The horse-drawn carriage and Maxim machine gun that Simonyi mentioned was something he came up with accidentally while observing the transport convoy.
For Simone, the most important thing to pay attention to when fighting the Abyssinians was their surprise attacks and various harassments. On the contrary, he was not worried at all about the large-scale gathering and head-on battles.
Especially that kind of sudden attack is extremely dangerous for the Italian army or the army of every country. This does not give the soldiers too much reaction time, and for Simeone, it is particularly important to pay attention to this point. So he has been
There was an idea to move the Maxim machine gun more quickly.
In fact, he is not the only one, the military also has this idea. To this end, they are starting from two aspects. On the one hand, it is to reduce the weight of the Maxim machine gun. Regarding this, Mr. Maxim of Beretta Arms Company is already doing this. On the other hand,
Before Maxim is reduced in weight, look for ways to make him move quickly.
Simeone followed this path. In view of the demand for Maxim machine guns on the battlefield, he came up with the idea of using a carriage to carry the machine gun. The wheels of the machine gun were removed and fixed to the carriage, which could serve as a mobile firepower point.
Of course, he has never tried it as to its specific effects. This time is just a test of his ideas.
Faced with Simeone's idea, after some thought, Bartlett immediately thought that this was an excellent idea. It would keep the machine guns on alert at all times and give the infantry a quick attack against the Abyssinian raids.
support.
Since both commanders agreed, there was nothing more to say.
More than 40 carriages were temporarily modified. They removed the carriages, installed thin steel plates on the four sides, and then installed the Maxim machine guns with the wheels removed. This was not a major change, and it was completed in less than a day. In addition,
In order to allow the machine guns to be redeployed, they also hung the removed Maxim wheels on the rear of the vehicle so that they could be quickly put back on when the carriage was not in use.
As for the troops to be mobilized for this reinforcement, the two also made careful selections. First, the 6th Mountain Brigade, which is very good at mountain warfare, will be mobilized. In addition, the 7th Artillery Regiment will mobilize the remaining light artillery to form a mixed battalion, and then the 3rd Mountain Brigade will be mobilized.
The army mobilized an infantry regiment, a cavalry battalion, and some other general troops, totaling more than 9,500 people.
The commander is Major General Pascal, the commander of the Eighth Division of the Third Army whom Simonyi trusts most. As for why Zelos, the commander of the Sixth Mountain Brigade, is not allowed to serve, it is also considering the seriousness of this mission. Simonyi can only use the one he is most familiar with.
's subordinates.
Setting up the support force kept Simeone and others busy for two days. Of course, these two days did not mean they did nothing except mobilize the troops.
They spread the news that due to reasons such as ordnance and supplies, large troops could not immediately go to support, so they had to send a team to preemptively reinforce Mara.
Of course, how could opponents believe false news? For this reason, Simeone specifically requested that a large transport convoy be sent from Massawa to Mendefela. The reason was that this was ammunition and other military supplies that the expeditionary force urgently needed.
Materials.
On the other side, they also deployed troops to strictly block the Adi Kwara front line, making people believe that the expeditionary force did not want this news to be known to the enemy.
After these preparations were almost completed, the reinforcements led by Major General Pascal finally set off from Adi Kwara.
The departure of a large number of Italian troops naturally could not be hidden from the eyes and ears of the Abyssinians. In fact, two hours after the reinforcements set off, the Abyssinian Emperor Johannes IV received the news.
Moreover, the emperor not only received news of the departure of reinforcements, he also knew that there was a large transport convoy heading towards Mendefera at Massawa Port.
This is not because the intelligence work of the Italian garrison was poor, but because many places in Eritrea were once the sphere of influence of the East African empire of Abyssinia. Later, as the number of Italian colonists increased, the Abyssinians retreated to the plateau.
Since they have a mass base, the Abyssinians' intelligence work is relatively good, and it is reasonable to know some of the movements of the Italian army.
After receiving the news, Johannes IV immediately knew that this was his opportunity.
Although he didn't know why the supplies prepared by the Italians were insufficient, or it was a cover for the enemy. But he knew that as long as this reinforcement force stayed away from Adiquala, the stronghold where the Italian army gathered, then he would have more than 100,000 soldiers on hand.
The large army was enough to let him know how powerful the Abyssinian warriors were.
Of course, necessary deployment is also necessary. For this reason, he summoned the princes and governors to hold a meeting to prepare for the reinforcements.
In the temporary big tent, everyone was listening to the speech of their emperor Johannes IV.
"Everyone, the Italians have taken the bait. Their stupid commander only sent 10,000 reinforcements this time to reinforce Mara. This is a perfect opportunity. We don't have to attack the Italians hiding in the turtle shell. This
They walked out on their own this time, so we must seize the opportunity and annihilate them in one fell swoop."
Johannes IV's words of encouragement caused a burst of cheers in the big tent. As the enemy only sent 10,000 reinforcements this time, no one thought it would fail.
Seeing that everyone's morale was high, Johannes IV then assigned tasks.
"Duke Harar, I am reinforcing you with two thousand cavalry. You must lead them to harass the reinforcing Italian army as much as possible. At least they will not be able to walk 50 kilometers within four days."
The Duke of Harar, named by Johannes, has his territory in the eastern part of the plateau, because it produces more livestock, and his army is mainly based on cavalry.
Johannes IV wanted to take advantage of the cavalry to harass the reinforcing army and slow down its movement.
Although he really wanted to let the Italian reinforcements enter his surroundings, a qualified hunter knew how to hide his purpose and allow it to march smoothly, which would definitely arouse doubts. It would be better to act as if he really didn't want reinforcements, and first
Give them enough attacks to slow down their march and make them think they are really attacking Mara City.
"Yes, Your Majesty. You will see the reputation of the Harar Cavalry and will not fall down."
After receiving the reply from Duke Harar, Johannes IV continued to issue orders. "Send a message to Menelik so that their offensive on Mara can be suspended for a while. After we have dealt with the reinforcements of the Italian army, we will fight with him."
Let’s join together to capture Mara City.”
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Then Johannes IV issued orders one after another, arranging other princes to protect the flanks and block the back roads. Basically every prince was assigned a task.
After all this was arranged, Johannes IV looked at the map again. He needed to decide where to place the ambush based on the map.
