is located near a vast river, and in the surrounding wilderness, one can see countless wildebeest, buffalo, many lion prides, as well as carnivorous beasts such as cheetahs and African hounds.

Looking up into the distance, the summit of Kilimanjaro to the north is covered in snow, forming a wondrous natural landscape with the vast wilderness, allowing one to feel the wildness and power of nature.

This great river was formed by the melting snow of the Kilimanjaro Mountains, and its water volume is quite abundant.

With water, farmland can be cultivated, forming villages and cities. This is an important node in the planned railway line, and a large number of railway construction workers will be deployed in the future.

Fortunately, this area is a vast plain with few rivers, so building a railway would not be too difficult.

Major General Chu-Zhenghui, the commander, mounted on his horse, picked up his binoculars and carefully observed the surrounding terrain before nodding in approval and saying:

"Pass on my orders: the army shall camp here and rest for a week, awaiting the arrival of the remaining slaves. The cavalry shall go on a hunting expedition to prepare a plentiful feast for the army and drive away the wild animals. The brothers should also be treated to a good meal."

"Yes, Commander-in-Chief." The messenger immediately rode off to relay the commander's order.

Cheers could be heard from the troops in the distance. Since it was still early, the allied forces began to set up camp in battalions. By the time they reached this point, the eastward-advancing army's infantry had been reduced to just over 6800 men and 1400 cavalry, leaving only four cavalry units.

The remaining troops, including some cavalry, were stationed along the route, responsible for tasks such as town security and communications.

Fortunately, the German commander, Major General Paul, also lacked sufficient troops, with only less than 5,000 German officers and soldiers. After this period of attrition, his forces should have been reduced to around 4,400 or 4,500.

The number of troops that can be gathered at one time will definitely not exceed a thousand.

As for the larger number of Black auxiliary troops, in Major General Paul's army, they were known as the "King's African Infantry Regiment," and the largest combat unit was an infantry regiment, with about two or three thousand men.

One such infantry regiment was wiped out in Kigali, Rwanda, and half of it was wiped out in Burundi. The total number of them is now less than 20,000, with only about 15,000 to 16,000 remaining.

Having realized the gravity of the situation, German Major General Paul was now unwilling to engage the Chu army in a direct confrontation.

The Chu army, in terms of weaponry, fighting spirit, combat skills, and combat quality, far surpassed the British Indian brigades under the British Expeditionary Force, possessing the demeanor of a world-class land power.

Compare the two
Major General Paul preferred to target Major General McKent, who was an easy target, since it was the British army that had established the German army's formidable reputation in German East Africa, and the two had a very good relationship.

The main force of the East African Expeditionary Force under British Major General Mackenzie consisted of four British Indian Brigades totaling 15,000 men, which were basically composed of white officers and Indian soldiers and were not very effective in combat.

The most powerful fighting force consisted of a North Lancashire battalion composed entirely of white men, and the most combat-effective Gurkha infantry battalion.

However, Major General McKent was reluctant to use the former, keeping it as a guard force for the Expeditionary Force Headquarters.

The latter only had a battalion of three or four hundred men, and more than half of them had been killed or wounded in the year-long fighting. If they continued to be used, they would be useless, and they would need to be replenished from Nepal, thousands of miles away.

From a strategic perspective

Every additional British soldier deployed to the African theater meant one less British soldier available for the European war. Not to mention the significant investment required for weapons, equipment, supplies, and medicine.

For Major General Paul to help Germany win the European war as much as possible, he needed to deplete the British African Expeditionary Force to the greatest extent possible; only then would it have any real significance.

Fighting to the death with the Chu army would be futile.

Even if we win, what's the point?

With this attitude, Major General Paul shifted the main German forces to the south and central regions and intensified attacks on British forces, much to the dismay of Major General McKent.

Shit, what happened to sharing the burden?
As the saying goes, what you fear is bound to come true.

Dodoma, the central city of German East Africa, is a town with a population of 30,000 to 40,000 indigenous black people. Everywhere there are low shacks and messy street scenes, which appear dilapidated and disorderly.

Within a few hundred meters of the city center, there are towering Protestant churches, colonial buildings with white stone facades, and nearby elegant German-style villas, beer halls and cafes that only allowed white people to enter, all revealing traces of more than 20 years of German colonization.

Today, this place serves as the headquarters of the British East African Expeditionary Force. Major General McKent led two British Indian Brigades and the White Lancashire Battalion, totaling more than 8,300 men, and stationed them in this city.

Food and war supplies from Dar es Salaam had to travel more than 870 kilometers to reach Dodoma.

The road was extremely rugged, and the dirt road, soaked by the rain, was riddled with potholes, making it difficult to even push a tricycle; people had to carry it on their shoulders to get through.

To maintain the garrison at the front lines of Dodoma, hundreds of thousands of Black laborers toiled day and night on this arduous transport route, with hundreds dying each week in various accidents.

This is under normal circumstances. If an epidemic or tropical malaria breaks out, the loss of manpower is difficult to calculate, and a large number of people will die at any time.

Dodoma's geographical location is very important, equivalent to a person's navel.

In the German East African colonies, Dodoma was less than 700-800 kilometers from all four cardinal directions, making it a crucial transportation hub in the hinterland and of particular importance.

The British East African Expeditionary Force's occupation of this area effectively halted the German advance southward.

It was precisely for this reason that Major General Paul set his sights on this place, and for the first time ever, he gathered a large number of men, ready to remove this thorn in his side.

Over the past two months
German commander Major General Paul felt immense pressure as the allied forces of princes from the Great Chu Empire pounced on them like hungry wolves, advancing with unstoppable momentum.

After Rwanda attempted to stop them, their several thousand troops were swallowed up by the princes' allied forces in the east, suffering a crushing defeat before they could even make a dent.

This battle served as a wake-up call for Major General Paul.

These Easterners were not as weak as the British army; they possessed a strong fighting spirit and a high level of military organization, and were by no means easy targets.

If you stubbornly persist, you won't have a good outcome.

Major General Paul, the German commander, had very limited forces. In addition to less than a thousand regular German soldiers, there were more than three thousand white volunteers, most of whom were white immigrants from German East Africa over the past twenty years. The "East African Rifle Regiment" and the "East African Rifle Cavalry Regiment" composed of them could only serve as guards and were incapable of launching offensive operations.

Every death in war is a loss.

Therefore, the main force of the battle still had to be those black native servants. For those who fought bravely, Major General Paul did not hesitate to let them eat snow-white bread, meat and enjoy women to their heart's content. After all, they were all black natives, giving the German white colonists the glory of recognition.

Through these measures, the black soldiers of the "King's African Rifles" under Major General Paul fought much more bravely than the Indians and won a series of victories.

In a forest about 10 kilometers from Dodoma, German Major General Paul was using a map to plan a battle with his white German officers and three black officers.

In this dense forest
Two "King's African Rifle Regiments" totaling more than 3790 black soldiers have been assembled, along with a white East African Rifle Regiment of more than 300 men. This is the maximum force that Major General Paul can mobilize.

In order to create an atmosphere of encirclement and annihilation throughout German East Africa, Major General Paul had no fewer than a dozen small units under his command, which were responsible for attacking British supply lines and food depots to create an atmosphere of panic.

If the North hadn't already been almost completely monopolized by the allied forces of the Great Chu Empire's princes, Major General Paul wouldn't have been able to make such a decision to completely remove Dodoma, this tough nut to crack.

If the German army wanted to launch a major southward offensive, it couldn't bypass Dodoma. (End of Chapter)