Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 379 The Boer War Ends
Not long after Prince Juan Fernando's fleet set sail, a major news story came from South Africa.

自上一次增兵5万人之后，英国政府又决定再增兵10万人。随着时间来到1896年的2月，英国在布尔战争中投入的军队数量已经超过25万人。

In addition to these troops, Britain also transported thousands of warhorses from its homeland and Australia to increase the mobility of its forces.

In this era, cavalry still played a very important role. As the fastest-moving army, cavalry could not only be used as reconnaissance troops, but also for strategic attacks and flanking maneuvers.

The Boers clearly did not have that many horses, which means that once the British cavalry was established, Britain would have an absolute advantage in cavalry.

As expected, the British cavalry force quickly proved effective on the main battlefields of the Boer War after its formation.

The British army's original offensive route was to advance northward from Natal, directly blockading the coastline of the Transvaal Republic and achieving a complete encirclement of both Transvaal and Orange.

The Boers were also aware of the British intentions. They deployed large numbers of troops in the south and southeast of the Transvaal Republic, and these troops, through their resolute resistance, made it difficult for the British army to advance their lines further north.

Even with the overwhelming advantage in size, it was still impossible for the British army to make progress on the main battlefield in a short period of time.

After careful consideration, the British army decided to prioritize dealing with the weaker-defended Orange Free State. Although both were Boer states, the Orange Free State had a smaller territory and population, and naturally, its defenses were also weaker.

More importantly, if they could capture Orange, the British army could advance directly north from Orange, bypassing the defenses built by the Boers in the southern and southeastern Transvaal Republic.

In this way, the British army could easily occupy Pretoria, the capital of the Transvaal Republic, thus ending the war.

With that in mind, the British no longer hesitated.

Because their total troop strength was five times that of the Boers, the British could change their offensive targets with impunity without worrying about affecting their offensives on other battlefields.

While the current situation on the main battlefield is unfavorable to the British offensive, it is equally impossible for the Boers to launch a counterattack against Britain.

Because of their overwhelming numerical disadvantage, the Boers were forced to adopt a defensive strategy across the entire front. This strategy did have some effect, significantly slowing down the British advance.

This is also why, after nearly a year of war, the British army had not yet made much progress on the main battlefields. Furthermore, the continuous influx of aid from various European countries into the Transvaal Republic made the war more difficult than ever before.

The good news is that the British army's repeated defeats on the front lines have actually fueled the growing belligerence among the British public.

In the eyes of the British, the British Empire was the most powerful country in the world, and Britain would never back down in front of the tiny Boers.

Even if it means losing hundreds of millions of pounds, the war must be won at all costs. The British people's belligerent sentiment has also influenced the British government; given the current situation, no matter how the fighting goes on the front lines, the war can only continue.

The British government will absolutely not compromise unless Britain achieves a final victory.

If a compromise is made, the angry British public will immediately make the British government understand what it means to defy public opinion.

As the war has progressed, the British government has already invested over £1 million in the conflict. Fortunately, the British government is financially strong; while this military budget is astronomical for other European countries, it is manageable for Britain itself.

Is one hundred million pounds a lot? Of course it is.

But this is only the British government's annual revenue. Asking other countries to contribute their annual revenue to the war would be painful for their governments, but it wouldn't lead to financial collapse.

Take the Spanish government as an example. Last year, the Spanish government's total fiscal revenue reached 14.462 billion pesetas. If the Spanish government were to allocate that much money for war within a year, it would be quite easy for it to raise the funds.

Even spending so much on military expenditures over a year wouldn't cripple Spain. This was the source of the British confidence; Britain's finances were better than Spain's, and they were confident they could allocate more funds—after all, money was never in short supply for the British.

To boost the morale of soldiers on the front lines, the British government procured large quantities of food and beef and mutton, which were then transported to the South African battlefield.

Soldiers on the front lines were eating meat almost every day, which was considered a fairly good standard of rations. Such generous food did indeed motivate the British troops at the front, and they fought with even greater ferocity than before.

Encouraged by Britain's continuous financial support, the frontline troops quickly achieved victories in the Boer War.

Although the Boers resisted fiercely, their population was simply too small, a disadvantage that could not be overcome.

After Britain shifted its offensive focus from the Transvaal Republic to the Orange Free State, the Boers' lack of manpower quickly became apparent.

With only forty to fifty thousand troops, it would be very difficult to defend such a large area of ​​Boer territory. On the advice of European experts, the Boers placed their main defensive forces in the southern part of the Transvaal Republic, which was originally the main direction of the British army's offensive.

However, when the British army changed its direction of attack, the Boer army found it difficult to respond.

Once the Boers redeploy their troops to southern Transvaal, the British army will likely launch another attack on the land.

