On the evening of August 18, 1899, a transport ship with a displacement of 3,000 tons, carrying more than 1,000 South African volunteers and loaded with weapons and ammunition, docked at a small unnamed port dozens of kilometers north of the port of Durban, South Africa, which belonged to the Boer people of the Transvaal Republic.

When the Northeast Military Intelligence Bureau contacted the Transvaal Republic, there was a mistake, thinking that the transport ship could dock at the port of Durban, but in fact, the port of Durban has always been controlled by the British, and if the transport ship sails to the port of Durban, more than 1,000 South African volunteers will be able to throw themselves into the net.

Fortunately, the mistake discovered by the Military Intelligence Bureau in time later, and at this time, the transport ship had only been sailing for a short time, and the radio station could still be contacted, so that the transport ship knew the correct destination.

An officer in his 50s wearing military uniforms led dozens of people at the dock of the port of Durban to greet the volunteers under the command of Lin Daxin, a military strongman in the Far East, who had come to South Africa from thousands of miles away to fight side by side with their Boers.

However, it is not suitable for ships with a displacement of more than 1,000 tons, so transport ships with a displacement of 3,000 tons must be docked offshore, and small boats are used to transport people ashore little by little.

Wang Yuwei, the commander of the South African Volunteers, took his subordinates to go ashore in small boats in batches, Wang Yuwei was the last group to go ashore, although after nearly one month of sea voyage, the officers and soldiers were very tired mentally and physically, but under the command of the officers, more than 1,000 people quickly lined up in a neat queue at the dock, which made the eyes of the officers who greeted the leader of the Transvaal Republic flashed a glimmer of light, worthy of defeating the powerful Russian army, from their rapid orderly queue, It can be seen that this is a well-trained elite army.

The leading officer stepped forward and stretched out his right hand to Wang Yuwei, and said in English with a smile on his face: "Welcome, friends from afar, you have extended a helping hand to our Boers in the most difficult time, and the friendship of your Governor Lin, we Boers in South Africa will never forget it." ”

One of the reasons why Wang Yuwei was selected to become the commander of the South African Volunteer Army is that Wang Yuwei has a good language talent, and after he arrived in the army, he learned English, and now there is no problem with ordinary English conversations.

Wang Yuwei smiled and stretched out his right hand to shake hands with the officers of the Transvaal Republic who greeted him, and said in English: "I am the commander of this South African Volunteer Army, Lieutenant Colonel Wang Yuwei of the Dingbei Army, and the 20,000 M1888 rifles and 20 mountain guns with a caliber of 75 mm, as well as a large number of matching bullets and shells, are still needed to be received by you. ”

The officer of the Transvaal Republic held Wang Yuwei's hand, and said with a brighter smile on his face: "I am Lieutenant General Pieterjuber, Commander-in-Chief of the Army of the Transvaal Republic, and welcome you, King from the East!" Your Governor Lin is a god to us Boers, and we need these weapons to arm our expanded army. ”

After that, Wang Yuwei and more than 1,000 officers and soldiers of the South African Volunteers, carrying their own weapons and equipment and ammunition supplies, were arranged to rest in a small town for two days, and then set off for a military camp near Johannesburg, an important city of the Transvaal Republic, which is not far from Pretoria, the capital of the Transvaal Republic.

On 27 August, in the presidential palace in Pretoria, the capital of the Transvaal Republic, the President of the Transvaal Republic, Kruger, asked Lieutenant General Piet Joubert in the room: "Have the volunteers from the East been arranged?" Did the weapons come back too? ”

Pienod nodded: "The volunteers from the East are arranged in the barracks near Johannesburg, and the 20,000 repeating rifles and 20 75mm mountain guns of caliber caliber that the Far Eastern military strongman has provided us with free of charge, as well as a large number of matching bullets and shells, some of which have been delivered to Johannesburg, and I have distributed these weapons to the newly expanded army." Another portion of the rifles had been shipped to the Orange Free State to equip the newly expanded army there. The 20 75-mm mountain guns and the 1 120-mm German-made Krupp howitzer, one 75-mm Krupp field gun, two 75-mm mountain guns, and one 37-mm rapid-fire gun in our army formed one artillery regiment. ”

