Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 465: The Anglo-Boer War Erupts

On May 12, 1870, Governor Delf led an army of 30,000 to invade the Orange Free State, marking the outbreak of the Anglo-Boer War.

When the news spread, the Boers were instantly thrown into a panic, and the estate where Viscount Falkner was temporarily residing quickly became crowded with guests.

The Transvaal Republic and the Orange Free State were practically united, always joining forces against the British.

The disparity in strength was too great, and no one had confidence in defeating the British. Historically, the Boer Republics had always chosen to yield in the face of the British.

But that was before. Now the situation had changed. Since everyone was about to join Austria, they naturally wouldn’t fear the British anymore.

At this time, people were visiting for two main reasons: first, to declare their stance and publicly align themselves with Viscount Falkner; second, to seek Austrian intervention in the war.

Viscount Falkner confidently said, “Don’t worry, everyone. The British army looks impressive on the outside, but they’re actually weak inside.

The British garrison in Cape Town won’t exceed 3,000, and the British government hasn’t made any major troop movements recently.

Even if the Cape Town colonial government had recruited civilian militias, the combat-effective troops wouldn’t exceed 5,000. As for the rest of the British army, you can imagine what they’re like.”

No one knows themselves better than their enemies. The competition between Britain and Austria in South Africa had been ongoing for some time, with both sides constantly gathering intelligence on each other.

While it’s impossible to monitor scattered civilian militias, the movements of military forces were closely watched.

Both Britain and Austria, being colonial powers, couldn’t station large numbers of regular troops in one region since even a million soldiers wouldn’t suffice if they did.

Thus, maintaining local stability fell to colonial armies and civilian militias. The British relied more on colonial companies, while Austria primarily depended on the private armies of nobles.

Of course, there was no essential difference between the two. The main fighting force of British colonization was still the children of nobles. The difference was that British capitalist power was stronger, while Austrian capitalists were in a subordinate position.

Each approach had its advantages and disadvantages, shaped by their respective national circumstances which no individual could change.

The Austrian model had the advantage of strengthening imperial authority. With new blood supplementing their ranks, the noble class’ power was reinforced, naturally solidifying the emperor’s position.

In external expansions, this model also demonstrated stronger combat effectiveness, as fighting for oneself was more motivating than fighting for others.

This was evident now: the British had to negotiate terms to mobilize civilian militias for battle, and insufficient incentives would lead to reluctance and half-hearted efforts.

In contrast, Austrian nobles actively sought battle, which was a matter of profit distribution. A significant portion of British colonial profits went into the pockets of capitalists, while in Austria, the nobles took the lion’s share.

It wasn’t that Austrian capitalists didn’t participate in colonization, but in the process of achieving results, they had already completed the transformation into nobles.

With the change in class, their stance naturally changed as well. People always tend to gravitate towards their own interests and naturally choose the side most beneficial to them.

Now that war had broken out, despite not showing it outwardly, Viscount Falkner was inwardly overjoyed.

Even a temporary defeat in the war wouldn’t matter much. It would still provide an opportunity to strike at local vested interests and prevent these upstarts from becoming too powerful.

Austria’s ultimate victory was certain, a confidence stemming from their strength.

Viscount Falkner was in no hurry. He had already discussed with the nobles eager for military glory that they would not take action until they secured significant control locally.

Maxlin, a capitalist from the Orange Free State, anxiously said, “Lord Viscount, this British army may not be significant for your country, but for the Transvaal Republic and the Orange Free State, it is a disaster. Without your country’s intervention, we simply cannot match the British. We can’t sustain this war with our forces alone.”

Although he appeared panicked, in reality, he was expressing dissatisfaction.

However, to Viscount Falkner, these words took on a different meaning. He had already mentally marked Maxlin as unusable.

The term “your country” clearly indicated that Maxlin had not yet accepted Austria. The words “can’t sustain this war” seemed like a threat to Viscount Falkner.

If Maxlin had known what Falkner was thinking, he would have been devastated. His business was primarily in the Orange Free State, and he would suffer heavy losses once war broke out.

In his anxiety, he had spoken without thinking and never imagined that Viscount Falkner would read so much into it.

Although Maxlin was involved in politics, how could the politics of the Boer Republics compare to those of Austria? They never paid much attention to such nuances in their statements.

Seeing everyone’s expressions, Viscount Falkner mistakenly thought they were pressuring him. This wonderful misunderstanding would lead to many of those present suffering significant consequences in the ensuing war.

For now, these people were still useful, so Viscount Falkner wouldn’t immediately turn against them. He immediately reassured, “Gentlemen, do not worry. If the situation turns unfavorable, Austria will not sit idly by.

The British dare to act because they do not take Austria seriously. We must retaliate and teach them a bloody lesson.

However, both Britain and Austria are great powers. Direct conflict could trigger a full-scale war in Europe, which I believe none of us want to see.

Therefore, we will fight the British under the banner of the Transvaal Republic and the Orange Free State. Do not hold back; use whatever means necessary.

Regardless of the outcome, Austria will bear the consequences. Do not fear British retaliation.

The Austrian government has authorized us to teach the British a lesson in South Africa. Reinforcements will arrive shortly. You only need to hold out for one to two months.”

