Cape Town (3)

So the Netherlands, full of confidence, launched an attack on Cape Town. These Netherlands were lucky, because their Britain opponents were not only poorly equipped, but also used outdated tactics. Faced with the attack, they didn't employ the Joseph Defense, which is now very popular in Europe and America; instead, they simply lined up in formation and engaged the Netherlands in open battle.

The lack of trenches, barbed wire, and the Joseph Defense might be attributed to a shortage of supplies—after all, the Britain hadn't paid much attention to Cape Town, and the equipment of the Cape Town colonial forces was essentially unchanged from before the Coalition War. (Of course, it wasn't entirely unchanged; for example, the number of fortress cannons increased, and their calibers were significantly larger— the British Navy had decommissioned too many sailing warships, and their cannons were basically discarded and reused in various fortresses.) They lacked rifled guns, barbed wire, grenades, and landmines.

But to actually use the tactics of line infantry to fight against others only suggests two possibilities: one is ignorance, being far away and completely unaware of the world's progress; the other is arrogance, believing that militias are just a rabble and that they, as a regular army, can easily crush this bunch of rabble—they can't even line up properly!

What followed was a nightmare for the Britain. Upon seeing the lined-up Britain, the Netherlands militia surged forward in a chaotic and disorganized manner. Major Hilton, the British Army commander, thought that if he had a few lighter bronze cannons, he could have killed a large number of rebels with solid shot alone.

However, he did not have any lightweight bronze cannons. He did not bring any cannons at all, because the Britain transport ships, while bringing the heavy iron naval guns that had been phased out by the navy, also towed away the few lightweight bronze cannons that the British Army in Cape Town already had—at that time, the price of copper was rising all over Europe.

Therefore, the troops led by Major Hilton did not include cannons.

The militia—no, the rebels—were getting closer, but Sir Hilton thought a single volley would be enough to wipe out the mob. However, just over two hundred meters away, the rebels opened fire, and a large platoon of the British Army was wiped out.

"Damn it! They're using rifled guns!"

Major Hilton wasn't unaware of rifled guns—he wasn't that ignorant—he just hadn't expected the rebels to have so many. But that was understandable; they bought their own guns to protect their own lives, so of course they'd buy whatever was best available. Unlike them, who were given whatever was obsolete.

To close the distance of over 200 meters to 150 meters and then fire a volley to wipe out the rebels? That sounds good, but considering the distance and the fact that the rebels outnumbered them, doing so would only result in total annihilation.

Major Hilton quickly made the decision. "Retreat! Retreat back into the city! The cavalry will cover the rear!"

The British Army then began to retreat, pursued by the militia. Fortunately, the British Army had not gone far, but even so, after escaping back, Major Hilton counted his men and found that only half of the battalion he had led was left.

But the militiamen were the ones who suffered next. After their easy victory, the militiamen were brimming with confidence, claiming that the Britain were actually no match for them.

"Even the Zulu are stronger than them!" one militiaman said.

This view was echoed by many militia members, who all expressed that the Britain were not even as good as the Zulu.

"If we had known this would happen, we should have taken them down much earlier!"

As for Babel, although he was their leader, he actually had no control over this rabble. After all, they had no organization whatsoever.

Treville, of course, fulfilled his responsibility to remind everyone. He told them that attacking a fortress and fighting in the field were two different things. Although the cannons on the Britain fortresses were old, they were still formidable. Therefore, he advised them not to launch a direct assault on the city, but simply to keep the Britain from leaving their homes.

Treville was indeed a skilled orator, and he managed to persuade some of them. Since opinions differed, they ultimately had to resolve the military issue democratically—one person, one vote.

Crowds are a very strange thing. Often, when faced with the same problem, a crowd is much more radical than an individual. If you discuss this issue with someone alone, they may seem very rational, even following their heart's desires. But once they are in a group, their opinion immediately changes, and the more they originally followed their heart, the more radical they tend to become. It's like some girls who are very understanding when they are with other people, but become completely different people once they are with their boyfriends.