President Kruger nodded, then pondered for a moment and said: "According to the information we have received, the British have sent 2,000 troops each from India and the Mediterranean to reinforce the colony of Natal, and the troops from other parts of the United Kingdom continue to move to South Africa, and it seems that the British are definitely going to attack us Boers." ”

Piette said excitedly: "These greedy British's idea must be to attack our gold mines, and we Boers must not give in!" With the original army, plus the newly expanded army, our army in the Transvaal has reached more than 20,000, and there can be 20,000 in the Orange Free State. ”

President Kruger's eyes flashed with a frenzied glint, "Since war is inevitable, and our newly expanded army and weapons problems have been solved, let the British taste the wrath of our Boers!" ”

On August 31, 1899, the Transvaal Republic issued an ultimatum to the British, demanding that the British cease to increase its troops in South Africa, withdraw the troops that arrived in South Africa after June 1, and submit the disputed issue to diplomatic arbitration, with the British given 48 hours to reply.

On 1 September, Alfred Milner, Prime Minister of the British Cape Colony, rejected South Africa's offer on the basis of British domestic directives. At 5 p.m. on September 2, 1899, the Transvaal Republic and the Orange Free State declared war on Great Britain, and the Second Boer War broke out more than a month earlier than in history.

In the barracks near Johannesburg, Wang Yuwei gathered the captains of his three guerrilla brigades, Chen Bo, Wang Shikuan, and Xu Yongcai, and said: "The Boers have declared war with the British today, and the commander-in-chief of the Boer army, Lieutenant General Piette, has just talked to me about their war plan, and the Boers are ready to concentrate their superior forces and divide them into two routes and launch an active attack before the British reinforcements arrive in South Africa. Attack Natal all the way east, divide and encircle two major British strongholds, Leddy Smith and Dundee, and capture the port of Durban, gaining access to the sea. The other went all the way to the southwest, occupying Mafrtin and Kimberley, two strategic locations on the Western Cape railway line where the main British forces were stationed. ”

The captains of these three guerrilla brigades used to be the battalion commanders of the Dingbei Army, they were flexible in command, brave in combat, and they were the key training objects in their respective divisions, if it was not for the formation of the South African Volunteer Army this time, the three of them could almost enter the Shenyang Army Academy for further study for a period of time during this break, and then promoted to the regiment commander, but the South African Volunteer Army formed by Lin Daxin himself, these three people immediately gave up the opportunity to enter the Shenyang Army Academy for further study without hesitation, and chose to sign up for the South African Volunteer Army. Willing to travel thousands of miles for their commander to teach the British a lesson.

Chen Bo, the captain of the First Guerrilla Brigade, asked: "Lao Wang, what is the mission of our volunteers?" ”

Wang Yuwei said: "Our volunteer army will cooperate with the Boer army to launch an attack on Ladysmith, and the major teams will immediately pack their bags, and tomorrow we will join the Boer army to cross the Drakens Hill, enter the British colony of Natal, and go straight to Leddy Smith, the main force of the British army in Natal." This is the first battle of our South African volunteers, and we must show the majesty of our volunteers! ”

Chen Bo, Wang Shikuan, and Xu Yongcai stood up at the same time and said, "Yes! A gleam erupted in the eyes of all three people, and they could finally clean up the British.

On September 3, 1899, the Boer Coalition, consisting of the troops of the Transvaal Republic and the armed forces of the Orange Free State, marched eastward with Wang Yuwei and his South African Volunteers.

The commander-in-chief of the Boer army, General Piette, led his main force, along with the South African Volunteers, over the Drakens Mountains and into Leddy Smith, the main force of the British army in Natal. In the early morning of 10 September, the vanguard of the Boer army engaged in a battle at Mount Tarana with the British troops of the 1st Brigade stationed here to defend the outer line of Leddy Smith. The commander of the Boer vanguard, General Meir, took advantage of the favorable terrain and the cover of the morning fog to launch a surprise attack on the British troops, rushing into the British positions, and the South African volunteers who arrived later also threw themselves into the battle.

In this kind of hand-to-hand combat, the submachine guns in the hands of the South African volunteers inflicted heavy losses on the British army, and after the war, the British army lost 865 people, the Boer army lost 145 people, and the South African volunteers lost 4 people and 5 people were wounded.

