The British 10th Infantry Regiment held out for less time than the commander of Austin had estimated, and after half an hour of shelling, the Boers attacked. And by this time, there was only one heavy machine gun left in the hands of the British, and it was simply impossible to weave an effective network of fire. To add insult to injury, in order to speed up the advance, Austin left behind his artillery, which left him without the means to effectively suppress the enemy's machine guns. Under heavy machine-gun fire, the Boers soon stormed the British trenches, and then the British found themselves suffering greatly from several weapons that they had not looked up to before.

The first damn thing was the submachine gun that MacDonald Infantry Weapons sold to the Boers, which the British also had. But because it is too close at range, it consumes too much ammunition. Therefore, the British people's evaluation of this weapon is that it is more suitable for gangster fighting or something, and its effect on the regular battlefield is limited. Moreover, in various domestic tests, it has also been proved that at the most common combat distance of about 200 meters, a new Lienfest rifle can easily suppress a submachine gun, because at this distance, the bullets of the submachine gun do not know where to fly.

However, now, the Boer machine guns and mortars crushed the British in the trenches and simply could not raise their heads, and the range advantage of the rifles naturally could not be used, and when they reached the trenches, the ferocious submachine guns took advantage of them. In addition to submachine guns, the combat shotguns sold by the Americans to the Boers also made the British suffer.

In short, the 10th Infantry Regiment was completely unable to resist only until the afternoon of the same day. They had been divided into several pieces by the Boers, and both Austin and Churchill felt that there was no point in continuing to resist. So the commander of Austin announced his surrender.

"I hope you will treat us humanely in accordance with the Washington Declaration." After meeting with the commander of the Boers, Commander Austin made such a statement.

"Of course, we will treat the captives in accordance with the spirit of the declaration, because we are civilized people." The Boer officer haughtily replied, "As long as your men have not committed crimes that are not covered by protection, and have done the right cooperation as required in the declaration, we will not do anything contrary to humanity." ”

However, there was a problem in the seizure of the British's guns. One by one, the British came forward to hand over their weapons, and soon it was Churchill's turn. When Churchill handed over his MacDonald pistol, Sergeant Boer, who was in charge of collecting the gun, whistled brightly, took the pistol and began to play.

"What a good gun." The Boer said as he pulled the magazine out with his hand, and his face changed immediately.

"Dammy Bullet! They actually use dummy bullets! The Boer man shouted, and Churchill was immediately surrounded by a large crowd of Boer soldiers.

A Boer officer approached and asked, "What's going on?" ”

"Sir, that guy's gun has a dummy in it! He actually used a dummy bullet! The sergeant replied angrily.

"This gun is his?" The officer asked.

"Yes, sir, that's him!"

"All right," said the officer, "you drag him out and shoot him!" ”

Churchill didn't have time to react just now, but now he realized that these bullets were causing him trouble. He hurriedly shouted: "That's not the case, please listen to my explanation!" ”

At this time, Commander Austin also rushed over, reached out and grabbed the hand of the soldier who was about to pull Churchill out, turned to the officer and said, "General, Mr. Winston is only a reporter with the army, not a combatant. And he stayed with me after the fight and didn't shoot a single shot at anyone. I think there must be a misunderstanding here. ”

"Really?" The officer sneered and said, "Well, British! I'll give your friend a chance to tell me what he was doing with a pistol full of dummies. ”

"This gun is not mine." Churchill had calmed down by this time, "I picked it up in a burned-out house in a small town. You can see that this gun of mine has not been fired at all today, the magazine is full and the gun oil has just been filled. A soldier found it in a blackened cabinet. I thought it was much more beautiful than my original British-made pistol, so I used my original pistol and a pound to get it out of his hand. ”

The Boer officer expertly pulled open the receiver, looked inside, then nodded and said, "It is true that this gun has not been fired today." Even this gun has not necessarily fired twenty rounds until now, almost the same as brand new. David, go out and see if any of our people have been wounded or killed by dummy bullets. ”

So an adjutant ran out, and after a while he came in and reported that he had not found any soldiers who had been hit by dummy bullets. So the Boer officer smiled, and then said to Churchill: "British, you are fortunate that your life has been saved for the time being." ”

……

The annihilation of the 10th Infantry Regiment was only the beginning, taking advantage of the strategic mobility advantages brought about by the internal transfer of troops on the railroad line, and the tactical mobility advantages brought about by having a large number of war horses, the Boers launched successive attacks against the scattered British forces. In just one week, the Boers launched three large-scale sieges and annihilations against the British army in succession. So that the British lost a whole three regiments alone.

