"Are you ready, Paul?"

"I'm afraid you'll have to wait a little longer, Captain. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo”

"Don't you think our soldiers are moving too slowly?"

"I'm sorry, Captain. I said in Berlin that large-caliber guns made by Krupp were not suitable for use in southern Africa. They're too bulky. And not only those big guys, but also field guns of one hundred and five mm caliber cannot fully adapt to the environment here. ”

"We need artillery, Paul. You know, the army cannot fight without artillery support. "The experience of our expeditionary forces in China has further shown that only the use of artillery of a caliber of one hundred and five millimeters or more can effectively destroy fortifications that have been fortified." ”

"If I had to use artillery, Captain, I'd rather choose the Americans' new mortar, which had a simple structure and had only three main parts—"

The captain interrupted him. "You're promoting your inappropriate point again, Paul."

"I think it's right, Captain."

"Perhaps, lieutenant, but Lieutenant Colonel Sachsenberg did not like it. Keep in mind that the German military-industrial complex is capable of making the best and most advanced heavy artillery in the world, and there is no need to use the rudimentary gadgets of the Americans. ”

"But what we need is light artillery that is easy to carry and use, capable of moving quickly, not bulky and heavy large-caliber field guns."

Worse still, they were produced on an ad hoc basis: when Berlin decided to form a volunteer army, Krupp was instructed to build a large-caliber artillery for it - the German expeditionary force's encounter in China seemed to have galvanized the generals of the General Staff, who demanded that the volunteers be armed with heavy artillery sufficient to destroy any fortifications - and the arsenal's solution was to mount the barrels of the navy's 150-millimeter guns to hastily designed and manufactured gun carriages, which weighed 7,400 kilograms.

Even in Europe, they appear too bulky and a heavy burden on roads, transport and logistics; And in southern Africa, they are simply a disaster.

A huge disaster.

The staff officers were convinced that American-made light mortars were better suited to this battlefield, and the way of fighting now, and that the German Army would do well to carry out some reforms, but Köllner was not impressed.

"We're in a special situation, there's no need—"

"Captain Körner." A sudden voice interrupted Friedrich. Captain Körner's statement. Together with his young staff officer, he turned around and saw the Supreme Commander of the Boer Army, Pierre. General Joubert's lieutenant was running towards them.

He seemed anxious—of course, he was, for General Joubert was anxious to know the answer. And the general's eagerness was so high that, although his adjutant had not yet run to the Germans, the voice had arrived in advance: "The general wants to know when we can start the offensive...... And Colonel Coaster. ”

A smart strategy. Köllner thought. Take advantage of Bedholt. Pressure was exerted in the name of Colonel Coster, and not in the name of General Joubert, who was not valued by the officers of the Volunteer Army......

Although this trick is unnecessary. Whatever the name of the commander, he would give the right answer - the most accurate answer possible.

"Wait a little longer, probably ......" Körner turned his gaze to his staff officer, "Lieutenant?" ”

"Twenty minutes." The staff officer replied in the affirmative.

"Twenty minutes." Körner repeated, turning to look at Jouber's adjutant, "Please tell the general and the colonel, if everything goes well, we can start the attack in twenty minutes." ”

"Twenty minutes." This is the fourth time that the word has been mentioned, "I immediately told the general, and the colonel." The adjutant called.

Although he was still some distance away from the two German officers, he stopped, and then, in a very irregular military salute to Körner, the adjutant turned his body one hundred and eighty degrees, and began to run back at a faster pace than he had come.

It was entirely the instinct of a German career officer, Körner's brow furrowed, but then he stretched out again - the Boer officers, though they were now soldiers, called generals, colonels or lieutenants, were essentially a group of armed farmers or miners - you could not expect them to have the posture and manners of a soldier and to have discipline at all.

In the Boer army, everything that the German military had, demanded and was demanded did not exist and was not valued.

Körner didn't like it. On the one hand, the army should have the appearance of an army, even if it is really just an armed militia. On the other hand, the captain was also worried that the Boers would infect the soldiers he led with their habits.

