Chapter 475: Chapter 48: Preparing for the Final Battle
 

In this era, John Bull’s influence was still extraordinary; although it wasn’t as dominant as it was historically, his call to action resonated with many.

Representatives from the Italian Revolutionary Party and the French Revolutionary Party—every notable organization—headed to London.

Looking at the intelligence in hand, Franz’s first reaction was, “The British are really wealthy!”

If it were any other country, it wouldn’t be easy to even locate these revolutionary groups, let alone persuade them to cooperate.

Revolution is about risking one’s neck. If they weren’t careful, Napoleon III would have wiped them out long ago. For the British to find them all in such a short time, they must have maintained contact.

Beyond the power of money, what else could make these revolutionaries cooperate? Italian revolutionaries might be one thing, but England and France were historical enemies. Why would the French Revolutionary Party take orders from the British?

Anyway, Franz couldn’t afford to pay that kind of money. Instead of supporting this rabble, it was better to invest in domestic economic development to enhance his own strength.

It wasn’t that he looked down on the revolutionaries, but at this time, the French Revolutionary Party was but a glove for the bourgeoisie, existing solely for their profit.

Apart from a few individuals, most were losers in the struggle for power, fighting for their own interests. Aside from carrying the banner of revolution, in reality, they were not true revolutionaries.

The Italian Revolutionary Party was somewhat better, fighting for national independence, albeit disorganized and mixed internal composition, they still qualified as revolutionaries.

As a revolutionary entity, they naturally couldn’t associate with Franz, the Emperor. In the face of national interests, discussing righteousness was a fallacy.

The sacred mission of funding revolutionaries was thus left to the British. The Americans were also involved at first, trying to promote the republic and spending money.

However, after the Civil War and its societal backlash, both the Federal government and the Confederate Government became more cautious and refrained from reaching into Europe.

With one less financier, the momentum of revolution in Europe had noticeably decreased compared to the same historical period, with markedly improved public security.

Except for the Italian Area, where the Italian people, unwilling to be ruled by the French, continued their resistance. It was understandable for the French to focus on quelling this rebellion, neglecting public security.

An army maintained for a thousand days is used at the critical moment. British money wasn’t easy to obtain, and now it was time for them to serve the British cause.

Perhaps they were willing, as it wasn’t their own blood being spilled and with British support the chances of success were higher. Should they succeed, the rewards would be enormous.

In contrast, the reaction from other European countries was much more reserved. Perhaps the diplomatic activities of the French played a role, or maybe it was Austria’s non-intervention that led to different calculations.

In any case, everyone verbally condemned the French with high-sounding proclamations. When it came to taking actual action, they all changed tune, conjuring up countless excuses to avoid deploying troops.

To Franz, the choice of these nations wasn’t surprising in the least. France wasn’t an easy target; with Napoleon III ready for war, each government weighed the pros and cons, with none willing to be the scapegoat.

Put simply, all aimed to play the Fisherman, unwilling to diminish their own strength. In the end, it all came down to interests—how could one expect the followers to exert themselves when the British, the anti-French leader, wouldn’t take the lead?

The current approach was just to isolate the French Empire. To attack the French homeland and topple the Greater French Empire, another main force was missing.

In this regard, the French had chosen a good moment. With Prussia and Russia recovering and Austria bound by an alliance with the Paris Government, none of the other countries had the capacity for military action.

While the European situation was gradually stabilizing, conditions on the African Continent began to change. To support the South African war, the British had increased their troops three times, with the number of British Army soldiers in Cape Town Colony now breaking through one hundred and eighty thousand.

Of course, after removing the Cannon fodder army, this number fell by half, but it remained astounding.

Following the Near East war, this was the largest deployment of British forces yet. The total military strength on the Austrian side was not much different, and Franz saw this war as a training ground.

No, it should be called an officer training camp. Regular troops couldn’t appear on the battlefield, or Austria’s neutrality would be compromised.

While soldiers could not join the battle, officers certainly could. Removing their uniforms and fighting in a private capacity, they had no obligation to the Vienna Government.

Including voluntarily participating nobility, who were essentially members of the Austrian Reserve Officers Group, the Teutonic custom during wartime compelled nobility to enlist unconditionally.

Improving these individuals’ combat experience also enhanced Austria’s defense capacity. It wasn’t easy to find an opponent like the British, so they had to be fully utilized.

The Native Troops assembled on the spot were to train the officers. Many battles were now tactical experiments conducted by the General Staff’s officer groups, commanding these Native Troops.

Although these data weren’t representative, with different troops carrying out the same exercises, the outcomes could be very different.

Nevertheless, it was still better than armchair strategizing. If they could command Cannon fodder army to win, wouldn’t that further prove everyone’s command ability?

Reality, however, was a stark contrast—over ninety percent of the tests ended in failure. Often the Cannon fodder army would be defeated, then Viscount Feckney would lead the “Boer Republican Army” in clean-up.

By now, the fighting capability of the Boer Republican Army was comparable to the Austrian troops; they were trained in the same system, including their source of troops and officers, all hailing from the German Region.

This force, now roughly thirty-eight thousand strong, added to the hundred thousand or so cannon fodder soldiers, matched the British, confirming their combat readiness.

Of course, this was also due to the hodgepodge that was the British Army, with many white troops from the colonies just biding their time.

The Boer people of the original timeline had even fewer troops, with the British launching an attack with ten times the manpower. The war was fought for two to three years by both sides. If it wasn’t for the cutoff in supplies, leaving the Boers unable to sustain the fight, the war might have continued.

