African Nationhood

Chapter 76 Cleanup Operation in South Bechuanaland (Part )

At the same time as the second battalion advanced into the southern Bechuanaland area.

The Boer militia, led by Ebert Joubert, blocked 3000 British reinforcements at the Long Gorge on the border of the Transvaal and Natal colonies.

The British had no temper in this battle. 93 people were killed, 133 were injured, and 54 were captured. Even the reinforcements commander General Colley was killed.

The Boers only had one killed and five wounded.

The comparison of the battle losses between the two sides was a world of difference, which made the British lose face and make them even more depressed.

Because it was not only the Boers who were making trouble, but the black miners who had been suppressed before were resurrected, and fires broke out everywhere and were difficult to extinguish.

When the Boer rebellion occurred, Governor Freire sent several telegrams requesting the South China Company to assist the Cape Colony government in countering the rebellion.

Nanhua Company all refused by saying, "The general manager is not here and I cannot be contacted."

Later, Sir Freire was dismissed and Henry Hugh Clifford replaced him as governor, and the request for troops was lost.

Before the new governor could get his ass off, he became the one who took the blame for the failure of the "Long Gorge Blockade".

The British Colonial Secretary in Whitehall dismissed him out of anger.

The new one is George Cumming Strahan. Shi Jintang knows that this person will not last long and will step down soon.

……

The fighting between the two sides has reached a ceasefire. The Boers are watching, while the British are busy putting out the fires everywhere.

Seeing that February 1881 was about to pass, Shi Jintang had to urge his soldiers to speed up.

The advance speed of the third battalion was much slower than that of the second battalion.

This is understandable, because after the Third Battalion entered the southern Bechuanaland area, it faced numerous Boer forces.

His troops could not attack these Boers, but they also had to try to avoid a misfire between the two sides.

In addition, his militia was very small, and escorting prisoners and livestock was very time-consuming.

Stopping and going like this, after a month, they had traveled less than 200 kilometers.

The Second Battalion, under the leadership of Shi Jintang, has advanced more than 300 kilometers.

Most of the rest are the hardest bones to crack in the South Bechuanaland region this time.

There are 8 large tribes in the Tswana people. Batswana, where Kama III lives, is the largest tribe in the southern Bechuanaland region.

At the same time, their military force is also the most powerful. The Batswana tribe has 3000 soldiers alone and a total membership of nearly people.

They also have the most muskets, a full 2000.

Most of them are flintlock muskets, but there are also a small number of new paper-loaded rifles, and even the latest Martini-Henry rifles.

Since most of the indigenous people in front were not strong, the soldiers of the second battalion did not encounter strong resistance, and the total loss was less than 70 people.

Seeing that they were about to enter the territory of the Batswana tribe, Shi Jintang cautiously reduced his troops.
  In addition to the guard cavalry scattered around the perimeter, he also had six companies of troops and a 6-man militia.

If you want to annihilate a large tribe of nearly 800 people with people, it must be said that it is still a bit risky.

But fortunately, all of his soldiers have experienced hundreds of battles and have extremely rich experience in dealing with indigenous people.

In addition, he also has a secret weapon called grenades. To be safe, Shi Jintang also prefabricated the "Flying Dragon Cannon", a powerful weapon.

Not a "heartless cannon", but a trebuchet version.

The trebuchet does not need to be too precise, as long as it can throw the explosive package made of TNT into the Batswana tribe within a range of three hundred meters.

The shooting accuracy of flintlock rifles and paper-bomb rifles is very impressive, so the range of 300 meters is relatively safe.

The throwing distance of ancient catapults is directly proportional to the size of the catapult and the thrown object.

Generally speaking, super large catapults can throw 100 kilograms of stones up to 500 meters.

The explosive packs they made only weighed more than ten kilograms, so the size of the catapult did not need to be too large. Small and medium-sized ones would be enough. The artillery company conducted experiments at the military headquarters in Anhai Town and determined the complete specifications of small and medium-sized catapults, as well as the complete design between launch angle and counterweight.

This expedition will also be accompanied by people from the artillery company. They will be the best candidates to command the "Flying Dragon Cannon".

The reason why we did not bring artillery during this expedition was that the distance was long and it was really inconvenient to carry.

Just transporting grenades is a logistical challenge.

Secondly, the catapult can use local materials and come and go freely.

……

After entering the territory of the Batswana people, the second advance battalion implemented a gag order, with horses holding coins in their mouths and people holding stones in their mouths.

At dawn, the vanguard set off in the dark.

After they arrive at the scheduled attack point, they will quickly deploy the attack point.

The first was the vigilance force, which temporarily used the downed carriages of the troops as bunkers to guard on the spot to prevent the indigenous people from discovering and launching an attack.

The soldiers making sandbags and assembling trebuchets took advantage of the slightly bright sky to start working intensively.

They were accompanied by people from the artillery company to direct and supervise.

This time, the traditional "encirclement three and one missing" tactic was adopted against the Batswana tribe.

That is, attack points are arranged in the east, south, and west directions of the tribe, leaving only a gap in the north.

This would not only allow the indigenous strongholds to defend, but also prevent the indigenous people from slipping through the net, crossing the Orange River, and leaking secrets to the Cape Colony.

……

Shi Jintang stayed at the attack point in the east, with Shi Ming, the guard company, leading the team in the west, and the Eighth Company in charge of the bottom of the Orange River in the south, with company commander Li Rong in command.

Because Shi Jintang's troops did not have to run away, they had made preparations for combat early, and the production of trebuchets was also carried out in an intense and orderly manner.

Trudeau protected Shijintang and stood in the crowd looking towards the Batswana tribe.

The Batswana people who got up early were aware of the encirclement and reported the situation to their leader in horror.

The Batswana people felt confused and frightened by the sudden appearance of the enemy. Under the decision of King Khama III, they did not launch an attack blindly.

Kama III reported through his men that the people besieging them outside were actually the yellow-skinned people who came to trade before.

Kama III, surrounded by soldiers, arrived at the outskirts of the tribe. He inspected it from a distance and found that the scene was too chilling.

He did not dare to go out to fight against the yellow-skinned people, so he sent his favorite son Gangvac Kama to communicate.

Shi Jintang directly smiled at the victory delivered to his door, "Shoot!"

"Bang bang~~~~"

After more than a dozen shots, the future "Kama IV" was in despair.

The translator following Gunvac was so frightened that he almost peed his pants. He immediately abandoned his horse and fled back to the tribe.

Immediately afterwards, a large group of indigenous soldiers attacked, holding spears and cowhide shields in their hands, followed by soldiers holding muskets.

The soldiers of the second battalion were well aware of the fighting prowess of these natives and allowed them to approach until within 80 meters, a volley of guns rang out.

"Bang bang~~~~"

Before three volleys were fired, the Batswana soldiers collapsed first. They were far less disciplined and brave than their Zulu compatriots.

The musketeers who followed were so frightened that they even dropped their muskets.

As soon as the gunfire rang out, they were so frightened that their hands and feet were paralyzed, and they could not use their strength at all, let alone risk their lives to retrieve the weapons.

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(End of this chapter)