Chapter 760: Ambition of the 421st Division
This kind of thing is not to be blamed on the fierce resistance of black people. East Africa's reputation among black Africans is not that it is "full of evil", but it is also an existence that can stop children crying at night.
The closer black people are to East Africa, the more afraid they are of East Africa. East Africa is like Pixiu, which can only be entered but not exited. Just like the border of the former Kingdom of Congo, there are many black people in East Africa. Now they have almost been found. No trace of black presence.
This is naturally the reason why a large number of black people fled to the Kingdom of Congo and other regions. However, everyone only knows the objective fact that the number of black people has decreased significantly under the governance of East Africa. Coupled with the artistic processing and rendering of the escaped black people, East Africa has naturally become " Devil's Cave".
Of course East Africa is not that bad, but some people always like to add their own subjective assumptions when describing their own experiences.
However, having said that, Portugal does treat black people "well". This good is relative, as it is the earliest global colonial empire.
In the course of hundreds of years of accumulation, the Portuguese have indeed become more integrated with the locals. Now there are hundreds of thousands of mixed descendants of the Portuguese and local indigenous people in Angola. They are also one of the important foundations of Portuguese rule in Angola. .
These mixed descendants actually belong to the ruling class in Angola and are the beneficiaries of Angola’s colonial system, so they will inevitably support the maintenance of the Portuguese Kingdom’s rule over Angola.
After being persuaded, Custer's mood has become stable. He said to Hans Griffin: "Forget it, it's just the first time I have encountered this situation, so I can't bear it. Don’t be angry. As for how to deal with them, the future will naturally be decided by the kingdom.”
Having the same hatred as the colonists, Custer has been in Africa for many years and this is the first time he has encountered them, so it is inevitable that everyone will be a little angry. They are all invaders, and the "double standard" of the local indigenous people makes it easy for Custer to break through.
...
When the 331st Division wanted to take advantage of the Portuguese main force being held back by friendly forces on the front line and take the opportunity to harvest the fruits of victory, the friendly forces in the Western Military Region were not to be outdone.
In the province of Letania.
The 421st Division also has a similar plan. As a very rare cavalry division in the west, the 421st Division can be said to be a treasure-like existence in the Western Military Region.
Helmond, commander of the 421st Division, is formulating the next battle plan in Menonge City.
Menongue's original name was Celsa Pinto, which was named after a Portuguese explorer. After the first East-Portuguese War, it was ceded to East Africa by Portugal, and then changed to its current name.
This is a relatively important city located in the southern part of Angola in the past. Angola had a railway and an airport here in the past, and now it is the headquarters of the 421st Division.
As a cavalry division, the 421st Division can effectively play its role in this area. There are many grasslands and deserts in southern Angola, mainly grasslands, so it is very suitable for the 421st Division to fight.
An important reason why Catania Province did not fall as large as the Danube Province in the early stages of the war was the 421st Division's strong mobile combat capabilities.
The 421st Division frequently harassed the Portuguese army on the vast grasslands in the south. Even if the Portuguese concentrated their superior forces, there was nothing they could do against the 421st Division because of its strong mobile combat capabilities.
Often when the Portuguese reinforcements arrived, the 421st Division, including its men and horses, had already fled, so the Portuguese in Letania Province could only be passively beaten.
Of course, one of the important reasons why East Africa did not abandon the province of Laitania is that the province is too important. It is an important area in East Africa that connects the Kalahari Basin and Southwest Africa.
If the Portuguese are allowed to succeed, it will pose a serious threat to the overall national defense of East Africa, especially Southwest Africa, which relies heavily on inland supplies. If the Portuguese occupy the province of Letania, the East African Defense Forces in Southwest Africa can basically surrender.
Now that ships on the west coast are unable to cross Cape Town to provide supplies to Southwest Africa, all pressure is concentrated on the two land channels.
One is the Whale Highway, and the other is the north bank of the Orange River in the west, and the 421st Division must ensure the smooth flow of the Whale Highway.
Of course, with the passage of the war, the mission of the 421st Division has been completed. Now it is more important for the 421st Division to take the initiative to achieve greater results.
Helmond analyzed the current war situation in Angola and said: "Now other troops led by the 414th Division have been fighting Portugal in the east, and the 331st Division from the north has also moved south. At this time, the 331st Division has moved south. For us, This may not be a good thing. After all, the Portuguese’s important cities such as Luanda are concentrated in northern Angola.” With the reinforcements from the military region, our Western Military Region is also capable of taking Angola."
"Now that they have intervened, what will happen to our Western Military Region's face if we let them attack Luanda and other places?"
< br>
"So we must give full play to our advantages and achieve impressive results in the Angola battlefield."
Everyone agrees with Helmond's words. After all, no one will complain about military merit. Few, and it also means protecting the reputation of the Western Military Region and the 421st Division.
In fact, the main force of the Western Military Region is mainly in the confrontation with the Mozambique colonial coalition forces in Matabele Province in the west. Only two divisions of the main force are retained in the west.
The 421st Division is one of them. From the perspective of the 421st Division, the 331st Division of the Nile Military Region is here to grab credit. After all, the 421st Division and the 414th Division have been fighting the Portuguese for three months in the western battlefield. Over time, the form of war has changed.
The 331st Division joined in. Of course, it was suspected of "eating off the shelf". Of course, in order to prevent the 331st Division from being the only one ahead, it was natural for the 421st Division to play a role in the war on behalf of the Western Military Region.
"Division Commander, at present, the 331 Division must focus on Luanda. They have a distance advantage, and the Portuguese forces in the north are weak. This may be the driving force for the 331 Division to seize Luanda earlier, so our focus should be on the second-largest Luanda. Benguela in Luanda. ”
The city of Benguela was established as a port in 1587 and as a city in 1617. It is one of the earliest colonial strongholds in southern Africa and is currently the most important city in Angola’s colony after Luanda.
And Benguela is not far from Merunge. With the mobility of the 421st Division, the success rate of capturing the city of Benguela is very high.
“Not only Benguela, Benguela was already considered a target of our army before the war started. After all, we captured Benguela once in the last war.”
In fact, Benguela was briefly occupied by East Africa during the first East-Portuguese War, and was later returned to the Portuguese after the armistice.
However, the last time Benguela was captured was not only the 421st Division, but also the participation of other troops, such as the 412th Division currently fighting Mozambique on the eastern front and the 414th Division holding back the main force of the Angolan colony.
In fact, it is the 414th Division that is really suffering. Now it can only watch the 331st Division and the 421st Division make great achievements, but it is held back by the main force of the Portuguese.
Of course, it was actually the Portuguese who were held back by the 414th Division. Most of the expanded New Army in East Africa were in Danube Province, fighting in coordination with the 414th Division. This prevented the Portuguese from successfully withdrawing their frontline troops. There are huge strategic holes in the south and north of Angola, creating excellent opportunities for the 331st Division and the 421st Division.
(End of this chapter)