"It will be the largest mobile corps in the world, without one." When Calyput looked at the horse team in front of him, he couldn't help but sigh. He had already had a high estimate of the number of horses in the Boers, and during the Franco-Prussian War, four German soldiers could get one horse. So it's okay to double the Boer army, an average of 2 infantry and a horse, right? But what he didn't expect was that he was still Too young, too simple Tucson broken!

Even in an ordinary army formation unit, a Boer infantryman could carry 2 horses, one on horseback, and one for carrying his own supplies. On average, a soldier can get more than 2 horses. And that's not counting the horses of various logistics units! (This paragraph is basically true.) The homegrown Boers did have a case of two horses per man. At least that's how it started out. ）

In the two Boer republics and the Eastern Cape, there were basically Boer settlements, where the Boers had ready access to food, grass and horses. When the time came in October 1898, after the winter had passed, the Boers finally decided to challenge the world's most powerful empire for their freedom and possessions.

The main force of the Boer Corps from the Transvaal, about 20,000 men, marched towards the Ledsmith area under the command of President Kruger, accompanied by 3,000 American volunteers under the command of Pershing. As an ally, the Orange Free State said it would hold back any British forces attacking the Boer Republic from other directions.

"As expected, the British concentrated almost all of their elite troops in the Eastern Cape at Ladysmith." When the investigators sent the information back, Kruger let out a sigh of relief. Everything went according to what was planned before the war. Whether it's yourself or the British.

The military power of the Boers grew considerably in a few years with the help of Germany. At the same time, the British were not idle. You can question the efficiency of the British government, but you can't question the competence of the British intelligence services. Information about the Boer Republic has been flowing from South Africa to London. Although there were quite a few mistakes, they did not prevent the British from having a general understanding of the Boer Corps.

"The Boers have modernized their armies with the help of certain countries, the old militia system is a thing of the past, and judging by the current situation and the financial resources of the Boers, in the event of war, they can assemble a light infantry division and several highly mobile cavalry units, and they already have a certain number of machine guns, semi-automatic rifles and mortars. It would be very troublesome to carry out guerrilla warfare, so once the war began, we had to launch an active offensive and the Boers would be forced to fight us in a decisive battle. The commander-in-chief of the British forces in South Africa, Major General Buller, wrote in a telegram.

From a series of intelligence, the British had the following understanding of the military strength of the Boers: first, the Boers could organize at least 50,000 troops in wartime, and after the start of the war, the troops would temporarily have an advantage. Second, the Boers would be very mobile, and it was quite possible that they would each get a horse. Thirdly, they lacked heavy artillery and were no match for the British in a head-on engagement.

When the Bloemfontein talks failed, the Anglo-Burundi sides stepped up their preparations. This time, the British did not think that a few thousand men could sweep across the Boer Republic, as they had historically done, and they saw their opponents as a medium-agricultural country and sent troops from all over the country to strengthen South Africa's military power.

Once mobilized, Britain was still terrible, drawing a whole division from the British mainland, while a cavalry brigade and two infantry regiments from India, as well as some artillery, had already been mobilized on the third day after the failure of the Bloemfontein talks. A total of 19 groups of British troops drawn from Egypt, Sudan, Gibraltar, Canada and even Australia began to concentrate in South Africa.

In his opinion, although the armament of the two Boer republics has been completed, the Boers under the British rule in the Eastern Cape still lack sufficient weapons and training, if he can, he intends to use the remaining time to arm some of these compatriots under the rule of the British, but unfortunately, when the British decided to fight, the situation in South Africa quickly tilted towards the side of the British, and Kruger did not want to fight but also fought!

When the war officially began, neither side had completed the final preparations, and the British had concentrated a strong combat force on the east coast of South Africa, under the command of General Buller, this army with a total strength of about 10,000 men went to the Natal line, which was exactly at the junction of the two Boer republics, and according to the original plan, they would cooperate with the main British forces in the south to launch a flank attack.

But alas, before the main forces of the British in the south were concentrated, the Boers attacked first, and the Buller corps, located in their own waist, was naturally the first target to be uprooted! And the British, according to their own estimates, nearly a division, equipped with a full range of artillery, cavalry regular corps should have no problem facing the Boers, although the other side may be more numerous, but the British firmly believe that they have an advantage in artillery, even if the Natal line can not be held, they can retreat to the city of Leddy Smith.

Thus, the first large-scale main battle between the two sides began. Both sides are confident in themselves. The Boers, who could almost be called all-cavalry, moved faster than the British expected, and while some of the men and supplies were maneuvering by rail, the remaining large number of infantry maneuvered quickly on horse, and finally reached the Spin Hill before the British, and successfully occupied it.

Although the size and equipment of the British far exceeded the historical level, the large number of troops and heavy equipment also slowed down the pace of the British march, and when Buller successfully arrived at Leddy Smith with the main force, the follow-up supplies and artillery shells remained in the port of Durban. The horses and livestock of the Boers could be pulled directly from the farms, and the British had nowhere to find them if they wanted to collect them!

"We were attacked by surprise without completing our preparations." After the war, Buller described his plight in this way, but before the battle broke out, the British general was confident. Knowing that the Siping Pass had been lost, that the other side had poured in, and that the Natal line had already existed in name only, Buhler still decided to engage the other side in the field.

Of course, I have to admit that he also has his own difficulties, and it is naturally easy to hide in the city, but there is no longer a complete formed British army in the entire Eastern Cape, and if the other side surrounds him and concentrates his forces to attack other places, the British have no way at all!

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