Chapter 387: First Skirmish
Before the East African army arrived, Wiggins, who had taken over Pretoria, made some major changes to the city's defense system in three days. Not only did he temporarily raise and reinforce the city walls, but he also dug trenches around Pretoria.
Although the Boer population in the South African Republic was small, there were a large number of black slaves. Wiggins didn't care at all about the lives of the slaves. He quickly organized a large group of slaves to assist in the military construction of Pretoria.
At this time, the entire population of Pretoria was fewer than 10,000 Boers, as many had fled, including a significant portion taken by the small Pretoria leader. Some residents followed suit once they saw the president had fled as well.
Fortunately, Wiggins quickly launched a "patriotism" education campaign to force the remaining people to stay. Facing the large East African army, Wiggins only had 2,000 white soldiers, so it was necessary to incorporate the black slaves into the army. Although there was some risk, Wiggins still decided to integrate more than 10,000 black soldiers into the forces, temporarily arming them with rifles and promising them freedom once the war ended.
Thanks to the previous experience aiding the Ndebele people, the Boers had accumulated a stockpile of weapons, which Wiggins distributed to the slaves.
The black slaves were mixed with the Boers, with the Boers mainly in charge. To give these "patriotic youths" some war experience, Wiggins gave each of them a command position, assigning several slaves under each officer. This greatly boosted the morale of the Boers.
By playing the "patriotism" card, Wiggins named the army "The Youth Patriotic Army," which perfectly matched the image of his forces. The seasoned veterans would never have joined Wiggins' army. Many of them had already fled to the Orange Free State or even directly back to Cape Town.
"The East Africans are not to be feared. Don't be fooled by their large numbers and neat uniforms. In reality, they are just a facade. As long as we don't make major mistakes, holding Pretoria will not be a problem," Wiggins calmly reassured his troops.
This was necessary, as the East African kingdom's army had previously been belittled by Wiggins, but when the East African army was at their doorstep, that sense of pressure started to build. Wiggins needed to calm the troops' emotions first.
Luckily, by incorporating the black slaves, the numerical gap between the two sides was no longer so large. While the East African soldiers were more numerous, the Boers were on the defensive. This made it more of a 50-50 situation, and Wiggins reasoned that they could hold out.
At this point, the East African 514th Division had already mobilized and was making its way towards Pretoria in a confident manner. As a second-line unit, the 514th Division was not particularly well-equipped to deal with the Boers.
"It seems the East Africans haven't made much progress. Everyone, hold fire for now. Wait until they are 300 meters from the trench, and then open fire. When they are only 200 meters away, those on the walls should fire," Wiggins calmly instructed his troops.
Drawing on the previous experience with the Ndebele uprising, Wiggins decided not to engage the East African forces head-on but instead to rely on trenches and the city walls to hold their position.
The defense line designed by Wiggins could be divided into two levels: the trench as the first line, where the majority of the black soldiers were placed, along with a few Boer commanders. Wiggins didn't expect much from them, as long as they could shoot at the East African forces. The presence of cover gave them some sense of safety, preventing them from breaking under pressure.
The second line of defense consisted of the Boers and a few black soldiers stationed on the city walls. This position allowed them to oversee and protect those in the trenches, as well as supervise the soldiers and prevent any retreat.
Wiggins stood on the city walls, overseeing the battlefield. When the 514th Division's vanguard entered the range he had specified, he ordered his forces to open fire.
"Crawl forward, find cover nearby, and advance towards Pretoria!"
Under the fire suppression from the Boers, the 514th Division could only passively return fire. Although they were armed with Dreyse rifles, the enemy's cover and city walls made it difficult for them to retaliate effectively. Instead, they were constantly at a disadvantage, their formations disrupted, though they managed to maintain an offensive posture.
In truth, the performance of the 514th Division was unsatisfactory. Aside from numerous mistakes and rigid command, their courage was the only commendable aspect.
Looking at the disorganized 514th Division, Ernst remarked, "This is not what I expected!"
Thweat, standing nearby, responded, "Principal, the 514th Division would have no problem fighting alongside other brother units, but asking them to attack a city on their own is somewhat overestimating them. First, their commanders are not very professional. Due to prioritizing the First Military District, the students from the Black Xinggen Military Academy, who had participated in the Franco-Prussian War, were all assigned to the kingdom's elite forces. The other five military districts haven't undergone much change, except for the Third Military District's mountain troops, which were improved for specific reasons. The commander of the 514th Division used to be just a company commander in the Kingdom of Württemberg, so it's really difficult for him to command a whole division.
Moreover, the 514th Division has mostly fought against indigenous forces, who rarely have fortifications, let alone trenches. So, facing a European-style city fortress like Pretoria, the 514th Division soldiers have almost no experience."
"Finally, and most importantly, the 514th Division lacks heavy weapons and specialized siege equipment. Without the proper tools, no matter how skilled the soldiers are, they can't achieve much. This was to be expected," Thweat concluded.
"Enough with the excuses. The 514th Division simply lacks military skill. Our forces have been fighting against unskilled black soldiers, which, although satisfying in the short term, doesn't provide proper training. Once they encounter similarly skilled units, like today, they are bound to struggle," Ernst continued. "The 514th Division's situation likely represents the conditions of the other military districts, apart from the First Military District. Even if some of those units have strength, they are probably not much stronger than the 514th Division overall."
Thweat replied, "You're right, Principal. But it's difficult to find strong opponents in Africa to use as benchmarks for comparison."
Ernst responded, "Then let's use the whole world as our standard. We shouldn't limit ourselves to Europe and Africa. Any valuable case is worth studying. For example, why did the Afghan forces manage to defeat the British? Why do Far Eastern armies perform inconsistently? These are all things our army needs to analyze.
In the future, East Africa will likely experience long-term peace. Does that mean the army won't progress because of peace? We need to actively improve our military skills to become a truly battle-hardened army."
The East African army follows the German model, with a strong German influence, but by constantly fighting indigenous forces, their skills have been limited. Prussia became the world's top army by fighting in a land full of formidable enemies. East Africa lacks such land-based opponents, so it's impossible to have endless battles like Prussia, where the opponents were highly competent.
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