Chapter 1291 Indian Temptation


Chapter 1291 The Temptation of India

When it comes to East Africa itself, there is also evidence. For example, the East African Air Force. When the East African Air Force was first established, it was only established as an aviation unit to cooperate with the Army. It was only officially established in recent years. Became an independent service, alongside the East African Army and Navy.

In short, the East African Navy has shouldered the important task of becoming an important naval force in the world from the beginning, and is an indispensable and important link in the development strategy of East African countries.

As for such an important naval force that aims to compete for world maritime hegemony, what it obviously lacks most is its historical heritage and overseas bases.

Freer said: "During the South African Naval War, the British Navy crossed the Socotra Islands and attacked Mogadishu, our country's northernmost port at the time."

"Later, when the British Navy withdrew to India, it also used the Seychelles Islands as a transit point. At that time, the naval strength of East Africa was still weak, so we could only stop and retreat to the mainland. However, the existence of the Seychelles Islands still gave the Imperial Navy a powerful Pressure. ”

Don’t allow others to snore on the side of the bed. The British who control these strategic locations in the Indian Ocean have the strength to make it difficult for the East African Indian Ocean Fleet to sleep peacefully.

Of course, Ambassador Thomson naturally did not believe Freer's words. East Africa was afraid of Britain, but Britain in turn regarded East Africa as its biggest rival in the Indian Ocean. East Africa was worried about Britain attacking the east coast of East Africa. Britain also Afraid of East Africa’s sneak attack on Mumbai Port!

After all, in the eyes of the British, India is their thorn in the side. It is completely unnecessary and not worthwhile to compromise the safety of India with East Africa.

Ambassador Thomson said: "I still remember the naval battle in East Africa vividly. The battle between your country and Britain at that time can be said to have shocked the whole world."

Although the outcome of the East African Naval War was a tie, the fact that the East African Navy, which had just started at that time, could tie with the Royal Navy really surprised many countries and media.

After all, there is almost no country in the world that can tie with the British Royal Navy, and there is no country that can defeat the British Royal Navy, or even dare to say defeat the British Royal Navy.

As powerful as the German Navy, which is currently the second largest naval force in the world, they dare not say that they can challenge the British Royal Navy. They are still blocked in the Baltic Sea. Other countries, let alone compare with the British Royal Navy, just want to It would be difficult to catch up with the strength of the German navy.

Although the German Navy has not had a very impressive record so far, being able to compete with the British Royal Navy in the Atlantic Ocean is enough for other countries to take a high look.

As for the East African naval battle, it was already a record in the ironclad era of the last century. Today, there is no objective standard for the combat effectiveness of the East African navy.

There is a big difference between naval strength and combat effectiveness. For example, the U.S. Navy is very powerful on paper and has more than a dozen battleships, but it lacks advanced cruisers.

I don’t know what the U.S. Navy’s thinking is. Although battleships are the main battleships of the navy today, they cannot do everything themselves, such as some reconnaissance and cruise, escort, expulsion and other tasks in naval battles. Using battleships is more wasteful.

The current battle between Britain and Germany is a mutual test between the reconnaissance fleets led by battlecruisers, with the main force being light cruisers.

This also led to the poor performance of the U.S. Navy in the early days of World War I in the previous life, which was only overshadowed by the victory of the war.

The development of the East African navy is relatively conservative. In addition to attempts and explorations in submarine and aircraft carrier operations, East Africa is currently focusing on the United Kingdom and Germany in the development of conventional ships, so the East African navy is large and comprehensive.

However, it is difficult to evaluate the combat effectiveness of the East African Navy. From the East African Naval War to the present, the East African Navy has had no actual combat experience for more than 20 years.

Thomson continued: "We in France obviously have no way to solve the difficulties your country faces in the Indian Ocean. After all, Mr. Freer, these strategic places you mentioned are all under the control of the British. "

Friel sighed and said: "This is natural. After all, Britain's influence in the Indian Ocean is deeply rooted. We in East Africa are only a latecomer country, and we naturally have some shortcomings, and it is difficult. By solving the problem, especially in the Indian Ocean, there is a lack of stable naval bases."

Ambassador Thomson: "In this case, although France does not have much capability in the Indian Ocean, it still has several barren lands and no I know if I can help your country."

With these words, Ambassador Thomson really handed over his trump card. He had been talking to Freer for so long, all for the next step. The foreshadowing of the transaction. Freer also asked very cooperatively: "I wonder if your country can help East Africa? If it can solve our problems, East Africa will definitely give you something in return."

Ambassador Thomson said: "Your Excellency Freer also knows that France has little presence in the Indian Ocean today, and because our country has now shifted its attention to other regions, such as Europe, West Africa and Indochina, the empire has no influence on the Indian Ocean. The emphasis on the Indian Ocean is even weaker."

"We have several colonies in India and are willing to trade with your country with the Indian stronghold in the east. And I am willing to sell Rodrigues Island in Mauritius to your country."

"The three lands of the empire in India are local governance, Yanam and Garrigal. I think your country should. Interested in these three places.”

“As for Rodrigues Island, I think you should be quite familiar with it. It is located on the east side of the main island of Mauritius.”

France had fought with Britain in India for more than 50 years, but in the end there were only five colonies left. In addition to the three colonies mentioned by Ambassador Thomson, there was also Mahe on the west coast of India and Chang in the northeast of India. Delnagor.

Obviously, even if they wanted to lure East Africa into India and have a conflict with Britain, the French themselves did not forget to leave a hand in India and left a colonial stronghold on the east and west coasts.

After all, the French are also greedy for India! However, they just don’t have the strength to compete with the British. In this case, it is better to let East Africa disrupt the situation in India. France may be able to fish in troubled waters in the future.

The two remaining colonies are the last hope of French India. Of course, the other three colonies were handed over to East Africa because of another consideration, which is that these three places are relatively close to each other. .

After all, Britain has been operating in India for a long time, and France is afraid that East Africa will not play a role in India. These three relatively close colonies can make it easier for East Africa, which has just entered India, to form a confrontation with Britain.

As for Rodrigues Island, this is a volcanic island about 500 kilometers away from Mauritius. However, there are still conditions for development here. In the past life, nearly 40,000 people lived on this island, and there are also conditions for building a port on the island.

It’s just that in the past, France paid more attention to the development of Reunion and Mauritius, so it relatively ignored Rodrigues Island.

Judging from the chips thrown by the French, Rodrigues Island is considered the most attractive to Freer. If this island is controlled, it will be equivalent to East Africa having an island in the waters east of Madagascar. A solid base.

In fact, France did not want to give this island to East Africa at first. Instead, they initially wanted to negotiate with several islands where the French Southern and Antarctic territories were located in the previous life.

However, in the end, the French government gave up this idea, because France knew very well that these islands had no value, because these islands are close to the Antarctic, completely uninhabited, and cannot be inhabited for a long time.

Therefore, it would be better to take Rodrigues Island, which has development conditions and is not too important, to appear more sincere.

Freer was secretly happy about the generosity of the French government. Although he knew that France was throwing out poisonous bait, Freer was not worried at all.

The pits laid by the French are mainly three colonial strongholds in India, hoping to create obstacles for the British in the future, and East Africa will naturally not be afraid of the British, especially within the Indian Ocean.

So Freer believes that the French conditions can be agreed to. Of course, Freer will not use words such as "guarantee not to participate in the war" that are related to the core interests of East African countries to achieve these conditions.

(End of this chapter)

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