The remnant sun was like blood, and the afterglow of the setting sun swayed on the earth, reflecting the wreckage all over the ground, and the air was filled with blood and gunsmoke.

From time to time, a dark brown bustard descends from the sky and snatches a piece of meat from the ground. The atmosphere is extraordinarily eerie, as if you are in hell.

Soldiers who are busy cleaning up the battlefield have no idea that there will be so much. Everyone is a little physically and mentally exhausted after just going through a big battle, and they just want to quickly collect the corpses of their comrades and send them back to the arms of God.

As for the corpses of the enemy, they don't have to bother, they just hand them over to the recruited Zulu people to deal with, and just dig a pit and bury them.

There is no way, there are always various accidents on the battlefield, for example: fainting in an accident, maybe being injured by a bullet and falling unconscious, if this situation is handed over to the unreliable Zulus, they can all be buried alive.

If the enemy doesn't care, if he is buried, he will be buried, and if his comrades are treated like this, it will be a tragedy.

Therefore, when cleaning the battlefield, it was all the soldiers of the "Boer Republic" who carried out the work with Zulu laborers, the former in charge of inspection and command, and the latter in charge of carrying a single frame.

Not far away, a "Boer" officer came with several soldiers, a middle-aged man of about forty or fifty years of age, slender and slightly thin, with golden hair, and a pair of eyes, which made him look particularly vigorous and powerful.

The person who came was Viscount Fikni, who was patrolling the battlefield, and he had to do a full set of plays, and everyone who participated in the battle changed into the military uniforms of the Boer Republic.

This batch of military uniforms was made in a hurry, and because the time was too tight, many of the military uniforms were dyed with ordinary clothes, and they were used improvised.

Don't underestimate this change, when it comes to the battlefield, the dazzling military uniform is a live target, and the yellow-green military uniform of the Boer Republic is not very good-looking, but it is practical.

If you climb on the ground casually, it looks similar to the local color from a distance, making it easier to hide.

In contrast, the British army on the opposite side is very coquettish, and the red military uniform is beautiful. It's a pity that it doesn't fit in with the local environment, and it's a live target.

For Viscount Fikni, who has been on the African continent all year round, what is the beauty, and can he eat it?

As a pragmatist, Viscount Fickney never cared about the beauty of military uniforms.

Even in life, except for banquets or certain events, he wears a formal dress, the rest of the time he wears a military uniform, and it is also a camouflage uniform suitable for the jungle in Africa.

This is the experience of many years of life in Africa, and the closer the clothes are to the natural environment, the easier it is to survive.

In fact, during this period, Austria's military uniforms were also varied, and the colors of the garrison uniforms in different regions were different. For example, the armies in Libya and the Sinai Peninsula are in khaki uniforms, while the garrisons in the Congo are camouflage uniforms in various colors.

To fight in South Africa, the yellow-green military uniform of the Boer Republic is more suitable. Ugly is a little ugly, but it is better than practicality, and naturally there is no need to be different.

The weakness of the British's military uniform, which was too dazzling, was also exploited by Viscount Fikney, who ambushed them in the jungle many times.

After a few engagements, the British had now learned to stay in the woods, and took the initiative to shrink their fronts and engage them only on frontal battles.

Viscount Fickney knew that this was only the beginning, and that it would not be long before the British would not even come out to fight.

This is determined by the exchange ratio between the two warring sides on the battlefield, and it is usually seven to one or eight to one on the frontal battlefield, and a dozen to one in the jungle is a common thing.

If this continues, it will not be long before the superior forces of the British will cease to exist. The Governor of Delphi was already working hard, and the British soldiers were working very hard.

It's a pity that the combat effectiveness of the indigenous army is only so little, except for giving away heads, they are playing soy sauce on the battlefield.

If it weren't for the presence of the British soldiers, they wouldn't even be able to make this exchange ratio. It's not that these soldiers weren't brave, in fact they were braver than most British soldiers.

However, now is not the era of cold weapons, and bravery does not mean strong combat effectiveness. Military discipline is lax, orders are ignored, and they often rob the air, not even looking at whether there is an enemy.

Not only in the 19th century, but even in the 21st century, many African armies fought in this way. When the two armies fired at each other, they didn't look at the enemy's position at all, the muzzles of their guns were raised high, and the bullets flew into the sky.

When the charge was rushed, there was no queue at all. There are no Maxim machine guns now, but there is still no shortage of Gatling Austria, and it is the most suitable object to deal with such a random charge.

None of them took their lives seriously, and the British commanders didn't care about the casualties of this gang of cannon fodder. At the beginning of the war, the British took the lives of the indigenous cannon fodder to fill it.

Compared to the war in Europe, this is more like a child's play. So although this war is very fierce, the main casualties are provided by this gang of cannon fodder.

If it weren't for the fear of wasting ammunition and increasing logistical pressure, Viscount Fickney was also ready to form a cannon fodder unit and send it to the door to fight the British.

Viscount Fickney is experienced in this kind of thing, and when he cleaned up the indigenous tribes, in order to reduce losses, he formed an indigenous army to fight.

When it comes to killing their own people, these people are not merciful. Viscount Fikney can be sure that the Africans who died at the hands of the colonizers definitely did not die at the hands of their own people, not even a tenth.

After all, labor is also money, and the colonists still value their wallets very much, only these indigenous armies will not care. By the time the battle was over, the indigenous armies were almost exhausted.

Even so, Viscount Fikney assembled an army of indigenous cold weapons. Every time they fight hand-to-hand, they are sent.

Don't be surprised if you find that in the Anglo-Boer War, two black troops are fighting, and there are two white armies watching the play in the rear, this is a normal operation.

