Chapter 1163 Revisiting the Busta Railway
Regarding Franz IV’s words, Friedrich said: “The current development of East Africa is ultimately the joint efforts of more than 100 million people, and this also shows that Because of the resilience of the German nation, after all, Brazil is also one of the few big countries in the world. Its founding history is earlier than ours, but it can only become a European country. Economic vassalage, so the development of East Africa is the joint result of multiple factors, rather than something that can be summed up in one or two sentences..."
Thinking back to the time when the Hechingen royal family colonized East Africa, the East African grasslands The Maasai people are still fighting with the animals on the African grasslands. It can be said that the development of civilization in Africa is quite primitive.
It is extremely difficult for the natives to skip primitive society and directly transition to industrial society. When entering agricultural society, East Africa is no more than a larger version of Brazil. Therefore, the introduction of relatively civilized immigrants is the only way East Africa can quickly The key to rising, this saves a lot of teaching time.
After chatting for a while, Friedrich brought the topic onto the right track: "Your Excellency, the Grand Duke, I wonder what the purpose of your group's coming to East Africa this time is? After all, the situation of your three-nation group going to East Africa is But it’s rare.”
Not only is it rare, this is the first time in history that a delegation from Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire has organized diplomatic activities in East Africa. Moreover, the leader of the delegation this time, Franz IV, is also of high status. The situation in Europe is now chaotic. The main leaders want to be based in Europe, so Germany's ability to send an archduke, Franz IV, to East Africa is enough to show Germany's sincerity.
Franz IV said straight to the point: "The main reason why our three countries came this time is because of the Baghdad railway problem."
"Now, Britain, France and other countries are relying on their geographical advantages. Blockade our allies, so in order to win the war, on behalf of the three governments, I hope to restart the construction of the last section of the Baghdad Railway, the Basda Railway.”
The Basda Railway is the most important railway in the Persian Gulf. The port is also an important part of the Berlin-Baghdad-Basda railway planned by Germany before the war. Germany began planning the construction of this railway in the last century.
However, due to the intervention of Britain and Russia, in the end the railway only realized the overall construction of the Berlin-Baghdad section.
It can be said that this railway is the German version of the "China-Europe Railway Express". After all, the German government is not a fool. As early as the last century, Germany knew that if it offended Britain and France, Britain and France would definitely block Germany's maritime trade routes. To strike.
The Berlin-Baghdad-Basra railway is an important part of breaking the British and French naval blockade through land transportation. If Germany could open this land channel before the war, there is no doubt that it will have a great impact on the entire European war situation. cause significant impact.
Of course, the United Kingdom has obviously seen this, so despite the British obstruction in every possible way, Germany's 2B (Berlin, Busta) railway plan ended up being a dead end and did not achieve the strategic goal of reaching the Persian Gulf directly.
Now, the consequences are showing. As the situation on the European battlefield becomes increasingly worse, Germany becomes more and more dependent on cargo transportation in the Persian Gulf. However, this trade route is not smooth because of the interruption of the Baghdad and Basra railway plan. Unimpeded.
Franz IV continued: "As Britain and France tightened the blockade on shipping, the trade between your country and our country has been affected after all. Therefore, restarting the construction of the Baghdad and Basra railway will be of great benefit to Several of our countries are very advantageous.”
This is true. Although East Africa relied on its strength to forcefully open up maritime trade between East Africa and Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Britain and France could also block it through various means.
If the East African Navy had not invested 70% of its maritime power in the Atlantic region, it would have been a foolish dream for East African goods to directly reach Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Although Britain and France did not cut off trade routes due to the strength of East Africa, the corresponding results could be achieved as long as the time for transporting goods to the Allies was extended.
In general, East Africa has been extremely benevolent to Germany and Austria, and has even severely offended Britain and France.
