Chapter 1525 Inspecting the Army

Of course, in the early 20th century, the concepts of the international community were still relatively barbaric and primitive. For the current countries in the world, per capita is not a data worth paying attention to. Being strong means being strong, and being able to stand higher.

Compared with improving people's livelihood, it is more effective to plunder foreign countries by force. The reason why the moral level of the international community in the 21st century was relatively high was to a certain extent due to the balance of force.

From modern times until the 19th century, the Western world led the world in the military field with its technological and industrial advantages, and therefore could do whatever it wanted.

However, with the formation of the world market, technology will also spread to other parts of the world. This diffusion is not initiated by Western countries, but is an inevitable choice for building the world market and expanding their own trade advantages.

Just like East Africa's export of industrial equipment to the Soviet Union, this objectively led to the progress of Soviet industry and promoted the progress of Soviet industrialization, but it was definitely not East Africa's kindness in helping the Soviet Union build industry.

This is the case for a big country like the Soviet Union. If it were a weak country, they would be forced to become the blood transfusion tube for the economy of a powerful country.

In other words, these countries are actually "slaves" in the eyes of East African and other powerful countries, but even if they are slaves, they still need to be fed by the slave owners, otherwise how can they work for the slave owners and create more wealth? If the slaves themselves forget the past grudges and are grateful because of the food given by the slave owners, then the plight of such slave countries is completely unworthy of sympathy and pity.

Any country with a little bit of ambition should at least seek to become a "free man". A country with great ambition should become an "evil dragon" like Germany, Japan, and East Africa. A higher level would be a country like the Soviet Union, which in its early days had to consider not only itself but also other regions and wanted to plant the red flag all over the world.

Unfortunately, the early Soviet Labor Party may have been relatively pure, but as time goes by, the Soviet Union’s ideology and ideals have been largely eroded, and there is a lot of intrigue and corruption within the party.

It is possible for a person to remain pure all the time, but a country like the Soviet Union has always had speculators within it, even since its inception, let alone now.

…

Ernst now basically handed over the country's economic affairs to Friedrich, while Ernst himself was inspecting the development of the navy along the coast of East Africa.

Pemba, Nyasaland Province.

The Port of Pemba is built in the Bay of Pemba on the coast of Cape Delgado and has always been one of the most important naval bases on the east coast of East Africa.

There are several submarine bases and an aircraft carrier base built in Pemba Bay. The deep water tank area in the bay is extremely suitable for submarine concealment and sneaking, which also makes Pemba Bay the most important submarine force deployment base in the East African Indian Ocean.

There are low mountains and hills around Pemba Bay, which can provide natural barriers to block radar and high-altitude reconnaissance. At the same time, with the help of these mountains, hills, and dense forests, more concealed camouflaged positions, radar stations and other facilities can be arranged.

In summary, Pemba Bay and the ports and other facilities within the bay are among the best in East Africa’s naval ports, and its basic natural conditions rank in the upper-middle range among naval ports around the world.

"After more than 20 years of construction, Pemba Bay has been built into one of the most powerful military bays in the world, providing berthing, maintenance, supply and other services for various warships." Rembrandt, commander of the East African Navy Pemba Port Base, proudly introduced to Ernst.

He pointed to the east, at the surface of the Indian Ocean, and said, "Pemba Bay and the Comoros Islands Naval Base, as well as Madagascar Island and the southern port of Nacala, support each other and become the area with the strongest control of the Imperial Navy."

"The security of the surrounding waters is more prominent than that of the north. At the same time, it can block the entire Mozambique Channel, or raid most of the Indian Ocean, thereby deterring the entire Indian Ocean coastal countries and other forces."

The northern waters that Commander Rembrandt mentioned are the vast Indian Ocean area north of Cape Delgado, including the Gulf of Aden, eastern Somalia, Kenya and eastern Tanzania in the past, and all the way to the British Seychelles.

The main East African naval deployment sites in the above areas include Bosaso, Lamu, Mombasa, Bagamoyo and Dar es Salaam.

The Port of Bosaso is located in the Gulf of Aden and is also the northernmost military port in East Africa. It facilitates the East African Navy to respond quickly, monitor and warn enemies in the European direction in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea.

Lamu is the most important military port in the northern waters of eastern East Africa. It undertakes most of the maritime missions in the north, such as supporting operations in the Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea, and the Strait of Hormuz, guarding against the British Navy in the direction of Seychelles and India, etc.

