Chapter 495 Preparing for Counterattack
The two old foxes Britain and France were watching, which also put some pressure on Ernst. However, East Africa was strong because it was protected by Germany and Austria, so Britain and France could not go too far. Of course, it was better to rely on others than to rely on oneself. Germany and Austria favored East Africa. It's about friendship. If East Africa can't stand up on its own, then everything will be in vain, so in the final analysis, strength speaks for itself.
However, East Africa has actually entered the attention of the international community because of this war. Although East Africa has existed for more than ten years, it has always kept a low profile, so it is like a transparent person.
The British and French targeting this time, coupled with East Africa's challenge to Portugal, suddenly shifted the attention of other countries in the world to Africa.
With the sudden increase in popularity, everyone suddenly discovered that there are many countries eyeing Africa? In addition to East Africa, which is extremely talented, even small countries like Italy and Belgium have their own colonies in Africa.
Poor Italy, a great power in its previous life, was turned into a small regional country on the Apennine Peninsula by Ernst in this life. However, the relationship between East Africa and Italy is actually not bad.
This is all due to the fact that Italy's colonial undertaking in the Abyssinian Empire was indispensable with the help of East Africa. After all, Italy, like the original Hechingen royal family, was also engaged in colonial undertakings for the first time, so it lacked experience.
And the Abyssinian Empire is not a small country. Although East Africa looks down on it, the Abyssinian Empire is not small in the world. It has a population of tens of millions and a long history. It is just the same as the Far East and the Ottomans. It just declined in modern times.
Ernst kept the Abyssinian Empire because the skin color of the Abyssinian Empire was lighter than that of sub-Saharan Africa. He could barely accept it, and it was not easy to annex the Abyssinian Empire. There were more than a thousand people in East Africa. With a land of 10,000 square kilometers, there are just over 30 million natives. After more than ten years of half-sale and half-free, there are still more than 20 million. The Abyssinian Empire has a population of more than 10 million, and Abyssinia is not That kind of civilized desert has its own culture and history, and has frequent foreign exchanges. It is impossible for East Africa to use the same methods used to deal with pure black people and copy them to the Abyssinian Empire.
The most important point is that the Abyssinian Empire became a British protectorate after its last defeat against the British. The new emperor was supported by the British. All in all, attacking the Abyssinian Empire was thankless.
But Italy is different. Italy is actually pro-British. After the Italian-Austrian War, it was sandwiched between Austria and France, and lost more than half of its territory, so it could only return to the embrace of its British father.
As for the Italian colonial Abyssinian Empire, both were pro-British countries, and Britain did not interfere. After all, Italy was more important and closer than the Abyssinian Empire.
However, the Abyssinian Empire, which had been abandoned, had its own ambitions. It was not originally close to the British. The last time it became a British protectorate, it was treated as a son. The British would go away after a war, so they were independent. The right is still there.
The British chose to sit on the sidelines, while Abyssinia chose to develop relations with East Africa and Egypt to gain support. Although Egypt and the Abyssinian Empire were feuding, Egypt did not want to watch the Abyssinian Empire be defeated by Italy, a foreign country. In the eyes of the Egyptians, the threat from European countries was far greater than that of the Abyssinian Empire.
As for East Africa, it is natural to eat both sides. On the one hand, it talks about arms trade with the Abyssinian Empire, and on the other hand, it talks about food trade with Italy. Of course, the weapons sold to the Abyssinian Empire cannot be said to be advanced.
However, with the support of East Africa and Egypt, the Abyssinian Empire resisted the attack of Italy, an industrial country, and the two sides formed a stalemate on the northern Ethiopian plateau.
Italy and Belgium both quietly occupied colonies in Africa, and other countries also had their thoughts. For example, the Kingdom of Naples was interested in Libya. Germany also established colonial strongholds in Central and West Africa. However, France caused trouble, and Germany's The colonial enterprise did not go well.
Traditional colonial powers such as the Netherlands and Spain also began to strictly defend their colonies. Through the East-Portuguese War, these old colonial powers quickly realized that a new round of colonial craze was coming.
The Dutch colonies were mainly in East India and South America. Facing competition from Britain, France, Portugal, Spain and other countries, Spain had to deal with competition from the United States and other countries. However, Spain was large in size and could embarrass itself, so it had great win-win value. , Britain, France, Germany, Austria and other countries have good relations with Spain. Only the United States is persistent in its evil intentions, but it does not dare to act rashly. Portugal on the Iberian Peninsula is in dire straits. With East Africa as a neighbor, it is destined to be difficult. Moreover, Portugal's local strength is not good, and its colonies are not looked down upon by East Africa.
Constantine rarely comes to see the progress of the war. Constantine has been busy with the construction of water conservancy projects recently, so he doesn't know much about the progress of the war. The East-Portugal War did not affect Constantine's enthusiasm for farming at all, because he knew The strength of East Africa cannot be shaken by a weak country like Portugal.
Constantine: "What is the current war situation? Has the Portuguese attack direction been determined?"
Ernst: "Father, you are here. I have been paying attention to the trend of the war. We have figured out the focus of the Portuguese attack. Their troops are mainly concentrated in Lake Malawi and the Zambezi River Basin. It seems that they want to cut off Our connection to the interior."
Constantine stared at the map, frowned and said: "The area between Lake Malawi and Lake Solon (Lake Tanganyika) is indeed a weak point. Is it possible to hold it?"
Ernst: "Don't worry, father. The troops we have deployed here are the Kingdom's elite. Lake Malawi is also under our control. If the Portuguese want to get here, they must advance from the west bank of Lake Malawi. We will deploy there." With the heavy troops and the advantage of the terrain, we can ensure that no flies will fly over."
"Well, but you can't be careless. By the way, you just said that the Portuguese went all the way to the Zambezi River. There is no carelessness there, right?" Constantine reminded.
"As early as when the Portuguese arrived in Tete, we obtained intelligence. With the help of the Central Railway, our army has arrived at the front line of the Songo stronghold and is now resting there. The outcome of the subsequent war will depend on feedback from the front line."
"Will there be any impact if it fails?" Constantine asked.
"It's okay. Our first wave of troops mainly relies on black people. Even if they don't fight well, our regular troops can make up for it in time. The 512th Division is already on standby in the rear and can take over the battlefield at any time."
Constantine: "Do you really use the black legions as cannon fodder?"
Ernst said calmly: "As long as it can be used to consume the Portuguese, I don't have high expectations and requirements for them. Now that the troops have arrived at the front line, they can start to promote the development of the war at our pace at any time."
Having determined the direction and ideas of the Portuguese's attack, East Africa can also counterattack against the Portuguese.
"It is now certain that the Portuguese's war preparations south of the Rufuma River are very lax. We use black people to hold back the main Portuguese force in the northwest, and the front-line troops on the Rufuma River can now move south."
Ernst no longer wanted to keep the temporary national border of the Rufuma River. Judging from the attitude of the Portuguese, it seemed that they were planning to abandon this place. Therefore, with the help of this war, Ernst planned to completely capture northern Mozambique, including Along the shores of Lake Malawi, East Africa will have three large lakes to itself.
(End of this chapter)