It’s not that Ethan Barrett doesn’t understand the importance of soldiers’ speed. However, the mercenaries came to the Congo Free State to make a fortune, so the speed of the troops is really difficult to increase. Kinshasa is 1,500 kilometers away from Ulysses.
There were canals available for use along the way, but the mercenaries walked for a full month. If it had been the Northern Rhodesian Division and the Nyasaland Militia, they would have been punished by military discipline from top to bottom.
Not only that, because there were so many things snatched along the way, when the mercenaries arrived in Ulysses, the number of mercenaries had increased from the initial 3,000 to more than 7,000 now. The extra 4,000 were helpers.
Mercenaries transporting belongings to the Congolese.
However, Martin and Isiah Ulysses did not know this news, so Martin still attached great importance to this mercenary.
"There are more than 7,000 troops, seven times more than us, so it is necessary for us to call back all the surrounding troops and notify Lala's troops to move closer to us." Isiah Ulysses was a little worried.
, Ulysses currently has less than a thousand troops. Although these thousand men are elites, they are still unable to fight or even destroy seven times the number of enemies.
At least that's how it seems to Isiah Ulysses.
There are 300 northern Rhodesian division training camps and 800 Nyasaland militiamen in the Congo Free State. Not all of them are in Ulysses. There are also some soldiers in Moriro in the south of Lake Tanganyika, where the same
There is a port under construction.
Lala's troops are in Lubumbashi, 600 kilometers away. This distance is too far. Even if Lala is informed to move closer to Ulysses, I am afraid that Lala's troops will not be able to arrive in Ulysses before the mercenaries.
Arrive before.
"Haha, there are only 7,000 people. Don't worry, don't be anxious. It's a bit difficult for us to eat the enemy in one bite, so let's eat slowly and take a few more bites." Martin is not worried. In Portuguese East Africa,
The Yao people have also experienced the current situation. At that time, the results of the Yao people's battle did not satisfy Roque. Now Martin wants to set an example for Isiah Ulysses to see.
During the Civil War in Portuguese East Africa, the Portuguese set out from Pemba to rescue Mapupa, which was surrounded by the Yao people. As a result, they were harassed and attacked by the Yao people along the way. In the end, they suffered heavy casualties and finally succeeded in reaching Mapupa.
When the Portuguese broke through, the Yao people fortified heavily along the way. As a result, the Portuguese, who were trapped in a desperate situation, broke out with strong fighting power and successfully broke through and returned to Pemba.
The current situation is similar to that of Portuguese East Africa, but the enemies faced by the mercenaries are different from the enemies faced by the Portuguese at that time. Martin is still confident that he can defeat the Belgians. As for whether they can be annihilated, it depends on the Belgians.
Whether people cooperate and a certain amount of luck.
After a simple tactical briefing, groups of soldiers from the Northern Rhodesian Division and Nyasaland Militia left Ulysses, harassing and attacking the Belgians along the way just like the Yao people did.
Different from the original Yao people, the Nyasaland people had better equipment, better-trained soldiers, and faced different enemies.
The name of mercenaries sounds very impressive, but in fact they are just a bunch of rabble.
The Portuguese originally wanted to rescue their besieged compatriots, so they were able to overcome difficulties and insist on advancing towards Mapupa.
Today's mercenaries are lured by money. Their only purpose in coming to the Congo Free State is for money. Once the war situation is unfavorable, don't expect the mercenaries to fight to the end. It would be good if they don't collapse before the battle.
Ethan Barrett actually knows about the situation of the mercenaries, but Ethan Barrett is unable to change the reality. If the mercenaries are forced to throw away the stolen property and travel lightly, I am afraid that the mercenaries will immediately mutiny. This result is Yishan.
It was more than San Barrett could bear.
But if we go to Ulysses like this, we may not be able to win. Not only will we lose troops, but the property snatched along the way will also become the spoils of Nyasaland. This is also something that Ethan Barrett will never be able to win.
accepted.
Therefore, before approaching Ulysses, Ethan Barrett still needs to be mobilized. The war is imminent, and it is not good to continue to be so relaxed.
"Leaving our money to others for safekeeping? This is absolutely impossible. I don't trust them. God knows if they will sneak away with our money while we are fighting bloody battles on the front line!" I heard from Ethan Bar.
Belgian Robert Norris immediately opposed Leiter's suggestion.
Ethan Barrett's suggestion was that some people should keep the looted property together, while others would go into battle lightly and wait until the war ended before the troops could claim their property.
This raises a problem. If a mercenary is killed in battle, his personal property becomes ownerless, so the job of keeping property is still very tempting.
