Chapter 1019 Choosing a Route
Although East Africa cannot fully support Russia, it can provide Russia with certain help, which is a timely help for the current Russian government.
Next, Maxim and East Africa discussed the process of how to provide services to the Russian Navy. It was basically determined that East Africa would only provide Russia with some ports in the mainland and Lanfang Overseas Province.
“On the west coast, there are a total of six ports capable of providing services to Russian warships, including Cabinda, Luanda, Benguela, Alexandria, Swakopmund, and Walvis Bay.”
“East Africa can provide Russia with one of its ports as a base for the Russian navy Among these ports, Luanda and Cabinda have the best conditions, especially in terms of material supply, which can basically meet all the needs of the Russian Navy. Among them, Luanda also has the most favorable climate conditions, and Cabinda has the best tropical climate conditions. The rainforest climate may be difficult for Russians to adapt to.”
"Similarly, the ports in the southern part of the west coast are too dry, but the basic infrastructure is relatively complete. However, the supply of materials in Walvis Bay and Swakopmund is relatively tight. The two places are completely surrounded by deserts and lack the supply of fruits and vegetables, as well as other materials. It is also relatively tense.”
During the First Five-Year Plan, the west coast of East Africa accelerated its development, especially these six port cities, which have been implemented in the field of infrastructure and have railways and inland connections, so they all have advantages. Basic conditions for the Russian Navy to provide services.
Looking at the scene of the East Africans slapping Fang Qiu on the map, Maxim felt only endless envy in his heart. Russia has always been a country full of yearning for the ocean. Starting from Peter the Great, Russia’s territorial expansion The core idea was to obtain a good outlet to the sea, but things went counterproductive. Even today, Russia's territory reaches an astonishing more than 20 million square kilometers, but it is still controlled by others in terms of oceans.
Looking at East Africa, to be honest, this land and sea layout in East Africa is what Russia wants to a certain extent. Of course, Maxim secretly thought that Africa could not be compared with Europe, the center of world civilization. , so Russia's future is still to expand towards Western Europe in order to solve its current dilemma.
“In general, we recommend that you choose Luanda as your port of call. This was originally the center of the Portuguese colonial period. After it fell into our hands, it has developed rapidly and all infrastructures are very complete. , and it is the commercial and trade center on the west coast of Africa. Most of the world’s commodities can be seen in Luanda, and even some Russians do business here.”
On the west coast of Africa, except for East Africa, there are few well-developed countries or colonies. That is, Morocco in the north and Cape Town in the south are barely passable economically, but they are far behind compared to the west coast of East Africa. .
So it is completely true that the city on the west coast of East Africa is the commercial and trade center on the west coast of Africa. This has also led to Luanda attracting more and more businessmen from Africa, Europe and North and South America to do business.
In the past, only some agricultural products could be exported here. After all, Angola's agricultural conditions are still good. As the "bread basket" of the Portuguese, it has a long history of development. It is one of the few colonies on the west coast of Africa that has a relatively high degree of agricultural development. .
Under the governance of East Africa, the local industry has gradually developed since the 1990s. Entering the new century, it has become a key development area during the First Five-Year Plan of East Africa. The current development of the west coast It is beyond the imagination of the world.
The development of industry and agriculture has also made the Luanda area prosperous in commerce and trade, and can provide a richer variety of products. At the same time, transportation construction has made it increasingly closely connected with the interior of East Africa, which is rapidly shrinking and the central and eastern regions. Economic disparity has become the third economic pole in East Africa.
"Then choose Luanda!" With the introduction of the East African government, Maxim also determined the port on the west coast of East Africa where the Russian navy would temporarily stay.
“Don’t worry, Ambassador Maxim, your navy may have its own plans and arrangements. After all, the specific landing point must be considered comprehensively. Next, we will briefly introduce the situation of the port cities on the east coast. You will then give feedback to the country and decide the final result." Maxim readily accepted the East African government's suggestions, mainly because he did not know much about the geography and urban development of East Africa, so the introduction had to be made by East African government personnel.
Although East Africa is developing rapidly, except for Mombasa and Dar es Salaam, East African cities are not very well-known. In fact, this is the case in most countries. This is true even for many economically developed countries. Many people may only know their capital or the most economically developed city.
“There are far more ports to choose from on the east coast than on the west coast, and most of them have a longer history of development and have no obvious shortcomings. They can basically provide relatively complete services to the Russian Navy. Among them, Mombasa and Darfur Needless to say, there is no need to mention the city of Es Salaam. Apart from these two ports, the most developed are Beira and New Hamburg. The other ports marked on the map are also good.”
In Maxim's view, there is really nothing to choose from the ports on the east coast of East Africa. It mainly depends on how the Russian naval department plans the navigation route.
So he said to Ernst: "Your Highness, I will send these messages to the country as soon as possible. I believe that our government will come up with ideas soon. At that time, I will come over to give you feedback on our country's opinions. . ”
In addition to the east and west coasts, there is another city that has been identified but is no longer under discussion, and that is Pontianak City, the capital of Lanfang Overseas Province.
For Russia, the location of Pontianak City is currently the most suitable except for the Strait of Malacca. Moreover, after leaving the East African mainland, the Russian Navy cannot rest from the east coast of East Africa to the Strait of Malacca. Therefore, the importance of Pontianak to the Russian Navy is no less important than some ports in East Africa.
In the past life, there was no port like Pontianak in the Nanyang region to provide convenience for the Russian navy. It was impossible for the Malacca Strait and other ports controlled by the British to provide services to the Russians. Under the pressure of the British, the Dutch colonies were likely to It will not be open to Russia. As for France, due to various reasons, it has not provided convenience to Russia. Therefore, not surprisingly, Pontianak will definitely be the temporary foothold of the Russian navy.
As for whether this will give Russia an advantage in the next war, Ernst is not worried at all. There is still a long distance from Pontianak to Northeast Asia. By the time it reaches Northeast Asia, the Russian navy will completely become a rootless power. Ping, at that time Lushun was besieged or occupied by Japan, and the route to Vladivostok was definitely under Japanese control, so the Russian Pacific Second Fleet successfully reached Northeast Asia, and the situation would not improve.
What Maxim said as soon as possible is a bit long for East Africa. The wait will be until March this year, because Russia not only has to consider East African factors, but also other countries along the route, especially Given the attitudes of Germany and France, otherwise the Russian Navy would have difficulty even getting out of the Baltic Sea.
There are two main passages in the Baltic Sea. One is the natural strait controlled by the two Nordic countries, Denmark and Sweden. At this time, Norway has not yet become independent from Sweden, and Finland is also under the control of Russia, so there are only two in Northern Europe. nation.
The second one is the Kiel Canal in Germany. The Kiel Canal was officially built and put into use as early as 1895. It has become the most important artificial waterway from the Baltic Sea to the Atlantic Ocean.
Many merchant ships in the Baltic Sea now choose to take the Kiel Canal route in Germany to the Atlantic Ocean. If Germany allows it, this is also the most suitable route for the Russian Navy to go to the Far East waters.
(End of this chapter)