Holy Roman Empire - Chapter 494

Chapter 494: Chapter 67: Accidents
 

The news of the British proposing negotiations was relayed back to Vienna, and Franz approved immediately. Although the battlefield losses were not significant, they were hemorrhaging money!

Since Cape Town could not be taken, continuing the fight would be a waste of time. Looking at the intelligence coming from the front lines, Franz felt helpless.

The Great Britain Empire’s unapologetic display of wealth was beyond the common man’s imagination. Millions of British Pounds were poured in at once, resulting in a dense network of defensive fortifications. How could one continue to fight?

The original strategy to conquer Cape Town proved utterly ineffective under the British’s extravagant approach.

Don’t be fooled by the British being at a disadvantage; in reality, they were flaunting their strength to the world. The funds invested by Britannia in the South African war might well surpass one hundred million.

With financial resources like these, Britain alone in the whole world could bear the cost. Were Franz in their place, he would have backed down long ago due to lack of funds, for such is the burden of insufficient wealth.

Even with the upper hand on the battlefield, the Vienna Government also paid a steep price. Up to now, the war had swallowed over forty million Divine Shields.

Not being able to take Cape Town, Franz concluded the reason was not the soldiers’ lack of fighting capability or the incompetence of the commanders at the front, but rather the absence of sufficient funds and bravado.

Otherwise, if they spared no expense to transport thousands of heavy guns and fired one hundred and eighty million tons of shells, no amount of defensive structures would have withstood the bombardment.

Oh, but roads would need to be built first. Otherwise, logistical support on the battlefield would be compromised, making the artillery useless without ammunition.

Estimating these expenses, Franz reckoned it would roughly take two to three hundred million Divine Shields, which would be adequate.

This was not within the Vienna Government’s capabilites to sustain, which is also why the construction of railways in Africa proceeded so slowly. If the railways had extended to Transvaal earlier, the British would not have dared to initiate the war.

The Anglo-Ebura war also had its silver linings, for it once again taught a costly lesson: War is a gold-devouring beast, do not engage in it without money.

Since the gold of South Africa was not yet exploited on a large scale, it was generally believed that there were no winners in this war. The Boer Republican Army, wearing the guise of the Boer people, defeated the British but could not capture the Cape of Good Hope, failing to achieve their strategic objective.

Economically speaking, the undeveloped resources of South Africa were not worth the fifty million plus Divine Shields invested. When the British previously acquired Cape Town, it was because of the strategic value of the Cape of Good Hope, without which the importance of South Africa would be reduced to a mere tenth of its value.

Compared to the slight losses of Austria, the British suffered enormous losses. They initiated the war over a moderately valued colony—the Boer Republic—and spent vast amounts of war funds, suffered tens of thousands of casualties, and not only failed to achieve their objectives but were also pushed back to Cape Town by the enemy.

Negotiations require their own price to pay. Starting a war is easy, ending one is hard. Not to mention the headache of deciding whether to reclaim lost territories.

Even if the colony is not valuable, one must consider the strategic security of the Cape of Good Hope. Should conflict arise and the enemy is at the gates, can life still go on as usual?

Even in peacetime, if everyday living supplies are controlled by others, and prices are hiked every often, it will be unbearable for anyone.

Therefore, while other areas might be negotiable, the water sources, coal, and farms outside the city—these essential urban supplies—the British must take back.

Empty promises were clearly impossible; wearing the Boer Republican Army’s disguise did not mean that the enemies outside the city were the Boer Republican Army. To secure all these at the negotiation table, a price had to be paid.

As for the specific outcomes of the negotiations, Franz no longer cared. Anyway, he wouldn’t suffer any losses, and if the British were not in a hurry, maintaining the stalemate suited him just fine.

The Boer Republican Army could provide most of the essential living supplies for the Austrian army, allowing the troops at the front to have their needs met locally.

The situation for the British within the city was tragic, as even fresh water had to be shipped from Madagascar or purchased from the Portuguese. Other daily necessities were no exception, all had to be transported from outside.

Seafaring might be convenient, but one also had to consider the location. The Cape of Good Hope was far from a safe place; always a hotspot for shipwrecks, and in another month or so, with the onset of monsoon season, it would be under the tyranny of killer waves.

The British faced two choices: either stockpile enough supplies for the winter now or end the war before the winter arrived.

Plans never keep pace with changes, and just as the “Anglo-Ebura negotiations” were getting underway, an unexpected epidemic broke out.

It first appeared among the Indian Colonial Army. The British did not take notice, simply attributing it to the foreign climate, and maintained their usual practices.

During the battles, the epidemic also spread to the Cannon fodder army of the Boer Republican Army. On a battlefield where people died every day, the fall of a few soldiers was nothing unusual, especially within the undervalued cannon fodder army.

Poor sanitation in the military camps accelerated the spread of the disease. Soon, a large number of soldiers fell ill, and the epidemic did not discriminate; even white soldiers were not spared.

