"The world is watching us. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 info "Buhler sighed proudly and proudly, to his adjutant. The Admiral stood upright at the top of his headquarters in the manner of a standard British soldier, dressed in a general's gown with all his medals, like a sign that could be seen by the whole world - and a target; If Umbrella's military advisors or mercenaries who were deeply influenced by Qin Lang were here, or on the other side of the battlefield, they would see Buhler as a target, and some mercenaries would habitually aim at it - unfortunately, the adjutant of the general did not have this understanding.

He also stood at the top of the headquarters, a little further back to the right of the Admiral, also in the conspicuous officer's dress, and in the same standard British soldier's posture, standing straight as a second sign, as well as a target.

And he is also as proud and proud as his generals. "The world will see us win."

"Of course." Bühler replied. He will win - and the British Army will win. The Admiral never doubted this. The mighty English Army had defeated the armies of Louis XIV, Napoleon, and Nicholas I and Alexander II, and defeating the weak Boer armies was nothing more than a trivial matter.

Even if the Germans were helping the Boers, even if the Boers had caused some minor troubles in the early days of the war, but now the South African Expeditionary Force would defeat them and end the war.

Bühler deliberately ignored Leddy Smith and George. Lieutenant General White, as if the crushing defeat of Leddy Smith did not exist - of course, as a fact it did, and brought him political pressure and an American mercenary army as nasty as flies to make him angry about it, but the Admiral considered it of no military value - the Boers could take advantage of the negligence of the British soldiers to achieve some tactical victories and advantages, whereas the strength of the South African Expeditionary Force could compensate for all the omissions.

Twenty-two thousand men and three thousand five hundred, whatever tricks the Boers intended to use, they had no chance.

The army general foresaw his victory. And in the next second, his adjutant strengthened the correctness of this prediction. "The lancers, who carried out reconnaissance missions, reported that they did not find the artillery positions of the Boers."

That's great news. Bühler laughed. "It looks like we can have lunch at the best restaurant in Durban." He pulled out his pocket watch and looked at its hands, "There are still two hours and thirty-eight minutes, enough for us to end this fight." ”

"I'm afraid it will be a hard march, and the citizens of Durban celebrating the victory will block us on the way to the restaurant." The adjutant complimented, but he was not yet as fully immersed in fantasy as his general, and retained some vigilance, and smelled of conspiracy in the reports of the lancers: if the Boers could capture Leddy Smith, how could they not have artillery?

Moreover, the artillery and ammunition of Lieutenant General White's troops became Boer trophies. If it was true that they didn't have artillery when they captured Leddy Smith, they must have this weapon now.

It is impossible for the Boers to be without artillery positions. The only possibility is that they hid it.

"But, Admiral, should we be cautious?" The adjutant cautiously reminded that "perhaps the Boers camouflaged their artillery positions." ”

"There's a possibility." "It is indeed possible that the Boers may have used this trick to hide the artillery positions and then lift the silence that the artillery had been maintaining at some critical moment, giving us a surprise, but ......"

"But their tricks don't make any sense." Finally, he instructed his adjutant, who was listening intently, "Don't care about the Boer artillery. Even if they do have artillery, at most they can only be armed with light field artillery, and our artillery can easily counterattack and suppress them. ”

Buhler was convinced of the absolute superiority of the artillery of the expeditionary forces: the range and power of the four-point-seven-inch cannon exceeded that of any field artillery of the level of an infantry brigade. The Boers could hide their artillery, but as soon as they were exposed, they would be devastated.

"We don't have to waste time and energy on a trivial nuisance." He summed it up bliantly.

But the adjutant was still not reassured: perhaps the artillery could destroy the Boer artillery as soon as it joined the battle, but the reaction of the infantry and cavalry to a sudden artillery strike was another question, especially when the officers and soldiers all thought that their enemy had no artillery.

There is a clear danger: history has shown that in most of these cases, in the event of an unexpected and sudden blow, the forces will quickly collapse, leading to a complete reversal of the tide of the battle and turning the side that should have won into the losing side - a problem that the British army could not avoid.

In fact, there is a high probability that such a problem will arise in the British army - the adjutant instinctively resists his crazy idea, but has to admit it - the officers of the army are highly trained and well-qualified professional soldiers, but the soldiers are a group of recruited civilians who are forced to join the army because of the pressure of life, there is a clear hierarchical line between the two classes, and the organization and discipline of the army are maintained by strict military laws. Supervision and punishment rather than the respect or adoration that officers create among soldiers through charisma......

The soldiers of the British army did not respect their commanders, and certainly did not worship their commanders, but simply obeyed them, and feared and hated the officers because of the strict regulations - and of course there was nothing wrong with that. Arthur, Duke of Wellington. General Wellesley was feared and hated by his soldiers, but he defeated Napoleon I, who was revered and adored by the French soldiers, at Waterloo - but the concern was that if the troops were defeated, the organization collapsed, and discipline no longer existed, the officers of the army would have absolutely no ability to reorganize the soldiers.

As long as the troops are defeated, the expeditionary force will lose the battle.

