Chapter 3: Germany's West Africa (5)

  The Wouri River is the most important waterway in Cameroon, formed by the confluence of the Nkam and Makombé rivers at Yabassi. The river has a relatively large discharge, but its navigation is limited by the mountainous terrain; only small boats can navigate up to the entrance of the Yalla gorge, beyond which lies the treacherous waters, rapids, and whirlpools of the Yalla canyon.

  Four steamers puffed their way westward, disembarking a motley army at the mouth of Yola Valley and establishing a small bivouac near the river flats.

  Müller ignored the resentment of the naval cadets and stubbornly placed all the naval cadets in a relatively safe rear position, leaving two experienced army officers to lead them to guard the station.

  Dida's intention was to let these young men, who had just started their careers, gain some experience and get familiar with the rhythm of war while keeping themselves safe. Although Mueller appeared confident in front of Dida, war is war, casualties are inevitable, and he didn't dare to joke about the future of the Navy.

  The steamer dropped the baggage at the station and turned back, while Colonel Muller led a motley force of over two thousand Cameroonian troops into the depths of the mountains to punish the rebellious tribes.

  The night was deep, and a thin layer of fog rose over the Grand Canyon, veiling the new moon in the equatorial sky with a hazy gauze. The bright moonlight spilled onto the ground, as if spreading a thin layer of white frost on the earth.

  The barracks stored a large amount of ammunition, so the lamp and fire control regulations were strictly enforced, and as soon as it was late at night, it was pitch black. The army officers left by Colonel Muller were all experienced old rivers and lakes, they not only sent out two mobile sentries, but also built an artificial cover about 50 meters away from the barracks as a hidden sentry.

  At three o'clock in the midnight, under the slightly cool moonlight, Flowing Whistle Oden and Herman carried rifles along the military post warning line for patrol, Wang Haitian and Rudder crouched in the bunker, facing the dark night without a word.

  The equatorial region never had the problem of low temperatures at night, but the mosquito bites were really annoying. Wang Haitian was holding a root of unknown wild grass in his mouth, using the bitter taste of the wild grass to relieve his drowsiness, and his rough big hands kept slapping and pressing on himself, killing five or six blood-sucking mosquitoes in no time.

  "Silentium, can't you be quiet for once? We're on duty!" Redel whispered, glancing outside the bunker.

  Major Muller's motley crew has been marching in the mountains for four or five days now. The latest news received by the naval cadets is that the main force of the rebels has been defeated by the Imperial Army, and Major Muller is leading his troops to pursue the victory, expecting a triumphant return soon. The otaku chewed on some unknown wild grass in his mouth, saying fearlessly and carelessly: "What's there to be afraid of? The Funi people have already been defeated, they wouldn't dare to... launch a sneak attack on the barracks..."

  Wang Haitie's humming stopped abruptly, and he seemed to realize something. He pointed at the committee rifle placed on Redel's right side and put his ear to the ground. Redel understood, quickly snatching up the rifle, pulling over the sling, loading the yellow-orange cartridges into the magazine, with the muzzle pointing directly at the Yola Valley mouth.

  In the dark night, like ink, the mountains and forests in the canyon were all quiet, Wang Haiting vaguely heard the rustling footsteps, as well as the sound of long guns breaking through the air and the vibration of bowstrings being drawn.

  "It's the Funil people! Enemy attack!" King Haitai didn't have time to think about how the "defeated" Funil people had regrouped and were now blocking the station on all sides. He yelled at the top of his lungs, firing multiple shots into the sky.

  Sudden gunfire and heart-wrenching warnings echoed across the riverbank, waking up the sleeping soldiers. Under the command of an army officer, several flares were fired into the air, magnesium powder burning to produce dazzling light, turning night into day in an instant.

  Taking advantage of the illumination shell's light, Wang Haitian sneakily took a look outside the bunker and couldn't help but gasp in shock. He saw hundreds of people from the highland tribe, wrapped in animal hides and grass, with dark skin painted with oil colors, holding knives, guns, and bows and arrows, jumping out of the gullies near the riverbank, swarming, shouting, and covering the sky as they charged towards the small soldiers.

  The Battle of Yola River Bank, which was not mentioned in the history books, began. At 3 am, in the desolate German West African hinterland, at the mouth of the Yola Gorge, the garrison guards and the Cameroonian Highland rebel troops clashed fiercely. Countless arrows with white feathers and wooden spears were shot towards the small barracks, entering deep into the barracks in a beautiful arc. The 1888 Commission Rifle also occasionally spat out flames of death, rotating and piercing into the bodies of the Funi people, bringing up clouds of blood mist.

  Müller's construction of the military post on the riverbank was clearly well thought out, as the small military post on the high ground on the right bank of the river had a good view and could easily take advantage of its firepower. The Fournier people with handheld cold weapons were battered in front of the heavily armed military post, with corpses scattered all over the ground. The rebel army, which had lost its nerve, began to turn its guns around, focusing on the lone sentry outside, and a large group of them rushed towards Wang Haitian and his men.

  Wang Haitian's warning time was too short, and the mobile sentry Oden and Herman couldn't retreat back to the barracks in time. The position they were in was quite precarious, almost surrounded by the Funi people on three sides. The situation was already extremely dangerous, and Wang Haitian didn't care about his previous grievances with Oden and Herman. He suddenly jumped out of cover, grabbed his rifle, and recklessly ran towards Oden's direction, shouting loudly.

