Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 376 The British Who Provoked Public Outrage

The Moroccan War and the Cuban Rebellion made the British acutely aware that if they did not quickly defeat the Boers, corresponding troubles would follow.

Those countries with conflicts with the British Empire will not let such a good opportunity pass them by. They can support the Cuban rebellion today, and they can support the Boers tomorrow.

But the Boers are now a major problem. Even with Britain's massive military budget and troops, there's no guarantee that the Boers can be dealt with quickly.

Britain's military expenditure in the Boer War was considerable.

In the first three months of the war, Britain spent as much as £800 million a month on military expenses, which was already a considerable expenditure.

The military expenditure for just these three months has reached £2400 million, equivalent to a staggering 6 million pesetas, which is nearly half of the Spanish government's fiscal revenue last year.

With so much money invested in just three months, and yet there hadn't been much progress on the front lines, one can imagine the British people's feelings at that moment.

Starting in June, Britain's military spending surged from £8 million to £16 million. This is the kind of military spending only the mighty British Empire could afford; if Spain were to spend that much on its military, the country would go bankrupt within three months.

What results have been achieved from Britain's massive military spending? To a certain extent, it has indeed yielded some results.

However, such effects are mostly negative. For example, the third week of July 1895, which Britain called the Dark Week.

In just seven days of that week, the British front-line troops suffered more than 7 casualties. Of these, about 3000 were confirmed dead, and the remaining nearly 7000 were either wounded or captured.

This is a huge scandal for Britain. What did the loss of tens of thousands of people achieve?

They killed fewer than a thousand Boer soldiers.

Yes, the Boer casualties were less than a thousand.

Because the Boers employed guerrilla tactics, the British army found it difficult to locate large numbers of Boer soldiers on the main battlefield.

The main reason why the Boer army of nearly a thousand men was able to be defeated in one fell swoop was that the Boers wanted to rescue Boer civilians who had been captured by the British.

The rescue was a success. The Boers successfully rescued thousands of civilians from the concentration camp, while inflicting tens of thousands of casualties on the British army at the cost of fewer than a thousand of their own.

This was absolutely a war worthy of being recorded in history. The mighty British army seemed to have little power to resist the Boers, whose tactics were like walking a dog, leaving the British army completely at their mercy.

The worst off were the Indian expeditionary force. These Indian soldiers had traveled thousands of kilometers to fight in Africa, and before they could even feel excited about reaching the border of the Transvaal Republic, they encountered a Boer guerrilla force of several hundred men.

The Boers quickly taught the Indians how to fight, but unfortunately, the Indians no longer had the chance.

Due to unfamiliarity with the terrain and lack of combat experience, this Indian army of 3000 men was wiped out by the Boers in a very short time.

Compared to the colonial armies from India and other regions, the British regular army performed somewhat better, but only somewhat.

In order to push the battle line from British colonies to Boer lands, the British government suffered heavy casualties.

Nearly seven months have passed since the war broke out in early March 1895.

Britain's cumulative military spending has approached £9000 million, roughly equivalent to the entire British Empire's annual fiscal revenue.

Looking at the map of the South African war would immediately put all the British to shame. The situation on the front lines remained extremely tense; although the British had gained some advantages, they were unable to convert these advantages into victory.

Despite the fact that Britain had already occupied parts of Orange and Transvaal, there was still a large amount of resistance in these occupied areas.

Some British troops could be ambushed by guerrillas in occupied territories if they were not careful. If there were more of them, it would be better, since the number of guerrillas was generally not large, and it was difficult for them to wipe out a large number of troops in an organized manner.

However, if an army of only a few hundred or a thousand men encountered these troublesome Boer partisans, they would basically be wiped out.

If the large sums of money Britain invested demonstrated its confidence in the war effort, then the Boers' united hatred of the enemy and their iron will also proved their determination to resist Britain.

Through their prolonged campaign against Britain, the Boers captured a great deal of weaponry and equipment from the British. The British Empire, being incredibly wealthy, equipped its colonial armies with the same weaponry and equipment as its regular army.

Unfortunately, these colonial armies were not very effective; many soldiers gave away equipment to the Boers as soon as they arrived on the front lines.

The Boers were not going to be polite to the British; they used the weapons and equipment to form even more guerrilla groups. Because the Boer population was so small, they had no restrictions or requirements on the number of soldiers they recruited.

Regardless of age or gender, anyone who can take up a gun and fight can become a member of the guerrilla force.

It was precisely this policy that made it nearly impossible to completely eliminate the Boer partisans in the occupied territories. Even if the British army wiped out a large partisan group, another partisan group would still be active in the area a few days later.

With a large amount of money invested, the British government gradually grew weary of the war.

The British government also decided to abandon any moral considerations in the face of the ever-emerging Boers in the occupied territories.

Beginning in early October 1895, the British government implemented a brutal scorched-earth policy in the two Boer states, the Transvaal Republic and the Orange Free State.

