The camp of the Northern Rhodesian Division is at the entrance of Nicholson Gorge. On October 30, 1899, the four thousand British troops led by Lieutenant General George White were the main force of the Cloth Army under the command of Joubert in Nicholson Gorge.
In that battle, the British army lost 1,272 men, and the remainder retreated to Ladysmith, where they were immediately surrounded.
The Northern Rhodesian Division will not make the same mistake that the expeditionary force did. In addition to sending out all the scouts, a company of soldiers will ride out of camp every half hour to patrol the surrounding area. In the event of an encounter,
There are still two companies of troops in the camp ready for reinforcements.
Although it is a temporary camp, the Northern Rhodesian Division is also meticulous in the construction of the camp. Drainage ditches and toilets are indispensable. All tents are set up on the high ground in the camp. There are observation towers around the camp, and Maxim's weight is placed on the tower.
Machine guns, although the weight of the 37mm Maxim rapid-fire cannon has not been reduced, Anton and Martin still used a carriage to get a dozen of them. This will become a big killer against the Zulus. As long as the Zulus dare to fight Rhodes
In a frontal battle with the Northern Division of West Asia, the 37mm Maxim rapid-fire cannon will cause the Zulus a lot of suffering.
In order to maintain morale, Anton and Martin came up with many small games and set up prizes to engage in small confrontations at the team level. Shooting horse racing is the most common method. The winner's reward may be just a snack at noon, and the loser's reward
Punishment is for the victor.
The prizes are not rich, but they effectively maintain the morale of the troops, and the technical and tactical abilities of the soldiers are also strengthened in the game.
It was only then that Rock discovered that many soldiers were equipped with rifle grenades.
The rifle grenades of this period were still a bit complicated. The rifle grenade was actually a deformed grenade. The grenade was added to the grenade tail rod, directly inserted into the muzzle, and fired with a blank bullet.
"Our individual firepower is still a bit weak. The arsenal was originally committed to miniaturizing the 37mm Maxim rapid-fire gun to strengthen the firepower of the troops. Unexpectedly, this goal was not achieved, but rifle grenades were used. For ordinary soldiers,
The operation of rifle grenades is relatively complicated and requires a lot of training, so many of our current training subjects are centered around rifle grenades, and the effect is quite good." Martin loves rifle grenades and wants to strengthen individual soldiers' firepower, rifle grenades are the best way.
"Very good, keep up the good work." Of course Rock knew the power of rifle grenades. In another time and space, the rifle grenades of Japanese soldiers left a deep impression on Rock. Almost all memoirs will mention Japanese rifle grenades.
The weight of anti-personnel grenades is generally 200 to 600 grams, the killing radius is about 10 to 30 meters, and the maximum range is 300 to 600 meters. For skilled soldiers, the rifle grenade is comparable to a small mortar.
On June 20th, the Zulu scouts who went out for reconnaissance returned in batches, and more intelligence was gathered here in Rock.
The number of Zulus who participated in the riot now exceeds 150,000. Most of the Zulus who participated in the riot gathered in Pietermaritzburg, surrounded Pietermaritzburg, and then sent troops to attack the colonial army supporting Pietermaritzburg.
This routine looks very familiar at first glance. The Yao people used this tactic of "encircling a point to fight for reinforcements" in Portuguese East Africa, which caused the Portuguese to suffer great losses.
It now seems that the Zulu people have also fully absorbed the experience of the Yao people against the Portuguese. Perhaps the Zulu people who participated in the Portuguese East African War are commanding the Zulu troops besieging Pietermaritzburg.
"Very good. To find the main force of the Zulu, we can just go directly to Pietermaritzburg." Rock is very familiar with this routine. As long as the intelligence work is in place, the Zulu will basically defeat the Northern Rhodesian Division.
Not a threat.
Even if there were traitors among the Zulu scouts, colluding with the rebellious Zulu people inside and outside, trying to lure the Northern Rhodesian Division into the encirclement of the Zulu rebels, Rock would not be very worried.
The British were very wary of the Zulus in the past, and had strict control over the Zulus in terms of weapons. The Zulu rebels also gained some of their territory because they defeated the colonial army in Pietermaritzburg and the Cape.
Weapons, but those crude weapons certainly could not compete with the well-equipped Northern Rhodesian Division.
Luo Keke has never equipped the Yao people with 37mm Maxim rapid-fire guns.
On June 21, the Northern Rhodesian Division set out for Pietermaritzburg to find the main force of the Zulu rebels for a decisive battle.
There are more than 3,000 officers and soldiers of the Northern Rhodesia Division who came to Natal. In addition, there are more than 2,000 members of the Nyasaland Militia. These members of the Nyasaland Militia are responsible for providing services to the Northern Rhodesia Division.
They have actually received strict training in delivering supplies, and can still take up arms and fight when needed. This is the beginning of Rock's insidiousness. In name, only 3,000 people from the Northern Rhodesian Division came, but in fact the number was more than 5,000.
, not only the Zulu people don't know this, but also Ade and Philip don't know it.