Unsurprisingly, through this highly democratic process, the decision was made to immediately launch a full-scale attack on Cape Town.

As it turned out, ignoring expert advice had very serious consequences. Although the Britain did not have the Joseph Defense, their bastions, coupled with a sufficient number of cannons, were still beyond the capabilities of the militias who lacked even cannons.

The Netherlands militia had made some preparations. They elected Babel as commander-in-chief and organized themselves into fourteen companies, each with over a hundred men, based on region. They also made some tactical preparations. For example, noticing the British Army's lack of long-range rifled muskets, they specifically arranged covering echelons and assault echelons. The soldiers in the covering echelon used long-range rifled muskets to suppress the British Army, while the assault echelon took the opportunity to rush forward.

Often, those who only talk the talk in the park imagine the best, but when they actually get to the battlefield, they are surprised to find that the situation is not what they imagined. The Netherlands militia encountered such a problem.

Firstly, their covering echelons were not very effective at suppressing the Britain. The Britain were protected by the walls, usually hiding behind them and only exposing their heads and shoulders when firing. The target was too small; at a safe distance—where cannons could reach it with solid shot but were inefficient, and where grapeshot wouldn't be enough—it was difficult to accurately hit such a small target. And if they risked getting close, the grapeshot from the dozens of cannons on the fortress would be deadly.

Therefore, the covering echelon was almost unable to suppress the British Army in the fortress, and the assault echelon naturally found itself caught in the fortress's crossfire. As the assault echelon, they had to rush forward, thus naturally entering the range of the Britain and their muskets and cannons. The British Army also performed much better in defense than in open battle, because this was an old-fashioned offensive and defensive strategy based on their own ideas, and the enemy didn't even have cannons.

So the Britain held their temper, waiting until the militia were right in front of the fort before unleashing a fierce barrage. The assault militia were immediately caught in a crossfire from several directions from the bastion. Dozens of cannons spewed shrapnel, and with the addition of smoothbore muskets at close range, almost instantly, more than half of the assault militia were wiped out. The rest were wounded, falling into pools of blood, howling in agony.

At this point, however, the Britain stopped firing.

"Let's go up and bring them back!" a young man said.

"No, that's a trap. The Britain aren't shooting them because they hope we'll come to their rescue," Philippe Treville said coldly.

The young man paused for a moment, then said, "If, I mean if it were your France army, in this situation, would you go to rescue them?"

"Our France army? We would never fight like that. But we certainly won't abandon our brothers," Treville replied.

"So what suggestions do you have now?" Babel asked.

"The best course of action is to retreat now," Treville said. "If that's not possible, the covering echelon will have to continue advancing, entering the range of the enemy's artillery shells. This will result in considerable casualties, but only in this way will there be a chance to rescue the wounded. As for the siege, Commander, I again suggest you abandon this plan, or at least suspend it, and revise the battle plan based on today's situation. Of course, it would be best to abandon the plan altogether."

The covering echelon then began to advance, adopting a looser formation to minimize damage from artillery shells. Even so, their losses were still very heavy due to the sheer number of cannons on the fortress.

Under their cover, the assault echelon launched another attack, but their objective was not to take the fortress, but to rescue the wounded.

They did manage to rescue some of the injured, but in doing so, they lost many times more people than they managed to save.

In just these two attacks, the militia suffered more than two hundred casualties, while the Britain defenses remained strong, and apart from expending some ammunition, the Britain suffered almost no losses.

After this attack, the militia ceased their assault. Following this, in democratic discussions and a vote, everyone expressed their willingness to follow their hearts and temporarily halt the assault on Cape Town, instead opting for a prolonged siege.

Of course, some people suggested that France could provide them with more assistance, such as selling them some artillery. Others even suggested that France troops could come and help them in the fighting.

"Mr. Treville, you mentioned last time that it was almost inevitable that France would declare war on Britain. In that case, could you contact the government and send a France army to guide and support our operations?" Even Babel made this request.