Chapter 465: Chapter 38, The Anglo-Ebura War Erupts
 

On May 12, 1870, Governor Delf, leading an army of 30,000, launched an invasion against the Orange Free State, sparking the outbreak of the Great South African War.

As the news spread, the Boer people were plunged into panic, and Viscount Feckney’s temporary residence at his estate was soon overflowing with guests.

Transvaal and the Orange Free State were nearly one entity, standing united against the British whenever confronted.

The disparity in strength between the two sides was great, and no one had the confidence to defeat the British. In facing the British, the Boer Republics had always chosen to be accommodating.

But that was before; now, things had changed. Since everyone was about to join Austria, naturally, they would no longer fear the British.

The visitors had two main reasons: first, to declare their stance to Viscount Feckney and openly take a side; second, to hope for Austria’s intervention in the war.

Viscount Feckney spoke with full confidence, “Gentlemen, there’s no need to worry. The British Army may seem formidable, but in reality, they are strong on the outside yet weak within.

British forces in Cape Town will not exceed three thousand, and there haven’t been any significant troop movements from the London Government recently.

Even if the Cape Town colonial government recruits civilian militias, the combat-effective troops would not likely exceed five thousand. Beyond that, the quality of the remaining British forces can well be imagined.”

Enemies always know each other best. The competition between the Anglo-Austrian countries in the South African region has been ongoing for more than a day or two, and both have been collecting intelligence on each other.

While it is impossible to monitor the scattered civilian militias, movements of army forces are closely watched.

Both Anglo and Austria are colonial powers; it is impossible to station a large regular army in one area, or even a million-strong force would not suffice.

The responsibility for maintaining local stability naturally falls on the colonial army and civilian militias. The British rely more on colonial companies, while Austria primarily utilizes aristocratic armed forces.

Of course, there is essentially no difference between the two; the mainstay of British colonial combat forces are also aristocratic scions. The difference lies in the stronger financial power of Britain, whereas Austrian capitalists are in a subordinate position.

Each has its advantages and disadvantages; it’s not a one-size-fits-all situation. This is determined by national conditions and not something that can be changed by individual power.

The Austrian model has advantages in maintaining imperial authority. With the infusion of fresh blood, the aristocracy’s power has been bolstered, thereby solidifying the Emperor’s position.

In external expansion, their combat power is also stronger. Fighting for oneself naturally brings more vigor than fighting as a mercenary for others.

This can now be proven. The British need to negotiate terms beforehand to recruit civilian militias for battle; otherwise, shirking duties due to insufficient benefits is inevitable.

Meanwhile, Austrian nobles are actively seeking battle, and this is a matter of the distribution of benefits. A significant portion of the profits from British colonization falls into the pockets of capitalists, while in Austria, the majority is taken by the nobility.

It’s not that Austrian capitalists have no part in colonization; mainly, in the process of achieving results, they have completed their transformation to nobility.

With the shift in class, their stance naturally changes. People are inclined towards their interests, naturally siding with what benefits them the most.

Now that war has broken out, Viscount Feckney, although not showing it outwardly, was actually overjoyed deep down.

Even if the war ended in temporary failure, it would be a good opportunity to strike at the local vested interests and prevent these upstarts from becoming too powerful.

After all, Austria was sure to secure victory; such was the confidence derived from strength.

Viscount Feckney was in no hurry; he had already negotiated with the nobles who came to harvest military glory. They would not take action until they had secured significant local authority.

Marcus Lin, an agitated capitalist from the Orange Free State, said, “Viscount, the British forces may not mean much to your country, but for Transvaal and the Orange Free State, it is a disaster.

If your country does not intervene, we are no match for the British with our own strength alone. We cannot continue this war.”

He appeared panic-stricken but was actually expressing dissatisfaction.

However, to Viscount Feckney’s ears, these words took on a different meaning; in his mind, he already labeled Marcus Lin as untrustworthy.

The term “your country” indicated that Marcus Lin had not yet embraced Austria. The statement “we cannot continue this war” was seen by Viscount Feckney as a threat.

If Marcus Lin knew what Feckney was thinking, crying wouldn’t even suffice. His assets were mainly in the Orange Free State, and he would suffer heavy losses if war broke out.

In his urgency, he blurted out without thinking that Viscount Feckney would take it so seriously.

Though Marcus Lin was also involved in politics, how could the politics of the Boer Republics compare with those of Austria? They never considered such nuance in expression.

Sensing the expressions of those present, Viscount Feckney misconstrued their intentions as coercion. This delightful misunderstanding, later in the war, cost many who were present a heavy price.

Feckney still needed these people for now and had no intention of falling out with them; he immediately assured, “Gentlemen, do not worry. If the war situation turns unfavorable, Austria will not stand idly by.

The British have now dared to take action, showing they do not take Austria seriously. We must retaliate and teach them a bloody lesson.

However, both Anglo-Austria are major powers; if a direct conflict arises, it could very well detonate a full-scale war across Europe, which I am sure no one wants to see.

Henceforth, it remains under the names of Transvaal and the Orange Free State that we will wage war against the British. Do not hold back; any tactics you have can be employed.

No matter the consequences, Austria will assume responsibility. You don’t need to worry about British retaliation.

The Vienna Government has authorized us to teach the British a lesson in the South African region. It won’t be long before reinforcements arrive; just hold on for a month or two.”

This assurance somewhat eased many people’s concerns. As long as Austria did not abandon Transvaal and the Orange Free State, there was still a war to fight.

