Chapter 1289 Encirclement and reinforcements (first update, please subscribe)
Author: Xiaoyu’s Destiny
Chapter 1289 Encirclement and reinforcements (first update, please subscribe)
"Kimberley, we are here, and the whole British Empire is behind us. We have not forgotten you. Relief may take days, or weeks, but please be sure, we are working our way towards you."
On the evening of November 10, 1889, on the outskirts of Magersfontein, after General Paul Methuen sent this telegram to the British troops stationed in Kimberley, he immediately led the army to advance along the railway towards Kimberley.
Kimberley is the largest diamond mine in the world. It monopolizes almost all the world's diamond supply. Since the discovery of this diamond mine, it has brought unimaginable wealth to the British Empire. This city is located in the Transvaal.
Directly to the west, it is almost close to the territory of the Boers. About 500 kilometers further from Kimberley is Mafeking, and further to the north is the Bechuanaland Special Area of the Ming Empire.
After the Boers declared war, General Delray, a descendant of the French Huguenots known as the "Lion of the Western Transvaal", commanded the troops to cross the border. Delray divided the troops into two groups, one led by Crone
One of them, commanded by General Zhi, surrounded Mafetin, and the other, commanded by Louis Botta, surrounded the diamond town of Kimberley.
Although the British army has more than 8,000 troops in this area, which is quite strong, in order to prevent the rebellion of the Boers living in the Cape Colony, a large part of the troops had to be allocated to transportation hubs and strategic areas.
The defense of important areas, therefore, the actual forces available for attack are extremely limited.
Despite this, Kimberley is an extremely important mining area, and the British army still deployed more than 2,000 people here. Including the British and Indian troops who arrived here before the war, the total number of troops reached more than 4,000, all of whom were led by Randolph.
Colonel commanded.
Although its military strength seemed strong, the Boer army led by General Louis Botha numbered as many as 6,000 men.
In another world, General Louis Botha, who was responsible for attacking Kimberley, laid siege to the city for several months, but his attacks were repelled. The main reason was that the fortresses and fortifications of Kimberley were too weak.
Extremely strong. The most important reason is that the Boer army lacks large-caliber artillery, let alone artillery shells.
But now, this situation does not exist. Just before the war, the Boer Republic, like the Ming Dynasty, purchased as many as 200 cannons of various calibers and stored hundreds of thousands of rounds of artillery shells, including many 150mm heavy cannons. At the same time,
A large number of large-caliber mortars were also imported.
Facing the fierce bombardment by the Boers, Kimberley's defense line was almost crumbling, and Colonel Randolph could only send telegrams repeatedly to ask for help from the rear.
Finally, on November 7, Randolph waited for his reinforcements - the boss of De Beers and the diamond king Rhodes arrived at Kimberley on the last train before the Boer army sieged the city. He brought reinforcements and
There were many guns, ammunition and artillery. Although the defenders were not interested in this guy, because everyone knew that without this guy taking the risk of attacking, the war would not have broken out. But when Rhodes told everyone at the train station——
When the reinforcements led by the respected General Paul Methuen were on the road, everyone couldn't help shouting excitedly.
"Gentlemen, in fifteen days, at most fifteen days, General Paul Methuen will arrive here with tens of thousands of reinforcements. We only need to hold on for fifteen days and we will win this war!"
At the train station, Rhodes told everyone the good news.
"He's getting here!"
While Rhodes was waiting expectantly for General Paul Methuen's reinforcements, what Rhodes didn't know was that the "Lion of the Western Transvaal" - General Delare had led 5,000 troops and quietly
A carefully constructed trap was deployed on the British reinforcements route, just waiting for the British troops to plunge into this pocket.
Of course, General Paul Methuen was not a reckless guy. He carefully directed the army along the railway line. He did not even choose to take the train, because the Boer guerrillas used explosives to destroy the railway tracks and attack every day.
train.
It is summer in the South African plateau in November, and the weather is very hot. A red line like a long snake is traveling rapidly on the earth-colored plateau. The air is filled with dust as thousands of people and horses march. There are nearly seven thousand dragons.
The snake soldiers carried rifles and marched in the direction of Kimberley under the supervision of the officers.
Under the scorching sun, not only were the uniforms of these lobster soldiers red, but their cheeks were also burned red. The sweaty lobster soldiers walked step by step, and the flying dust even made their faces burn.
The military uniform changed color.
The exhausted people even couldn't help complaining.
"What a bunch of damn guys. It's a train, but why won't we be allowed to sit on it?"
"Damn it, that's because they're afraid the Boers are planting bombs on the tracks!"
"Or use machine guns or cannons to shoot down the carriages!"
If this happens, they won't even have a chance to resist, and then they will die in the train carriage.
"I would rather die by a gun than be scorched to death by the sun. Damn it, the sun here is even more scorching than in India..."
Even though he was riding a horse, Claude was still badly burned by the sun. Even though he was wearing a hat, he still felt the sun burning his skin like a flame, and he even felt the pain of his skin cracking. Feeling South Africa
Under the scorching sun on the plateau, he even complained in his heart: Why do these damn politicians insist on attacking such a place?
Only those damn Boers can endure such weather.
"Hurry up, gentlemen, speed up your pace, the people of Kimberley are waiting for us to rescue..."
While feebly urging the troops to move forward, Claude glanced ahead again. On the desolate earth-yellow land, a line of red was marching in smoke and dust. Everyone looked very tired.
Just when people were complaining about the scorching heat of the sun and physical exhaustion, suddenly they heard a scream in the air.
What is this sound?
For a moment, Claude, like everyone else, looked up at the sky in surprise, his eyes full of doubts.
"Chirp..."
The continuous sound was like a whistle flying through the air, coming closer and closer. Suddenly, a word came to his mind - rocket!
"Quick, lie down, it's a rocket!"
Rockets... Claude thought of the "click-kill rocket" that was used in the Civil War and the Turkish War. This rocket was an improved rocket invented by the Ming Empire on the basis of the "Hale Rocket". It would rotate in a
It was launched in the form of a rocket. However, it is different from the Hale rocket, which is famous for its unstable flight trajectory and premature explosion.
The "click-killing rocket" is famous for its dense and violent firepower. Its power is extremely amazing, and what is the most amazing thing?
It’s the instant coverage of the rocket launcher!
Although rockets were not widely used in previous wars because of their high price, they still left a deep impression on many people.
In an instant, accompanied by a dense "chirp" sound in the air, suddenly, rockets like raindrops fell on the marching column. The exploding rockets immediately set off a death storm on the grassland, but it only took a blink of an eye, and the violent
The explosion enveloped this red vertical line...
(End of chapter)
This chapter has been completed!