Chapter 271 Site selection for the new naval base
As the saying goes, the Italian army has accumulated 250,000 troops on the eastern front, but Archduke Albrecht only has 80,000 troops, so it cannot be pushed back. It’s normal to move to Venice.
However, once the war opened up a breakthrough, full bloom was what Archduke Albrecht wanted. On the eastern front, the Austro-Hungarian Empire had already won a victory with a small number of people against the Kingdom of Italy. Next, it still depends on whether the Austro-Hungarian Navy can open up a new situation and open up a new battlefield.
……
Adriatic Sea.
A huge fleet was sailing at high speed on the sea, led by the Austro-Hungarian Navy fleet from Fiume (now Rijeka, Croatia).
"It's our turn to fight back this time! It has always been a regret in my heart that we did not take advantage of the victory to fight back against the Italian Navy last time. This time we must let the Italian Navy realize the progress of the Imperial Navy again!" William ·Von Tegerthoff stood on the deck and said confidently to his subordinates.
“We will definitely continue to ensure victory this time!”
“The Empire will be victorious!...”
This is the name Wilhelm von Tegerthof The confidence blessing brought to the Austro-Hungarian Navy.
After the victory at the Battle of Lisa, Wilhelm von Tegerthof became a hero in Austria, and Franz urged him to go south to the Dalmatian coast to ensure the development of naval bases in the region.
Unlike in history, this time Wilhelm von Tegerthof carried out a comprehensive and systematic upgrade of the military base on the Dalmatian coast, because in 1867 in the original history he carried out a sad His mission was to go to Mexico to transport the body of his patron, Emperor Maximiliano, who was shot by Juarez Benito back to his hometown.
Now that Maximilian I is alive and well and has become the Commander-in-Chief of the East African Navy, Wilhelm von Tegerthof has not wasted his time in building a military base on the Dalmatian coast. Moreover, the two also had some exchanges on future naval development.
In 1868, he became the Minister of the Navy of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, a member of the Military Commission and the House of Lords, and was granted the title of baronet. He vigorously promoted the comprehensive reform of the Austro-Hungarian Navy.
After two years of development, the Austro-Hungarian Navy has rapidly narrowed the gap in ships with the Italian Navy, and is much stronger than in history.
Among them, East Africa acquired two old ships from the Austro-Hungarian Navy, so the Austro-Hungarian Navy took the opportunity to add two new warships, and Franz agreed. After all, he was wiping the butt of his brother Archduke Ferdinand. , although Ernst paid some token money, it was basically a free gift.
But it is a pity that the two new warships of the Austro-Hungarian Empire are still lying in the Trieste shipyard. The decks have just been laid and they cannot participate in this battle yet.
"Report, Italian warship found in the northwest."
"Let the Lisa come closer!"
Austro-Hungary started construction of the ironclad Lisa in 1867. The Lisa adopted the newly-invented central gun room design with a displacement of 7,000 tons, which was in line with the first-class ironclad standards of the year. Lissa was the ancestor of the Austro-Hungarian battleships and was now the command ship of Wilhelm von Tegerthoff.
Compared with the proud Austro-Hungarian Navy, the life of the Italian Navy on the opposite side is relatively miserable. Although Italy obtained Venice as a new naval base in the last war, the significant reduction in funding caused the Italian Navy to live in a tight situation during this period. .
Beginning in 1869, the Kingdom of Italy, which was gradually emerging from the shadow of the Battle of Lisa, finally planned to start a naval expansion plan.
Because the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 restored the strategic significance of the Mediterranean. Italy also needed a powerful fleet to safeguard its interests and protect its trade routes in the region. But before the plan could be formulated, Austria-Hungary declared war on Italy.
This is another huge blow to the Italian Navy. It would be great if the war between the two countries could be postponed for a few years until the upgrade is completed!
"Report to the general, the Austro-Hungarian naval fleet has appeared in the direction of 24 degrees southeast, and they are heading towards us at a very fast speed!"...
East Africa, Indian Ocean waters.
Just when the Austro-Hungarian Navy was about to collide with the Italian Navy, the Navy of the Kingdom of East Africa was organizing a cross-sea training. The training was completed in the offshore East Africa between Bagamoyo and Pemba Island.
"This is Jishui City (today's Chak Chak City, Tanzania)! But the name is a bit strange. Is it a name given by the indigenous people?" Ferdinand, the commander of the East African Navy, looked at the small city in front of him. Zhen asked.
“This place used to be called Chak Chak, a small town in the Sultanate of Zanzibar. However, the name Jishui City was given by His Highness Ernst himself, and we don’t know the specific meaning.” Water City Mayor Leander said.
Of course, the transliterated name sounds strange. Jishui, a river that once existed, is Ernst's reminder of his hometown in his previous life.
"Not to mention anything else, the port conditions here are not bad. It would be good if they were renovated." Archduke Ferdinand said.
"Jishui City is the capital of Pemba Island, but there are currently more than 2,000 immigrants, and the entire island only has more than 10,000 people, so it is not easy to transform this place." Leander replied.
“Well, wasn’t it allocated to you slaves?”
“Because this place was taken from the Zanzibar people, in order to maintain stability, the entire Pemba Island was A comprehensive cleanup was carried out, and all the Zanzibaris on Pemba Island were packed up and returned to the Sultanate of Zanzibar. Not to mention the reconstruction of the port, no one harvested the ripe cloves on the island.”
Pemba Island is a place rich in cloves. In the previous life, clove production here accounted for 40% of the world's production, and Zanzibar Island accounted for more than 70%.
"I see! However, Pemba Island has such good conditions and is very suitable as a naval base. It would be a pity not to use the port on Pemba Island." Archduke Ferdinand said.
Ferdinand has already studied the topography of Pemba Island. The entire island is dominated by hills and plains, with a tortuous coastline. There are many harbors with the conditions to become ports, mainly concentrated on the west coast. The west coast of the island faces away from In the Indian Ocean, the harbor is calm and calm, facing the East African mainland and Mombasa at the same time. The two ports of Tanga are at the corners of each other, so it is perfect for building a naval base here.
"If it is a naval base, I can recommend a location for you to use directly. The infrastructure there is complete, but there are not many people." Leander heard Ferdinand's words. said.
“Oh, where is it?”
“Mkani in the south of Pemba Island is basically an empty city now, but it used to be a port used by the Sultanate of Zanzibar to connect the island and Pemba. Later, after we took over Pemba Island, Mkani also became a ghost town. It is no longer used to communicate with Zanzibar Island, and the residents there have also been repatriated to Zanzibar Island. However, the port has been empty and has not been maintained for more than two years. I'm afraid It’s a bit deserted.”
“Mkani! The conditions there are really good.” After hearing this name, Ferdinand was really impressed. Mkani is in the southwest of Pemba Island. We passed there when we were on the boat, but as Leander said, it was basically a ghost town. There were thousands of houses, but only about two hundred families of East African immigrants lived there.
"It would be really good if it was used as a naval base, and the existing facilities there could be used, and the problem of buildings would be solved directly." Ferdinand thought.
So why are you hesitating? It has been decided that Mkani will be the second naval base in East Africa.
(End of this chapter)