Bosaso and Lamu are both purely military ports, while Bagamoyo, Mombasa and Dar es Salaam are mixed military and civilian ports, especially Mombasa and Dar es Salaam, where only a small number of military facilities and bases are deployed.

The northern waters of the east coast of East Africa have a straight coastline and lack natural barriers. Therefore, although it is convenient for the East African Navy to take the initiative, there are natural deficiencies in defense.

In particular, the British Navy in India and Seychelles, if operated properly, could pose a threat to the northern coastal areas of the east coast of East Africa.

The situation south of Cape Delgado is very different. Cape Delgado is the land where Tanzania and Mozambique meet in the previous life. People who are familiar with the map of Africa know that the land here protrudes towards the ocean like a triangle, but it is not as protruding as the Somalia region.

The ports of Pemba and Nacala are both located on the northeast side of Cape Delgado, facing the Comoros Islands and Madagascar Island.

The ports of Pemba, Lamu and Nacala are the three most important military ports on the east coast of East Africa, which are most relied upon by the East African Navy. They can all berth aircraft carriers, battleships and other warships.

Here we can see the important military significance of Cape Delgado to the East African Navy. It is actually the nerve center of the East African Indian Ocean Fleet and the location of its main force.

In the past, East Africa relied more on northern ports such as Bagamoyo. After all, the former capital of East Africa, the First Town, was nearby. However, since the capital of East Africa was moved, Rhine City is located deep inland and no longer needs coastal protection.

Therefore, the status of southern military ports such as Pemba and Nacala has rapidly improved. After all, these two places have better basic conditions and more important strategic positions.

Commander Rembrandt said: "To the east, we and the Nacala Port Navy can block the entire Mozambique Channel, or bypass Madagascar Island and enter the Pacific Ocean through the middle of the ocean, the Sunda Strait and other places. To the north, we can carry out combat missions in the Gulf of Aden, the Arabian Sea and other waters. Pemba Port can also deal with the British Navy in Seychelles."

“To the south, our navy can also reach the Cape of Good Hope and intimidate the British navy in South Africa and other places like Cape Town.”

Cape Delgado is almost in the middle of the east coast of East Africa, which allows the East African Indian Ocean Main Fleet in the region to easily support various areas of the Indian Ocean and even enter the Pacific Ocean to assist the Pacific Fleet in operations.

Ernst was naturally well aware of this, otherwise he would not have come here so often to inspect the development of the East African Navy.

For example, the first submarine unit and the first aircraft carrier formation in East Africa were both reviewed by Ernst in Pemba Port.

The reason is very simple. The security and concealment here are higher because it is a military area. At the same time, with the help of the terrain of Pemba Bay, it is almost impossible for foreign countries to obtain intelligence here in the era without satellites.

After the plane appeared, it was indeed possible for it to fly over the sky of Pemba Bay, but this is also a military restricted area. Cape Delgado is closest to Seychelles, which is nearly 2,000 kilometers away from here, not to mention that East Africa's air defense firepower and radar stations are deployed along the coast of Pemba Bay.

Therefore, even the British did not dare to take the risk of conducting aerial reconnaissance of the ports of Pemba and Nacala on Cape Delduga.

Not to mention that in this era, there is no British Air Force deployed in Seychelles. In the past, Britain deployed its air force in Seychelles after the 1970s.

At present, Seychelles seems to be strategically important to the UK, but facing an opponent like East Africa, it is impossible for the UK to increase its investment in Seychelles.

After all, if Britain really goes to war with East Africa, the first thing Britain will have to consider is the security of areas such as India, the Strait of Malacca, the Suez Canal, and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

There is no need to even consider it. If a war breaks out between the two countries, there will be only one outcome, and that is that the above-mentioned areas will all be swallowed up by East Africa.

Therefore, Britain's strategy towards East Africa from the beginning to the end was to avoid large-scale conflicts and wars with East Africa.

This is also the reason why East Africa has been able to expand its sphere of influence in Somalia, the Persian Gulf, North Africa, South America and other regions in recent years.

Originally these areas were all Britain's marginal interest areas, such as northern Somalia, which was even once part of Britain's Somaliland colony, and Qatar, which was destroyed by East Africa on the Persian Gulf coast. The Pirate Coast was also once a British protectorate.

The reason why Britain can be so tolerant is to avoid a war with East Africa. After all, if a war really breaks out, what East Africa is greedy for is not Darfur, the Pirate Coast, or Qatar, but Egypt, South Africa, and India, which are almost the fat meat at East Africa's doorstep.

