Chapter 72: Unkindness
During the entire Boer War, a total of 450,000 British troops participated in the war, 1,072 officers and 20,870 soldiers were killed. A total of 88,000 Boer coalition troops participated in the war, and only 3,700 were killed.
It is worth mentioning that among the 88,000 Boer coalition forces that participated in the war, 13,000 were Boers from the Cape Colony, and there were another 2,000 foreign volunteers. So, although the final result was that Britain won the Boer War, objectively speaking, the Boer War was a complete failure for Britain.
Henry and the major are both typical British people. They are unmatched in their ability to talk, but their practical ability is mediocre. If they are really asked to fight the Boers on the front line, I am afraid they can only hope to spray the Boers to death with their mouths.
In comparison, Rock was a typical action-oriented person. During the charge towards the Boer coalition positions, Rock always held the Lee Enfield, maintained an aiming posture, and was ready to kill any Boer who tried to counterattack at any time.
He really could kill at any time. Once on the battlefield, Rock's adrenaline would be secreted faster, which made his reaction faster, his gun-holding hand steadier, and his mentality calmer. Less than fifty meters up the slope, Rock had fired six shots and killed five Boers. Except for the first shot which missed, all of the other shots were headshots.
The further they went, the weaker the Boers' counterattacks became. Don't think that the Boers are brave and good at fighting. As the British said, they are just a group of farmers. They are okay at fighting guerrilla warfare, but in a real frontal confrontation on the battlefield, the Boer coalition has no advantage at all.
Thirty meters away from the Boer coalition position, Rock ordered Reed to ignite the prepared explosive packs.
Looking at the burning fuse, Rock suddenly felt relieved. At this distance, if the Boers were equipped with grenades, it should be Rock and his men who had to endure the bombardment of grenades and launch a charge. However, the Boers had no grenades, so Rock had enough time to watch the fuse about to detonate the explosive pack before throwing it into the Boer position.
The makeshift explosive packs were certainly lacking in power, but their momentum was undiminished, and were almost as powerful as the British artillery. With several violent explosions, Rock clearly heard the desperate wails and screams from the Boer coalition positions. It was time, Rock put the bayonet into the slot, picked up the rifle and rushed upwards quickly.
At this time, the faster the better. Rock didn't even call the other commandos.
There was no need to call out, the commandos were all looking at Rock. When Rock started to charge, the commandos did not hesitate and followed Rock out of the cover.
The Boer coalition's position was indeed in chaos. They had never imagined that the British, who had always fought in an orderly manner, would take a risky move this time. Not only did they abandon the previous human wave tactics, they even dared to use explosive packs at such a close distance. Although there were no shrapnel and steel balls after the explosion of the explosive packs, the power of the shock wave could not be underestimated. The Boers within the range of the shock wave were shocked to death, and all the Boers within the affected range were dizzy. When Rock rushed to the Boer coalition's position, many people sat on the ground in a daze, at a loss. The rifles were right next to them, but they didn't know how to pick them up and fight back. They just stared at Rock, who was like a god descended to earth.
Rock didn't hesitate at all. He stabbed a Boer to the ground with a thrust. When he pulled out his rifle, he knocked down another one with the butt of his rifle. When he stabbed the third Boer, the Boer held on to his rifle tightly. Rock pulled out his Webley revolver, aimed it at the Boer who had just woken up from a dream, and quickly fired all the bullets in the pistol.
It was enough. As more and more commandos rushed to the position, fewer and fewer Boers tried to resist. More Boers raised their hands and knelt down to surrender. Only then did they realize that Rock and his men were not white.
"God, you did it, Rock, you really did it." Henry, who arrived later, was incoherent. Looking at Rock was almost like looking at God.
After the battle, Rock felt his legs go weak and his whole body became powerless. Sitting on an ammunition box to catch his breath, he clenched his fist and knocked on his chest: "Fortunately, I have accomplished my mission!"
The major who came up with Henry had a gloomy expression. He was as embarrassed now as he was contemptuous of the commandos before. If the guerrillas annihilated by the commandos were killing innocent people for credit, then the corpses on the battlefield now could not be fake. All this happened under the major's nose. Although the commandos said nothing, the major felt a burning pain on his face.
Rock and the others really didn't say anything. Rock didn't even look at the major. The other Chinese police officers might not understand English and didn't know what the major had just said. Rock heard it clearly.
To be honest, Rock could understand the major's attitude. Just like the Qing Dynasty today, Chinese people should not expect to gain respect from others unless they show any performance. Three of the four ancient civilizations are still in existence, and two of them are British colonies. Why should Chinese people gain the respect of the British?
You can only rely on your own performance!
Rock believed that after today, the entire eastern front should know how fierce the Chinese police in Cape Town are. On this basis, if anyone dared to speak rudely again, Rock would not hesitate to let him know how powerful the fists of the Chinese police in Cape Town are.
"Major, the Cape Town police have successfully completed their mission, killing 125 Boer troops, capturing 89 Boer troops, and successfully occupying the Boer troops' positions--" Rock didn't want to pay attention to the major, but Henry would not miss the opportunity to be proud. Looking at Henry's expression, he wished that every word could turn into a whip in the police station and hit the major in the face.
The major's face turned red and white, and the clouds of gloom kept changing. In the end, he just hurriedly said "very good" and left without looking back.
What a piece of shit, not even a decent compliment!
The major never returned, and until evening, no one came to greet Rock and his men. However, an Australian rifle battalion came to take over the position that the commandos had just captured. Rock and his men were happy and at ease, and they just found a piece of open space next to the artillery position to set up camp.
The head of the artillery unit was a captain. The artillerymen saw the performance of the commandos on the battlefield during the day. In the evening, the captain ordered someone to bring hot coffee and smoked sausages to Rock and his men, which made Henry very happy. He specially gave the captain a bottle of red wine from Bordeaux, France.
Being in a battlefield, everything was kept simple. Dinner was eaten by the campfire. Rock had just found a blanket to wrap himself up and sat down by the campfire when he heard someone shouting, "Henry, Locke, where are you?"
It was Winston, the lingering ghost. If it weren't for his report, Henry and Rock wouldn't have ended up in this situation.
After hearing the voice, Rock and Henry looked at each other, and both of them had a bit of unfriendly eyes.