Very dangerous. The adjutant, believing that he was obliged to make up for the general's omission, suggested: "We should alert the troops to the possibility that the Boers would ...... them"

"Didn't you hear me, Captain?" Buller interrupted angrily, "There's no need for us to waste time and energy on a trivial nuisance. ”

"I hear you, Admiral." That's all the adjutant can answer.

"Now convey my order," Buhler continued, "the whole army to attack." ”

"Yes, Admiral, the whole army is on the offensive...... An all-army attack? The adjutant hesitated, "Don't you need to keep the reserves?" ”

"To hell with the reserves!" Enraged, the Admiral turned his head to the adjutant and roared loudly, almost spitting in his face, "Our opponents are only three thousand five hundred Boer policemen and improvised armed farmers, and we have twenty-two thousand trained professional soldiers, do you still think they have a chance to repeat Leddy Smith's victory?" ”

"No, Admiral." The adjutant replied, the voice no weaker than the "buzzing" of a mosquito.

Luckily, Buller didn't need him to answer and didn't care at all. "We only need one assault to end this damn fight! It is only necessary for our soldiers to rush to the positions of the Boers! "And you're still worried about the artillery positions of the Boers, and you want to keep an inexplicable reserve." Captain, were you intimidated by Ladysmith's minor setback? ”

"No, Admiral." It's a little louder.

But Bühler still didn't need to answer. "Attack with all your troops!" "My order is for the whole army to attack," he finally called. Captain, either you deliver this order yourself, or I'll find someone else to deliver the order in your place, and kick you back to London at the same time. ”

And that meant that he had to leave the army early - no junior officer could stay in the army after offending a general...... Of course, there may be someone who can stay, but he has no chance of being promoted.

The adjutant's body trembled and replied loudly: "I will convey your order at once, Admiral." ”

Then he ran away in a panic.

"Poor fool." Looking at the rabbit-like figure, Buller smiled contemptuously, returned to his original solemnity and turned his gaze back to the intended battlefield. Ten minutes later, the infantry of the 4th Infantry Brigade, supported by artillery, came into his sight and walked closely, neatly, and calmly towards the Boer line - only the 4th Infantry Brigade, which Buhler could only see. The line of the expeditionary force was wide, the four infantry brigades were completely separated, and the cavalry was sent to detour the left flank of the Boers—but he was sure that the infantry ranks of the other units were exactly as he saw them, tight, neat, and calm, as at the training ground.

This is the real posture of the British Army. Again, the Admiral smiled proudly.

The smile is also present at Piette. General Joubert and Bedholt. Colonel Coster's face, however, was a smile of victory: Buller had foolishly separated his troops altogether, turning his clenched fist into a loose slap, and he would soon taste the bad consequences of his arrangement; Moreover, the British apparently did not perceive that their opponents were not just three and a half thousand Boer militiamen, nor did they discover hidden artillery positions.

"We're going to win very quickly." Joubert said cheerfully, imagining, "In a few hours, we will be able to celebrate the victory at the best hotel in Durban." ”

"Of course." Coster replied, somewhat absent-mindedly - the Colonel was fantasizing about a wonderful scene in which Kaiser Wilhelm presented him with a medal at the Imperial Palace in Berlin, and of course, at that time his epaulettes would have been replaced with a new ...... Congratulations, General Coaster.

Both commanders have some personal ideas, but as most of the time, there will always be small people who lack keen observation to disturb the big people's good ideas.

"General, colonel, our heavy artillery is not yet combat-ready." A staff officer reported.

Joubert looked at Coaster, who immediately straightened his face. "Tell Köllner that if he can't get ready for battle in five minutes, I'll send him back to Germany and add some bad comments to his file."

"Yes, Colonel. However," argued the staff officer for the artillery commander, "I believe the captain has done his best, and the problem is with the heavy guns." ”

"I know." Whether it was the battle for the capture of Ladysmith or the march, the heavy artillery exposed their flaws. But this is precisely why Coaster did not hesitate to use threats to urge Körner: it was the idea of the emperor and the marshals and generals of the General Staff to order the volunteers to carry Krupp's new products, a practical assessment of great importance, so that the heavy artillery had to participate in the battle, so that Berlin could get the data it wanted.

Köllner must do his job!

"He's only got five minutes." Coaster repeated in an accentuated tone.

The staff officer had no choice but to relay this terrible order. However, when he returned to the hidden artillery position, he was surprised to find that the big guys of 150 mm caliber were already in place, and the artillerymen were busy adjusting the firing parameters, while Köllner was arguing with his staff officer about something.

The staff officer walked over, so the argument began to become clear.

“…… We all saw that British general, the captain. He's just standing there, like a target, and we have every chance of blasting him off. ”

"You're right, Paul, but neither you nor I can guarantee that he will be there as a target when the battle begins...... The Colonel has asked us to take out the British artillery as quickly as possible, and I cannot provide any practical support for your adventure. ”

"Captain, there are times when we have to take risks. And I can bet that the British general, who was so nicely dressed, would never leave that position - he just wanted to be seen by all. Captain, we have a chance to end the battle. ”

"Absolutely not."

"Think about it, Captain, and you'll get a promotion and a medal for it."

"Nope."

"Captain ......"

The argument continued, and the staff officers who had come to deliver the order listened with great interest, and no one noticed that several artillerymen were carefully and slowly re-changing the firing parameters that had been set. (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.) )