The Boer people lacked neither the courage to fight a war; in the original timeline, they even dared to battle the British. Now, with Austria as their support, they were even less afraid to wage war against the British.

At this moment, Skoman suddenly asked, “Viscount, if we don’t turn against the British, what should we do with this reinforcement? If we use native troops, I’m afraid they won’t stand a chance against the British.”

Out of the thirty thousand British forces now, more than twenty thousand were composed of local natives. Otherwise, the Cape Town area couldn’t muster up an army of thirty thousand.

The combat capability of these native troops was very limited; perhaps they were not lacking in valiance, but their overall quality fell far too short.

The Boer people had also trained native armies, but unfortunately, no matter how hard they tried, the forces they trained had little combat power.

Now, upon hearing about the reinforcements, Skoman’s first thought was of the native troops. After all, using native troops was the easiest way to hide their identities without falling out with the British.

Even if captured by the British, these people’s words could not be put on the table as evidence.

Viscount Feckney shook his head and said calmly, “Just because the government forces can’t be mobilized doesn’t mean we don’t have other troops available.

The assorted civilian militias in the Austro-African region number over three hundred thousand. Just grant them citizenship, and then let them fight in the guise of regular forces of Transvaal.”

Viscount Feckney, being conscious of his reputation, did not mention the matter of the aristocratic private army. Otherwise, everyone would know he was there to claim military achievements.

Even though the British Army was not at its strongest, comprising a large number of native troops, it still bore the emblem of the Great Britain Empire. Defeating them would still be considered a triumph over a regular army, which was much more prestigious than defeating African natives.

The distinction in the level of military achievements was unavoidable. If not for this, Austria would have been brimming with illustrious generals and an abundance of nobility.

If you come across a battle report stating that a small force of a few hundred fought through dozens of battles, annihilating thousands of the enemy and capturing tens of thousands,

Don’t be surprised, for such occurrences are commonplace on the African Continent. A colonial team of a few hundred taking down several native tribes would rack up such incredible feats.

With an abundance of such “extraordinary” feats, naturally, their value diminishes. Now, unless one has the achievements of defeating tens of thousands of enemies, they would be ashamed to say they belong to a colonial team.

Take Viscount Feckney for example; during his many years of colonial life, he went through numerous battles and accumulated victories over hundreds of thousands of enemies.

If such achievements were made on the European Continent, he would have long been hailed as a God of War. However, because his enemies were colonial natives, his achievements are significantly discounted.

This is also why everyone is eager to partake in the spoils; yes, these nobles, self-supplied with rations, regard the British as “easy prey.”

The might of the British Navy is unparalleled while its army leaves an impression of mediocrity. Moreover, the recent performance of the British Army has been particularly abysmal.

In many people’s eyes, the British Army’s combat effectiveness is not that great to begin with, and now that they’ve got a bunch of native troops to pad their numbers, many view them as a soft target, ready to trample on their way to the top.

If thirty thousand regular British troops had arrived, the nobility eager to collect their spoils of war would have to seriously consider whether they could afford to engage them.

…

In Vienna, Franz was stunned by the news of the outbreak of the Anglo-Boer War; he couldn’t fathom why the British would act now.

The nobles’ covert maneuvers were not reported to the Emperor. Everyone wanted to rack up military accomplishments from the British, and if the Emperor ordered a halt, their efforts would be in vain.

Nobility has many advantages, but also many restrictions, one of which is that they cannot refute the Emperor’s command, at least these lesser nobles wouldn’t dare.

Times have changed; even the several kings in Austria could not contend with the Emperor, let alone his direct vassals.

Even if one could not simply strip another’s title, transferring it was permissible, such as being dispatched to a desert to eat sand or sent to a world of ice and snow to enjoy the four seasons.

Even if the Emperor cared about saving face and awarded them a prosperous domain, they would have to start anew, and significant harm to their vitality was unavoidable.

Unable to understand, he chose not to ponder it. Franz maintained a positive attitude, considering the world abounded with people acting irrationally and he had seen his share of farcical dramas.

Such minor affairs would be managed by colonial bureaucrats. So far, there hadn’t been any move to involve the Foreign Office, which indicated that the situation was under control.

Perhaps the colonial government was involved as well, but these were not of importance. Franz wasn’t the type to fuss over details; as long as the outcome was favorable, the process didn’t matter.

The gold of South Africa hadn’t been revealed yet, and as Emperor, taking too much interest could easily draw the attention of interested parties.

At his current position, Franz’s every action was interpreted as a political signal. If he showed unusual interest in South Africa, many would likely think he was targeting the British.

Instead of doing that, it was better to hint to his subordinates to take action quietly, to avoid complications.

The annexation of the Boer Republic was Franz’s idea. Two years after conferring titles to African aristocrats, he casually remarked at a banquet: “The Boer people are part of the Empire.”

Someone took up the cause and put it into action, which is the benefit of being the boss. With just a signal, subordinates would complete the task.

If the job was well done, the credit would naturally go to the Emperor’s leadership; if botched, no matter, it was the subordinates’ doings and had nothing to do with the great Emperor.

Of course, Franz was a good leader. Even if someone messed up while following his intentions, the end result wouldn’t be too terrible.

After a moment of hesitation, Franz finally instructed, “Send word to Stephen, give the British a secret lesson, teach them a lesson they’ll remember.”

Such orders, naturally not meant to see the light of day, remained verbal. How to execute it was left to those below to consider more carefully.