In the occupied territories where resistance was more intense, Britain adopted a strategy of arresting Boers across the board.

Whether they were civilians or guerrillas, as long as they were Boers, they were all arrested.

This method did indeed effectively reduce resistance in the occupied territories. After all, the total number of Boers was only four or five hundred thousand. The British had arrested most of the population in the occupied territories. With so few people left, how could the Boers possibly resist?
The scorched-earth policy implemented by Britain during the two months from October to November was extremely effective.

However, the brutal concentration camps also caused massive civilian casualties among the Boers. In the first seven months of the war, the total Boer casualties totaled just over 7, only one-fifth of the British casualties.

However, after Britain implemented a scorched-earth policy and concentration camps to manage Boer civilians, the total number of individual casualties quickly rose to more than 20,000.

Among them, thousands of Boer civilians, especially the elderly, women and children, died at the hands of the British army, which ignited the anger of the Boers and many European countries.

If it were just cruel treatment of African natives, that would be one thing, since in the eyes of most white Europeans, the life or death of these black Africans is not of much concern.

The problem is that Britain treated the descendants of white European immigrants so cruelly. The Boers were mainly composed of descendants of Dutch immigrants, Germans, and French—all of whom were native Europeans.

The way Britain treats white civilians is absolutely cruel.

The Dutch government protested Britain's brutal scorched-earth policy, and with the encouragement of Germany, France, and other countries, Britain once again became the target of criticism from European countries.

Compared to the Dutch people's indignation and the Germans' euphemism, the French reports were much more direct.

Several major French intelligence agencies published photos of British troops abusing Boer civilians, especially women, children, and the elderly, in concentration camps.

These photos caused a huge uproar in France. The French people could not believe that Britain could be so cruel to white people, even abusing these elderly people and children.

Unfortunately, Britain had no excuse to refute this at the time. The Boers gained support from many countries, and even the Dutch civilians formed a volunteer army to fight in South Africa.

Given the large European population in the Boer region, it's not surprising that similar photos circulated back to Europe. This isn't something Britain can simply blockade without a clear mandate, unless Britain is determined to take action against all Europeans in the Boer region.

But it is clear that the British government has absolutely no courage to do so.

Doing so would simultaneously provoke attacks from many European countries, and could even invite a joint attack from numerous European powers against Britain.

If things go wrong and European countries form an anti-British alliance, things could get really messy. While the British mainland would be protected by the Royal Fleet and not threatened by European powers, a united front from other European powers could instantly crumble Britain's presence in Europe and around the world.

Even the Indian colony, which was quite important to Britain, was divided up by European countries. Although Britain's navy was powerful, if it was scattered around the world to protect its homeland and colonies, it would be at risk of being conquered one by one by European countries.

The British silence only fueled the anger of other European nations. What began as a Dutch volunteer army supporting the Boers had now sparked similar sentiments among people in many other European countries.

First and foremost were the French, who were most dissatisfied with Britain. With the tacit support of the French government, a volunteer army of up to 3000 people was organized in France.

The Chinese People's Volunteer Army embarked on its journey to South Africa in a high-profile manner, while the French government closely monitored the movements of the fleet carrying the Volunteer Army.

If Britain dared to attack the fleet containing these volunteers, France would have an excuse to declare war on Britain. For one thing, these volunteers were all genuine French soldiers.

If Britain were to kill 3000 Frenchmen at once, it would mean that they were ready to fight a war with France.

News of the formation of a volunteer army by French civilians has been reported in various European countries, eliciting widespread responses from people in many nations.

It's not surprising that Germany was the first to respond to France.

Although there were historical grievances between France and Germany, this did not prevent Germans from sympathizing with the plight of the Boers.

The Boers are comprised of immigrants from the Netherlands, Germany, and France. While the majority are Dutch immigrants, there is also a significant number of descendants of German and French immigrants.

This is also why Germany and France were quite dissatisfied with Britain's actions, since the Boers had certain relations with both Germany and France.

Kaiser Wilhelm II's public statements also show that although Germany preferred to ally with Britain, the German government did not support Britain in this war.

After volunteers were formed in France and Germany, another country hostile to Britain also took action: Russia.

Russia and the Boers had little to do with each other; their formation of a volunteer army was simply to annoy the British and cause them some trouble.

It's worth noting that Russia lacks many things, but it doesn't lack people. Compared to Germany and France, which formed volunteer armies of a few thousand people, Russia decided to form a volunteer army of ten thousand people right from the start.

Of course, the Russian government was still short of money. Although Russia was willing to form a volunteer army to aid the Boers, the Russian government was not willing to spend too much money on it.

This was easily resolved. The Tsarist government contacted the Transvaal Republic, expressing its willingness to send volunteer troops to help the Boers in their fight.

However, the Russian government also made a request: Russia would only provide personnel and at most cover the cost of transporting them to South Africa.

As for the remaining weapons, equipment, and military expenses, the Boers themselves would have to take responsibility for those.

