It was raining, heavy and strong winds, and a cavalry company of more than 300 people galloped in the heavy rain. The sound of wind and rain could not cover up the rapid and dense sound of horse hooves. In his early thirties, the strong and powerful Drare whipped his horse from time to time. His battalion's mission was to destroy the Claypan's railway before dark.

Claypan is about 100 kilometers south of Kimberley. It is a small station on the railway connecting Kimberley and Cape Town. It is not a strategic point. It is just a target station for the Transvaal Defense Force to destroy the Cape Town-Kimberley Railway.

The heavy rain came quickly and went quickly. In less than half an hour, the rain scattered and the clouds closed. A whistle detective quickly came up from the front, "Report--, it's less than ten kilometers away from the target, safe!"

"Resting on the spot." Drare then gently tilted the reins and ordered loudly. The whistle detective followed and slowed down his horse. "There are about 130 defenders of Claypan, with three machine guns..."

Clapan is a small station. There are only more than 30 soldiers guarding Suli, but now more than 130 defenders suddenly appear. Needless to say, it is definitely the European Union that has strengthened its protection against the railway.

Drare's face suddenly became gloomy. Three machine guns, even the Gatling machine gun, were not something that he had just over 300 cavalrymen. He knew very well how shocking the lethality of the machine gun was. For the cavalry, machine guns were simply nightmares.

After jumping off the horse and checking the map carefully, he moved his target three kilometers south of Klepan Station. This place is close to their current location and not far from the station. His mission is to destroy the railway and there is no need to fight against the other party.

The Boers have always adopted flexible and maneuverable tactics, but their troops are too limited and they cannot afford to fight or consume them. Of course, if they can attract the enemy stationed at the station to pursue him, he would not mind destroying some of them. As long as the enemy does not carry heavy weapons such as machine guns and artillery, with the combat qualities of the National Defense Forces, he really doesn't take any European coalition seriously.

The men and horses had been eating and resting for more than half an hour. Delare raised his wrist and looked at his watch. Seeing that the short needle had already pointed to four, he ordered aloud and "Start." Now they have entered the territory of the British and are at risk of being discovered at any time, so he had to be more careful.

Shortly after urging the horse to move forward, a railway was located in front of Delare. This railway connecting Cape Town to Kimberley was newly built by the British in recent years. The Transvaal gold mine has a large reserve and high output. Kimberley's diamond also has a large reserve and high output. It is now the world's largest diamond production area. In order to promote the diamond mining in Kimberley or to ensure the safety of Kimberley, the British couldn't wait to build this not-so-short railway.

Several cavalrymen responsible for the reconnaissance gathered from several directions. When they heard that no trace of the enemy was found nearby, Drare waved his hand decisively, and more than thirty cavalry immediately rushed the horse to rush to the railway. He placed explosive packs on the railway with familiar actions. Transva not only had many gold mines, but also explosives. Whether it was mining or road construction, a large amount of explosives were needed. Naturally, the first thing to do was to consider using explosive packs to destroy the railway was to consider.

Just a quarter of an hour ago, there were explosions like muffled thunder, and the railway two kilometers in front and behind were completely destroyed by the huge explosion.

Since someone rushed to the railway to check the damage effect, Delare held the telescope and watched Claypan's movements with a cold expression. What disappointed him was that Claypan's defenders just came out to watch for a while and then shrank back. Obviously, the other party did not have the courage to come out to hunt them down, which made him a little disappointed, but he was relieved and waved his hand immediately, "Don't stand there, harvest the telegram line."

Harvesting telegraph wires not only destroys the enemy's communication, but also helps to temporarily set up wires and telegraphs. Since the Crimean War, wired telegraphs have been increasingly widely used in wars, and battlefield communications have also been paid more and more attention. Cutting off the collecting wires has become a very common task.

"Woo--" A train rushed towards the sunset with thick smoke, and was far away from Delare and noticed that during this period, the number of trains passing by on this railway line has increased significantly, all loading trains, and it is obvious that they transport strategic materials such as arms and grain to Mafujing.

Delare asked loudly: "How many explosive packs are left?"

“Seven more.”