"Look at these people, even if they are sleeping, they will rest on their heads with the things they robbed. Let them hand over their money to others for safekeeping. This is more uncomfortable for them than killing them." Charles Gray, an Englishman
Goli spoke with sarcasm, saying that this mercenary group was indeed a ragtag group. Not long after leaving Kinshasa, Charles Gregory had a premonition that something was not going well.
Mercenaries have no borders, so the British may also join the mercenaries formed by the Belgians to launch an attack on the British troops.
This kind of thing is normal. After leaving Europe, everyone is just ordinary people running for life, and the concept of country is not as deeply rooted in the hearts of the people as it was a few decades later.
Charles Gregory was right, the mercenaries were resting in a village now.
All the young and middle-aged people in the village were driven into the plantations by the Belgians, leaving only some old, weak, sick and disabled people in the village. After the mercenaries came to the village, they drove everyone out of the houses. Even so, there were still not enough houses.
Many people were lying on the ground in the village.
The environment is so bad, it is inevitable that the mercenaries who have not been allocated a house will curse and curse. The tempers of the mercenaries are not very good, and fights are inevitable. Therefore, the village is very chaotic, and it is full of people like a gathering.
The city is just as lively.
In order to prevent the slaves from escaping, huge bonfires were lit around the village, which could be seen more than ten miles away. This made Charles Gregory feel even more uncomfortable. Such a huge momentum had to be hidden from the Nyasaland people.
It's impossible, but the Nyasaland people don't have any reaction now, which is abnormal.
"The people of Nyasaland are rebuilding Kalemie. There are mountains of supplies there and wealth is everywhere. It is said that there are women in the Nyasaland army. Almost all the medical soldiers in Nyasaland are women, some of whom are Chinese.
There are also Boers, don’t you have any ideas?” Ethan Barrett salivated over Kalemmi. In Ethan Barrett’s view, Kalemmi not only represented wealth, but also represented glory and the conqueror.
Do whatever you want.
“The people of Nyasaland are quite wealthy.”
"Kill all the Nyasalands, and everything in Kalemmi will be ours."
“I feel like I can’t wait any longer.”
When it came to money and women, the officers suddenly became enthusiastic. They came all the way from Europe to the Congo Free State, not for the sake of peace for all mankind.
"Before that, let's think about how to defeat the Nyasalands." Charles Gregory couldn't help but remind him. It would be useless no matter how nice he said it now.
As Charles Gregory finished speaking, the sound of rapid heavy machine gun fire suddenly came from not far away. Charles Gregory heard clearly that this was the sound of the Maxim heavy machine gun.
"Enemy attack!"
"Ready to fight!"
"Lights out, lights out"
The officers suddenly became confused. Someone kicked the table over, the oil lamp on the table fell to pieces on the ground, and the table immediately burst into flames.
No one paid attention to the oil lamp. Charles Gregory kicked open the door of the house and ducked behind a big tree to observe carefully.
There was more than just one heavy machine gun. There were at least three heavy machine guns roaring less than a hundred meters away from the village. The bonfires around the village guided them to their target, but outside the bonfires there was darkness. The situation was very bad.
"Counterattack, counterattack, Robert, Charles, organize your teams and prepare to counterattack!" Charles Gregory could hear Ethan Barrett roaring, but the effect was not obvious.
At a distance of less than a hundred meters, the power of the heavy machine gun was still very powerful. The few houses in the village were all wooden structures. They were quickly ignited by bullets and turned into blazing torches, illuminating the mercenaries.
Nothing to hide from.
Troops in this era generally did not receive night fighting training. When two armies faced each other, they would first form a formation, then advance towards the other side, and finally line up their guns and fire.
Charles Gregory had never experienced such a sneak attack at night in Nyasaland before.
The heavy machine gun shooters in Nyasaland are definitely well-trained. Even in the dark, their shooting skills are good. People kept falling around Charles Gregory.
What surprised Charles Gregory was that the heavy machine gun shooters in Nyasaland actually used burst fire instead of long fire. This was clearly a skill possessed by elite machine gunners.
The three heavy machine guns roared for ten full minutes. Charles Gregory speculated that each of the heavy machine guns emptied at least five magazines. Then the gunfire stopped and the attack was over.
From beginning to end, the mercenaries did not launch an effective counterattack.
After the attack, Charles Gregory was surprised to find that in such a short period of time, the three heavy machine guns had caused at least 400 casualties to the mercenaries. More than half of them were killed on the spot, and the other half who were injured probably would not survive.
How long ago, the mercenaries did not bring doctors and nurses with them when they set out, so injuries were basically equivalent to death.
As for the slaves plundered by the mercenaries along the way, they have all taken advantage of the chaos to escape, and a lot of the property the mercenaries grabbed along the way was also taken away. Now the mercenaries have enough reason to launch an attack on Ulysses
