Holy Roman Empire - Chapter 493

Chapter 493: Chapter 66: The Power of Shoddy Construction
 

The French-Russian rapprochement hastened the negotiations between the United Kingdom and Austria. To increase their bargaining power, the British were even prepared to bring the Prussians into the alliance.

Without a doubt, this was strongly opposed by France and Austria. The cake was only so big; it was already a stretch to divide it among three powers, so how could they possibly let in another competitor?

If the Kingdom of Prussia joined the alliance, then what? Would the Russian Empire also have to be included? If the Russians came, the Nordic Federation could also join the fray.

One by one, before long, all European countries would be in, and the alliance would become utterly useless.

The British had an undeniably disruptive talent, always scheming. As their allies, one had to constantly stay on guard—let your guard down and you could be betrayed, not much safer than being their enemy.

The ever-shifting European situation also impacted the South African War. Since the British had reinforced their ranks with an Indian Corps, Viscount Feckney’s second plan became obsolete.

Even with obvious vulnerabilities exposed, the British showed no intention of leaving the city to fight a decisive battle. It was as if they were saying, “Do what you will, I remain unmoved.”

As time went on, the population in the Cape Town area plummeted, with the war refugees nearly all relocated by John Bull, leaving only the military behind.

The relieved British, now under less logistical pressure, were not idle; they were stockpiling supplies for the winter, indicating they were preparing for a protracted war.

Now, the nature of the war had changed. It was common to see a mix of Indian and black soldiers engaged in skirmishes, with both the British and Austro-African forces acting as supervisory teams.

Cannon fodder against cannon fodder, and no one but the Treasury suffers. The original strategy of using these expendable forces to increase the defenders’ casualties and force the British to withdraw had failed.

There was no choice; if this stalemate continued, it would definitely be Austria that could not hold out first. Recruiting soldiers was challenging; cannon fodder was in short supply.

The African Continent was already sparsely populated, and the previous immigration strategy resulted in a further decline in the number of natives within the Austrian colony.

The war had reached a point where the Colonial Government had already provided a million cannon fodder soldiers, almost every tribe that could be found had been conscripted at least once.

These troops either perished in the early stages of the fight, fell during the siege, or were executed by the supervisory teams. The recruitment pace could no longer keep up with the rate of loss at the front.

Naturally, with such high casualties, there was no shortage of deserters within the cannon fodder units. The South African region was vast; one could easily hide in the mountains and forests.

Once you disappeared into the wilderness, the Boer Republican Army could pursue no further. As long as they didn’t run in large groups, it was quite easy to find refuge.

The harm caused by fleeing soldiers goes without saying. The newly occupied British-South Africa had yet to be settled by immigrants, so the local native tribes bore the brunt.

Deserters need to eat too, and although the forest provided an abundance of food, it wasn’t enough if too many deserters were competing for it.

When food was scarce, the only option was to rob. No one dared to target the Boer Republican Army; with only primitive weaponry, to rob a modern military force would be madness.

The law of the jungle, survival of the fittest. Tribes without strong, able-bodied people met a tragic fate; these deserters wouldn’t dare to mess with the Boer Republican Army but were ruthless towards their own.

No, that’s not quite right, they weren’t their own. Only those from the same tribe were kin; all others were enemies. When dealing with enemies, it was natural to be ferocious. In no time, the areas around Cape Town were thrown into chaos, countless tribes were driven to extinction.

Viscount Feckney was completely unaware of these changes; he didn’t care about internal tribal strife. Unable to capture Cape Town, the pressure on Viscount Feckney was mounting.

Getting the British to capitulate seemed almost impossible. With their naval superiority, unless the Anglo-Austrian two countries completely fell out and the Austro-African colonial troops entered the war, Viscount Feckney didn’t have the confidence to push through with the forces at his disposal.

Under even greater pressure was Governor Delf, who had been defeated all the way. Unlike Viscount Feckney, who had at least won some victories—just not as significant as hoped—Governor Delf had suffered loss after loss.

After nearly half a year of siege warfare, there were effects. Watching cannonballs and lives be spent, Cape Town had been almost utterly destroyed.

If there had been satellite maps, it would be clear that most of the original Cape Town had already fallen into the hands of the Boer people; the British only held a small area.

But that was of no consequence, as behind that there was a plethora of steel and concrete fortifications stretching from Cape Town to the Cape of Good Hope, peppered with forts and bunkers.

While quality left much to be desired, the quantity was ample! Governor Delf’s defensive tactics looked unimpressive, but the practicality couldn’t be denied.

Of course, such a strategy was only playable by the financially mighty British. Don’t be fooled by these shoddy fortifications; most raw materials had to be shipped from the homeland.

