"Brother Qi Rui, looking at the war in South Africa over the past year is really hard to describe. The rigidity of the British tactical system and the stubborn and conservative commanders of the middle and upper level of the army are really amazing. In one sentence, it is eye-opening!" Major General Zheng Fusheng shook his head and sighed.

His words resonated strongly, Major General Ma Chang said, "Before this battle, who would have thought that the world overlord country would be so difficult to fight a small Boer. Over the past year, more than 7,700 bunkers have been built, and the barbed wire has been stretched for tens of thousands of kilometers long, and even empty canned boxes have been used. It still has not stopped the flexible tactics of the Boer cavalry coming and going like the wind. This battle in front of the British Expeditionary Force is not easy to fight!"

"The barbed wire fortresses is dead, and people are alive. The barbed wire alone cannot limit the Boer people." Duan Qirui also praised the Boer people's superb guerrilla tactics, and couldn't help but clap their hands to say it.

The Tao is one foot taller, and the devil is one foot taller.

Lord Roberts, commander of the South African Expeditionary Force, and Lord Kitchener, both experienced senior generals. They have been in the army for decades and have personally participated in countless colonial wars and European wars. They are well aware of the strengths and shortcomings of the British army.

The British army's tactical system was indeed rigid, and the commander's thoughts were conservative and unrestrained, as if he was still living in the era of the anti-French alliance.

During the attack, the soldiers advanced like a wall and were ready to die. The commanders were in the attacking queue and led the way. Often, under the deliberate attack of the Boers sharpshooters, there were heavy casualties, causing the entire army to lose effective command.

But can this be blamed on the British army?

The strategic and tactical ideas of the British Army were formulated for the operation of European corps. They focused on heavy troops, with thousands of cannons bombing together, and the attack rushed towards the tide. I was invincible and looked at death as if I were home.

The Army Department could not develop another set of tactical ideas for a small colonial war, which could easily cause chaos in the army, and it was a completely waste of the foundation and a move to seek the final result.

For example, during the Boer War, the British Expeditionary Force fought flexibly and used tactics such as interspersing, infiltration, and detour to strike the enemy. If you can fight, you will fight, and if you don’t fight, you will avoid it. You will try to preserve your own strength and vitality.

So what should I do after returning to the mainland and facing the heavy army in Europe?

If you can fight, you will fight; if you don’t fight, you will avoid it?

Obviously, it is not advisable. The European corps emphasizes fighting for every inch of land. When people are in positions, whoever can persevere to the end will see the dawn of victory.

Once they contacted the enemy, they scattered and fled. Wouldn't they be Italians?

Therefore, the British Expeditionary Force Commander Lord Roberts and Chief of Staff Lord Kitchener formulated a tactic of "counterattack on the whole line, step by step, gathering heavy troops, and helping each other" in response to the characteristics of the British army, which proved very successful.

The British Expeditionary Force's heavy army group often has 30,000 to 40,000 people. They depend closely on each other during attacks, with a distance of no more than 30 kilometers. Once attacked, they will shrink into groups and launch a counterattack on the spot.

Here are two situations;

One is small harassment, so basically ignore it and advance according to the established attack route until you go deep into the enemy's strategic location.

The second situation is to be surrounded by the Boer coalition forces. At this time, rescue is needed. Then the friendly and neighboring troops immediately approach, carry out counter-encirclement and counter-shock, and cause major damage to the enemy.

Behind the British Expeditionary Force step by step, there were bunkers, deep ditches and barbed wire built by more than 100,000 black workers. Second-line troops entered one after another, gradually compressing the living space of the Boers.

This set of tactics proved to be extraordinary. The British Expeditionary Force pushed forward and entered the Orange Free State and the Transvaal Republic, completely destroying the two Boer regimes.

The problem is that the Boer regime was destroyed and the territory was occupied. The strength of the Boer coalition was not greatly damaged. They took advantage of the disadvantage of the lengthening of the British Expeditionary Force's front line to break down large units into small groups to start flexible guerrilla operations. The entire South African land was full of war. This is the big trouble the British are facing now.

In order to deal with the "iron wall encirclement" tactic, the Boers specially created thousands of iron wire cutters to deal with barbed wire mesh.

A small group of Boer troops focused on attacking the bunker guards, and they did not dare to show up at night. They would undoubtedly die if they dared to go out on patrol. They hid in the bunker and did not play a tight role in blocking them.

This leaves a lot of room for activity for the Boer guerrillas.

"Although the Boers' tactics were exquisite, unfortunately, they had a huge difference in strength, and they could not escape the failure." Duan Qirui still clearly saw this.

"What Brother Duan said is very much. The total number of Boers is only 440,000, and the population is the biggest flaw. Now there are more than 200,000 women and children invested in the concentration camp. The logistics is cut off and it is unsustainable!"

"I heard that there are Europeans to support me, but I don't know what's going on?"

"This is indeed the case. Mozambique has also seized several large-scale arms smuggling cases. Many white Portuguese people who took risks participated in the matter. The case involved heavy machine guns, artillery shells and thousands of boxes of bullets. This is only the part found. I don't know how many of them are not found? The border between Mozambique and the Republic of Transvaal is more than 780 kilometers. It is easy to cross most areas on foot. It is only one or two cavalry regiments. It is very difficult to defend the tight stitches."

"That's a problem. According to the Boer people's unyielding character, as long as there are guns and bullets, they can continue. I don't know how long the war will last."

"Haha... Anyway, the British family is big and the business can be afforded."