This time, the South African War is entirely different; it’s impossible for the British to enforce a blockade. No matter how skillful the London Government is in managing the situation, the Austrian African Colonial Government would never cut off its own people’s supplies.

The war is expensive, but that doesn’t worry Franz, the Emperor. Why should the officers at the front be concerned? Many see this as a power struggle between the Anglo-Austrian two countries, with Austria’s hegemonic position on the African Continent at stake.

By the end of 1870, the casualties of this South African War had become uncountable, even the exact number of losses on their own side was unknown.

In the South African battlefields, Franz allowed for the utmost delegation of authority. All officers could recruit cannon fodder troops; for the Native Troops, only a rough estimate of losses was ever calculated.

After all, a loss of ten thousand could be replenished with twenty thousand. If insufficient recruits could be found within the Boer Republic, the rear colonial government would send more people over.

On the British side, they were already facing the embarrassing shortage of cannon fodder troops. A large number of young men were sent to the battlefield, with no telling how many tribes would be wiped out as a result.

Christmas wasn’t far off. By this time, the “Boer Republican Army” had pushed the front line deep into the British-South African Colony, just over two hundred kilometers away from Cape Town.

Viscount Feckney had no intention of dragging the war out any longer. Everyone wanted to end the war and celebrate Christmas. If it dragged on too long, the British reinforcements would arrive, making the war more difficult to fight.

Attacking from the interior, logistics were always the biggest constraint. Without the few rivers of South Africa, this war would have been over long ago.

Pointing to the hand-drawn military map on the wall, Viscount Feckney said, “Gentlemen, this is the British military deployment map. As the front moves forward, British resistance is getting fiercer.

If we can’t end the war within the year and it drags on to next spring, the fourth batch of British reinforcements will arrive. By then, taking Cape Town will be difficult.

We don’t have much time left for combat. If we cannot make a swift decision, it may be difficult to capture the whole of South Africa before the negotiations between the two countries.”

There’s no help for it. For the war to end now, one side has to surrender. But the British aren’t the types to back down easily after a defeat. John Bull has never been afraid of anyone.

It’s just a local war, after all. How determined the Vienna Government is to take South Africa is not certain, including Emperor Franz, who is only prepared to take over the gold mining areas first.

How much land they would ultimately seize from the British was not of great concern to most. It was only by capturing Cape Town and claiming entire South Africa that the military merits could be maximized.

Despite the war dragging on for over half a year with everyone boasting impressive military achievements, the actual gains were very limited.

Leaving aside the cannon fodder troops destroyed, British military losses definitely did not exceed ten thousand. Every engagement only resulted in defeat without total annihilation, naturally keeping the count of military achievements low.

There was no helping it. British commander-in-chief Governor Derfu was a sly old fox. He always had his white soldiers withdraw first, leaving the cannon fodder army to cover their retreat.

If throwing ten thousand wasn’t enough, he’d throw twenty thousand. After all, the cannon fodder troops were expendable. Hidden dangers lay in wait; if they fled to the rear civilian areas, the damage could be extensive, forcing Viscount Feckney to dispatch a cleanup crew.

Capturing thousands of pigs takes time, let alone humans. Once the scrappy troops were dealt with, the British main forces had already built new defenses.

Without annihilating the British main forces, the war naturally wouldn’t end anytime soon.

A middle-aged staff officer furrowed his brow and said, “This might be a bit difficult. To take Cape Town, our troops are still insufficient, and we cannot rely on these native armies.

At Cape Town’s port, the British have naval firepower support. We lack heavy artillery, so it will be hard to conquer the city quickly. If the war drags on, the situation will change again.

The most recent British reinforcements need only a week to come from Ethiopia, while reinforcements from the homeland need only a month.”

That is the reality. Austria isn’t short of soldiers, but the force it can deploy to the South African battlefield is very limited.

On one hand, it’s a matter of logistics. Regular troops aren’t like the native cannon fodder, who can go into battle with just food and armed with spears and machetes.

Getting food is easy; South Africa is rich in resources. The Boer Republic could provide some, the rear could supply some, and they could plunder some as well.

If necessary, they only needed to guarantee the logistics of the regular troops, releasing the cannon fodder to scavenge from the enemy, which wasn’t out of the question.

Weapons and ammunition had to be supplied from the rear; this supply line was very long. Part of it went through the Congo Region, while another part came via Egypt along the Nile River.

On the other hand, this war was fought, after all, under the name of the small Boer Republic. A force of thirty-eight thousand was already considered extraordinary. To deploy some hundred thousand would be completely unjustifiable.

Though the great powers were shameless, the Vienna Government’s skin wasn’t quite that thick. Angering the British wouldn’t do anyone any good.

Now both sides were still maneuvering within the rules of the game. If they suffered defeats on the battlefield, it could only prove that the British military’s fighting capacity was lacking. If they couldn’t stand their ground and still instigated war, then they shouldn’t blame others for retaliating.

Viscount Feckney tempted them, “As difficult as it is, the fight must go on. I’m sure everyone would prefer to see the post-war report stating the annihilation of a hundred thousand British troops and the capture of British-South Africa.

Not that we shattered the British plot against the Boer Republic, annihilated ten thousand of their troops, and forced the British to concede!

Winning this crucial battle would make promotions and titles no problem for anyone. If we back off now, most of us can only expect a commendation.”

…