"If I have enough time to ......," he said, then stopped, put the thought behind him, turned to look at his staff officer, and asked, "Are you sure those big guys can get ready in twenty minutes?" ”

"In fact, I think it will only take fifteen minutes at most for them to be ready."

"Really?"

"I'm sure."

"I hope so." Köllner was still not sure - the German Army needed heavy field guns, but they were really not so easy to operate.

"We need light artillery." The staff officer still did not give up on his idea. This time, however, he didn't say it, but carefully hid it to avoid being heard by a higher-ranking officer and causing him unnecessary trouble.

It is a completely impossible task to get the old-thinking senior officers to accept something new, whether it is weapons or tactics.

The staff officer grumbled quietly, looking a little farther away. The volunteer artillerymen were still trying to push their bulky toys into position, but as he had said, it would take them at most fifteen minutes to complete the work that had been going on for at least two hours.

Then they could, as they had been in training, and were fantasizing, to blow up Leddy Smith into ruins with a hundred and fifty mm caliber shells, and by the way, destroy the British troops there......

He lifted his head a little and looked at Leddy Smith a few kilometers away—even though he couldn't see anything—and pondered: What were the British doing?

The answer is......

"You say...... Surrender? "George. Lieutenant General White stared in astonishment at the man standing next to his adjutant, Ryddy Smith City Council's Special Representative Henry Brown. Mr. Baum, a respected lawyer by profession - but now White just wanted to call the soldiers outside and ask them to arrest this guy and every member of the city council.

Because Mr. Baum had just conveyed to him their latest decision: in order to avoid unnecessary damage to municipal facilities and to people's lives and property, the Lady Smith Council had recommended...... The garrison and police of the city were implored to lay down their arms and surrender to the Transvaal army, and as soon as possible, before the Boers began their attack......

White was about to go mad at this inexplicable resolution. Surrender to the Boers? He could well guess what the consequences would have been: court-martials, trials, undignified departures from the army, discrimination against the British public. White never wanted to give himself a hat like a "traitor" or a "coward", even if in a way, surrender was the only option he had at his disposal.

Life was beautiful, but at least the lieutenant general still had a little bit of honor for British soldiers, as well as the fear of court-martials.

"I will not order the troops to lay down their arms." "My troops will hold the city until it falls or our reinforcements arrive," he called. ”

"I suggest you consider this seriously and rationally, General." The lawyer was not deterred by White's outburst of anger—which, in Baum's view, was a minor and not to be feared—admonished: "I am sure you must well know that your army cannot hold the city......

"But we'll hold on until the end!"

The lawyer ignored the interruption. “…… The Boers had already erected their large-caliber artillery. If you insist on holding on to Leddy Smith, General, the Boer shells will seriously endanger the lives and property of all civilians. However, your army's mission here is to keep us safe, not ......"

White interrupted him again. "The mission of my army is to defend the interests of the British Empire and Her Majesty the Empress."

"But there is also an obligation to protect the interests of the citizens of the British Empire." The lawyer insisted on his point of view that "if the fighting conducted by the British army already threatens the interests of British citizens......"

"At this critical time, every British citizen should make the necessary sacrifices to defend our sacred Great Britain, fight valiantly with the Army and Navy, and assist the Empire in its ultimate victory."

It was the third time he had been interrupted, and Baum was finally a little annoyed—and it wasn't White who had interrupted him, but a strange young man, ......

"Winston. Leonard. Spencer, reporter for the Morning Post. As if to see his doubts, the reporter introduced himself briefly - but concealed part of his last name - and then raised his voice, "On behalf of the Morning Post and all readers of this newspaper, I strongly condemn the decision of the Ladysmith City Council." ”

The lawyer scoffed at his denunciation. "Mr. Spencer, we are staying in front of the guns of the Boer army. If the battle takes place in this city, it will be only us who will suffer......"

For the fourth time today, his speech was interrupted again - but neither by a lieutenant general nor a journalist, but by a violent explosion.

"The Boers are attacking!" An officer rushed into the command headquarters. (To be continued, if you want to know what will happen next, please log in to the www.qidian.com, more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!) (To be continued.) )