In order to transport away this huge batch of military supplies, the Xhosa people dispatched more than 200 cattle and more than 500 Xhosa warriors to form a huge convoy.

Because the livestock trade has always been the mainstay of the economy in the Cape region, the Xhosa people are very fond of herding cattle, sheep and other livestock, and do not raise horses as much as the favorite storage of nomadic peoples. Therefore, except for the cavalry troops, almost all the entire convoy was made up of cattle that carried large but slow speeds. As a result, the speed of the whole team became very slow, and from a distance it looked like it was going out to hunt.

Wickham rode his white steed around the procession, observing the quality of the Xhosa cavalry.

Those Xhosa cavalry were not only very skilled in horsemanship, but also very good at horse archery, coming and going like the wind and shadows, which fully reflected the advantages of light cavalry in high-speed mobility. It's just that the discipline of this cavalry is very loose, and the organizational ability is not very good, and I don't understand anything about cavalry tactics and formations. Such a unit, no matter how brave the soldiers are, cannot hide the fact that they are scattered.

Wickham shook his head secretly, no wonder the Dutch even sent out the regular army, and the Boer militia organized by the farmers alone was able to defeat the Xhosa people and retreat beyond the Big Fish River. It is really the armies of both sides that are more than an era behind each other in terms of organization and command.

Seeing that Wickham looked at the galloping Xhosa cavalry with a thoughtful look, Prince Saveda rode over on his horse: "Mr. Wickham, these are the most warlike cavalry units of our Xhosa. They are very strong and very good at equestrianism, and they are all warriors who are not afraid of death. ”

There was an unconcealed pride in Prince Savida's tone, the reason why their Savi family was able to occupy the position of tribal chief in the faction-ridden Xhosa tribal alliance was because of this cavalry with extraordinary combat power. This force was also the capital of the Xhosa people who dared to speak out to the Dutch.

Wickham could not deny that such cavalry could not be compared with the cavalry units of the Chinese and Arab feudal eras, let alone the Polish hussars, who were the most organized and adept at charging? The cavalry of the Xhosa people can also be dressed on the African continent, which has just entered the Iron Age, and it is completely not enough to see when they are pulled out.

Although Prince Saveda claims to be the smartest man in the Xhosa tribe, he has never traveled anywhere else in the world, and his vision is not destined to be very broad. In order to take care of Savida's self-esteem, Wickham organized his language before he spoke: "These cavalrymen are good warriors, but if they can organize an effective offensive formation, then this force will be stronger." ”

Prince Savida listened to Wickham's words, and his eyes couldn't help but light up. In fact, he was very interested in what Wickham said about tactics and army formation, and if he could learn these things, then they Xhosa would be able to drive the Dutch out of the Big Fish River Valley!

Prince Savida suppressed his excitement and said to Wickham: "Mr. Jeff has said that Mr. Wickham is an excellent officer, and I agree with that. I wonder if Mr. Wickham is interested in teaching some formation tactics to our Xhosa warriors? ”

"What? Let me train cavalry? Wickham looked at Savida a little blankly, and only came back to his senses after a while: "For His Royal Highness's request, I can only say sorry. Although I often rode out hunting in England, I was an infantry officer and had no experience with cavalry training. ”

Seeing that Wickham's expression did not seem to be fake, Prince Savida's heart was slightly disappointed, and he had to change the topic, never mentioning what he had just said. In this way, the whole team marched for three full days on the savanna on the plateau of South Africa, and finally reached the bank of the Big Fish River. Seeing that they were about to reach the territory of the Xhosa, the Xhosa cavalry, who were responsible for escort and vigilance, also relaxed, and the frequency of sending cavalry reconnaissance was also reduced.

Just as everyone was letting their guard down, a gunshot rang out, and bright red blood splashed on Wickham's face. Wickham wiped the scarlet warm blood from his face, and when he turned his head, he found that a tall Xhosa knight next to him had fallen from his horse and had a shocking hole in his chest.

The military life during this period of time has made Wickham's reaction speed a lot faster. Although he didn't know what was going on, he reflexively lay on his horse's back to avoid being shot. Prince Savida was also startled, and shouted loudly in the native language, finally calming down the fried convoy. It was just another gunshot, and the entire Xhosa ranks became chaotic again.

At this moment, Wickham suddenly felt a tremor in the ground, exactly the same as when he met the Moxi cavalry in Ghana! Linked to the accurate shot just now, Wickham's face became a little ugly, he was sure that this must be the cavalry of the Boer militia!

Although the Xhosa cavalry was a little less organized, they had a lot of experience in actual combat, and it soon became clear that they had encountered their old rivals, the Boer militia. Under the command of Savida, the Xhosa cavalry rode their horses towards the small hill to the southwest, hoping to use the hill to avoid the Boer fire.

