Just when the four colonies in Southern Africa gathered in Pretoria to discuss the establishment of a federal government in Southern Africa, another personnel change occurred in Tanganyika.
General von Trotta, who had just successfully put down the rebellion in German Southwest Africa, was transferred to Tanganyika and served as the commander-in-chief of the German troops in Tanganyika.
The rebellion in German South-West Africa began in 1904. In order to plot the land of the Herero people, the German South-West African authorities instigated a war between the Herero and Nama people, which eventually led to the conflict between the Herero and Nama people.
The rebellion broke out throughout German Southwest Africa.
The Germans attributed the main cause of the rebellion to the instigation of the British government, which they believed was the British government's revenge for the German government's actions during the Boer War.
The British government certainly did not recognize this reason. The real reason was that Germany had just acquired overseas colonies and had not yet learned how to deal with the colonial natives, so the rebellion broke out.
In 1904, the governor-general of German South-West Africa was still Leutwein. Faced with the successive rebellions, Leutwein showed a little concern for one thing and the other. Therefore, the German government transferred von Trotta, who had participated in the Eight-Power Allied Forces' war of aggression against China, to transfer
Go to German Southwest Africa and suppress the rebellion in German Southwest Africa.
Von Trotta was ferocious and brutal, using cruel methods to suppress the Herero and Nama people in German Southwest Africa. He believed that there was only one way to solve the problem, and that was to completely eliminate the Herero and Nama people in German Southwest Africa.
Nama people.
This is exactly what von Trotta did. He exiled all the rebels to an uninhabited island and left them to fend for themselves. He also set up a blockade on the border between German Southwest Africa and the Bechuanaland Protectorate. Anyone who wanted to
Anyone who crosses the blockade to reach the Bechuanaland Protectorate will be shot without mercy.
Even some Herero chiefs who tried to surrender were shot on the spot. In 1904, there were probably about 100,000 Herero people. By 1907, the total number of Herero people was less than 10,000.
Von Trotta's approach was indeed effective in quelling the rebellion in German Southwest Africa, so Von Trotta was transferred to Tanganyika to deal with the increasing pressure from Nyasaland.
The disputes between Nyasaland and Tanganyika have always been concentrated near the North Sea and have not affected Lake Nyasa in the central region of Nyasaland.
Unlike the North Sea, which is half owned by one family, Lake Nyasa belongs entirely to Nyasaland, and there is no dispute with Tanganyika.
The arrival of von Trotta changed everything.
On the first day after arriving in Tanganyika, von Trotta went to inspect the vicinity of Lake Nyasa and used a telescope to observe Xuanwu City at the northern end of Lake Nyasa.
On the shores of Lake Nyasa, there are now many towns. Xuanwu City is an important town after Little Rock and is also the headquarters of the Northern Rhodesia Division.
Soldiers from the Northern Rhodesian Division immediately discovered von Trotta's observation, and soon soldiers came to intervene.
A series of previous victories gave the officers and soldiers of the Northern Rhodesian Division a psychological advantage when facing the German troops in Tanganyika.
And von Trotta, who had participated in the Eight-Power Allied Forces' invasion of China and personally ended the rebellion in German Southwest Africa, must have been full of contempt for the Chinese deep down in his heart. Coupled with von Trotta's character, von Trotta was
When he discovered that soldiers from the Northern Rhodesian Division were coming to intervene, he forcefully ordered his men to fight back.
"Sorry, General, we can't do that -" A German major serving in Tanganyika directly rejected von Trotta's request.
"Why?" Von Trotta still didn't understand the situation in Nyasaland and didn't realize how much pressure the Tanganyika garrison was under.
"General, we cannot stir up trouble easily. After Minister Bilov visited Nyasaland, he strictly prohibited us from creating conflicts around Nyasaland and asked us to maintain appropriate posture when facing provocation from the Nyasaland army.
"Restraint -" the major said it more euphemistically. Translated into vernacular, it is, if others do not offend me, I will not offend others, but if others offend me -
I can't bear it!
"Are you sure that's what Lord Bilov said?" Von Trotta's eyes widened in disbelief, not believing that Tanganyika was so weak in front of Nyasaland.
In fact, all restraint and tolerance will ultimately lead to defeat. A powerful party will never restrain and tolerate at any time. For example, when von Trotta was in German South-West Africa, he faced the Herero and Nama.
When we were young, we didn’t know what restraint and tolerance were.
However, in Tanganyika, I believe von Trotta will have a deeper understanding of these two words.
"Yes, that's exactly what Lord Bilov said." The major said firmly.
Von Trotta stopped talking and looked at the cavalry of the Northern Rhodesian Division getting closer and closer with a gloomy expression.
