Australian Storm 1876

  Chapter 583 Humen Pass

  "After this period of investigation, combining the advantages and disadvantages of several site selections, I think the Humen Pass Fortress should be located here." Major General Mo Rufeng, dressed in a uniform, stood on the hillside and pointed to the front.

  The place where his finger is located is a bend between two mountains. The pass is about 400 meters wide and presents an "L" shape, which is very special.

The proposed Humen Pass is located under the "L" shape. A reinforced concrete city wall spans it with a height of 5.6 meters. The interior is filled with rammed earth and gravel. There are small bastions and strong defenses.

In front of the Humen Pass Fortress is a relatively straight mountain passage with a length of nearly 2 kilometers. There are high peaks on both sides, which are unobstructed at first glance. Some protrusions or depressions under the mountain will be flattened in the later stage of the fortress construction. Be sure not to leave firepower shooting dead spots.

  Humen Pass is located about a hundred meters in front of the turn of the mountain road, facing the straight road between the valleys, behind the fortress is an open space for soldiers to drill.

After the turn, another 3.5-meter-high secondary wall was built to form an urn city, and several bunkers of firepower were excavated high on the surrounding cliffs, with built-in heavy machine guns and a 37 mm French Haqi Kes rapid artillery, against the enemy who entered the urn city. The army carried out a fire coverage strike.

  Behind the secondary wall is the location of many fortress ancillary facilities.

  The main purpose of this design is to use mountain cover to avoid direct artillery fire from the offensive party from destroying many buildings in Humen Pass, so as to enhance the fortress's continuous combat capability and greatly improve its survivability under severe battle conditions.

  This valley passage from Morgada to the Italian controlled area was once an ancient river. After countless years of vicissitudes of life, with the uplift of the African continent, it has evolved into a natural passage through the mountains.

The location of the Humen Pass Fortress was neither the narrowest nor the most dangerous, but it was the most original. Major General Mo Rufeng especially liked the advantage of the tall mountain shielding the rear of the Humen Pass fortress. Fortress buildings within easy reach are protected from enemy fire.

  I have to say that such a design is very ingenious.

on the hill

  A group of big brothers in the same group pointed to the corner of the empty valley. After consulting each other, they generally agreed that the Humen Pass fortress should be located here.

  Although Wu Mozhou, the general manager, is not a military expert, he has rich experience in large-scale construction projects. He weighs the value of the Humen Pass Fortress from his own point of view;

  "There has never been an unbreakable barrier in the world. What we have to do is to show strong confidence in rejecting the enemy outside the country. This project will be implemented as the highest priority.

  To this end, the African Chief Executive will give priority to the allocation of 60,000 pounds for the pre-construction of the fortress project.

  I very much appreciate the views of General Mo;

  The most important thing about a fortress is not how strong it is to build, but having a strong logistics capability to support continuous operations. This is of utmost importance.

The Humen Fortress was built on a big turn, and the fortress buildings at the rear were protected from the enemy’s fire by using its natural geographical advantages. It continued to provide adequate medical care for the front line, alternate places for rest and recuperation, and there was no shortage of food and water. Able to hold on for a long time.

  This idea is very good. We will build a wide and flat road from Humen Fortress to Morgada Town in the rear, and provide strong support to the front line. This work will now begin.

  Uh... brother of Kai, how much manpower and material resources can Somalia be able to mobilize in the near future to participate in the construction of this important project? "

  Gu Kaizhi, a senior Somali official, was born as a secretary of the Red Fort, and his actual work ability is very strong. He replied after a little thought;

  "Return to Master General;

We can now mobilize 4,000 black coolies who are building roads. It is estimated that no less than 2,000 black coolies will be mobilized within half a month. Together with more than 1,000 Chinese craftsmen, it can basically meet the demand for fortress construction. .

In terms of materials... the province will suspend all construction in Xi’an and the city, and put all the capacity of the cement plant into fort construction. After about 15 days, the first ship of cement can be sent out, with a total amount of not less than 400 tons, and materials such as steel will also be delivered at the same time. arrival.

  The black coolies who arrived early can dig into the mountains and quarry, excavate foundations to build rammed earth structures, and then pour reinforced concrete walls after the materials are delivered, without delay.

  Calculated like this;

  If the construction funds can keep up, the main body of Humen Fortress can be basically completed in about two and a half to three months. "

"Um...very well, I will think of a way for the funding gap, and your place will try to raise some funds, so that you can rest assured that the main fortress project is completed as soon as possible." Wu Mozhou decisively settled the decision, he turned his head and asked Major General Mo Rufeng; "Your Excellency, what is your plan regarding the fortress garrison?"

  "The African Army will deploy a battalion of officers and soldiers to station, with a total of about 400 people. In addition, it will strengthen a company of artillery, and the front-line combat force will be about 500."

   "Will this kind of force be less?"

  "Please rest assured, Master Zuo, this year’s recruits are in training. The African Army will arrange no less than 300 people to be stationed in the fortress. By then, the total force of the fortress will grow to more than 800, which is enough to deal with any emergencies."

  Speaking of which

  Major General Mo Rufeng looked at Li Yong who was standing next to him with a smile, and continued; “What's more, it’s very close to Morgada town. Surely Sir Li wouldn’t stand by, right?”

   "But if you have a life, don't dare to fail." Li Yong stepped forward quickly and replied with his hands folded.

   "Well... this arrangement is fine." Wu Mozhou nodded thoughtfully.

  He has a clear picture of the status of the African Expeditionary Corps. The African Expeditionary Corps was originally a little over ten thousand troops, but it was divided into two after the situation in Mozambique was completely calmed down.

