In the first days of the early 20th century,

London

The official residence of the Prime Minister on Downing Street

At the just-concluded high-level military conference, it has been determined that the commander-in-chief of the South African Expeditionary Force will be Lord Kitchener, and the next step will be to increase the number of troops to South Africa to 450,000 within 4~5 months.

In the midst of rising anger, the House of Commons of the British Parliament passed the South African Special War Budget, which allocated an additional 44 million pounds this year, worth the equivalent of 220 million Tang dollars.

Please note that this is an increase in the original military allocation. The Anglo-Saxon nation, like an enraged lion, is roaring to the heavens.

Parliament gave the green light to further expand the war, Liberal leader Sir Arthur Balfour said in a parliamentary speech debating an increase in the war budget;

"The military operation in South Africa has suffered a setback, and the valiant soldiers are still fighting bloodily, and I want to say that this is not the end but only the beginning......"

"The Queen's Government must take the strongest stance to fight back against those who oppose us, and the dignity of the Empire cannot be flouted."

"Now...... Now, we need to pinch the Boers to death like bedbugs. ”

Sir Arthur Balfour's strong speech was met with thunderous applause in the House of Commons of a parliament, and the special proposal to increase the war budget was passed by an absolute vote, heralding an even stronger storm for South Africa, thousands of miles away.

Outside the Prime Minister's Office

Lord Robert Cecil, the Prime Minister, was walking in the corridor with Chamberlain, the Minister of the Colonies, and saw Admiral Kitchener standing at the door of the Prime Minister's office, and nodded;

"Dear Mr. General, come to the office and talk, we still have time."

"Be happy to do your bidding, Your Excellency, Prime Minister."

The three men walked into the office one after another, and Lord Robert Cecil turned around and snapped his fingers, and said to George Edmonton, the Cabinet Secretary who followed closely;

"Mr. Edmonton, bring each of us a hot cup of coffee if it's convenient, it will make us feel more relaxed."

"Yes, Your Excellency Prime Minister, please wait a moment."

Lord Robert Cecil, the Prime Minister, walked over to his desk and sat down, raised his hand and gestured; "Sit down, gentlemen, where do we begin? What I want to know now is...... Why did the Tang people fight smoothly in the East Indies, but when it was our turn, it was difficult for us to step by step, what is the problem? ”

Chamberlain, the Minister of the Colonies, shrugged his shoulders without answering, and turned his head to look at Admiral Kitchener, who was sitting on the side, a professional question that was best answered by him.

Admiral Kitchener, a typical English gentleman, rigorous and well-organized, with an in-depth knowledge of the wars taking place around the world, said after a little consideration;

"Your Excellency the Prime Minister;

Regarding the war waged by the Tang State in the East Indies, the military considered it a typical war of colonial expansion, as they did in Mexico, Cuba and Colombia, with the intention of further colonizing the western Pacific region.

Admittedly, the timing chosen by the Orientals was very delicate and was able to minimize the hostility from Europe.

It can be considered an outstanding expansion strategy.

And the Tang state has always been like this, they have an emperor Richard, who can be called the world's most outstanding international geostrategist, a wise monarch enough to go down in history.

Only from a military point of view

The geography of the East Indies is a fragmented and difficult archipelago, and after the Tang Royal Navy completely destroyed the poor maritime power of the Dutch, it became several isolated and fragmented battlefields.

Due to its tropical location, and the fact that the Dutch colonizers had invested little in infrastructure for hundreds of years, the roads were in terrible condition and were filled with large areas of rainforest that were difficult to navigate.

After the loss of sea supremacy, coastal transportation also came to a standstill.

Even on the same island, the coastal towns were difficult to pass with each other, and this gave the Tang army the best chance to break through each other.

In fact

The Tang army did the same, they adopted a step-by-step approach, conquering a town and consolidating a town, and then began colonization and construction, firmly controlling it.

Over a period of several months, the entire island was gradually occupied.

Due to the dense tropical rainforest, the Dutch army could not cross tens or even hundreds of kilometers to attack the logistics and weak points of the Tang army, which was also the biggest difference.

On the battlefield in South Africa

The Boer cavalry, taking advantage of their familiarity with the terrain, often penetrated hundreds or even thousands of kilometers to attack the weak links of our army's logistics and transportation lines, outposts, warehouses, hospitals.

The result was a passive situation in which the battlefield was full of fire, the number of nights was frightened, and our officers and men were exhausted to deal with it, which did not exist in the East Indies. ”

At that moment, the door opened.

George Edmonton, the Cabinet Secretary, held a tray with four cups of hot coffee on it, and he gave one each to the Prime Minister, the Colonial Minister and General Kitchener, leaving the last one for himself.

The British Cabinet Secretary is not a secretary in the ordinary sense, but the top executive in charge of 370,000 civil servants, and has the right to attend cabinet meetings, a typical position of real power.

He is also the Chief of Staff of His Excellency the Prime Minister.

In this office, he is the second owner, so no one finds it strange when he sits down with a coffee cup.

Hearing General Kitchener's explanation, the Prime Minister, Lord Robert Cecil, was not satisfied, every British Prime Minister is a veteran of politics and is not easy to be fooled.

General Kitchener did not talk about the command errors of the previous generals, nor did he point out the essence of the brilliant victory won by the Tang army, but only lightly brushed it off.

So, Lord Robert Cecil, the Prime Minister, frowned imperceptibly and asked;

"Mr. General, the Tang army has captured more than 50,000 Dutch, just one sentence The geographical environment is different, I am afraid it is impossible to explain why the combat effectiveness of these Dutch has shrunk sharply?

Could it be that the tropical jungle has caused them so much damage?

In the battle of frontal attack, should we learn from the strengths of the Tang army? ”

General Kitchener nodded in agreement and replied;

"As His Excellency the Prime Minister said, the Tang army is indeed commendable in many aspects, and the military has also heard of it.

They were the first to use ironclad chariots in the war, which were tracked motor vehicles covered with ironclad. In a frontal attack, it can defend against dense bullet rain and inflict a lot of damage on the spot.

As an innovative ground weapon, it played a major role in the war against the Dutch.

The British Army is also working on this ironclad combat vehicle, but due to the short period of time, it is not possible to provide similar equipment to the troops for the time being, which is quite regrettable.

But we have the confidence and the ability to carry out a complete strangulation of the Boer peasants.

I planned to adopt a step-by-step approach, building extensive bunkers and barbed wire in the South African theater to limit the Boer cavalry raids and stifle their space to move.

And throw all the civilians who provided logistics for the Boers into concentration camps, leaving them without food, ammunition, and logistical supplies, and eventually inevitably doomed.

South Africa will belong to the British Empire, this is a solemn promise of the military. ”

"Well said, Mr. General, I'm looking forward to this day." Prime Minister Robert Cecil said with encouragement on his face.

In fact, his faith was not so high. (End of chapter)