At that point, both might be lost; neither the Orange Free State nor the Transvaal Republic could be held. Without mobilizing troops from the rear, the Orange Free State's army, numbering only a little over ten thousand, was clearly no match for the attacking British forces.

To quickly occupy the Orange Free State, the British army mobilized nearly 100,000 troops. With 100,000 men against 10,000, a tenfold numerical advantage, this war could have been won with a snap of the fingers.

And indeed, that was the case. The British army captured Bloemfontein, the capital of the Orange Free State, in just half a month. This news boosted the morale of all the British troops on the front lines, as if they could see the hope of victory in the war.

Having achieved considerable success, the British army advanced rapidly and soon occupied the entire Orange Free State.

By this time, it was March 1896, and the Transvaal Republic was the only one left fighting on the entire Boer battlefield.

To prevent the Boers of the Orange Free State from continuing their guerrilla warfare and undermining the British occupation, the British army established a large concentration camp in Bloemfontein, the capital of the Orange Free State, which included almost all of the tens of thousands of Boers from the surrounding area.

Britain established a very strict management system in the concentration camps, explicitly prohibiting anyone from gathering in private.

Within a week of the concentration camp's establishment, thousands of Boer civilians had been shot by British troops for various reasons.

The brutality of the British army aroused strong resentment among the Boers of the Transvaal Republic, and their resistance against the British army became more intense, even to the point of being fearless and willing to exchange their lives with the British army.

But the British army no longer cared about the Boers' opinions. For the British government, any means were worthwhile as long as the war could be ended quickly.

In late March 1896, British troops officially began their invasion of the Transvaal Republic.

At this point, the balance of power had tipped in favor of Britain. The Boers had less than 40,000 troops left, nearly 10,000 of whom were volunteers supported by various European countries.

On the British side, although the British army lost nearly 3 men in continuous battles, the number of troops they sent to replenish their ranks was actually greater.

Under these circumstances, the British army has not only not decreased in the slightest, but has instead approached its peak of 30 men.

It's important to understand that British casualties on the front lines had already approached 10. This essentially means that Britain had committed nearly 40 troops to the battlefield, roughly equivalent to the total population of the Boers.

With fewer than 4 men fighting against nearly 30, the outcome of this war was essentially predetermined.

The Boers also realized that they could no longer defeat the British. Their thinking had changed from defeating the British to inflicting casualties on the British as much as possible. With the idea that trading one would not be a loss, trading two would be a huge gain, the more disadvantaged the Boers became, the stronger their will to fight became.

In the early stages of the war, the Boer ambushes caused heavy casualties to the British army. The British army also learned to be smarter. When ambushed, the infantry no longer maintained their formation, but instead dug trenches nearby to cover the cavalry in launching counterattacks against the Boer positions.

This is precisely the crucial role of cavalry. Because the Boers were outnumbered, they were unable to effectively defend against the British cavalry while ambushing the British army.

If the cavalry successfully fell behind the Boer positions, the ambush would turn into a massacre of the Boers by the British army.

This British tactic proved highly effective. The Boers' attempts to ambush them at places like the Poplar Grove and Abraham Cattle Pen failed repeatedly, resulting in casualties of nearly 4. On April 11, 1896, the British 6th and 7th Expeditionary Divisions defeated the best-equipped Boer police force in Johannesburg at Abraham Cattle Pen.

The army's weapons and equipment all came from European countries, and the Boers spent a lot of money to arm such an elite army.

Unfortunately, the superior weaponry could not mask the fact that the troops were outnumbered. After a fierce battle, the unit suffered heavy losses and was forced to flee.

The collapse of the Johannesburg police force was like the last straw that broke the camel's back for the Boers.

On April 13, the remaining military forces in the northern part of the Orange Free State fled to the Transvaal Republic, effectively ending the Orange Free State.

The good news is that due to the typhoid epidemic, Commander Roberts had to order the British army to rest in place.

This was not the era of advanced medical technology in later times; even typhoid fever could be fatal for soldiers at any moment.

The British offensive was forced to a halt due to typhoid fever, which ironically gave the nearly collapsed Boers a chance to catch their breath.

The British troops at the front could wait, but the British government at the rear certainly couldn't. Less than a week later, another batch of British reinforcements arrived in South Africa.

This batch of reinforcements totaled approximately 6 men, and was almost the last batch of reinforcements for the British army.

With the addition of these 6 reinforcements, Britain's total military strength on the front lines exceeded 35, more than 10 times the Boers' remaining force of less than 3.

After a period of rest and reorganization, the British army redeployed eight infantry divisions and one cavalry division, preparing to launch a renewed offensive in early May.

After rest and regrouping, the British army regained its fighting strength and quickly conquered large swathes of territory of the Transvaal Republic.

British troops attempted to offer the Boers in the occupied territories lenient terms, such as allowing them to return to their farms after surrendering and resume their peaceful lives, in exchange for their surrender and the disruption of order in the British-occupied territories.