For instance, cement and reinforcement bars were transported from Britain, making the transport distance alone drive up the cost.

The engineering turned to dregs, coerced into existence. Building materials were sourced locally, with the quality of the sand already subpar; when insufficient, they resorted to using mud, and due to the water shortage, seawater was used in place.

Amassed desperation only made the fortresses and bunkers built by the British in the later period increasingly shoddy, often focusing solely on quantity with complete disregard for quality.

However, the Boer Republican Army, now on the offensive, remained oblivious to these issues, since they had previously tackled the tougher defenses and were currently engaged in street fighting, not yet having encountered these genuinely substandard projects.

If they knew the projects were substandard, why continue the construction? The reasons were manifold; one was to intimidate the enemy with defensive works, another to deceive strategically using temporary forts.

This was the reason Governor Derfu gave to the London Government, barely making do as an excuse.

Such a level of strategic deception might have been effective before the outbreak, but once the war had begun, the truth would quickly be revealed as soon as the shells flew.

But the fortresses had to be built, for if not, on what would the capitalists, who supplied the raw materials, profit? These special deals belonged to the bigwigs at home.

Derfu, the ever-benevolent governor, would never dream of cutting off someone’s livelihood. This was also why he was currently anxious: should the last areas of Cape Town fall, the substandard projects would be exposed.

Defensive works, which cost millions of British Pounds, crumbled easily on the battlefield; consequently, a peaceful retirement for Governor Derfu seemed unlikely—he was destined to bear the blame.

“Will, how is the progress with the Foreign Office’s negotiations with the Austrians?”

Faced with a harsh reality, Governor Derfu pinned his hopes on the Foreign Office. As long as they could settle things with the Vienna Government, the “Boer Republican Army” outside the city would disperse immediately.

Did they really think a mere disguise could obscure their identity? If the Boers were that strong, they wouldn’t have needed to migrate inland in the first place.

“Governor, the negotiations have been going very smoothly, it’s just that they haven’t touched on the South African issue. The Austrians insist that it’s the Boers we’re at war with, and that any negotiations should be with the Boer Republic Government.”

Will was deeply frustrated; everyone was reluctant to lift the lid. Negotiations concerning the South African war were virtually a nonstarter.

Unless they were willing to swallow their pride and heed the Austrians’ suggestion to negotiate with the proxy “Boer Republic Government.”

The London Government couldn’t bear to lose face and shelved the issue. That was the official line, but Derfu knew full well the real reason was that no one wanted to take the blame.

A failure on the battlefield meant no chance of favorable outcomes at the negotiation table. For Britannia, concessions on the South African issue became inevitable, and any perceived loss in the terms of a treaty would be an indelible stain on a diplomatic career.

Politicians instinctively act in self-interest, and Governor Derfu, understanding this, refrained from complaining. With a deep sigh, he said, “It’s too late for regrets now!

“Will, send a telegram to the London Government: in order to protect the Empire’s interests and mitigate the losses from the war, the Cape Town Colonial Government is requesting to negotiate with the Boer Republic.”

This symbolized the complete collapse of the British strategy in South Africa, and as the person in charge on the ground, Governor Derfu was inevitably responsible.

But negotiating now was surely better than doing so after a failed war. Had the enemy pushed them all the way to the Cape of Good Hope and Derfu wished to avoid a military tribunal, he would have had no choice but to die on the battlefield as an explanation to the homeland.

In that case, it was better to take the initiative and assume responsibility. Thanks to the war feeding many of the powerful, his fate would not be too bleak.

Many have lost battles; not all are held accountable. The only issue for Governor Derfu was that he had initiated the war and failed to win it.

As long as he could sign a passable treaty and lay low back home for a few years, the matter would eventually blow over.

Derfu had connections; biding his time, he could return to public office once the dust settled.

In moments of crisis, the British were still efficient, requesting negotiations with the “Boer Republic Government” across the lines that very day.

Viscount Feckney was stunned to receive the British request for negotiations. He too had put much thought into this war and had yet to conceive a strategy to take Cape Town; he never expected the British to concede so readily.

Negotiations were essential; unable to seize Cape Town by force, there was no longer any need to continue the battle.

The Austrian Nobility who had joined the war each had their own estates to attend and couldn’t be away for too long. With their military achievements sufficiently secured, their aims were met. Persisting in a standoff with the British would benefit no one.

While British substandard projects seemed easy targets, Viscount Feckney and company were entirely unaware of them, still believing the forts to be genuine.

Lacking crucial information, Viscount Feckney dared not take the risk. Otherwise, he might have gambled on a full-scale assault, sparing no expense to drive the British out of South Africa entirely.