African Entrepreneurship Record

Merk’s statement isn’t an exaggeration, because the Boers don’t have an electricity system, making it impossible to coordinate and organize counterattacks in various battlefields promptly.

The telegraph line construction in East Africa is the best across the entire continent of Africa, whereas within the Boer Republic, there is only one professional telegraph line, which leads from Cape Town to the Kimberley mining area.

Now, unlike in the previous era, the Boer Republic does not hold the gold mines of South Africa, so construction in all aspects is very backward, and they have to maintain a large military force, which results in almost zero infrastructure development.

As for the telegraph line in the Kimberley area, it is controlled by the British, and is the only significant mineral resource of the Boer Republic, built by those British merchants in the diamond-producing region.

These have all been reported to the East African government by the East African National Defense Security Bureau, so the Boer Republic is not only a small country with a small population, but in reality, also quite backward, and this backwardness is undoubtedly very detrimental to the progress of the Boer Republic’s war.

…

Midnight.

The banks of the Fite River are silent. Although it’s the rainy season in South Africa, it’s quite rare to actually encounter rain along the banks of the Fite River, which is deep inland. This provides some convenience for East Africa.

East Africa is very well prepared for the river crossing, as from the day Transvaal Republic was eliminated, the East African government was well aware of the hostile relationship with the Boers, and thus conflict was certain.

So unlike the British Army at the Tugela River before, which was not well-prepared with boats, the East African side had numerous plans for attacking the Orange Free State during peacetime, and boats for crossing the Orange River are essential equipment, with every stronghold having a certain reserve.

This time, East Africa directly deployed thirty thousand troops, under the cover of darkness, beginning to cross the Fite River. Although located in the South African highland interior, where rainfall is not abundant, the rich rainfall from the Drakensberg mountains replenishes various tributaries of the Orange River.

In this aspect, it is quite similar to the Shabelle and Juba Rivers in the Somali area. Rainfall there is scarce, but the abundant rain on the Ethiopian highlands makes these two rivers become large rivers with considerable flow year-round.

East Africa’s large-scale action was still discovered by the Boers, but at this time, it’s supposed to be rest time, and many Boer soldiers hadn’t even emerged from their camps before the East African army was already ashore.

Once ashore, the East African army was not easy to deal with, and this result was caused by the Boers’ negligence. During the previous three months, East Africa maintained a defensive stance without launching any attacks.

In this state, it’s easy for Boer frontline soldiers to become complacent, and that’s indeed the case. The East African Defense Army, because of Ernst’s influence, places great emphasis on discipline construction.

But the Transvaal people, as Britain’s little brother, do not have this realization. In terms of military construction, they imitate the British Army, it’s more suitable to describe them as ”bandits”.

The only regrettable aspect is that East Africa did not give these ”bandit troops” the opportunity to raid East African territories, and this can be seen from East Africa’s industrial layout. East Africa’s industrial areas are all located at the rear, with even the southern border’s agriculture not being much developed.

”The East Africans are attacking!”

The first to discover the East Africans was a Boer drunkard named Lawrence. As a logistics personnel, Lawrence often got his hands on quite a few good things, like today, British imported whiskey. He got drunk with a few Boer soldiers during day time, and woke up stifled at midnight to relieve himself by the river.

Then, in his blurry vision, he seemed to see weak lighting in the river, which was the reflection of East African helmets.

Lawrence instantly sobered up, but facing the increasingly closer East African army, he was somewhat at a loss, froze for three seconds before reacting, and began to run towards the position.

With Lawrence’s shouting and yelling, more and more Boer soldiers started to be awakened and hurriedly organized a counterattack.

Facing the bustling Boers, what greeted them was East African artillery fire.

As the East African army landed, the artillery began organizing an attack on the Boers’ shelters. Of course, this time, the artillery used for river crossing were actually grenade launchers, a type of lightweight portable small-caliber artillery widely used in the East African Army.

While small boats can withstand the weight of East African heavy artillery, they are unstable and inefficient, coupled with the nighttime raid, it’s also inconvenient to carry.

But dealing with the Boers is sufficient, as their equipment is considered the worst among the Allies, particularly lacking in heavy weapons.

Moreover, at this time, their heavy weapons can’t function, due to the nighttime conditions. It’s impossible to determine the exact location of the East African army; it feels like people are everywhere.

It’s hard to believe, but the Boers’ defensive structures are very rough, even more dilapidated than before the war started, and it’s not caused by the East Africans.

The real reason is that the rainy season caused some degree of erosion of the Boers’ defense line, and East Africa’s delayed attack led to the Boers gradually neglecting the maintenance of defensive structures over the past three months.

Originally, the Boers’ defense line was built very roughly, mostly using wooden and earthen structures, and although South African rains are rare, they do have some destructive effect on such crude works.

But the main reason is still due to the Boers’ improper maintenance of these defensive works, and now they have to pay for their carelessness.

As the grenade shells fell, these defensive structures completely crumbled, and East African artillery seldom missed when targeting ”firelight”.

These firelights were mostly used for evening illumination or bonfires for warmth, now they have become harbingers of death for the Boers.

Even those clever enough to flee into the darkness easily suffered accidental harm, not to mention the darkness itself posed certain dangers, like tripping over debris or getting pushed by others.

The entire Boer position was in chaos, as this was the first time facing such a scenario, and it was at night, making it very difficult to reassure them.

The Boer officers watched helplessly as chaos erupted among their soldiers, powerless to do anything. Even if they wanted to organize a counterattack at this time, it would be impossible to execute.

Due to darkness, the Boers were unable to recognize their commanders, and commanders their soldiers, and the noise from East African artillery and bullets further increased the difficulty of command, or rather, completely paralyzed the Boers’ command system.

After a round of artillery fire, the Boers were already in complete disarray, and the East African army began harvesting them. Of course, due to nightfall, many Boers chose to flee, not confronting the East African army.

At this time, it’s very difficult for East Africans to pursue these deserters, but as long as they seize the Boers’ riverbank positions, the rear of the Boer Republic is defenseless, and in a short time, it’s impossible for the Boer Republic government to regroup these troops.

East Africa’s three-line offense was very smooth, with only the western part encountering some trouble. The English there apparently have more experience than the Boers, but only managed to hold out slightly longer than the Boers.

Currently, although Boer frontline troops are large in number, the rapid expansion of the army in a short time also led to a mixture of soldiers within the Boer army, particularly some of the Oranges who were not at all motivated to fight.

With their leadership, even the Transvaal people chose to escape. Only many of the original landlord class of the Transvaal Republic are resolute resistors, as East Africa has previously genuinely harmed their interests, while most of the lower-level Boers collapsed without fighting.