Chapter 1056, led by Germany
East Africa’s support for the Ottoman Empire and Persia is relatively simple and straightforward, that is, to help the two countries, especially the Ottoman Empire, establish certain military capabilities.
The Ottoman Empire, which used to be a powerful force in Europe and Asia, is actually not bad at the military level even now. In fact, it can basically manufacture all kinds of mainstream military weapons in the world by itself, which is the same as the Far Eastern Empire.
After all, the Ottoman Empire had a population of only more than 30 million. If its military capabilities were not good enough, it would have been eaten alive by Tsarist Russia or the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
The fact is that the Ottoman Empire dragged its ancient body and fought with Tsarist Russia for hundreds of years, and its exchanges with European countries have never been interrupted. The reason why the Ottoman Empire has difficulty doing anything is that the establishment of a modern industrial system is slow. , this is a common problem in many traditional ancient countries.
"Constantinople, the Istanbul of the Ottomans, the Ottoman Empire was at the junction of the Eurasian continent, so it had frequent cultural, political, and economic exchanges with Europe. For various reasons, when Europe was rapidly industrializing, the Ottoman Empire's ships were in trouble. , but it does not hinder the prosperity of Constantinople in any way," said Moslade, the head of the East African Mission, standing on the bow of the ship and looking at Constantinople.
The Ottoman Empire was half a European country, especially when its capital was still Constantinople. The entire Constantinople was not inferior to other European cities in all aspects.
Of course, this will not be the case if you go deep into the entire Ottoman Empire, because the capital is not representative. In previous generations, the capitals of African countries were also beautifully built, but it is completely wrong to say that going out of the capital is actually the entire large countryside. No exaggeration.
As the core of the Ottoman Empire and on the front line of exchanges with the Western world, Constantinople does not lack some characteristics of industrial civilization, and many modern technologies have been applied in urban construction. thing.
Of course, Moslade’s trip was not to enjoy the beautiful scenery of Constantinople. The location of Constantinople can be said to be quite superior, but with the threat of war, Tsarist Russia and Countries on the Balkan Peninsula are eyeing this place.
Mosleder's deputy Hans introduced him: "The Germans have had a closer relationship with the Ottoman Empire in the past few years. For various reasons, Germany hopes to support the Ottoman Empire as its potential ally. Through commercial and military cooperation, Germany The influence of the Ottoman Empire is increasing day by day, and the economic exchanges between the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Ottoman Empire are also relatively frequent. It is one of the main markets for the Austro-Hungarian industry, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire has The Mann Empire is also one of our country's major trading countries. In the past, a large part of our country's black slaves were sold to the Ottoman Empire."
Moslade: "In this way, the Ottoman Empire is the same as us, Germany, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The connections between them are relatively close, but the relationship between East Africa and the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Ottoman Empire involves more economic aspects."
Hans: "Yes, The territory of the Ottoman Empire involves North Africa, the Red Sea coast, a small part of Europe and many areas in Asia. It has the foundation of a great power, and it is a natural commercial power due to its geographical location. All European countries have a certain degree of commercial exchanges with the Ottoman Empire. ”
“However, the internal problems of the Ottoman Empire are very prominent. Today, the power of the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire has almost been eclipsed. The internal forces of all parties are complex, especially in many areas where there is a risk of splitting or being invaded. For example, the Ottoman Empire's territories in North Africa. Due to Egypt's independence, communication with the Ottoman Empire was inconvenient, and coupled with French instigation, the Ottoman Empire actually ruled the area. Existing in name only.”
The situation of the Ottoman Empire in this life is slightly better, at least the land area is slightly larger than before.
Because Italy had not completed unification, Italy did not encroach on the North African territory of the Ottoman Empire as it did in its previous life. However, in this way, the baton was passed to the hands of the French, who used Tunisia as a springboard to continuously penetrate into the Libyan region of the Ottoman Empire.
France has always attached great importance to North Africa, even more than West Africa. If it can establish effective rule in North Africa, it will be of great benefit to France's Mediterranean strategy. Therefore, when there is no unified Italy as a competitor, France It plays the role of Italy in its previous life.
As for the Libyan issue and other influences, the relationship between the Ottoman Empire and France was very poor, which further strengthened the cooperation between the Ottoman Empire and Germany. Hans: "Germany helped the Ottoman Empire build factories, military facilities, and train its troops. Our mission on this trip is to cooperate with the Ottoman Empire on this basis, so we need to get in touch with the Germans in advance."
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The East African government’s support for the Ottoman Empire this time should still be mainly based on Germany. On the one hand, East Africa did not really help the Ottoman Empire in its construction. It just wanted to use the Ottoman Empire to threaten Britain and Tsarist Russia, thereby in the Middle East. region, especially the Persian Gulf coast.
The territory of the Ottoman Empire extends all the way to the Persian Gulf, and it is the main country along the Persian Gulf. Both Iraq and Kuwait belong to the core territory of the Ottoman Empire.
On the other hand, Ernst hoped to strengthen the Ottoman Empire so that Germany would expand even more in the future, which would eventually trigger a European war.
In the previous war, at least before the war began, the three Allied Powers of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy faced off against the Entente Powers led by Britain, France, and Russia. At least the number of powers was similar. Now Italy is only a regional power. Rather than being a major power, and because of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, it was impossible to join the Entente, even temporarily.
As a result, Germany lacks allies on the European continent. If it relies solely on Austria-Hungary, the two countries may not dare to launch a war.
Although Italy was a weakling in its previous life, as a great power, even the weakest one could be considered a psychological comfort to Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Without Italy, Germany is bound to support new forces in European countries to help Germany seize European hegemony. As far as East Africa is known, Romania, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire are all Germany's top targets.
In fact, if William II was more honest and did not threaten Britain's maritime hegemony, Germany would not be in such a bad diplomatic dilemma.
The United Kingdom is happy to fight between Germany and France. Without British participation, the war will not be fought. At most, it will develop into an enhanced version of the "Franco-Prussian War."
In fact, looking at the current situation, Britain's emotions towards Germany are relatively complicated, because the core of British foreign policy is continental balance, and it is best not to end directly.
However, Germany's vigorous development of its navy violated the British bottom line. Coupled with the growth of Germany's industrial strength, it posed a huge threat to British industry. Various factors have now made Germany the number one target of suppression by the UK.
Of course, any country that is the most powerful on the European continent will become the UK's primary target of suppression. Russia has already lost face due to the Russo-Japanese War, and France is far less powerful than Germany, so Germany is currently the most powerful country on the European continent. , so the United Kingdom is bound to try its best to weaken Germany to a certain extent, so as to maintain balance on the entire European continent.
So the key to the outbreak of World War I was Germany. Germany's "arrogance and domineering" before World War I led to the formation of a huge "anti-German alliance" in Europe.
(End of this chapter)