The British were the first to detect it since, as defenders of the city, their population density was much higher. The lack of water in the city compounded the poor sanitary conditions.

These factors facilitated the spread of the epidemic, and as a large number of British soldiers fell ill, it caught the attention of Military Doctor Horace, who, upon investigation, realized that the epidemic had arrived.

Not taking any chances, Horace immediately reported the discovery of the epidemic. By the time it reached Governor Delf’s hands, it was May 18, 1871.

The exact time when the epidemic first appeared is now beyond verification. The British medical system had not yet been perfected to the point where each Indian soldier was provided with a dedicated doctor.

It was a thunderbolt from the blue, for Governor Derfu, this was one of the worst pieces of news imaginable. Without any hesitation, Governor Derfu immediately convened a high-level meeting and issued a quarantine order:

“Immediately isolate all the patients, request professional plague prevention experts from the homeland, and start epidemic prevention work now; consult the doctors on what should be done.”

That was all he could do; the plague was not under control, and with limited medical technology of that era, they could only leave it to fate.

The British soon discovered the epidemic, and not long after, the Boer Republican Army outside of the city also detected the outbreak.

Lieutenant Merkes, who had been sent to command the cannon fodder army, was the first to be infected. While seeing a doctor for a casual chat, he complained about the increasing number of sick men under his command, which piqued the curiosity of an intern.

Curiosity doesn’t always kill the cat; Doctor Luke went to investigate in the Black African barracks and was shocked by what he found.

It was clearly an outbreak of the plague, and it had already spread. The number of infected people within a single unit wasn’t terrifying, but the total number was horrifying.

After the news was reported, Viscount Feckney immediately ordered an investigation, which revealed that there were already over two thousand confirmed cases, including eighty-seven Boer soldiers.

And those were just the symptomatic cases; the number of asymptomatic virus carriers was still unknown. Looking at the data in his hands, Viscount Feckney remained speechless for a long time.

Fortunately, the cannon fodder army and the main force were stationed separately. Apart from the officers managing this force, the main force had little interaction with them.

Without question, epidemic prevention work automatically began. The Austrian army had a dedicated epidemic prevention department, usually staffed by military doctors, and this unit disguised as the Boer Republican Army was no exception.

Each unit methodically began epidemic prevention work according to the already published regulations.

Viscount Feckney asked with concern, “Has the type of epidemic been determined? What virus caused this outbreak?”

Not all plagues are created equal, and the most lethal is certainly the bubonic plague, which includes the Black Death that nearly wiped out Europe, followed by smallpox, cholera, malaria, and influenza.

Each one is a fearsome killer that does not discriminate by status or wealth, killing indifferently.

Military Doctor Laisner, who was in charge of the epidemic prevention work, thought for a moment and said, “The transmission path of the plague is still undetermined, but we have two preliminary theories about its origin.

The most likely is that the improper handling of corpses on the battlefield led to the breeding of the virus, which in turn, sparked this epidemic.

The other possibility is that it was brought here from abroad. According to the information we’ve collected, a plague outbreak recently occurred in India, and it is quite possible that it was brought here by the Indians.

If the virus originated in India, then this epidemic should not be difficult to resolve, as it has been proven that the outbreak there is not highly transmissible.

Considering the current situation, the former seems more likely. If the virus came from India, it must have mutated.”

Wars are often accompanied by disease, and while this South African war may seem insignificant, the number of deaths is certainly one for the history books.

Not only are people dying on the battlefield, but the number of deaths off the battlefield is not significantly less than that on the battlefield. After this war, the total population of the South African region was less than thirty percent of what it was before the war.

With so many deaths, the handling of corpses became an issue. On the surface, corpses on the battlefield were usually burned or deeply buried.

But parts scattered by violent conflict always have remnants. Although it might seem harmless at first, cumulatively, the effect could be unknown.

At the start of the war, Franz secretly ordered preparations for epidemic prevention. Thus, the Boer Republican Army was not unprepared; they just hadn’t expected the plague to erupt as the war was coming to a close.

The origin of the plague is a concern only for professionals. Viscount Feckney was more interested in treatment and containment; regardless of how it came about, controlling the epidemic was the priority.

After some consideration, Viscount Feckney made a decision, “Order the main force to withdraw from the main streets they’ve occupied, and have the Seventh Division of the South African Special Envoy take over the defense.”

In the face of a plague, all victories are fleeting. In such devastated streets, nobody knows where there might be overlooked corpses.

Housing the main force in such a location is far too dangerous; it is much safer to be stationed outside the city.

This Seventh Division of the South African Special Envoy was the unit hardest hit by the outbreak, and having them take over the defense was a way to repurpose them.

If the British decided to attack, then the division would be a gift to them. Viscount Feckney had decided to place the quarantine camps at the front line, hoping to give the British a few extra patients.

Even if it didn’t work, it would still be a way to disgust the British. With all the resentment built up during the war, both sides had already developed deep enmities.