Another Boer army, commanded by General Delarey, known as the Lion of the West Transvaal, entered British Bechuanaland on 3 September, cutting off the Western Cape Railway and thus cutting off the Cape from Rhodesia. Delarry divided his forces into two routes, one under the command of General Cronye, besieging the British's Mafretin, and the other under the command of General Louis, besieging the diamond town of Kimberley.

At the same time, the Transvaal Republic and the Orange Free State sent men to incite Boer violence* in the British Cape Colony, pinning down British forces, and preparing to disrupt the transportation of the eastern and western Cape railways to prevent the reinforcements of the British army from advancing northward.

So a third Boer army crossed the Orange River and moved south, absorbing small Boer forces from the British Cape Colony and operating in the northeastern part of the Cape, threatening the East-West Cape railway line. The British had to defend the Orange River Railroad Bridge tightly to guard against Boer attempts to blow it up. Dear, the most important railway junction on the Western Cape railway line and a distribution center for military supplies, was also harassed by the Boers. In order to protect the normal passage of the East and West Cape Railway, the British had to install 4.7-inch naval guns on the trains, and slowly advance under their cover, repairing the railroad destroyed by the Boers in small sections.

The commander-in-chief of the Boer army, General Piette, led his main force, as well as the South African Volunteers, and after making a good start, continued to advance towards Leddy Smith, which was heavily defended by the British.

On September 25, 1899, more than 4,000 British troops under the command of Lieutenant General George White launched a counteroffensive against the Boer army, and encountered the main force of the Boers in Nicholson Gorge, because of the help of the South African volunteers, the British army suffered a heavy defeat, losing nearly 3,000 men, and the rest retreated to Leddy Smith, and was immediately surrounded by the Boer army.

Due to the tight defense of Leddy Smith, the Boers could not attack the city several times, and the main army could only camp around Leddy Smith to rest and besiege Leddy Smith. The Boers prepared for a decisive battle with the British overseas corps near Ladysmith.

In a temporary camp around Leddy Smith, Wang Yuwei and the three leaders of the guerrilla brigade gathered in a tent, and the captain of the second guerrilla brigade, Wang Shikuan, frowned and said to the other three: "It is very likely that we will fight with the large forces of the British Overseas Corps, but our ammunition is running out too quickly, and we don't know when the airship will be able to send us supplies, if we can't transport it before the big war, our situation will not be good." ”

The two battles of the South African Volunteers, relying on strong firepower, did not suffer many casualties, but it was precisely because of the strong firepower that the ammunition was consumed quickly, if a big war broke out with the British here in Leddy Smith, the ammunition of the South African Volunteers was somewhat insufficient.

Wang Yuwei showed a smile and said: "I brought the three of you here to discuss with you how to accept the ammunition and supplies brought by the airship, and there are also the personnel of the second batch of South African volunteers who have supplemented us. ”

Xu Yongcai, the captain of the Third Guerrilla Brigade, suddenly shouted in surprise: "Got in touch? ”

Wang Yuwei nodded and said with a smile: "I got in touch, these days I have been asking Xiao Wu, who is in charge of the radio station, to turn on the phone every day and search for signals, and I got in touch with the radio station of the airship this morning." ”

Chen Bo, the captain of the First Guerrilla Brigade, asked in surprise: "How many airships are there this time?" How long will it take? ”

"The two large airships, the Venus and the Jupiter, are almost here this evening." Wang Yuwei replied.

Chen Bo continued: "Then we have to find a secluded place and let the airship land. ”

The other 3 people nodded, and then the 4 people took the officers and soldiers of the South African Volunteers to find a relatively hidden valley near Leddy Smith, and then contacted 2 large airships.

In the evening, two large airships landed in the predetermined valley, this time the two large airships not only brought a large amount of ammunition and supplies to the South African Volunteers, but also transported 200 officers and soldiers of the second batch of South African Volunteers. (A good event for pie in the sky, cool mobile phones are waiting for you!) Follow the ~ point / Chinese network public account (WeChat add friends - add public account - enter qdread can be), participate now! Everyone has a prize, now pay attention to the qdread WeChat public account! ）R1152