"General Zheng's words are wrong. In southern Africa alone, the British's annual military expenditure has exceeded 100 million pounds. It's really like spending money. I think it's a big deal if I drag it down."

"Every family has a difficult sutra to recite! But this is a good thing for us. Everyone can see the development of Mozambique over the past year." Major General Duan Qirui smiled unkindly. He looked around at Major General Zheng Fusheng and Major General Ma Chang, and his tone changed to seriousness;

“Two gentlemen, generals;

This war raises us a new topic. Compared with the Imperial Royal Guards and the Royal Army, how should we locate the army tactics?

The UK is also a maritime country like us. The positioning of the British Army is to participate in the European continental battle for hegemony. This obviously does not apply to our country. So what is the positioning suitable for our country?

This is the new topic before us. Taking into account the surrounding situation in the Western Pacific region, I think the rapidly rising Fusang country deserves great attention. The strong combat effectiveness shown in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 can be positioned as a potential hostile country.

The significance of the existence of the Military Observation Corps lies in absorbing experience of foreign troops, enriching the country's military theory and knowledge, enriching the army's tactics and tactics, and embarking on a path that belongs to the Ocean Empire Army.

This war in southern Africa has undoubtedly given us a lot of inspiration. The modern war examples collected by middle and low-level officers have enriched military education courses and provided more vivid battle examples for research.

But as senior officers, we should consider it from a strategic perspective, write high-quality military theories, and contribute to enriching our army's tactical system.

The Boers' deep penetration and penetration, surrounded the points and attacked the east and west, played the tactics of playing the east and west, and were all good things that were eye-catching and worth summarizing and discovering.

If the two generals can make some contributions to the military theory community, it would be a achievement of Shangda Tianting!”

There is no need to be a heavy hammer when the drums are ringing. Major General Duan Qirui's eyes lit up when he hears the other two people's eyes. He stands up with a serious expression and clasps his fists and says, "Thank you, Brother Duan, for your advice, I feel ashamed."

Duan Qirui also stood up and bowed his fists and said, "You and I have been in the army for many years, and we have entrusted our lives and depended on each other. What is this small matter to be mentioned."

The three of them looked at each other and laughed loudly, all without saying a word.

Late September 1900

The Southern Africa Senior Military Observation Group ended its mission for more than a year and returned to the country by boat.

Some officers of the Observation Regiment, led by Major General Zheng Fusheng and Major General Ma Chang, disembarked in the middle of Seoul City and began a new journey of serving in the Mozambique area. This is the practice of cross-serving army forces.

Major General Duan Qirui led a delegation back to Australia and was personally received by His Majesty. He was encouraged by Wen Yan. He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general at the award ceremony, the Grand Secretary of Lingxiao Pavilion, and was awarded the Cross Medal of the Silver Double Swords, the Golden Oak Leaf Knight.

Military officers are awarded the Grand Secretary of Lingxiao Pavilion, and civil servants are awarded the Grand Secretary of Wenyuan Pavilion. These are all extremely high honors in the court system of the Ocean Empire.

The Silver Double Sword Golden Oak Leaf Knight Cross Medal is the third among the Imperial Nine-level Military Medals. It is used to commend high-ranking officers with outstanding merits and is an honor commendation that soldiers cherish.

The viscount title obtained by Duan Qirui was not promoted because the Ocean Empire followed Western practices. Once the title of aristocratic title and fiefs were awarded, the hereditary will not change, so naturally there was no saying that the title was promoted.

To obtain a higher title, you almost need to splash the sky.

For example, General Li Shuanzhu, the first-class Earl of Conquest, led the Royal Guard to conquer the Luzon Islands. This was a merit of expanding territory and destroying the country. Therefore, in addition to the original viscount, he was awarded the first-class Earl of Conquest to reward his merits.

In other words, General Li Shuanzhu had two noble titles, one was the Earl of Conqueror, and the other was the Viscount of Phoenix Mountain.

The Count is a high-ranking title, and the First-Class Zheng Yuanbo is a noble title granted by the empire and is a unique glory. The viscount title does not have an imperial title, and is generally named after the noble fiefs.

The relevant naming is declared by the nobles themselves, and after review and approval by the nobles, it will be archived and publicly promulgated.

General Li Shuanzhu is a lonely boy born in southwest Shandong. There is a Fenghuang Mountain in his hometown. His home is located in a small mountain village at the foot of Fenghuang Mountain. He named the mountain in his noble fiefdom Fenghuang Mountain. The viscount's title is named after Fenghuang Mountain, which is to remind yourself to never forget your roots and never forget where you come from?

A few days later

Lieutenant General Duan Qirui took office as deputy commander of the Royal Imperial Guards and also served as deputy director of the Royal Attendant Office. He began to take office and perform his new duties.

The first thing he had to do was to enter the palace to thank him. He had been preparing for a long time this day, adjusting his whole body to the best, full of energy, wearing a straight general uniform and a medal. The golden red mountain dragon badge on the Australian-style large-brimmed military cap shone brightly, reflecting Duan Qirui's ambition face.

He was a young general born in 1865. He was just 36 years old this year. He joined the army for 18 years. Most of the officers who joined the army during the same period have been wandering in the positions of lieutenant colonels and colonels, and they have no way to be promoted.

Duan Qirui has reached a high position that ordinary people cannot reach, and he is truly a winner in life.

In addition to giving great contributions to the Koi Mine, this also lies in his ability to seize opportunities and take risks. He became famous in the battle of "Sad Ridge", and was known as the "Defense Master" in the army. He was able to enter His Majesty's vision and was out of control since then.
Chapter completed!