African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 369: Chapter 48: War Preparations

When the construction of Soga City was underway, the Central Canal project was also in full swing, with the Debelle people organized and divided into two groups to excavate the canal. Along with the simultaneous construction of the Malawian Lake Industrial Area and the northern industrial belt, the eastern part of the East African Kingdom was rapidly developing.

While these projects were commencing, the military in the Zimbabwe region had already begun military training, focusing mainly on how to capture the roving Boers in the wild.

”Faced with the Kingdom’s superior forces and powerful firepower, the Boers can’t possibly engage us in direct confrontation. Instead, they will likely act like cockroaches, crawling into dark corners and could strike at any moment. At this point, your enemy is no longer the backward natives holding spears, but rather the Boers who possess certain military experience and also wield hot weapons. How should we deal with Boers using such tactics if we encounter them?”

Following the instructor’s inquiry, the soldiers began to discuss. Many had witnessed guerrilla warfare before, though it was typically used by natives. While the tactics were effective, without advanced weapons, it was essentially suicide. East African soldiers could generally handle ambushes from natives with ease.

Those natives employing guerrilla tactics were already considered quite shrewd within the African region; most others blundered and lost to East Africa, or couldn’t even organize resistance against East Africa. The significant disparity in weaponry left most natives unwilling to contemplate resistance.

”Firstly, partition and encircle. It’s guerrilla warfare. Since they’re guerillas moving everywhere, we must confine the enemy to a specific area, so they can’t roam freely.

Secondly, sever the communication among the Boers, ensuring Boer soldiers in our jurisdiction can’t obtain any supplies from Boer villages by cutting off their food and water sources, thereby preventing them from surviving in the wild.

Finally, remember not to chase the desperate foes; don’t fall into the Boers’ traps and beware of ambushes. If we hold onto the settlements while regularly sweeping through our jurisdiction, the Boer soldiers will eventually run out of living space.”

This essentially summed up East Africa’s operational plan: swiftly deploying troops to capture Boer cities and villages, then dealing with the resistance from any remnants.

The Boer-established Transvaal Republic was rather unique, so the East African Kingdom had to take over its state authority in a remarkably short time, which posed extraordinarily high demands on the East African military’s capabilities.

Firstly, they had to possess a detailed map to guide the troops. To this end, the East African Kingdom, disguised as German merchants or exploration teams, ventured into the Boer residences from the east to conduct detailed exploration of the Transvaal Republic, supplementing the map at each place they reached.

These drawings were then shipped back to the East African Kingdom by sea, where Heixinggen Military Academy compiled and integrated the intelligence onto a military map, marking the topography, rivers, forests, swamps of Transvaal.

Meanwhile, all cities and villages of Transvaal Republic were mapped for viable routes, enabling East African military officers to occupy the entire Transvaal Republic swiftly as long as they followed the map’s instructions.

However, this depends on the Boers not resisting, which is evidently impossible. Even if the East African Kingdom executed a surprise attack, the Transvaal Republic’s depth was still considerable for the East African troops.

”While dealing with the Boers, we must also beware of external countries, like the Orange Free State and the British Cape Town colony, taking advantage of the situation. Our units must react swiftly to seize the entire Transvaal Republic within a little over a month. By the time the news reaches Cape Town, the British will have no measure against us. Whether we effectively occupy it is of no consequence; we just need the British to know the East African Kingdom has annexed the Transvaal Republic.”

The action against the Transvaal Republic must be swift and decisive, imposing substantial demands on the East African military. To enhance soldiers’ physical fitness, army rations were improved, training increased, ensuring the troops could march over forty kilometers a day.

The straight-line distance from the southern to the northern end of the Transvaal Republic is about five hundred kilometers. Provided the East African military meets the usual training standard, they could complete the advance from northern Transvaal to southern Transvaal within a month.

Regarding the Boers’ disposition, the East African Kingdom decided to select the good ones and retain them, discarding the undesirable ones. The Orange Free State to the south of the Transvaal Republic offered an option for Boers dissatisfied with East African rule.

In reality, the Transvaal Republic was dirt poor, plagued with arid hot climate and barren lands. Boers could only make a living by ranching, their ancestral trade for making ends meet, though hindered by a single economic structure and a weak economic foundation.

The nation had no modern industrial enterprises or even an inch of railroad. In 1866, the total annual fiscal revenue of the Transvaal Republic was only 66,000 British Pounds, with Boer national treasury deposits of just nine shillings and twelve pence, less than a pound.

As a nation, the Transvaal Republic survived solely through cohesion; its government mandated that all male citizens of Transvaal aged sixteen or older could apply for 2400 hectares of land from the state as a reward. In return, these Boers had to pay taxes and render military service during wartime. Land represented ranches, and conquering more land meant more ranches, which led to continuous war with neighboring and internal Black tribes.

The Boers’ greatest enemy was the Zulu Kingdom. The Zulu people bore a deep-seated hatred against the Boers from the Battle of Blood River. But the Zulu were different from ordinary Black native tribes; the Zulu were not only brave and battle-ready warriors, but they also surpassed primitive tribal forms in organizational structure, establishing their own kingdom capable of large-scale warfare.

Previously, East Africa had eliminated the Ndebele regime, which was a branch of the Zulu, showcasing their noteworthy abilities among all natives East Africa had encountered. The Zulu’s cunning lay in their diplomatic shrewdness, exploiting conflicts between the Boers and the British to instigate and provoke; therefore, the Ndebele obtained aid from the Boers similarly.

Nevertheless, the Transvaal Republic was now obliviously facing imminent disaster. East Africa, unlike the British, preferred to employ force—similar to the Prussian barbarians. The British, on the other hand, excelled in deceit tactics (as evidenced when the Transvaal Republic joined the British in 1876 after being misled).