Chapter 386: The Troops Are Approaching the City
Less than 60 kilometers away from Pretoria, there was a river known to the Boers as the Murray Taylor River. Resting on the north bank of this river were the 111th, 123rd, and 514th Divisions of the East African Army.
After over ten days of intense marching, the East African soldiers were exhausted. Even Ernst, who rode a horse, found it challenging. Moreover, they had recently engaged in a skirmish with a small group of Boers in Petersburg, which further drained their energy. Therefore, the East African Army needed to rest and wait for supplies of food and forage.
The Battle of Petersburg had been a minor engagement for the East African Army. The Boer forces there numbered less than 500 and were equipped with inferior weapons compared to the East African Army. East Africa dispatched a cavalry battalion, easily overwhelming these Boers.
During the night, a gentle breeze brought some cool relief, and the sounds of songs could be heard from the military camp on the banks of the Murray Taylor River:
"By the river in the Rhine village,
On the golden wheat field,
The young eagle soars freely.
Who can pack this bag for me?
Who puts on this armor for me?
The gentle girl who never forgets her hometown.
The Rhine is my beautiful hometown,
Who can forget my lovely hometown..."
East African soldiers sang to the accompaniment of a zither, creating a rare moment of leisure, with smiles on their faces. This impromptu party was organized by the soldiers themselves to alleviate their boredom.
When Ernst heard the singing of the East African soldiers, he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow and crack a smile. It had been a long time since he had heard such a simple song.
Ernst rarely ventured into rural areas in Germany, apart from Hechingen. He was more accustomed to attending high-end concerts, which were an integral part of aristocratic life. Songs like these, with their German rural and military styles, were something Ernst had never encountered in his two lifetimes.
Seeing that His Highness was intrigued, Sweet explained, "East African soldiers have created many military songs. This tradition has existed since the establishment of the First Town Colony and can be traced back to the various German states. The initial members of the first mercenary team came from armies of different German states, and every German state had military bands. Thus, East Africa was inevitably influenced by this. Additionally, in military camps lacking entertainment, songs from all over Germany became popular. They quickly gained popularity, and individuals with some musical knowledge began composing songs using simple vocabulary."
Ernst remarked, "These are precious cultural treasures of the East African Kingdom. Once the war is over, the court musicians will collect this music."
As the chorus ended, the next performance surprised Ernst, or at least intrigued him more than he had expected.
"The next act will feature artists from the East performing an Oriental opera titled 'A Tale of Three Countries.'"
There was applause, indicating that the audience had a broad range of interests, and many German soldiers appeared to be looking forward to it. This piqued Ernst's curiosity. Could Germans understand this?
What happened next was even more unexpected than Ernst had anticipated. As the prelude concluded, the musician holding a lute began to sing, but he sang in German?
Because it was in German, Ernst understood it. This was the story of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, featuring the three heroes facing Lu Bu, a remarkable character. What was even more astonishing was that the singer incorporated rhymes into the German lyrics. Rhymes in German! This left Ernst exclaiming, "Talent! No, genius!"
Ernst had never imagined someone singing an "alien" language so beautifully. Compared to Ernst's enthusiastic reaction, the soldiers around the campfire listened with rapt attention. Perhaps it was the exotic tale of the Three Kingdoms that fascinated them, but the unique oriental singing style was equally captivating.
Ernst turned to Sweet and said, "After the party, find out more about the person who performed the Eastern opera."
"Yes, Your Excellency," Sweet responded.
Sweet had already deduced why the principal had reacted so strongly. To be honest, he had been equally surprised the first time he witnessed an Oriental opera sung in German. It was unusual but not something he had thought much about at the time. Given the diversity of East African immigrants, peculiar occurrences were not unexpected. Strangely enough, this was not an isolated case in East Africa; there were numerous similar examples. Although the East African government could achieve uniformity in terms of infrastructure, culture was not something they could control entirely. At most, they could provide guidance, such as promoting the German language, which had been highly successful.
The East African Army resumed its advance after resting, and two days later, Pretoria came into view for Ernst.
Ernst sat on his horse, took out his telescope, and carefully observed Pretoria's urban layout, contemplating the situation.
Ernst commented, "As the capital of the Transvaal Republic, Pretoria is roughly the same size as our First Town, making it a well-developed city in Africa."
Whitt added, "Principal, the Transvaal Republic has a relatively small population, certainly not comparable to the population of our Central Province. This is even before we have fully developed the Central Province."
The estimated population of the Transvaal Republic was only a few hundred thousand. Without demographic data like East Africa, it was difficult to gauge precisely. During the historical Second Boer War, the combined population of the Transvaal Republic and the Orange Free State was approximately 440,000, back in 1899. Thus, the current population of the Transvaal Republic was unlikely to exceed 200,000, and it was more likely in the low hundreds of thousands.
From a distance, Pretoria seemed similar in size to the First Town, probably not exceeding 30,000 people. Ernst's three divisions alone had a combined strength of more than 23,000 troops, making it relatively easy to capture Pretoria.
Ernst decided, "Start preparing for battle. Let the 514th Division initiate a preliminary assault on Pretoria."
The 514th Division was a second-line force in East Africa, but it was currently operating as a standing army, one step above the militia. The 123rd Division, on the other hand, was a mobile cavalry unit, primarily responsible for mobile field operations rather than siege warfare. It was mainly used to counter the Boer cavalry. The lower-level troops of the 123rd Division had been dispatched to Fort.
The 111th Division, similar to the 123rd Division, was an elite force in East Africa. However, the 111th Division was an all-round infantry division, ranking as the second infantry division in East Africa, with the Royal Guards Division (101st Division) being the first. The Royal Guards Division was more akin to a military force, with a total strength of 30,000 soldiers responsible for defending the entire Central Province, including the gateways to Bagamoyo City and Dar es Salaam City. It focused on the defense of these two cities.
Ernst's plan was to test the waters with the 514th Division first when dealing with Pretoria. While the 514th Division was part of the Southern Route Army's old foundation, it had relatively lower combat effectiveness. Other units of the Southern Route