  "Auden, Hermann, over here!" R?del also came running after them and shouted at Auden.

  The natives' curses were incessant, and poisoned arrows and javelins flew wildly. Wang Haitie gritted her teeth and fired a few shots, apparently hitting two or three people by mistake.

  The rebel who had been shot was clutching his wound and rolling around on the ground in agony, while the wails of his companions made the Highlanders hesitate for a moment. Seizing this opportunity, Auden took three steps at a time, slipped over.

  A chieftain-like leader stepped forward, urging his subordinates to continue the attack. Those dark and sinister cannibalistic savages seemed determined to take down this small three-man squad, charging towards Wang Haitian and the others with their cold-glinting knives and guns, forming a triangular formation that was like a lone leaf floating on the vast ocean, at any moment they could be swallowed up by the bloodthirsty Funi people.

  "This won't do, we must withdraw to the barracks!" The committee rifle's barrel design was not reasonable, prone to bursting, and as the gun barrel turned red, Wang Haitian had no choice but to stop firing and prepare to retreat.

  "Wait a bit longer, Herman hasn't escaped yet..." Auden held back Wang Haitian, his proud self rarely using a humble tone, and begged.

  Wang Haitie gave Auden a glance, silently pulled out the bayonet and attached it to the rifle.

  Time was ticking away bit by bit, and the three of them were fighting while retreating. They looked left and right but couldn't see Herman rushing out. Auden became anxious and shouted loudly: "Herman, where are you?"

  "He's still on the riverbank!" R?dell was sharp-eyed and quickly spotted Hermann in the crowd. Hermann was in a precarious situation, surrounded by layers of encirclement, with an arrow stuck in his chest, leaning against the roots of an old tree on the riverbank, gasping for breath, while his rifle had long since disappeared from sight.

  That ferocious-looking, chieftain-like leader standing beside Herman raised his spear with great enthusiasm and thrust it at Herman's chest with a slight force.

  "Asshole!" Odens yelled, pulling the trigger. The bullet hit the chief's right ventricle directly, and a large cloud of blood burst out, staining the spear that slipped from his hand and fell onto the cobblestone riverbank.

  “los，los，los！”

  Behind her came the sound of gunfire and footsteps, countless young figures shouting as they rushed past Funi La people, chasing them down and causing blood to flow. Heidi's tense nerves relaxed, her legs went limp, and she collapsed onto the riverbank, clutching at her wildly beating heart and gasping for air. Riddell stood by with his hands on his hips, seemingly exhausted as well.

  "Hermann, don't die! We promised to join the navy together and retire together. We promised to return to Bavaria together and build a vineyard... Don't die..."

  Herman lay prostrate beside the ancient tree roots, his lifeless eyes staring up at the starry sky with a bewildered expression. Auden knelt before Herman's corpse, letting out a mournful wail that shook the heavens.

  ****

  The battle report of the Yoruba River Delta has been released. It turns out that Müller's defeat was not the main force of the Highlanders, but rather their abandoned decoy troops. The real main force had long been gathered in the mountains near the mouth of the Yoruba Valley. The Funi people's goal is clear: to destroy the logistics of the Germans and make the German army retreat without a fight.

  It can't be said that the plans of the Highland tribes were imperfect, but unfortunately the world has already entered an era of all firearms. In the face of large warships and comprehensive national strength, the warriors of the Far Eastern Qing Empire and the Near Eastern Ottoman Empire are simply at a dead end and cannot withstand a single blow.

  "It can be said that the victory of the naval cadets was reasonable, as for Herman's death, it was just an accident." Almost everyone except those who participated in the night raid evaluated the Battle of Yorak Riverbank this way.

  November 1894, German West Africa, Gulf of Guinea.

  The slightly drunken sea breeze blows in waves, causing the iron cross naval flag to ring out. The fragmented white waves come ashore, gently swaying the warship.

  A burial at sea is a tradition for naval personnel, as the ocean is considered to be the final resting place for sailors. Hermann's coffin was placed on the quarterdeck of the training vessel Friedrich Carl, where 41 naval cadets, instructors and old sailors, the Governor of West Africa and Major Müller stood solemnly and silently beside it, waiting for the pastor to finish his prayer.

  The pastor closed the Bible and gently placed his hands on the stone coffin. The people who came to attend the sea burial, regardless of their status or wealth, bowed their heads and made the sign of the cross, silently reciting "Amen". The band played a funeral dirge, and the mournful sound of the bugle and the requiem mass floated over the South Atlantic.

  The stone coffin and wreath were lowered down, slowly sinking into the sea. Auden grasped the flower basket standing at the ship's side, his eyes slightly reddened.

  "Sorry, couldn't save Herman..." Heidi Wang walked over and patted Auden's shoulder, her face full of shame.

  "That's not your fault, we all did our best. Herman and I have been friends for 15 years, he always wanted to join the German Army, he thought the army uniform was more handsome than the navy, because of my persistence he finally chose the navy. Silim, don't blame yourself, if you dig deeper, my guilt is much greater than yours..."

  Auden smiled brightly, pouring all the flower petals from the basket into the sea, and looked up at the seagulls hovering around the Iron Cross naval flag, saying faintly:

  "Let me reintroduce myself, I am Bernhard von Oden, a Bavarian."

  Despite being teased and ridiculed by Oden multiple times, the otaku still extended his hand without hesitation and gave Oden a firm handshake.

  "Heidi - Sylem, Kiel person."