  The newly formed commander of the Mozambique garrison at the end of 1886 took over 4,400 troops. The expeditionary corps only left a field division and independent cavalry battalion, with a total strength of less than 6,000.

  Although 4,000 new recruits were added later, a considerable number of veterans were also retired, and the total number of troops remained at more than 7,600.

  Think about the vast area of ​​millions of square kilometers in Mozambique. Normally, it has to perform heavy escort, encirclement, combat patrol and other tasks. The number of troops is really not that large.

  Able to deploy more than 800 troops, which is almost one-ninth of the total strength of the African Army, which can be regarded as extremely supportive.

After everyone discussed for a while, they basically finalized the construction of the Humen Fortress.

  Using a new type of reinforced concrete structure to build the Humen Pass Fortress is far more efficient than traditional methods. After the completion of the fortress structure, the structure is stronger and the ability to defend against direct gunfire is stronger.

  At present, the most important thing is to set up the main body of the fort first, with reliable defense capabilities, and then gradually build the fortress ancillary facilities in the later stage, so there is no need to worry.

  After everything is finalized

  The people on the hillside stepped down one after another, preparing to return to the town of Morgada.

  Mo Rufeng used his eyes to signal Wu Mozhou to stay for the time being, he still had something to say;

   "Master seat;

Presumably, you also know that the African Army has a heavy task of encircling and suppressing sporadic black tribes in Mozambique. The current military strength is not abundant. All of a sudden, so many troops are drawn out to garrison the Humen Pass fortress. It will be fine for a short period of time. Attached.

In the long term

  Master Earl’s plan to attack the Kingdom of Madagascar was temporarily shelved, but it was not cancelled.

  By supporting the internal separatist forces in the Kingdom of Madagascar, we have initially established two large-scale immigrant settlements on the island, which require a certain amount of force to be stationed. This will serve as a frontier springboard for attacking the Kingdom of Madagascar in the future, and its importance is beyond doubt.

  In this case, based on the principle of nearby command, I consider transferring the Humenguan Fortress to the Somali garrison headquarters.

  This is a fairly reasonable arrangement. I hope that Mrs. General will support the deployment plan of the African Legion. "

  After speaking, Major General Mo Rufeng fixed his eyes on General Manager Wu Mozhou, full of expectation.

The African General Manager is equivalent to the role of the governor. It is in charge of the military and political power of a party. It has jurisdiction over the provinces of Mozambique, Somalia and the special region of Guinea. It is the head of the Mozambican Garrison Command and the Somali Garrison Command, and has the authority to supervise and advise the African Army. .

   Regarding the issue of whether the military deployment of the Humen Pass Fortress will be transferred to the local garrison headquarters, Major General Mo Rufeng has only the right to make suggestions but not the right to decide.

  According to the procedure, he must obtain the consent of the African Chief Executive Officer and report it to the General Staff. After approval, he can implement it.

  Wu Mozhou knew what he meant as soon as he heard the words;

  Major General Mo Rufeng is unwilling to occupy the fortress of the Humen Pass to occupy the African Corps. The size of 800 troops is not a small number, which is equivalent to the combat power of two battalions.

  Currently the troops are tight, Major General Mo Rufeng is definitely unwilling to take it out and place it on the Humen Pass fortress thousands of kilometers away.

  If the application is approved by the General Staff of the Army, it is equivalent to an additional Humen Pass fortress under the Somali garrison, and more than 800 officers and soldiers.

  This is the strength of 6 infantry companies plus one artillery company, making the local military strength more than 2,000 people, and coping with unexpected situations more calmly.

   "Well, I think this plan will work, and the reason is sufficient. I don't disagree with it." Wu Mozhou finally nodded and agreed.

Major General Mo Rufeng breathed a sigh of relief, and said with a relaxed smile; "It’s true that my manpower is really stretched. The Boers in the south near Swaziland are active and often cross the border into our side. It’s really true. A headache.

Two companies of my cavalry battalion have all been sent to the south, but because the area is too large, they can’t take care of their heads. Therefore, a new cavalry battalion is being planned and sent to the south to drive away the black slaves across the border. Boers.

  So, my soldier is really used as two, there is no extra. "

   "Hey hey... I know this." Wu Mozhou walked down the hillside and said as he walked; "Those Boers are slave traders. Sooner or later, I have to show them good looks."

Wu Mozhou is an old man over half a hundred years old. In addition, he is obese and has unsatisfactory legs. When going downhill, Mo Rufeng walked by his side and stretched out his hand to support him; "Master Zuo, you look at the road under your feet... As far as I know, Red Fort is trying its best to penetrate the financial market of Johannesburg, and I am afraid that we will not be allowed to take drastic measures against the Boers so as not to deteriorate the relationship between the two sides."

   "That's true. The Boer's gold mine is jealous across Europe, especially the British. Who doesn't like gold?"

   "What the Lord Master said is that the British want to deal with the Boers not a day or two. This is almost an open secret, but I don’t know when to start?"

"That's a matter of the political affairs department. Anyway, one Mozambique is enough for me to worry about, so I don't want to worry about it for the time being." Wu Mozhou patted Major General Mo Rufeng's hand with a friendly expression, standing beside the sedan chair and said; "Thank you General, I can't ride a horse with my old arms and legs, so I can only sit on a sedan chair."

  "Master Seat, please..." Major General Mo Rufeng said, taking a step back.

  This simple sedan chair was carried by 4 strong black slaves, and a simple awning was built on it. After Wu Mozhou sat on it, the others got on their horses and walked slowly towards the town of Morgada.

  (End of this chapter)