Chapter 1308: Taking Advantage of the Fire
The United States' joining the Allied Powers camp will inevitably have a new impact on the subsequent world structure, and this will require East Africa to make new judgments and arrangements for future development.
Minister of Defense Pripyat said: "With the joining of the United States, the strength of the Allied Powers has greatly increased. Even if Russia withdraws from the war, it will bring huge pressure to the Allies."
"According to our predictions, the next war between the two camps will further move towards consumption and competition in terms of heritage, unless the Allies can be as militarily powerful as they were on the Eastern Front. Achieve successive victories, otherwise the Allies will be consumed in materials and national strength, and the Allies will eventually be at a disadvantage. "
If you look at industry alone, the Allies are not actually weak, but the Allies are dominated by China, Britain and France. More overseas colonies have sufficient supplies of materials and energy. After the United States joined the Allied Powers, the industrial disadvantage of the Allied Powers camp was completely reversed.
Therefore, there is only one way left for the Allies, and that is to quickly open up the situation militarily. Whether it is the Western Front or the Eastern Front, as long as they can break through the Allied blockade, it will greatly reduce the pressure on the Allies.
Although Russia has withdrawn from the war, this does not mean the end of the Eastern Front battlefield. Now the Eastern Front battlefield has shifted further south than before, from the area bordering the Allies and Russia to the Balkan Peninsula. Persian Gulf line.
The main force on this front is Britain. Since the end of last year, Britain has attacked the Ottoman Empire from multiple directions. This is also the reason for the complete interruption of trade between East Africa and the Allies.
In the north, the British actively wooed Romania, Montenegro, Greece and other countries and forces to maintain the Allied Powers' disadvantage in the Balkans.
The reason why these countries turned to the United Kingdom was actually quite normal. After all, regardless of the Allied Powers, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, or even Bulgaria, it was possible for these countries to disappear from the Balkan Peninsula.
At the same time, Britain's own attack on the Ottoman Empire was divided into three parts. The first was to seize Constantinople, the second was to unite with Egypt to attack the west coast of the Ottoman Empire from the Red Sea, and the third was to join forces with Persia to block the Persian Gulf.
This is basically the situation of the "New Eastern Front Battlefield". Compared with the original Eastern Front Battlefield, it is more scattered, but every place where the British attack is a focus.
Chief of General Staff Cristiano said: "Judging from the current war situation, the Allies should want to achieve the following goals. The first is to completely block the Allies within the encirclement and block them from entering. Channels for external acquisition of strategic resources such as war energy, industrial raw materials, and weapons.”
“Among them, the Persian Gulf and the Dardanelles Strait are key. Node, it can block the Ottoman Empire's external contacts, and on this basis, it can cut off the linkage between the Allied Powers."
"The Ottoman Empire itself is the weakest, and at the same time it controls the external communication channels of the Allied Powers. , so the Allied Powers regard the Ottoman Empire as the focus of the current stage of the war, which will greatly help weaken the power of the Central Powers.”
"The second point is to share the pressure on the Western Front battlefield. Now that Russia has withdrawn from the war, it means that the Allies' millions of troops on the Eastern Front can be invested in other battlefields."
"This will give France and Britain caused great pressure, so more efforts were opened on the eastern front Multiple battlefields, especially with the help of the terrain of the Balkan Peninsula, can better deal with and contain the Allied forces."
"The third point is to enhance the confidence of the Allied Powers camp. Russia's withdrawal from the war is a great blow to the Allied Powers camp. A huge blow, Launching a new round of offensive will help consolidate its allies’ optimism about the war.”
“This also means that in the next two to three years, the war will be more brutal and more countries will be involved. Entering the battlefield, if you count the Russian civil war, the entire All of Europe will be reduced to a battlefield. "
In the current situation, it is impossible for Britain and France to continue to work without contributing, especially the United Kingdom. The previous performance of the United Kingdom on the battlefield can only be regarded as satisfactory, far inferior. France and Russia going all out.
Although the United States entered the Allied Powers to repair the mess left after Russia's withdrawal, Britain and France obviously did not fully trust the United States.
After all, Russia and the Allied Powers were bordering each other before. Without a major hemorrhage on either side, there was no possibility of reconciliation. But the United States is different. The United States is separated from the entire Europe by the Atlantic Ocean, which means that the United States has a way out. .
The worst-case scenario is to withdraw from the war and continue to return to America to be a tortoise. Anyway, the Allies cannot attack the United States across the Atlantic. With the help of geographical advantages and the world's third-largest naval strength, the United States has the confidence to defend its homeland. There are still some, which is why the United States dares to directly side with the Allies. Moreover, over the years, the United States has become accustomed to entertaining itself in the Americas. If it were to be blocked, the situation would not be much worse.
After listening to the analysis of senior government officials, Ernst asked: "In that case, now how do you think we in East Africa will respond to today's international changes?"
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Cristiano said: "Your Majesty, I think we should speed up negotiations with the United Kingdom on the division of power in the Indian Ocean. The French have set an example before, but the British have always been timid and insincere."
"Today, the UK's cutting off of trade in the Persian Gulf is itself harmful to East African interests, and for this The Chinese government has never given us a satisfactory answer. "
"So, showing our military muscles in real time can also allow Britain to compromise with the empire where necessary."
Britain can. Cutting off the Persian Gulf trade routes will inevitably involve multiple rounds of political and diplomatic games with the East African government.
After all, without the acquiescence of East Africa, the British would not have been able to attack the Basra area of the Ottoman Empire so successfully.
This kind of game is mainly reflected in psychology. Any improper operation may lead to changes in the regional structure. This kind of psychological game at the national level is the norm in international exchanges.
Of course, this can also be understood as a political gamble, especially between the political and diplomatic activities of small countries and big countries.
Cristiano said: "Although we have not taken action in the Indian Ocean, this does not mean that East Africa should have no gains."
"Especially the United Kingdom, in the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea military operations, as well as the previous British blockade of the Suez Canal, Gibraltar, etc., have effectively damaged the empire. Interests. ”
“On this point, Britain must give the empire a satisfactory answer, the most important of which is to redefine the sphere of influence in the Indian Ocean, especially strategic locations such as the Seychelles, and it is best to pass the agreement with the United Kingdom. Negotiations, fell into the hands of the empire, and further consolidated the empire’s strategic security in the Indian Ocean.”
Simply put, Cristiano's idea is to take advantage of Britain's current weakness in global strategy, and East Africa should gain some tangible benefits.
Ernst agreed with Cristiano's view: "It is true that no matter how the war situation in Europe changes, the change in the world pattern after the war will inevitably be the result of the European victors re-dominating the European order and relying on Europe. Suppress other regions. "
"We are facing this problem, and the United States is probably the same, and this will test the strength of the empire, so from a pragmatic perspective, we must protect it. To prove that the future development of the empire is not restricted by Europe, we should control more overseas colonies.”
Now East Africa is in a strategically active position, and this strategic position makes East Africa inevitably become two camps. The target of wooing, and it is this status that also facilitates East Africa's extortion of the two camps. This is unlike the United States. The United States has joined the war, so it can only go to hell with the Allied Powers.
At present, the Allies have basically nothing to offer that can attract tangible interests in East Africa. Among the Allied Powers, France has performed well and stabilized East Africa through some territorial transactions.
Only the UK's sincerity is insufficient, so East Africa will show a tougher attitude in the next diplomatic activities with the UK.
(End of this chapter)