Near Xuanwu City, there is no obvious dividing line between Nyasaland and Tanganyika. The agreed dividing line is an unknown river. Now Von Trotta is on this side of the river and has not crossed the river.
Therefore, the cavalry of the Northern Rhodesian Division did not speak harshly, but monitored von Trotta and his party on the other side of the river.
Von Trotta also finally had the opportunity to observe the cavalry equipment of the Northern Rhodesian Division up close.
The standard weapon of the Northern Rhodesian Division is the short-barreled Lee Enfield. This model of rifle was specially produced by the Nyasaland Arsenal for the cavalry. It not only shortened the barrel, but also canceled the bayonet at the muzzle, and the length of the distribution was
It is a saber of about 1.2 meters.
In addition to rifles and sabers, officers and soldiers of the Northern Rhodesian Division are free to choose defensive pistols. Most officers and soldiers choose the Ruger pistol first produced by Nyasaland Arsenal, while some choose the latest one produced by Nyasaland Arsenal.
Browning high-power pistols. Both pistols have a caliber of nine millimeters. The bullets can be used universally and will not increase the pressure on logistics.
For ease of use, the cavalry's pistol is not worn on the waist, but on the chest. The holster is also a quick-draw holster produced in Nyasaland, matched with the latest tactical vest installed by the Northern Rhodesian Division.
And the 1905-style iron-gray military uniform, the knight on horseback looks particularly tough.
Compared with the guards around von Trotta, although von Trotta's guards must have been carefully selected, compared with the cavalry of the Northern Rhodesian Division, it felt like the guards around von Trotta were like beggars.
There is no comparison at all.
The equipment gap is really too big. The guards around von Trotta are only equipped with a Mauser rifle. It is not a rifle specially produced for the cavalry, but the most common mass-produced goods, and the muzzle can be equipped with additional guns.
Bayonet.
I don’t know what the German General Staff thought. Probably the generals wanted the cavalry to mount bayonets on their horses.
Although the gap in equipment does not reflect the gap in combat effectiveness, in von Trotta's eyes, he still somewhat understands why Birov asked the Tanganyika military to exercise restraint.
"Have we ever had conflicts between Tanganyika and Nyasaland troops before?" von Trotta asked the major, speaking definitely in German.
"It doesn't appear on the surface, but in fact there is -" the major didn't finish his words, and the result was probably not very optimistic.
"What was the result?" Von Trotta didn't care whether asking directly would embarrass the major.
"The result was not very good. At the beginning of the year, when the relationship between us and Nyasaland was at its most tense, the patrol troops met at the border and there were conflicts. However, we all maintained restraint and did not use weapons at that time, so it was just a physical conflict——"
The major tried his best to explain, but he still couldn't explain clearly.
"Then what?" von Trotta asked.
"Then -" the major pursed his lips hard, glared, and then said with great difficulty: "- there were about a dozen people on both sides at that time, and the numbers were relatively close. Our people suffered a bit, and some
Six soldiers needed to be hospitalized for treatment, and two military horses were lost——"
Von Trotta was speechless. "Lost" was probably just an excuse. It might have been snatched away by the Nyasaland people.
This is simply a disgrace. Even the majestic cavalrymen and their horses were snatched away. Those soldiers should die to apologize.
If this had happened in German South-West Africa, then von Trotta might have dealt harshly with the soldiers who lost the fight.
But this was in Tanganyika, and Von Trotta would not easily express his opinion without fully understanding the situation, so Von Trotta just nodded without saying anything, and picked up the single tube that could almost become an antique.
The telescope continues to observe Xuanwu City.
The cavalrymen of the Northern Rhodesian Division on the other side of the river were also talking.
"Squad leader, I'm afraid the person opposite is an official?" A cavalryman put down the telescope in his hand and put it into the wooden box next to the saddle.
This kind of telescope is also produced in Nyasaland. Interestingly, the technology comes from Zeiss in Germany.
Countries in this era did not pay enough attention to technology, so Nyasaland easily purchased the most advanced optical technology and lens production equipment from Carl Zeiss.
Of course, the technology from Carl Chase still needs to be redesigned by Nyasaland in order to have enough charm.
Therefore, the telescope used by von Trotta was still a monocular telescope, and the telescope used by an ordinary cavalryman in Nyasaland was already a binoculars.
"This is a lieutenant general. I haven't seen him before. No, we have to report it quickly -" The squad leader was still more aware and immediately ordered a cavalryman to return to the headquarters of the Northern Rhodesia Division to report.
Seeing the cavalrymen leaving quickly, Von Trotta snorted coldly, finally put down the monocular telescope in his hand, and handed the telescope to the attendant beside him.
The officials here just have a lot of style, and if the equipment is not advanced enough, they just use people to make up for it. I don’t want to say whether the effect is good or not, but it’s okay to just pretend.
