Chapter 1283 The Song of the Guerrillas (Third update, please subscribe)
Author: Xiaoyu’s Destiny
Chapter 1283 The Song of the Guerrillas (Third update, please subscribe)
"Healthy male citizens aged 16 to 50 from various farms in this area who have received this notice, please bring horses, guns, ammunition and five days of rations to *** Town and report to the commander of the local militia..."
The Boers, who had all the people in arms, were already prepared and had even mobilized as early as last year. In the past year, they had been waiting for a showdown with the British. After the news of the war with the British was announced, from the Transvaal
In towns large and small in Orange, local Boer citizens took up arms one after another and went to assembly points to join militia groups.
"Wesley, be careful!"
Hurd, who was standing under the telegraph pole, shouted to his brother on the telegraph pole. Their father, Old Hurd, was holding a rifle and riding a horse, watching the surroundings vigilantly.
"Do not worry……"
By the time he finished speaking, Wesley had already cut the telegraph wire.
"Quick, quick, retreat,"
When the telegraph wire was cut, Old Hurd led his sons on horseback and rode away.
Like all the Boers, after the news of the declaration of war came, the Boer farmers scattered on the vast South African plateau took the initiative to join the war. They took their sons, horses and rifles to form a small fighting force.
, went into battle as combatants, sabotaging railways, cutting telegraph lines, and destroying the British war potential as much as possible.
Old Hurd was one of them. He and his guerrillas only had twenty-three people, and even six black slaves.
"Old Hurd, will they come?"
After arriving at the ambush point, William looked at Old Hurd and asked.
"Don't worry, they will definitely come. My brother is at the telegraph company. Now that the telegraph company has been taken over by the army, the telegraph lines are broken. Those British guys will definitely send people to repair them, and they will definitely send police or soldiers...
"
Old Hurd held his pipe in his mouth. He took a puff of cigarette first, and then spoke slowly.
"Now all we have to do is wait."
Patience is the best friend of the guerrillas. After waiting for almost four or five hours, finally, a dozen figures on horseback appeared in their sight.
Although they are far away, several of the red dots can still be seen. On the yellow South African plateau, the red is very eye-catching, and they can be clearly seen even from several kilometers away.
This also turned the British in red military uniforms into typical living targets.
"Dad, they are coming,"
Hurd pointed into the distance and said.
"There are two British pigs in red army uniforms, and the others are armed militia..."
"Um,"
Nodding, Old Hurd said.
"Wait until they get close before shooting."
While talking, he put out the cigarette directly. He even covered the cigarette ashes with soil to avoid exposing his presence.
The British soldiers and militia soldiers escorting the telegraph company's line repairmen didn't know that they had fallen into a carefully laid trap. When they came to the telegraph pole, they looked at the cut telegraph line and cursed damn it.
When attacking the Boers, they did not know that in the nearby bushes, the Boers, who were carefully camouflaged in khaki clothes, were already aiming their rifles at them.
After aiming at the British, Hurd pulled the trigger. In the continuous gunshots, the British fell down one after another. They didn't even have time to fire.
While collecting the rifles and ammunition from the British, Old Hurd took a puff of his pipe and said proudly.
"It's like hunting."
Yes, for the Boers, fighting was like hunting, but it was not easy for the British, especially for the British troops holding on to Kimberley, who suffered an unprecedented blow.
Early in the morning, the overwhelming artillery fire hit the British positions outside Kimberley City. The Boers equipped with the Type 11 field gun spared no effort in local shelling. The Type 11 field gun was the first hydraulically powered weapon in the world.
The artillery with a hybrid mechanism of retraction and recoil has a high rate of fire and a low trajectory. Although the use of a single-leg gun mount affects the left and right firing range,
However, relying on the high rate of fire, the artillery shells still swept across the British positions in a sudden storm. On the mountainous area not far away, Boer observers trained by the Ming Empire's military advisers used artillery scopes to observe the effects of the shelling and indicate the impact point of the bombs to the artillery positions at any time.
, making the Boer army's bombardment more and more precise.
In the fierce artillery fire, the artillery shells seemed to have eyes, smashing one British artillery position, machine gun firing point, bunker, and infantry bunker into a mess. For a time, earth and rocks were flying, blood and flesh were flying, and the artillery fire was
Everywhere he passed, there were wounded people howling.
"Damn it, they must be using rapid-fire cannons, they must be rapid-fire cannons from the Ming Empire..."
In the choking smoke, Lieutenant Colonel Randolph, who was guarding Kimberly, couldn't help but curse.
"Damn Churchill, doesn't he know that the Army needs rapid-fire artillery..."
The reason why he scolded Churchill was because that guy was the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and that guy advocated reducing taxes and lowering military spending. Although that guy's budget was not adopted under the strong opposition of the War Department, the Army's weapons procurement costs
Still affected, the British still use the artillery guns from more than ten years ago.
"careful!"
Amidst the roar of artillery shells, Randolph was crushed by his men. After a violent explosion, he stood up again spitting dust in his mouth. As soon as he stood up, he asked.
"Is there any news from General Methuen? When will their reinforcements arrive?"
For Randolph, who had less than 1,000 soldiers and 3,000 militiamen under his command, the only thing he could point to was the reinforcements from General Paul Methuen.
"No news yet."
The subordinate's answer made Randolph's heart sink. Feeling the fierce fire from the Boers, he muttered to himself.
"Is the British Empire really going to lose this city?"
Kimberley has the largest diamond mine in the world!
Does the British Empire no longer want this diamond mine?
Without reinforcements, he would definitely not be able to defend this place.
"When will the reinforcements arrive..."
While Randolph was talking to himself, he saw Thomas wearing a hunting suit not far away. That guy was the manager of the mine and the commander of the militia. His eyes lit up when he stared at the guy and he walked over.
said to him.
"Mr. Thomas."
"Lieutenant Colonel, do you have any orders?"
"Did you see it? The Boers' attack was very fierce, and they will definitely continue to attack next, Mr. Thomas."
Staring at Thomas, Randolph said.
"If the reinforcements don't come, we will definitely not be able to defend Kimberley. Do you know what that means?"
"Of course I know that it means the company will lose the mine, and the company's stock will plummet. At that time, the interests of all shareholders from Cape Town to London will be harmed. Lieutenant Colonel, that's why I came here,
Fight with you. Lieutenant Colonel, reinforcements, when will our reinforcements arrive here?"
Thomas answered directly.
"Reinforcements, Mr. Thomas, I don't know when the reinforcements will arrive, but what is certain is that if they don't come again, we will definitely lose everything. I need you to tell Mr. Rhodes and tell him everything that happened here..."
(End of chapter)
This chapter has been completed!