The Rise of the Empire

"Well, the American on the other side is a good knight." This was Kruger's first impression when they met Pershing. When Pershing, who once led cavalry to encircle and suppress the Indians, ran over with his subordinates on horseback, Kruger put away the contempt in his heart. From the perspective of a veteran horseman, the performance of the other party and his subordinates Very good, at least an elite cavalry!

Caliput next to him thought that Pershing was the best non-European soldier he had ever seen. The waist is straight, the spirit is high, and the riding boots, lance and saber are well placed. His demeanor is meticulous. Although he is not wearing a military uniform, his military demeanor is unmistakable. "This guy has seen blood!" Caliput commented.

But let alone, Pershing is considered the best officer in the U.S. Army in this age group. He fought Indians in the early 1990s, and then went to West Point Military Academy as an instructor. He played in battle against the Spaniards, and he has gained some fame. Of course, he still doesn't have the nickname "Jack the Scary" in history. Although the reputation is not obvious, but the ability is there.

The Americans are really ruthless this time and are determined to find their way back! The face lost on the Japanese Navy must be recovered from the British Army! British Army NB? To be honest, Napoleon was really NB, even before that, otherwise he wouldn't have played back and forth with the Sun King. You can't fight to the end with Napoleon, the hero of the ages.

Of course, all this is history. Since the Crimean War, the British Army has hardly had a large-scale battle with a stronger opponent. Generally speaking, the reputation is still there, but the hand is a bit raw after being out of battle for a long time....

The Americans have invested heavily this time, with 5,000 people in one shot, which fully demonstrates the spirit of a big country! This "mercenary army" almost includes independent artillery, cavalry, and engineering units, and there is also a small limited-scale supply unit. There may not be much heavy equipment, but to paraphrase a popular saying in later generations, the degree of synthesis is relatively high. Fight independently!

To put it bluntly, the U.S. military is still a national army no matter how bad its reputation is. Although the Boers also bear the name of the country, the two countries together do not have the United States. A country with a large number of cities still wants to gain the approval of the Americans. ? This is a bit difficult!

The Boers have doubts about the fighting power of the Americans, and the Americans also express distrust of the fighting power of the Boers! After all, the U.S. Army fought several times when it was fine. Besides the African natives, who did the Boers fight with? A bunch of bumpkins, Perxing expressed extreme distrust of the quality of the friendly troops.

But then, after a few days of exchanges, the understanding of both parties has undergone some changes. "Yeah, these cowboys from the western United States can do it!" The Boers quickly agreed with the individual quality of the Americans, at least the basic skills of riding and shooting are still very solid. The Americans also discovered that this group of "bumpkins" is also very trendy, not to mention all kinds of equipment produced in Germany are printed on them. From the perspective of the organizational structure and the decision-making system of the troops, it has a certain level.

In particular, the use of artillery by the Boers opened the eyes of the Americans. To a certain extent, the American artillery technology still stays at a relatively short distance between the two sides. The degree to which the concentrated artillery uses shrapnel to forcibly tear apart the opponent's front is actually not ashamed to say it. After all, the French arrived in the First World War They all think so. I did the same thing, and then I was taught to be a man by the German artillery....

Although from Caliput's point of view,

There are huge differences between the Boers' infantry coordination, anti-artillery operations, fire suppression, and maneuvering and the Bavarian Army, but the same situation is different in the eyes of the Americans! Among other things, the simple indirect shooting of an artillery, and the fact that the artillery fire is corrected by contacting the front-line observation post through a wired phone is enough to make the Americans novel.

In the same way, the excellent individual quality of the Americans also left a very deep impression on the Boers. After all, the American soldiers who can come to South Africa are basically selected. In such a big country, the part from the west If people are fine, they have to fight Indians or bandits a few times. It's really not difficult to pick out some old fritters. Those who grew up on horseback and learned to hold a gun before they even learned to hold a pen have not exaggerated the years of fighting instinct.

With the deepening of mutual understanding between the two sides, the Boers and the Americans have a relatively fair evaluation of the reliability of their comrades-in-arms. Although it cannot be said that they can rely on life and death, at least they will not be held back. ,This is enough.

The Boer troops are divided into three types: regular field troops composed of infantry, artillery and a small amount of cavalry, and a harassment force mainly composed of cavalry. The third type is the garrison and logistics troops composed of the old, weak, sick and disabled.

After research, Pershing believed that it would be better for his troops to act together with the main force of the Boers. After all, it is a waste to put such a force in the rear, and it lacks sufficient mobility to put it in the harassment force. It is still impossible for a force with a large amount of supplies and artillery to move quickly in this era.

However, Pershing demanded that this unit should not be dismantled, and that all American troops need to be concentrated under his command. After Kruger agreed, Pershing then presented Kruger with a set of radio stations for communication. Radios actually existed in 1898, and were even equipped on warships. The U.S. Navy learned from the pain after suffering a big loss in communication. Immediately spent a lot of money to buy several radio equipment, and in order to ensure contact with the Boers, Pershing brought 4 sets.

It has to be said that the arrival of the Americans unexpectedly disrupted Kruger's plan. Originally, the time for the Boers to launch an offensive would be around October 1898, but in order to accommodate a large number of American mercenaries and wait for the next batch of equipment, This time was pushed back by several months. But everything that followed was realistic. This time the Boers' wait was worth it. The American army really performed better than their navy. Of course, this is something to do later, let's not mention it for now.

As time passed, another 3,000 U.S. troops also entered the Boer Republic through various channels, and a large amount of equipment also enriched the Boer arsenal through overt or covert channels, but at this time Kruger still did not Relax, he always feels that his preparations are still lacking a lot.

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