The "Awakening" of Prisoners

On the same day that East Africa's Southern Military Region launched attacks on Cape Town and Natal, Count Roberts, commander of the British Army, also began a round of military operations against East Africa.

Count Roberts concentrated nearly fifty thousand men from four divisions and launched an attack toward the southeast, targeting the garrisons of the Guard Division and the 512th Division, attempting to reopen the southeastern passage.

At this point, Count Roberts was fighting with his back to the river. With the Limpopo River as the boundary, only a small force was needed to delay the offensive of the northern East African Army. The remaining troops were mainly concentrated in the west to obstruct support from the East African Western Military Region to the Guard Division and the 512th Division.

Count Roberts's plan was feasible, or rather, it was the optimal solution under the current circumstances. East African forces in the west and north were numerous and powerful, while troop deployments in the southeast were sparse. However, Count Roberts had underestimated the Guard Division's combat strength.

Cristiano, commander of the Guard Division's First Brigade, concentrated more than seventy heavy artillery pieces from the entire army, along with several hundred other artillery pieces of various types, and unleashed all-round fire coverage upon the oncoming Mozambique Allied forces.

At the same time, with machine guns, grenades, and other weapons working in concert, they not only held their positions firmly but also inflicted tremendous casualties on the Allied forces. Then, supported by cavalry, the Guard Division coordinated with the 512th Division to launch a full-scale counterattack, and the battle was basically over in just one hour.

In this battle, more than five thousand enemy troops were killed or wounded, over six thousand were captured—mostly Indians—and the Allied forces' ability to launch proactive