This assurance reassured many. As long as Austria had not abandoned the Transvaal Republic and the Orange Free State, this war could still be fought.

The Boers did not lack the courage to fight. In the original timeline, they dared to fight the British. Now, with Austria backing them, they were even less afraid of war with the British.

At this moment, Schoeman suddenly asked, “Sir, if we are not to openly confront the British, what about reinforcements? If we use African native troops, they might not be a match for the British.”

Out of the current thirty thousand British troops, more than twenty thousand were local natives. Without them, Cape Town would not be able to field thirty thousand troops.

These native troops had very limited combat effectiveness. While they might not lack bravery, their overall quality was far inferior.

The Boers had also trained native troops, but no matter how hard they tried, the trained troops never had much combat power.

Now hearing about reinforcements, Schoeman’s first thought was native troops. After all, in a situation where they weren’t openly facing the British, using native troops was the easiest way to hide their identity.

Even if the British captured prisoners, these people’s words couldn’t be used as evidence.

Viscount Falkner shook his head and calmly said, “Just because government troops can’t be deployed doesn’t mean we have no troops to use. The various civilian militias in Austrian Africa total over 300,000. You can give them citizenship and have them participate in the war as regular Transvaal troops.”

Viscount Falkner was still mindful of his reputation and never mentioned the matter of the nobles’ private armies. Otherwise, everyone would know he was there to rack up military achievements.

Although the British army had a lot of native troops, they still bore the banner of the British Empire. Defeating them counted as defeating a regular army, which carried much higher prestige than fighting African natives.

Military achievements were graded, and without this distinction, Austria would have long been full of renowned generals and nobles.

If you came across a battle report detailing a small unit of a few hundred men fighting dozens of battles, killing thousands, and capturing tens of thousands, it wouldn’t be surprising.

This was typical in Africa. A few hundred colonial troops could break through several native villages and rack up such impressive statistics.

With so many “heaven-defying” achievements, their value naturally decreased. Nowadays, if you didn’t have a record of defeating tens of thousands of enemies, you couldn’t even claim to be a colonial team.

Take Viscount Falkner, for example. With his years of colonial experience, he had been through countless battles, with a total of hundreds of thousands of enemies defeated.

If he had achieved such a record on the European continent, he would have been hailed as a war god. However, since his enemies were colonial natives, his achievements were significantly discounted.

This was also why everyone was eager to take advantage. Yes, these nobles who brought their own provisions saw the British as “easy pickings.”

The British navy might be formidable, but their army had a reputation for being less impressive. In recent wars, the British army’s performance had also been particularly poor.

In many people’s eyes, the British army’s combat effectiveness wasn’t great to begin with, and now with a bunch of native troops padding the numbers, many people saw them as soft targets, ready to use them as stepping stones.

If 30,000 regular British troops had shown up, the nobles looking to grab glory would have had to think twice about whether they could handle it.

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In Vienna, the news of the outbreak of the Anglo-Boer War greatly surprised Franz. He couldn’t understand why the British would act now.

The nobles’ covert maneuvers weren’t reported to the emperor. Everyone wanted to rack up military achievements against the British. If the emperor ordered them to stop, their efforts would be in vain.

Nobles had many advantages but also many restrictions, one of which was that they couldn’t refuse the emperor’s orders. At least the minor nobles didn’t dare.

Times had changed. Even the few kings in the country didn’t have the power to contend with the Emperor, let alone these direct imperial vassals.

Even though the emperor couldn’t arbitrarily revoke their titles, he could reassign them, like sending them to a desert to eat sand or to an icy world to live amid snow and ice.

Even if the emperor wanted to save face and reassign them to a wealthy territory, they would have to start over, severely depleting their resources.

Unable to figure it out, Franz didn’t bother. He had a good attitude about such matters. There were many unpredictable people in the world, and he had seen plenty of ridiculous things.

Such minor issues would be handled by colonial officials. Since no one had yet suggested involving the Foreign Ministry, it meant the situation was still under control.

Perhaps the colonial government was even involved. None of this mattered. Franz wasn’t the kind of person to nitpick. As long as the result was good, the process didn’t matter.

The gold in South Africa hadn’t been exposed yet. If the emperor showed too much concern, it could easily attract attention from those with ulterior motives.

In his current position, Franz’s every move would be interpreted as a political signal. If he showed unusual interest in South Africa, many would probably think it was aimed at the British.

Rather than that, it was better to hint to his subordinates to handle it, avoiding unnecessary complications.

Annexing the Boer Republics was Franz’s idea. Two years ago, after enfeoffing African nobles, he casually mentioned at a banquet, “The Boers are part of the Empire.”

As a result, someone went to make it happen. That’s the benefit of being the boss. He’d give a signal, and subordinates would follow through.

If they did well, it was thanks to the emperor’s leadership. If they messed up, it didn’t matter; it was all done by the subordinates, with no blame falling on the great emperor.

Of course, Franz was a good leader. Those who followed his intentions, even if they messed up, wouldn’t face severe consequences.

After hesitating for a moment, Franz ordered, “Send a message to Stephen, secretly teach the British a lesson, and let them learn their place.”

Such an order that couldn’t see the light of day was naturally only verbal. As for how to do it, the people below would think of it more thoroughly.