"Force the train!" Delare ordered simply that since he came to the door on his own initiative, he had no reason to let it go. He planned to force the train to burn the materials shipped on the train after it was forced to burn or blow it up, whether it was food or arms. He had already torn his face, so naturally he had nothing to worry about.

With a few loud explosions, another section of railway was blown up. The train started to slow down and brake while still far away. It stopped slowly. Delare raised his hand and said, "Go to see the three rows, please note that there must be escorts on the train."

More than thirty cavalry were approaching the train. Drare saw from the telescope that some officers and soldiers who had guns and live ammunition jumped from the iron carriages one after another. They were actually personnel carriers! They kicked to the iron plate! At the same time, he was shocked, and he quickly fired his gun to signal to retreat.

The sound of gunfire on his side was not gone, and the dull and creepy machine gun sounded, and the cavalry team that had no time to turn was immediately over.

"Retreat!" Delare ordered without hesitation.

The cavalry squad that destroyed the railway was not just the team of Delare. On the same day, more than ten Buer cavalry squads crossed the border and unscrupulously destroyed the railway. The railway line 200 kilometers south of Kimberley was severely damaged, and the wired telegrams set up along the railway line were also harvested.

Kimberly, French battalion, command center.

French Lieutenant General - about 60 years old, severely bald, thin-faced, and mustache Louis Leon Sezar Federb paced back and forth, his steps slow and heavy. He was the main founder of the French African Empire. During his tenure, he borrowed only a few troops through force and negotiations, which enabled France to obtain almost the same colony as his homeland in Africa, laying the foundation for France's colony in West Africa.

Later, he was transferred to the commander of the Constantine Division. When the French-Prussian War broke out, he was summoned to the commander-in-chief of the Northern Army. In Pont de Ge and Saint-Continent, he once curbed the attack on northeastern France by the First German Army. He was an army general with outstanding military achievements in France. This time he sent troops to South Africa, he was the best candidate for France to lead troops to fight and the commander-in-chief of the French-Austria and Italy coalition.

The Boers were so rampant, which was indeed a bit beyond Federbu's expectations. This made him realize that the logistics supply of the army would be a serious problem, and he also realized that the army's advance would inevitably not go smoothly, and he must strictly guard against the harassment of the Boers' cavalry.

Of course, the sudden action of the Boers also revealed a signal that the Germans should have invaded Transvaal. Although the 20,000 Italian troops had not arrived in Kimberley, he knew that he could not drag them any longer. If he dragged them on, he might be defeated by the Qing army.

In fact, the French arrived at Kimberley earlier than the German landed in Durban. However, he used the excuse that the Austro-Hungarian and Italian armies had not arrived and were still holding their troops for a long time. He just wanted the German army to attract the Qing army. Although he did not participate in the Eastern Expedition, he knew the detailed situation of the British and French coalition forces in Tianjin. He knew very well about the combat power of the Qing army and would not be inferior to the German army.

From the beginning, he made up his mind to let the German army attract the attention of the Qing army first. Therefore, as early as the army set out to fight, he asked the British to block the cable telegram from Cape Town ten days before the army was scheduled to land, and strictly blocked the news. After the landing, the British troops stationed in Kimberley were given a close watch, with the purpose of achieving unexpected goals.

"Tell me the order." Federb stopped and said calmly: "The army advanced to Johannesburg early tomorrow morning. The Italian army is responsible for the safety of the Kimberley-Cape Town railway and communications, and must ensure smooth logistics transportation and communications!"

Standedton, Qing army camp.

"Report——." The communications officer saluted and opened the folder, "The 40,000 coalition forces of France and Austria were dispatched early this morning, and the target should be Johannesburg.

The combat staff quickly marked an arrow on the combat map. Yi Zhengxing glanced at Feng Zicai and said slowly: "Kimberley is more than 400 kilometers away from Fort John. It takes at least ten days to march normally?"

"Ten thousand troops are marching. Under normal circumstances, forty kilometers a day is extremely fast." Feng Zicai said: "However, the other party may not be able to march normally." He said while pointing the map with his hand pole. "This is obviously a two-way attack. The other party may march quickly, and at least one force will be distributed to march quickly..."

