Chapter 376 Combat Conference
On the second day after Ernst arrived in the first town, there was nothing special to do. The main thing was to preside over the war against the Boers. The Boers must be fought. There is no other reason, it is entirely out of East African strategy consideration.
If you don’t swallow the land of the Boers at this time, you will not only face the Boers in the future, but the British.
Secondly, East Africa also had to use force against the Boers. The two sides had nothing to discuss. The Boers could surrender to the British, but they would never surrender to East Africa unless East Africa gave the Boers great privileges. Will not agree.
In the palace of Sweet Palace, the army general and Ernst discussed the issue of the war against the Boers together.
Ernst: "This war is different from the past. In addition to the opponent changing from black to white, we also have to face a very prominent problem, that is, the Transvaal Republic is too far away from the current core area of East Africa. The last time Ndebe The Lai rebellion can also mobilize troops from South Salzburg to suppress it, but this time the battle against the Boers will not have such an advantage.
Therefore, the war against the Boers must be fast and thunderous. We will take the land of the Transvaal Republic in one go, and we may even face forces outside the Transvaal Republic, such as Orange, the Zu Lu, and even the British colony of Natal.
Therefore, the South Army is facing not only the Boers, but also potential enemies. If the war is delayed a little, it is very likely that the Zulus and British will take advantage of it. This is not what I want. have witnessed. "
The actual situation is also the same. As long as there is a slight delay in fighting the Boers in East Africa, the Zulu Kingdom and the British Natal colony will never give up this great opportunity to expand into the Transvaal Republic.
On the sand table, Wei Te pointed to the area in the lower right corner of the Kingdom of Swaziland and said: "His Royal Highness, according to the information sent back by our intelligence personnel a few days ago, the main force of the Transvaal Republic is still in the eastern part of the Transvaal Republic. The Zulu kingdom confronts each other. Although the Zulu kingdom has a small area and a small population, it is extremely warlike, almost reaching the level of all the people. Although it was once defeated by the Boers, since the arrival of the British, their king Mpanda Just choose to improve relations with the British and jointly exclude the Boers."
Before that, the Zulu Kingdom actually had a good relationship with the Boers, but only on the surface. The Zulu Kingdom’s hatred for the Boers can be said to have reached the extreme, so when the British came, the Zulus were like the British. Move closer.
Stewart went on to say: "Currently the Boers hardly have many troops on the south bank of the Limpopo River. This is our opportunity. As long as we use multiple approaches, it will not be difficult for us to quickly sweep across most of the Transvaal Republic. The main resistance of the war must be in the later stage. On the one hand, the main force of the Boers returned to aid, and on the other hand, the relationship between the Orange Free State and the Republic of Transvaal. The Boers will also support the Transvaal Republic, and there is a high probability that it will attract the attention of the British."
Ernst nodded and said: "So we have to be prepared for multi-faceted battles. This war is not only aimed at the Boers. In my opinion, there is no need for the Zulu Kingdom to exist. We can't afford to mess with the British, but we don't want to. I am afraid of the British forces in South Africa, if they want to interfere with this territorial expansion in East Africa, then beat them back to me!"
Ernst almost gritted his teeth and said the last sentence. If there were no British in this Africa, then East Africa would not have to restrain its ambitions with fear. Even though the size of the East African Kingdom is not afraid of any challenges in Africa, it is still alive. In the shadows of England.Ernst didn’t think highly of the UK, but the strength of the UK is like this. The UK in this era is to East Africa just like the Far East faced the United States in the previous life. This kind of pressure can be imagined for the East African Kingdom.
Even the United Kingdom in this era is more difficult to deal with than the United States in the previous life, because there is no so-called benevolence and morality in this era, and the British can really do whatever they want except in areas controlled by other powers, even if they engage in genocide, no one will say three Road four.
If East Africa does not rely on its own strength and wants to survive in this era, it can only hug the thighs of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Germany. But unless it is a last resort, East Africa must not do this. The so-called asking God is easy to give God is difficult. If you want to rely on the help of other countries to resolve the crisis, you have to pay a price, and Franz and William I are extremely realistic monarchs , not a fool like Peter III.
Ernst's words also brought a little haze to the generals of the army, Britain! After all, it is a mountain that cannot be avoided in front of East Africa. If Ernst is only worried that the British blockade will cause the development of East Africa to stagnate, then the generals are simply afraid of the United Kingdom.
That is the hegemony of the world. Those land powers in Europe can laugh at the British lobster soldiers, but countries outside Europe are not qualified. Back then, the United States wanted to see if the old father could still eat, but was fired from the White House.
The achievements of the British in the world in recent years are also quite impressive, especially after the expedition to the Far East, there is basically no enemy in the world except Europe and the United States.
However, in order not to affect morale in the future, Ernst said: "Of course, we don't have to worry too much about the possible intervention of the British. On the land of Africa, our strength in East Africa is one of the best, and the British have no public opinion." The propaganda is so terrible that the British fell into the sand in Afghanistan more than ten years ago, and this is the case when the British colony is backed by the Indian colony, and the British Cape Town colony is far worse than India."
Ernst's words are still somewhat effective. Over the years, he has won consecutive victories in Africa. In fact, the generals in East Africa are not only immodest, but even a little arrogant. It is good to use the United Kingdom to suppress their spirit. The opponent will only be more cautious. This is not only respect for the enemy, but also responsibility for oneself.
This Boer War must be fought. Even if the enemy is really strong, East Africa has to give it a try. In Ernst's initial plan, East Africa should at least control all the land on the north bank of the Farr River, a tributary to the north of the Orange River. , so that East Africa can master most of South Africa's coal mines and iron ore and other minerals that are indispensable for industrial development. In Ernst's eyes, gold mines are a gift.
The Fare River is the dividing line between the Republic of Transvaal and the Orange Free State. Crossing the Fare River, the minerals in Orange are mainly diamonds. Diamonds are also high-value minerals, but there is no shortage in East Africa.
And there are a large number of coal mines distributed in the Zulu Kingdom, which is why Ernst included the Zulu Kingdom in this battle plan.
(end of this chapter)