For a force of 5,000 people, there are more than 300 large vehicles accompanying the troops. Therefore, the troops cannot advance too fast, which is about 30 kilometers per day. This is also thanks to the roads built by the British Expeditionary Force during the Boer War. If
Without these roads, a daily forward speed of more than ten kilometers would be good.
Before the departure of the large army, all the scouts were released as usual. This time the scouts were not limited to the Zulus. The teaching camp also sent out a company of cavalry to participate in the reconnaissance. The thirty kilometers that the troops advanced every day were basically in
Within the scope of the scouts' control, it was unlikely that the Zulus would ambush the Northern Rhodesian Division, unless they had a way to hide it from the pervasive scouts.
Ladysmith is only over a hundred kilometers away from Pietermaritzburg. On June 23, the third day after leaving Ladysmith, the Northern Rhodesian Division arrived at the Mui River, less than fifty kilometers away from Pietermaritzburg.
, here, the Northern Rhodesian Division finally encountered stubborn resistance from the Zulu rebels.
"Their plan was good. Taking advantage of the natural geographical advantages of the Mui River, they hoped to stop us at the Mui River." Anton regretted that these Zulu rebels were quite smart and did not choose to ambush northern Rhodesia.
division, but built positions along the Mui River, which indeed created more difficulties for the Northern Rhodesian Division.
"The scouts went upstream and downstream to find shoals for crossing the river. The teaching camp set up a position opposite the rebel position, suppressed the rebels with firepower, and organized the troops to conduct a trial attack to see if there was a possibility of a direct breakthrough." Rock.
At this moment, my heart is as strong as iron. There will definitely be a price to pay for the forced crossing, but without experiencing the test of blood and fire, the Northern Rhodesian Division cannot grow.
"Yes!" Anton and Martin didn't talk nonsense. One general's success will lead to the death of thousands of bones. There is nothing they can do about it. Since they are on the battlefield, they must have the consciousness of sacrifice, and the officers will also act together with the soldiers.
Preparations began immediately. The training camp began to set up positions. The selected company A was preparing to forcefully cross the Muyi River. The civilian men of the militia were busy organizing assault boats. These assault boats were sewn with cowhide. In order to prevent stray bullets, the assault boats
There are more than ten air bags inside. Even if one or two air bags are destroyed, normal use will not be affected.
The Zulu rebels on the other side of the Mui River noticed that the teaching camp was setting up positions, so they used Maxim heavy machine guns to harass the teaching camp.
It's quite methodical, using burst shooting.
The training camp immediately suffered casualties, and the medical soldiers who had been prepared rushed to rescue them. Anton was furious and commanded the 37mm Maxim rapid-fire cannon to suppress the Zulu rebel positions with fire.
Compared with the 37mm Maxim rapid-fire cannon, the firepower of the Maxim heavy machine gun was simply not enough. With the power of the Polo cannon, the heavy machine guns of the Zulu rebels were completely suppressed.
"Keep an eye on the opposite side. If there is a heavy machine gun that dares to shoot, shoot him!" Anton searched carefully with his binoculars. Dozens of snipers wearing ghillie suits also entered the front-line position.
During the American Civil War, some Confederate soldiers were equipped with British Weyworth rifles with 3x scopes, and set a record for the longest sniper kill at a distance of 800 yards.
During the Boer War, the sharpshooters in the Boer army posed a serious threat to the British Expeditionary Force. The British began to formally train a large number of infantry or special mission personnel with sniper expertise.
As a British army unit, the Northern Rhodesian Division is of course equipped with snipers. Because of Rock's attention, the Northern Rhodesian Division is equipped with many snipers. The organized snipers are under the direct command of the division headquarters and are equipped with precision shooters.
Already reached the first level of the class.
Currently, in the world, only the British army and the Russian army are equipped with snipers. The British army suffered a loss at the hands of the Boers, so they attach great importance to snipers, while the Russian army suffered a loss from the sharpshooters of the Finnish army.
, so I learned from it painfully.
It is worth mentioning that snipers pursue hit rate, not shooting speed, so the rifles used by the snipers of the Northern Rhodesian Division are not Lee Enfields, but the older Martini Henry and Lee
Compared with the Enfield, the Martini Henry is more powerful, the carefully modulated rifle fires more accurately, and is more popular with snipers.
The entry of the 37mm Maxim rapid-fire cannon and snipers into the battle effectively changed the course of the battle.
The Zulu rebels did not realize that the tactics of the Northern Rhodesian Division had developed to this extent. Because they had previously received supplies from part of the colonial army, the Zulu rebels also had some telescopes. The Zulu rebels used telescopes for reconnaissance.
Operations of the Northern Rhodesian Division.
When the snipers were not participating in the battle, the rebel officers holding telescopes could use the telescopes to observe the Northern Division positions unscrupulously. After the snipers participated in the exhibition, those officers who used telescopes were out of luck.
The soldiers of the Northern Rhodesian Division had an excellent shooting performance rate of 95%. After being equipped with sniper rifles, and with the aid of scopes, the snipers were almost always on target.
