Chapter 753 The war ended in three months!
The number of British troops in Cape Town is actually not large, and part of them is in Kimberley. However, Kimberley has been blockaded by East Africa, and this diamond producing area has also been forced to cease production.
This has also touched the interests of many British mine owners. Now there is a call for an armistice in the UK, but it is still very weak. After all, the situation is still uncertain, and temporary losses are acceptable.
Especially when the main force of the British army still shows no obvious decline in the eastern battlefield, this gives the British domestic war faction an absolute advantage.
Amid the crisis that the entire Cape Town may fall, the limited troops of the Cape Colony have used the main channel south of the Orange River as a barrier to try to prevent the invasion of the East African Army.
In fact, East Africa currently has no plans to invade Cape Town. The Boer Republic alone has consumed a lot of energy in East Africa.
The situation on the main battlefield on the Eastern Front was also very unfavorable for the British army, especially after the troops of the East African Military Region crossed the Zambezi River and captured the land north of the Pongue River.
The coalition's sphere of influence is further compressed in southern Mozambique. If the Savui River falls in the next step, the north will completely lose its natural barrier, and the East African army can move south unimpeded to take Maputo.
However, although the coalition forces have lost in the eastern battlefield, their forces have become more concentrated, and every direction below has become more difficult to attack.
“To deal with the eastern battlefield, our army’s current strategy is to use superior forces to fight the coalition forces after the Angolan War, and our New Hamburg Port City behind the enemy’s rear can also be reactivated.”
The outskirts of New Hamburg Port City have been occupied for more than three months, but the main city has not been greatly affected. With the offensive of the coalition forces, two East African brigades, which are a mixed division, are stationed there.
"New Hamburg Port City is a key location, and its military strength is an important part of the eastern battlefield. Now the navy should try to attack the coalition navy in South African waters from the sea. At the same time, the sea may also be our target for the eastern battlefield. The key to victory,” Ernst reminded.
Although there is an arsenal in New Hamburg Port City, its production capacity is far less than the consumption of one division, especially under the constant attack of the enemy.
From the current point of view, the last naval battle was also traumatic for the United Kingdom. After confirming that there is no risk in the short term, the East African navy can still spare its power to support the South African battlefield.
The coalition navy in the eastern waters of Mozambique is not the main force of the British army, but is affiliated with the Cape Town Navy and the Portuguese colonial navy.
Ernst: "With the cooperation of the navy, the army must also perform better in the main battlefield in the east, especially the garrison in the New Hamburg Port City. If this naval battle is successful, if nothing unexpected happens, we can control the southern sea area. control, thereby restoring the logistics of the New Hamburg Port City, using the New Hamburg Port City as a base to increase support for the eastern battlefield."
As long as the East African Army reopens the central railway, it will be able to activate the strategic location of the New Hamburg Port City.
Neither of them is very powerful. However, the East African Navy was previously worried about the British Royal Navy sneaking into East Africa like last time, so it mainly patrolled the northern end of the East African waters and monitored the British Seychelles colony.
At present, the material supply of New Hamburg Port City mainly relies on the reserves before the war, but it should not be able to sustain it for too long. Food is not a big problem, but the shortage of weapons and ammunition supply.
Archduke Ferdinand said from the side: "At present, our navy has repaired the two battleships from the last naval battle, so this should also be able to retaliate against the British and Portuguese navies in South African waters."
Ernst continued: "It would be great if the war could be ended as soon as possible, but stability must still be the priority. My psychological expectation is that it will end by the end of this year. Of course, this mainly depends on the military. You guys Is there any dispute about the timing?”
Sweet: "If everything goes well, we are confident that the war will end within three months, but that may mean greater material support and sacrifices, so if we are not in a hurry, it should be able to end within half a year. ” ˆ ˆ It is already July. If the war is to be ended before the end of the year, there are only five months left, which is more urgent for the East African military.
However, according to the current war situation, even if the war cannot be ended this year, it should be able to consume a large amount of the enemy's effective forces.
The trend of the war still depends on the support of the British. The British are definitely more entangled than in East Africa at present. After all, the South African War is an expedition.
East Africa fights locally, and has a relatively complete independent military industrial system. The population of East Africa is also quite sufficient, which makes the East African army tend to become stronger as it fights. However, the British combat effectiveness is due to problems such as disease, acclimatization, attrition, etc. The general decline is serious.
As for the two allies, the Portuguese are very unreliable and the Boers are too small. The current South African war can be said to be a single tree.
Of course, the situation of the British army will not decline too badly, and it still has the strength to fight. However, with the continuous increase of the East African Defense Force, the mentality of the British army in South Africa will probably change day by day in the future.
Of course, the biggest mistake of the British army was the insufficient intelligence acquisition of East Africa before the war. This was the main reason why the British army fell into passivity.
According to conventional thinking, East Africa should be at the level of Brazil at most, but no one expected that East Africa is a vicious wolf pretending to sleep on the African plateau.
The "insidious" thing about East Africa lies in the low profile of the Hechingen family. Of course, Ernst actually thinks that East Africa is not too low-key. After all, the navy cannot hide.
But the British definitely disagree. After all, the navy can be bought with money. The current navies of the Far Eastern Empire and Japan were built with money.
However, being able to buy ships does not mean that it can quickly form combat effectiveness. The East African Navy obviously has actual combat capabilities under the hands-on training of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
But what is even more surprising is the capability of the East African Army. Now the British completely regard the East African Army as an equally powerful opponent on the European continent.
The East African Army is no worse than the British Army in all aspects, and is even much better in many aspects. This is what makes the British government most uncomfortable.
The British government is also feeling tremendous pressure due to the current delay in the war. Whether it should continue to invest in the South African War has been the hottest topic in the British Parliament recently.
After all, how much military potential does East Africa still have? What if the British Empire continues to invest and fails to achieve results?
If Ernst encountered this situation, it would probably be difficult to make a choice, and Ernst's psychological expectations for the British military strength were based on the previous Boer War as a reference.
But facing East Africa, the British obviously did not have the same determination to eliminate the Boer Republic in their previous lives. The Boers were noisy and could not threaten the British. As long as they continued to put pressure on the Boers, they would collapse sooner or later.
After all, the Boers are only that big, but East Africa is not that kind of small country, so Britain is now extremely cautious when dealing with opponents like East Africa.
When victory could not be achieved on the battlefield, the British began to consider practical interests.
(End of this chapter)