In just a few moments, the shadows of cavalrymen appeared on the small hill to the southwest, wearing riding boots and round-brimmed hats, with reins in one hand and short carbine in the other, rushing towards the Xhosa. The light of the bloody sun shone on the bodies of these knights, like heavenly knights bathed in holy light, rushing towards the infidels with sharp spears and fierce death.

"Damn! Or those white pigs! Mr. Wickham, be careful yourself! Savida cursed in a low voice, then drew a sharp scimitar and led his guards towards the Boers. The Xhosa people worship the strong, and at this juncture, of course, Savida must not make a mistake in front of his subordinates, otherwise his reputation will be stinky in the future.

Wickham shook his head as he looked at the Kosachi soldiers who were charging forward after Prince Savida. The Xhosa cavalry had no discipline at all, and rushed through in a haphazard manner, in stark contrast to the Boer cavalry, which maintained a tight formation. One can imagine how much damage the Xhosa would have been inflicted on the Xhosa by a Boer militia armed with carbines.

Wickham's conjecture proved to be correct, and the Boer cavalry were as good as the Xhosa, with their legs clamped and their bellies tightened, and they were able to shoot in quick succession as they told the charge. After just one round of shooting, more than two dozen people had fallen on the side of the Xhosa cavalry.

Some of the Xhosa cavalrymen who fell off their horses were quickly trampled into a pile of flesh by their companions. In a high-speed charge, the cavalryman who fell off his horse was sentenced to death, either dying under the horse's hooves or breaking his cervical vertebrae. However, the Xhosa people were not deterred by these casualties, but met them with greater excitement, showing the belligerent habits of the Bantu blacks.

However, the Boer cavalry had no intention of hand-to-hand combat with the Xhosa, and they quickly adjusted their formation, changing from a zigzag formation to a herringbone formation, skipping the two wings of the Xhosa! The Boer cavalry, galloping on horseback, pulled out their short handcuffs from their saddle bags and shot at the Xhosa with their heads covered in the face!

Not to be outdone, the Xhosa knights bent their bows and arrows to shoot accurate arrows at the Xhosa enemy. This was a difficult technical task, and it was with this skill that the Mongols swept across Eurasia. It's just that this kind of riding and archery skills are not easy to cultivate, and you need to deal with things like horseback archery from an early age, and in less than ten years, you can't become a qualified archer cavalry.

But the European dragoons with carbines are different, as long as the equestrian skills are passable, such a force can be formed, and the process of archery is directly omitted. This was a piece of cake for the Boers, who grazed on the grass all year round.

In the flash of light, more than a dozen people fell on both sides, and neither side took advantage of anything. The Boer cavalry quickly broke away from the battle line, slowed down their horses and began to reload their ammunition, a tactic similar to "kite flying", in which they did not make close contact with the enemy, but used long-range attacks to constantly attack the enemy.

The Xhosa infantry left behind on the side of the convoy was staring nervously at the stopped Boer cavalry, these supplies were very important to the entire Xhosa tribe, and there was no room for the slightest mistake.

The large transport team quickly attracted the attention of the Boers, because the Boer militia practiced a system of combining soldiers and civilians, and the proceeds of war were basically owned by the soldiers who participated in the war. Although it is not known what these baggage are, how could the greedy Boers let go of such a good opportunity.

After the ammunition was loaded, the Boer cavalry, which numbered less than 200 men, quickly divided into two lines, one to the main cavalry led by Savida, and the other part rushed towards the convoy.

Seeing the roaring Boer cavalry, Wickham's palms were a little sweaty, the troops left behind here were basically infantry, and they were only cold-armed infantry equipped with spears and big shields, and in front of the cavalry using carbines, they were simply scum with less than five combat effectiveness.

In the face of the menacing Boer cavalry, the Xhosa infantry did not form a phalanx of spears to restrain the cavalry, but indistinctly raised their spears and shouted and pounced on the cavalry. Wickham was in a hurry, shouting loudly for the Xhosa infantry to stay in formation, but unfortunately no one could understand the English spoken by Wickham.

The result was self-evident, the fifty or so Boer cavalry came into range and opened fire on the densely charged Xhosa infantry, and the carbines were combined with the fire of the short guns, and in only five or six seconds there were more than thirty people on this side. After the Boers had fired their guns in the air, they drew their sabers and began to play "cabbage" tactics around the Xhosa infantry.

The so-called "cabbage" tactic is that the cavalry takes advantage of high-speed mobility and constantly wanders around the periphery of the infantry, like peeling cabbage, depleting the opponent's forces layer by layer until the opponent can no longer stand the collapse. Prince Savida soon discovered the situation here, but his two hundred cavalry could not escape at this time.