Ernst was quite satisfied with the construction of Pemba Port. He said: "The entire Pemba Bay with Pemba Port as the core is one of the strongest fortresses in the Indian Ocean east of the empire. It is also the core node of the empire's Indian Ocean strategy, an important maritime hub, and a logistics base."

"In order to build the military system of Pemba Bay, the empire paid a huge price. Therefore, the comprehensive military system of Pemba Bay is hard-won, and you must cherish it even more."

The Pemba Bay Comprehensive Military Base includes a naval aircraft carrier base, a submarine base, and a newly built military airport, as well as supporting railway and highway transportation, air defense systems, radars, shipyards, and so on.

The entire system cost a huge amount of money, and it took East Africa nearly 30 years to completely build the Pemba Bay Integrated Military Base.

Moreover, the infrastructure construction in Pemba Bay itself is quite difficult. For example, when building a submarine base, East Africa used a lot of explosives to build various underground facilities.

Commander Rembrandt replied: "Your Majesty, rest assured that the maintenance of various facilities at our Pemba Bay base is strictly carried out in accordance with regulations and systems, and the soldiers and various units also maintain high standards in daily training and exercises."

"This ensures that in the event of a sudden war, the entire base can respond quickly and be ready to attack and annihilate all invading enemies at any time, or quickly support other wars."

He pointed to the hilltop in the distance and said, "In Pemba Bay, the low-altitude mountains hide large and small anti-aircraft firepower, including anti-aircraft guns, anti-aircraft machine guns, and radar stations and other reconnaissance equipment. It is difficult for reconnaissance planes to get close to here."

"In addition, the aviation force can also take the initiative to drive away or annihilate the enemy. Now the Pemba Bay Airport has been put into use."

"At sea, if the enemy wants to invade Pemba Port, it would be tantamount to suicide. In addition to surface ships, our submarine forces are also patrolling the surrounding area, so there is no chance for enemy ships to get close."

As for the land direction, there is no need to say more. Behind it is the East African mainland. The East African Army is not the best in the world, but it is also among the top five.

This actually seriously underestimates the combat effectiveness of the East African Army, but there is no way around it, because the East African Army lacks combat record to back it up. Since the South African War, East Africa has no record of fighting with the armies of other powerful countries.

At present, Germany is recognized by the world as the world's number one land power. Even the East African Army itself has no dispute about this, because in World War I, the performance of the German Army really surprised the whole world.

The second largest army in the world is still France. In World War I, the only army that performed as well as Germany was the French Army. As for now, it is hard to say.

Then there is the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In this time and space, although the Austro-Hungarian Empire did not perform well in the early stages, in the later stages it not only pushed back against Russia but also opened up the southern battlefield, which greatly improved the reputation of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

As for other countries, such as Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union, their evaluations are not very high. Britain's army has never been taken seriously, so it is not a hot topic. The Soviet Union, because it is hostile to the international community, naturally does not receive a good evaluation.

Not to mention that the Soviet army did have gaps with other countries in terms of equipment level, logistics, training intensity, etc.

As for the United States, although it participated in World War I, it did not have a brilliant record. Many countries' evaluation of the U.S. Army was that it used a bunch of advanced weapons to fight a rubbish war.

The performance of the U.S. Army in World War I also made other countries look at the East African Army with tinted glasses, because East Africa is very similar to the United States.

An important reason why the U.S. Army performed poorly in World War I was that many U.S. troops were temporarily brought in. Prior to this, the U.S. Army had always been small and had little training and actual combat.

Therefore, other countries think the same about the East African Army. However, although the international community believes that the East African Army's combat effectiveness is average, no one dares to underestimate the East African Army. After all, East Africa is the world's first industrial power and its population is the third largest in the world.

Therefore, many European military experts believe that even if the East African Army has low combat effectiveness, it can rely on its strong defense industry, industrial production capacity, weapons and equipment to form a huge army and crush the enemy.

This is completely prejudiced. The human wave tactic is an important option for a country with a low level of industrialization like the Soviet Union, but how could an industrial power like East Africa also use the human wave tactic?

Not to mention, East Africa is different from the United States. East Africa's support for the army is not perfunctory like that of the United States. Its military expenditure and troop numbers have always been maintained in the first echelon in the world.

Of course, without actual combat performance, the East Africans really can't be tough. However, as far as the East African Army itself is concerned, they position themselves as at least among the top three in the world.

(End of this chapter)