The Fox of France - Chapter 517 (Patreon)

Chapter 517: Cape Town (2)

After arriving in Cape Town, the French organized an operation to attack the British prison and rescue the local leaders. Unfortunately, a betrayal among the Boers—then not yet known by this name, referred to as the Dutch—led to the operation's failure. The French managed to rescue only one leader, a Mr. Babbel, and suffered significant losses themselves.

Seven agents from the French intelligence died in this operation, and Admiral Philippe Tréveil was shot in the shoulder. Four of the Dutch participants also lost their lives. Despite this, they killed over twenty British policemen—given Cape Town's colonial isolation, the police's equipment and training were subpar, and their ambush tactics were poor.

The rescue operation shocked the British, especially the combat effectiveness displayed by the French commandos. Fearing further French actions, the British, with the efficiency of the French Revolutionary Tribunals, quickly tried and hung the remaining unrescued leaders for "treason."

Mr. Babbel, having narrowly escaped with his life, fled to the countryside and hid in a friend's estate. He began mobilizing the local Dutch residents to organize a rebellion and assault Cape Town.

"Mr. Babbel, I don't think you have the capability to take down Cape Town," said Admiral Tréveil, shirtless while receiving medical treatment. "The fortifications might be old, but they are impregnable to you without cannons—after all, it's a bastion with numerous, albeit aged, cannons."

"Can the French navy support us?" Babbel asked.

"Of course, the French navy is willing to help," Tréveil replied. "However, the navy lacks nearby ports for support. The seas around Cape Town are often treacherous, which greatly reduces the efficiency of naval bombardments. The British previously captured Cape Town mainly through land forces. Your militia—I'm not questioning your bravery—lacks the weapons, equipment, and specialized training required for siege warfare. Look, without basic artillery, how can you breach defenses? Besides, France has not yet declared war on Britain. (At this time, Britain was already engaged with America, but France had not officially entered the war.)"

Admiral Tréveil wasn't making excuses. Cape Town's fortress indeed used old iron cannons retired from the British navy. In theory, just one modern armored cruiser from the French navy, armed with new 100-cannons, could kite them to death from beyond their range.

But that was just in theory. The widespread use of steam engines, while increasing ship speeds, also significantly reduced their operational range. In the age of sail, a fleet could blockade a port indefinitely as long as it could resupply food. In the steam age, a steamship needed much more, including coal for the engines and water. Also, maintenance became far more complex; tasks that sailors could manage alone during the sail era now required shipyard facilities.

In the steam era, maintaining a prolonged blockade became nearly impossible. France had a few ports in Africa, but they were small and the mineral resources were mostly undeveloped (shipping ore to Europe at the time would have been unprofitable). These ports would need a prior shipment of coal from Europe to support fleet operations.

Even from French ports in West Africa, after reaching Cape Town, the time French warships could stay was severely limited. Cape Town's seas, located in the westerlies and deeply embedded in the world's wildest ocean currents, the Westerlies, were always tumultuous, which greatly affected firing accuracy. Therefore, despite theoretical superiority in range, unless very close to the fortifications, the ship cannons would likely miss their targets.

"So, are we just helpless against the British in Cape Town?" Babbel was reluctant to give up.

"Of course not, my friend," Tréveil smiled. "The British have their vulnerabilities."

"What vulnerabilities?" Babbel quickly asked.

"Their food supply," Tréveil answered. "Cape Town's food supply relies almost entirely on the surrounding farms—your farms. If you can organize and disrupt the British's food requisition, what will they eat? They'll have to come out for food. We just keep attacking their supply teams. Once they run out of food, can they still hold the city?"

Babbel supported this idea.

However, their plan was rejected at a meeting of the farm owners. This was normal; first, many had relatives and friends being hanged in Cape Town, so they wanted direct revenge. Second, with the outbreak of war, especially in North America, farm produce prices had risen. Taking Cape Town could make them a fortune, but if it remained under British control, they would lose out.

So, they insisted on a direct attack instead of indirect methods, which had some merit. To boost morale, the French had told them that the colonial British forces were poorly trained.

"Because of the traitor's betrayal, when we attacked the

 prison, the British had already set traps. We walked right into them but managed to fight our way out. Though we lost several comrades, we killed even more British. You see, the British combat effectiveness is really poor," the French had told the Dutch.

What the French didn't mention was that they were not ordinary people; they were elites selected from the special operations team of the Ministry of Public Security, and their equipment was far better suited for urban combat than the British's.

In Europe, military equipment had advanced significantly; even the poorest, most backward forces, like those of the Eastern Roman Empire and Green Ivy, were using rifled guns. But in distant Cape Town, the British still heavily used smoothbore guns. As for revolvers and pump-action shotguns, those could be purchased from arms dealers if you were willing to pay, but waiting for the British government to fund equipment upgrades for the forces in Cape Town would take a while—compared to the arms race in France and the security operations in Ireland, which had drained the British financially, leaving them unable to re-equip the colonial forces in Cape Town for the time being.

So, apart from the initial ambush, the subsequent fighting involved the most trained special forces using advanced rifled guns, revolvers, and pump-action shotguns against colonial forces still equipped with smoothbore guns, single-shot pistols, and sabres. Of course, the French didn't mention this for certain reasons, and the Dutch didn't ask.

Thus, the Dutch underestimated the British colonial forces' combat effectiveness, leading them to prefer a decisive battle over a prolonged conflict.

Admiral Tréveil naturally opposed such military adventurism. But he didn't stop the Dutch from taking risks. Some said they didn't intend to stop it at all, since the Ministry of Public Security's plan for these actions was called "Cassandra." This Trojan princess and prophetess was known for her ability to see the future, but her prophecies were never believed.

So, the estate owners organized a militia. If judged by their weapons alone, aside from lacking cannons, their weaponry was even better than that of the British army.

This was normal, as estate owners purchased guns to protect themselves and their families from potential threats like the fearsome Zulu. Those who have played "Civilization" know how daunting the Zulu can be. Some players would even quit the game upon finding themselves neighbors with the Zulu.

In reality, the Zulu weren't as formidable, but they were still not to be taken lightly. Thus, estate owners bought whatever was most effective for personal and family protection. Meanwhile, the colonial forces in Cape Town, being supplied with standard equipment by the government, didn't need to make such purchases.

As a result, the estate owners were equipped with rifled guns, pump-action shotguns, and revolvers, putting them nearly a generation ahead of the colonial forces in terms of light weaponry.

However, this technological advantage did not significantly impact the subsequent siege.

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