While some did choose to surrender to the British army, the majority of the Boers chose to resist resolutely.

Unfortunately, the British army had committed far too many atrocities against the Boers in the year since the war began, and most Boers could not let go of the deep-seated hatred between them and the British.

Since the British government could not get the Boers in the occupied territories to give up their resistance, it decided not to place its hopes on them and instead chose to annex the two Boer states first.

On May 20, 1896, the Governor of the British Cape Colony announced in Bloemfontein the annexation of the Orange Free State, and the lands of the Orange Free State would be incorporated into the Cape Colony.

The following day, the British army intensified its offensive against the Transvaal Republic, attempting to eliminate the last remaining Boer state that month.

In less than 10 days, the British army had advanced the front line to a point not far south of Pretoria, the capital of the Transvaal Republic.

Here, the British army and the Boer army clashed in their final battle.

The remaining 2 Boer soldiers held out for three days, but were eventually forced to surrender due to heavy casualties and insufficient supplies.

By the time they finally surrendered, fewer than 5000 Boer soldiers remained to fight, demonstrating their tenacity in the war.

On the British side, in order to defeat the last remaining Boer army, the British suffered more casualties than the Boers.

The British army originally numbered over 35, but after more than a month of fighting, its combat-ready strength has dwindled to less than 30.

After defeating this last Boer army, the British army marched into Pretoria, the capital of the Transvaal Republic, and declared its occupation a few days later.

In fact, the war was almost over at this point. However, due to the brutality of the British army, most Boers did not accept the rule of the British government.

There were still many militias resisting British rule in these two Boer states. Only by completely eliminating these military forces that were resisting them could Britain achieve a true annexation.

News of the war's end quickly reached Europe and sparked widespread discussion across the continent.

Regardless of Britain's reputation in this war, which has attracted attention from Europe and even the world, countries are particularly concerned about Britain's involvement and the losses of its troops.

Although the UK does not release detailed intelligence to the public, some basic data is readily available.

In addition, each country has its own intelligence organization, so having a general idea of ​​the scope is not a problem.

With the help of the Royal Security Intelligence Service, Carlo successfully obtained information on the British and Boer involvement and casualties in the war.

This war differed slightly from historical ones, but was largely the same. The hatred between the Boers and the British ran deeper, and the British suffered more casualties than in previous wars.

But Britain was the one with a huge advantage after all. Even though the Boers received aid from various European countries, it still could not change the fact that Britain was the only victor in this war.

First, there's the issue of troop deployment. Britain committed a total of 45 troops to this war, while the Boers committed only 6, plus 2 international volunteers.

Although the total amount of military spending by the British government is unclear, by the beginning of 1896, it had already reached £1.4 million.

During those six months in 1896, the British government had to spend at least 60 to 70 million pounds on military expenses.

With this total, the military expenditure is over £2 million, which would probably make even the British Empire feel the pinch for a long time.

There are no systematic records of the Boer military expenditures. Much of it came from aid provided by various European countries, which is why the small Boer state was able to persist for so long.

If they were to spend all their money on supplies, the finances of the Transvaal Republic and the Orange Free State would likely collapse in less than six months.

Let's talk about the casualties in the UK, which is of utmost concern to European countries.

Britain deployed a total of 45 troops, with nearly 3 killed in action. Total British casualties reached approximately 15, and by the end of the war, fewer than 30 British soldiers remained uninjured on the battlefield.

On the Boer side, the army's death toll was less than 10,000, but the casualty rate was extremely high, reaching nearly 40,000.

Compared to the Boer army, Boer civilian casualties were actually higher. The number of Boer civilians who died in British concentration camps and prisoner-of-war camps exceeded 3, which greatly deepened the hatred between the British and the Boers.

One has to admire the Boers' formidable fighting strength. Despite having an army only one-seventh the size of their opponents, the Boers achieved a kill ratio of 1:3 and a casualty ratio of 1:4, a truly impressive performance.

If Britain hadn't had India as a cash cow, it would have been severely crippled in this war.

Of course, the situation in the UK isn't much better right now. Having spent a whopping £2 million on military spending, the British government has had to cut back on future shipbuilding plans and reduce the size of its army as much as possible to save on unnecessary expenditures.

Compared to the financial losses, the British government's most serious loss was actually its international prestige and influence.

The British Empire originally enjoyed extremely high prestige, but its cruel treatment of the Boers led to condemnation from countries around the world.

This also means that the British government's future diplomatic actions will be severely affected. Those who are already Britain's allies will naturally remain loyal, but the remaining countries are not so convinced of Britain's authority.

　5200 words, second update. Today's 2-word daily goal successfully achieved!

　　We still need 10,000 yuan a day, please support us!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)