This is a tacit understanding between the two sides, and the British also hope to level the casualty ratio of the two sides through this kind of fighting, so as not to look bad in the data.

Viscount Fikney also did not want to end the war immediately, it was not enough to satisfy his appetite simply to drive the British out of the Boer Republic, and he now had his sights set on British South Africa.

This kind of small victory, which was advancing gradually, was not enough to convince the British and leave them with hope of victory, so that the war would continue.

After the battlefield has been advanced to the hinterland of British South Africa, the time for a decisive battle will come. At that time, this Boer Republic recruit also became a veteran, and in one fell swoop broke out to directly occupy Cape Town, creating an established fact.

At that point, it will be time for the foreign ministries of the two countries to engage in a bargain. Regardless of the final outcome of the negotiations, their military merits are in hand. On this question, the positions of all the nobles who participated in this war were unprecedentedly unanimous.

Since the start of this new battle mode, the exchange ratio between the two sides has quickly approached. From a supernumeric of seven to one or eight, it quickly shrunk to within two to one, and occasionally it can be overtaken.

Anyway, it wasn't his own people who died, and there was no pressure on either side.

Whether it is the Governor of Delphi or the Viscount Fikni, the battle reports they send will not have casualties among the indigenous army, and even the formation of this force can be brushed aside.

In just a few months, the total casualties of the Anglo-Boer war exceeded 100,000, and if they were all white soldiers, no one could stand it.

Now that everyone is on good terms, it doesn't matter if they lose the battle, they just catch a cannon fodder unit and beat them up, and when they have enough heads, they can write a war report.

The Spring and Autumn penmanship is brushed over, and a big defeat can become a tie. The reason for the retreat was a strategic shift, so as not to leave an opportunity for the enemy to take advantage of.

This is how the Governor of Delphi wrote his war report, and on the one hand, the news of victory continued, and on the other hand, he continued to ask for reinforcements from home. There's nothing wrong with that, just make an excuse, for example: the enemy has increased its troops.

This is the African continent, and it is impossible for the members of Congress to come to the front line to see it in person. The London government is all its own people, and if the front line loses the battle, the cabinet will also be questioned by Parliament.

A burly young officer with a smile on his face ran over and reported to Viscount Fikni: "General, the casualties have been counted, and our army has 76 dead and 84 wounded; More than 3,000 enemy troops were defeated, 156 were annihilated and 98 were captured. ”

This data is automatically filtered for casualties of the indigenous armies on both sides, and even if it is recorded, it has no effect, and the Vienna government will not admit it.

The white soldiers killed are military merits, and the annihilated indigenous army can only be regarded as a leader, which can only be regarded as one hundred to one.

With this data, after subtracting the casualties of your own cannon fodder troops, there is nothing at all in the end.

This is not a harshness of the Vienna government, but a practical necessity. Without this restriction, within a year, these nobles would be able to create a record of millions of people, and then the marshals would be flying all over the sky and the dukes would be everywhere.

What is that thing, it doesn't exist at all, okay? Even if they turn all the local natives into military exploits, these colonists can still do it.

With this constraint, it is different, if someone really relies on the natives to brush up on military merits, at least hundreds of thousands of people will have to be killed before they can be knighted, and it is basically impossible to rely on a colony team of hundreds of people to do it.

There's no way to brush up on the record, it doesn't matter. In addition to the war record, the captured booty and the land seized can be converted into war achievements.

Most of the nobles were canonized by expanding their territory, and the spoils of war were naturally swallowed privately, after all, it was too expensive to exchange for military merits.

This is legal, and all seizures in colonial activities can be disposed of by themselves, whether they are exchanged for military merit from the government or divided by themselves.

Because of this, this South African war has become svett-after, after all, this is a real record, not only can you be knighted, but you can also get a promotion.

Don't look at the military rank is useless, in fact in the German region it is a symbol of glory, especially with real swords and guns, which are the most respected.

Even if it is a civilian, if he rises by virtue of his military exploits, he will also be respected by everyone. On the contrary, the kind of aristocracy who has no military merits will be despised by the old nobles.

Up to the present in the war, there has been an increase in the number of nobles who have reported under Viscount Fikni, some of whom have participated in their own names, and some of whom have participated in the private army of noble families. If the war continues, this number will continue to increase.

If it were not for the addition of these people, it is not known how long it would have been for the nascent "Boer Republic army" to form a fighting force.

After all, soldiers can be trained in a few months, and officers are not easy to train. A unit that does not have a qualified officer to command is also very limited in its combat effectiveness.

This result did not surprise Viscount Fikney, the British were still so slippery, and after holding the cannon fodder troops, they ran away first.

Spiritedly, he ordered, "Got it." The order was given, and the troops first housed the wounded, and the large troops rested for a day before continuing to advance. ”

The young officer replied: "Yes, General! ”

Viscount Fikney frowned slightly, and said calmly: "Don't call the general, now I'm just a colonel, and it will make people laugh if it spreads." ”

There was no way, despite commanding tens of thousands of troops to fight, his rank was still colonel. Even if he wanted to be promoted, it would have to wait until he returned to Vienna after the war.

Before that, he could only command the whole army as a colonel. This is the rule, if you call yourself a general in advance, you will be ridiculed for being uneducated and ignorant of the rules.

Viscount Fikney is also from a noble background, although he is only a small nobleman, but it is a noble family that has been inherited for hundreds of years, and he can barely be called an old nobleman.

Viscount Fikney has always attached great importance to the rules, especially when it comes to the reputation of the family, and it can't be sloppy at all.

……