The Rise of the Empire

The high mobilization rate of the Boers is considered a miracle in the history of war. In the Boer War, almost all the young and middle-aged people of the two Boer republics joined the army. The total population of 220,000 actually suffocated 88,000. This ratio is even across the entire Eurasian continent. The Mongolian cavalry did not have this record, right?

However, the powerful force used in the state of war does not mean that these personnel are qualified soldiers. A militiaman who picks up a gun to fight is a militiaman, no matter how fierce it is. Most of the Boers' victories in the Boer War were due to the British underestimated the enemy and skirmished. It's still not enough to be really tough. And all Calyput has to do is turn these militias into real soldiers!

"Discipline, the most important thing is discipline, your troops can only be called a militia and not an army! A militia without discipline, training and command is impossible to defeat an army. How did your troops go to war with the British At the beginning, there is a chance to use the British underestimated enemy to get some results, but a large-scale engagement is definitely not possible." Calliput said earnestly after seeing the so-called "large-scale" military exercises of the Boers.

"The number of our personnel is limited, and our standing force is no more than 2 regiments at most, and almost all of our troops have strong regional and family characteristics." Krueger was very calm about the accusations of German advisers. Admit it, no way if you don't admit it! After seeing the German army, the armed forces of the Boers can be called militia.

The first thing Calipt did was to disrupt and reorganize the Boers from all over the world, weakening the influence of regions and families. The first lesson he wanted to teach the Boers was obedience! Obey the commander's orders, not the patriarch or the farmer's orders! When war breaks out at home, they need to follow their commander's orders to fight rather than go home to protect their farms.

The second problem is to abandon the guerrilla warfare style. Kaliput, who was born in the regular army, found a very special phenomenon in the Boer army, that is, the preference for light weapons and mobility. The Boers are very rich, whether it is the government or individuals, they can accumulate a lot of wealth by relying on gold and diamonds. Therefore, in the eyes of outsiders, there are many semi-automatic rifles and heavy machine guns that are expensive to manufacture in the Boer army, especially semi-automatic rifles. In just a few years, the Boers bought 15,000! The proportion of this unit with semi-automatic rifles is no less than that of the Blue Corps that swept the Japanese in the Northeast!

The machine guns and various rapid-fire guns are also the favorites of the Boer army. Either the German version of the Wicks machine gun. Or 57MM rapid-fire guns and 37MM cannons. The Boers are equipped with a lot. These guns are very light, and two horses can pull away a gun cart and ammunition cart. The 75MM rapid-fire guns of the original division first-level units were very unpopular. Because the artillery and the carriage are too heavy. Not suitable for maneuvering.

Some people may say that such a tendency is very good! Why not support it? the reason is simple. Relying solely on guerrilla warfare has no future! If it is impossible to break through the important strongholds of the British and open up the external transportation lines, then the resistance of the Boers will not last long, let alone victory.

The biggest problem with a large selection of light equipment after improving mobility is that the firepower is too weak. You can let the Boers set up an ambush, and use flexible cannons with elite infantry to launch short assaults. In the confrontation at the battalion level, the Boers can also use their skilled personal qualities and fortifications to block the opponent's attack, but once the size of the force increases If you reach the division level, or let the Boers attack the fortress, then the problem will come immediately!

Simple fortifications can easily defuse the attack of 57MM guns and machine guns.

Although the Boers are brave, they lack scientific theoretical guidance. They don't know how to deal with obstacles, how to deal with mine formations, and how to kill the enemies behind those bunkers. The Germans found that in the Boer army, 100 defenders could easily defeat 5 times as many attackers! The Boers' tough battle itself is very rough, and once they encounter setbacks, they often choose to avoid or retreat. And doing so has no future!

Why does the weaker party like to fight guerrilla warfare? Because it's easy, it doesn't require too many supplies, equipment and personnel, as long as you have a good mass base, you can play well. At least on the surface. In fact, although the Boer War lasted for 31 months, the Boers actually prevailed in only 4 months of the first stage. When the British got really serious and decided to fight a good fight, the Boer army immediately wilted....

In the second stage of the 7-month period, the British attacked almost constantly. The Boers kept retreating…. Lost Orange first, then Johannesburg. For seven months the mass resistance of the Boers finally failed. For the next 20 months, the so-called Boer War was actually nothing more than an anti-guerrilla operation. Of course, if you want to evaluate it objectively, the Boers fought really well, and even captured a British lieutenant general, but in fact, fighting to this extent has entered garbage time. Failure is a matter of time.

Guerrilla warfare is not unnecessary, but it cannot be used as the main body of the battle. After all, the Boers can mobilize 80,000 troops. This is already an army-level battle. If you want to defeat the British army, only large corps can fight. Otherwise, Guerrilla warfare can only barely delay the decline.

Therefore, Kaliput asked Krueger to establish a modern logistics and staff system. Establish a general staff to command the army, and establish a complete logistics system to ensure smooth supply, and even forced the Boers to learn how to face the British fortifications and learn how to break through these iron turtles instead of using harassment and simple methods. siege approach to circumvent the problem.

Under the supervision of German instructors, the Boers had to learn how to break down obstacles and how to overwhelm their opponents with excellent artillery tactics on the frontal battlefield instead of knocking down a small artillery position with a sneak attack. And how to overcome morale issues after a setback in an attack. In short, Kaliput did his best to increase the resilience and discipline of the Boers. Teach them how to choose the right time, hit the opponent's vital force on the frontal battlefield, and how to pull out the key stronghold of the British, instead of being as fierce as the Cossack cavalry but lacking in persistence, they can only destroy but not occupy.

Thanks to book friends Lu Lala, the arrival of the princess, bighill1982 for the reward~~~, and book friends zsuzm and johnu for their monthly ticket support~~~. The second is to offer~~~, please subscribe for a reward~~~!