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Chapter 454

Social security is very important and of far-reaching significance to Italy, but currently what is more important to Italy is the current international situation.

First in South Africa, the British Empire could finally proudly declare that it had conquered the Boers.

On January 10, 1900, Roberts, commander-in-chief of the South African Expeditionary Force, and Kitchener, chief of staff, arrived in Cape Town.

They brought with them the native Seventh Army, reinforcements from Australia, New Zealand and Canada, and three cavalry units stationed in India and Ceylon.

By the end of January 1900, the number of British troops on the South African battlefield increased to 190,000, and by March it increased to 250,000, giving them an absolute advantage. In addition, thousands of military horses arrived in South Africa from the United Kingdom and Australia, increasing the number of British troops.

Army mobility.

Yes, the disastrous defeat some time ago made the British Empire furious.

Lord Roberts, who took office, also changed his strategy after a battlefield survey, moving the main attack direction from Natal west to the Orange area with weaker troops in the middle. At the same time, he changed the rigid frontal attack tactics and adopted a roundabout and pincer attack strategy.

On the western front, the British army defeated the militia group commanded by Piet Cronye, ​​the most ferocious "Black General" of the Clothier Army, and liberated Kimberley, which had been besieged for several months on February 27. The British army on the eastern front launched an offensive on February 28.

On March 5, the Boers were defeated at Dordrecht and the siege of Ladissmith was finally lifted.

After eliminating the most powerful Cronje threat to the left wing, Roberts turned the main attack force back to Orange and steadily advanced northward.

Having learned the lessons of the failure in the first stage, the British army changed its tactics. When being ambushed by the Cloth Army, the infantry troops no longer maintained their formation, but dug trenches nearby to cover the cavalry to launch a roundabout attack on the Cloth Army position.

Under this tactic, the Cloth Army's blockades in Poplar Grove, Abraham's Cattle Column and other places failed one after another. On March 20, the British Sixth and Seventh Divisions defeated the most well-equipped Johannesburg Army's troops at Abraham's Cattle Column.

police force.

On March 22, Matheus Stein, President of the Orange Free State, led government and parliamentary officials to escape from the capital Bloemfontein and fled to Kronstad in the north.

On the afternoon of March 23, the British army entered Bloemfontein.

In late March, typhoid fever prevailed among the British troops. Roberts had to order rest and recuperation on the spot, and the British offensive was interrupted. On April 2, the commander-in-chief of the British army, Joubert, fell off his horse again and was seriously injured during the battle at Willow Farm. On April 3,

He died on 19 July. According to his last wish, Louis Botha, who was good at guerrilla warfare, succeeded him as commander-in-chief of the Boer field forces.

When good news came from all fronts of the British army, a large number of British reinforcements arrived in South Africa. Yes, the lion fought the rabbit with all its strength. The British Empire was determined to show off the style of its army (although the previous battle had left

The true colors of his army are revealed).

Since there are reinforcements, there is no reason not to use them. After the adjustment of military strength, the British Empire army has undergone changes.

In the main direction of attack, Roberts had eight infantry divisions (3rd, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th Division, Colonial Division) and the 12th Cavalry Division. Roberts took the main force and launched the offensive again in mid-May.

.On May 29, Roberts' army captured Kronstad, the new capital of the Orange Free State.

Due to successive defeats, the morale of the Boers plummeted. Under Roberts's leniency promise, many militia members operating in the rear of the British army surrendered to the British, handed over their weapons, and then returned to their farms. By mid-June, still

There were only more than 20,000 Boers left fighting.

On June 24, 1900, Lord Milner announced in Bloemfontein that Britain would annex the Orange Free State.

After the annexation of Orange, the British army stepped up its attack on the Transvaal.

On June 29, General French commanded the Australian Cavalry and defeated the last defensive force at the Klip River in the southern suburbs of Johannesburg. On June 30, President Kruger left the capital Pretoria by train. In June

On the 31st, Roberts entered Johannesburg and drove into Pretoria in the early morning of July 5th.

On September 1, 1900, Roberts announced the British annexation of the Transvaal and declared the war to be over.

On September 11, President Kruger received authorization from the exiled Transvaal government and arrived in Lourenço Marquez, the capital of Portuguese Mozambique. On October 19, Kruger took the cruiser Kruger sent by Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands.

Deland, heading to Europe to seek help.

When Roberts declared the end of the war, more than 13,000 people had been killed in the British Empire. Most of these were losses suffered by the army. Of course, in addition to the dead soldiers, the number of injured and missing soldiers reached 10,000.

More than nine thousand people.

