Chapter 689 Mental imbalance
While Brenzino was talking to his comrades, the border patrol team of the East African National Defense Force in the "wilderness" was also doing daily patrols here.
"Squad leader Hans, are those Portuguese soldiers over there?" As a newly recruited soldier, Peter asked. This was the first time he saw Portuguese people.
"Yes, you see there are many black people in their team, and the uniforms they wear are even uglier than the simplified military uniforms we had more than ten years ago. They are all drab gray and look wrinkled. The uniforms of the three officers look pretty good, but they are also quite old,” Hans commented to the Portuguese patrol across the border.
The military uniforms of the Portuguese colonial army in Angola can be described as extremely ugly, and their high EQ can also be described as "simple". They look a bit like the warlords' armed forces in the Far Eastern Empire during the Republic of China era.
In fact, the Portuguese local army uniforms can barely be looked at. They follow the European "gorgeous" trend, with a wide variety of patterns and seem to have a bit of temperament, but the colonies cannot be compared with the mainland.
This is also related to Portugal's financial difficulties. In fact, after the last blow in East Africa, Portugal's national fortunes declined a lot.
"I heard that Portugal used to be a big country with a large number of colonies around the world. Now it is really in decline. It can be seen that it is very difficult financially. It really feels like the sea has changed." Peter said with emotion.
Peter received compulsory education in East Africa, so he has a little understanding of history and Portugal’s position in Europe, but he doesn’t know much about Portugal. After all, there are so many countries in the world, and it is impossible for East Africa to catch Portugal. Describe in detail in the textbook.
Of course, if it is the history of the Age of Discovery, Portugal is quite glorious, but Portugal’s glorious history was also three to four hundred years ago.
"Portugal has a strong family background. From the empire on which the sun never sets, to their decline to the present day, they can still occupy a place in the world, all thanks to the pioneering efforts of their ancestors. If they even lose their overseas colonies, they will be the same as those weak and weak people in Eastern Europe. There is no difference in poor countries," Hans said.
Hans and his men spoke German. Of course the Portuguese on the other side of the border couldn't understand it, but they probably knew that the other party didn't have anything nice to say, because Peter and others all had expressions of astonishment on their faces. Ruowu's "smile" clearly revealed some hostility and contempt.
As a young man, Peter naturally felt a sense of pride after comparing the Portuguese soldiers on the opposite side, mainly because the gap between the two sides was clear at a glance.
East Africa's new military uniforms have long since gotten rid of the dilemma of "cutting corners" in order to save costs. Now they are completely developed towards: practicality, beauty, atmosphere, comfort and other aspects.
The contrast between the clothing of the Portuguese soldiers opposite is obvious, and clothing has always been one of the faces of the army. Good-looking military uniforms can significantly boost the morale of the army.
"These German guys, you can tell at a glance that they usually eat a lot of oil, and the materials of their clothes look very particular, but they are somewhat different from European aesthetics. They are really a waste of money. Their military boots are made of cowhide, and they are... The same goes for belts. Only these 'African natives' can do this kind of face-saving work," Brunzino said contemptuously to the East African army.
In Brenzino's opinion, the East African soldiers are not war material at first glance. They are so well-dressed, do they think they are European aristocrats?
And because the East African Army's food conditions are among the best in the world, ordinary East African soldiers are also stronger than the Portuguese, which makes Brenzino even more psychologically unbalanced.
Recruits such as Peter, who had just joined the army, did not suffer from malnutrition due to compulsory education and living standards in East Africa. Instead, they had the elegant temperament of a soldier.
It makes the Portuguese feel that the opposite side is the army, and their side is more like those "bumpkins" in Asia, Africa and Latin America. This is in sharp contrast to the glorious history of the Portuguese colonial empire. The contrast is very strong.
In fact, when Portugal was financially wealthy in the past, the army was also well-funded. Especially hundreds of years ago, the Portuguese army wearing expensive plate armor left its footprints all over the world and defeated many natives in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Therefore, Nowadays, the psychological imbalance is understandable. Hans is not as obvious as Peter. As a veteran, he has rich experience in East Africa and has fought against the Portuguese before.
The 411th Division to which he belonged was the main force that crossed hundreds of miles to attack the Angolan colony. Therefore, he was arrogant enough towards the Portuguese army and even disdained to fight with such subordinates. The existence of the defeated general is calculated.
In his opinion, the combat effectiveness of the Portuguese army on the opposite side was not even as good as some indigenous tribes that were difficult to fight. This was his personal experience.
So he said to Peter and other recruits: "If we look at colonies alone, Portugal is definitely one of the best in the world. After all, there are only a few countries with colonies covering an area of one million. However, the size and number of colonies cannot represent the combat effectiveness of the Portuguese, especially the miscellaneous troops wearing regular Portuguese military uniforms and mixed with black people.”
"Squad leader, why is this? Shouldn't the regular army be more effective?" Peter asked. In his opinion, this is the case with the East African army. The army is much stronger than the militia, whether in terms of professional quality, psychological quality, or... In terms of weapons and equipment.
Hans was a good teacher and said: "The Portuguese colonies were taken by them when they were pirates. On the other hand, after the Portuguese army was regularized, they did not do much. After all, pirates pay more for more work and are not afraid of death. Dare to fight.
This was very obvious when our company commander led us to encounter the private armed forces in the plantations in Angola, and the regular army was basically defeated in one attack. After all, the Portuguese army was treated well. worse than us
I have seen their food. To put it bluntly, it is a little better than the pig food in East Africa. Combined with their equipment, it is still at the level of ten years ago. I haven’t made any progress in many years, so I can tell at a glance The management level of the army is backward. "
What Hans said about "pig food" made Peter and others laugh. The pigs in East Africa really eat "people" well. Of course, this comparison depends on those countries. For example, countries such as Japan and North Korea.
The laughter of the East African defense soldiers was so harsh in the ears of Brunzino and other Portuguese people. Although they did not know what the Germans were talking about, they still aroused the glares of the Portuguese.
Obviously, the East African National Defense Force also noticed this. Peter whistled and glared back with some provocation.
“Captain!” Laird, the deputy captain of the Portuguese patrol, gestured to Brenzino with gritted teeth.
Obviously, his emotions were aroused by the Germans, so he was a little impulsive.
Brnzino looked at Laird and knew what he meant, but he looked around him again and found that except for the Portuguese, the other black soldiers were obviously distracted and had an attitude that it had nothing to do with him.
I sighed in my heart, how can this kind of army compare with others! Although the Germans across the street are also mixed with yellow and white, they are as close as one.
The black soldiers on our side are as lifeless as "dead corpses". How to fight in this situation! Moreover, as the captain, I cannot take the initiative to provoke out of anger. If it leads to a military conflict, I, a turnip, cannot afford it.
This cannot be blamed on the "ghost" appearance of the black soldiers. After all, blacks in the colonies were inferior people with no dignity at all, let alone serving as pawns for the Portuguese.
(End of this chapter)