Chapter 943: Battle of Manila Bay
The first town.
After Spain declared war on the United States, Ernst quickly got the news. The war between the two countries naturally attracted the attention of the East African navy and army.
The East African Navy has a short history, few achievements, and little experience, so it is very concerned about the upcoming maritime war. The United States and Spain are both maritime powers, so no matter who loses or wins in this war, it will benefit the East African Navy. Provide better data support for development.
The U.S. Navy is a key focus of East Africa. After all, the expansion of the U.S. Navy has only been in recent years, and the application of a large number of new technologies far exceeds that of Spain.
The East African Army did not pay much attention to the Spanish-American War, because the war between the two armies was a competition between novices. However, after all, Spain applied some East African standard equipment in the Philippines, so it still has a certain testing effect on rifles, artillery, machine guns and other weapons. of.
“The war between Spain and the United States is estimated to be the last war in the entire 1990s. Together with the South African War and the Far East War, three large-scale wars broke out in just ten years. This is also It indicates that the world is in a period of fierce collision, and the battle between the old and new forces is far from over," Ernst said with emotion.
East Africa versus the United Kingdom, Japan versus the Far Eastern Empire, and the United States versus Spain are all provocations by new forces against the old forces in the international order.
Of course, the South African War was more complicated and involved Portugal. As for Britain and East Africa, it could only be considered a tie. But when Britain intervened in the South African War, other countries could easily ignore Portugal, which was also the main force. , and the Boer Republic received even less attention.
Of course, these three wars are actually appetizers. In Ernst’s mind, Germany’s challenge to British hegemony is the final outcome. Among the old countries, Britain and France are the most representative, while emerging countries The center is naturally Germany.
Although there are rising stars such as East Africa, the United States, and Japan, these countries are not in Europe. The center of world civilization is now in Europe, so the gold content is different.
The main battlefield in World War I was Europe, while World War II spread to Europe, Asia, and Africa. Of course, the main battlefield in Africa during World War II was North Africa.
Archduke Ferdinand said: "The current international situation is like this. Many countries have achieved their own breakthroughs with the help of the industrial revolution. However, the international community is like a cake that has been divided long ago, and rising stars want a piece of it. We can only challenge established countries.”
Constantine: “The United States should not be considered a rising star. In fact, the United States has always been powerful, but it is hidden deep and is often easily ignored. Therefore, the United States and the West are relatively powerful. The war is also an opportunity for the United States to show its military strength and gain more political influence."
"What my father-in-law and father said is right, but it is precisely because of this that we in East Africa. We cannot stop the pace of development. For East Africa, we are relatively passive in the current international situation. "Ernst said: "On the one hand, we have the strong accumulation of countries such as the United States, and on the other hand, East Africa's domestic economy is now also weak. We have just started to work hard, so it will take at least twenty or thirty years for us to dominate the international pie.”
The East African economy has actually just established its overall framework, and the country's industrialization will require at least ten years or more of hard work.
According to the current economic development speed of East Africa, if the urbanization rate in East Africa could exceed 30% before 1910, then the performance of the East African government would be very good.
After all, in the previous life of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, in 1910, the urbanization level was only over 20%, and in Tsarist Russia, it was only over 10%, which was much lower than in East Africa today.
East Africa's ability to join the ranks of world powers relies on the accumulation of population and land. This is also true of Tsarist Russia, while other powers are more powerful in terms of industrial strength.
Of course, Ernst is not too worried about improving East Africa's industrial strength. After all, East Africa has completed the layout of emerging industries such as electricity and internal combustion engines, which means that East African technology will not change over time in the future. It would be too bad.
Therefore, the economic work of the East African government is mainly to continue to improve the country's economic system and stimulate the vitality of economic development. Currently, state ownership dominates, which will be more conducive to East Africa's catching up with other countries. The reform of the state-owned economy in East Africa has never been interrupted. Even the Far Eastern Empire in the previous life continued to promote state-owned enterprises, and the state-owned economic framework in East Africa will only become more rudimentary. Now the East African government is constantly checking and filling in the gaps on this basis.
Of course, Ernst will not let go of the shackles of the private economy at this stage. After all, the state-owned economy in East Africa is still on the rise, and it is conducive to countries with centralized governments in East Africa. compete with other countries for resources.
When the state-owned economy in East Africa is relatively mature and can dominate the country's economic development, Ernst's next step of reform will begin.
……
Because of East Africa's provocation, Spain delayed its declaration of war, which gave the Spanish garrison in the Philippines more time to prepare.
After the two countries declared war, the U.S. Asia Fleet stationed in Xiangjiang officially headed towards the Philippines. By the time the U.S. Navy reached the coast of the Philippines, it was already June.
The Spanish Navy in the Philippines adopted the strategy of its previous life, preparing to rely on the topographical advantages of Manila Bay to deal with the powerful U.S. Navy.
At noon on June 3, the U.S. Navy finally arrived in Manila Bay and started a confrontation with the Spanish Navy. With the addition of the Zaragoza and the Sagunto, the number of Spanish and Philippine Navy warships increased to eleven. Including nine cruisers and two gunboats.
Among them, only the Zaragoza, Sagunto, and Cristina are steel armored, so the Spanish Navy is still at a clear disadvantage.
The two sides only met each other, and the Spanish navy was beaten to disgrace. The Cristina, which was at the forefront, was directly blown out of a large hole. Sea water quickly poured into the cabin. Other warships were also sunk or damaged. Fortunately, the Spanish navy was beaten to a pulp. The Lagosa and Sagunto were unharmed.
This prevented the Spanish and Philippine Navy from losing all confidence. However, with the first round of head-to-head competition, the Spanish Navy did not dare to fight again. At this time, the Spanish Navy had lost four warships, so the Spanish Navy Commander Decisively ordered the entire army to flee into Manila Bay to avoid being wiped out by the US military.
In the process of escaping, as expected, another warship was sunk, and the Sagunto was also shot because of its lack of reaction. Only the Zaragoza could organize a limited counterattack.
After seeing the Philippine Navy escape, Dewey decisively ordered the U.S. Navy to pursue the tragic enemy. However, facing the Spanish army fighting at home, the U.S. Navy was not so lucky this time.
First of all, Spain has laid mines in Manila Bay this time, and its coastal defense artillery has also been upgraded. Therefore, when pursuing the entrance of Manila Bay, in order to avoid the attack of Spanish coastal defense artillery, a US warship headed north Driving, we plunged into the minefield of Manila Bay.
With a loud bang, this American warship unfortunately became the first warship lost by the U.S. Navy in the Spanish-American War.
This is already a surprise for Spain. Of course, the Spanish government certainly doesn’t think so. After all, they didn’t know that in the previous Battle of Manila, the United States did not lose even a single warship, and it was easy for them to defeat all the warships. Destroyed Spain's Asiatic fleet.
Although the Spanish Asian Fleet has lost nearly half this time, it still has the strength to fight, and it sank a US warship, which will not make the war lose too ugly. As for the outcome of the subsequent Manila Bay naval battle, It also depends on the next steps of the two countries.
(End of this chapter)