"Well, the American across the street is a good knight." This was the first impression of Kruger and Pershing when they met. When Pershing, who had once led cavalry to encircle and suppress the Indians, came running over with his horse, Kruger put away the contempt in his heart, and from the point of view of a horse veteran, the other party and his men performed very well, at least an elite cavalry!

Calyput, who was next to him, thought Pershing was the best of the non-European soldiers he had ever met. The waist is straight, the spirit is high, and the riding boots, with the gun and the saber are very well placed. The demeanor is meticulous, although he does not wear a military uniform, but the military style on his body is undoubtedly revealed. "This guy has seen blood!" Calyput commented.

But not to mention, Pershing is also considered the best officer in the U.S. Army in this age group, having fought Indians in the early 90s and then went to West Point as an instructor. When he played against the Spaniards, he also made some fame, of course, he doesn't have the nickname "Jack the Horror" in history. Although the reputation is not obvious, the ability is there.

The Americans are really ruthless this time, and they are determined to get back on the field! The face lost on the Japanese Navy must be recovered from the British Army! British Army NB? To be honest, it was really NB during the Napoleonic period, and even NB before, otherwise it wouldn't have been back and forth with the Sun King. can't fight with Napoleon to the end.

Of course, this is all history, and since the Crimean War, the British Army has hardly had any major engagements with stronger opponents. Overall, the reputation is still there, but it's a bit raw not to be on the battlefield for a long time.

The Americans have made a bloody investment this time, and they will have 5,000 people as soon as they make a move, which fully demonstrates the spirit of a great country! This "mercenary army" almost includes independent artillery, cavalry and engineer units, and there is also a small limited baggage force, which does not necessarily have much heavy equipment, but to paraphrase a popular phrase in later generations, the degree of synthesis is relatively high, and it can fight independently!

To put it mildly, no matter how bad the reputation of the US military is, it is also a national army, although the Boers also bear the name of the country, but the two countries together are not as large as the United States, a country with many urban populations, still want to be recognized by the Americans? That's a bit difficult!

The Boers were suspicious of the fighting power of the Americans, and the Americans were equally distrustful of the fighting power of the Boers! After all, the U.S. Army has fought a few times when it's fine, and the Boers have fought with whom, except for the African natives? A bun of dirt buns, Pershing expressed extreme distrust of the quality of the friendly army.

But then, after a few days of exchanges, the understanding of both sides has changed somewhat. "Ahh The Boers were quick to agree with the quality of the Americans' individual soldiers, at least the basics of horseback shooting were still solid. And the Americans also found that this group of "soil buns" is also very trendy, not to mention the various equipment produced in Germany. Judging from the organizational structure and the decision-making system of the troops, there is a certain level, and although there is a suspicion of copying the cat and the tiger, it can be regarded as having a decent appearance.

In particular, the use of artillery by the Boers was an eye-opener for the Americans. To a certain extent, the artillery technology of the Americans is still at a relatively close distance between the two sides, and the concentration of artillery using howitzers to forcibly tear apart the opponent's front line is not ashamed to say it, after all, the French thought so when they arrived in the first World War. He did the same, and was then taught to be a man by the German artillerymen.

Although from Calyput's point of view, there are huge differences between the Boer infantry and artillery coordination, counter-battery operations, fire suppression, and maneuver with the Bavarian Corps, but the same situation is different in the eyes of the Americans! If nothing else, the fact that the indirect fire of a simple artillery soldier corrects the artillery fire by contacting the front-line observation posts by wired telephone is enough to make the Americans novel.

In the same way, the excellent quality of the Americans' individual soldiers also left a very deep impression on the Boers, after all, the American soldiers who could come to South Africa were basically selected, and some of the people from the west had nothing to do and had to fight with the Indians or bandits. It's really not hard to pick out some old fritters. The fighting instincts of these men who grew up on horseback and learned to hold a gun before they even learned to hold a pen are not boastful.

With the deepening of the understanding between the two sides, the Boers and Americans have a more fair evaluation of the reliability of their comrades-in-arms, although it cannot be called a life and death trust, but at least it will not be a hindrance, and this is enough.

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

After research, Pershing decided that it would be better for his troops to act together with the main Boer forces. After all, it is a waste to put such a force in the rear, and it is not possible to have a unit with a large number of supplies and artillery to move quickly in the harassment army, and it is impossible in this era.

However, Pershing demanded that his unit should not be broken up and that all American troops should be concentrated under his command, and after Kruger agreed, Pershing then gave Kruger a radio station for communication. In fact, in 1898, radio was already available, and even warships were equipped, and the US Navy learned from the pain after suffering a big loss in communications. Several radios were immediately purchased at great expense, and in order to ensure communication with the Boers, Pershing brought four sets.

It has to be said that the arrival of the Americans unexpectedly disrupted Kruger's plans, and the time for the Boers to launch an attack was supposed to 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 postponed by several months. But then everything was realistic, this time the Boers were still waiting for it, the Americans' army really performed better than their navy. Of course, this is a later story, so I won't mention it for the time being.

With the retirement of time, another 3,000 American troops also entered the Boer Republic through various channels, and a large number of equipment also enriched the Boer arsenal through open or covert channels, but at this time Kruger still did not relax, he always felt that his preparations were still lacking.

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