The casualties of more than 30,000 people were definitely a lot of casualties for the British army. Of course, the Boers also suffered. The highest mobilization strength of 88,000 troops was only 30,000 when Lord Roberts declared the end of the war.

More than a thousand people.

However, these Boers did not lay down their weapons after Roberts announced the end of the war. Instead, they began to harass the British troops gathered in the Boers' hometown.

Among them, supply lines have become the top priority under attack.

The British army was also unkind to the harassment of the Boers everywhere. A cruel policy of heavy pressure was implemented, and the concentration camps and the three-guang policy were carried forward here. All the Boers that could be found were concentrated and lived, and their cattle, sheep, food and other supplies were also

Take away what can be taken away and destroy what cannot be taken away. Try to cut off the connection between the Boers and their army.

In addition, field telephones for convenient communication, armored vehicles suitable for security warfare, and lighting and other items were all invented during this period.

Although the battle between the two parties is still going on, everyone knows that the Boers can't hold on for long. After all, their numbers are too small and they are no match for the British Empire. Of course, the British Empire's poor performance in this war made it lose face.

.

When the Boer War was in full swing, the funny war in the Far East also ended. After the armies of various countries occupied the capital, the Empress Dowager finally came to her senses and sent Li Zhongtang to try to sue for peace.

Faced with the Empress Dowager's begging for peace, various countries had different reactions. Tsarist Russia, which sent the largest number of troops, in order to induce the Qing government to recognize the legality of its occupation of the three eastern provinces, first expressed its recognition of Li Zhongtang's qualifications as a representative and agreed to negotiate peace with the Qing government. At the same time, it would also be in Beijing.

The Russian minister and troops withdrew to Tianjin.

As for other countries, they hope to obtain more benefits and oppose peace negotiations with the empress dowager, who has always been pro-Russian. They also refuse to recognize Li Zhongtang's qualifications as a representative. As for Germany, they are even more jealous because their minister Klind was shot dead.

The Qing court even agreed with the British to arrest Li Zhongtang to obstruct the Qing court's negotiations with Russia.

Li Zhongtang also knew it (someone tipped him off), so he did not dare to go north after arriving in Shanghai from Guangzhou, but he also began to make internal and external preparations for negotiations, including asking the Qing government to suppress the Boxer Rebellion and deal with the great powers, etc.

At the same time, Russia tried its best to mediate for the Qing court, urging Britain and Germany to give up their plan to arrest Li Zhongtang.

On August 23, Li Zhongtang arrived in Tanggu under the protection of the Russian army, and soon went to Beijing to travel among ministers from various countries.

However, at this time, Germany proposed punishing the Empress Dowager Cixi, Duan Wang Zaiyi and other war culprits as a prerequisite for peace talks, which made it impossible to proceed with the peace talks.

The debates among various countries over issues such as whether to negotiate peace with the Qing court and the qualifications of Li Hongzhang's representative are actually manifestations of the contradictions between various countries in China.

Russia supported the empress dowager and Li Zhongtang, who were known to have pro-Russian tendencies, while Britain, Italy, Germany and other countries supported the reform emperor. Such disputes dissatisfied Germany, which had the second largest number of troops in the Eight-Nation Alliance.

Marshal Waldersey, the commander-in-chief of the allied forces who arrived late, led the allied forces to push into Shanxi. Germany's move to harbor evil intentions shocked the United Kingdom and also made Italy dissatisfied.

In the end, under the strong appeals of the two countries, Germany had to stop there, opening the door for the Qing court to beg for peace.

As for the empress dowager, in order to gain forgiveness from various countries, she issued an edict punishing the ministers who caused the disaster. Several governors also tried their best to excuse the empress dowager, blaming Zaiyi and his son for the declaration of war.

These performances by the Qing court and its ministers made the great powers feel that the empress dowager had regained her mind, and it would be of great benefit to them to continue to support this docile government. In addition, European countries also worried that abandoning the empress dowager might lead to the collapse of the Qing court.

, losing the opportunity and possibility to blackmail the Far East.

Under such circumstances, the attitudes of the European powers gradually converged, and they finally decided to "preserve" the empress dowager's dignity and began to negotiate peace with the Qing court.

In October 1900, France took the lead in putting forward six demands, including punishing the culprits, paying compensation, and dismantling the Dagu Fort, as the basis for negotiations with the Qing government. After many meetings of ministers from various countries, they supplemented and revised it. On December 24, 11 countries (eight countries)

In addition, Belgium, Spain and the Netherlands) jointly proposed 12 articles of the "Peace Outline" to the Qing government, which the Qing government fully accepted.

So the spoils-sharing conference of various countries is about to be held, and the ambassadors of each country are gearing up to try to gain the most benefits for their countries.


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