Chapter 495 Preparing for Counterattack


Chapter 495 Preparing for Counterattack

The two old foxes Britain and France are watching, which also puts some pressure on Ernst. However, the strength of East Africa is that it is protected by the two big brothers Germany and Austria, so Britain and France cannot go too far. Of course It is better to rely on others than to rely on oneself. Germany and Austria favor East Africa because of affection. If East Africa cannot stand up on its own, everything will be in vain, so in the final analysis, strength speaks for itself.

However, East Africa has actually entered the attention of the international community because of this war. Although East Africa has existed for more than ten years, it has always kept a low profile, so it is like a transparent person.

This time the British and French targets, coupled with East Africa's challenge to Portugal, suddenly shifted the attention of other countries in the world to Africa.

As the popularity suddenly increased, everyone suddenly discovered that there are many countries eyeing Africa? In addition to East Africa, which is extremely talented, even small countries like Italy and Belgium have their own colonies in Africa.

Poor Italy, a great power in its previous life, was turned into a small regional country on the Apennine Peninsula by Ernst in this life. However, the relationship between East Africa and Italy is actually not bad.

This is all due to the fact that Italy's colonial undertaking in the Abyssinian Empire was indispensable with the help of East Africa. After all, Italy, like the original Hechingen royal family, was engaged in colonial undertakings for the first time, so it lacked experience.

The Abyssinian Empire is not a small country. Although East Africa looks down upon it, the Abyssinian Empire is not small in the world. It has a population of tens of millions and a long history. But like the Far East and the Ottomans, they declined in modern times.

Ernst kept the Abyssinian Empire because the skin color of the Abyssinian Empire was lighter than those south of the Sahara. He could barely accept it, and annexing the Abyssinian Empire would not be possible. Easy, East Africa has a land of more than 10 million square kilometers, and only has over 30 million indigenous people. After more than ten years, half sold and half given away, there are still more than 20 million. The Abyssinian Empire has a population of more than 10 million, and Abyssinia is not that kind of civilized desert. It has its own culture and history, and has frequent foreign exchanges. It is impossible for East Africa to use the same methods used to deal with pure black people to copy the Abyssinian Empire.

The most important point is that the Abyssinian Empire became a British protectorate after its last defeat against the British. The new emperor was supported by the British. In short, attacking Abyssinia Empire is thankless.

Italy is different. Italy is actually pro-British. After the Italian-Austrian War, it was sandwiched between Austria and France, and lost more than half of its territory, so it could only return to the embrace of its British father.

As for the Italian colonization of the Abyssinian Empire, both countries were pro-British, and Britain did not interfere. After all, Italy was more important and closer than the Abyssinian Empire.

However, the abandoned Abyssinian Empire is also doing its own thing. It was not originally close to the British. The last time it became a British protectorate, it was treated as a son by others, and Britain could not fight a war. Just left, so I still have autonomy.

Britain chose to sit on the sidelines, while Abyssinia chose to develop relations with East Africa and Egypt to gain support. Although Egypt and the Abyssinian Empire were feuding, Egypt did not want to look at Abyssinia. The Asian Empire was occupied by an outsider, Italy. In the eyes of the Egyptians, the threat from European countries was far greater than that of the Abyssinian Empire.

As for East Africa, it is natural to eat both sides. On the one hand, it is negotiating arms trade with the Abyssinian Empire, and on the other hand, it is negotiating grain trade with Italy. Of course, the weapons sold to the Abyssinian Empire cannot be said to be advanced. .

However, with the support of East Africa and Egypt, the Abyssinian Empire resisted the attack of Italy, an industrial country, and the two sides formed a stalemate on the northern Ethiopian plateau.

Both Italy and Belgium have quietly occupied colonies in Africa, and other countries are also interested. For example, the Kingdom of Naples is interested in Libya, and Germany has also established colonial strongholds in Central and West Africa. However, With France causing trouble, Germany's colonial career did not go smoothly.

Traditional colonial powers such as the Netherlands and Spain also began to strictly defend their colonies. Through the East-Portuguese War, these old colonial powers quickly realized that a new round of colonial boom had arrived.

The Dutch colonies are mainly in East India and South America. Facing competition from Britain, France, Portugal, Spain and other countries, Spain has to deal with competition from the United States and other countries. However, Spain is large and can still make a fool of itself. , has great win-win value. Countries such as Britain, France, Germany, and Austria all have good relations with Spain. Only the United States is persistent in its evil intentions, but it does not dare to act rashly. Portugal on the Iberian Peninsula is in a miserable state. With East Africa as a neighbor, it is destined to be difficult. Moreover, Portugal's local strength is not good, and its colonies are not looked down upon by East Africa.

It was rare for Constantine to come to see the progress of the war. Constantine had been busy with the construction of water conservancy projects recently, so he didn't know much about the progress of the war. The war between East and Portugal did not affect Constantine's enthusiasm for farming at all, because he knew The strength of East Africa cannot be shaken by a weak country like Portugal.

Constantine: "What is the current war situation? Has the Portuguese attack direction been determined?"

Ernst: "Father, you are here. I have been paying attention to the war situation. Portugal We have figured out the focus of the enemy's attack. Their forces are mainly concentrated in the Lake Malawi and Zambezi River basins. It seems that they want to cut off our connection with the interior. "

Constantine stared. Map, frowning and said: "The area between Lake Malawi and Lake Solon (Lake Tanganyika) is indeed a weak point. Is it possible to hold it?"

Ernst: " Don't worry, father, the troops we have deployed here are the elite of the kingdom, and Lake Malawi is also under our control. If the Portuguese want to get here, they must advance from the west bank of Lake Malawi. We have deployed heavy troops there, plus The terrain advantage ensures that all flies will fly over.”

"Well, but you can't be careless. By the way, you just said that the Portuguese went all the way to the Zambezi River. There is no carelessness there, right?" Constantine reminded.

“As early as when the Portuguese arrived in Tete, we obtained intelligence. With the help of the Central Railway, our army has arrived at the front line of the Songo stronghold. It is now resting there. The outcome of the subsequent war will depend on the front line. Feedback."

"Will it have any impact if it fails?" Constantine asked.

"It's okay. Our first wave of troops mainly relies on black people. Even if they don't fight well, our regular troops can make up for it in time. The 512th Division is already on standby in the rear and can take over the battlefield at any time."

Constantine: "You really use the black legions as cannon fodder?"

Ernst said calmly: "As long as it can be used to consume the Portuguese, I don't have high expectations and requirements for them. Now that the troops have arrived at the front line, they can start to promote the development of the war at our pace at any time."

After determining the Portuguese's offensive direction and ideas, East Africa can also counterattack against the Portuguese.

"It is now certain that the Portuguese's war preparations south of the Rufuma River are very lax. We use black people to hold back the main Portuguese force in the northwest, and the front-line troops on the Rufuma River can now move south."< br>
Ernst no longer wanted to keep the temporary national border of the Rufuma River. Judging from the attitude of the Portuguese, it seemed that they also planned to abandon this place. Therefore, with the help of this war, Ernst planned to move northern Mozambique. Take it completely, including the coast of Lake Malawi, so that East Africa can have three large lakes to itself.

(End of this chapter)

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