Although such a request may seem strange, it was a godsend for the Boers, who were in dire need of manpower at the time.

The lack of weapons and equipment is one thing, but most of the weapons donated by European countries have not yet been deployed. Raising more than 10,000 rifles to equip the Russians should not be a problem, and as for the military budget, they can find a way to raise the funds from the gold mines.

After all, if they lost the war, the gold mines would become British property, and the Boers would have nothing to do with them anymore.

But if they can win this war, the Boers will still be able to live comfortably in the future thanks to the gold mines in this land.

It must be said that the British massacre of the Boers did indeed arouse outrage throughout Europe. Similar volunteer forces were also formed in Spain, and Carlos was one of those whose activities drew the attention of the Royal Security Intelligence Service.

To further disgust the British, Carlo mixed dozens of officers who had graduated from the Royal Military Academy into the volunteer army formed by the Spanish civilians.

Once they reach the Boer front, these officers will officially take command of the volunteer army. They'll then be tasked with giving the British a good fight, causing them even more trouble, and incidentally learning the guerrilla tactics the Boers used on the battlefield.

It is worth mentioning that the United States, separated from Europe by the Atlantic Ocean, also formed a certain number of volunteer troops.

This reflects both the United States' focus on the situation in Europe and how unpopular Britain's actions in the Boer region are.

Although the number of volunteers sent by various European countries was not large, the volunteers from several countries combined barely managed to raise 2 people.

This was a good thing for the Boers. Although the number of volunteers from various European countries was only around 2, the fighting capacity of the European armies was among the best in the world.

Of the countries that formed volunteer armies, Germany and France are world-renowned for their armies, while the Spanish army has been powerful since ancient times. Although the Russian army's combat strength was not particularly strong, its advantage lay in the larger number of Russian volunteers, which could relieve the Boers' immediate crisis.

The combined forces of these countries would be difficult to deal with unless Britain deployed more than 10 troops.

If Britain had used its colonial troops, even 10 troops might not have been able to defeat these 2 volunteers.

This was undoubtedly a difficult problem presented to the British by European countries. With these 2 volunteers helping the Boers fight, the war could be delayed for at least another year.

On the British side, the British government was not unaware of the European countries sending volunteer troops. They even knew that some of these volunteers were definitely mixed with real officers and soldiers.

The problem is that the British government is unable to retaliate. When it implemented the scorched-earth policy in the Transvaal and Orange regions, the British government understood that such actions would certainly cause a huge uproar in Europe.

But there was no other way; the British government was already in a difficult position. If the Boer War wasn't ended sooner, Britain's attention would be tied up in this small region of South Africa.

If Morocco can make concessions, if Cuba can make concessions, are we going to have to make concessions in Canada, India, and other regions as well?

Only by quickly resolving the Boer problem could Britain focus its energy on other regions. Freed from this burden, Britain could easily handle the Cuban rebellion and also instill fear in other European countries, deterring them from causing further trouble.

Since European countries had all sent volunteers, Britain naturally wouldn't back down. Britain not only increased its military budget but also sent even more troops on expeditions.

To date, Britain has deployed as many as 15 troops to the Transvaal and Orange regions, which is one-third of the Boer population in the area and more than four times the size of the Boer army.

Even including the 2 volunteers supported by various European countries, the British army was still nearly three times the size of the Boer army.

Even with such a massive military deployment, the Boers could not be defeated, so the British government decided to continue deploying troops until the Boers surrendered.

This time, Britain does not intend to mobilize troops from its colonies, but instead plans to deploy its elite British home troops.

The British realized that continuing to mobilize troops from the colonies was simply to inflate British casualties and give the Boers and other countries' volunteers training.

The combat effectiveness of these colonial armies was simply too poor. Even with the advanced weapons provided by Britain, it did not change the fact that they were merely a motley crew.

In mid-November 1895, Britain mobilized nearly 50,000 troops from its homeland and marched in a grand procession to South Africa.

These troops, mobilized from the mainland, would arrive in South Africa simultaneously with the volunteer forces from various European countries. Britain did not believe that it could lose to a volunteer force formed by European countries, even with more than twice the number of troops.

Even if the Boers gained the support of various European countries, what could they do? As long as these countries dared not openly confront Britain, Britain would always be in a superior position in this war.

It's just a matter of spending money, manpower, and resources; Britain really isn't afraid of anyone in this regard.

With support from its colonies around the world, Britain's annual fiscal revenue was an astronomical figure compared to other European countries.

Under such circumstances, even a protracted war with the Boers would be worthwhile for the British.

If the Boers think they can outlast the British Empire with their few gold mines, the British government can only tell them two words: dream on!
　First update, 5200 words. There will be another update tonight!
　　The author is feeling a bit dizzy right now, so I'll take some medicine and rest. There will be another update tonight, but it will probably be a little late. However, the author promises to publish it before 2 AM.

　　For those who can't wait, don't wait any longer. Watch it tomorrow during the day. Thanks for understanding.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)