Yi Zhengxing felt nervous. The French and Austrian coalition had to divide 5,000 troops to march quickly, which might directly threaten the safety of Fort John. At present, Johannesburg only had one regiment of troops to defend.

Feng Zicai knew clearly what he was worried about and immediately comforted: "Your Highness, don't worry, the Boers will harass the enemy along the way, and delay the enemy's marching speed to the maximum extent."

This statement did not make Yi Zhengxing calm down. He pondered for a moment before he said: "Tell me the report to Shanghai and ask Fort John if it is necessary to evacuate."

If he was a little sure before, he was not sure at all. The survival of Fort John's population is not only related to the safety of more than 100,000 people, but also to the output of gold mines. He dare not be careless.

Shanghai, Zhennan Wangfu, Changle Bookstore.

Yi Zhizu forwarded the telegram to Zhao Liewen and said indifferently: "This Federbu is so calm that he only emerges at this time."

"That guy just wants the German army to exchange fire with our country in the east." Yan Yangtian said slowly: "However, since the French and Austrian coalition has emerged, it must have captured Fort John as quickly as possible to avoid being taken first by the German army."

Zhao Liewen hesitated and said, "If Fort John does not evacuate, the casualties will probably not be small."

"There will not be much casualties. No matter who takes over Fort John, the first priority is to mine gold mines, rather than killing indiscriminately." Yi Zhizu said slowly: "Let them evacuate some of the technicians secretly, without a large-scale evacuation."

"Does the principal want to take this opportunity to consume the strength of the Boers?" Yan Yangtian said tentatively. What has always been revealed in the fact that the Yixiu is not annexing Transvaal, but this decision is obviously to induce the Boers to work hard.

Yi Zhizuo didn't hide anything from him, so he nodded slowly, "I had always been unwilling to annex Transvaal, mainly because I was worried that the food was too ugly. One reason was that the Boers would not agree easily, and the other was that the European powers would attack.

Now it seems that not annexing Transvaal seems to have more harm than good. If Transvaal has been included in our territory, the five European countries are afraid that they will not dare to infringe on it easily.

The number of Boers is not large, so it is better to use this battle to consume it to make them clearly realize their situation, and it will be easier to annex after the war is over."

South Africa, north of Glencoe, German camp.

A large group of mules and horses came in a mighty manner. Outside the gate of the barracks, Frederick Carl, who was riding on horseback, showed a rare smile on his face. An officer rushed to the front and saluted him and reported: "The report to the general is 700 mules and horses, and 200 will arrive in Glencoe tomorrow."

"Very good." Frederick Carl said, urging the horse to return to the military camp with his horse. This time he came to South Africa, his troops carried a large number of artillery, including heavy artillery. There was a great demand for mules and horses. England was pretty good. He kept transporting mules and horses, greatly ensuring his marching speed.

The command center was dismounted from the camp, and a staff officer quickly came up, "General, the Boers attacked the railway line 200 kilometers south of Kimberley. The railway was severely damaged, and the cables were interrupted..."

After receiving the telegram and scanning his eyes, Frederick Carl frowned, then strode into the camp. This was not good news for him. He didn't care about the plan of two-way march at all. He was more willing to see Federb staying in Kimberley. He asked as he walked: "The vanguard is still far from Standerton?"

"About 100 kilometers, you can reach Standerton within three days."

"Let's speed up the march and let them arrive at Standerton within two days." Frederick Carl said in a deep voice, strode to the map and gestured for a while, and then ordered, "Five days, the main force must arrive at Standerton within five days."

Frederick Carl was a little anxious. He knew clearly that after the railway and cable telegram to Kimberley were interrupted, Federb would inevitably force him to send troops to advance to Johannesburg. He knew Federb's little thoughts very well, but it was nothing more than to let his troops attract the Qing army and the Boers, and then take advantage of the situation.

He didn't care about this at all, but was happy to see the other party staying in Kimberley. He believed that with his absolute superior force, even if the Qing army and the Boers tried their best to stop him in Standedton, they would not be able to stop his troops from advancing.
Chapter completed!