The foundation of all this is based on East Africa's deterrence. Although East Africa's trade with Europe is blocked by the two countries, there are limits. After all, East Africa also controls the overseas material transportation channels of the two countries, especially Britain relied heavily on blood transfusions from India during the war, and from India to the British mainland, there was no way around East Africa. This is a fragile balance. Once Britain and France lose in Europe, they will definitely be defeated, and the tacit understanding between the three countries will be difficult to maintain. Of course, the most injured will definitely be Germany.
So Germany now urgently needs the Basra section of the railway to ensure smooth trade channels after Britain and France seal the country, and the 2B railway is the most important link.
Among them, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire are both allies of Germany, and as long as the Bus-Dalian Railway is opened, materials from East Africa can be stably supplied to the three countries through the 2B railway. This is the last retreat for the logistics of the three countries.
“On the hundreds of kilometers long line from Baghdad to Basra, it is difficult to complete large-scale transportation operations relying on manpower and camels. Now it is necessary for us to restart the construction of this railway so that the relationship between the Three Kingdoms The odds of winning can also be greatly increased." An Ottoman official also interjected at this time.
It seems that the Ottoman Empire can no longer sit still. It is planning to form a complete alliance with Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Friedrich looked at the Ottoman Empire officials in front of him and thought about it.
At present, the Ottoman Empire is still a neutral country. Since it can run to East Africa with Francis IV, it is obvious that the two countries have completely reached an agreement.
This is also easy to understand. Now the situation of the Allies on the battlefield can be said to be very good, so the Ottoman Empire has already determined that the Allies will win the final victory.
The key reason for the determination of the Ottoman Empire is not difficult to guess. Apart from Germany's excellent performance in the early stages of the war, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was truly unexpected.
Or perhaps beyond Ernst’s expectation, the Austro-Hungarian Empire in its previous life could be said to be in a very embarrassing situation during World War I, so Ernst was not optimistic about the Austro-Hungarian Empire from the beginning.
However, Ernst did not expect that many of the secrets he had planted would have a huge impact on the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Although many problems between the current Austro-Hungarian Empire and the previous Austro-Hungarian Empire are similar, they are absolutely indistinguishable. equal sign.
For example, Crown Prince Rudolf has now completely taken over the battlefield command from Franz. This did not exist in the previous life. Rudolf is obviously younger than Emperor Franz and is more energetic in commanding and mastering the battlefield. abundant.
Take the example of boosting morale. Crown Prince Rudolf visited the front line in person, which was difficult for the aging Emperor Franz to do. Moreover, Rudolf was more daring than Franz to use young generals from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. , after all, anyone has more worries as they get older.
Of course, the most important thing is that the Austro-Hungarian Empire in this time and space is much more powerful than in the previous life. It has Venice and Lombardy in its territory. In terms of population, Ernst has stuffed a lot into the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Immigration, including the Neretva region, at least more than 600,000 people have immigrated from East Africa to the Austro-Hungarian Empire in recent years, and this population will continue to grow after entering the Austro-Hungarian Empire. For example, the population of the Neretva region has increased. double.
The industry of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was also stronger than that of the same period in history. This was also due to the emergence of East Africa, which made up for the Austro-Hungarian Empire’s deficiencies in energy, minerals, etc., such as the development of the oil industry in the Austro-Hungarian Empire by East African companies. , or the export of East African cotton, rubber and other materials to the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
In terms of navy, the Austro-Hungarian Empire has also made some progress. After all, the Austro-Hungarian Empire has an extra coastline in the Venetian region. Even if Hungary opposes the expansion of the imperial navy, the Austro-Hungarian Empire has reasonable reasons to add a few more warships.
All in all, the Austro-Hungarian Empire has been strengthened to a great extent. This means that although the Austro-Hungarian Empire cannot demonstrate the strong military capabilities of Germany, its combat effectiveness has at least reached its original level.
At present, the main opponent of the Austro-Hungarian Empire is only Russia. Under the normal performance of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the two countries can only be evenly matched and have already reached a stalemate in the border areas in advance. This is similar to the history of the Austro-Hungarian Empire being defeated by Russia. The collapse of the army is different.
(End of this chapter)