After suffering this series of blows, the British army could only retreat, and less than half a month later, the Boer army appeared again on the outskirts of Cape Town. The lost territory that the British army had originally recovered, except for Kimberly, once again became lost territory.

Now in Cape Town, in addition to the same fortifications, batteries, and British navy as when the Boers attacked it last time, there were two more divisions of garrison, and although both divisions had suffered considerable losses in the previous battles, their remnants together numbered more than 10,000 men. So compared to when the Boers first attacked Cape Town, Cape Town's defenses were generally much stronger. On the contrary, when the Boers first attacked Cape Town, not only were there far fewer British troops in the city than they are now, but there was also a Boer presence in the city. Even the railroad outside the city was largely intact, so the Boers were better supplied. Under such conditions, the Boers had not been able to conquer Cape Town, so how could they have taken the fort now?

So, the Boers only sent some rangers to hang around Cape Town for a while, and did not gather troops here. Of course, the British also knew where the main forces of the Boers had gone - they went to Kimberley. There is no doubt about it, because there is also a British division surrounded in the Kimberley.

The strength of the British army in South Africa today is absolutely not enough to relieve the siege of the Kimberley. If these Englishmen left Cape Town stupidly to rescue the Kimberley, it would not be good, and they themselves would be killed by others on the way. Therefore, now everything can only rely on the British army besieged in Kimberley itself. However, few people thought they would be able to hold on to the Kimberley until a new rescue force arrived from another hemisphere.

What's worse is that Kimberley is now a city with no material reserves. These were taken away or simply destroyed by the Boers long before the British recaptured the Kimberley, and it was already the end of May, which meant early summer in Europe, but in South Africa in the southern hemisphere, winter was coming. In such an environment, which army can hold on?

……

The news of the British army's series of defeats turned the entire gold market upside down, especially after the British army trapped in Kimberley finally had to surrender to the Boers in shame, and almost no one believed that the British could crush the Boers in a short enough time. And the scene of the British commander handing over his sword to the Boers reminded many people of the scene that happened in North America many years ago. Perhaps the next step would have been for the British to be forced to recognize the complete independence of the Boers. This has become a lot of speculation.

"Scrooge, do you think the British will stop and allow the Boers to become independent?" In Duck Castle, Rockefeller and Scrooge were having some useful discussions about the situation.

"It's impossible, John. The situation is completely different now than it was at the time of American independence. Scrooge replied, shaking his head.

"At the time of American independence, Britain had not yet established itself as an unshakable global hegemon, at least France was still competing with Britain on a global scale. So Britain needed to use all its strength against France. This is what gives the United States a chance. But now, who else on this planet is directly launching an all-out challenge to Britain as France did back then? France? Now all it was thinking about was how to defeat Germany and re-establish continental power. Germany? Industrially, Germany did already have the capital to challenge Britain. But for the time being, their navy is far from being a match for the British. Not like France back then. As for us, the United States, at least for now. We are still too busy digesting what we have gained from the war, so no one will be able to hold Britain back in the short term. Britain was well positioned to send additional troops to South Africa. And now South Africa is so important economically...... John, are you going to let go of a big deal that is destined to make money just because you have lost a little money for a while? Moreover, England had risen to the top of the world, the most comfortable and dangerous position in the world, and countless pairs of covetous eyes were staring at him, and if he showed weakness in the face of the Boers, it would only encourage more people to rise up and challenge him. Therefore, Britain will never compromise. Scrooge said. R1058