Tyranny of Steel

Darkness descended from the sky as the clouds covered the moon and its light. So much so that the only form of illumination came from the fires of the German encampment. In the distance scouts, from the tribe that Bakari had visited were searching for their missing comrades. It had been days since the village chief had dispatched men to observe the white devils and their actions.

Yet, despite this, they never returned. The reason for this was simple: they were spotted and shot by the snipers who stood atop the German watchtowers. Such was the fate of any African who was foolish enough to approach the newly founded German colony. Berengar had no tolerance for espionage, and would eliminate anyone who came close to his borders without mercy.

The African tribesmen who came to look for their lost scouts blended into the night with their dark skin, and because of this, the German soldiers could not easily spot them in the poorly illuminated landscape. Thus, they were lucky enough to escape the wrath of the snipers who acted as the first line of defense of the colony.

The man in charge of these scouts was a relatively tall, and muscular man for an African, however, compared to the German soldiers who were better fed, and had superior strength and conditioning training, he was severely lacking in stature. He wore the skin of a leopard as he stalked through the darkness, leading his men towards the German encampment.

The camp that the Germans stayed within was well fortified, with earthen fortifications and a trench system in place. Static machine guns were mounted in the trenches, which comprised a mixture of the newly produced MG 25s, and the older hand cranked Mk 2 Schmidt Guns. The soldiers in the trenches kept a watchful eye into the darkness, in case they came under attack.

The somewhat muscular African approached a nearby brush, where he found the corpse of one of the scouts they had sent earlier. The power of the 7.92x57mm cartridge that had been used to take his life blasted his head into mincemeat. He was completely unrecognizable, and yet, the African knew him to be a member of his tribe.

The man mourned the passing of his fellow tribesman before he took a gaze at the watchtower that sat far away from his position. Such a vast distance between him and the German camp was astonishing to see. If a German were to witness this, they would immediately recognize that they were standing roughly 1200 meters away from the camp. Of course, to the African, it was really just a long distance, as precise units of measurements were an alien concept to his people.

To him, there was no feasible way for the white devils to kill his tribesman at such a distance. Because of this simple disbelief, he made a critical error in his assumptions and believed the Germans had killed the scout in melee combat. In his mind, only the repeated use of a blunt weapon could inflict such grievous wounds. Either way, he felt as if he had accomplished his mission as he realized why the scouts had failed to report their findings. He quickly gathered the other warriors in his squad and informed them of his findings.

"Lunga is dead. Whoever killed him smashed his head into pieces. I suspect the other scouts are dead as well. We should quickly report this news to the Chief. It is clear that these people from the sea are not here with peaceful intentions."

The warriors nodded their heads in agreement with this notion before absconding into the night back towards the village they had come from. They would not risk staying around and taunting death to claim their lives.

Another few days had passed, and the scouts arrived in the village. Where they were quick to find the chief who was in a meeting with Bakari and the chief of another tribe. It would appear they were in a heated discussion about a recent conflict the other tribe had with the German soldiers.

"These white devils have been stalking and killing our hunters and foragers when they leave the village in search of food. We fear that they intend to launch an attack on our village soon. I understand you are waiting to hear back from your warriors about your missing scouts, but we need to take action now. Or else these sea people will kill us all!"

When the somewhat muscular African entered the room, the gathered chieftains fell quiet, as the leader of this village spoke up inquiring about what his warriors had learned.

"Any news on the missing scouts?"

The African warrior nodded his head as he gritted his teeth. He explained the situation as best he could, but it was still a confusing prospect.

"I found Lunga, his head was smashed into bits. He was likely ambushed as he observed the encampment from afar. His wounds suggest a blunt instrument was involved. Such as a club or a rock!"

Bakari knew this was a bunch of hogwash. He had personally witnessed the range and detestation the German weapons could cause to human flesh, and was not afraid to speak up about his opinion.

"I doubt they used a blunt instrument. These people are capable of conjuring thunder and fire to kill their enemies. I don't know how far away the enemy was when they attacked my village, but the fire spitting from their position suggests that their powers have a far greater range than our bows. I would not doubt if the enemy had killed this Lunga from the safety of their encampment.

With the attacks on the Mthunzi tribe, and the Zama tribe's hunters, as well as the murder of your scouts, we can safely say that these white devils are a threat to our very existence. It is my suggestion that we contact the other tribes in the area and come together to discuss how we are going to expel these invaders from our lands!"

The chieftain of this village was a man by the name of Ukuza, and his tribe was named Lwazi. He was skeptical of Bakari's claims, especially after his warriors rolled their eyes at the idea that the enemy could conjure the elements to fight for them. Clearly, they had not witnessed such a thing on their journey. However, it was no doubt that these invaders posed a significant threat to the local tribes. If that was the case, he may find it in his heart to negotiate with his long-standing rivals to a temporary peace, so that they can drive the white menace from their lands.

He sighed heavily before nodding his head in agreement. Though he did not want to do it, establishing a temporary alliance with the rival tribes so that they could come together and resist the German onslaught was the best case solution. Thus, the man responded to Bakari's claims in affirmation.

"Though I doubt your claims to be accurate. I must admit that I can no longer deny the threat these foreigners pose to our collective existence. It is time that we come together and put aside our differences for the time being, so that we can focus on a greater enemy! I will send word to the other tribes. By now, they too must have investigated the white devils. Surely they will have come to the same conclusion as us."

Bakari was frustrated that nobody took him seriously, but at least the chiefs of the Zama and Lwazi tribes took the threat of the white devils seriously. He believed that together, the Southern African tribes could possess the power to drive the Germans from these lands. Of course, he was unaware of the actual power of the German military, or the fact that Berengar planned to use this colonial conflict as a testing ground for some of his more atrocious weaponry.

However, if Bakari could unite the tribes south of the Orange river, he could have tens of thousands of warriors beneath his command. With such a large military force, he believed he could overwhelm the small numbers of German soldiers who currently existed in the region. Of course, such thinking was on par with Berengar's past enemies, who underestimated the value of rapid-fire weapons.

One thing was certain, the African tribes would not go quietly into the night. They would fight against their German invaders with everything they had. After all, Berengar had made his intentions clear. There was no room in Southern Africa for the local population. It would be a German colony, regardless of how many troops Germany had to funnel into the region, or how many people they needed to kill.